SCENE TWENTY THREE – the next day, Isle d' Tresor
"W Company, fall in, report in! But soft-foot it, and on the double quick, boys." Auburn haired Youngest Jaimey called out in a stage whisper. And as they had been doing for a very long time, W Company fell into line, one by one.
"Scout, present." a scrawny, sandy-haired mop-top Witness answered, taking first in line.
"Attache, present, YJ." a wiry, dark haired brother answered, coming next.
'travis, present, Jaimey-boy." a grey eyed boy with light brown hair responded next.
"Gascon, presente, mon Capitaine." a thin, dark eyed, dark haired brother replied, stepping up.
"Alexander, present!" was the response of a sturdy, bright-eyed, golden-blond.
"Galahad, I'm here, YJ, An' I'm just now hearin' about this, why?" asked another of the Witnesses, his long dark hair falling in his wide hazel eyes.
"Never mind that right now, Gal. Dad, present, Keep it goin', boys." a grey eyed, dark haired serious looking boy answered.
"AWOL, which I ain't, by the way, present, YJ." the next boy in line called out, his green eyes full of laughter, his thin features topped by thick, coarse, copper-penny hair.
"Innocent, which I ain't been in some time, boys, present, y"all." a dark hazel eyed towhead answered next.
"Prince of the Welsh Marches, present, and ready for whatever's the trouble." the next boy in line called out, a bright eyed youngster with a headfull of coarse, curly hair as black as pitch.
"We got enough trouble without lookin' for more, Prince! Black sheep, present, YJ." another thin framed boy answered, his grey-blue eyes stern and sad.
"You can say that again, but don't! Brutus, present." the next Witness replied, a wiry brunet with wide dark eyes.
"JimmyR" present, stop gripin', we're all already worn down to a nub!" Another copper-redhead said, rushing up to join the line.
"Cavalry present, yeah, I know I shoulda been watchin' the Ls, same as all the rest of us!" the next brother called out, his green-hazel eyes snapping, rubbing one hand through his long, bright chestnut hair.
"Vraiment, we are all at fault, mes freres…Emissary, presente, m'sieur." another bright blond brother answered, a frown deep in his wide, grey eyes.
"Baronet, presente aussi, YJ" a second towheaded mop top boy called out, with bright blue eyes twinkling in a long face.
"Partisan, right over here, YJ… uh, sorry, mean to say, present." a wiry, sandy haired, hazel eyed brother responded, coming up next in the line.
"Orphan, if anybody gives a flying fig, I'm right here, Jaimey." A sad, green eyed, dark haired boy grumbled.
" "phan, you can be down in the dumps later, we've got Ls to find, right now…Oh, Horatio, present, m' lord… ummm, that is, Jaimey." the next boy on the roster, a scrawny lad with wide grey-blue eyes and long, dark sandy hair, insisted.
Kiery, here and … yeah, present, that's the same thing, ain't it?" called out the next brother, a boy with wide blue eyes and bright chestnut hair.
"It means the same, Kier, but you still have to answer the roll proper. Telemachos, present, YJ" The boy next in line responded, a thin youngster with grey green eyes full of laughter, under a mop of sunny bleached hair.
"Gallant, worn out already with lookin' but I'm here!" A dark-hazel eyed, dark chestnut haired brother called out, coming up next in line.
"Mon enfant, presente, aussi." the next brother, a sturdy boy with wide, clear brown eyes and thick sandy hair responded.
"Schoolboy, present for the roll, let's get this done, boys." another sandy-blond, with wide grey blue eyes called out in his turn.
"Caballero, estoy presente para el servicio, senor" An aristocratic looking, dark haired, dark eyed boy answered next.
"Effective, present as called for, YJ." A stocky youngster with clear grey eyes and a mop of dark sandy hair called out.
"Foursquare, 'm here an' I t'hought V Company had Watch for th' foreseeable, what th' heck happened?" The next boy, a sturdy lad with thick light brown hair and wary blue eyes asked.
"We never stopped the Watch rotation, Four, not till the Ls took off, anyway. Missing, actually, not missin' at all, I'm right here next to Four, YJ." A pale featured, wide blue eyed blond brother answered.
"Darnay, presente, YJ." The next brother in line, a wiry, bright haired blond with wide grey eyes called out.
"Cadet East, present for duty, YJ." A green-eyed towhead lad next in the ranks called, snapping off a sharp salute.
"HOLD IT! HOLD IT, RIGHT THERE, YOU OLD IDIOTS!" Another, older-sounding young man's voice called out angrily, As Courier strode into the long, sunny, low-ceilinged attic room W Company had taken for its bivouac " THE LS GO MISSIN', THEY GO HIDIN, AND YOU DON'T CALL A GENERAL ALERT? YOU DON't EVEN CALL UP D COMPANY FOR BACK UP, WHILST YOU SEARCH OUT THE ONES YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSE TO LET OUTA YOUR SIGHT? WHAT's THE MATTER WITH YOU? DON't YOU KNOW WE'RE STILL NOT SAFE, YET? DON'T YOU GET THAT SOB WILL COME AFTER US AGAIN, WHENEVER, HOWEVER AND WHEREVER HE TAKES IT IN HIS MIND TO DO JUST THAT?"
Before any of W Company could answer, the rest of D Company stormed in behind Courier, clearly spoiling for a skirmish, if not an all out battle. This was nothing new to the Companies. Like any siblings, they'd been at odds, sometimes, until their recent incarceration, even at cross purposes, it seemed. But without knowing these brothers existed, and certainly without any conscious intent, Gideon Boudin had radically changed their perspective as a whole, and within each Company, as well. So now, instead of taking Courier's provoking manner and angry tone at face value, Young Jaimey took a moment and a deep breath before he answered his younger brother.
"Figure we know he's already started up again, Cour." Jaimey answered, nodding. "Else the Ls wouldn't have spooked and gone for whichever deep hidey-hole they've found themselves this time. And as for calling up D Company, much less sending up an alert, it was Oldest who gave US the word on the quiet, so that nobody would spook L Company any more than they already are. Now, W Company has the Watch, so we're in charge of this damn all search. And we're taking the roll, so WE KNOW the whole of W Company's here! So, mind your tongue and follow orders, Cour! We had to just ORDER the rest of V Company to bivouac, cause they were getting purely frantic, coming off Watch to find no Ls in place for them to hand off the Watch! We'll do the same with D, Cour, if you don't set yourselves right now this minute to keeping those hotheaded, heedless, fractious magnets for disaster in line for once!"
Courier looked as if he was going to answer Jaimey's rising temper with more of his own for a long moment. Then the leader of the Defenders shrugged. "Hold on to your own hot head, YJ, and listen up a minute. I've got a compromise offer. We'll set a third each of my Defenders and your Witnesses to keep a good, close eye or ear on the Veterans while they're in bivouac. Then the other two thirds will pair up, just as usual, and get to finding the Ls. That way, D Company is already on alert, helping all y"all search, ready for S to hand off the Watch to us, and at least two of the Companies will be situated the way the Watch calls for, AND nobody else has a chance to go wanderin'. Now, you're still voted-in Captain for W Company, so you can make this call. What's your choice?"
"You're making a lot more sense than you used to, these days, Cour." Jaimey grinned crookedly at his younger brother, knowing he hated being tweaked that way. "So I'm gonna take you up on that compromise, and I'm gonna go you one better. If this search takes longer than W Company's turn at Watch, I'll hand it off to D, and take your post keeping Watch on Oldest. And if this search takes that long, or longer, I'll add this notion to the mix: that we trade off which fellas are guarding V Company in bivouac, and which are out chasing down our Ls, at the halfway mark during each Company's turn at Watch, to make it fair all 'round. Done?"
"Done." Courier answered, and without another word, saluted the Witnesses current "captain, with only the least touch of mockery in his eyes and his manner. In the next instant Courier's long term authority within D Company showed clear as day, as each Defender took his place either beside the Witness he would search with, or beside the Veteran he was temporarily charged to watch and to watch over.
"Let's finish the roll and get back to searching, boys." Jaimey called out, sighing with huge relief. D Company was also known as Defiants, and for good reason. Until their recent troubles, that third-born command among the brothers defied their elders on a regular basis.
"Refugee, presente, mon frere". The next Witness, a thin lad with coarse, thick dark hair and bright hazel eyes called out next.
"Adamech Avishai, present, and I'd love to know what the …" A dark eyed, dark haired moptop lad began to say.
"Not now, 'mech, not now. Pony present, and ready, no cracks from the sidelines." The next brother, a green eyed copper redhead interrupted.
"Footracer, bout run off m'feet already lookin'… oh, sorry, present, YJ." The next boy, a chestnut haired, wiry hazel eyed lad, coming into the line called out.
"Bedwyr, present, can't we get some horses, YJ and start looking further out?" Another wiry boy with unruly jet black hair and eyes asked.
"We don't need horses, we've got Pony, 'llero, an' Cav! Steadfast, present, but tired out already." A sandy haired, sturdy, green eyed brother answered, with a crooked grin.
"He said no cracks, so could ye just shut it? Matchless, which this whole thing ain't, present for duty, YJ" the next brother, a scrawny, haze eyed boy, just coming into line answered, shaking his head of long, dark hair.
"He always says no cracks, it was just a jibe, calm down, Radical, present but not making trouble, YJ." The boy striding up behind him, a hazel eyed, strawberry blond, protested.
"Colonel, present as ordered, YJ, and we've got somebody else making all the trouble we need, boys." The next brother, a somber towhead with bright grey-green eyes answered.
"Cripple present, and no, whoever asked, 'm not on the sick list, I'm here to get in the search." The next boy, a thin brunette with deep set dark hazel eyes insisted.
"You were lookin' a bit wobbly, C, that's why somebody asked, 12th of 45, present, YJ." the boy just behind him, another green eyed brother, with thick, curly dark brown hair answered.
"Boy, for all the good it will do looking for the Ls when they really want to hide, present, Jaimey." The next brother in the line, a reedy, sandy haired boy with huge grey-blue eyes called out glumly.
"Tidewater present YJ, we've always been able to coax "em out as needed before… relax, fellows." The next boy, a "carrot top" with wide green eyes replied.
"Preacher, present, Jaimey, and it won't hurt, so I'm already 'talking to the Man Upstairs about this." The brother coming up next, another copper penny redhead with deep set hazel eyes reported.
"Witness, yeah, prayin' sounds pretty good, when all else falls apart! Sorry, Witness present as ordered, YJ." One more thin, dark haired, bright eyed brother called out.
"Emrys present, when all else falls apart, W Company's always the one puttin' it all back t'gether, your turn now, Jaimey." The brother closest to Jaimey, a dark mop top with wide dark eyes answered.
"Thanks, Jaimey, voted-in Captain for the winter encampment, present as called on for search-duty. Let's get to it, boys."
"Attendre, attendre s'il vous plait, mes chers garcons." Antoinette called out, walking into the attic room. "I thought you wished for my help in this morning's effort to find your jeune freres. But instead Torry told me you were up here, already seeking them, so I have come looking for you. We are becoming friends, non?"
"Oh, oh, surely! 'm sorry, missus DocAni, real sorry, we're just so used t' keepin' things shut, still, its what we've always done… to get by… 'm sorry. You're havin'us all in your house now, without even gripin' … An' DocM , he came and stayed at that real awful crazed people place… all to help us, an all… just, it's hard for any of us to know … it's just hard to…" Jaimey told her, looking downcast.
"To believe you are protected now, by genuinely faithful friends, that you are not going to be hurt, not going to be lied to, or left hungry, sick and abandoned again? Oui, j'l' comprend ceci, tres, tres bien. So, with that understood, we can work well together. Come, mes amis, and tell me first of all, where have you already been searching?" Ani asked, sitting down, and gesturing for the brothers to gather around her while they briefly conferred. The situation was too urgent, all the searchers felt, to spend much time sitting and discussing tactics. So they studied the rough floorplans Ani sketched of the old mansion's two wings, attic, cellar and the two floors in between. And even that quick conference was cut short when Micah climbed the wide, heavy attic stairway and rushed up to his mother.
"Maman! Maman, Micah Diego wants the playing with Our Torry's Littles! P"quoi they don't come play with Micah Diego like mon Pere promised they would when they camed here? P"quoi, maman? Do they no like to play, no like to have fun, no like Micah Diego?" The little boy demanded to know.
"Non, mon petite, non. They already like you quite a lot, of that I am sure, because already our Grown Torry, our cher ami likes you very much, cheri. Mais his little brothers are all very shy. I think they only want you to ask them to come out and play with you, mon petite. In fact, our plus cher ami Jaimee asked us to help him and his jeune freres play a sort of hide and seek game to bring out his small brothers." Antoinette said, framing the search they would make in terms her small son would understand quickly. "And I told Jaimee we would gladly help, because you and I already know all the finest of hiding places in our new home, don't we, Micah Diego? So we can be of much help in such a play, non?"
"Oui, maman!" Micah agreed, bouncing happily at the prospect. "Jay- mee, Micah Diego plays seekinhidin very much good with maman, and papa, and sometimes they have the very hard times to find Micah Diego!"
"Well then, lets get this "game" goin'!" Jaimey agreed, mouthing thanks to Ani, as he hadn't wanted to frighten her small son with the serious side of this "game". 'micah, where's the best hidin' place you've found in this big house? I think that's where we should start lookin' for those Littles."
"I know!" Micah giggled, sounding very much like his father. "I know, come, Micah Diego will show you!"
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