A/N: A shout out to my anonymous reviewer and James Birdsong. Glad you liked it! Elphaba is on the sniper but that isn't the only problem. ;) Thanks!
Chapter 3
Elphaba and the Flying Monkeys used the sun for cover and flew high above the buildings below. The Flying Monkeys spread out, looking for hints of the shooter and to see if anything else could be coming their way. Another shot was sent toward the front gate of the Palace and Elphaba knew where their shooter was. Chistery, who had stayed close to her, alerted the others via his hands to avoid the shooter being wise to them.
Landing on the roof of the hotel, Elphaba found herself directly behind the shooter. Her landing was soft and the man had no idea she was there. Chistery's landing was not however, as he blocked out the sun. He came down from the sky and the man had little time to roll over before the full weight of the Flying Monkey landed on him, sucking the air from his lungs. Two more Monkeys landed nearby and Elphaba said,
"Get him up!" Chistery was assisted by his brethren and the man was on his feet. He looked like he was about to lose control of his bodily functions and inwardly the green woman couldn't help but smirk.
"Why are you shooting at the Palace? Who do you work for?" She demanded. Surprisingly, he refused to answer despite the obvious fear on his face.
"I'm only going to ask this one more time and then I'll let the Monkeys have a go. Why are you shooting at the Palace? Who do you work for?" Elphaba wanted to know. Again the man refused to answer. She jerked her head to the left and Chistery grabbed the man's ankles before flipping him upside down; the man's head almost hit the roof as the Flying Monkey lifted himself up off the building.
"I believe the lady asked you a question," Chistery said. The fact that the Monkey spoke threw the man for a loop and he opened his mouth.
"I was ordered to shoot at the Palace," he said.
"By whom? Are you ex-Gale Force too?" Elphaba asked.
"I can't say. They'll kill my family," he told them. The green woman wasn't sure if he was saying that to try and get them to bring their guard down or if he was telling the truth. The decision was made for them however as shot rang out in a loud chorus.
"The Vinkuns have opened fire. Get him back inside the walls," Elphaba told Chistery. He nodded and then called his fellow Monkeys to return to base. The green woman hopped onto her broom and rode as fast as she could to the back of the Palace, where Fiyero had sent troops.
From above, she could see a small force of about twenty men opening fire from positions near the back gate. Since the Vinkuns had the high ground on the wall, these men were sitting ducks and they had to know it. Yet the rebels continued to fire. Elphaba was confused and she quickly landed near Lieutenant Dilek.
"There are only about twenty men down there. They have to be committing suicide like the others – it doesn't make sense," she said to him.
"Suggestions?" The Lieutenant asked.
"Do you think we could get them to surrender?" Elphaba wondered. They both knew the other group blatantly disregarded the opportunity to do so but perhaps this group would be different. Dilek called for his troops to lower their weapons and they did so.
"Surrender! We have you outnumbered and we have the high ground! No one else needs to die!" The Vinkun Lieutenant stayed behind the safety of the Palace wall to make his announcement. The shooting stopped for a moment or two and Elphaba took the chance to lift above the Palace walls.
"We must end the bloodshed. Please drop your weapons," she hoped that her kinder and gentler approach would work. The group seemed to actually consider doing so when a large explosion sounded in the distance. Elphaba quickly flopped back down behind the walls for protection.
"What the hell was that?" She asked.
"I have no idea but I have a feeling we're going to need backup," Dilek said.
To Be Continued…