Pass The Pen
Chapter Fifteen - The Agitated Midshipman
by Caity

* * * * *

Back at the ranch....er...lonesome castle by the
sea, Kennedy was finding himself in a difficult
situation. The now leaderless French guards were
eyeing him with a mix of disapproval, distrust, and
lust for eliminating the enemy. Archie, recognizing
the delicate situation he now found himself in,
decided to slip away faster than little children
having to do chores. Unfortunately for him, however,
the head of the guards had reorganized his troops and
they were now making after him.
Like a chase in the old cartoons, Archie led the
guards to and fro within the old castle. Up stairways
and down again; through dark corridors and down into
the dungeons. Finally, having to stop because of a
stitch in his side, he slowed and came to a stop and
turned to find the guards nowhere behind him. Looking
around, he thought to himself, "Huh....where'd they
all go?" and started back the way he came. Soon,
Archie got the feeling that someone or many someones
were quietly watching him. The hairs on the back of
his neck started to stand up on end. The pit of his
stomach started to clench, signaling the approach of
danger. "Oh, bloody hell! Not them again." Archie
said underneath his breath.
Trying to be as nonchalant as possible, he edged
closer to the entrance to the stairway and once
getting there, took off in a mad dash towards the top.
In response, the well trained guards reacted
immediately and surrounded Archie at the top.
"Se rendre maintenant! Venir silencieusment et
nous ne vous nuireons pas..yet." the leader spoke and
gestured to Archie's left. His rusty French was good
enough for him to understand the general meaning and
subtle threat in the guard's speech. Admitting defeat,
at least currently, the agitated midshipman
capitulated, raised his arms in surrender and started
in the direction indicated.
* * * *
At the same time as that was happening, Horatio
was having a quiet conversation with Jourquin in the
boat. "Who is this Englishman now in our company?"
Jourquin asks.
"He is a midshipman on the Indefatigable, sir."
the reply was.
Jourquin heard this and made a distinct noise that
sounded like snort to Horatio. "Yet another lowly
fool sent to do a man's job. This British captain has
no courage to stage a rescue." Jourquin thought to
himself as he was looking out into the darkness.
Speaking out loud now, he addresses Horatio, "I am
sorry to have this happen to you. Ouimette is a fool
looking only for his own lust and not the betterment
of the group. Did he do anything untoward to you?"
"No, I do not think so, but I cannot be sure. I
was knocked unconscious and then the next thing I
remember is waking in this boat. If I may so inquire
sir, what is your plan now?"
"Mr. Hornblower, we shall not go back to the
castle. There is another place along the coast where
we are headed that will provide sufficent shelter
until your captain comes. I will not say anything more
than that. In the meantime, I must figure out what I
will do with our two companions for the time being."
Jourquin explained. "Now I must advise you to try to
sleep as much as possible. You shall have need for
all your strength in the morning."
Horatio nodded in understanding and stretched out
as much as possible and dropped off into
unconsciouness once again.
* * * *
Archie was lead towards a small, cramped cell in
the north tower of the castle. Once pushed inside,
the leader stepped inside and immediately the room
seemed to have shrunk in half.
"Me dire, que savez vous?" the leader asked,
trying to find out why Archie was there.
"Nothing, I know nothing except that I was to
rescue my shipmate from hostage here." Archie
answered, starting to dread what surely lied ahead.
"Vous couchez! Vous savez quelque chose vous ne
me dites pas." the leader seemed to get more irate
with each passing second.
"What? I cannot understand you" Archie's
deficency in language now showing. "What did you
say?"
The leader by now was extremely angry because he
wasn't getting answers and those he got, weren't what
he wanted to hear.
"Vous m'Ítes inutile. Vous mourrez ¦ cause de
ceci. Dire ¦ me que je veut il savoir et vous serez
ÈpargnÈ pour le moment."
"I cannot understand you that well. I do not
know what you want from me." Archie could tell from
the tension in the man that something bad was about to
happen and most likely to him.
The man reddened in the face with intense anger;
his hand moving to the sidearm at his waist. "Ceci
est votre dernier hasard ou vous mourrez dans les
secondes."
"Do not do this! You will be hunted down and
killed for this, I swear." Archie had managed to
understand the last thing the man said and realized
that he was going to be killed. He thought to himself
that he hoped Horatio will be alright and returned
safely to the Indy. *Horatio, move on from here. I
am not worth your mourning, so please do not do it.*
he thought.
The man didn't care what Archie said. His rage
was beyond sane thought. He reached for his sidearm
and pointed it straight at Archie's chest. A second
went by while he was aiming and then it happened. The
man pulled the trigger in slow motion it seemed, and
the next moment Archie fell back, red blood blossoming
into the air and on his shirt where his heart would
be. The blood started oozing out of his wound and
trickled into a small river out away from the body.
The man lowered his pistol and called for another
guard. "Maurice, vÈrifier le corps pour n'importe
quels signes de vie." Maurice walked to the now still
body and checked for a pulse. He looked up at his
leader and shook his head no. Archie Kennedy was
dead.