A/N: A shout out to my anonymous reviewer! Glad you liked it. More on our Munchkin President right now.
Chapter 31
Fiyero had sent the scouts out to see what was in front of them. He'd split the troops in half, leaving one half behind at the ruined Munchkin camp to help the wounded, move the dead, and clear the Yellow Brick Road. The other half were with him and Lieutenant Zetti trying to track down Jinjuria.
"I'm surprised that he thought he could escape," Zetti spoke up as they moved down the road.
"He doesn't want to go to jail," Fiyero pointed out.
"I know, but I figured he'd be wanting to be dealing with us rather than his own people," the Lieutenant smirked. That made the Vinkun smirk too. They're little chat was interrupted by a screech from Chistery. They looked up and saw him pointing to the trees below. They were unsure why he did that until they heard someone or something crashing through the brush.
"Fan out into the trees!" Fiyero ordered his troops. They immediately moved off the road and began to run through the forest. Fiyero and Zetti followed on their horses while Chistery and his brothers watched from above.
"Jinjuria! Surrender! Do not make this more difficult on yourself!" Fiyero yelled as they moved through the trees, trying to catch the Munchkin. The troops continued moving for a few minutes until a shot went up,
"Freeze!" Heads turned and soldiers rushed toward their comrade; trying to encircle their quarry.
"Stop or I will shoot!" The same soldier barked. By now his fellow Gale Force members had closed the gaps, leaving only a narrow escape route in front of the man. The man continued to move despite the warning. That's when the soldier aimed his rifle and fired. The bullet whizzed by the man and buried itself into a tree.
"The next one will not miss!" The solider gave his final warning, knowing full well that his Captain wanted the President alive. This warning did it. The man threw his hands up and said,
"Don't shoot! I surrender!" Fiyero and Zetti quickly joined the troops and watched as the soldiers took the man into custody. Chains were clamped onto his wrists and ankles.
"Captain!" Sergeant Zeki saluted to his commanding officer as the Vinkun climbed off his horse. Lieutenant Zetti followed suit.
"Sergeant, who do we have?" Fiyero asked as they moved toward the captured man.
"I believe it is the President, sir," Zeki had a smile on his face. Two soldiers forced the man to move forward toward their commanding officer. No one had a picture of the man and no one in the group had officially met Jinjuria. It was now that the Captain was wishing Elphaba or Mopsi or Popsi were with them.
"Identify yourself," Fiyero ordered. The man refused. The Vinkun narrowed his eyes and carefully studied the man in front of him. He certainly wore the outfit that someone would expect the Munchkin President to wear – it was a military outfit, complete with medals that he did not earn, but they were more ceremonial. Still, something bothered Fiyero. Especially since
"Take him back to the Yellow Brick Road. Get a Munchkin who had been conscripted to ID him. I want this forest thoroughly searched," the Vinkun told them. The troops quickly fanned out to make sure they weren't being tricked. The two men moved their prisoner toward the road. It was then that Chistery landed nearby. He had worked his way through the tree cover to find the Captain.
"My brothers found the end of the tree line. They are monitoring the line in case anyone tries to head into the field," the Flying Monkey explained.
"Very good. I just don't know Mister Chistery," Fiyero frowned.
"I have an idea. It might seem silly but…" the Flying Monkey paused.
"What?" He asked.
"Let me smell him," Chistery said.
"Pardon?" Zetti raised an eyebrow.
"A true man of power bathes more than anyone down the line. If you could smell what I smell, you would not be able to stomach lunch," Chistery pointed out. Fiyero opened his mouth but stopped himself before nodding.
"Go," the Vinkun said. Chistery nodded and took off.
To Be Continued…
