Читать книгу The Knights Victorious - William Speir - Страница 9

Saturday, November 9, Afternoon

Paramaribo Commandery

“Check upstairs,” the Corporal in charge of the rebel soldiers said to three members of his squad.

The Corporal looked around the first floor of the Commandery. The building was inside his patrol area. He had been assigned to take command of this area once the capital was secured and the Legion started its withdrawal to the south of the city. He normally wouldn’t have entered the building at all, but the presence of so many vehicles inside a walled compound made him curious. He had knocked on the door, and he made the decision to search inside when no one answered.

When he led his squad through the front door, he wondered why there were so many cars parked outside of an empty building. He made his way cautiously through the foyer and saw the stairs leading to the second floor. After he ordered three of his soldiers to check the second floor, he motioned for the rest of his soldiers to spread out and finish searching the first floor.

The Corporal felt uneasy as he searched the darkened building. There were no signs of anyone inside the building, but the presence of so many cars outside wasn’t easy for him to explain. He had just finished searching a large open room in the rear of the building when the three soldiers he sent upstairs returned.

“There’s no one up there,” one of the soldiers reported.

“Are you sure? No one’s hiding anywhere up there?” the Corporate asked.

“Not that we saw,” the soldier responded. “We checked every room and every door. It’s deserted.”

“Maybe they heard the gunfire, ran out to see what was happening, and got picked up by another patrol,” another soldier offered.

“And maybe there’s a hiding place around here we haven’t found yet,” the Corporate stated angrily. “Spread out and search everything again. If someone’s hiding in this building, I want to know where they are.”

The soldiers nodded and went back upstairs. The Corporal walked back to the foyer and looked around again. He noticed a niche that he had seen when he first walked in, but when he went over to it, he realized it was actually an opening to another small room. Cautiously, he stepped through the opening.

The antechamber just off the foyer was about ten feet square. As the Corporal entered, he saw that it served as a coat closet. There were long rods along the left and right walls with coat hangers on them, and on the back wall was an oversized, full-length mirror. The Corporal walked forward, looked around, and turned to walk back to the foyer.

Just behind the mirror, the Knight from the Paramaribo Commandery silently exhaled. He had been holding his breath from the time that the Corporal entered the coat closet. The Knight feared that his breathing might be heard and the passage behind the mirror discovered. It was doubtful that the Corporal would find the exact spot on the mirror’s frame that released the lock and allowed the mirror to swing open, revealing the corridor and stairs beyond, but the Knight didn’t want to take any chances.

The Knight remained at his post, holding onto the metal bar on the back of the mirror used to keep the secret door from opening. The ornate frame had several “peep holes” worked into the wooden design, allowing someone standing behind the mirror to see what was going on in the coat closet and the foyer beyond. He watched the soldiers congregating in the foyer to report on the results of their search.

Several minutes after the Corporal ordered the building searched again, the squad met in the foyer to report.

“The building’s empty, and there are no hiding places,” the soldiers confirmed.

“Very well,” the Corporal responded. “We’ve wasted enough time here. Move out!”

As the squad left the Commandery’s compound and turned right to continue their patrol, the Corporal looked back at the cars parked inside the courtyard. Where did they go?

The Knight behind the mirror saw the soldiers leaving and did a quick count in his head. He thought that he saw the same number leave the Commandery as he saw enter, but he had to make sure. He waited for a couple of minutes before carefully opening the mirror. He quietly stepped out, closed the mirror behind him, and made his way across the coat closet to the foyer. He stuck his head out but saw no one. He entered the foyer and looked out the window next to the door. No soldiers were visible in the compound. He searched the first and second floors. Finding no one, he went back to the coat closet, pressed the lock release on the frame, and opened the mirror.

After he closed the mirror behind him, he walked down the corridor to the stairs leading to the rooms underneath the Commandery. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he walked over to one of the doors, knocked twice, twice again, entered a code on the keypad, and opened the door.

Thomas Campbell Anderson looked over his wife’s shoulder at the images on the video monitor. “Are they leaving?” he asked, seeing the soldiers exiting the compound.

“It looks like it,” Emily McCafferty Anderson replied. The video monitor showed images from the cameras planted on a tall building down the street. Tom and Emily watched the squad of soldiers exit the Commandery’s compound and turn right to continue making their way down the street.

Paramaribo, the capital of Suriname, had just fallen into the hands of rebel forces, but the members of the Order of the Saltire were safe.

Tom looked around and nodded to the members of the Order of the Saltire who were hiding in the underground room. In addition to the members of the Paramaribo Commandery and the Grand Prior of Venezuela, there were four other leaders of the Order present. These other leaders of the Order were with the Grand Master on a trip to South America to meet with four new Commanderies and a new Priory. Emily, Ralph Gardner, and Sam Billingsly were also with the Grand Master, along with Tom’s sister, Sophie Douglas, who was the only person present not a member of the Order.

They heard someone knocking on the outer door: two knocks followed by two more knocks – the signal that everything was all clear. The door opened, and the Knight who had been standing guard at the top of the stairs entered the room.

“They left,” he stated as he walked in. “They didn’t find anything.”

“Good,” the Prior of the Commandery stated. Turning to Tom, he asked, “What do we do now?”

“I still think that we should try to get to the U.S. Embassy. It’s possible that diplomatic communications are still working and we can get a message out about what’s going on around here with Il Nona,” Tom replied, referring to the mercenaries from Europe who were the core of the rebel forces. “If we can’t make it to the Embassy, then we’ll to decide what to try next. Do we come back here and hide until everything’s over? Do we try to get out of the country somehow? Or do we try to help the situation by working to restore communications or attempting to rescue some of the government officials taken to the Presidential Palace?”

Ruth Fernández spoke up. “If we can’t get to the Embassy, then I suggest we attempt to get out of the city and head for Guyana. We can get the members of the Order there to help us to contact your government about what Il Nona is doing.”

“That could be risky,” Sam commented, “especially if the rebels control the rest of the country.”

“True, but we should at least try,” Ruth replied. “If the way to the U.S. Embassy is blocked, it’s because the rebels don’t want the embassies knowing what’s going on yet. If they succeed in destroying the army and the current government, it’ll be too late for help to come. Someone has to get word to the right people while there’s still time to help put down the rebels and prevent a slaughter.”

“But Sophie’s a civilian,” Liam protested, referring to his wife who was also Tom’s sister. “She didn’t sign up for this. If we can’t get to the U.S. Embassy, I think that we should find a place for her to hide here in the city.”

“You’re not leaving me here alone,” Sophie objected, clutching his arm.

Liam hugged his wife. “Don’t worry, honey. I won’t leave you. I’ll stay with you no matter what happens.”

“If you can’t get to the Embassy,” the Prior said, “then anyone who wants to can stay here at the Commandery. I’ll keep a couple of us here to look after you.”

“Are you sure?” Tom asked. He had to admit that he felt more comfortable with that suggestion.

The Prior nodded. “I think that it’s the best solution. We’ll escort you to the Embassy, and if you can’t make it, we’ll keep you safe and hidden until the way to the Embassy is clear.”

“Very well,” Tom said. “Thank you. Is there anything else to cover before we leave for the Embassy?”

“I don’t think so,” the Prior said. “We should leave as soon as possible.”

“Everyone get your passports,” Tom said to the members leaving for the Embassies, “but leave your luggage and valuables behind.” Giving Sophie a hug, he added, “We’re going to be fine, sis. The Marines at the Embassy will keep anything from happening to you.”

“I hope so,” Sophie whispered in Tom’s ear.

“Your Excellency,” the Prior said to Tom, “I just thought of something. I don’t think that it’s a good idea to try to get a group this large to the Embassy at the same time. I think that we should split up into two groups. Smaller groups will attract less attention, and it might be better if we kept you and the Lieutenant Grand Master separated.”

Tom didn’t want to split up the group, but there was wisdom in the Prior’s suggestion. “You’re right. We should split up the group.”

Looking at the officers, Tom continued, “Let’s split into the same two groups we’ve been using for the past week. Sam, you’ll take the Lieutenant Grand Master, the Grand Marshall, and the Grand Chancellor with you. Ralph, you and I will take the Grand Secretary, Sophie and Emily with us.

Emily walked over to the case for her surveillance system, opened it, took something out, and walked over to Sam. She handed it to him and came back over to stand next to Tom. “It’s a camera,” she explained. “We’ll both place one near the Embassy so we can see if the way’s clear in case we have to try this again later.”

“Good thinking,” Tom commented.

The Prior turned to the members of his Commandery. He pointed to two members and said, “You two stay here and keep the Commandery secure.”

Pointing to another member, he said, “You escort Ruth to her Embassy and come back here. The rest of us will split into two teams to escort the rest of our visitors to the U.S. Embassy. I’ll take one team and lead the Grand Master’s party.” Turning to the Knight who had been standing guard behind the mirror as the Commandery was being searched, he said, “You take the other team and lead the Lieutenant Grand Master’s party, okay?”

The Knight nodded and the members of the Commandery took their positions with the two parties.

Tom shook hands with Ruth and the members of the other party. “Good luck to all of you,” he said.

“Good luck to you, too, your Excellency,” Ruth and the Lieutenant Grand Master replied.

“Let’s go,” the Prior said.

Tom and the others followed the Prior out of the room and up the stairs to the first floor of the Commandery. The Prior opened the mirror door at the top of the stairs and looked around the foyer carefully before motioning for Tom and the others to follow. No one said a word as the group exited the coat closet and joined the Prior in the foyer.

Once everyone was together, the Prior walked over to the Knight who was leading the Lieutenant Grand Master’s party and whispered, “Take a route that’ll bring your party to the Embassy from the east. I’ll take a way that’ll bring my party from the west. If one way’s blocked, maybe the other’s still open.”

The Knight nodded and motioned for his party to follow him. Tom waved as Sam and the others left the Commandery and quickly walked across the courtyard. When they reached the street, the Knight carefully looked around to make sure that the patrols had left. Satisfied, he motioned for everyone to follow him, and soon they disappeared from view.

The Prior motioned for Tom and the others to follow him, and soon Tom was on the street heading in the opposite direction from Sam and the other party. A few minutes later, the Knight escorting Ruth to her Embassy split off, and Tom saw the two of them turn a corner and disappear down a side street.

Tom and Emily walked behind the Prior. Liam and Sophie were in the middle behind Tom and Emily, and Ralph was directly behind Sophie, knowing that Tom wanted him to help keep Sophie feeling safe. Three members of the Commandery had taken positions behind and to the side of the party, and were watching intently for patrols or any other dangers as they made their way to the Embassy.

Tom reached for Emily’s hand and felt her take his. He gave her hand a squeeze and felt her give one in response as they rounded the next corner. I hope we can get to the Embassy with no problems.