– Do you think they'll pass through here? – Ambrosio asked, hiding behind a chestnut tree, fearful of the mission he was about to embark on.
– If you keep making noise, they might even come faster, to see if it's a pig making noise in these parts – Mariam retorted, staring at Ambrosio in a mocking way.
Ambrosio returned his gaze to the road. He was a studious man, once a member of the Cult of the Eternal Sun, but he had chickened out at the last minute without having taken his vows and had fled the temple before dawn, without anyone noticing his absence until he was too far away to be pursued.
– I just want to know if this is really the right decision – Ambrosio said. – Don't you think we're going too far?
– The only people going too far are those who don't even know what we go through every day – said Mariam. Her light brown eyes sparkled like rubies in the early morning light. – Don't you feel you have to do something so that your family stops suffering?
– I don't have a family, but I understand what you mean.
– So, it's not a 'you think', it's our duty.
– I'll say no more...
– Hopefully you don't, they're coming – said Étienne. – Our moment is coming; everyone be quiet now.
He drew his sabre and cocked his flintlock pistol to full cock. Étienne Derval had been through moments like this more often in his life, but with less subterfuge. For many years he had fought the wars of kings and lords for pennies and the scars that proved he had been there.
A carriage came along the road, their target. Between them they breathed a sigh of relief. It had arrived later than they had been told, but it was still possible to go ahead with the plan. It had come from the west to the east, with the sun shining in their eyes, blinding them to what was about to happen, from Solterra, on her way to market day in Pisum, but not to sell goods. It was protected, according to their information, by no more than two or three guards, but counting them, now that they could check their numbers on the road, there were six guards. There were seven men in total: two protecting the front, another two the rear and the rest on the flanks, on the sides of the road. At their centre, leading the horses, was the merchant.
– You said there wouldn't be more than three – said Mariam.
– That's what I was told – retorted Étienne. – There's no turning back. It's now or never.
– We can't stand up to them! – said Ambrosio, exacerbated. – They're twice as much as us!
– Mariam, you brought them, didn't you? – Étienne asked.
– Against all those people? You're lucky I did. I've got one for you too, Ambrosio, here.
She handed him a strange, round object that he didn't recognise at first.
– Wait, are you sure about this? – Ambrosio asked. – Aren't we supposed to be trying to capture the man in the centre of the carriage and what he's carrying?
– If you had my experience – Étienne replied, – you'd know that nothing goes according to plan when you come into contact with the enemy.
– Yes, I understand, but this is crazy! I'm more likely to blow myself up than them down there.
– Then give it to me! – Mariam replied. – If you don't have the stomach for it, why did you volunteer for this mission?
– Honestly, I don't know. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time.
– The right thing to do would have been to bring in someone who was really capable of helping. Since we don't have anyone else, make sure they don't surround us. There are two loaded muskets, leaning against that chestnut tree, and gunpowder and ammunition in a box on the ground. Ready, Lieutenant?
– I'm not your lieutenant – replied Étienne. – But yes, I'm ready. If I wait any longer, I'll die of old age. Ambrosio, we're waiting for you to start.
Within seconds, they were in position. Étienne and Mariam were hiding behind a large, thick bush, completely hidden from the eyes of the men in the carriage, waiting for Ambrosio's signal.
– Do you think he'll run away? – whispered Mariam.
– I think he'd feel worse if he abandoned us than for killing an innocent man.
Suddenly, there was a gunshot and the sound of a man falling to the ground. He had died before hitting the ground and hadn't made a sound. The rest of the men moved into position, all their attention focussed on the direction coming from the smoke released by the gun as it fired.
In the middle of the open road, the only place they could find shelter was the very carriage they had been hired to protect. Running into the woods in the opposite direction of the shooter wasn't a good idea, considering they still didn't know how many were attacking them.
They opened fire in the direction the shot had come from, hoping to hit their assailants.
– Now! – Étienne shouted.
At his command, they lit up and threw the grenades at the carriage. In a single moment, the carriage shattered and covered those sheltering behind it in splinters, smoke and blood. The two horses pulling it died in the explosion, creating a cloud of blood and entrails around them. Those who didn't die in the explosion lay on the ground, waiting for their last breath.
Étienne and Mariam carefully moved forward, pistols drawn, touching the dead, making sure that they had indeed perished. They hadn't noticed that one of them, with his entire left flank bloodied, was sneaking up on Mariam from behind, knife in hand, waiting to take revenge on his comrades.
Another shot came from the forest, grazing the shoulder of the man, who had instinctively crouched down. Étienne and Mariam immediately turned round and tried to take his life before he had a chance to do the same to them. Mariam had charged at him, but even wounded, that man had more strength than he gave himself credit for. He parried her sword blow with his knife and, with his bloody left arm, punched her hard in the stomach. For a moment, Mariam lost her breath and dropped her sword. She tried to pull herself together and aim the pistol at him with her non-dominant hand, but he threw it away from them.
He was preparing to deliver the final blow when Étienne gave him a masterstroke on the wrist, disarming the guard.
– Are you all right?
– I'll live – replied Mariam. – This almost-dead bastard wanted to take me to an early grave too. Thank you.
– We still have a job to do. Where's the merchant? – Étienne asked.
– And where the hell have you been all this time? – Mariam asked Ambrosio, who had just come running down the hill. – I almost died, and you didn't even show a sign of life? Would it have cost you much to have hit him?
– I tried – replied Ambrosio, – but I had no angle when he came towards you. I was afraid I'd hit you.
– Can one of you two go and see the merchant while I interrogate our prisoner? – exclaimed Étienne, visibly annoyed.
– Yes, Lieutenant! Right away, Lieutenant! – replied Mariam ironically.
– Funny girl...
The search didn't last long. Leaning against a cedar tree with a wooden stake lodged in his abdomen, the merchant was dying, but he was still conscious.
– Can you speak, my good man? – Ambrosio asked.
– I can, I can. I don't know what you want me to say, though.
– I think you do – said Mariam. – Where is it?
– I don't know what you're talking about – said the merchant.
At that moment, Mariam's boot was against the stake, pressing it deeper and deeper.
– You still have no idea what I'm talking about?
– Argh... Calm down, calm down! I surrender, that's enough! I can't take it any more... There, behind that chestnut tree, I hid it when the fighting started. Here's the key. Now, let me die in peace, I've suffered too much for one day.
– Don't worry, you won't suffer much longer.
In the next second, there was only the sound of her sword slicing through the air and the man's neck in a singular graceful movement. The merchant clutched his slit throat in desperation and struggled to take one last breath, to no avail.
– I don't think he would have got anywhere if you hadn't done that – said Étienne. – The other man didn't know anything, he'd just been hired to guard the carriage. Did you get it?
– I did, and he even gave me the key – said Mariam. – Wasn't he nice?
She gave Étienne the key with a sadistic smile, as if she appreciated everything that had just happened.
– I think I've realised why they chose you for this mission – said Étienne, defensively – Well, where's the safe?
– Over there, behind that chestnut tree. It's going to be so nice to come back. Do you think they'll give us a hero's welcome for what we did today?
– First we have to get back, then we can think about what they'll give us.
Étienne got down on one knee and opened the safe. A rustyclinkas he turned the key brought him back to his senses after what he'd just gone through to retrieve that item. He had just let his guard down and hadn't noticed that his pistol had been removed from his harness and pointed at his head in a matter of seconds. He had even heard the sound of the flint hitting the iron and then nothing. Everything had gone dark.
– No! – shouted Ambrosio. – He saved your life. Why did you do that?
– Because I have another little mission, and this one doesn't require companions or witnesses.
As she said this, she drew her own pistol and pointed it at Ambrosio before he could raise his musket. Without remorse, she pulled the trigger and shot him through the heart. The impact ripped a hole in his chest and blood began to gush from it. Ambrosio fell to his knees and died like that, disillusioned with his whole life, thinking about how, perhaps, taking the vows wouldn't have been a bad life. It would have been less adventurous, but at least he would have been safe and sound.
After a few minutes of intense fighting, nine men were left in the dirt to be eaten by crows, along with a small rusty iron safe that had been opened, its contents taken out and the reason for so much death a mystery to the people who found that scene of terror.