Chapter 37
Late at night Liam and his team had arrived at Lucretia's duchy. Liam was exhausted and so was the mass of men that were working with him. Leo was concerned for his brother. Leo said, "You will have to take a few days to recover before continuing. We can teach them siege tactics while their bodies recover. This way we can recover Riley quicker." Liam nodded in agreement heading to try to get some much-needed rest.
Leo looked to drake with a concerned look on his face. Liam wasn't looking too good. He patted Drake's shoulder seeing the same concern reflecting in his eyes. Drake said, "He won't rest until she's found I'm sure he will let the others rest but I don't think he can just sit around waiting. We will have to figure out how to tackle the remaining strongholds the sooner she's found and were working on a strategy to retrieve her the better." Leo nodded in agreement before responding, "Let's do that so we have it when he wakes up and I will take him on my motorcycle to some of them. A lot of the strongholds are off the main road around here the motorcycle is the best way to reach them."
Leo and Drake spent a few hours planning before heading to bed for the night themselves with a plan set in place for everyone the next day. Leo woke up early the next morning running into Liam in the kitchen looking no better then he had yesterday. "I'll grab something to eat and then you and I can go," Leo said with a concerned look in his eyes. As soon as they were done Leo took Liam out to his motorcycle. He tossed his brother a helmet before straddling the bike. Liam got on behind his brother holding onto the back of the bike.
Liam watched the trees fly by as the made there way through the woods. Once they started to thin his brother slowed and took out a map of the area passing it to him. Liam waited for his brother to stop to open the map. They both looked it over before continuing in the direction of the first stronghold. They slowed further as the trees grew thinner. Leo wanting to be careful to not be spotted. He stopped the bike to pull out his binoculars and look for the stronghold. He found the stronghold's location in the distance but they were still too far away. He couldn't tell if there was anyone there or not. Leo looked at his brother saying, "We need to get closer once we are close enough to see if it's occupied we will drive around the building. Then if we determine it's empty we will approach with caution before searching the inside. If there is any indication this is the right location we will leave until we can return with the others."
Liam nodded solemnly while he hated waiting it would do Riley no good if he were captured or worse killed. He'd have to be smart enough to take Anton by surprise and end the whole thing quickly. Leo starts again towards the stronghold getting closer stopping every so often to look through the binoculars. When he can finally see the walls of the stronghold clearly he hands the binoculars to Liam. Leo says, "I will go around the building I need you to look through these as I do. You will have to hold onto me for this so you can feel when I'm going to turn." Liam nods taking the binoculars from his brother. Liam focuses on the stronghold looking for any activity. Soon he's spotted three men in a group and as they circle the area he spots a few more. He squeezes his brother hoping that he will stop.
Leo slows the bike stopping behind some cover before turning to his brother. Liam says, "I think this may be the place I saw some men around the stronghold. Perhaps we should switch so you can look. I don't really trust my own judgment right now." Leo nods trading places with Liam. Liam now takes the same trajectory that Leo had been taking. Soon Leo is seeing what Liam had in the binoculars. Leo squeezed Liam saying, "Let's get near the circular tower. I'd like to try to spot her if we can."
Liam headed in the direction of the tower portion of the stronghold this one only has one of the original two. Once they were close enough Liam found a discrete location they could observe the tower from. Soon both men were taking turns looking at the roof and windows. Leo viewed the windows and roof then. On his final sweep, Leo sees what appears to be Olivia in the window. Leo passes the binoculars to Liam saying, "I spotted Olivia in the window. We should return tomorrow night to storm the building."
Liam nodded adding, "While I don't see Riley we should take control of this place there are too many guards patrolling for it to be for Olivia and her aunt." Leo nodded taking his brother back to Lucretia's place. Liam was more than ready to have his queen back he could only hope that his small army was ready. Leo took everything and restored it before heading back. Once they arrived at their temporary base he told Drake and Bastien everything they discovered so they could make a plan of attack.
The next morning the group finalized the teams and the plan of action. The King's guard and those skilled enough would storm the stronghold. Those that knew archery would take out any guards patrolling the grounds. Maxwell's group was in charge of supervising the staff. Leo and Liam planned on going after Anton and the queen. Drake's group would take on Lucretia and check on Olivia. Liam fought the urge to pace as they packed gear and dressed in black to blend in.
Liam kept himself occupied with busywork while waiting for time to pass. It felt like an eternity to wait for the right time to leave. They'd drive some of the way parking the vehicles in the woods before heading out on foot the rest of the way. The closer they got to the stronghold the more Liam had to fight the urge to rush in. Liam fought to keep the urge at bay and concentrated on the task at hand.
When it was finally time to head out Liam was the first in a vehicle. When they arrived at the location they'd leave the vehicles he was the first to exit. They started off as one large group at first but as the forest thinned they divided into four smaller groups. As the trees thinned further Leo took his group towards the rear entrance at the back of the stronghold. Liam led his group towards the front entrance. Drake and Maxwell kept their groups in the center near the staff entrance. The two were divided yet close enough to communicate when needed.
Liam snuck up on the front door hiding in what little cover was available. Bastien pointed out the two men standing guard. Bastien and Liam went in first each sneaking up on one of the guards posted at the front door. They both threw a rock to get their man to leave his post as soon as they were far enough apart they ambushed the men knocking both out cold. Once the guards were disabled, Liam and Bastien motioned the rest of their group over. As soon as everyone was ready and at the front doors they charged in. He knew Leo would be doing the same forcing Anton to divide his men.