“One day we’ll be as widely known as the Knights,” Sergeant Boynton bragged to Rikki. “You wait and see.”
The jeep unexpectedly arrived at an intersection with a paved highway.
After braking and glancing both ways, the driver wheeled to the right.
Marred, pitted, and warped by years of abandoned neglect, the highway was in deplorable condition. The jeep bounced and bumped as it struck ruts and potholes.
“Where did you learn about the Leather Knights?” General Thayer inquired.
“Elsewhere,” Rikki said.
“When?”
“A while ago.”
“What do you know about them?”
Rikki shrugged. “This and that.”
“Do you want me to slug him, sir?” Sergeant Boynton queried. “The son of a bitch needs to learn manners.”
“In due course,” General Thayer said patiently. He reached down and stroked the katana hilt. “We’ve never seen anyone with a fine sword like this. Perhaps the sword is the key. Perhaps…”
“What kind of sword is that, sir?” Boynton inquired.
“I don’t…” General Thayer began, then snapped the fingers on his right hand. “That’s it!”
“What, sir?” Sergeant Boynton asked.
“The outsider with the sword! Now I remember!” General Thayer exclaimed.
“I don’t follow, sir.”
General Thayer scrutinized their captive. “Yes. You do fit the description.”
“Do I?” Rikki responded.
“What description, sir?” Sergeant Boynton inquired.
“Think back to the last Leather Knight patrol we ambushed,” General Thayer said.
“I remember it, sir. I was there,” Sergeant Boynton said.
“And we captured one of the Leather Knights, a man named Anson,” General Thayer stated.
“The one we promised to spare if he provided information,” Sergeant Boynton commented, and chuckled. “Of course, he was executed anyway.”
“That’s the one,” General Thayer said. “He told us everything he knew about the Leather Knights. He even spun a tale about two outsiders who took on the Leather Knights and beat them on their own turf. I was positive he was concocting the story to prolong his life. Do you remember what he said?”
Sergeant Boynton recollected for several seconds. “He claimed the outsiders killed dozens of Leather Knights, sir. One of them was supposed to be a giant armed with knives, and the other was a little guy with a sword!” As he said the last words, his brown eyes narrowed, focused on the Warrior. “You!”
“Yes, him,” General Thayer confirmed.
Rikki stared at the trees alongside the road.
“Do you deny it was you?” General Thayer asked the martial artist.
“Does it matter?” Rikki responded.
“I told the King about the story,” General Thayer said. “He was very interested and wanted me to learn more about these outsiders. Two men holding their own against all the Knights seemed far-fetched at the time, but after seeing your friends and you in action, the idea isn’t so crazy. If you are one of those outsiders, the King might strike a deal with you.”
“Like he did with the Leather Knight you executed?” Rikki remarked.
“This is different,” General Thayer said.
“I won’t be as gullible as the Knight,” Rikki assured him.
“I know you won’t,” Thayer agreed. “And I won’t make the mistake of underestimating you twice. If you are one of the outsiders the Knight talked about, then you were inside St. Louis. You know the layout. The knowledge you possess could be crucial to the success of our raid.”
“Raid?”
General Thayer nodded and grinned wickedly. “The King has planned a raid on the Knights, an attack designed to eliminate their leadership in one swoop.”
“He has, sir?” Sergeant Boynton asked eagerly.
“If you breathe one word of this. Sergeant, you or any of your men, you will be summarily put to death,” General Thayer warned.
“On my honor as a soldier, I won’t,” Sergeant Boynton promised. “None of these men will.”
General Thayer shifted his attention back to the martial artist. “What’s your name?”
Rikki maintained a stony profile.
“What harm can your name do?” the general demanded. “Make up one if you want. Just give me a name to use.”
What harm could supplying his real name do? Rikki wondered. Plenty, he guessed, because the Leather Knights had known it. So his choices were clear. He could give them a false name, no name at all, or his real name and be willing to suffer the consequences. The words of his favorite book, the I Ching, served as a guidepost in this instance: “Words and deeds are the string and bow of the superior man. As the string and bow move, they accord honor or disgrace,” he paraphrased aloud.
General Thayer and Sergeant Boynton exchanged perplexed looks.
“What?” the general said.
“My name is Rikki-Tikki-Tavi.”
“I knew it!” General Thayer declared.
“This is the guy, sir?” Boynton inquired.
“Is there any doubt?” General Thayer answered. “The King and the Dark Lord will both be pleased.”
“Who is the Dark Lord?” Rikki inquired.
“The Dark Lord is the power behind the throne, so to speak,” General Thayer said. “The King listens to no one but the Dark Lord.”
“Have you seen this Dark Lord?” Rikki asked.
General Thayer nodded and licked his lips. “Yes. Once. The King escorted me into the Dark Lord’s presence.” He lowered his voice. “I never want to go through that again.”
“You actually saw the Dark Lord?” Sergeant Boynton said, interrupting, So astounded by the revelation that he forgot military protocol.
The general, engrossed in a private terror, did not notice.
“I saw him. The King wanted to introduce me, his new commander in chief of the Hounds of Hades army.”
“Then the King answers to one other?” Rikki probed, his curiosity stimulated.
“The King answers to the Dark Lord,” Thayer divulged. “And the Dark Lord answers to no one.”
“Is the Dark Lord a person or a mutant?” Rikki questioned.
“The Dark Lord is like nothing I’ve ever seen,” General Thayer said.
“And no one, other than me, has ever been in to see him and lived to talk about it.”
“Is the Dark Lord male?” Rikki queried.
“I don’t know.”
“Now who’s being evasive?” Rikki baited him.
“I honestly don’t know,” General Thayer said. “Maybe the Dark Lord is an ‘it.’ Whether the Dark Lord is male or female, or something in between, is irrelevant. The important thing to remember is that if the King takes you in to meet the Dark Lord, you’ll never come out again.”
The driver chose that moment to make an announcement. “The outskirts of Memphis, sir, dead ahead.”
Chapter Five
“This is fun!”
“If you think this tin-plated rattletrap is something, wait until you take a gander at the buggy we have at our Home, princess,” Hickok told her.
“You ride bugs?” Chastity asked in amazement.
“No,” Blade answered with a laugh, his brawny hands on the steering wheel, his eyes glued to the trail of flattened vegetation the half-track was following. “Our Founder left us a special vehicle called the SEAL. It’s solar powered and has amphibious capability.”
“Amfibby-what?” Chastity said.
“The SEAL can travel on land or in the water,” Blade explained. “We usually take the SEAL when we go on long runs, but not this time. A jet, a VTOL known as a Hurricane, flew us to Florida.” He paused and frowned.
“But the pilot never returned to pick us up.”