17
There was a shuffling sound on the phone and suddenly the screen went black. “Christy must have found the glasses,” Jeremy said, “but they aren’t working properly.” He tinkered with the phone, but nothing seemed to change. The phone was not broken. Jeremy looked at the glasses on the screen, his eyes narrowing. Marisa couldn’t keep her thoughts from Christian. Where was he? Had Ottavio done something to him, too?
She glanced at Tara, who was sandwiched between Halluis and Jeremy, and hate filled her. Tara’s hands and feet were cuffed and her mouth, gagged. Halluis caught Marisa’s eyes and turned his attention to Tara. He took the gag out of her mouth and signaled for Marisa to go ahead and engage her.
“Tara. If you hadn’t noticed, we’re driving back to the castle to the celebration.” She nodded. “We expect you to confess to your crimes.”
“Why would I do that?” Tara said, defiance bursting from her eyes.
“Because we just saved you from certain execution.” Halluis gave a wry expression.
“No you didn’t. If they had wanted to kill me, they would have at the cabin.”
“You’re only half right,” Marisa cut in. “Your execution was delayed until they no longer found a good use for you. You were going to be locked up like an animal in a cage, forced to do all their forgery bidding. Sound like a life you want? We can take you back.”
Tara stared at the floor. She did not like what she’d heard. “But if I tell what I know to the royals, I’ll be locked away forever, too. Take me back.”
“Have you forgotten what you changed in that document?” Marisa sneered.
Tara froze, obviously surprised at what they knew.
“Yes,” Marisa said. “We know all about it. And the royals do, too. In a little over a half an hour that document you doctored is going to be read to the masses, and the present monarchy will lose everything. They’re going to be very appreciative to anyone who stops that from happening, if you know what I mean.”
A crazy glint fired in Jeremy’s eyes. “And,” he drew out the word. “If you don’t admit to your treachery, we will see to it that you live a long, painful life in a box only about two inches larger than your balled up body.”
Fear filled Tara’s eyes. “Fine. I’ll do it.”
“Good girl,” Marisa said, “Now it’s time to tell us everything.”
“Actually, Marisa,” Halluis said. “We’ll be at the gate in two minutes. We need to hear your plan.” Her answers would have to come later. She swallowed, trying to get some moisture into her mouth. Her attention turned to the gate and its guards, something she knew everything about. The guard on duty in the guard shack would come to greet them. Marisa could easily see three of the seven other guards she knew should be watching the gate. One was to her right, staring at the car, his gun at the ready. Two more were inside the gate center front, facing the car. Four others were hidden in the brush ten to fifty feet from the gate itself. Marisa guessed that the distance was closer to ten, since a vehicle had arrived at the gate.
Marisa still hadn’t called out her plan by the time the car stopped in front of the gate and the guard made his way over.
“Marisa?” Jeremy said as he and Halluis blocked Tara from the guard’s view. “What are we doing?”
“Hello,” the guard said, and Marisa turned her head away so that her face wouldn’t be seen.
“We have something very important for the king and queen.”
“We’re sorry,” the guard said, a stern look on his face. “No one enters or leaves the castle grounds until the celebration is over.” He turned to leave. Marisa knew there would be no talking their way past the gate. The orders had been given, and they would be followed. Marisa couldn’t think of a thing. They had no special equipment and not enough men to fight their way in. She thought of Jeremy’s words, to listen to her gut to know when to act a hero and when to hold back. Her chest burned with the rightness of the plan that instantly formed in her mind. There was a way. “Jeremy,” Marisa said. “I need a distraction on the right side of the car. Stall as long as you can and wait for my signal. Then take out the guards outside the gate. I’ll get the ones on the inside.”
“This is your show,” Jeremy said. “We’re ready.”
“Three. Two. One,” Marisa said after taking a deep breath. He had said this was her show. She was going to show him just how good she was.
Jeremy and Halluis leapt out and started to fight each other, yelling at each other for not being able to enter the grounds and being late for the celebration. A heartbeat later, Marisa reached the guard at the same time he opened the door to his shack. She pushed him from behind, his body jerking forward and his head hitting bulletproof glass with a smack. He slumped to the floor. A glance told her that the other seven gate guards were all watching the fight between Halluis and Jeremy.
Marisa sneaked through the gatehouse to the inside and slinked up behind two guards who were watching through the gaps in the fence. She threw one leg out, taking them both off their feet and with a swift punch to the nearest guard’s head, he was out. It took two hits to the jaw to silence the second one.
Jeremy and Halluis were making such a racket, none of the other guards heard her attack. She took the guards’ plastic cuffs and cuffed them to the stationary part of the gate, then threw their radios into the bushes, out of reach. Three down, five to go. She looked around but couldn’t find the other two guards who were supposed to be inside the gate.
A trickled of worry settled over her until she reached the guard shack and caught a glimpse of the schedule on the desk. Two gate guards had been redirected to the celebration for several hours. She cuffed the guard she had first attacked to the lamppost just inside the gate and checked her watch. Two minutes had passed. She signaled Jeremy that it was safe to take the guards and headed that way to lend a hand, but in a minute flat, before she could reach them, all four were tied up and useless.
She rushed to the gatehouse and opened the gate. They drove inside. “Marisa, excellent job,” Jeremy said. “Way to think on your feet.”
Marisa grinned. “Head to employee parking. We can get into the castle from there.”
“Marisa, when we arrive, you go find the captain. Stop the celebration. Don’t let them read that document.” She waved the radio in her hand. She had a sure way to find him—as long as he wasn’t locked away somewhere. “Ace and I will go find Christy. Halluis will stay in the car with Tara, awaiting our signal to bring her to make her confession. Mark the time everyone. Nineteen minutes until the celebration starts. Any later than that and we’ll be too late.”
“Captain Di Stefano,” Marisa said into the radio as they pulled into the parking garage. “Important person to see you at the employee entrance.” The moment the car was parked, everyone but Halluis and Tara jumped out and scattered.
A few minutes later, Marisa was inside the castle in the captain’s arms. “You’re safe!” He kissed her forehead.
“Yes,” she said, melting into him. “You, too. I was so worried.”
Before Christian could respond, two men stepped out from behind some curtains in the entryway and took hold of the two of them. Two other men stepped in front of them, guns pointed right at them. While Marisa and Christian hesitated at seeing the guns, the men next to them slammed rags over their noses and mouths, and Marisa’s and Christian’s struggle became futile as they fell to the ground.