by Perrin Briar
On the southeast corner of the house a door opened.
“What door’s that?” Jordan said.
“That’s the Plan S Moon Door,” Ori said.
Jordan eyed it, making a note of its location in his mind.
A single guard came out and bowed to the Moon Door, or to whoever was inside, before walking down the street that ran perpendicular to the restaurant they sat in.
“That’s the guy we need to follow,” Ori said.
“Okay,” Jordan said. “Jessie, you’re up. Remember-”
“Radio in when I see where he goes,” Jessie said.
“Right,” Jordan said. “And then-”
“Go to the tower and take position,” Jessie said. “I know the plan.”
“All right,” Jordan said, holding up his hands like he’d committed a faux pas.
Jessie spooned a few more forkfuls of food into her mouth and then left the restaurant, wrapping a veil around her head to protect against the dust that stung her face.
Anne watched Jessie until she disappeared around the corner. Jordan squeezed Anne’s hand.
“She’ll be okay,” he said.
Anne smiled.
“I know,” she said.
Ten minutes later, another guard came out of the Moon Door. The young guard descended the stairs and turned right, heading away from them.
“Anne, you’re up,” Jordan said.
“See you on the other side,” Anne said.
She got up and followed the guard, wrapping a scarf around her head as Jessie had done.
“I hope one of us finds a good lead,” Ori said. “Or else our plan goes nowhere.”
“We’ve got a twenty-five percent chance,” Jordan said.
“Good odds for revolutionaries,” Ori said with a smile.
Locals exited buildings for the day and headed home. There was a relaxed atmosphere as the day drew to a close.
“Those two women mean everything to me,” Jordan said. “I won’t risk their safety. If anything doesn’t feel right, that’s it. We’ll pull out.”
“I understand,” Ori said. “I’d be the same with my own wife and child. Not that they’re your wife and child.”
“Some people think we’re easy targets because we’re kind,” Jordan said. “They mistake kindness for weakness. We’re strong because we take care of each other. When you have that kind of bond, you would do anything to protect each other, things that would horrify a lone wolf.”
Jordan’s radio crackled.
“Come in, over,” Jessie said.
Jordan peered at the tables around them. No one paid any notice. He put the radio to his ear.
“Yeah?” Jordan said.
“You’re supposed to say ‘over’, over,” Jessie said.
“What is it?” Jordan said. “Over.”
“This guy I’m following just headed home,” Jessie said. “Or someone’s house, anyway. He was welcomed inside by a very happy woman.”
“Lucky him,” Jordan said. “Head to the tower.”
“I’m going there now,” Jessie said.
“Let me know when you get there,” Jordan said.
“Yes, sir,” Jessie said, not bothering to hide her scorn.
“Well, that’s one down,” Ori said. “Maybe we’ll have more luck with the others.”
“Here comes another one,” Jordan said.
The Moon Door opened and a guard came out, heading away from them.
“Do you want to take this one?” Ori said.
“No,” Jordan said. “You take him.”
“See you later,” Ori said.
He picked up a piece of garlic toast and rushed away. Jordan tucked into the last of the food.
“I hope you’re not finishing off everyone’s meals,” Anne’s voice said over the radio.
Jordan checked over his shoulders.
“Of course not,” Jordan said, tucking into the curry.
“Good,” Anne said. “We’ll need you spritely and alert, not slow and curmudgeonly.”
The Moon Door opened and another guard came out. He headed toward Jordan, who shrunk in his seat, and then passed him. Did he glance in Jordan’s direction or was it just his imagination? Jordan couldn’t be sure, but he couldn’t afford not to follow.
Jordan wiped his mouth with the corner of the dirty table cloth and moved away from the restaurant. The moment he was gone a pack of urchins, who had been watching the diners with hungry eyes, moved in. They demolished the leftovers before the waiter could wave them away.
11.
The markets were packing up for the night, onto horse-drawn carts for those who could afford them, onto the backs of sons for those who could not.
The orange and green uniform disappeared around a corner, down a road that turned away from the docks, and headed up an old cobbled street. It was almost empty of people, with just a few going about their business. The houses were a clay yellow, Egyptian in design, with tall arched windows with attractive curves and spiral tops.
The radio at Jordan’s hip whistled with static. Jordan spun, sliding into a doorway with his back to the wall. He turned the radio off. He shook his head and swore at himself. He waited, and then took a breath and leaned forward, looking up the path. The guard was gone.
Jordan stepped farther into the street, but there was still no sign of the man. He ran up the road and found himself at a crossroads. He looked left, right and straight ahead. The road ahead was too long. The guard would have still been visible if he went that way. But there were doorways. What if he had headed into one of those?
Crap!
Jordan couldn’t afford to waste time. He ran down the left-hand arm of the crossroads, pumping his legs as fast as they would carry him. He covered several hundred yards, about the maximum distance the guard could have travelled.
But the guard was nowhere to be seen. Jordan turned and ran in the opposite direction. He skidded to a stop and ran his hands through his hair. The guard was well and truly gone.
A teenage boy came running down a set of stairs in one of the houses and came out into the street. Jordan peered up at the house’s rooftop. He ran into the house and up the staircase. He took the stairs two, three, four at a time, using the wooden circle knob at the end of each bannister to spin himself around and shoot up the stairs to the next floor. The heat was oppressive and he was sweating profusely long before he got to the top.
He came out onto the roof. It was flat with a short wall half a step high around the edges. There were no people, populated only by bright white sheets that billowed in the wind.
Jordan turned to get a bearing on where he was. Directly ahead of him and to the left he could make out the sea, dark blue and welcoming. Jordan wished he was on her cool rippling surface now. He peered down into the streets below. Ant-like people wandered to and fro, heading home after a busy day at work.
Jordan looked down another street, which wound like spaghetti through the city. He ran to the opposite side of the roof and looked over the side, first up, and then down the road.
There! A flash! Was it orange?
Jordan wasn’t sure, but he was willing to take the risk. The distance between houses was not far. They were built on top of one another, no one having a view of anything except each other. A fall would be nasty.
Jordan took a few steps back and then ran, taking the half step leap onto the wall and then threw his arms up and his weight forward. He sailed over the street, for a moment weightless, and waved his arms to balance himself. He landed on the opposite roof, falling into a roll, and skidded to a stop on his backside.
He stood up and was smothered in a wet white sheet. A woman dressed head to foot in black shouted at him in irate tones.
“Uh, sorry,” Jordan said.
He tore the sheet off himself and handed it to her. He ran forward and peered over the edge. The guard was just below him!
The guard paused, taking a moment to orient himself. He turned right, and Jordan took tw
o more steps back. He ran and jumped, landing on another rooftop without rolling this time, skidding to a halt. He ran to the far corner.
The guard approached a non-descript building with a large wooden front door. Two other guards in orange and green uniforms stood outside it. The guards chatted, making polite conversation. One of the old guards left, leaving two.
Jordan slid down into a sitting position, panting and fighting for air. He unclipped his radio.
“Hello, over?” Jordan said.
“Jordan?” Anne’s voice said. “Where have you been?”
“I had a little trouble,” Jordan said.
“Not again!” Anne said.
“Not like last night,” Jordan said. “Where did your guy lead you?”
“I think I found one of the entrances,” Anne said. “The guards changed and now they’re just standing outside it.”
“Ori?” Jordan said. “Any updates?”
“Yeah,” Ori said. “Nothing here. Just a guy going into his home and sleeping, by the look of it.”
“Any idea which of our secret entrances are more likely to be what we’re looking for?” Jordan said.
“No,” Ori said. “There’s no way of knowing.”
“Anne, is there anything about your location that suggests it might be important?” Jordan said.
“No,” Anne said.
“How many guards do you have there?” Jordan said.
“Three,” Anne said.
“Three?” Jordan said.
“Yeah,” Anne said. “How many do you have?”
“Two,” Jordan said. “It’s not much to go on, but we can assume the more guards there are defending a door the more likely there’s something important behind it.”
“It could be intentional distraction,” Ori said. “Making us think there’s something more behind Anne’s door than there really is.”
“It could,” Jordan said. “But it might not be. Jessie, can you hear us?”
“Roger,” Jessie said.
“Can you see Anne?” Jordan said.
“No,” Jessie said. “She’s out of sight, on the ground.”
“But you know where she is,” Jordan said.
“The rough area, yes,” Jessie said.
“Look to your southwest,” Jordan said. “Scrub the rooftops. Can you see the figure waving his arms like a madman?”
There was a pause.
“Oh, yes,” Jessie said. “I see you.”
“Remember this location,” Jordan said. “We might need to return here later.”
“Roger,” Jessie said.
“Ori, go to Anne’s location,” Jordan said. “You’ll have to guide us, Anne.”
“Will do,” Anne said.
12.
Fifteen minutes later they were together. They were sat on a peeling park bench that faced away from the guards.
“Has anyone else gone inside from what you’ve seen?” Jordan said to Anne.
“No,” Anne said.
“So there’s just the three of them,” Jordan said.
“Just the three of them?” Ori said. “They’re well-trained soldiers. We’re just… well, look at us!”
“We have the element of surprise on our side,” Jordan said. “How are your fighting skills?”
“Non-existent, I’m afraid,” Ori said.
“Then you’ll keep watch,” Jordan said. “Stand on this corner. If you see more guards coming, start coughing like you’re going to lose a lung.”
“Will do,” Ori said, taking position.
“Looks like it’s going to be up to us,” Jordan said to Anne. “Did you bring your prop?”
Anne held up a map of London.
“Don’t you think he’ll notice it’s not of Port Fouad?” Anne said.
“By the time he does it’ll be too late,” Jordan said.
The guards stood looking out into space. Two of them had non-committed expressions, blank. But it was misleading, Jordan knew. They were on high alert, and nothing was escaping their attention.
The third guard was not quite so focused. He kept talking, but wasn’t getting a response from the other guards. He rolled his eyes and looked up and down the road for something to entertain himself with. All three guards held tall halberds.
Jordan stood behind the corner closest to them. He nodded at Anne, who was leaning against a wall on the opposite side of the road. She pushed away from the wall, walked out into the street in front of the men, holding the map in her hands. She peered up one road, and then another, checked the piece of paper, and scratched her head.
The talkative guard, at least, seemed to have noticed her. His eyes flicked to the other two guards, who hadn’t altered their expressions at all.
Anne peered around to look for someone to ask a question, but there was no one. She looked up, as if noticing the guards for the first time, and put a bright beaming smile on her face. She approached them.
“Excuse me,” she said. “I was wondering if you could help me. You see, I’m a bit lost. I’m trying to find the market by the port…”
The first two men looked her over, sensed she was no danger, and then returned to looking straight ahead. The third guard hesitated. He didn’t offer to help either, though he looked like he wanted to.
“I thought I was close,” Anne said. “But I can’t seem to find it.”
The guards didn’t respond.
“No?” Anne said. “Thanks for your help anyway.”
She turned away.
“Wait,” the third guard said.
The other two guards stiffened. The third guard moved forward, and as he did, his body blocked one of the stiff-faced guards. It was what Jordan was waiting for.
Jordan moved forward and drew up beside the closest guard. The guard turned at the last moment, opening his mouth to shout, but he only grunted as Jordan thrust his fist into his stomach, just below the sternum, into the soft tissue there. The guard bent over, letting Jordan place him gently on the ground.
Jordan moved forward, hands tucked into his chest, ready to accept an attack, or deal one out at a moment’s notice. He moved in the talkative guard’s wake. He burst out from behind him with a strong forward thrust.
The other stiff-faced guard had fast reactions and spun around, raising his halberd. But Jordan was ready for him and struck out with his foot, catching the guard’s knee. The guard hadn’t had enough time to get into the correct position, and his knee cracked, bending the wrong way. Jordan felt the ligaments snapping like taut rope in a storm. The guard hissed between his teeth, cried out, and hit the deck. Jordan dealt the guard a swift blow across the back of the head.
The talkative guard’s expression registered surprise. He turned pale and turned to look at his fallen comrades. A small but powerful fist struck him in the ribs. Once, twice, three times. His head reacted accordingly, bending forward at ninety degrees. The pain hadn’t even really hit him yet, but it was about to as Anne gripped him with both hands and brought her knee up, driving high into his chest in rapid succession. He dropped to the ground, wheezing for air.
Jordan cast about, looking up and down the street, but found no one looking in their direction. He pulled the large door open. He grabbed one soldier and tossed him into the room. Anne helped the third man up, but he was too heavy for her. Jordan gripped the front of his uniform and helped throw him into the room along with his comrade.
Ori crossed the street toward them, head swivelling for bystanders, looking up at the windows. Curtains fluttered and danced in a limp wind.
The first guard had raised himself up onto his hands and knees, and wheezed air in through his teeth. He raised his hand to Jordan in surrender. Jordan jumped down from the short flight of steps and put all the momentum and weight into his movement, smacking his fist into the man’s face with a meaty slap. The man hit the ground, unconscious.
“He said he would surrender,” Ori said, bending down to pick up a fallen hat.
“Now he has,” Jorda
n said. “Help me drag him inside.”
Jordan picked up the guard’s arms, Ori his legs. They entered the room to find Anne zip-tying the guards’ arms behind their backs, their feet splayed out in front of them. She did the same with the final guard as Jordan closed the door.
“I didn’t see anyone watching us,” Ori said, “which isn’t to say someone didn’t. The good news is they probably wouldn’t say or do anything even if they had. No one wants trouble.”
“You seem pretty sure of that,” Jordan said.
“These are my people,” Ori said. “I know them.”
Jordan shook his head.
“Then you have more faith than me,” he said. “I’ve learnt to not trust anyone if I can avoid it.”
“You trust me,” Ori said.
“You passed the test,” Jordan said. “If you’d tried to shoot us on Hope Tomorrow you would have taken a dive into the Mediterranean Sea and we wouldn’t be here.”
“Thanks,” Ori said. “I think.”
The air in the room was musty and old, damp like an old rag. Jordan looked at Ori.
“Well?” he said.
“Well, what?” Ori said.
“Where’s the secret entrance?” Jordan said.
“I don’t know,” Ori said.
“What do you mean you don’t know?” Jordan said. “Didn’t you gather any information on the subject?”
“No,” Ori said. “I told you. No one knows where they are, only that they exist.”
“Then we’d better start looking then, hadn’t we?” Jordan said.
13.
They spent the next ten minutes going through every nook and cranny of the room, getting their hands dirty, their nails clogged with grime. There was a layer of dust half an inch thick in some places, and faded squares on the wall from where paintings had once hung.
“There’s nothing here,” Jordan said.
“Shall we pry up the floorboards?” Anne said.
“We don’t have time,” Jordan said, wiping an arm across his sweaty face.
The talkative guard groaned around the sock in his mouth. He was conscious, his face pressed against the floor. Jordan picked him up and sat him against the wall. He crouched down so they were eye to eye.