CHAPTER NINE

SECOND ATTEMPT

"Can you see anything?"

Alan crouched at the edge of the brush, eyes narrowed at the outline of the village. "A whole lot of torches around that jail..."

Galen whimpered a bit, and squatted next to him, peeking through the thick brush at the city. "Urko must be expecting us," he sighed.

"I'm sure he is," Alan nodded. "And he's probably inside guarding the cells."

Galen nodded, and sighed deeply. It was going to be much more difficult this time to get into that jail than it had been last time; there was no doubt about that. It looked as if Urko had completely emptied Central City and brought all the police and any other military personnel with him.

Alan sighed deeply, "Any ideas, Galen?"

"None," He didn't even know where to start. "I could dist-", He stopped before he even started. They had done that so many times that Urko and his troops - who weren't complete idiots - were sure to have caught on by now.

Alan moved back a bit and sat down on the edge of a rock, eyes narrowed at the ground as he considered the possibilities. His mind was racing. But so far, he hadn't come across anything useful. "What if we made a huge distraction?" he considered. "We might be able to... set their horses free or something..."

"I'm sure they have a corral where they're keeping all of their horses," Galen answered. He was less than enthusiastic about the idea. "Probably where they were keeping you, but it's got to be just as guarded..."

Alan considered the possibility for a moment. "If we let the horses out... if nothing else it would slow them down majorly. They couldn't leave in the morning."

"If we're not shot in the process," Galen tried to remind him. But it was clear that Alan was not listening.

"But hopefully... if it distracted them enough..."

Galen sighed as his friend trailed off. "Alan... if we make such a large distraction, Urko will surely know that we've come for Pete and he'll never let us get close." He paused for a beat, and then continued. "For that matter, what's to stop him from shooting Pete, point blank, when we do arrive? If we give him warning that way... he'll be ready for us."

Alan looked away. Galen was right, and he knew it. He glanced again toward the lit-up torches. "So there goes that idea..."

"Is there any way to move in silently?" Galen tried, "So as not to alert Urko?"

Alan breathed deep, licking his lips as he thought hard. "There are an awful lot of them and if it were only one or two... Yeah. But I'm not sure how to render that many guards no threat without making a scene."

"Well, we'd better think of something," Galen mumbled. "If they leave in the morning, we'll never catch up..."

"What we need is some kind of... tranquilizer gun." He smiled almost sadly at that. He somehow highly doubted that was within their reach.

"A what?", Galen asked. He knew what a tranquilizer was and a gun, but how could they be one in the same? Guns were used to kill, not sedate.

Alan glanced at him and sighed. At the moment, he suddenly realized he had loadsof patience to explain things. It took his mind off of the problem he knew he should be thinking about. "In my time, they used special guns with darts and anesthesia in them. When they hit the target - usually a wounded animal they wanted to help - they'd put them to sleep."

Galen tipped his head as he considered that, a high noise in the back of his throat acknowledging the statement. "What a brilliant idea. Could we make one?" He had learned long ago not to put anything out of the question when it came to what his friends could and couldn't do.

Alan looked away. "Don't count on it," he mumbled, "If I had time, and a gun, and anesthesia, and something to use as darts... maybe. But we don't have any of that."

"Well there's plenty of guns right there," Galen gestured toward the jail. "If we only need one..."

"That still doesn't solve our other problems."

Galen frowned. "Well, there's anesthesia at the medical center, I'm sure."

Alan shook his head. There were so many things that could go wrong... He didn't want to bank his friend's life on a plan with so many faults. "Even if we got our hands on some kind of..."

He stopped abruptly, and Galen's head turned to him, waiting expectantly. "Got our hands on what?" Somewhere deep inside of him, a spark of hope flickered to life, and he could feel the excitement start to rise. When Alan paused like that, it usually meant he had an idea that just might work.

"I was thinking..." Alan turned, and stared at Galen for a long moment. "You know, they used to use chloroform as a medical anesthesia. I wonder if they have that or something like it in the medical center."

Galen half shrugged, shaking his head. "I'm no doctor; I wouldn't know. But they have forms of anesthesia there, I guarantee you that."

"I wonder if any of it is breathable."

"If it is... what will that do?" Galen asked. "I'm sure they won't have enough of it to put all those guards to sleep."

"Well, let's not be sure of anything until we take a look, huh?"

Alan was already moving. Galen only hesitated for an instant before following behind, around the darkened edge of the city, right at the edge of the brush.

The medical center was going to be a lot easier to get to than the jail was. In fact, there were no guards at all, anywhere save for the jail. They really were guarding Pete with everything they had. Galen couldn't help but be a little nervous about that, knowing that was where they were headed next.

"It's dark," Alan whispered, standing on his toes to look in through the window. "I don't think anyone's there."

"It's a small city," Galen answered. "It's likely that they've no need for twenty-four hour medical care. If anything happens, the doctor likely lives right here." He gestured to the home beside him.

Alan nodded, moving closer to the street and scanning for danger. Nothing moved. "I think it's clear," he hissed.

"Do you want me to stay here and make sure it stays clear?" Galen offered. Any more time that he could supply Alan with would be helpful...

Alan considered it for a moment, but then shook his head. "I don't think they'll have any reason to come here. And I might need your help inside."

Galen nodded just slightly as Alan once again peered out into the street, scanning carefully for any sign that they were not alone before slipping to and in the door of the medical facility, Galen half a step behind. One good thing about this day and age... there were no such thing as locks on doors excepting those on jail cells.

They moved through the first room, where Alan knew there would ordinarily be a guard, back into the medical offices. There was a part of him that couldn't believe that there were absolutely no security measures at all to protect this medication and equipment. Their priorities were clear, that was for damn sure. He lit a lamp near the door, and gestured to the right window, as he moved to the left.

Windows closed off Alan turned his attention to the shelves of bottles along the far wall. "What are we looking for?" Galen tried, shifting nervously as he made his way over to where Alan was standing, staring at the bottles.

Alan suddenly realized that he had no idea what they would call what he was looking for even if they had it. "It's anesthetic." He could tell by the look on Galen's face that that meant nothing to him. "It was called chloroform in my time. But I haven't a clue what it would be called now..."

Galen whimpered, his head swiveling as he listened hard for any sign of approaching gorillas. "Oh, Alan, I don't like this..." he struggled.

Alan pulled down one of the bottles and opened it. "Let's just hurry up and get out of here," he prodded as he took a very brief smell of the liquid in the bottle.

Galen's hand wandered over the bottles. "What are we looking for?" he asked, watching Alan. He was smelling the medicines...

"It should be a clear, pleasant-smelling liquid," Alan explained. "And make sure you don't take a big whiff of it or you'll likely knock yourself right out." Something inside of him warned against this type of trial and error, but there simply wasn't time to run tests to find out which chemical actually was what he would call chloroform.

With a slight bit of hesitancy, Galen pulled one of the bottles from the shelf, opened it, and carefully smelled it. "No." He replaced the bottle back on the shelf. "How are we going to know which ones we have tested?"

"Set them aside." He pointed to the examining table behind them, and then briefly inhaled from the bottle in his hand. He gagged. That was most definitely not what he was looking for...

With a quick nod Galen put the few bottles that he had tested on the table and continued to smell for the right one. Alan glanced at him as he skipped over the bottles, picking and choosing a few at random. He was paying some mind to the names on them - when he could read them - although he knew they would do him no good. He couldn't even read most of them. It seemed doctors' handwriting hadn't improved at all over the last thousand years or so.

Suddenly, he took a breath of a sweet smelling liquid that almost immediately made him swoon. "Whoa..." He pulled it away, and held the counter in front of him with his free hand as he regained his balance.

"Hum?" Galen looked up with interest and concern. "Are you all right, Alan?"

Alan nodded, and the room spun. He wasn't sure if it was chloroform or something even more powerful. But whatever it was, it was potent. He replaced the cap and blinked hard. "Wow..." He rubbed his eyes, and lifted the closed bottle in an attempt to read the label. But it was far too scribbled to be legible. "Whatever this is... it'll work." Gradually, his head began to clear. "Provided it doesn't knock me out in the process..."

Galen frowned at the bottle. "It's not very much..." he observed. "Not for all those guards..."

"We don't need very much," Alan assured him. Galen watched as Alan set the bottle down and rummaged through the cabinets until he found whatever it was he was looking for. He returned with a few strips of cloth, and wound them around his hand. "We put that on here"- he gestured to the bottle, then raised his hand with the cloth. "-and I put my hand in their face and hold it there for a few seconds. They'll be out like a light."

Galen stared for a moment before nodding a silent approval. "Well, in that case, what are we waiting for?" He shifted uncomfortably as he glanced back at the door. "Who knows what torture Urko has inflicted upon Pete by this time."

Alan nodded, and grabbed up the bottle as he half-jogged to the door, not bothering to replace the bottles or unblock the windows. He put the light out, though, and hurried out of the building. He checked the street then darted across, disappearing back into the shadows quickly.

Galen followed tensely. How many times had they maneuvered their way through some kind of rescue mission? And still, he found himself nervous and uneasy, and perhaps more so now, with Urko himself so near to them. He could almost taste the danger. How many times could a person cheat death? With no time to ponder the question he followed Alan's dark form as it crept down the street in the shadows.

They paused a safe distance from the jail and Alan watched carefully for a long moment. He was pretty sure they were still out of sight. "There's a ton of them..." he breathed. He'd known that before, but somehow it seemed even more real now.

"Urko must have emptied Central City," Galen agreed. He nodded to the bottle still in Alan's hand. "Are you sure there will be enough of that to go around?"

Alan glanced at it and nodded. "I don't think we'll have a problem with that. It's just getting to them without being shot that I'm worried about..." He took a deep breath and wound the cloth more tightly around his hand. "Don't breathe."

Galen whimpered slightly at the utter ridiculousness of that command. How long could Alan expect that he wouldn't breathe? In spite of it, he held his breath, watching as Alan opened the bottle, doused the rag, and held it away from him as it absorbed. "Wow, that's really strong..." Alan mumbled. "I dunno what that is..."

"Mmm?"

"It's stronger than chloroform..." Alan glanced briefly at him, and smiled just slightly. "You can breathe now. I just didn't want you to end up taking in too much of that stuff while the bottle was open."

Galen let out his breath as Alan tossed the bottle into his knapsack, and both of them turned their attention back to the jail. "Alright, stay close," Alan warned. "If we get separated, we could have even bigger problems than we have right now..."

Galen nodded. He had no problem sticking close to Alan. He had learned that even though Alan was only a human, he and Pete both had combat skills that he had never seen. Not all power was in brawn and muscle... He followed as Alan ducked back, and slipped around behind the jail, to the rear right corner.

As best he could tell, they had about six guards to get through either way they went to the door. Thankfully, the jail was at least near an overgrown area. The bushes provided them with cover. And potentially... a distraction.

Alan rattled the scraggly shrub in front of him. If he could get them to come to him, to see what was moving the bushes, he could have a great advantage. Unfortunately, that wasn't the way it worked. Instead, the bushes were promptly shot at. Alan hit the ground, flat on his stomach. Damn... they weren't taking any chances. He glanced back at Galen to make sure he was okay, but remained silent.

Galen exchanged brief, worried glances with him. That wasn't supposed to happen. The guards were a mite touchy. They were going to have to be even more careful than usual.

"What was that?" The authoritative voice was easily recognizable. Galen and Alan both tensed.

"The bushes moved."

Urko stared for a moment, directly at the place where Alan and Galen were pressed down. Neither one breathed. After a long moment, Urko turned back to his guard. "You are not here to shoot at bushes. You are here to shoot at Virdon and Galen if they should... attack." Urko chose his words carefully and Galen felt his hackles raise as he bit back a low growl. If they came out to wave, it would be considered an "attack".

Alan moved back a bit as Urko disappeared back inside, and Galen gave him room. "All right, new plan," Alan whispered. "We need a way to split them up..."

Galen whimpered, just slightly. "How are we going to get past Urko?" he hissed.

"We'll worry about that when we get in there," Alan assured.

Galen didn't like that, but he remained silent. He had nothing useful to add at the moment, and figured that, since that was the case, he'd be better to just not make any more noise. He watched as Alan contemplated the situation for a long moment, then shifted, picking up a large rock under his hand. Their eyes met again, briefly, and Alan pointed off to the left then touched his finger to his lips to signal quiet. Galen nodded, and prepared to bolt... quietly.

The rock hit the gorilla's shoulder, hard enough to elicit a sharp cry of pain as he dropped his weapon.

"What is it?"

He looked up Rafo, the guard standing beside him. "Something just hit me!" he exclaimed, rubbing his arm.

"What kind of something?" Rafo waved the torch in his direction, chasing away some of the darkness.

"I don't know. It hit my arm. Bring the light over here, will you?"

On the other side of Rafo, the third guard craned his neck to see, but remained in place. He was under strict orders not to move until his shift was through. So was Rafo, for that matter, but he was the one with the torchlight. And he had to admit, he was a little curious himself as to what had hit Juno's arm, and where it had come from. Vaguely, he wondered if it was the human Urko was expecting. What was his name...? Virdon and the chimpanzee Galen, as well could they be attempting the rescue Urko warned they would? Surely they couldn't be that foolish...

Suddenly, he heard a rustling behind him. He spun, but he was already too late. A rag pressed hard to his face, a human hand against the back of his head, and his strength seeped away before he even had a chance to struggle. The last thing he saw before he slipped into the blackness were the eyes of the human.

Alan lowered him to the ground as quietly and quickly as possible, and then spun around to head back to the brush before he could be seen. Instantly, he found himself staring down the barrel of a rifle. He froze, eyes widening slightly. That... he had not expected.

He raised his hands slowly, not moving. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement, and his muscles tensed, ready to move. But he was careful not to let his gaze linger. Suddenly, Galen jumped at the gorilla. He would have been no match except for the fact that Alan promptly had the rag to the guard's face, holding him back to the wall. Almost as soon as the cloth came over the gorilla's face, his legs buckled and he collapsed.

Alan grabbed Galen by the shirt as he saw more guns level at them over his friend's shoulder, and he dove for the cover of the brush. But no shots rang. Instead, there was the confused conversation of two gorillas trying to determine if they'd really seen anything at all or if they'd only been imagining it in the darkness. The confusion wouldn't last long. Not when they saw their unconscious friend. Alan held his breath. If those guns started firing, they might as well come out and wave. Urko would know they were there...

Regaining his senses, and the sense of urgency, Alan unwound some of the cloths from his hand and handed it to Galen. The chimpanzee's eyes widened, but he didn't protest as Alan gestured to the gorilla coming toward them. The guards had split: one coming toward them and the other headed toward the fallen guard on the end. Alan could not be two places at once. Galen took a breath, and looked down at the cloth in his hand with a measured amount of worry.

Alan pushed off the ground with his foot. There were too many risks. They needed a more refined method to this madness or they would end up shot. At the very least, they'd end up unsuccessful. Urko already had been warned about "moving bushes". If they started moving too much... he was going to figure it out.

He could have easily put the rag to the gorilla's face. Instead, he put his knife to his throat, pressing just hard enough to draw a trickle of blood, and let the guard know he was plenty serious. "Not a sound," he hissed. The gorilla straightened, muscles tensing. But he recognized the pain, and bowed to it.

Alan watched out of the corner of his eye as Galen attacked the gorilla. That worried him. Galen wasn't a fighter, and he knew it. He didn't like seeing his friend in such situations. But at the moment, there was no choice. But Galen was armed with a weapon more powerful than the gorilla's gun.

Galen shivered as the guard slid down. He, like his kind, was a pacifist. He hated violence, but he also realized that he had been given no choice. Violence... or execution. Not a hard decision. Besides, it wasn't like he was actually hurting the gorilla. It was a medical anesthesia. He would be fine once he woke up.

Once he was sure Galen was safe, Alan led the gorilla at knifepoint around the back of the jail, where they had started. He was careful to keep the knife in place, the drugged rag down and away from the gorilla's face as they approached the two guards they had first seen. One was still rubbing his arm from where he'd been hit with the rock. "Put down your weapons now."

The gorilla spun, and stared at Alan for a moment, dumbfounded. "What the...?" His eyes widened immediately. This was the human Urko had warned them about. Who else would dare to hold a knife to an ape's throat?

"You've got three options," Alan stated, hurriedly but perfectly calm at the same time. "One, you argue. I kill him, and then you might kill me. Two, you yell for help. I kill him, and you might kill me. Either way you're out a good soldier, and you caused his death. Or you can put down the gun and nobody gets hurt."

The human was moving closer. Rafo gasped the gun, fighting to make a decision. He looked first at the weapon, then at the soldier the human had on the edge of his blade. If that human killed the soldier, it would indirectly be his fault. Ape shall never kill ape... Reluctantly, he dropped the gun. "You'll never make it out of here alive," he snarled at Alan.

"Maybe," Alan agreed.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as Galen sprang toward the "injured" gorilla whom had also lowered his weapon. The momentary distraction was all Alan needed. In one smooth, well-planned maneuver, he'd switched the knife with the rag on the gorilla in front of him, and moved the knife to the other guard's throat. He turned, putting himself between the two of them and backing his new victim to the wall. Silently and effectively, he'd moved on to his next target.

Galen looked to him, hands shaking from nervousness. Alan gave him a sympathetic smile, and cast a sideways glance at the form on the ground. "Good, Galen," he offered quietly. "Why don't you stay behind me and take it easy for a while."

Galen nodded enthusiastically, and Alan's eyes turned to the guard he still held to the wall. "Now. You. Walk."

The gorilla emitted a low growl from his throat, but he complied.