A/N: Shout outs to my anonymous reviewer and James Birdsong! Glad you liked the last chapter. More excitement in this one. ;) Thanks so much!
Chapter 26
Chistery scoped out the Corn Exchange from up high. He saw no guards posted on the exterior and no sign of activity, despite what Elphaba had seen in her crystal ball. The horses were not far behind the Monkeys and he signaled to the nine brothers and sisters he'd recruited for the mission to take up positions. They'd need to catch these men off guard if they had any hope of keeping Candy alive.
Elphaba had an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach, even with her trusty broom strapped to her back. There were too many unknowns for her. Fiyero had yet to divulge who this Candy was to Farhidi and why the men were so interested in her. They hadn't really had the time. Candy's life could hang in the balance and whatever Farhidi was hiding could die with Candy. After all, what impetus would he have to divulge secrets if the men who were after him, killed someone he cared about?
Fiyero knew that his fiancée was nervous, even if she refused to admit it. It wasn't about her skills – no, those she had full confidence in. The situation was different. He knew that she would run hundreds of scenarios in her head, always hoping for one that meant no one got hurt. The problem was their line of work – someone was always going to get hurt. As a Prince, he was trained for this inevitability. People get hurt or worse when on missions or in battle. There was no way around it. Didn't mean he had to become hard and not let it bother him – in fact, his father had often warned – if he got to the point where it didn't bother him, then it was time to quit. King Tahir was not a quitter by any sense of the word, but he also knew that a hardened King was not necessarily a good King. One had to be able to rule with an iron fist, when the occasion called for it – to make the hard decisions, but also be compassionate, be able to grant mercy. Today seemed more like an iron fist day, however.
"No outward signs of movement and no sentries. They must think they have chosen a good hiding place," Chistery reported to them in a low tone as the horses held up just out of sight of the building. The run-down complex allowed for many hiding places behind defunct buildings and equipment, allowing for them all to dismount from their rides under cover.
"Stealth entry. I want people left outside to catch anyone who thinks they can run. Everyone is coming with us today," Fiyero told him, keeping his tone just as low, after the group huddled around him.
"Yes Captain," Chistery gave a wink and headed back to his fellow Flying Monkeys. The human group dismounted; soldiers readied their rifles. Fiyero turned to the group which consisted of Sergeant Schultz, Corporal Kaplan, Corporal Roth, Private Basheer, and Private Filiz. The two Privates were relatively new recruits but both of them had impressed Fiyero with their skills. Filiz was one of the first female Gale Force soldiers. The Vinkun had wanted to integrate the Gale Force like the Vinkun forces were. He saw no reason why women of Oz could not defend their homeland, even if they had not spent their lives training for it, like they did back home. It had been a bumpy road but a few of the men around Filiz, including Basheer, had taken to having her back and seeing her as one of the team, rather than a problem they had to worry about. A mission like this would help not only Filiz but also the other women who were just starting their journeys as soldiers.
"Basheer, Filiz, take the door in front of us. Schultz, Roth, take the side door to the left. Kaplan and I will take the one to the right. Miss Elphaba will be joining Chistery and the others from above," Fiyero whispered his instructions. The Corn Exchange had many openings up above from holes in the roof and broken windows to openings that were meant to be there from the long defunct conveyor belts.
"Everyone ready?" He asked, giving them all a look. They were young and eager. Sometimes that was a good thing and sometimes it wasn't. The only way to learn, however, was to do.
"Yes Captain," came the reply in hushed tones. The group spread out while Elphaba took to the skies on her broom. She and the Monkeys found good entry spots and she signaled for them to bust in.
There were shouts from the men below inside the Corn Exchange. They were not expecting Flying Monkeys and they certainly weren't expecting the doors on the ground floor to bust in with Gale Force. Suddenly it had become everyone for themselves and people began running, not bothering to try and fire their weapons at each other. Fiyero was about to bark orders, but he saw that his well-trained troops had things in hand with the help of the Monkeys. His bigger problem was that no one had seen Candy yet. Suddenly, they heard a gunshot.
Elphaba darted off in the direction she heard it and Chistery was hot on her heels. The Corn Exchange was a large building and while they had assumed the group was in a large open area, someone was hiding in the back behind the old stairways and equipment. They may have just gotten someone killed.
The green woman and Flying Monkey emerged from the route they found to a second large room. There on the floor lay Candy, bleeding from a wound in her stomach. Their shooter appeared to be in the wind, but Chistery wasn't so sure. Elphaba rushed to help the woman, while her friend screeched for backup. Suddenly three more Monkeys appeared and they spread out, looking for their shooter.
"It's going to be ok. I've got you," Elphaba promised the brothel worker.
"I… don't…" it was hard for Candy to breathe. Elphaba shushed her and quickly chanted a spell to knock her out before she cast another one to remove the offending bullet. She knew that doing this all here was dangerous, but Candy wasn't going to make it back to the Palace, if she didn't act quickly. The last spell sealed up the wound, but she knew that Doctor Talib would need a closer look.
"Fiyero!" Elphaba called out, hoping that her fiancé would hear her. He didn't come running, but she heard another gunshot followed by a scream.
To Be Continued…