D-Nine: Protectors of the Crown

Chapter 14

"Good morning, Dr. James. Hope you had a good sleep last night. We are here to bring you down to the operating theatre," a nurse announced.
I passed through the corridor, down the elevator, and into the sterile area of the operating theatre.
The anaesthetist came by and talked to me, briefly explaining what he would be doing. I smiled at him.
Dr. Seetho came by, too, and said, "Don't worry."
"I'm not. I have absolute faith in you." I gave a thumbs-up sign.
"I won't let you down."
"I know you won't." I let out a laugh which was only slightly forced. I really did have faith in his abilities.
I was pushed in from the pre-op area to the operating theatre and was quickly transferred onto the table. I felt like livestock being led to the slaughterhouse.
"I need you to count to ten slowly." The anaesthetist placed the mask over my face.
"One, two, three, four ... five ..."

***

"Ow, my head." I never knew a brain operation could be so painful.
"Heh, you are awake." I heard Ronchet's voice.
"What happened to me?"
"I heard that Mr. D clubbed you over the head." He stifled a laugh. "You were brought in unconscious."
"Oh, now I remember. How is he?"
"Captured and questioned, I suppose. News doesn't come to the infirmary instantly."
"Yeah." I rubbed the sore area and softly cursed my own stupidity.

***

I was called to Fibua's room. He sat there at his desk, looking grim. Three other squad leaders were sitting around the room.
"Sir," I said.
"Good, we can start."
He briefly went through the information which he had managed pry out of the devastatingly tight-lipped Mr. D. It consisted of a list of targets, some who had already been annihilated and some whose deaths were in the pipeline. The grim thing about it was that it not only included the princess, but a whole list of nobles, some of whom were supporters of the Queen.
Looking around the room, Fibua gave a massive sigh. His desolate face darkened, as the severity of the situation weighed on him. The hit list included all the ranked officers in D-Nine, from the general down to the captains, indicating that the secrecy of the organization had been compromised. Count Dalormedes was one of them, a piece of news that surprised us; none of us present were able to speak after hearing it.
Breaking the persisting silence, I enquired, "Do we know the identity of their spy?"
Fibua passed around a slip with a list of names, speaking as we pored over them. "There is someone who is controlling this like a puppeteer, hiding behind stolen identities to avoid detection."
"Hmmm, have we any clue about who he might be?"
"The next in line for the throne will be one of the four archdukes. Should the Queen and princess fall, there will most certainly be a civil war."
"But the Queen's name is not on the list. Could it be that the person wants to kill Her Majesty himself?"
"That's a probable guess but we have no way to confirm it." Fibua rubbed his chin, contemplating the possibility before continuing. "I will get the intelligence branch to investigate this conjecture."
"Is there anything we should do now?"
"Yes. Send out all your people. I want everyone on this list to be informed of the possibility of assassins." He gave each of us a list and said. "Go. Godspeed."
The entire kingdom was placed under red alert in the following days. Soldiers were mobilized to raid possible Deadly Bats hideouts. The mutilated corpses of the Deadly Bats were paraded in the public squares and along the streets, to serve as a warning against treason. The members of the fugitive organisation were hunted down to extinction.
Ronchet had made a rapid recovery and had taken back the reins of command of the squad.
We had prevented the swift execution of the hit list, but were not a step closer to the truth.

***

"Are you free?" Ronchet asked.
"Very." I yawned, bored to tears.
"Today is the midsummer celebrations."
"I know." My eyes rolled at his poor attempt to start a conversation. "The townsfolk have been preparing for it all week," I teased playfully. "Anyone who didn't notice it must have been blind!"
"Do you want to accompany me to the carnival?"
"Me? A mission?" My eyes widened with excitement.
"Nope. Just for fun."
"Hmmm, why not? We have nothing to do anyway. Are the others going?"
"Just the two of us."
"Aw ... that's too bad. What time are we going?"
"This evening. Meet me at the central square fountain. I have something to settle before that."
"ON. Do you need help?" My Singaporean English made its debut in my excitement.
"Huh, what's 'on'?" He shot me a quizzical look before mumbling, "No, no need."
"I meant okay. See you later then."

***

As I strapped the rapier onto my belt, an uneasy feeling passed over me. My right eyelid had been twitching continuously since half an hour ago. Although I was certainly not a superstitious person, I had a bad feeling something was on the verge of going awry.
Looking in the mirror and doing a final check on my appearance, I stopped and took a moment. After all this while as a lady, I still missed my own body and my face.
The way to the central fountain was quieter than usual, as most of the town was at the carnival. The sun was setting and the air began to cool.
As I was about to enter the plaza where the fountain was, I saw Ronchet. He was holding a bunch of flowers and that certainly made him look out of place. Now I know why he asked me out, I thought. He must be dating a girl and wanted me to provide some advice. Stifling a laugh, as my mind thought of the different responses to each scenario I was going to face, I made my way towards him.
At that moment, someone gagged me from behind and dragged me into a dark alley. I wanted to reach for the rapier but he had already taken it off me. I struggled violently but to no avail. This petite body just did not have enough strength.
"We meet again, imposter Lady Gwenilin." I barely had time to see Count Dalormedes before a blow to the back of my neck knocked me unconscious.

*****