Lost and Found

Chapter 2

At the palace, a group of people were congregated in the palace workers' staff room. The door opened, and in walked two guards dragging two others, unconscious, behind them. Their hands were tied behind their backs, and blood was dripping down the side of one's face.

"Put them in the closet for now," the man in the center of the circle declared. "We'll dispose of them when we go home later."

He turned to face the rest of the crowd again.

"Her plane is in the air right now?" he asked.

"Yes Mr. Gorde," replied McAdams. "We should also be getting a signal from Rogers and Smith on the status of the plane crash in a few minutes. Should I order them to do a sweep of the wreckage afterwards?"

"Yes, definitely. We need to be absolutely sure the princess is dead. However, it wouldn't be surprising if the body went missing. No one's ever come back from there. Tell them to be careful, we don't need two of our best agents missing as well."

"Roger that sir."

Suddenly, the door opened again, this time inviting in a tall figure radiating power and eloquence. The King glided into the room, and at once all the guards bowed their heads.

A chorus of "Your Highness" spread through the room, however the atmosphere remained vaguely tense, as though a child had done something wrong and was waiting to see if the parent had noticed.

"I'm dismissing you all for the rest of the evenings," he declared in a deep yet gentle voice. "There isn't much to do for the day, and next week is quite busy. I hope you spend some time with your families and relax."

While he received no verbal responses, the room instantly felt lighter as the stress from the day left the guards' shoulders. Some even wore a smile.

As he went to leave, he paused in the middle of the doorway. "McAdams, if you could please get me some tea before you leave that would be lovely. I'll be in my study. Everyone else, I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning!"

A brief response of affirmation rang through the room. As soon as the doors closed behind him, the guards turned to face Gorde.

"You heard the man. James and Klyde, drop the two in the closet off at headquarters. We'll have to keep them in a cell there for now and see if they're willing to switch loyalties. If not, there's no use keeping them around," Gorde instructed.

As people start moving, he pulls McAdams aside.

"You know what to do with the tea?"

"Phase one begins now, sir."