Chapter Fifty One
The Second Ambush
ELSA
For once, things had gone considerably well in their favour. Elsa had half expected that a cavalry squadron would be waiting to block off their escape from the municipal building, but surprisingly, there were none. No sign of any resistance to their mission, which was very strange.
In any case, she and Janus kept low profiles as they escaped from the district where the municipal building was located in the heart of New Town, and they had raced back in the direction of the Insurgency Base in Old Town while keeping to the many shadowy alleyways between buildings. Who would have thought that having so many creepy, shady spots in the city would come in useful?
There were still First Imperials roaming the streets, and something told Elsa that they wouldn't be too pleased to see their former captain running around free with her. It would kick up too much of a commotion, and that was absolutely the last thing they needed at this point.
The tricky part was getting across the Sulge River without being spotted by the First Imperials. After all, now there were soldiers patrolling up and down on both sides of the river, and in the near vicinity. If they got caught, it would all be over.
They found a rusty staircase at the north end of the river where there appeared to be no sign of First Imperials, and they climbed down to a narrow platform. This was used for boats, for people who needed the fastest way down the river or to the other side. It was a makeshift docks of sorts, which served nicely for Elsa and Janus.
Elsa knelt down and lowered her hand to the surface of the water. It froze at her touch, and the reach of the ice expanded to the other side of the river, forming a makeshift, covert bridge that would leave no trace of its existence after it had served its purpose.
After Janus and herself had crossed over the Sulge River to the side of Old Town, Elsa moved one hand in a slight anti-clockwise arc and the ice melted back into the river water. Janus seemed impressed by this, though she could not tell for certain behind the featureless mask of his.
Throughout their journey back from New Town, they hadn't really said much since their heated argument, reserved only for leading the way, and for hissed warnings whenever one of them thought a hostile force was in the vicinity.
They climbed up to the surface using yet another one of the rusty staircases, going slow to avoid being spotted by any soldiers who might be lurking around. Once they were clear of the Sulge River, the duo raced to the nearest cover of the dilapidated buildings, and snaked their way through Old Town back to the Insurgency's base.
###
"And the rest?" Charlotte frowned.
"They said that they would meet us back here." Elsa explained. "Easier to travel back here when we weren't all together. The First Imperials were swarming the entire city."
Charlotte gave a grunt, which Elsa couldn't make out as dissatisfaction or approval. When she turned around, she realised that Janus had disappeared.
He was standing right here, Elsa looked around and then sighed. Well, that's Janus for you. She felt like the argument back on the roof of the municipal building had left some unresolved and unspoken issues between her and Janus. In their haste to escape out of the Empire's den, they had agreed to a stalemate and patched things up quickly and left things unfinished. Elsa felt like she needed to clear the air.
She finally found him alone in the Insurgency's makeshift armoury which doubled as a workshop. He was putting together various parts of metal to improve and upgrade his mask. The mask now had more of a structure to it, rather just the simple cloth of a balaclava which didn't offer much protection.
Janus had outfitted a half helmet of sorts into the back of the mask, which was a sheet of metal bent into an arc to support and shield the back of his head. The eyes of the mask which used to be two simple holes were now padded around the eyes, and there were two red lenses of a certain translucency covering the eye holes.
"Janus."
"Hmmn." He picked up the mask and held it up to his face to test the visibility and his field of view, and by the looks of it, he was satisfied.
"Janus."
"What is it?"
Janus walked over to a nearby wooden table to pick up a mini funnel with a wide cone, with a thick wire gauze netted across it. There were also some other tiny elements delicately placed inside the tiny contraption.
"I think-"
"Sorry, give me a moment." Janus placed the contraption into the mouth of the mask, and Elsa saw that it was supposed to be a mouth piece. He attached it securely, and then donned the mask. It bore some resemblance to his original mask, mixed with some new modernistic elements which gave him a more fearsome and formidable appearance.
"How do I look?" His voice was once again deep and mechanical like a constant growl, courtesy of the quick makeshift invention Janus had whipped up for the mouthpiece of the mask.
"Stunning." Elsa sighed. "Janus, can we talk?"
"About what?"
"I think we left things a little tense back in the city."
Janus tilted his head a little, his mask featureless and expressionless, which Elsa found annoying since she wanted to talk to him face to face.
"Janus, can you please take off the mask and look at me?"
He relented and removed the new and improved mask, and placed it on the workbench. His narrow brown eyes fixed on Elsa, and he sighed.
"Alright, I said some insensitive and nasty things back there." Janus said. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that."
"You already apologised." Elsa pointed out.
"Then what is this about?"
"It's…" Elsa said. "We need to talk about you almost killing that minister."
"I don't want to talk about this. You know it's only going to end with us arguing again."
"We need to." Elsa said firmly. "I can't have you going about killing people while we're on mission."
"Look, it's the way I've always done things."
"You already said that too." Elsa crossed her arms over her chest. "What I want to know is, why is it so important to you that you kill your enemies? Isn't it enough for you that we get what we want without having to take a man's life?"
Janus shook his head, his eyes hooded. "You won't understand."
"Then make me understand,"
"Elsa, this isn't the time or place."
"I don't see Charlotte or Ivon calling us for another meeting."
He turned away, deep in thought as his eyebrows furrowed.
She took his gloved hand in her own icy one. "Please."
He gently withdrew his hand and sat down on a rusty bench which creaked under his weight.
"You want to know why I kill my enemies?"
She nodded slowly.
"I was born and raised in a prison called Moordeloch off the coast from Bruvesqk, but you already know that." Janus began. "My mother, her name was Jåne. Jåne De Vesques. She taught me to be kind, and to stay away from fights or trouble, especially because of the place we were in. And she told me that if I ever got into a fight, that I should never ever retaliate, because then I would be the one in the wrong."
"Your mother sounds nice." Elsa said quietly.
"She was." Janus sighed. "And then she was murdered by one of the other prisoners. So at the age of eleven, I stabbed my mother's killer to death. I was angry, I wasn't thinking straight at the time, but when the deed was done, I knew exactly what I had done. And for the next few months that I was thrown into a deep dark pit to rot and die, I felt guilt plague my every waking moment. And when I did sleep, I saw the face of the man I killed. It didn't help that I was trying to avenge my mother. The rage and guilt, it consumed me. I'd never hurt anyone before, let alone kill. I lost my innocence that day."
"I'm sorry." Elsa whispered. She had heard about his childhood in prison before, but never in broad detail like how he was describing it now.
"I vowed to myself that I wouldn't kill a man in cold blood ever again. In the years to come that I was still in the prison, I fought, I crippled, but I never killed anyone. Never again. And then when I finally escaped from Moordeloch, I arrived at the shores of Bruvesqk in search of work just to make ends meet. The only thing I knew how to do was fight. I was…seventeen at the time.
"About two year later, I met this bounty hunter who was past his prime. I was trying to steal from him, but he caught me. He took me under his wing and taught me everything he knew about the business. Weapons, stealth, tactical awareness, everything. But then, my mentor could never get me to kill. Through everything, I still kept my vow never to kill another man."
"What changed?"
"One night, we were ambushed. An assassin had been paid by someone in high places to murder my mentor for crossing him years ago. I was with my mentor at the time, and he was being threatened with a loaded pistol."
"My mentor pleaded with me to break my vow, to kill his adversary. Otherwise, he was going to die." Janus dropped his eyes. "II hesitated for too long, and the assassin killed my mentor. He…he was like the father I never had. And he died because I was too weak."
Sympathetically, Elsa sat down beside him and placed a gentle hand on his.
"And then in my guilt and rage, I killed the assassin. But it was too late. My change of heart did nothing to bring my mentor back." Janus closed his eyes. "First I lost my mother, and then I lost my surrogate father figure. That's when I made my second vow, when I learnt my lesson. It's a cruel world out there. If you don't kill your enemies, they won't hesitate to kill you."
Elsa was very quiet. She didn't know what to say. What could she say? Anything she had to say wouldn't exactly have much of an effect anymore, since she hadn't gone through anything similar. Who was she to judge him for the circumstances that had made him who he was today?
"Do you understand now?" Janus looked at her. "Why I do what I do?"
"I-" Elsa's voice caught in her throat. "I'm sorry. What happened to you, what you've been through, it was wrong."
"It made me who I am today. I can't change that."
Elsa took his hands in her own. "I know. I'm not denying that you have a reason for killing your enemies. But it still doesn't make it right."
"I'm a cold blooded mercenary, Elsa."
"But that all changed when you decided to help us." Elsa said.
"I kill to protect those I care about. I…I care about you."
"And I can take care of myself. Look, what I'm trying to say is, I understand. I l…like you for who you are, but I don't approve of the killing."
"There are grey areas." Janus said. "I'm trying to do the right thing, but we're at war. In war, some sacrifices have to be made. Rules that govern who we are have to be broken. Morals have to be redefined. It's the only way we're going to make it through this alive."
"I'm not saying you're wrong," Elsa's forehead creased. "But-"
"Do you trust me to make the right choice when the time comes?"
"Janus…" She leaned in close, and she could feel his warm breath. Her heart pumped ever faster in her chest. "I-"
The crack of a rifle could be heard coming from outside, followed by the blood curdling screams of the people downstairs.
"What-" Elsa scrambled up and pulled Janus to his feet. "What was that?"
"They're here." Janus reached for his mask. "The First Imperials. They found us."
###
"I want all insurgents getting all these people out of here." Elsa and Janus found Charlotte directing traffic downstairs in the common area where there were a crowd of frightened, helpless citizens who were seeking refuge with the Insurgency. "Move!"
"Is it true?" Elsa asked. "The First Imperials-"
"They chased Oliver's team back across New Town." The older woman explained in a hurry.
"We lost them a few blocks back." Oliver panted, hair matted and sweat dripping from his face. Will and Deirdre were with him looking equally rattled. "But they must have picked up our trail."
"Damn it, we don't have much time." Ivon gritted his teeth as screaming civilians bolted past him and out of the room. "They're going to be breaking in here any moment, and we-"
"We'll hold them off for as long as we can." Will interrupted. "But you guys have to go now."
"Will," Deirdre turned to him.
"These people don't stand a chance." Will said. "You saw how many of them there were out there."
"Okay hold on, this is crazy." Elsa waved her hands to get their attention amidst the shouting and general commotion from everyone else in the room who was trying to get out. "How many are we talking?"
"Twenty? Twenty five? All armed with muskets and headed our way." Will answered.
"It's going to be a clean slaughter," Janus said, and Elsa felt the hairs at the back of her neck rise a little. "They're not going to flush us out. They're going to shoot to kill on sight. They're done playing games."
"Then we better stop them." Oliver unslung his bow. "It's our fault we got spotted and followed, so we'll clean this up."
"Are you sure about this?" Ivon sounded uncertain.
"We don't have a choice." Will set his jaw. "We're probably the only ones who can stop them."
"Where's all this untapped confidence coming from all of a sudden?" Elsa had always seen Will as the guy who just wanted to be left alone for the longest time. Maybe she'd gotten that impression when they had first crossed paths a year or so ago, but this teenager who was standing before her was an entirely different one altogether. He was…brave.
"I made a promise to myself to protect Quodrun." Will said. "And that means sending the Empire packing. I have to do whatever it takes."
Elsa nodded, knowing she couldn't talk him out of it. She turned to Charlotte. "Do you have any ideas?"
"No, I'm fresh out." Charlotte said grimly. "I still think this is a mistake."
"We have to plug the entrance." Janus suggested. "That'll slow them down a little."
Deirdre looked somewhat skeptical. "There's only one entrance?"
"Based on what we know." Charlotte replied.
"Charlotte, you get back to the evacuation party and find Holli to help with the wounded. They all need you more than we do. We'll figure it out as we go along." Elsa said, and when they had hastily begun moving to the entrance, she muttered to herself. "I can't believe we're doing this. This is insane."
"At least this time you have me on your side." She imagined that Janus was making an attempt at giving her a comforting smile. "That has to count for something,"
"I hope so." Elsa said, and crouched behind an old table that looked like it was about to give way, and Janus joined her.
Will brought his hands up, and the roof directly above the main entrance of the building gave way, crumbling and creating enough debris to block the entrance of the place.
The sound must have alerted the First Imperials outside, because they shouted and scraped at the door when they found that they could not enter. And then there was silence for a while.
"Is it too much to hope that they gave up and went home?" Oliver asked, hiding behind a pillar on the other side of the room together with Ivon.
Elsa frowned and strained her ears. She thought she heard the sound of something heavy with wheels being dragged across the ground, accompanied by the shouts of the soldiers outside.
"Something's happening out there," Deirdre hissed a warning. "I don't like it."
A loud thump and a sound of metal on metal clunked outside the door.
"Damn it, they've got a cannon!" Ivon got up from behind his cover and hauled Oliver out from his hiding spot. "Move before they mow us all down!"
A cannon? Where the hell did they manage to produce one so fast? But there was no time to think about the logistical efficiency of the First Imperials now. Elsa and Janus sprung from where they were hiding, and ran back the way they had come, joined by Deirdre and a few other insurgents who had come to stall the First Imperials, whatever good that did now.
"Take cover!" Ivon bellowed, and just in time too.
An ear thumping boom assaulted Elsa's eardrums and she felt her teeth vibrate at the sheer volume of the blast at such a close range. A canister tore a hole through the entrance of the building and bore through the room and the wall behind it, leaving a gaping hole in its wake.
Elsa and the others had dived for cover a split second before, and had narrowly evaded being crushed like tissue paper.
"They're coming!" Oliver's voice rang distantly in her ears, and she turned to see a few First Imperials stepping through the hole and into the building.
"Get back!" Elsa threw out a stream of ice at the soldiers. It slammed into a couple of them, while others faded sideways wisely. Those who had evaded her desperate attempt to push them back levelled their muskets to their shoulders and aimed.
Janus barrelled into her midriff and they both went sprawling behind one of the walls that was still intact, just as a ragged volley of musketry rolled out and balls zinged past them.
"Thanks." Elsa gasped, and turned to the rest, who had sought refuge behind the safety of the other wall. "We need to fall back! There's no way we can hold them off in this narrow space!"
"We can't!" Deirdre hissed above the whine and zing of the gunfire. "If we fall back, there's no stopping them from getting to all those who haven't escaped!"
"She's right!" Will shouted when the musketry died down and the smoke hung thick in the air. "There's only one way we stop them. We have to keep the fight here!"
"We won't survive much longer!" Elsa's voice went a little hoarse as she tried to be heard above the second volley of erratic musketry which had just begun, and she could feel the pressure of the lead balls hitting the wall she was hiding behind. This wall won't survive much longer either.
"Wait, if we can lead them to the back room where there's more space to manoeuvre, we might have a chance." Janus pointed behind. "Our only chance is drawing them further in. It's the only way to get to the rest of the building, and we can taper off the hallway and create a bottleneck of sorts to slow them all down."
"I think he's onto something." Ivon removed a pistol from his holster. "But we'll need to lay down some cover for our retreat."
"We'll manage that." Janus took out a beautiful bronze revolver of his own and reached for a small blade hidden in a compartment at the back of his knee. "The rest of you fall back down the hallway and we'll join you."
"Janus, this is madness!" Elsa hissed, grabbing his arm. "You're making yourself an unnecessary target!"
"Between Ivon and myself, I think we can handle this." Janus said without fear, caressing her cheek gently. "Go. I'll catch up."
"You better not die on me." Elsa's throat went thick, and she landed a long overdue kiss on his lips, but then remembered there was a mask in the way. Her lips ended up touching the black fabric, with a layer of lightweight metal underneath. He leaned into the "kiss" and they shared a very brief moment together. Well, better than nothing I suppose, given that we could all end up dead in a few moments time.
She withdrew and squeezed Janus' arm. He nodded in return, unable to return the gesture since he had a loaded revolver in one hand and a sharp blade in the other.
"On my signal." Elsa glanced at the rest who had turned their backs on the walls and were ready to sprint off down the hallway the second the volley of musketry ceased. That would be their opening.
One by one, the cracks of the muskets died down, and soon they ceased altogether when the soldiers realised they were wasting their ammunition firing at an empty hallway.
"Go!" Deirdre, Will and Oliver ran like their lives depended on it, and Elsa was hot on their heels. She chanced a glance over her shoulder as she sprinted.
Crouched, Ivon and Janus had begun blazing away behind the safety of the walls, the pink white flash coming from the barrels of their weapons lighting up the room that was now heavily coated in smoke, and she heard the sickening thuds and screams of the soldiers.
Her blood went cold and she tried to ignore the sounds as she whipped her head to the front, continuing to cover the last remaining stretch of hallway before they could get clear of the First Imperials' line of fire.
She made it and whirled round, her boots scraping against the ground as she made the full rotation. "Clear!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, and she felt her voice crack.
Ivon and Janus pivoted on their knees and took off running two abreast down the hallway as the surviving soldiers began to shout in indignation and anger, and the sound of muskets being reloaded and ramrods slammed home at a distance could be heard.
Thirty yards, Elsa's eyes darted past the sprinting figures back to the cloud of smoke which still hung across the room. Soldiers had begun to emerge from the smoke and were bringing their muskets to bear. Could they make it before the soldiers opened up another volley? Elsa willed Ivon and Janus to run faster with every fibre of her being.
"They're not going to make it." Deirdre shoved Elsa aside. "Get down!"
Almost immediately, Ivon and Janus dropped belly first as flames licked out just above their heads, shooting towards where the soldiers were standing in a line. The fire hit them squarely and they were punched off their feet, screaming as they rolled desperately to put out the flames which were consuming their jackets and uniforms.
"Thanks." Janus said as they crossed the last thirty yards and joined the rest in the wider room.
"That was close." Ivon began reloading his pistol.
"How many went down?" Oliver asked.
"Between us, we emptied about eight rounds." Janus glanced at Ivon. "But we couldn't see past the smoke."
"They're coming. Get clear!" Will shouted.
Another ragged volley began as the soldiers began clambering down the hallway to get to where the six defenders were, and they rapidly cleared the line of fire as best as they could manage.
"Okay, now that we're here, how is this any better?" Deirdre hissed. "The moment they get through that hallway and fill up the room, we're finished!"
"We held them off as long as we could, and we bought the rest time to evacuate. That's something." Ivon said blandly.
"It sounds like you're saying we're going to die here." Oliver had gone rather pale. "If I knew I was going to die today, I would have taken one last trip to the Ten Drinks."
"We're not going to die here." Elsa said firmly. "There must be a way out of this."
"Do you see one?"
"We can't afford to retreat any further. If we do, the First Imperials are going to be all over the insurgents and unarmed refugees!"
"We're all going to die here!"
"Everyone must have gotten out by now! I'm not dying for nothing!"
The voices surrounding Elsa grew distant as she shut them out and tried to think in the few seconds they had left. Was this the end?
"We don't have time for this." Janus grabbed something from his jacket and hurled it at the approaching soldiers. Smoke exploded from the item he had just thrown, covering the room in a thick, heavy smog which bought them a little extra time.
"We're out of options. We need to go. Now!" Deirdre yelled as she hurled another ball of fire into the mix of smoke, and it burst, creating more smoke and blinding the soldiers from spotting them.
She's right, Elsa thought as they bolted for the exit on the other side of the room. There was no point in them sacrificing their lives when the evacuation was most likely completed. They had given the insurgents enough time to get out with everyone else. The only logical move was to run, and run they did.
Author's Commentary:
Hmmn, I would really like to explore more about the story that Janus told Elsa. Unravelling more bits and pieces from his mysterious and tragic past would make for an interesting spinoff novel.
And this line came to me on the spur of the moment, and I think if there's a line to sum up this story, it's this: "I'm trying to do the right thing, but we're at war. In war, some sacrifices have to be made. Rules that govern who we are have to be broken. Morals have to be redefined. It's the only way we're going to make it through this alive."
There's a cold hard truth to it, which is why it was so compelling to me as a writer and an avid history/war buff.
