Scars Of Defiance

by Angell, Lorena

  Reginald didn’t worry too much about damage control as he felt he had a firm hold on the media. What he did worry about was the impending wedding set to take place in three days without a bride.

  *****

  The rest of the evening played out uneventfully. Sierra slept through most of it, and Paul sat in the armchair watching her. He pondered his life prior to last night, when he was driving around looking for crossers and feeling sorry for himself. He had actually wished he could have more responsibility, but now that he had it, he wasn’t sure he wanted it.

  Why is it we always want what we don’t have, but once we get it we don’t want it anymore? If he surrendered the responsibility of his crosser to someone else, what would happen to her? Would she be cared for properly? Would that person understand the severity of her situation? He doubted it. No, he would have to keep Sierra under his wing and do what needed to be done to protect her. Even sleep with her. Not in the romantic sense, but as her protector. He was her guardian, and he planned on doing his job. He would protect her best by helping keep the appearance of only one occupant in his room.

  Just before bedtime, Elsie and Martha helped Sierra bathe. They reapplied salve to her back and rewrapped the splint on her leg. In the meantime, Paul sat out in the living room with his father, going over the floor plans of the home.

  “Paul, I’m going make an exit from your crawlspace. I plan on digging under the foundation in the northeast corner and merging into the existing tunnel.” Zachary went on to explain the logistics of the engineering for the upcoming project, utilizing his degree in Civil Engineering. Paul tried to listen and understand, but his mind kept wandering to Sierra. His father continued verbalizing his plan mainly for his own purposes and not so much for Paul’s.

  “How long do you think it will take to complete the digging?” Paul asked.

  “Two to four days. Possibly a week if we experience a cave-in. I plan on reinforcing the ceiling with boards as I go. The excavated dirt will be spread inside the crawlspace and not hauled out.”

  “Sounds good. Dad, did you know the Bidells were raided this morning?”

  “No, did Greg tell you that?” His expression showed genuine surprise.

  “Yes. He said they were looking for a young girl.”

  “I didn’t ask the Bidells if they were raided. I assumed because of their remodeling project they wouldn’t be taking crossers right now.”

  “He said they took in one man.”

  “Hmm. Well, expect the worst then. Did you tell Greg we had a young girl?”

  “No. I said we only had males, but I did tell him I have one in my room.”

  “Paul, what have I told you about that?”

  Immediately Paul regretted telling his father even that much. “I know, Dad. I didn’t tell him about the trap door or about Sara. Is it really that bad he knows we house crossers just like they do?”

  “They’re new to it. We aren’t. I am a naturally suspicious person, Paul. I don’t like it when others ask questions about our business. It makes me nervous.”

  “It’s just Greg, Dad. He’s my friend, not some — ”

  “Paul, one thing I want you to learn is that secrets told are never kept. If you have a secret and you never tell anyone, you never have to worry about the secret getting out. Let me give you an example. We’ve housed several of Reginald’s armed guards over the years, and they let us in on some of the secret tactics he uses. When they think they’ve located the target house, they stake it out, bring the troops across the border, and take it by storm in the early morning hours. Until the raid happens, though, the house is watched continually along with all the occupants. The roadblock officers have photos of all suspects, so fleeing isn’t an option once you know that your house is under surveillance.

  “However, when the raid goes down, the house is surrounded, and all focus is turned here, and that’s when we remove our crossers through the tunnel. When the focus is pinpointed on this house, we slide out of their grasp. By knowing their strategies and tactics, we are able to continue to succeed where other homes fail — that and the fact that we have a secret exit. The point is we were able to get the upper hand because the Rendierian guards told some of their secrets.”

  “Are you saying Greg is a spy?”

  “No, I’m saying no one should be told how we do things here, or it could give our enemies the edge they need.”

  “Are we under surveillance yet?” Paul asked his father in a mildly frustrated voice.

  “No. But the search is on.”

  “Then why don’t we take her to the cabin now? The cabin road is within the roadblock perimeter, so we wouldn’t be seen.”

  “Because the cabin is not a safe house. It’s at the end of the road. The supplies are limited, so a long-term stay is not possible. The cabin is meant to serve only as a place to stop off on the way to Northtown. Once a raid is issued, the roadblocks are removed soon afterward, whether or not they find their target. Reginald’s army isn’t welcome here in Slaterville, but as long as they are only passing through, our police can’t really do anything about it. However, when they cross the line and execute a raid, they can all be arrested.”

  Paul added, “So they have to make sure their target is accurate before executing a raid, right?”

  “Right. Otherwise it’s for naught. But see, that’s why our strategy works so well. We wait to move until they move. They storm our house and fail to find who they were looking for, then quickly retreat across the border.”

  “Why not just keep the crossers in the tunnel? You know, just out of reach. Why transport them during a raid?”

  “Do you know how difficult it was to build that tunnel, Paul? It took many, many months, and I will not have it all ruined because of some accidental noise like coughing or sneezing. That’s all it would take, and the tunnel would be discovered. No, our exit strategy works just fine.”

  “You know, Dad, it might be a good idea to stock the cabin better, maybe with several weeks’ worth of canned goods and extra clothing. Medical supplies and a Ham radio would be good too. I know there’s a phone line already, but what if the line were cut for some reason? A radio would be better.”

  “That’s a good idea, Paul. I think I’ll put you in charge of that once Sara has moved on.”

  Paul felt a huge sense of satisfaction that his father trusted him with such a task. But the overwhelming gloom of the last part of his sentence was what really struck him: “once Sara has moved on.”

  *****

  Zachary, Elsie, and Grandma Martha sat at the kitchen table and discussed the crossers. Zachary led the discussion. “No one can be moved until the heat dies down. Private investigators are combing the city, and many of Reginald Rawlings’s men have been spotted as well. Another crosser plane is scheduled this weekend, but I fear we will still be full.”

  Elsie looked worried. “No one on that plane will stand a chance of surviving. Reginald’s men will capture them in the search for Sara.”

  Martha cut in. “I made some calls to my friends in Rendier. First of all, all night flights have been suspended, and now Reginald’s guards are posted at the airport twenty-four hours a day. There will be no flights this weekend. They’ll have to find a different way to transport crossers from now on. Secondly, Sara’s real name is Sierra Montgomery. The story she told Paul is accurate, so I don’t believe she’s a spy.” Martha picked up some papers and took a deep breath and continued. “Okay, the Montgomerys were a very influential family. You were both young when all this happened and may not remember, but thirty-two years ago when King Louis ruled, his Queen was a Montgomery. The southernmost province of Rendier was ruled by the Montgomery family, and when King Louis chose his bride, he merged his title with their prominent name. Reginald clearly plans to do the same thing: merge his name with this influential family’s history in order to strengthen his reign. By having Victor marry Sierra Montgomery, Reginald hopes to win favor and trust with his people.”


  “Does she have any relatives?” Zachary asked.

  “Actually, no. When Alexandar Rawlings overthrew King Louis, most of the Montgomery’s were killed. Sierra’s father, Donald, was a cousin to the Queen. He was a young man at the time and was spared. The older Montgomery’s were the targeted ones. The others have dropped off the map. Perhaps they’ve crossed into Baylend, or maybe they’ve been executed like Sierra’s father.”

  “Oh dear,” said Elsie.

  “Nevertheless, Sierra is a Montgomery,” Martha said, “and with that name, Reginald is hoping to restore the faith of his people.”

  Elsie let out a sigh of exasperation. “Our son jumps head-first into housing crossers and ends up with Princess Sierra. Reginald Rawlings isn’t going to stop till he finds her.”

  Zachary watched his wife as she put the details together and came up with the same dismal conclusion he already had. He changed the subject, knowing it wouldn’t help the tension any, but it still needed to be discussed. “I’m concerned about something Paul just told me. He said Greg’s house was raided this morning. Greg told him they were looking for a young female, and he asked Paul if we took in any females. Paul said we only took in males this time.”

  Martha said. “I spoke with Mrs. Bidell this afternoon, and she said they didn’t pick anyone up last night because of their remodeling.”

  Elsie asked, “An empty house was raided?”

  Zachary answered with, “No, Greg said they took in one male crosser. Both stories cannot be true. The only reason Mrs. Bidell would cover up taking in a crosser would be for the same reason we would … cover up; we don’t want to be raided. But for Greg to say they did take one in could just be his stupidity for divulging too much information. However, he also said they were raided this morning. That’s the part that bothers me.”

  “Why would Greg lie about that?” Elsie asked.

  Martha stated confidently, “The Bidell’s were not raided this morning. We would have known.”

  “I agree. It’s most definitely a lie.” Zachary said. “That leads me to believe that Greg was trying to get Paul to volunteer up information.”

  “We’d better evacuate,” Elsie stammered out.

  “No,” Zachary said firmly. “Let’s assume for a moment that the Bidells are spies working for Rawlings. They would be watching for persons of interest or particular people. Ms. Montgomery would definitely fall into that category. These other crossers are inconsequential to them. The Bidells wouldn’t blow their cover for just anybody. Paul told Greg that his crosser was male. If Greg was digging for info, he didn’t get it. It may be the reason we haven’t been questioned yet. We can’t evacuate. It would raise red flags.”

  Elsie put her face in her hands as if her head hurt. “So we stay put and pretend nothing is wrong or suspicious?”

  “Right. We’ll go ahead and try to find placements for all seven of our crossers, but no one leaves till the heat subsides.”

  “And what if we’re raided?” Martha asked.

  “Then we follow protocol. I believe we should all assume the Bidell family is not to be trusted.” Zachary said to Martha, “Go update Sam. Oh and one more thing, we must all refer to Sierra as Sara. Make sure Sam and Paul both understand this perfectly. One slip-up could cost her her life.” And all of ours, too.

  Chapter 6

  Paul lay still as stone on the bed. The awkwardness of the situation was far worse than he’d imagined it would be. After being down in the crawlspace with Sierra and feeling her body pressed close against his, he couldn’t get his mind off her.

  Sierra, on the other hand, slept like a rock. Her exhausting day had taken its toll on her, and she had crashed after her bath.

  Paul didn’t want to fall asleep for fear he would wake up in an awkward position or worse. He looked over at her sleeping form. The small amount of light spilling into the room danced across her face, highlighting her bone structure. Paul hadn’t ever seen a girl as beautiful as she was. It was easy to see why Victor Rawlings wanted to marry her.

  Sierra readjusted in her sleep and turned her head toward Paul. Their faces were mere inches apart. All he had to do was reach out with his hand, and he could feel her silky soft skin. It angered him once again to think about Reginald damaging her perfect body.

  The more Paul thought about her injuries, the more he realized that not once during the whole day had she complained about her back or legs. Her ankle had her wincing when she tried to walk on it, which she wasn’t supposed to do, but other than that, if Paul hadn’t actually seen the injuries, he wouldn’t have believed she had them. How does someone block out pain like that? Paul was nothing short of amazed at the girl lying next to him.

  Paul eventually fell asleep and awoke to the smell of bacon. Nothing quite like the smell of bacon. It wakes the senses, clears the mind, and makes the stomach growl. Paul heard the growl. He opened his eyes to see Sierra staring back at him.

  “Good morning, Paul,” she smiled seductively.

  Paul reasoned with himself. She probably didn’t mean to send a seductive signal. He had only read it as such. “Did you sleep well?” he asked.

  “Yes. I’ve been awake for a little while.”

  “You have? Why didn’t you wake me up?”

  “Sorry. I didn’t think you would want me to.”

  Paul sat up and stretched his back. He looked back over his shoulder at Sierra to see her eyes on him.

  “Paul, did I do … anything, or say … anything last night that made you uncomfortable?”

  “No. Did I?”

  “No.”

  “Well, good. We survived our first real night together.”

  “Right, that’s good.” She smiled. Her hair was spread on her pillow in wavy piles.

  Paul stood up and was walking to the bedroom door when he heard the doorbell ring. Sierra shot straight up and scooted off the bed. He had the trap door opened and had climbed down the hole before she made it to him. He helped her down and closed the door.

  “Let’s sit over on the blanket.” He whispered and guided her over to it. He opened the box containing supplies and pulled out another blanket to wrap around her shoulders. They sat in silence, listening to the mumbling voices above, and watched as dust drifted to the ground under the footsteps.

  “What a way to start the day,” she whispered.

  He turned and looked at her with her beautiful curly bed-head hair flying this way and that.

  She added, “Maybe we should stay down here all day.”

  “I like that idea a lot.” They smiled at one another.

  Little did they know, they would be scurrying down the hole several times that day. Zachary started digging on the tunnel to give them an escape route but had to stop every time the doorbell rang. Paul took turns with his father, letting him care for Sierra while Paul dug. After eight different trapdoor false alarms, Sierra demanded she remain down in the crawlspace with them.

  By the end of the day, Zachary and Paul had dug down under the foundation of the house and supported it with beams. The digging was more exhausting than Paul thought it would be. There were lots of large rocks in the ground, and whenever Paul tried to scoop up dirt, he’d hit another rock.

  “I’d do better with a pick-axe and a teaspoon, Dad.”

  “Hey, you’re not telling me anything I didn’t already know. I dug out the other tunnel.”

  “You have my sympathies.”

  “Yes, well, I was much younger and in shape then. I say we hang it up for the day. We’ll get back on it tomorrow.”

  Zachary, Elsie and Martha convened again in the kitchen after dinner.

  “Ah, I’m not as young as I use to be,” Zachary said, rubbing his shoulder.

  “You should let Sam and Paul do all the work,” Elsie sympathized.

  “I’m the engineer. I need to be right there to avoid a cave in. Tell me about all the visitors we had today,” Zachary directed to his wife.

  “It was simply unbelievable. Every
time the doorbell rang I had visions of Sara falling down the hole and hurting herself further. I suspect many of the people who came today were working for Reginald. None of them tried to enter the house. They only asked questions. One of them was supposedly selling vacuum cleaners, and he wanted to come inside, but I turned him down. He asked many questions that I took to be probes. How many people are in the home? How old is the home? He even wanted to see our current vacuum. I still think he was trying to fool me. No doubt about it, they’re trying to find her. The funny thing is no one is looking for the six men we have downstairs. If it weren’t for all the fuss they’re making about Sara, we could have shipped off the others.”

  “Mrs. Bidell talked to me over the fence as I put the garbage out,” Martha said. “We only spoke about the weather and other commonplace topics. I didn’t feel like she was fishing for information.”

  Elsie added hesitantly, “I’ve noticed that she’s taken quite an interest in Paul.”

  “Mrs. Bidell?” Zachary asked.

  “No, Sara.”

  “Well, that’s to be expected. She’ll soon be on her way, and things will be back to normal.” Zachary didn’t want to fuel the suspicions of a blooming romance, but he’d seen the way Paul and Sierra looked at one another while under the house.

  “I hope so, for Paul’s sake. I don’t want his heart to be broken through all of this.”

  “I think you should be more concerned about the future of his neck. If Reginald gets a hold of him — ”

  “I know, Zach. I know,” Elsie said.

  “Well, tomorrow will be productive. I’m hoping to reach the tunnel,” Zachary said, trying to lighten the mood. “The digging is going faster than I anticipated.”

  *****

  Paul and Sierra lay in bed that night, silently staring up at the ceiling.