I didn't need to touch my head to know there was going to be a giant bump. She hit me hard. I saw stars and, when I awoke, I was tied to a chair, attached to Beau.

Now I was on camera, bound and gagged, with the older man wearing a mask and holding a gun standing behind us. I got my fingers on the knot he’d tied. It was tight, but with enough time, I thought I could get out of it.

The man in the mask, Cheryl had called him Michael, began a speech. "On behalf of the citizens of Leitberg, we are reclaiming the land that is rightfully ours," he paused for a minute. I had no idea how long I'd have. I kept working on the knot, still tied tight. I looked over at Cheryl, who was moving her hands in a "Go on" motion.

"You see," Michael said. Cheryl looked puzzled. "I was just a boy when my mother died. I didn't see it myself. I only knew that, in the morning, my mother kissed me goodbye as I left for school. I came back that afternoon and never saw her again."

Cheryl put her hands up to her face, visibly frustrated. She had to stop herself from screaming.

The knot was tight. I could almost squeeze a finger into it to pull it apart, but I wasn't quite there yet.

"My father told me what happened. She was murdered by vicious Aldonian scum. He described it to me in detail. I still have the images in my head. My mother, her head shot off by a terrorist machine gun, her blood filling the streets."

He got down on one knee, putting his hand to his eyes. "Why? Why would you do this to her?"

I managed to loosen the knot somewhat. It was at least a triple knot because even after I loosened it, it was still tied tight.

"My mother, who was never anything less than an angel, who never said a bad word about anyone, who encouraged me to play with all of the children at the school, even those who looked different from me. You murdered her!"

Cheryl had given up at this point. She was pacing, trying not to look at the performance, though it was difficult to ignore.

Michael's voice quieted down.

"My mother, she always told me two wrongs don't make a right. And to turn the other cheek. What I hate most is how she must feel, looking down from heaven as I'm doing this. I'm sorry, Mother. I'm so sorry."

He pulled out the gun and pointed it at me.

"But this isn't just about me. This is about our land. If the land is not surrendered to us, we will kill the members of the royal family one at a time, beginning with Prince Beau and..."

He looked at me. He didn't know my name.

"And other people, too."

He pulled back the hammer.

"Goodbye, Aldonian scum."

I cringed in anticipation.

"But no," he said. "I can't. Mother wouldn't approve," the back of his hand went up to his forehead in a melodramatic fashion, pointing the gun at the wall.

I’d gotten through another knot. It still wasn't enough. Did this guy tie a quadruple knot?

Cheryl was lying on the floor at this point, facing the ceiling, beyond frustrated at the performance. In a whisper, she was screaming. "Wrap it up. Just kill them already."

I had another knot loosened, I hoped this was the last one.

"But I'm not doing it for her," Michael said. "This is for me."

He pointed the gun at me and pulled back the hammer. I yanked my hand loose from the knot and swung it wide. I connected with the gun and it fired into one of the lights, making the room a touch darker. I grabbed Michael by the wrist with my left hand, then pounded my fist into his face. He fell down, immobile. I’d knocked him out.

It was then I noticed the room had gotten warmer. The light that’d been shot had tipped over and started a small fire that was growing rapidly.

"We need to get out of here," I said.

I grabbed the gun from Michael's hand and held it on Cheryl.

"Don't move a muscle," I told her. She lifted her arms as I removed Beau's blindfold and ripped the duct tape off of his mouth, so I could kiss him.

It was a kiss of desperation, long enough to enjoy, but cut short by the situation. When we finished, he coughed a handkerchief out of his mouth.

"You saved me," he said.

"Just doing my job."

I started work on the knot holding Beau to the chair.

"This guy must be a god damned Boy Scout," I said. I couldn't get the knots undone one handed.

"I've got my eye on you," I told Cheryl. "I swear. Don't move or I'll kill you."

I put the gun down on the floor and watched her as I tried undoing the knots.