Volume Nine
Chapter Fifteen
Together Again
In which Dodger reunites more than his friends
Al
was correct about the passage emptying near another series of cells. Dodger
crept out of the tunnel making sure to keep close to the now surefooted Al. Earlier
the old man could barely cross a room, now the old man all but oozed from
shadow to shadow. Dodger thought perhaps the excitement of the breakout had the
fellow’s blood pumping in all of the right directions. Whatever the cause for
the change, Dodger was pleased to follow in his mentor’s footsteps. Literally.
The
pair of them stuck to the pools of darkness that dotted the long hallway of
cells. They paused outside of each cage, just to make sure it didn’t hold the
party they sought. It wasn’t until they almost reached the end of the line that
they heard the telltale snore of Sir Rodger drifting down the hallway. Al
stopped Dodger in his tracks, then motioned toward the cell containing the
others. Dodger nodded his understanding. He looked carefully around the narrow
hallway, making sure there were no sentries keeping watch. Once he was certain
there were no guards to worry about, Dodger stepped out of the darkness and
into the low light of a weak torch.
He
stared into the cage, taking count of those present. Sir Rodger—sporting one
heck of a left black eye—was piled up against the cell door, snoring loudly as
he slept. Boon sat leaning against the far wall with Lelanea’s head in his lap,
both of them either asleep or close to it from the pattern of their steady
breathing. Sarah lay curled up against Lelanea’s body, her face buried in the
wolf’s soft fur. The little Prince was nowhere in sight.
“Sir
Rodger,” Dodger whispered.
The
man shifted in his rest, but didn’t answer.
“Sir
Rodger,” Dodger whispered again.
No
answer. Just more ridiculous snoring.
“Trust
you to fall asleep at a time like this,” Dodger said.
“I’m
not sleeping,” Sir Rodger said softly between fake snores. “I’m ignoring you.”
“What’s
with the black eye?”
“I
got it holding up my code. Unlike you.”
“Ah.
Do you mind getting you and your code up from the door so I can-”
“Go
away. I don’t talk to traitors.”
With
a muted grunt, Dodger ran his hand down the length of his tired face, trying
his best to hold his tongue. Now wasn’t the time for arguments. They could beat
that dead horse much later, when everyone was freed. Dodger yanked the shackle
out of his shirt and set to working on the hinges without the knight’s help.
“What
are you doing?” Sir Rodger asked in a whisper as he scrambled away from the
door.
“Setting
you free,” Dodger said. Dodger smacked the bottom hinge as hard as he could.
Somehow, Boon and the kids managed to sleep on through the banging.
Lelanea,
on the other hand, raised her head to watch the proceedings.
“Why
are you doing that?” Sir Rodger asked.
“Because
we can’t finish this dream with you all locked up in that cell.”
“I
think he means to ask,” Lelanea said, “what you are doing here, when you
supposedly turned on us.” She shifted out from under her sleeping friends and
padded across the cell toward Dodger. “It’s good to see you again. I worried
you were lost to us in that pit.”
Dodger
nodded to her before he returned to his work. “You ain’t sore at me?”
“Should
I be?”
“How
can you not be mad at him?” Sir Rodger said. “He warned the enemy of our
intent. Outlined our approach. They ambushed us before we even reached the foot
of the mountain. We never had a chance to rescue the Prince.”
“You
look like you handled yourself well enough,” Dodger said, touching his finger
under his own left eye.
“No
thanks to you,” Sir Rodger said. He turned away from Dodger and began pacing
the cell.
“Come
now,” Lelanea said. “I’m sure Dodger has a perfectly good reason for his
despicable actions.” Lelanea stared quietly at Dodger, as if waiting for just
that very thing.
Dodger
lowered his voice as he whispered to Lelanea, “You know I had nothing to do
with it. Don’t you?”
“I
know,” she whispered. “Your subconscious chose to play this part, but now you
are presented with the opportunity to play it the way you wish. Not the way
your guilty conscience demands of you.”
Dodger
grinned at her through the bars.
“Well?”
Sir Rodger asked. “Do you have an explanation or not?”
“Sure,”
Dodger said between knocks at the pins.
“And
what is that reason?” Sir Rodger asked, glaring down his nose at Dodger
crouched on the floor.
Dodger
paused in his work to look up at the knight. “You wanted to walk in the front
door. You did just that. Didn’t you?”
“You
mean we were dragged through.”
“But
you got inside?”
“Yes.”
“And
if you help me get this door off you’ll have free run of the place while your
enemy assumes you’re still caged.”
Sir
Rodger considered the excuse, rubbing his chin as he weighed Dodger’s words.
“So, you mean to say that this was all a setup? A double, double cross?”
“Yeah,
that sounds about right. I thought I’d get in good with Rex, learn his secrets
and such, but he double crossed me, too.” Dodger dislodged the bottom pin with
a final whack. The cell door slipped, but Dodger managed to catch it before it
struck the stone floor.
Sir
Rodger grabbed the bars, taking the weight from Dodger. “I could’ve told you he
would do that.”
“I’m
sure you could’ve.” Dodger nodded to the still sleeping form of Boon and the
kid. “Lelanea, wake ‘em up. We need to get a move on.”
While
the wolf woke the others, Dodger and Sir Rodger worked the top hinge of the
cell free. They removed the door and where just setting it to the side when
Boon and the girl came awake.
“Dodger!”
Boon shouted, and leapt from his seat on the floor. The big guy ran across the
cell, out of the open door and into the hallway. He tackled Dodger with a
monstrous hug, pressing him against the cell across the hall and almost
squeezing the life from him. “I was so worried I’d never see you again. I
thought you were a goner for sure.”
“Naw,”
Dodger said, “you know me better than that.”
Boon
pulled away from Dodger to beam down at him with a broad grin. “I do. I sure
do.”
“Put
your hands in the air!” someone to their left shouted.
Down
the hall, a few cells away, stood a sloppily dressed man with a gun trained on Boon.
Boon backed off of Dodger and raised his hands. Dodger followed suit, lifting
his hands but mad as hell at himself for letting the guard sneak up on him like
that.
“That
goes for all of you,” the man warned as he shifted the gun to the others still
in the cell.
“Raise
your hands, Sarah,” Lelanea said softly.
The
bleary eyed child did as the wolf asked.
“You,
too,” the gunman said, waving his piece at Sir Rodger. “Get ‘em up.”
“I,
sir, am a Knight of the Royal
Court,” Sir Rodger said as he lifted his chin in
defiance. “I do not raise my hands for just anyone, and I certainly do not take
commands from common thieves. I have no intention of getting them up, as you so
crudely put it, now or ever.”
The
guard wrinkled his nose as he thought hard about Sir Rodger’s refusal to
comply. After a few seconds of this concentrated effort, he finally said, “Did
you just cuss me? ‘Cause that sounded kinda like you cussed me.”
“I
would rather die than stoop to cussing the likes of you.”
Dodger
let out a sigh. That kind of clichéd offer always drew the same clichéd retort.
On
cue, the gunman cocked the hammer on his pistol and said, “You’d rather die?
Then allow me to oblige.”
The
brave Sir Rodger never flinched at the threat. He stood stalwart, ready to die
for his lousy ideals and ridiculous pride, or at the very least get himself a
matching shiner. Dodger contemplated placing himself between the gunman and the
knight, wondering if it was worth the pain of a bullet to keep the honorable
man from getting his fool self shot for nothing, but in the end he didn’t have
to intervene. Before the gunman could fire, Al pounced from the shadows and leapt
onto the man’s back. The two struggled for a brief moment until the gunman went
limp under Al and slumped to the floor.
“I
never did like him,” Al said.
“Uncle
Al?” Sarah asked.
The
old man started at the sound of the child’s voice. “Sarah? That you?”
The
two ran for one another, falling into each other’s arms in the hallway. Al
lifted the child from her feet and swung her about the narrow passageway as
best he could.
“Al!”
Sarah cried. “Oh, Al, I missed you so much.”
“I
missed you too, girly. You have no idea how much.” Al spied the knight across
the cell. “Come on over here, Sir Rodger. It’s been too long, my friend.”
“Far
too long,” Sir Rodger said as he joined the communal hug.
Dodger,
Boon and Lelanea gathered to one side as the others reunited.
“You’ve
been here the whole time?” Sarah asked.
“Yup,”
Al said. “That wicked Rex attacked me at my summer home in the Blood Lands and
dragged me up here and I’ve been here ever since.” Al pointed to Dodger. “Then
this nice young man comes along and sets me free.”
“You
mean Arnold?”
Sir Rodger said.
“Is
that his name?” Al asked. “Because I swear I just heard that blonde galoot call
him-”
“Arnold
Carpenter,” Dodger said. “That’s my name. The blonde galoot is Washington Boon,
and the wolf is Lelanea Dittmeyer.”
“Nice
to meet you,” Lelanea said.
“Wooo
weee,” Al said. “A talkin’ dog. Ain’t I done seen it all?”
“She’s
not a dog,” Boon snapped. “She’s a woman.”
“Calm
down, son. My mistake. No harm meant, little lady.”
“None
taken,” Lelanea said.
Boon
pointed at the body on the floor. “Is he dead?”
“Naw,”
Al said. “I just cut his air off for a bit. He should come around after a
little nap.” Al giggled for a few seconds, then added, “Of course, he might
have a whale of a headache, but he always was a headache to me, so now I reckon
we are even.”
“Can
you teach me to do that?” Boon asked.
“Sure.
It’ll be a real pleasure.”
“Now
that we are all friends,” Dodger said, “can we get on with this?”
“Certainly,”
Sir Rodger said. “Baron Jackson, do you know where they are holding the Prince?”
“I
heard tale that he’s held at some rally in the yard,” Al said. He lifted a
gnarled finger to the far end of the hallway. “I think it’s that away.”
“I
see. Miss Lelanea, will you please escort the Baron and the Princess out of
this terrible place? And I ask Mr. Boon and Mr. Carpenter to accompany me to
the yard.
“No
can do,” Dodger said. “No one is going anywhere, and I think Sarah knows why.”
“What
are you talking about?” Sir Rodger said. “The best course of action is to get
the weakest out of here while the strongest of us handle the trouble.”
“It
might be the best for you,” Lelanea said. “But it isn’t what Sarah needs.”
Dodger
lowered himself to Sarah’s height to look her in the eye. “Do you want to
leave, or do you want to help us finish this once and for all? It’s up to you.”
Sarah
blinked a few times, surprised by the question. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Yes,
you do. This is your choice. Do you want to face your fear and put an end to
this madness? Or do you want to slink away and let someone else handle it for
you?” Dodger hoped he wasn’t too direct with his words. He didn’t want to let
her know she was dreaming just yet, but he didn’t want to let her walk away
from the chance to crush Rex’s control of her mind.
Sarah
looked up to Al. “What do you want me to do?”
“You
don’t worry about what we want,” Al said. “This is about you. What do you
want?”
“They
are correct, Sarah,” Sir Rodger said. “This is your moment. Do you want to see
this through? Tis a dangerous task that lays ahead, young lady. We can see it
to the end, or I can take you home if you wish. It is your choice.”
“No,”
Sarah said, her eyes welling with tears.
Dodger
nodded. He didn’t blame her for wanting to turn tail and run, though he was a
bit surprised that a student of Al’s backed down from a fight.
That
was, until she wiped at her damp eyes and added, “I don’t want to go home. Yet.”
“That’s
my girly,” Sir Rodger said. He held out his arms and she fell into a hug with
the knight. “Let’s go get your brother.”
Dodger
smirked as he realized that Sir Rodger was only partially the legend of Rodger
Dodger. The imaginary man was a mashup of everyone the young Sarah had grown to
idolize, including the famous assassin that used to be Al, and perhaps even the
memory of her own mother. Now that two of those folks were dead and gone, this
left just Dodger to take up the slack. It was a lot of responsibility, being
someone’s idol, but doubly so considering that he was actually seeing himself
on that pedestal in such disturbing detail.
He
only hoped he could live up to the task, lest end up breaking a young girl’s
heart.
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