Scars Of Defiance (24 page)

“Have a seat.” The crunching sound of exam bed paper was
heard as the general sat.

“How long have you had that?” Dr. Roth asked his patient.

Sierra handed Paul some water to help him fight off the urge
to cough.

“A couple of days now,” General Steinman reported.

“What happened?”

“My daughter stabbed … it doesn’t matter. It’s getting worse
and the swelling is climbing.”

“You’ve got yourself a nasty case of cellulitis. I’m going
to give you an injection of antibiotics and some pills, but you’ll need to let
me check that out tomorrow to make sure it’s getting better.”

Dr. Roth’s voice sounded closer as he entered the closet for
supplies.

Paul coughed. He knew it was the best time to let it out
because Dr. Roth could say it was him, which is exactly what happened.

“Dr. Roth, are you alright?”

“Yes, it’s nothing. I’ve been fighting off a cold for a
while now.” Dr. Roth had left the closet and was back in the exam room with his
patient. “There you go. That’s a powerful antibiotic. You should see major
improvement within twenty-four — ”

Paul coughed again, and everything went silent for five
seconds. There was a quick rustling of paper as the general bolted off the exam
bed, and then the ominous sound of a gun being cocked.

“Don’t move, Dr. Roth, or I’ll shoot!”

Sierra and Paul embraced each other in absolute fear.
Ashamed of his weaknesses, Paul’s eye’s watered. The plan had failed. He had
failed Sierra once again.

“What an elaborate plan you’ve concocted, Doctor. Reginald
will be pleased to learn the Montgomery girl still lives, but it will madden
him to no end to learn his trusted physician is a traitor. I should kill you
now and save him the trouble, and I should kill the girl too and save the
insurgents the trouble. No, I’ll call up to Reginald. Don’t move!”

Dr. Roth’s knees trembled, and his fingers had gone numb
with fear. It had been a good plan, a solid plan. If only he had sound-proofed
the cubicle. His eyes darted around the room looking for some type of a weapon.
But with a gun barrel staring him down and an excellent marksman behind the
trigger, he didn’t dare move. The general picked up the phone and began
punching in the four-digit number for Reginald:  first number, second, third
button pressed … he stopped and hung up the phone.

“Dr. Roth, I hope you realize how lucky you are that Clive
likes you.” He un-cocked his gun and put it back in its holster. “I do see his
point, though. You will be instrumental when the time comes.”

“You and Clive?”

“Yes. But don’t think for a second I wouldn’t kill the girl
if she is captured.”

“She won’t be captured.”

“She would have been right now if I was anyone else.”

Dr. Roth rubbed his hands roughly over his face and sat on
the exam bed with a crunch. “General, don’t forget the pills.”

“Right, thank you.”

“Same.”

The door to the infirmary opened and closed. Dr. Roth
entered the closet. “Cough it out, son. We’re alone.”

“I’m sorry,” Paul said humbly.

Sierra added, “General Steinman is an insurgent? Who
would’ve thought that?”

*****

Late in the night, Paul and Sierra were awakened to the
lights being turned on and voices filling the room. Reginald, Victor, and Dr.
Roth’s voices were easy to pick out. The others must have been guards.

“Place them here,” Dr. Roth ordered. Dull thuds and chair
legs scraping the floor followed by the sound of zippers being opened filtered
into the supply closet.

Victor’s voice was muffled as if maybe his hand was over his
mouth and nose. “Eww, disgusting. That better be the S-O-B.”

Reginald asked, “How long will it take you to make the
identification, Dr. Roth?”

“A couple of hours for a positive ID. I wouldn’t stop
searching if I were you. This could be a ruse to throw you off their tracks.”

“I doubt it. They’re not that clever. Besides, that one has
a metal splint just like Sierra’s.”

Victor’s voice sounded somber. “Look at the wedding ring.
That’s the one I gave her.”

Reginald asked, “Do you need any assistance?”

“No, but I would like some uninterrupted time. Any medical
emergencies will need to go to the hospital, not down here.”

“Understood. Let’s go, Victor.”

“I’d like to have a moment alone,” Victor said almost
remorsefully. “She was … my wife.”

“Of course. We’ll step out,” Dr. Roth said.

Paul and Sierra held very still in the closet. His arms
wrapped around her for comfort.

Victor’s footsteps were heard as he walked around the exam
room. The eerie sound of his voice made Sierra’s hair stand on end. “I know you
can hear me, Sierra.”

Sierra started shaking with fear. Paul held her tighter.

“There’s no way you’d do this to me and not be here to
gloat. All I can say is I’m happy you’re dead. At least Riley can’t have you
now.” The door to the exam room opened and then closed.

“Who’s Riley?” Paul asked as he let out large exhale.

“Someone I went to school with. I thought for a second he
knew we were in the room.”

“Me too. That was intense.”

Dr. Roth came back in and actually whistled while he worked.
They heard him breaking bones and wheeling gurneys into the x-ray room. Later
they heard the shuffling of files in the filing cabinet. Occasionally Dr. Roth
would mutter something like, “perfect” or “beautiful.” After what seemed an
eternity, they listened as he made the phone call informing Reginald that he
had completed the identification.

A short while later, Reginald and Victor entered the exam
room for the verdict.

“In my medical opinion, based on the evidence, I declare
these two corpses are in fact Paul Bronson and Sierra Montgomery Rawlings.”

“You’re one hundred percent positive?” Victor asked.

“Absolutely. Do you want to look over my report?”

“No, it’s not necessary.”

“Really, it’s quite fascinating the matching — ”

“I said no, Dr. Roth,” Victor cut him off with a tone of
disgust.

“Suit yourself. I have a recommendation to make, if I may,
sir.”

Reginald answered in a much deflated voice, “Go ahead.”

“The body of the male should be returned to Baylend to keep
the tension at a minimum between the two countries, and a formal funeral
service should be held for Sierra to publicize your willingness to bring her
into your family.”

“Fine. See that the boy’s body is shipped back.”

“If I may, sir, I would very much like to visit my family in
Baylend. I could take his remains for you and offer condolences on your behalf,
if you’d grant me permission to cross the border.”

“Fine, I’ll give you three days leave.”

*****

Reginald sat in his high-back leather chair in his office,
sipping a glass of whiskey and staring off into space. Where did it all go
wrong? Exactly when had he lost? At least the Montgomery girl had been
officially married to Victor and the press conference had taken place. Now he’d
have to use another excuse to explain her death.
“The damned insurgents
succeeded this time in killing the last Montgomery.”
Yes, the public would
buy that. They are all idiots and believe whatever you tell them. But still,
all those years of careful planning and plotting to have Victor marry royalty
were for naught. It had been so close. Why was that girl so obstinate? Couldn’t
she see the importance of the overall plan? If only he had beaten her more,
maybe it would have sunk in better.

Chapter 13

Being stuffed inside a body bag together wasn’t so bad, Paul
thought to himself as he pulled Sierra even closer to him. It was kind of like
being in the same sleeping bag. The disturbing thought was that the bag next to
them held a
real
dead person. Dr. Roth had placed an oxygen tank inside
with them to ensure better air quality before they left the palace. The body
bag didn’t allow adequate air flow since it was designed to contain bodies that
didn’t need to breathe. The pair of them would be zipped shut for a good hour
until they crossed the border and reached a safe area.

Paul’s ribs hurt, but his heart overflowed with joy that
canceled out his pain. Sierra kept asking him if he was comfortable, worrying
about his injuries. They were escaping, actually pulling it off, and pain
wasn’t even on his mind. Perhaps this was the same type of feeling Sierra had
felt when she arrived at their home, her joy overriding her pain.

“I can’t believe this worked,” Sierra spoke softly in Paul’s
ear. She tried not to press on his chest too much. But knowing they were mere
minutes away from being totally free had her feeling giddy and excited.

“It’s not finished yet.”

“I know, but still. Dr. Roth has earned our respect and
allegiance forever.”

“That he has. So you were married to Victor?”

“Yes,” she paused, “he consummated the marriage.”

Paul rubbed her back as much as he could in the limited
confines of the bag. “It was a good thing we didn’t do anything at the cabin or
else you’d have suffered at the palace.”

“No,
you
would have, Paul. What if I become pregnant
because of Victor?”

“Then we’ll deal with it. I already plan on running away
with you ASAP, and if you are pregnant, I’ll marry you to make it look like the
child is mine. No one will ever need to know. Certainly not the child, if in
fact there is one.”

“You’d marry me so I didn’t have an illegitimate child?”

“No, I’ll marry you because I love you and I need you in my
life. I want to marry you.”

“I love you too, Paul. But I do expect a proper proposal
before I say yes.”

“How much more romantic does it get than what we have right
now?”

“You mean the part where we are lying next to your dead
body? You’re a smart guy. You’ll figure it out.” She scooted up and kissed his
cheek, and as she scooted back down he kissed the top of her head.

*****

The vehicle slowed to a stop. “We must be at the border,”
Paul whispered. “Hold very still.”

They heard muffled voices, and then the back doors opened
up. Dr. Roth spoke to someone. “Do you need to see the bodies?”

“Why are there two body bags, sir? I was told you’d be
transporting one.”

“One body is a palace employee, Michael Grossman, who died
recently. His family lives in Slaterville and requested his body be brought to
them for burial. Reginald told me to take them both to Slaterville. It was a
last-minute decision, but feel free to call him for verification, if you like.
I’m in no rush.” Dr. Roth’s voice had a nonchalant tone.

Paul and Sierra heard the distinctive sound of grating metal
as the zipper on the other body bag was being pulled open. Dr. Roth said, “Have
you ever seen a charred body, soldier? It’s definitely something you’ll never
forget.”

“Whoa! You’re right. What a way to die.”

“Did you know Mr. Grossman?”

Sierra noticed the bag material lift above their faces as
the zipper was grasped. The tension of the moment weighed heavy on Sierra. They
were so close to escaping, so close to have everything go wrong. Sierra could
tell Paul felt the incredible strain of the moment too. Neither one of them dared
breathe, but they couldn’t keep their breaths hushed for long. A third voice
joined the conversation. “Sir, Reginald Rawlings just phoned and informed that
Dr. Roth would be transporting two bodies on his approval, codeword alpha.”

“Alright then. On your way, Doctor.” The bag settled slowly
onto Paul’s head.

“Thank you.”

The door to the van closed, and they started moving again.

They both exhaled, letting out all of the tension from the
moment. Sierra moved her lips up Paul’s neck until she found his mouth. She
kissed him gently, then slid back down and carefully rested her head on his
chest.

“Reginald didn’t know Dr. Roth was transporting two bags,”
Sierra said.

“I know. I don’t understand it either.”

Thirty minutes later Dr. Roth pulled over and opened the
back of the van. “Alright, kids, you can come out now.” He unzipped the bag and
helped Sierra out. “How’s the leg, Sierra?”

“Dr. Roth, I would like to be called Sara from now on.
Sierra Montgomery is dead.  Paul and his family all call me by Sara.”

“Well, that explains a lot. All this time I thought Paul was
pronouncing your name wrong, but he was calling you Sara. ”

“My leg is fine. Paul’s ribs, on the other hand, are
probably hurting him.”

It was true. Paul couldn’t sit up straight by himself. Dr. Roth
helped him and then pulled out a couple of pain pills for him to take. “We’re
going to stop in Slaterville to drop off the pseudo-Paul. After that we’ll
drive to Northtown. I’ve made arrangements for your parents to meet us at my
folks’ home.”

“My parents are alright then?” Paul felt excitement filling
his soul.

“As far as I could tell.”

Sierra asked, “Dr. Roth, what happened back at the border?
How did we get past?”

“Apparently one of the border patrollers is an insurgent and
knew exactly what to say to his superior. We can all be thankful for that
because we were mere millimeters away from being discovered. I think I’ve aged
ten years since you came into my life, Paul.”

Sierra and Paul climbed back in the van and sat on the
floor. Dr. Roth got behind the wheel and pulled back on the road — the road to
freedom.

*****

Dr. Roth turned the van into the driveway of his childhood
home. “I wasn’t lying when I asked Reginald for some personal time with my
family,” he said. He opened the side door and helped Paul and Sierra out of the
van.