A Stainless Steel Rat Is Born

Chapter 29

I muttered and slapped and rolled over but the irritation persisted. Eventually I blinked my grimy eyes open and growled up at Dreng who was shaking my shoulder. He stepped away in fear.

"Do not beat me, master - I am only doing as you instructed. It is time to waken for the troops are assembling now in the courtyard." I growled something incoherent and this turned into a cough. When I did this a cup appeared before me and I drank deep of the cool water, then dropped back onto the bunk. Not for the first time did I approve of the knave system. But I was beat, hushed, fatigued. Even the stamina of youth can be sapped by adversity. I shook my head rapidly, then sat up on my elbows, angry at myself for the brief moment of self-pity.

"Go, good Dreng," I ordered, "and find me food to nourish my hungry cells. And some drink as well since alcohol is the only stimulant these premises seem to have." I splashed cold water over my head in the courtyard, gasping and spluttering. As I wiped my face dry I saw in the clear starlight the ranks of soldiers being drawn up as the ammunition was being issued. The great adventure was about to begin. Dreng was waiting when I returned. I sat on my bunk and ate a pretty repellent breakfast of fried dinglebeans washed down by the destructive wine. I talked between gruesome mouthfuls because this was the last private moment I would have with my knave. "Dreng, your military career is about to end." "Don't kill me, master!" "Military career, idiot - not your life. Tonight is your last night of service and in the morn you will be off home with your pay. Where does your old dad hide his money?" "We are too poor to have any groats." "I am sure of that. But if he had any - where would he put it?" This was a complicated thought and he puzzled over it while I chewed and swallowed. He finally spoke.

"Bury it under the hearth! I remember he did that once. Everyone buries their money under the fire; that way it can't be found." "Great. That way it certainly can be found. You have got to do better than that with your fortune." "Dreng has no fortune." "Dreng will have one before the sun rises. I'm paying you off. Go home and find two trees near your home. Stretch a rope between them. Then dig a hole exactly hallway along the rope. Bury the money there - where you can find it when you need it. And only take out a few coins at a time. Do you have that?" He nodded enthusiastically. "Two trees, halfway. I never heard of anything like that before!" "An earth-shaking concept, I know," I sighed. There certainly was a lot that he hadn't heard about. "Let's go. I want you to be stoker on my chariot of fire." I staggered to my feet and led the way to the barn. Now that the troops were lined up and ready the officers were finally appearing, scratching and yawning, with the capo at their head. I didn't have much time. Dreng climbed into the car behind me and squealed with fear when I turned on the instrument lights.

"Demonic illumination! Spirit lights! Sure sign of death!" He clutched at his chest and looked ready to expire until I gave him a good shaking. "Batteries!" I shouted. "The gift of science denied to this dumb world. Now, stop quaking and open your bag. " All thoughts of death vanished and his eyes stuck out like boiled eggs as I shoveled silver and gold groats into his leather bag. This was a fortune that would change his entire life for the better, so at least I was accomplishing one good deed by my presence here. "What are you doing up there?" It was Capo Dimonte, glaring up suspiciously from below. "Just stoking the engines, excellency." "Kick that knave out of the way, I'm coming up." I waved the goggle-eyed Dreng to the back of the car as the capo climbed aboard.

"You favor me with your presence, capo." "Damned right. I ride while the troops walk. Now, move this thing out." The scouts had already gone on ahead when we rumbled across the drawbridge and onto the causeway. The main body of troops came behind us, a certain eagerness in their step despite the hour. All of them had lost valuables and possessions - even knaves - during the raid. All were eager for revenge and theft.

"The Capo Doccia must be taken alive," Capo Dimonte suddenly said. I started to answer until I realized that he was talking only to himself. "Tied and left helpless, brought back to the keep. First a little flaying, just enough skin to make a hatband. Then maybe blinding. No - not right away - he must see what is happening to him..." There was more like this, but I tuned it out. I had thoughts of my own - and even some regrets. When The Bishop had been killed, my anger had overwhelmed all of the clear thinking that I should have been doing. All excuses vanished now - I was embarking on this expedition solely for revenge. And I couldn't daim to be doing it in The Bishops memory because he would have been seriously opposed to violent action of this kind. But it was too late now to turn back. The campaign had been launched and we were well on our way.

"Stop this thing!" the capo ordered suddenly, and I hit the brakes.

There was a dark knot of men waiting on the road ahead - our advanced scouts. The capo climbed to the ground and I leaned out to see what was happening. They were leading a man who had his arms bound behind him.

"What happened?" the capo asked.

"Found him watching the road, excellency.. Caught him before he could get away." "Who is he?" "Soldier, name of Palec. I know him, served with him in the southern campaign." The capo walked up to the prisoner and shoved his face close to the other's and snarled. "I have you, Palec. Tied and bound." "Aye." "Are you the Capo Doccia's man?" "Aye, I serve under him. I took his groat." "You've spent that on wine a long time ago. Will you serve with me and take my groat?" "Aye." "Release him. Barkus - a silver groat for this man." These mercenaries fought well, but they also changed sides easily enough. Why not? They had no stakes in any of the capos' quarrels. Once Palec had accepted the coin they gave him his weapons back.

"Speak, Palec," the capo ordered. "You are my loyal servant now, who has taken my groat. But you used to serve with Capo Doccia. Tell me what he plans." "Aye. No secret there. He knows that your army is intact and you will be coming after him as soon as you can. Some of us have been sent out to watch the roads, but he doesn't think that you will march for some time yet. He stays drunk, that's a sign he's not expecting a fight." "I'll put a sword through his belly, let out the wine and guts!" The capo cut off his dreaming with an effort and forced himself back to the present. "What about his troops? Will they fight?", "Aye, they've just been paid. But they have little love for him and will change sides as soon as the battle is lost." "Better and better. Fall in with the ranks, scouts out ahead, start this machine." The last was directed at me as he climbed back to his seat. I kicked it into gear and the advance continued again. There were no more interruptions and we proceeded, with hourly rest breaks, towards the enemy keep. It was well before dawn when we came to the scouts waiting on the road. This was the spot I had picked. The keep of Capo Doccia was around the next bend. "I will post your lookout now," the capo said.

"Agreed. My knave here will show them the exact spot where they are to stay hidden, in sight of the gate." I waited until he was out of earshot before I whispered my instructions to Dreng.

"Take your bag and everything you possess with you, because you are not coming back." "I do not understand, master..." "You will if you shut up and listen instead of talking. Lead the soldiers to the bushes where we hid, when we were getting ready to rescue The Bishop. You do remember the place?" "It is past the burnt tree over the hedge and..." "Great, great - but I don't need the description. Take the soldiers as I said, show them where to hide, then lie close beside them. Soon after dawn things are going to get very, very busy. At that time you will do nothing, understand that - don't speak, just nod." He did. "Fine. You just remain there when everyone rushes off. As soon as they are gone and no one is looking at you - slip away. Back into the woods and get to your home and lay low until the excitement is over. Then count your money and live happily ever after." "Then - I will no longer be your knave?" "Right. Discharged from the army with honor." He dropped to his knees and seized my hand, but before he could say anything I touched my finger to his lips.

"You were a good knave. Now be a good civilian. Move!" I watched him leave until he was swallowed up in the darkness. Dumb - but loyal. And the only friend that I had on this rundown planet. The only one that I wanted! Now that The Bishop..." This morbid turn of thought was happily interrupted by the capo who clambered back to his seat. He was followed by armed soldiers until the upperworks of the car were packed solid with them. The capo squinted up at the sky.

"There is the first light. It will be dawn soon. Then it will begin." After that we could only wait. The tension so thick in the air that it was hard to breathe. Blurred faces began to emerge from the darkness, all of them set in the same grim expression.

I concentrated on what was happening around the bend, remembering the way it had been when Dreng and I had lain out there. Watching and waiting. The locked gate of the keep, the drawbridge up, all of it growing clearer as the sun rose. Smoke from cooking fires drifting up from behind the thick walls. Then the stirring of the soldiery, changing of the guards. At last the gate unlocked, the drawbridge lowered. Then what? Would they keep to the same routine? If they did not our force would soon be discovered...

"The signal!" the capo said as he crashed his elbow hard into my ribs.

He didn't have to. I had seen the soldier wave the instant that he had appeared. My foot was already jammed down on the accelerator and we were picking up speed. Around the bend in the road, bouncing and swaying on the ruts, then straight ahead towards the entrance to the keep.

The guards looked up and gaped as we shot towards them. The slaves pulling the cart stared too, frozen and unmoving.

Then the shouting started. The drawbridge creaked as they tried to raise it, but the cart and slaves were still on it. There were kicks and screamed orders and every second of wasted time brought us that much closer. They finally started to drag the cart back through the gate - but it was too late.

We were upon them. The front wheels hit the drawbridge and we bounced into the air, coming down with a splintering crash. I stood on the brakes as we plowed into the cart. Slaves and guards were diving into the moat to escape destruction as we skidded, with locked wheels, right into the mouth of the gate.

"For Capo Dimonte, for groats, and for God!" The capo shouted as he leapt to the attack.

The others leapt with him, walking over my back as I crouched down, jumping onto the drawbridge then through the gate.

There was screaming and shouting, the banging of guns. From behind me a growing roar of voices from the rest of the attacking army. I could see that the capo and his men were fighting inside the gate and had captured the drawbridge mechanism from the soldiers who were trying to raise it. Raising it had of course been impossible because of the great weight of the car resting on it. That had been the beauty and simplicity of my plan. Once I had arrived the drawbridge had to stay down. Only now did I trundle forward so that the rest of the troops had a clear way to the gate.

The battle for the keep of Capo Doccia was joined.