Chapter 12: Co-Operation
You may be left to stand empty-handed
With only one emotion: grief
Carl dropped heavily to his feet and fell over. It was nearly twelve feet from the windowsill to the floor, and he knew as soon as he jumped that he should have waited, to try and figure out a plan of escape.
Well— nothing he could do about it now.
He stumbled to his feet, wincing at the pain in his ankles, and went rapidly to Tamerlaine, falling to his knees at her side. Very carefully, he rolled her over on her back and felt frantically for a heartbeat.
Tamerlaine opened her eyes and began to scream. Carl yelped and cut her off, clapping his hand over her mouth. For a few seconds they were tense and still, Carl crouched closely over her, their eyes locked. Carl strained for any sign that the noise had been heard by the other inhabitants of the house, but the only sounds that reached his ears were the sound of his own breathing, his heartbeat, and the barely audible sound of Tamerlaine's. He could feel it through his fingertips and he cast a suprised glance at her chest.
She seemed to take it the wrong way.
Tamerlaine reached up and peeled his hand away from her face.
"What are you doing here?" she whispered.
"I've come to save you," he whispered back.
"How did you know I was here?"
"I followed your brother."
"My— oh. Simon."
"Yes." Carl looked at her keenly. "Is he not your brother, then?"
"Um—" Tamerlaine shoved herself up to lean against the wall. "Can we go into that later? It's a complicated situation."
"Oh, alright. Er— can you stand?"
"Yes, but I'm not going to."
"What—" Carl stared at her in consternation. "We've got to get you out of here!"
"No."
"But Tam—"
"Mr. Hampton," she said sternly, "I am staying here for the time being, and I have my own reasons, which I do not feel obliged to explain to you just at the moment. Do you understand?"
"No," said Carl honestly. "Though I don't suppose it matters. To tell you the truth, Miss Gentle, I'm somewhat taken aback by your refusal to comply with my directions in a rescue situation such as this. One might almost assume that when one is a female being held prisoner at the top of a fair-to-middling tall tower by one's insane brother, and a heroic young friar risks life and health to rescue one, one might show some signs of gratitude and do one's best to co-operate instead of treating said friar's offers of help as though they were a— fish, or some— er— other unuseful object."
Tamerlaine smiled at him. "Oh, Carl— you have not changed." She put her arms about his neck and kissed him on the cheek. "Continue so." Then she let him go and looked serious. "Are we at the top of a tower?"
"We are," said Carl, slightly dazed by her proximity. "I climbed up it."
"Can you climb back down it?"
"Theoretically—" Carl started.
"Then do so." Tamerlaine leaned back. "I'm going to stay here and do my best to figure out what's going on."
"But Miss Gentle—"
"Tamerlaine. Please."
"Tamerlaine, I'm not going to leave without you."
"But you have to, dearest, because I'm not coming."
"Then I'm not leaving without a plan to save you."
"Fine. Come up with a plan."
"Well," said Carl, somewhat upset, "its all very well to say 'Come up with a plan' but my mind doesn't work like that—"
"Doesn't it? It used to."
"Alright," said Carl thoughtfully. "Here's what we'll do. I'll go and get Van Helsing—"
"Who is Van Helsing?"
"A monster hunter of my acquaintance." Carl looked at Tam's expression. "It's a very long story—"
"Then save it for later. Go on."
"I'll go and get him, you stay here and try to figure out whatever it is you're truying to figure out." Carl looked at her hopefully but she smiled and shook her head.
"I'll let you know."
"Alright. Then Van Helsing and I, we'll come and free you."
"How exactly?"
"Well— he's got guns, and the Tojo blades—"
Tam shook her head. "I don't know from Tojo blades, but you'd need more than a gun to frighten these men, if my suspicion is correct and they are who I think they are."
"Right, right—" Carl thought deeply and the light dawned. "No problem. I've got it."
"Got— what?"
"Van Helsing is in town to assist me in picking up materials for a new weapon I'm creating to aid in his fight."
Tamerlaine tipped her head to one side and lookd at him quizzically. "And your friend also lives at the Vatican?"
"Well— yes— but we can go into that at a later date." Carl quickly told her about the weapon, including what it was intended to do.
Tamerlaine's eyes widened. "It collapses buildings?"
"It can, yes. Sort of."
"Like— dynamite?" she asked curiously.
"Sort of," he repeated.
"Like— like how sort of?"
"I'm not sure," said Carl, then hastened to explain when he saw her expression. "I have the blueprints at my sister's home, most of them anyway. I know theoretically how it works but the intricate mechanisms haven't exactly been burnt on to my brain."
"Oh," she said. "But you're sure it'll work?"
Carl thought of experiments, past and present, and of his average success rate. "Reasonably sure," he said truthfully.
"Alright." A smile passed over Tamerlaine's pale face. "That's alright, then. You do that."
"Right." Carl remained seated, gazing at her.
"Carl?"
"Yes?"
"Do it now, please."
"Oh— oh, right. Of course— um—" Carl scrambled to his feet and stood looking down at her. "I— I don't want to leave w-without you," he said. Stammering. He hadn't stammered like that since he was a choirboy. Well, that and when Van Helsing got angry at him.
Her eyes were fond. "Listen, Mr. Hampton, you'll be coming back to get me, won't you? I'll be here, I promise. If, of course, they don't move me somewhere else. But I'll try to be here. I'll wait for you." She reached up and took his hand— her palm was cool and dry and tiny, her fingers tense in his. "Go now, Carl," she said softly.
He released her hand and ran to the wall, a sudden and real worry dawning on him— what if I can't make it back up to the window? A quick glance back at Tamerlaine reassured him. With her watching, he felt, he could do anything.
He reached up to find protruding stones, and he began to climb.