George's violet eyes darted around a wall; it was where the guards had told him the kidnapper had leapt over it.
Nothing.
He straightened, and on a sudden impulse asked the guard to temporarily shut off the electricity in the wall.
The guard stared at him uneasily. He was under orders not to shut off the electricity for any reason; however, this was a Gundam fighter- the Jack of Diamonds!- who had been personally asked by the King to find the Princess; he picked up the phone to call his superior, not taking his eyes off George.
"I can assure you that you will not be punished for indulging my request." George said politely. "If you are, please tell your superior officers to come to me."
The soldier put down the phone and shut off the wall. "I'll hold you to your word."
"Then you have no reason to worry." George replied smoothly, striding away. He looked at the grass. Yes, this was where the kidnapper had landed; there were indentations in the ground. George frowned. They should have been much deeper if the man came from the window, especially if he'd been holding Marie- Louise at the time.
In a move that would have been abrupt if it hadn't been so graceful, the knight broke into a headlong rush toward the wall.
The guards had said that the King's attacker had used a special gun to assist him with making it high enough into the air, but that was probably because he'd had an unhappy teenage girl slung over a shoulder. George should be able to make it without such a device…
He jumped.
For a minute, he thought he was going to come up short and smack painfully into the wall, and the guard gave an alarmed shout; then his feet touched the top of the wall and the relieved knight balanced himself there, looking down at the guard.
"Please turn the electricity back on, and thank you for your assistance."
He landed on the sidewalk on the public side of the wall and looked around. There were three directions the kidnapper could have gone- I doubt he'd go that way, there are too many people; or that way, the Head of the Guard said that his men were combing the area thoroughly but hadn't found anything. That just leaves this way…
He started walking.
*
Almost an hour later, he was giving up hope of finding anything when a small bit of white caught his eye.
He hurried over to it, and his heart lifted and dropped at once. George picked it up reverently.
A small ribbon…
His expression darkened. If this was Marie- Louise's- and he was sure it was- how had it gotten out here? He was sure she wouldn't have grabbed a ribbon as she was being kidnapped. And she wouldn't use a ribbon to tie her hair back as she slept, would she?
He glared at the innocent piece of cloth. If it had come off her nightgown, things could be worse than he'd initially thought… he took a closer look. No rough edges or indications that it had been ripped off; well, that was something, at least.
George slipped the ribbon into a pocket. Marie- Louise had done a good deal of growing up in the past year; perhaps she'd managed to drop it as a clue.
With new purpose, he started forward again.
*
George shook his head. "No, the ribbon was the only thing I found."
Rain bit her lip. "Well, I'm sorry, George, but I really can't think of anything-" she stopped and jerked her head toward Domon. "Asherah!"
"What?" he asked, looking at her.
She turned back to the Frenchman. "Asherah might be able to help you. It's worth a try, at least."
"But we don't know where she is." Domon argued.
"Her brothers might." Rain shot back. "Here, I'll look up the numbers and send them to you…"
*
"I'm sorry, but we haven't heard from Asherah in a while." Andy informed George. "And I don't think it's a good idea for her to be involved in this stuff."
George kept his tone polite and pleasant. "I think you are underestimating your sister, sir."
"Look, I'm just trying to-"
"Protect her?" Asherah supplied, popping up behind Andy, who fell backwards in his chair with a startled shout. Ignoring her brother, who was at her feet muttering curses, she looked at the knight and gave him a small smile. "Hello, George de Sand."
He inclined his head respectfully. "Miss Asherah."
Her smile took on a hard edge. "Just Asherah, please." She rode right over his apology. "Marie- Louise was snatched by a mid- level mercenary. I believe you know the type of mercenary to whom I am referring?"
George gave a quiet affirmation that no one quite heard; Andy had made it to his feet and was loudly demanding to know what she meant.
Asherah didn't so much as look behind her as she kicked her brother out the door, then kicked the door itself shut in his face and turned the lock with her toes. "If I'm right, and I know who this guy is, you should be able to take him out yourself…"
*
"I know I was supposed to kill the King, but he's tougher than you told me he was, okay? I can still do it, I just need a little more time-
"I know that. And to make sure we stay on cordial terms, I took the liberty of snatching a little insurance…"
Marie- Louise could hear the loud, angry voice of her kidnapper despite the size of the warehouse (or perhaps because of it; the warehouse was large and isolated) and the fact that he was in the office with the door shut.
She tried again to wriggle her way out of the rope that he'd tied her with, but promptly gave up; she'd already rubbed her wrists raw.
George, where are you? She wondered what his reaction would be when he found out she was missing. I'm sure he'll come look for me. He came looking for me before... I hope he doesn't just think I'm crying wolf.
Then again, he knew in Paris that I forged that kidnapping note, and he came anyway.
He came anyway. she thought in almost- awe. Her heart sank. He came because I am the Princess. That's all I am to him. Symbol of the country and the honor code he loves so dearly.
I wonder, George, what you really think of me. Or if you even think of me at all.
I'm not the silly little girl I was last year. Funny how quickly life and death situations force you to grow up. a smile graced her face.
I'll wait for you, George, because you're worth it. And I'll make you see that I'm more than a Princess. Her smile widened.
Her captor came storming out. "What're you grinning at? I'd wipe that smile off your face, girlie. Because if your daddy doesn't pay up-" he drew a finger suggestively across his throat.
"I thought your goal was to kill my father, not extort money from him." she replied coolly, but she couldn't hide the fear in her eyes.
"Smile, Princess." he mocked, holding up a camera. "Let Daddy see how happy you are."
She held her head proudly instead. "I am the Princess of Neo- France. I won't play your games."
His smile disappeared. "You know, I think you need an attitude adjustment…"
*
"George!" the King shouted.
"Your Majesty?" he inquired, following the older man into his office.
"Tell me you've found something. Please tell me you've found something." the King implored.
George had never seen his sovereign in such a state. Has he slept at all? He started to mention the ribbon, but found himself strangely reluctant at the thought of giving it up. "Your Majesty, I have been in touch with an American contact of mine who is familiar with the sort of underworld figures who participate in such criminal acts, and she believes she knows who this man is."
"Well?" the King demanded impatiently.
"Another American known only by the name Jones." He didn't think it would be a good idea to mention to the King that the man who kidnapped his daughter had flunked out of a program to train highly skilled American spies, or that he'd been placed in a lower- level program after that… "His own government has been looking for him as well."
"You generally don't live very long after defecting from the government's service." Asherah said, a small, wry smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "He would've turned up dead soon enough."
"Do you have any idea who this Jones might be working for?"
"I was hoping that you might, Your Majesty." George admitted.
"I've been racking my brain but I can't come up with a damn thing." the King muttered. "I did have the clerks draw up a list of everyone who's ever had access to the Palace's blueprints." He handed the list to George, who was relieved to see that it wasn't too long.
"Your Majesty!" a flushed aide cried, bowing so hastily in the doorway that he looked as though he had been stabbed in the stomach. "Word from the kidnapper!"
The King was there in an instant, eyes eagerly scanning the paper; when they reached the end, he sagged in disappointment and wordlessly handed it to George. Lusterless eyes raised themselves to the aide. "Is there anything else?"
"No, Your Majesty."
"Then you are dismissed."
The aide scrambled gratefully away.
George, meanwhile, was studying the communication from Jones. He wanted the King to hand- deliver a sixteenth of the money in the royal treasury- which despite being a small fraction was quite a large amount, especially for one person- to him at midnight. Jones would tell him the location itself later, after he'd received a "good faith payment". All of the money, of course, was to be unmarked… Accompanying the letter were three pictures of Marie- Louise; in one she held her chin up high with a haughty expression on her face. In the next, a large hand around her throat held her head underwater, and her face was blue; the third saw the Princess with wet hair and shoulders, pale and coughing.
George struggled to control himself. He could not help Marie- Louise if he didn't keep a calm head, but his blood was boiling.
The King, having had more practice, collected himself before George. "We only have until midnight to find her."
George cast the pictures and letter away from him and looked fiercely at his King. "I will find her, Your Majesty, and prevent further harm from coming to her."
A/N: Yay, more uninteresting stuff! I think the next chapter will be better about that, though. Cookies to readers and cakes to reviewers!