A/N: Hello Dear Readers. My schedule for the upcoming week is not exactly fanfic friendly. That said, I hope to be updating, in 2 weeks. Thanks for sticking with me. I hope you are enjoying the story!

A/N2: Shout outs to my anonymous reviewer and James Birdsong! Glad you liked it. Hope you enjoy the trouble brewing in this chapter. ;) Thanks!


Chapter 27

The Munchkins were guarding the Yellow Brick Road entrance to Munchkinland. The sun had gone down and was on the verge of coming up again. President Jinjuria paced in his tent. He had demanded that he should be near the front. His Generals didn't think that was a good idea but then again, they didn't think this whole plan was a good idea. Still the leader of the Munchkins could not be persuaded.

"Mr. President, I think we really should reconsider. Your safety is paramount to keeping Munchkinland running," General Gawnett pleaded.

"Are you saying I'm a detriment to our troops?" Jinjuria gave him a look.

"Hardly sir. I just mean that if something happens to you, then Lord Nipp would be in charge of Munchkinland. Since he is in Center Munch on business, there will be no one in the capital to run the government," Gawnett pointed out.

"That is why you are worried?" The President raised an eyebrow.

"In a time of crisis, people look to their leaders. Not many in Munchkinland will know what to do. There could be potential chaos. Or they may just surrender to the Gale Force. Then control of Munchkinland would fall to non-natives. Do you really want Lady Glinda leading Munchkinland or the Wicked Witch?" The General hoped he was getting through.

"Then we must make sure we win, do we not?" Jinjuria was still giving him a look.

"Sir, as much as I have every confidence in our men, the Gale Force is led by a Vinkun. His troops have been trained by him and by the Vinkun troops in the Emerald City. Not only that, but he is also the Prince of his people. If something happens to him, do you honestly think that we won't have the full weight of the Vinkus and the Emerald City coming down upon us?" The General wanted to know. The President remained quiet for a few moments.

"So, what would you have me do? Just roll over?" He asked.

"Our people are suffering. They do not need war. They need to rejoin Oz. The economy is slowing to a crawl, as we do not have enough material to print more. This stand will not help. At best, we can salvage our relationship, by stopping this before it starts. Once it begins, I cannot say the outcome will be in Munchkinland's favor," Gawnett was honest and he wondered if it would be his undoing.

"Prep the men General. You let me worry about the politics. You are dismissed," Jinjuria was not backing down and the General heaved a sigh before leaving the tent. The poor man had no idea what was coming. Suddenly, his body dropped face first into the soil.

"The General is down!" One of the men shouted to the others a few minutes later. The find was too late, however. They realized he'd been killed when they rolled him over. A bullet hole now resided in his chest and his life sustaining blood soaked the ground.

"He's been murdered!" Another man shouted. No one had heard the gunshot and they were thoroughly confused. Unsure how that could be, they now scrambled about the camp, telling everyone to take cover. The President's security detail doused the lights in his tent so that the next shot could not find its target.

"Well, that got their attention. Excellent shot, I must say," Lieutenant Zetti was impressed as he figured their nest was about five hundred feet from the target. He and Fiyero were in a tree on top of a hill, using nothing by moonlight and the lights of the camp to direct them. The Lieutenant looked through the spyglass giving the Captain wind direction and approximate degrees for the angle of the shot.

"They'll be trying to figure out how I silenced that shot when they realize that the archers are already on them," Fiyero said. He'd opted for archers as they were quieter than the sound of the rifles. The Prince had made a point of teaching his men both how to effectively use their rifles but also to use bows and arrows, if they ran out of bullets.

"Once the archers have finished their volley, then do we move in?" Zetti asked.

"Yes. We see if they'll be willing to talk or if we have to finish what we started," Fiyero nodded. The two quickly climbed down from the tree and headed to rejoin their troops.

To Be Continued…