The whole book (60 chapters) will be ready for you to read by Jan 1st. here are chapters 28 and 29 in the mean time.
XXVIII
“So this is Bloh” Alee said. It had been three days of hard walking to get to the city. Bloh was thirty miles east along the coast from Tod. “Does it look like Tod?”
“Yes, very much like Tod.” Christoph wondered why all the cities he had ever been in had very similar layouts and people.
“What’s that flag?” Alee pointed to a very large flag that towered over the city. It was red as blood with the two black crossed swords of the Degan’s emblem.
“That must be where the Degan has their headquarters.”
“And that’s where we’ll be spying?”
“Right.”
“So when do we start?” Alee was losing some of the signs of fatigue as she grew excited about their mission.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m beat. We’ll camp outside the city and go in after dark to scout out the place.”
Alee agreed and they found a place to make camp. Christoph lay down up against a tree and Alee lay on the other side.
They remained silent until dusk, when Christoph announced that it was time to start for the city.
The crowds were starting to thin. People were going home, and wagons were being loaded with the leftover produce from the market. The two ragged children caught no one’s attention as they made their way toward the Degan headquarters.
The building was situated in the center of town. It was not even close to the size of the one in Dunk. The building used to be a police station before the Degan took it over a couple of days ago.
There were about ten guards surrounding the entrance, smoking and talking. Christoph led Alee around the block looking at the building from all directions. The front opened into a wide street. Alleys separated the headquarters from three residential buildings-one on each side and one in the rear.
“The alleys are all guarded, and it looks like they plan to demolish the buildings surrounding it to make room for expansion.” Christoph spoke his thoughts aloud for Alee’s benefit.
“How are we goanna get in there?” Alee said.
Christoph looked at her. He had spied on many a person, and saw that this building was perfectly situated for their purpose.
“Um, you see,” Christoph tried his hardest to try not and sound like he was teaching her. “The residential buildings are abandoned, we just sneak into one, drop from one of those top story windows onto the roof, and get inside through a roof vent or something.”
“I don’t see any vents on the roof.”
“Well we’ll get in somehow, don’t worry.”
“When are we going try?”
“As soon as we get another gun, which we might be able to get tonight.”
“Well let’s get started.”
“First we get a pistol from a patrol.” Christoph awkwardly undid the straps that held his rifle under his pant leg. Slipping three bullets into the chamber he continued, “Lets find a place to wait, there should be a change of guards at eight.”
“What time is it now?”
“How am I supposed to know? It should be soon.”
The trip to Bloh had made both of them a little snippety. Christoph had to make an effort to keep his temper at the slightest thing.
The two found an almost abandoned main street and sat on the curb, Christoph’s gun hidden between them.
They watched and waited. Soon a man in the uniform of the Degan police turned into their street and walked leisurely in their direction. Christoph wished that he had brought his sword instead of his gun. A gun shot would bring the entire police force down on them. Christoph just hoped that the officer, who was almost in front of them, wouldn’t think of that.
Christoph slowly brought the gun into full view and laying it on his lap pointed it at the man.
“Yo, Dee.” Christoph said in a low tone. The officer turned. At first he looked irritated, but when he saw the gun fear spread across his face.
“Name?” Christoph asked.
“Reynolds.” The man answered.
“Drop your pistol, bullets and dagger.” Hesitantly he did so. “If you tell this to anyone I will kill you.” Christoph said. “I know what you look like and your name, and I have many friends.”
“Does that mean I get to go?” The man asked.
Christoph nodded. The man quickly turned and continued walking in his original direction. Christoph motioned to Alee and she picked up the knife and pistol. Christoph still had his gun pointed at the Officer.
“Lets go back to camp. Hide those things somewhere.” Christoph said to Alee when the officer disappeared around the corner.
“Is this all the things we’ll need to get before tomorrow?” Alee asked as they walked out of the city.
“Yes. We needed those because the saber and rifle are both too big to bring when we break in.”
“What about me? Don’t I get a weapon?” Alee asked.
“I have a pistol in my pack, but before now I didn’t have any bullets for it. You can take that and one of the daggers.”
XXIX
It was dusk the next day. Alee and Christoph crept up to the abandoned buildings on the right side of the Degan headquarters.
“Close the door behind you after you go through.” Christoph whispered to Alee who was close behind him. Each had pistols clasped tightly in their right hands.
Alee nodded. Christoph noticed that she was biting her lip.
Moving stealthily through the shadows Christoph came to the main door leading into the abandoned building. It was unlocked. Christoph turned the handle and crept into the pitch black lobby. Alee followed, and as directed, closed the door behind them.
“Got a match?” Christoph asked, taking a candle from his pocket.
“Here,” she said giving him an entire book.
Christoph lit the candle and then proceeded to have a look around. The floor was cluttered with broken tables and chairs, a bar was at the left side of the room and a stair case was in the corner.
“This must have been a hotel, not an apartment building.” Christoph thought aloud. “Let’s go upstairs.”
Christoph led the way up the stairs with the candle, pushing cobwebs aside as he went. On the third floor they found themselves in a wide hall with numbered doors on either side. At the end of the hall was a window that looked right at the massive flag poll that sat atop the Degan headquarters.
“That’s what we’ll use” Christoph announced, pointing to the window “it should lead right out over the station’s roof.”
The window was also unlocked but took quite a bit of pushing to get it open. It looked like a long way to the roof below. The Degan flag fluttered lazily in the night time breeze. They could hear the guards talking by the entrance. It was a normal night. The whole world seemed rather relaxed.
Christoph unwound the rope from his waist and tied one end to the nearest door knob. The other end he looped and handed to Alee.
“Put it around your waist, I’ll lower you down.”
Alee obeyed silently, her fear evident even though she tried her hardest not to show it.
Slowly she swung first one leg and then the other out the window, bracing herself with her feet against the outside of the building.
“Ready?” Christoph asked
“Ready.” Alee said, for the last time swallowing her panic.
Christoph quickly but carefully lowered her down the fifteen feet. The rope went limp and Christoph raised it back up.
He stepped out in to the open air and walked his way down the side of the structure. Alee was waiting for him. She greeted him with her eyes and he nodded.
Now to find that vent.
After searching the roof three times the only entrance Christoph could find was a chimney.
“Uh, I guess we’ll have to go down that.” Christoph said looking distastefully at the narrow, sooty opening.
“At least there isn’t a fire going.” Alee said.
“That’s one way to look at it. Well if Father Christmas can do it, then so can we.”
Christoph climbed on top of the chimney and awkwardly stuck his two legs into the opening. Holding the edge of the bricks with his hands he lowed himself down. Every breath he made filled his nose and mouth with thick soot. He let go with his hands and used his feet and back to lower himself.
Once at the bottom he found himself in the kitchen. No one was in sight.
Alee dropped in sending soot up into the air. Her face was covered in the black dust, matching Christoph’s. She brushed her hands on her skirt in an attempt to get it clean again.
Christoph saw a broom in the corner and began to sweep the soot back in to the fire place.
“We can’t let them know someone came in.” He explained.
Alee, taking her pistol from her pocket, went to the closed door that led out of the kitchen.
Christoph carefully swept the room clean and then joined Alee at the door. Cautiously he opened it. Outside was an empty dining room.
Voices could be heard coming from the lobby that was through a large doorway to the right. Straight ahead, across the dining room, was a narrow doorway that led to a hall.
Christoph squatted down and half crawled across the room, Alee imitating his every move. The doors in the hall were all closed, and to Christoph’s relief had plates with names of officers on them. He soon found the door he was looking for. The office of General Herdent Soyer.
Pressing his ear to the door Christoph listened. No noise could be heard.
Dang it. The door was locked. Alee looked at him questioningly. Christoph searched his brain. Drawing his knife he was about to destroy the lock when Alee stopped him.
“Christoph, aren’t we trying not to leave any signs that we were here?”
“Yeah, but-”
“Let me see your knife.” Christoph did and she wedged it behind the door knob. A few seconds of wiggling and the lock clicked.
They entered the office.
“You guard the door, I’ll see if I can find anything.” Christoph directed, already going through the papers that were strewn on the General’s desk. Alee cocked her pistol and holding it with two hands trained it on the closed door.
“Got it,” Christoph exclaimed, in a voice that was louder than prudent.
“What?” Alee asked in a harsh whisper.
“A map of the Degan troop placement in all of Namhaft!” Christoph answered, only slightly lowering his voice.
“Really?”
“Yes, see? Every last company in on this map of Namhaft.”
“If we take it won’t he know we were here?”
“He might think that he misplaced it. We should be back in the woods by the time he notices.” Christoph stuffed the map into his pocket. “Lets get out of here.”
The screws were replaced, and the two got back to the kitchen without incident.
Both looked at the chimney and then at each other. How the heck were they goanna get up a chimney? | 