Chapter Thirty Eight

Rescue Mission

ELSA

By the time they were ready to move out, Elsa was quite sure that if they waited any longer, Janus and Will would be dead. But the plan Ivon had come up with was a good one, and this time Elsa was sure that it would work perfectly. Not that she wasn't still a little on edge, especially after everything that she had been through.

"Everyone knows their roles." Ivon said in a tone which Elsa couldn't decipher as a question or a statement.

She nodded though. It was simple enough really. Jade, Oliver and Alfonz would break into the local jail beside the Sulge River while Ivon, Deirdre, Tracy and herself would rescue Janus before he was executed.

What's stopping things from going south this time too? She found herself wondering, and shook off the thought. No time to think about that now. All she had on her mind was Janus' scarred face as his eyes which were usually masked and hooded from emotion stared back at her helplessly, begging her to save him.

While the insurgents prepared their weapons, Elsa used her powers to form a new long sleeved blue blouse with black tights and high cut boots. Her powers had returned, to her relief, once she had rehydrated herself. She wasn't used to not being able to access her powers. If it weren't for those magic dampening cuffs, she would have long ago used her ice to freeze Hans where he stood.

"I see your powers are back." Holli said. "How are you feeling now?"

"A lot better, thanks to you." Elsa smiled at her gratefully. "If it weren't for you, I would probably have died from my injuries."

Holli glanced away shyly.

Elsa couldn't help but wonder why she had allowed a scrawny, fragile looking nineteen year old girl to be dragged into this. She was literally one head shorter than Elsa and half her size! To be fair, Elsa didn't exactly have a say since she had been knocked out most of the time, and she couldn't just order Holli to return to Arendelle now after she had just saved Elsa's life. It would be a rather ungrateful gesture. Besides, the girl was enthusiastic about being able to chip in any way she could.

"Stay here, alright?" Elsa said. "Something tells me we're going to need your medical expertise before this is all over."

"I'll be right here when you need me." Holli beamed at Elsa like a small child, and Elsa still felt a measure of guilt.

She turned and found Tracy braiding up her dreadlocks. "Now that's a familiar look."

"Yeah, couldn't stand the royal assistant hairdo." Tracy snorted. "Made me look like a complete nerd."

"I think that was the idea, buddy." Jade said cheekily in response.

"You don't get a say, you didn't have to dress in high heels, nerdy glasses and a tight bun!" Tracy retorted.

The light banter went on for a few moments as they prepared themselves for their second mission with the Insurgency. Elsa wondered to herself how her friends were able to still be so light hearted about it all when they were about to head into imminent danger. It was something that she never really understood. Maybe she really was perpetually uptight.

When they were finally ready, Tracy opened up two portals: one for Jade's team that was going to the local jail to spring Will, and another for her own team which was headed down to the Maine to prevent Janus' execution.

Arriving at the roof of the Maine, Elsa glanced over the top of the building to check out what was going on below as there was quite a racket. Behind the Maine, there were three other buildings which formed a large gaping square in the middle where a courtyard had been constructed.

It seemed like hundreds of people were gathered in that courtyard, all yelling in Exonian. It made sense that the regular citizens of Denmark wouldn't want to be there, but the imported Exonians were happy to fill their place to celebrate the death of a traitor.

And as for the prize attraction, a guillotine had been erected in the centre. Elsa bristled at the sight of the hangman's noose. His back is already broken and paralysed. How much more cruelty are they going to inflict on him just to get his neck in that noose? She felt anger boiling within her and she whirled round. They had to hurry.

"Ivon, you stay up here and keep watch." Elsa repeated the plan, half for Tracy and Deirdre to hear and half for her own reassurance.

The ex-soldier nodded as he began to get down into a comfortable sniping position. "You better hurry. And be careful."

Elsa dipped her head a little and took off into the switchback stairwell of the Maine, with Deirdre and Tracy hot on her heels.

Halfway down the second flight of stairs, Tracy hissed for them to stop.

"What-"

"Shhh. I hear voices." Tracy pulled Elsa and Deirdre against the side of the wall just as a swinging door to the stairwell opened on the basement level.

Two soldiers speaking jovially in Exonian filed into the stairwell, making their way up to the ground level where they could join the growing crowd of spectators in the courtyard.

They were going to spot the Warriors once they got up the first few steps. It was only a matter of which side would strike first. Elsa glanced at Tracy and Deirdre, and thankfully they all seemed to be on the same page.

Without a word, Tracy leapt over the railing of the stairs and down towards the basement level at an angle. Deirdre opted instead to sprint down the stairs with her palms aimed towards where the soldiers were.

By this time, the pair of First Imperials had heard the commotion which was echoing throughout the stairwell, and looked up just in time to see a dark skinned girl with dreadlocks pouncing towards them.

One of them gave an alarmed exclamation, and rolled down the stairs as Tracy landed on top of him, using him as a makeshift surfboard.

The second drew his knife, but a heat wave melted the metal in his hand, and he hastily dropped it before the molten metal could scald him. He whirled to see Deirdre rounding the landing but was too slow and took a heel to the jaw.

He sprawled down the rest of the stairs in a daze, landing beside his already unconscious companion.

Not bad at all, Elsa mused as she hurried down the rest of the stairs as fast as her tired legs would allow her to join the two Warriors. She herself hadn't dared to do any of those stunts, especially since her legs were still feeling a little sore and at times wobbly. She wasn't going to make herself more of a liability if she could help it.

"We should check out the basement." Elsa said aloud. "When we were being brought into the Maine the first time, I saw a side staircase leading down to a basement, but we were never down there."

"Alright." Tracy got up.

"But we need to be careful. We can't afford getting captured too." Deirdre said anxiously.

"Stay sharp." Elsa nodded.

Tracy pushed open the door and they entered a dimly lit passage, lined with storage rooms on both sides. The entire place smelled musty and the air was warm and stale.

Elsa wrinkled her nose as she led the way down the passage, afraid of what they would find. She heard footsteps coming from around the corner and she whirled around, gesturing wildly to Deirdre and Tracy. Almost too coincidentally, one of the storage rooms' door was not latched, and they filed into the dusty, cramp space as quickly and quietly as they could leaving the door just a fraction ajar.

Another group of footfalls could be heard walking clean past the storage room the three girls were hiding in, and Elsa strained her ears, frowning as she heard one of the voices. Whoever he was, he sounded familiar. It took her a few moments before she placed the unpleasant voice. Dolan, the Lieutenant who had seized command of the First Imperial Guard from Janus.

The hair at the back of her neck stood on end at the prospect of having to face that nasty individual. He was downright merciless and ruthless, and had no qualms about killing without second thought, as Elsa had seen. She continued to strain her ears as she heard the footsteps move into the room beside where they were and stopped.

"Time's up, sir." She heard Dolan sneer. "Can't say I haven't dreamt about doing this myself."

Janus is here alright. Elsa glanced at Deirdre and Tracy who remained silent, but she could tell that they too understood that Janus was lying paralyzed in the next room.

She winced as she heard a groan of agony as there was some dragging across the floor - most likely from Janus - and the sadistic sniggering of Dolan and his lackeys. There was nothing she wanted to do more than rush headlong into the next room and freeze all the soldiers where they stood. But then it would more likely end in her being shot upon entry.

Elsa bit her lip and waited as she could make out the sound of Janus being dragged out of the storage room, and the footsteps began to fade. She made for the door, as did Tracy and Deirdre.

They kept a safe distance behind, just out of sight of the First Imperials ahead who were indeed dragging a limp Janus towards the end of the passage and up the stairs. As quietly as they could manage, the three girls crept up the stairs after the First Imperials and Janus, and watched as the small party exited at the ground level out from the darkness of the stairwell and into the bright afternoon scene.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Elsa." Deirdre said quietly.

Elsa glanced at her silently as if to say "no I don't", before leading the way up the stairs. There was no turning back now. If Janus could risk his life to save hers, then she owed it to him to do the same.

Emerging out into the sunlight, Elsa was acutely aware that they were walking amongst the Exonians, a minority of them were soldiers, while others were accountants, nobles or some other brand of rich folk, judging by the way they were dressed. Apparently, the Warriors weren't the only one privy to that perspective, as some people had turned their attention to the newcomers.

"Whatever you're planning, you better do it fast." Tracy murmured.

Elsa kept her eyes trained on Janus who was still being dragged towards the guillotine in the middle of the courtyard, surrounded by the hundreds of roaring Exonians.

"This is madness." Deirdre said uncomfortably. "We're sitting ducks waiting to be pounced on."

"I agree." Tracy hurried to catch up with Elsa. "We're being watched."

"I know." Elsa didn't spare her a glance. Her mind was racing to think of something. Usually it was Melody who came up with the plans, and she was acutely aware that she was no Melody. All Elsa wanted to do was jump the gun and mount an offence to spring Janus.

But no, that would draw too much attention without a viable way of getting to Janus from where she was. If she'd learnt anything from Melody, it was to wait for the right opening. So she would wait, up till the very last second, if she had to.

She stood a short distance away from the guillotine with the two girls, somewhat surprised that they hadn't been identified yet as the infamous insurgent associates who thrashed the weapons cache and the Merchant's Bank. Elsa watched as the soldiers forced Janus into an upright position, and his body slumped forward as if he had no backbone, which made Elsa wince.

"Elsa, it's now or never." Tracy hissed urgently. "He's gonna be hanged!"

Elsa glanced over her shoulder past Tracy and Deirdre and up to the rooftop, and saw Ivon perched on a vantage point. She had it figured out, and apparently so did Ivon.

As the rope rested around Janus' neck and the soldiers made ready to have the broken mercenary executed, a thunderous crack exploded through the air and echoed throughout the courtyard's four walls.

Something split clean through the rope and Janus dropped to the ground like a helpless rag doll. As everyone's attentions were turned to where the earsplitting sound had come from, Elsa saw her opening.

"Now!" Elsa broke into a sprint, bulldozing her way through the crowd in the most unladylike manner and feeling her legs screaming, threatening to give way beneath her.

Miraculously, she got through the crowd to where Janus was, but then he was being surrounded by a couple of soldiers…and Lieutenant Dolan.

One of them gave a shout as he saw Elsa emerging from the crowd, and the group turned.

Elsa cursed in her mind and she raised both hands reflexively. Streams of ice flew from her palms, slamming into a couple of the soldiers and bulling them off balance and away from Janus. Those who had managed to scurry out of the way began to load their muskets at the bark from the lieutenant.

Tracy and Deirdre burst through the crowd, and the former jerked one hand in an upward motion. A purple mist yanked the muskets clean out of their hands to their confusion.

"You," Dolan growled. "Didn't the Consul take care of you?"

"Looks like he failed then, didn't he?" Elsa stood her ground, feet apart and shoulders squared.

"I don't believe it."

"You better." Her palms were aimed squarely at Dolan and she put on a mask of confidence even though her legs felt like giving way. "Get out of the way. We're taking him with us."

Dolan had enough sense to know that he was vastly outmatched against the three Warriors, and stepped aside, eyes narrowed dangerously at them.

"This isn't over." He snarled.

"You're right," Elsa said as Deirdre and herself each took one of Janus' well toned arms and slung them across their backs. "It isn't."

Tracy took the hint for a dramatically timed exit and opened a Crossing Point promptly. The three girls and Janus disappeared into the portal, and another Crossing Point opened up on top of the rooftop.

"Come on!" Tracy beckoned to Ivon who was still waiting on the rooftop out of sight.

"About time." Ivon grabbed his rifle and dove into the portal just as the door of the roof stairwell burst open and a detail of First Imperials rushed out to find absolutely no one on the rooftop of the Maine.