“You can’t be serious?” questioned another Councilor. “You expect to seize this Council and declare the war over? It takes more than that to conquer Omunga.”
“There is little left of Omunga,” SkyDancer said. “The only cities that you control now are Okata and Tanzaba. By the end of the day, only Tanzaba will remain.”
“What are you saying?” asked the Councilor. “We have heard about the eastern provinces, but surely the west is still secure?”
“I see that the Katana does not confide in you,” retorted SkyDancer. “Gatong and Fortung fell over a week ago. Campanil was not far behind.”
“Preposterous,” scowled another Councilor. “General Kapla has taken his army to protect those cities.”
“General Kapla has surrendered,” announced SkyDancer. “So has General Romero, and General Valdey is dead. You only have General Didyk left, and he is in no position to save his country. Now, I have answered your questions. I demand that you remain silent until I give you leave to speak again. If you speak, you die.”
SkyDancer let her eyes rest on each of the Councilors as she scanned the room. HawkShadow stood silently, his face an unemotional mask.
“Now that you know that my aim is good,” declared SkyDancer as she nodded towards the body of slain Councilor. “I am going to walk around the table and prepare you for the moment of discovery. When I tap your shoulder, you will rise and follow my instructions. If you do not rise and follow instructions, I will slit your throat and move on to the next. I would advise you to be cooperative. If you do, you will survive this day.”
* * *
The Monitor strode purposely along the corridor looking for Colonel Zanta. As he passed the Council Chamber, he halted and stared at the door. He was sure that he had heard orders given that the Council was to remain in session, yet there were no sentries. He put his ear to the door to listen. At first he heard nothing, but then he heard sounds of movement. A frown fell over his face as he spotted a drop of blood on the floor. He bent down and touched it. Slowly, he rose and backed away from the door.
The Monitor moved swiftly through the corridors of the palace. When he saw Colonel Zanta in the distance, he shouted. The colonel halted as the Monitor ran towards him.
“Something is amiss,” reported the Monitor. “The sentries are missing from the Council Chamber. There is movement inside the room and blood on the floor outside the room.”
“Did you look inside the room?” asked Colonel Zanta.
“I did not,” the Monitor replied promptly. “Regulations say that we should not disturb anything if a crime has been committed. We are supposed to report it immediately.”
“You did right,” replied the colonel. “A lone Monitor opening the door could easily have informed the criminals of our knowledge. I must believe that we have intruders. Head to the Katana’s Chamber, and notify his guards. They must put him in isolation immediately. Tell them that I have ordered it. I will take care of the Council Chamber.”
The Monitor saluted and ran off. Colonel Zanta strode to the nearest exit from the palace and ordered twenty men to follow him. He ordered another man to visit each exit and explain that there are intruders in the building. No exit was to be left unguarded.
Colonel Zanta led his group of Monitors to the Council Chamber. He used hand motions to indicate which Monitors would be archers, and which would storm the room. The archers moved back until they stood away from the door. They spread out in the corridor so that they would have the widest spread possible when it came time to fire. Those chosen to storm the room crouched down in front of the door so that the archers could fire over their heads.
When everyone was ready, Colonel Zanta kicked open the door and dove into the room. The storming Monitors immediately followed while the archers held their fire. Colonel Zanta rolled to a crouch and looked for his first target.
“A very nice entrance,” smiled SkyDancer. “I had heard that the Monitors were a force to be reckoned with. You take your craft seriously, Colonel Zanta.”
The colonel rose slowly to his feet. He stared at the far end of the room where the Councilors all stood. He could not see the woman who had spoken, but he could see her knife. It was at the throat of the First Minister. As the colonel’s eyes panned the assembled group, he noticed a fine wire wrapped around the neck of each Councilor. The wires were all interconnected.
“What is the meaning of this?” Colonel Zanta asked as his hand waved to order the Monitors to retreat. “Who are you? What do you want?”
The storming Monitors retreated from the room, and the archers stood down. Colonel Zanta alone stood his ground.
“Peace,” SkyDancer answered. “I am Sakovan, and I have come to negotiate. May I speak to the Katana?”
“Don’t be absurd,” Colonel Zanta shook his head. “There is no way that the Katana will be allowed near this room. He will remain isolated until this matter is resolved, one way or the other.”
SkyDancer smiled at the colonel’s answer, but the colonel could not see the Sakovan’s face.
“Understandable,” sighed SkyDancer, “but that does present me with a problem. My plan called for the Katana to call off this war. Now that you have ruled that possibility out, I am stuck without an exit strategy. What am I to do?”
“Surrender,” the colonel stated quickly as he saw the body of one of the Councilors on the floor. “I will promise you a swift death.”
“I am not ready to die just yet,” retorted SkyDancer. “I think I would prefer to hold a meeting of the Katana’s Council. I am sure that these fine men would pass a resolution calling for an end to this unjust war. Perhaps they would even be willing to give a pass out of the city and guarantee that I will not be molested.”
Colonel Zanta wanted to shake his head and laugh at the demands of the Sakovan, but he knew better than to show any emotion. He wondered if the Sakovan was foolish enough to believe that the Katana would care what the Council voted. If she was that naive, it might work to the colonel’s advantage. He could let the Sakovan think she was accomplishing something and then kill her when she tried to leave.
“If the Councilors are willing to entertain your suggestion for a meeting,” Colonel Zanta said, “I can not stop them, but I warn you now. I see the body of one Councilor on the floor. If you kill another one, all bets are off. I will kill you myself, regardless of what the Council says. Do you understand?”
“I do,” SkyDancer responded in an obedient manner. “I did not want to harm any of them, but that one started shouting before I was ready for you to arrive. I had no choice. Do you wish to stay for the meeting?”
“I cannot be distracted from my work,” Colonel Zanta said as he tried to gaze assuringly at the First Minister as if to ask him to play along for a while. “I am leaving a squad outside this door. Nobody will leave this room without my permission. Have your meeting. Knock on the door when you are ready to talk again.”
“Close the door on your way out,” SkyDancer said. “Those archers appeared to have too loose a finger on the string.”
Colonel Zanta backed out of the room and closed the door. He stood for a moment outside the room trying to determine what to do.
“You are leaving that madman in there with the Councilors?” asked one of his men.
“For now,” nodded the colonel. “There is more than one Sakovan in there. At least two, but there could be more. There is wire running around the necks of all of the Councilors. If we attack, I believe all of the Councilors would die along with the Sakovans. Given that, the Sakovans can do no more harm as long as they are contained within that room. This way we have some time to figure out a way to overcome the intruders. No one goes out or enters that room for any reason. I am going to my office to devise a plan. If there is a knock on the door, summon me immediately.”