This was the third time for them to move. It would happen every two or three days. The Malvinans really didn't want anyone getting a bead on where their 'guests' were being held now that the mask had come off.

When the Malvinans stopped pretending to be hosts to the Byrandian delegation, things happened quickly. Root was going to play along at first, but when it became clear they were going to be separated, he knew the chances of them finding each other again would be slim to none. The Republican Guard was good. He barely had the chance to try anything when he got a rifle butt to the head. He still had headaches from it, too.

What Captain Tsai had told him about her fleet seemed to be true. There was no sign of the Imperials intervening like before. Why now of all times?

His first concern was for Anne. The Malvinans were old-fashioned enough that they were probably keeping the females together. If Azuki was with her, that was some comfort. He could trust Azuki to do everything in her power to protect the Princess. At this point, he wondered if revealing her identity would be to her benefit or not. The King would be furious if the Malvinans approached him with an offer for ransom, but if that could get her delivered back home safely...

His instincts and his training made escape a priority, but even if he was able to escape somehow and manage to elude capture, he couldn't leave without Anne. He didn't imagine his captors would be informed of the movements of the other groups, so he had no way of knowing where she would be held. It was a big country and he couldn't expect to go combing over it for clues while being hunted like a dog.

Every plan he came up with would get shot down the more he thought of it. The most likely escape plan would involve making for the northern border, which was a steep challenge in and of itself, but there was no guarantee the North Malvinans would take them. Seeking refuge at a friendly embassy or consulate might be another choice, but his captors weren't likely to hold him in any major city with foreign diplomatic facilities.

Was his only practical choice to sit tight and let diplomacy do its work? There were no indications the Malvinans were negotiating for some sort of exchange and even if the Imperials were to return, they weren't likely to go to any great lengths for anyone besides their own personnel.

They hit another bump. This time it was harder. The noise that followed and the way the truck's back quarter sank made it clear that there was a blowout. The truck slowed to a stop while pulling to the side of the road.

If they didn't have a spare, they'd be here a while. Root didn't imagine his captors wanted to be stuck out in the open like this, but they couldn't move the prisoners in broad daylight any other way without drawing attention they didn't want. It had been so long since Sir Armand last reported in that surely the government was making moves to find them, both overt and covert. Root didn't know what assets Second Bureau had here in South Malvina, but they were sure to be at work trying to find the missing delegation. Probably the North was getting in on the action, too, maybe thinking they could offer up the captives as some sort of prize.

Root was cuffed to one of the ribs of the canopy covering the cargo bed. Even though he knew it wouldn't get him anywhere, he tried wriggling around to see if he could get loose.

The jeep escorting the truck came to a stop behind them. It might have seemed odd that the escort was following behind, but they seemed to think the bigger threat was one of the prisoners getting loose and trying to escape out the back. To be fair, it was something Root had considered.

He thought he heard them tell one man to keep an eye on the prisoners while they worked on changing the tire.

Root struggled with the cuffs a little more. He didn't have anything resembling a decent plan even if he could get loose, but instinctively he kept trying for it.

He heard another vehicle pull up to them. When he heard the people talking, it sounded like they were ordinary civilians. Probably asking if they could help. Whoever was speaking for his captors was savvy enough to sound pleasant rather than gruffly telling the civilians to clear out. No point in raising any suspicions.

Only the civilians didn't leave. If Root was hearing right, the spokesman for his captors was telling them to get back in their car. The civilians weren't going for it, apparently insisting on helping. Another captor wasn't being as diplomatic. It was turning into an argument. Who were these guys who didn't seem to know how to take no for an answer?

There was a distinct crack, then several more in quick succession. Root realized it was the sound of suppressed gunshots. Did his captors just kill the civilians? He didn't remember seeing them have suppressors on their weapons.

Someone climbed into the bed of the truck.

The blindfold and gag were untied and Root saw a man dressed as an ordinary Malvinan.

Lapin unlocked Root's handcuffs and then went around unlocking the others. Besides Root himself, there was Sergeant Kranowitz, Sir Willem, and Corporal Merlo, along with Lieutenant Lee and a couple of the Imperial enlisted men.

Root went around checking on the others. Sir Willem only nodded silently when Root asked if he was okay. For the Princess' bodyguard to be separated from his charge, it had to be tough. Root wasn't going to speculate on who was torn up more about it. It wasn't a contest.

Once he was done unlocking everyone, Lapin said, "We need to get moving. We've only got an hour, two at most, before they send people looking for you."

Lapin frowned at this.

Realizing this could quickly devolve into a dispute that would spoil the rescue effort, Lapin said, "We can discuss this later. Right now, we need to go."

He was dodging the issue, Root knew, but he was right that now was not the time to sit around and debate. As the former prisoners exited the truck, they saw Lapin's comrades propping up the bodies of the dead Malvinans in the jeep. Lapin's own vehicle was an old, beat-up milk truck and once the Malvinans had been stowed away, his team started to pull bundles out of the back that looked distinctly like human bodies.

One of the men then delivered little packages wrapped in butcher paper to each of the prisoners.

While Root was changing into the civilian clothes he had been given, one of Lapin's men was dressing one of the bodies in his discarded uniform. Root decided it was better not to ask how those 'volunteers' were recruited.

Root saw that the Imperials weren't changing and said to them, "Gentlemen, you're not going to blend in very well like that."

Ever the pragmatist, Lapin said, "Would you at least agree to covering up with the coats and doffing that headgear?"

Lieutenant Lee looked to his fellow Imperials, then said, "Very well. Getting recaptured would not serve our mission."

Once the bodies were dressed in the prisoners' uniforms (excepting the stand-ins for the Imperials, of course), they were then loaded into the back of the truck, blindfolded, gagged and handcuffed as the prisoners had been. Lapin's men then took a couple jerrycans and generously doused the jeep and the interior of the truck with gasoline. After that, they made some Molotov cocktails and lit up the two vehicles.

While the vehicles were going up in flames, Sergeant Kranowitz leaned in close and whispered to Root, "You sure we can trust these people, sir?"

Root noticed Lapin glancing his way out of the corner of his eye. If he caught what Root and Sergeant Kranowitz were saying, he didn't show any signs of it bothering him.

He turned to the former prisoners and said, "Gentlemen, let's get moving." He motioned to the back of the milk truck. "Load in."

Before he got into the milk truck, though, Root gave the burning vehicles one last look and sincerely hoped he wouldn't find himself envying the people inside. Everything was going to work out just fine, wasn't it?