Chapter 56

“What is that?” Keetha asked staring wildly at Evan.

“The princess.  She’s… we’re trying to keep a low profile.”

“That’s probably a good strategy.”  Keetha grabbed Evan by the shoulder and tugged him to follow her.  “Look around the corner and tell me what you see.”

Evan did as she said and what he saw was bedlam.  Opposite him, across the plaza a tall tower burned and showed signs of collapse.  Throughout the plaza men and women gawed at the tower while official-looking types scurried around keeping the crowds back, dealing with the fire, and threatening anyone who might try to take advantage of the situaiton for lawless gain.

Not sure what version of this chaos Keetha wanted him to see, Evan turned to her and said, “It’s a mess.”

Keetha nodded.  “Quesiton is: Is it a helpful or harmful mess.”  She craned her head around the corner.  “Good news, it looks like most everyone is distracted by Dol’s tower, so we stand a decent chance of getting you inside the Unit building.”  Keetha eyed the fist Evan kept around Lillian.  “How long does she stay like that?”

“I think however long she wants,” he said.

“Okay, I’ll let you two sort out wich version of her will be most helpful for you using that fetterseal.”  Keetha looked again at the plaza.  “When I say go, I want you to walk,” she emphasized, “walk to the front door.  Act like you’re supposed to be there.  Walk past the front desk and follow signs to the Central Processing Unit.”

“You’re not coming with me?”

“We should keep a low profile,” Keetha smiled.  “I’ll follow, but I don’t think it will be a good idea for us to walk in together.  You’ll have Lillian, and that will be enough.  If someone comes after you, I can try to head them off.”  Keetha locked eyes with Evan.  “Ready?”  He tilted his head slightly with a flash of his eyebrows that suggested that it didn’t matter if he was ready or not.  She nodded in agreement.

“Alright.  Stand up straight.  Walk in there like you’re on official business.”  Keetha paused.  “When I say,” she said and gazed out at the many moving variables swarming the plaza.  She spied a trio of soldiers doing a scan of the area.  Best she could tell they were tasked with keeping the rabble at bay.  “Hang on,” she said slipping behind him and resting her hands on his shoulders, “We need these guys to move past.  Won’t be but a moment or two.”  She was able to peek over Evan’s shoulders enough to observe the soldiers’ movements.  When they had passed, she gave Evan two quick pats on his shoulders and off he walked to the Units doors.

Keetha bounced her eyes between Evan’s progress and the soldiers’ movements.  All seemed well.  All seemed well.  Just when the soldiers started to scan back in Evan’s direction, Keetha bit her bottom lip and glanced in Evan’s direction.  She didn’t see him, but was able to notice the building’s front door come to a close.  He must have made it.  Keetha breathed out her breath.  Now it was her turn.

She impatiently waited for the soldiers to move away from the area again, every second seemed like forever.  Eventually, Keetha dared to step out from her hiding place and into the mayhem of the plaza.  She gazed up at Dol’s tower in flames and wondered what had happened to cause such a thing.  Though Keetha as glad of it.  Anything that would mar his image was a blessing.  She did her best to casually mark where the trio of soldiers were.  They were occupied with a small band of citizens who had crept to close to whatever barrier the soldiers had in mind.  “Good,” Keetha thought. “Occupy them until I can get inside.”

Keetha returned her sights to the front door of the Central Processing Unit’s building.  A few more steps and she should be inside with Evan.  She turned to the door and reached out a hand to open it.  That was when she felt the firey stab set off in the back of her thigh.  If she’d expected the shot, she might have kept her wits and kept going.  As it was, the blast droped her to her knees.  Looking down, Keetha saw the hole in her leg and the blood spreading into her uniform.  She strained her eyes to see who shot at her.  The trio of solders were too far away.

“Stay down,” Keetha heard a gurff voice running up to her.  She whipped her head around to see a different group of soldiers approaching her.  “State your business here,” one of the soldiers barked.

Keetha looked up at them.  “We’re just shooting at people now?”

“State your business.  Only authorized people in or out of the Unit building.”

“How do you know I’m not authorized?  Or did you not notice my uniform?”

“That is a Corrections uniform.  I’ve been informed that some people wearing that uniform caused the fire in Chieftan Dol’s tower.”

Keetha smiled to herself.  What a stupid thing to believe.  “Okay,” she replied.

“Are you authorized to be in there?”

“What does it matter now?  I’m shot and need a medic.”

“Unless you can tell me why you were headed inside, I’ll have to take you into custody.”

“Okay,” she said again, though she started to feel light-headed and a little giddy.  “Let me…” Keetha began to reach into her uniform.  At this point all she could hope to do was to give Evan as much time as possible to follow through on his mission.  He’d made it past these meatheads and she knew there was nothing more she could do to help him inside.

As her fingers reached inside her uniform, every soldier’s weapon trained on her. “I’m just getting my identification,” she said, noticing that her speech was beginning to slur a bit. If I’m going to go out, I might as well go out big, she reasoned.

With three guns pointed at her she pulled out not her identification card but a small cylinder.  “Drop it!” the lead soldier commanded.

“Okay,” Keetha said before depressing the button at the top of the cylinder.  Her action accomplished two events at once.  First, a series of small explosions set off at the tops of the buildings circling the plaza, unfurling long tarps, which covered the faces of each building.  The second event was that each soldier shot Keetha to keep her threat under control.

As she lay dying at the plaza’s edge, she looked up to see Nova’s grandest work yet.  Each painting depicted a moment in the glorious history of Merlain, starting at its tribal beginning up to Zungher Dol’s violent takeover.  The final two pieces showed the people rising up and putting Dol under their feet and a return to the peaceful, bountiful, and honorable heart of what it meant to be Merlain.

And for just a moment, the chaos of the plaza paused.  He gawkers, soldiers, and rescue personnel looked up at the display.  What she should never have planned was that Dol’s tower would burn as a symbol of a return to Merlain’s former ways was possible.  From somewhere in the mob Keetha heard a chant of, “Nova! Nova! Nova! Nova!”  The cheer started to grow in volume before a distant soldier shot is weapon into the sky to shut the protest down. 

Keetha didn’t care.  She’d already won.  The seed was planted and it would grow.  Maybe not this day or this generation, but it would grow.  Too many people had seen it.  Stories would be passed from one generation to the next.  Merlain would grow back.  Dol and those like him would eventually lose their grip of power.

Keetha rested her head on the ground, smiled, and breathed her last.  The soldiers walked past her body to keep the rest of the crowd under control.  Her body, sprawled out on the plaza, would serve as a warning to anyone who dared to defy them.