Royal Ransom (19 page)

“Come forward,” the man ordered. “And no tricks!”

“Tricks?” Andrew said. “I am too tired and hungry and worn down even to think of tricks. I just wish to surrender.” He walked toward us, his hands high above his head.

Then I caught a glimpse of movement in the darkness directly behind the man. It was Victoria! She wasn't hurt after all. Slowly she crept from the shadows. In her hand was a tree limb. She moved closer and closer. I held my breath. She raised the branch over her head and then brought it crashing down! It smashed against his head with a sickening thud, splitting in two, and he collapsed in a heap, almost on top of me!

“Grab his weapon!” Victoria yelled.

I remained frozen to the spot.

“Jamie, get his gun!”

His gun! Of course! I grabbed it from the dirt beside him and jumped to my feet, springing backwards and away from him. The pain in my side, where he'd kicked me, nearly made me double over. But I stood up straight and trained the rifle on him.

“I can't believe you did that,” I said to Victoria.

“Neither can I, but it's nothing less than what you would have done for me or for my brother,” she said. She was still holding the broken chunk of the limb.

“Is he dead?” Andrew asked.

Just then the man groaned.

“You knocked him out. We'd better tie him up before he comes to,” I said.

“Tie him up with what?” Andrew questioned.

“Rope. The ropes that are holding Ray and Albert.” I bent down and picked up the flashlight, handing it to Victoria. “Take this. You'll find my knife on the floor in the tent.”

“And you'll keep an eye on him?”

“I'll keep more than an eye on him. I'll keep the gun on him.”

“Excellent!” She started away and then hesitated. “You do know the workings of that weapon, do you not?”

“I know how to use a gun.”

“But that particular type of gun?”

It certainly was different from a regular hunting rifle. It was some sort of assault weapon that I'd only seen in war movies.

“You hurry up and untie them. I'll bet you Albert will know. I'll try and figure it out while you're gone.” I paused. “And just to make sure, hand me that piece of wood you're holding.”

Victoria looked at the broken-off limb in her hand as though she'd forgotten it was there. She handed it to me and hurried off to the tent. Andrew followed her while I kept one eye on the man and looked at the gun with the other.

It was pretty fancy, but it was still just a rifle. That meant it had a trigger, a magazine for the ammunition, a sight and a safety. Was the safety on? I searched the side of the rifle and found a little toggle switch. Was it on or off? I pressed the button. He must have had it on when he had it aimed at my gut. He wouldn't have risked it going off by accident and killing me—would he? I turned it and examined the ammunition clip. It was big. It had to hold at least thirty or forty bullets. That meant this was some sort of automatic weapon, like a mini machine gun.

Gently I moved my finger to the trigger and the gun exploded, sending a wave of bullets streaming into the
ground! The sound was deafening, and I jumped back, partly from fright but partly because of the kick of the gun. I released the trigger and it continued to spray shots for another second. That was amazing … how many shots had fired in that two-second burst?

“Jamie!” Victoria screamed. “Are you—?”

“I'm okay!” I hollered back. “Everything is under control! Keep working!”

I looked down at the man and was shocked to see him looking up at me. In the dim light thrown by the dying fire I couldn't see very well, but I could tell that he was semi-conscious. The sound of the gunfire must have roused him. Well, at least now I knew how to fire the gun if I needed to. A burst from that gun wouldn't have just stopped him; it would have cut him in two. I took another step back.

“Hurry up!” I screamed.

“We're coming!” Victoria called.

Ray, an arm around Andrew, and then Albert, supported by Victoria, stumbled out of the tent. There was no telling how long it had been since they'd been allowed to walk, and they were struggling badly. Almost on cue Ray dropped to the ground, pulling Andrew down on top of him.

“Are you all right?”

“They're both a bit unsteady on their feet,” Victoria said. “They've been given no food and barely any water since they were captured. Andrew, bring them some water!”

Andrew got to his feet and grabbed a pot that was sitting by the fire. He ran down to the water's edge, plunged the pot in, then charged back, the water splashing over the side of the pot as he ran. He brought it over to
Ray, who took the pot with both hands and began to drink greedily, water pouring down his face.

“Not too much or too fast,” Albert croaked. “Slowly, or you will become sick and throw it all back up.”

Ray lowered the pot and took a smaller sip. He then handed it to Albert, who began to drink.

Ray staggered to his feet. “Jamie,” he said slowly. “You're okay … But what about those other men?”

“They're far away. We led them most of the way to McGregor's fishing lodge before we doubled back to rescue you and Albert.”

“You had this planned all along?” Albert asked in amazement.

“Jamie had a general idea of what to do,” Victoria said. “He kept us safe. We just followed his direction.”

“Except for that last part,” Andrew said. “That was Victoria's idea.”

“But I only did what Jamie would have done in the same situation,” Victoria added.

It was kind of her to say that, but I wasn't so sure I would have had either the brains to think through a plan that fast … or the guts to follow through.

“What are we going to do with him?” Ray asked.

“I have the ropes that bound you and Albert. We were planning on tying him up,” Victoria said.

“Here, let me do it,” Ray said. “I know a few things about knots. I'll tie him up real good.”

“Are you all right to do that?” I asked. “How about you hold the gun and I'll do it.”

Ray shook his head. “It's not safe for me to hold a gun on him.” He paused. “I'd just kill him.” Suddenly Ray
reached out and kicked the man in the shoulder. He groaned in pain, and Ray practically tumbled over. He regained his balance and looked like he was getting ready to boot him again.

“Ray, don't!” Albert yelled.

“I still owe him a half dozen more for the times he kicked and slapped me and you when we were tied up!”

Not to mention the time he kicked me just now, I silently added.

Albert put a hand on Ray's shoulder. “I know how you feel. Exactly how you feel. But we cannot allow ourselves to sink to the level of these animals. They only win when we allow ourselves to become like them.”

I looked at Ray. His face was twisted and angry. I'd never seen Ray look like that, and it was frightening. Was he going to listen or … ? He stepped back, away from the man.

“Good chap,” Albert said, slapping him on the back. “I will tie him up while you get some food. I believe there is something by the fire, but again, as with the water, eat slowly.”

Ray walked away on unsteady feet.

Albert took the pieces of rope from Victoria. He stooped down beside the man and grabbed his hands, trying to pull them behind his back. The man, who was now more conscious, resisted.

“Jamie,” Albert called out. “I am too weak to wrestle with this fellow. I would prefer to bring him to justice, but if he does not co-operate now, if he fights me, I want you to shoot him.” He said the words so calmly, in a matter-of-fact way, like he was just saying I should get the guy a coffee.

“The way this thing is set I can't shoot him once, but I can guarantee I can put fifteen bullets into him in a split second.”

“One would be sufficient. There is a small knob on the left-hand side, just above the trigger.”

That was the button I'd clicked. “You mean the safety?”

“The safety is on the other side of the stock, farther down. That is the toggle that changes the gun from automatic to single shot. Please click it.”

That meant two things. It had been set to take only one shot, and the safety had already been off when he'd had the gun stuck in my gut. I clicked the little button.

“I'm ready to shoot,” I said.

I don't know if I really could have shot him, but he seemed pretty sure I would. He allowed Albert to pull his hands behind his back. Albert yanked the rope tight and the man grimaced. Next Albert turned him over on his belly and bound his feet together with a second piece of rope. He double-checked the tightness of the rope and the knot. When he was done, I lowered the gun.

“Now if somebody would help me to my feet I believe that I should also have something to eat. It's been over two days since I had any food.”

Both Victoria and Andrew offered him a hand and pulled him up.

“I don't imagine that the three of you have eaten much either, have you?” Albert asked.

“Not a lot,” Andrew said.

“I see,” Albert said. “Then, Jamie, give me the weapon and I'll stand watch while you eat.”

“I've had lots of berries, and some roots and all the water I needed. You eat and I'll get something after.”

“No, no, I insist,” Albert said.

“You can insist all you want. Until you and Ray have eaten and had enough to drink I'm going to stand guard. We need to get you strong enough to travel.”

“You might as well eat, Albert,” Victoria said. “Jamie is nothing if not stubborn.”

“This coming from you!” I snapped.

“At least I am reasonable enough to admit that I can, at times, be stubborn—unlike some people, who are too stubborn even to admit it—”

“Both of you knock it off!” Ray demanded. “You sound like an old married couple!”

That shut us both up.

“All of you eat and I'll watch him,” Ray said.

“You? Is that safe?”

“Sure, give me the gun, and don't worry. I'm not going to kill him. I'm not even going to kick him again—unless he gives me a reason.”

Reluctantly I handed the gun to Ray. The attraction of eating outweighed any fear I had about him doing something he shouldn't do. Besides, this was Ray. Trustworthy, good old Ray. And if I wasn't mistaken, I thought I smelled baked beans.

Chapter Twenty

I
WOKE WITH A START
and sat bolt upright. I was in the tent and Ray was right beside me. He was asleep, a whistling sound coming out of his nose with each breath he exhaled. For a split second I had the strange thought that I'd just woken from a very bad dream. Then I saw the back of the tent, cut open and held in place by a few pins.

Ray continued to sleep at my side, but I knew it hadn't been an easy sleep. He'd moaned and groaned and turned and fussed all night. Twice he'd even woken me up when he'd called out. Both times I'd told him that he was safe, that everything was okay and he could go back to sleep.

I wanted to get up, but Ray was blocking the door. I didn't want to risk waking him now that he was finally sleeping peacefully. I figured I'd just use the “back door.” I undid three of the pins and the flap opened up enough for me to slip out.

I stood up and was surprised to see Victoria sitting by the dying embers of the campfire. She was holding the rifle and watching our prisoner, who was still lying on his belly on the ground.

“Good morning!” I called out. “I didn't expect to see you on guard duty.”

“Albert looked exhausted, so I though it best to relieve him.”

“How about if I relieve you?”

“That would be good.” She awkwardly handed me the gun. I was grateful that the safety was on.

I looked down at the man—and he was glaring back at me. I stepped back.

“We have to leave soon,” I said.

“Do you think Albert and Ray will be able to travel?” she asked.

“They can both sit in the bottom of a canoe, but I don't know how much paddling either one of them will be able to do,” I admitted.

“I wonder as well. They're still very weak.”

“Why wouldn't he feed them, or at least give them water?” I asked.

“Because these are the tactics used by terrorists around the world.”

I turned around at the sound of Albert's voice. He was awake, and looking slightly better than he had the night before.

“Terrorists?” I asked.

“It's a technique to keep the captives alive to use as bargaining chips, while leaving them disoriented and too weak to escape,” he explained.

“That's awful,” Victoria said. “That's so cruel, so immoral.”

“Such people are immoral.”

“Who do you think he works for?” Victoria asked.

“I do not know. I tried to question him while I was standing guard. He says nothing.”

The man smirked.

“All I know is that he and his associates are all English.”

“English!” Victoria exclaimed. “He is one of us?”

“Not one of us, but definitely English. I heard them speaking, and their accents could not be mistaken.”

“But why would our own countrymen want to do this?” Victoria asked.

“I cannot answer that,” Albert said. “But answers will be found once we have him in custody. He can refuse to talk, but using fingerprints, retinal scans, intelligence reports and photographs we will soon know both his identity and who he is aligned with.”

The man laughed. It was an evil sound.

“You don't think we can identify you?” Albert asked.

“I don't think you will be bringing me anywhere,” he said.

He'd spoken!

“So you found your tongue,” Albert said.

“I can speak if I choose.”

“And do you choose to tell us why we will not be bringing you to justice?”