Brought Down

2. The Hideaway

Garrett

The pilot barely stands on his feet. He's swaying a little, and I suppress my instinct to reach out and steady him. But that's a ridiculous thing to do to someone who is about to be executed anyway.

"I'm Julian Maynard," he says. "Lord Maynard's son."

There's a pause as the three of us stare at him. There's nothing royal in his looks—but he's just survived a plane crush. His face and clothes are so covered in dust and soot that it's impossible to make out his features. Is he lying just to buy some time?

On the other hand, if he's not lying...

I take a step and put a hand on Kano's arm. Reluctantly, he lowers his rifle.
"Do you believe him?" he says.

"Not quite, but worth checking," I say. "You can always finish him later."

"If it turns out you lied," says Kano, pointing a finger in the captive's face, "your death will be much more painful than this. Admit to lying now, and I'll just shoot you in the head, and we'll be done with it fast and clean."

"I appreciate your generous proposition but must decline. " The captive's cool manner of speaking is quite in contrast with him clearly struggling to stand upright. "I am who I said I am." He reaches backwards to lean on the remains of his jet, but his hand misses, and he loses his balance. This time I step in and catch him before he hits the ground.

"All right, let's get out of here before they sent a rescue mission," I say.

In the jet, Angie ties the captive's hands behind his back and fixes him with safety straps before we take off. He doesn't seem to be in a state to cause any trouble, but you can't be too careful, and the royals are a lying lot. I ponder upon it as we head to the mountains, flying as low as possible, making sure we're not being followed.

We fly through the gates that close behind us, and land in the underground hangar. Wayne and Malin have already landed, and I can see them standing near the exit, reciting their account of the recent battle to the dozens of people gathering around them.

As we descend from the jet, the crowd drifts towards us, cheering. I help Angie to the ground and she shoots me an excited look. Her first mission and her first hit, and such a clean victory. Kano appears the last, holding the captive over his shoulder like a sack of flour. The cheers die down as people realize that we have brought a guest.

Kano drops the captive to the ground, and then forces him to his feet. The self-proclaimed Julian Maynard stands up, swaying a little and looking around blankly. I notice that he's a good head lower than Kano or myself. Could a royal be so small? They have all the food they need, while we only get scrapes from their table. On the other hand, they have less natural selection. It the conditions we are forced to live, only the strong can survive.

"Move," shouts Kano, and pushes the captive in the back so unexpectedly that he stumbles and falls. His hands are still tied behind his back so that he can't even soften the blow, and the awkwardness of his fall makes the crowd burst into laughter. In my mind, I cringe. Enemy or not, it's no way to treat someone who can't fight back.

"Come on." I bend down, grab the guy's forearm and help him back up.

"You may have not figured out yet," he says coldly once he regains his feet, "but I'm worth more in one piece, so you better treat me less... violently."

"We're still not sure what you worth, dude," says Kano.

"Once the news of my capture reaches my father, he will contact you to negotiate the terms of my release." He looks at me, not at Kano, as he says that. His eyes are light brown, but the rest of him is still discolored by all the dust. "In the meanwhile, make an effort to treat me in a civilized manner, if the term is even familiar to you."

"Not to me." Kano gives him a punch on the shoulder, which would have knocked him off his feet once more had I not been holding him. The crowd cheers again.

"Quit it," I say to Kano. "His hands are tied."

He glares at me, his smile gone in an instant. "They bomb defenseless settlements when they feel like it, remember? Let him taste what it feels like, to get hurt and not be able to fight back."

Before I can think of a reply, the crowd spreads, and general Rykar appears, followed by a couple of his attendants. He walks up to me.

"Well, Garrett," he says. "Very impressive. Two of their jets down, no loss on our side."

"Angie's done the shooting," I say, and he beams at her, forcing her to blush.

"Well done," he says. "Never doubted your abilities."

"And we got a prisoner," I add. "Claiming to be Julian Maynard."

General Rykar looks the captive up and down, then returns his gaze to me.

"My father will contact you to negotiate --" the captive begins.

"He already had."

"Oh," the captive seems taken aback. "So fast. And...what did he say?"

"I'm afraid you won't like it," says Rykar.

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