Act Four, Part Three
"All right, this is close enough," said Jim. He sprang from the horse's back and set off dodging through the crowds still thronging near the main gate of the New Palace, tossing out apologies as he went.
"Wait!" cried Niko. He too dismounted, and after a moment's frantic search he found a place to tie the horses before hurrying off to follow the American.
Jim had already arrived at the gate by the time Niko came limping up behind him. "No, I don't have my credentials," the Secret Service agent was saying, and with only a last shred of patience too. "I already told you: they were stolen from me along with my clothes by an impostor who's been sent to assassinate King Stepanko!"
The chief guard on the gate, eyes narrowing, leveled his rifle at Jim and growled, "Or else you are the impostor trying to trick me! Prove to me that you are the real James West!"
Jim sighed. Well, if this dolt wanted proof, he'd just have to give it to him, wouldn't he? He glanced at Niko, wishing the miner at his side were Artie instead. His partner would know to take advantage of the up-coming diversion to charge on inside and try to spread the warning to someone with a modicum more sense than this joker with the rifle. But would Niko's mind work that way?
Nevertheless... Softly Jim murmured to Niko, "I'm gonna have to dump this guy." He then turned back to the guard, smiled sweetly… and struck with the speed of a rattlesnake.
Abruptly the guard found himself fighting for control of his gun, for the man who claimed to be James West had grabbed hold of the rifle's barrel and stepped forward, moving the muzzle off to one side and downward. At the same time his other hand seized the guard by the front of his collar.
The guard yelped and struggled, trying to yank both his gun and his clothing free. And in the confusion...
Ka-chow!
…
The lengthy debate between Lady Anje and Ruvenko Duzko had just concluded with the majordomo compelled at last to admit defeat. "Very well, then," he told the bridesmaids. "On Lady Anje's recommendation, I accede: you may all enter and use the chapel to keep prayer for Baroness Mireje. However!" he added over the delighted utterances of the young noblewomen, "pray keep in mind that the king does not want visitors at this time; do stay out of his sight!"
"Thank you, we will," replied Gina Carlotta, acting as spokeswoman. She shooed the rest of the bridesmaids ahead of her, herding them towards the palace.
Ka-chow!
At the sound of the rifle firing, everyone in the courtyard whirled to stare at the commotion at the gate.
"Look!" Queen Leandra clutched at Princess Gina Carlotta's arm and pointed toward a man who was in the very act of slugging a guard. As the guard crumpled, the man wrested a smoking rifle from the fallen man's hands, checked the magazine, and must have found it empty for he then tossed the rifle aside. "Isn't… isn't that…?"
The princess gaped in surprise. "It is! Oh, but it cannot be! Mr West just went into the palace a few minutes ago, right before Mr Gordon did! And yet…"
The royal bridesmaids weren't the only ones baffled by the sight of the man in the gate. As three more guards rushed the intruder, Andreshko cried out to the ladies, "Stay there! Duzko, watch over them!" and took off running for the disturbance. As he charged toward the fight though, he saw someone slip around past the developing melee and hurry into the courtyard at a fast limp, coming straight towards him.
"Stop right there!" the young captain ordered, drawing his sidearm.
The limping man threw his hands into the air. "Please! You must call off the guards!" he shouted. "That's James West — the real one! We are chasing a double of him who has been sent out to kill the king!"
"What?" Dreshko swiveled to glance back at the palace, at the front door through which he had seen the familiar figure clad in blue enter not ten minutes earlier. "No, that cannot be Mr West. He's already here!"
"Already here? Then we must hurry! The king's life is at stake!" The limping man took one more step towards Andreshko.
And found the young captain's revolver pointed at his nose. "Stay right where you are!" Andreshko ordered. "Do not try to fool me. I already saw the real James West; it is your friend there who is the impostor!"
"Do you wish to make a bet on that?" the man with the limp said grimly, and he nodded toward the gate, drawing the captain's attention to the progress of the fight.
Dreshko had no doubt this was a diversion, that the man had in mind to sneak past him as soon as he was distracted by watching the fracas. And so he kept his eyes locked on the man before him, ignoring the action at the gate. Until, that is, a number of feminine voices from behind him cried out admiringly. Among them was the voice of Her Majesty Princess Gina Carlotta exclaiming, "Oh now, that without a doubt is the one and only authentic James West; no one fights as he does!"
Curiosity finally got the better of him. Maintaining his aim on the man with the limp, Andreshko glanced toward the gate.
He was just in time to see the man who certainly looked like Mr West leap up and with both hands grasp the bottom crossbar of the open portcullis. He swung back, then out, crashing into a trio of the guards, sending all three sprawling even as he himself somersaulted over them to land with the grace of a cat. He spun into the next pair of guards as they rushed him, grabbing the one and using him to knock down the other. Yet another guard charged at the intruder, but the man simply ducked under his arms and whirled, hammering the guard on the back as he flew past. Two more guards went after him…
"Surely you recognize him by now, Dreshko."
The captain whirled back again and glared at the man with the limp. "Why do you call me that?" he demanded.
"Because we met before, back in the West Coast Consulate when you were still a child. Or under the consulate, I should say." The man stuck out a hand. "Remember me? I am Niko. I was one of the miners your mother was keeping as her slave-labor force."
"You…" Andreshko frowned, squinting, then gaped in recognition. "Dasda! Of course, I do remember you! And that…" He gestured toward the gate, where five guards jumped the intruder all at once, burying him under their combined mass.
"…is in fact James West," Niko confirmed. "We are here because… ah… because he uncovered a plot to assassinate our king. Now, put an end to this fight at once so that we may go and stop the fake Mr West!"
At that moment the human tornado named West burst up from under the stack of guards, flinging them in all directions. Another guard scooped up the first guard's rifle and bore down on West from behind, fire in his eyes as he drew back the gun to swing it right at Jim West's head.
Blam!
At the sound of a new gunshot, everyone in the courtyard whirled once more, this time to stare at Captain Andreshko, his smoking revolver pointed at the sky. His face a bit ashen, the young officer barked out a terse set of orders to his men, sending some back to their posts at the gate, calling the rest to follow him. Slowly, groaning, the guards began to obey. West even reached down a hand to help the man nearest him back up to his feet.
The guard behind him, however, the one who had been about to club Jim's head with that rifle, saw his chance. Ignoring orders, he took a tighter grip on the rifle and reared back to get all his weight back of the whack he was about to take. This infernal American would never know what hit him!