Benjamin Franklin

The weathered hinges of the gate creaked quietly as Kanen'tó:kon pulled it shut behind them. After the sun had set, the moon was now hiding behind a thick wall of clouds and the only light came from a lamp which the men had taken from the gate before and ignited it now. Its flickering light casted distorted shadows onto the walls as Ratonhnhaké:ton crossed the barn and approached Ori:te', who was still tied beside the other horses. Relaxed her head hung down, as well as her ears and bottom lip while she slept and certainly enjoyed this first dry and reasonable warm place to sleep in days. She had to stay here and Ratonhnhaké:ton hoped that they were going to take good care of her. She had turned out to be a real gift, although the way they had got her had been anything but conventional. Brushing the grey croup of the mare with his hand, Ratonhnhaké:ton kneeled into the straw beside her where he still found her saddle and the few luggage Lillian and he possessed. On top of it lay his bow and quiver, which he put aside for now to take the folded pile of clothes. His clothes. After the events in the tavern, a disguise had become unnecessary. Hiding had become unnecessary. They were going to leave Boston but at first, Ratonhnhaké:ton and Kanen'tó:kon would take care of Benjamin Franklin, the town's keeper and Ratonhnhaké:ton didn't want to hide who he was. Everyone should know and in the end, his clothes granted more freedom of movement than the clothes Lillian had bought for him. He would need it.

While he peeled off the blood-soaked clothes which had gotten stuck on his skin, Kanen'tó:kon leaned against the gate and stared into the void, his arms crossed. Nobody said a word and Ratonhnhaké:ton didn't expect a conversation anyway. They had talked about everything and he was already focused on what lied ahead. But when he had just got changed and arranged his weapons, Kanen'tó:kon cleared his throat and made Ratonhnhaké:ton raise his head. His friend had pulled away from the gate but his arms were still crossed while he stared at the ground. Ratonhnhaké:ton saw that Kanen'tó:kon seemed to think about his next words but after a short moment, he already raised his eyes.

»I want to tell you something before we go out there«, he started. »How ever this matter ends and whatever is going to happen: I am your friend and I stand by you«

This short speech was surprising. All his positive and negative memories of Kanen'tó:kon, who had kept this promise all these years ago, returned all of the sudden. But they had never made him doubt the loyalty of his best friend and they didn't now. He remembered Lillian's words. That their friendship would never end and he remembered how easy it had been during the last two days, to stick to these old and positive memories. With this in mind, Ratonhnhaké:ton nodded.

»I know. I will stand by you as well. We will not fight alone«

He brought the bow in a comfortable position on his back, stepped to Kanen'tó:kon and wanted to put a hand on his shoulder, to show him that they could leave, as he shook his head. »I am not talking about this alone. As much as I stand by your side, I want you to know that I will do the same for Lillian. You have my word that I will do anything to protect her if it becomes necessary. Now, but also when all of this is over and we return to our village«

Again Ratonhnhaké:ton didn't know what to say. Not because of his promise but because he knew that there would be no time when Kanen'tó:kon could keep it after all of this was over. When Lillian and Ratonhnhaké:ton used the Apple to return to their reality, Kanen'tó:kon would be dead and there was no way back to the village. But still he appreciated the promise. He had just left Lillian with men he either didn't know or who he didn't trust to be able to protect her. If he'd had the choice, he would have laid her safety into Kanen'tó:kon's hands. With no doubt.

»Thank you, Kanen'tó:kon«

His friend nodded and pointed at the gate with a weak smile. »Shall we?«

Under the cloud of the night they returned to the city where the events in the tavern had got around. The guards were more alerted than before and so the two Mohawks had to keep an eye on each other and on their environment as they approached a dark part of the wall and climbed over it. Ratonhnhaké:ton was the first who climbed the rough stone, peeked over the edge and finally heaved himself up and dropped on the other side almost soundlessly. His back pressed against the wall, to use the shadow as cover as long as possible, he waited for Kanen'tó:kon to do the same.

»Do you think you can make it over the roofs?«, he asked when his friend landed beside him with a quiet huff.

»Of course«, Kanen'tó:kon uttered while he obviously tried to keep his breath under control, his hands propped up on his knees. He had never been the best climber and still Ratonhnhaké:ton knew that he wasn't talking big. Kanen'tó:kon had more skill than any of the rebels or soldiers. He needed only a short moment before he straightened up and they moved on. They were still on the outskirts of the city, where the houses were all dark in this late hour and where was no one outside. At least no townspeople. Ratonhnhaké:ton had already heard the heavy steps and quiet voices before the three soldiers stepped out of an alley and forced the two Mohawk to flee to one of the houses and hide behind a wooden fence, which separated the property from the street and the house nearby. Tensed and with their hands on their weapons, they listened for the approaching soldiers until they finally passed by. Ratonhnhaké:ton had hardly been able to understand their murmured words but since they were moving away, he paid no further attention to them anyway. He wanted to turn his attention to the mission and this meant that they had to get to Benjamin Franklin as unnoticed as possible, kill him and find the fastest way to the harbour and to the others. They didn't want to alert the soldiers unnecessarily and this was probably the easiest part of the whole plan.

Ratonhnhaké:ton peeked over the fence with his eagle vision and gave Kanen'tó:kon a silent nod as he could see no more enemies nearby. They left their place to hide and followed quickly the main road which led towards the centre of the city. Again it was Ratonhnhaké:ton who used his run up, headed for a house and climbed it quickly but with precise movements. From window to window, from edge to edge. When his feet finally found enough grip on the smooth roof tiles, he turned to the edge and watched the street until Kanen'tó:kon had followed his lead and pulled himself up beside him, where Ratonhnhaké:ton offered him a helping hand. Then they moved on. Over the roofs of Boston, far from the streets where they saw patrols from time to time. Always heading for the heart of the city where Benjamin Franklin was living in a big townhouse. Only twice they met guards on the roofs but had eliminated them before they even realized what happened to them. The whole time, the two Mohawk didn't talk but only concentrated on not losing their balance on the uneven ground beneath their feet. One wrong step and a resulting fall would be their doom. As well as tiles which probably get loose, fell and gave the soldiers the idea to turn their attention above their heads. But their run continued without any incidents, until they kneeled on the edge of a roof like two raptors and looked down at a sparsely illuminated backyard. But still they could clearly see the men there. Six soldiers in blue uniforms, with shining steel blades on their belts and watchful eyes, turned at the nearby alleys and entrances. They almost created a circle around two other men, who were having a loud argument. One of them was a staid, quite small man with sparse brown hair and a pince-nez on his nose, like the one Ratonhnhaké:ton knew from Davenport's doctor Lyle White. Due to the fact that he knew the other man, this one could only be Benjamin Franklin. Said other man was General Israel Putnam. The loud, rude voice of the man Ratonhnhaké:ton knew only with a cigar in the corner of his mouth since their first meeting during the battle on Bunker Hill, sounded more than clearly to them. Although its slightly muffled sound indicated that Putnam was still indulging in his old vice, while he was holding a heated dispute with his person opposite.

"If you want to complain, you should talk to the king himself, Franklin. I'm just following orders."

"Of which you don't even have a transcript, let alone a reason." Franklin's voice almost cracked as he pointed threateningly at the much taller Putnam. "This is a farce and you know it, General Putnam!"

"Call it what you like", Putnam replied coldly and Ratonhnhaké:ton saw the glow of his cigar as he had a drag. "You didn't accomplish your tasks in Boston to the King's satisfaction and so you are discharged. You should be glad that the King is so generous our otherwise you would be punished for your mistakes."

"The men the Native escaped from were yours. They were under your command. It's not my fault that they weren't a match for their task."

"As far as I remember, I sent them to your disposal." Putnam laughed scornfully. "Obviously you didn't commit them wisely. But I have warned the king to put the safety of a whole city into the hands of a man without any military knowledge. You should finally accept it, Franklin. You failed. Maybe you should visit the King in New York and ask him for a new position. Maybe you will be allowed to count the taxes. I am going to correct your mistakes and smoke out the last of these rat's nests." Putnam laughed again and turned away from Franklin, who stood there like rooted to the spot and obviously didn't come up with a reply. He only watched General Putnam gathering his men and disappearing in one of the alleys. Now he was entirely alone. Ratonhnhaké:ton knew that this was the best chance to attack him and put his life to a quick end, but Kanen'tó:kon and he stayed on their position.

»We should have killed them both«, Kanen'tó:kon growled quietly, looking at the alley Putnam had disappeared in. »It seems like Washington passed Franklin's responsibilities on to Putnam. This could make the situation in Boston even worse«

»And Franklin obviously fell into disgrace« Attentively Ratonhnhaké:ton watched the old man scuffing to the small stairs to the backdoor of the house and sitting down. He didn't know Franklin but the way he sat there, he looked broken. His face buried in his hands, his shoulders slumped forward, his back stooping.

»Maybe we should not kill him now«, Ratonhnhaké:ton murmured and received a huff from Kanen'tó:kon.

»It does not matter what Washington is thinking of him. He has to pay for his crimes« Kanen'tó:kon swung his feet over the edge and climbed down. Ratonhnhaké:ton followed quickly. He didn't feel pity for Franklin but he thought they shouldn't rush anything. This was the reason why he grabbed Kanen'tó:kon by his shoulder, when they had the plastered ground of the backyard beneath their feet and his friend wanted to approach Franklin with his tomahawk in his hand. Franklin was still sitting on the stairs, not knowing who was coming closer to him. But as he raised his head and saw the two shadows a few steps away, he froze and leaped to his feet.

"No, no. You won't get me!", he shouted with panic in his voice and stumbled towards the nearest alley. He didn't come far. Ratonhnhaké:ton had taken his bow off his shoulder, had put an arrow on the string and shot. The tip bored into Franklin's shoulder and the impact made him stumble forward. With a muffled cry, he fell to the ground where he lay whimpering. In an instant, Kanen'tó:kon had taken his tomahawk and approached Franklin with wide steps, while he tried to crawl away in panic.

"You will not go anywhere", Kanen'tó:kon growled and grabbed the arrow with one hand to tear it out of the man's shoulder. Franklin screamed and found himself lying on the back in the next moment, the stone blade of a tomahawk on his throat.

"Please! Don't kill me. I...couldn't do anything. It was Washington", he begged and raised his hands in front of his face, as if he hoped to block the deadly blade like this. But Kanen'tó:kon struck out and swung the tomahawk down to Franklin's neck. A loud, for the ears painful scraping sounded when it hit cold steel. Then it was silent and as Franklin lowered his hands whimpering and looked up at the Mohawk over him, the warrior stared at the blade of the other tomahawk which was blocking his weapon and then into the face of its owner.

»Ratonhnhaké:ton, what are you doing? We are here to kill him« Kanen'tó:kon couldn't hide his anger about Ratonhnhaké:ton's intervention. His brows were furrowed, his lips pressed together and the hand that was holding the tomahawk, was shaking as if it awaited to step into action in every moment. But Ratonhnhaké:ton didn't react. His eyes were turned at Benjamin Franklin, who was still lying whimpering on the ground and looked at them through his fingers covering his eyes. He had never seen this man before, but something in his eyes, now that he had been close to die through Kanen'tó:kon's hands, seemed familiar. As well as his words.

"Tell us, why should we not kill you? Why not punish you for your doings?", he asked calmly and finally Franklin took his hands from his pale face.

"I know that my doings were wrong", he began with a begging undertone. "But I wasn't aware of it. I...couldn't control myself. It was...as if my mind wasn't under my control. I had no choice."

I had no choice.

Now Ratonhnhaké:ton knew what seemed so familiar. Benedict Arnold had said the same words before his death. After he had apologized for his crimes. He had talked about Washington and his sceptre but Ratonhnhaké:ton had never found out what he had meant. He had only speculated on the basis of the stories he had been told about the sceptre and Washington's power by his mother and Rodrick, the hunter. But he had thought the sceptre was just deadly, not able to control a person's mind. Could it be a coincidence that Arnold and Franklin were claiming that they hadn't been able to control themselves? Were they just randomly choosing the same excuses? Ratonhnhaké:ton doubted it. He still saw the dying Arnold in front of his inner eye. How honest he had appeared when he had apologized. Why should he have shown remorse when he was dying anyway? Franklin wasn't dying and still Ratonhnhaké:ton didn't think that he just wanted to call on their sympathy. Beside his fear, he appeared confused as his wide eyes looked back and forth between the two Mohawk.

"Please", he repeated his begging. "Don't kill me and let me prove that I've come to my senses. I can help you."

"How?"

Now Franklin's gaze was stuck on Ratonhnhaké:ton as he spoke. Hope flickered in his eyes. The hope that the other Mohawk could be his rescue. But it was still Kanen'tó:kon who was kneeling over him and uttered an angry huff.

"We have no time to listen to his excuses, Ratonhnhaké:ton", he growled. "The others need us at the harbour. We need to end this."

He had still his tomahawk in a firm grip, his knuckles turning white. He was still ready to end Franklin's life with one strike and raised his tomahawk again. Grimly he struck down as Franklin raised his hands and called: "If you want to flee, the harbour isn't safe!"

This time, Ratonhnhaké:ton didn't have to intervene to stop Kanen'tó:kon from killing Franklin. The stone blade halted abruptly over the man's bare neck and Kanen'tó:kon grabbed the collar of the grey coat to tear Franklin a bit upwards. Like Ratonhnhaké:ton, the man's words had alarmed him.

"What are you talking about?"

"About the frigates, a few miles away from the harbour. Each one of them has turned its canons at a part of the harbour and has the order to fire, if they get a signal from said part. They are supposed to stop enemies from escaping by sea and in the face of the latest events, they are prepared for it."

"They are supposed to fire at the harbour? Enough ships of Washington's own fleet are anchoring there."

"He's taking the risk." Franklin adjusted his glasses, which had almost slipped of his nose, with shaking hands and looked at Kanen'tó:kon. Suddenly it seemed like he had forgotten at least a bit of his fear, now that he obviously knew something his attackers were interested in. "He's fine with any method to stop his enemies from leaving the city."

And Washington had proven often enough that he didn't care about the lives of innocents.

"When will they light the signal?", Ratonhnhaké:ton asked tensely. His thoughts were already with the others, who had wanted to sneak on board of the ship in the cover of the darkness. They were expecting resistance on shore, but they didn't know about the threat of one or several frigates and it was much more dangerous.

"As soon as someone starts to prepare a ship without permission."

So if the others were discovered, they were in great danger and didn't know about it. Kanen'tó:kon's and Ratonhnhaké:ton's eyes met and they needed no words to agree that they had to get to the harbour as quickly as possible to warn the others and help them. But they hadn't decided about Franklin's fate yet. Ratonhnhaké:ton looked the man on the ground over and made a decision almost instantly.

"You will come with us. If you can help us, we will let you live", he said and grabbed past Kanen'tó:kon to roughly seize Franklin's arm and pull him onto his feet. He didn't care that it was the arm whose shoulder had been hit by the arrow. Franklin uttered a pained howl and whimper but had no other choice but to follow the Mohawk to the harbour.