A/N: A shout out to my anonymous reviewer. More on our bad guys in this chapter. ;) Thanks!
Chapter 23
Malachi looked at the Prince and at Elphaba and then sat back down at the table. The two joined him and the Vinkun gave him a look. There was definitely something up with the young man and Fiyero worried that there was a secret he was keeping.
"All right, now just tell us the truth. You're not in trouble…" Fiyero started that way figuring that even if that wasn't entirely true, it would get the Sergeant talking.
"I don't think you can say that sir. I did something that needed to be done but…" Malachi stopped himself.
"What happened? Sergeant Bailey said that you didn't say anything to him," Elphaba said.
"I couldn't. I suppose it wouldn't last long though," the Sergeant told them. Elphaba looked at Fiyero and he looked at her.
"From the beginning, tell us what happened," the Prince said. Malachi cleared his throat and pushed his dinner dishes off to the side.
"Earlier today when all the shooting was going on. I told my men to stand firm and to not abandon their posts. I stood outside the door as a sort of early warning to those behind the door in case someone would come our way. Told them to lock the door so that if someone tried to get passed me, they would find a solid wooden door to try and break down.
"It wasn't long after I was standing out in the hallway that some men rushed by the hallway. I couldn't see their faces. As you know, the hallway to the prison cells is a long dark one. It was built that way to intimidate but also to avoid easy detection. I fear my presence ruined that last part. One man made his way toward me, perhaps he was at the end of the pack. I warned him that he was in a restricted area. Still, he came towards me. I warned him again. It didn't matter, still he came.
"I pulled out my bayonet, I intended to use it, if need be. The man saw it. He knew and yet he came at me. I was surprised. It was like he wanted to die. I couldn't understand it," the young soldier explained.
"We didn't see any dead bodies on our way to the cells…" Elphaba interrupted him.
"You wouldn't. I dropped him down the hatch in the floor," Malachi hung his head.
"The hatch in the floor? Your men saw you do this and didn't say anything?" Fiyero asked. He knew that the hatch in the floor was inside the prison cell room. This story, if true, means the Wizard watched him do it.
"I told them not to. We needed to keep it quiet at least until I figured out what to do," the Sergeant told them.
"I didn't see any blood," Elphaba was beginning to wonder what the young man was leaving out.
"I couldn't use the bayonet. I'd never been in actual hand-to-hand combat. Training, sure but never for my life, I ended up dropping it. We struggled in the hallway and somehow, I managed to get him in a headlock. He slumped after a few minutes and then I yelled for the men to open the door. They did and they helped me drag him inside. Private Byrd opened the hatch and we threw him in," he said.
"Did you check his vitals?" Fiyero wondered.
"I panicked," the Sergeant was ashamed to admit it.
"Ok, you come with us. We're heading back in there," the Prince told him. Malachi just nodded and the three quickly left the mess tent. They reached the hallway that led to the prison cells to find men outside the door that were not Gale Force or Vinkun. They weren't even Gillikinese or Quadling.
"Oi!" Fiyero shouted. They whipped around and were surprised to see Elphaba standing next to the Prince.
"I suggest you put the weapons down," she said. That's when the door to the prison cells opened and there stood Sergeant Kemal and the other men, their guns pointed at the attempted Wizard rescuers.
"Gee boys, what have we here?" Kemal wondered. Completely surrounded the men dropped their weapons.
"Do they look like the guys who tried to get in earlier?" Fiyero whispered to Malachi. He knew it was a long shot, but he had to ask. Malachi just shrugged.
"All right everyone inside. I think it's time for a chat," Kemal said.
To Be Continued…