carefully approached Wolfe. ‘Keep your hands where we can see them!’
Wolfe did as they asked as they grabbed him from the craft. One pulled his hands behind his back, while the other tied his wrists together with a plastic tie, only when this part of the arrest was achieved did the officer place his pistol in its holster, but two of them from a distance still trained their weapons on his every movement.
‘Where is Sheriff, what have you done with him!’ Wolfe asked.
‘He is our prisoner and has been detained for questioning,’ the officer said.
‘Under whose authority?’ Wolfe asserted his rights.
‘All will become clear after we gain a statement from yourself and your colleague.’ the officer glared at Wolfe with a determined expression on his face.
‘I will be with you shortly. I have nearly finished with your friend,’ the man returned into the jungle.
Nervously Wolfe was led away to a personnel carrier. Before he left the glider he looked back, and nodded to Mars to keep out of sight under the seat. When he started to walk away with his captors, Wolfe's eyes settled on the guard still fixing a rifle on him. They met each others stare, and Wolfe knew he had given away Mars's hiding place. Instantly the soldier rushed from his guarding position and ran over to the glider, he pointed the rifle into the cockpit and adjusted his feet to take an aiming position. ‘Get out, I want you to get out immediately!’ he shouted down into the craft.
In those split seconds, all hell broke loose. The soldiers became agitated, crouching down to scan the surrounding area for any intruders on their perimeter. The Officer came back tearing out of the trees his pistol held high.
Wolfe pushed against the guards holding him. He knocked into the guard on the left, to turn back and look at the craft. He could see Mars appear from the hiding place and then it all went black.
Mars rose from the cockpit and saw the officer strike Wolfe over the head with a pistol; the guards dragged Wolfe away, his feet trailing behind him kicking up dust. The officer continued his hotheaded rush towards the craft with his hands held in the air. ‘What have we here, a little boy?’ he questioned. ‘Take him away and put him in the spare holding vehicle,’ he shouted, some more orders.
‘Yes Lieutenant Arsenal,’ the nearest soldier replied.
Mars was picked up and carried off into the jungle. He looked over the soldiers shoulder at the light fading quickly under the lush canopy of palm trees and thick ferns which parted around their bodies. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Sheriff sat in a craft with his hands bound, he soon realised he too would be alone in isolation.
The soldier placed Mars into the holding vehicle Mars could feel the soldier back away as the door closed, then suddenly the door stopped ajar, and Mars could feel the man’s eyes burning into the back of his head, he turned to face his captor. The soldier’s body language relaxed as he adopted a more compassionate stance shuffling forward to approach him again. The man raising his hand and encourage Mars to come closer. ‘I think you better come with me, young man; you need to see the Lieutenant. The soldier once again picked up Mars to place him on the ground. ‘Hold my hand, the way back is a bit uneven.’
Mars held onto the soldier’s hand to negotiate the tree roots and soft earth they trampled upon. Finally they entered a clearing and the soldier shouted. ‘Lieutenant Arsenal could I have a minute?’
Arsenal a man who had a shaven head was of a slim, muscular build, his skin was pale, and he looked young for his age. Mars could see determination in Arsenal's eyes, and a quiet confidence that he knew exactly what he was doing, and what was expected from his men. The man commanded respect!
‘Yes private,’ Arsenal invited a response.
‘The boy has the mark, the signature we’ve been looking for!’
Arsenal made his way closer and gradually bent down on one knee, so he was at eye level to the boy. ‘Come closer,’ he said in a calm clear voice.
But Mars instinctively backed away. He felt intimidated by the stranger.
‘I need to look at your back, it is important!’
‘It will be alright,’ said the private as he reassuringly held the boy by the arms and turned him around for Arsenal to see.
Mars looked over his shoulder and saw the surprised expression on the Lieutenant’s face. ‘What is it, what are you looking at?’ Mars said.
The Lieutenant sat down on the floor and looked up at the private. ‘Of all the places to find the boy, it would be here,’ he shook his head.
‘I know it is unbelievable,’ said the private as the two men faced Mars.
Arsenal looked around the clearing, his men had all gone. ‘Don’t tell the rest of the men about this and put his top on immediately, before anyone else sees the mark,’
The soldier nodded his head and pulled Mars close.
The Lieutenant looked at him and reached out to touch the scar on his forehead. ‘What’s your name boy?’
The boy hesitated and then replied. ‘Mars Magellan.’
‘Who’s your father?’ Arsenal questioned him further.
‘His name is Wolfe. You knocked him out earlier,’ Mars replied with a scowl.
The Lieutenant looked across at the private as he helped Mars with his top. ‘Send the boy over to Sheriff so he can look after him for a bit.’
After a few minutes, the Lieutenant pulled the private to one side out of earshot from the rest of his men. ‘Sheriff’s telling the truth. I did not believe him, but he is right this is the boy we have been searching for all these years,’ they both smiled, but then realised the importance of their find.
‘I have a plan which will help Sheriff, and the boy get the communicator they, we all need, but more importantly a plan that will help liberate Alexandria from the clutches of Jazri. Arsenal confided in private Levi.
‘What about the patrol and maintaining in the mountains?’ The private asked.
‘If my plan works, all the unit has to do is protect the palace and the high ground. For that I need you to focus, I’m putting you in charge. No one in the resistance must know about this until the time is right, it will only put the child’s life in more danger if the news gets leaked. Now we need to protect him more than ever. ‘Do you agree Levi?’
The soldier nodded in reply.
Mars sat along side Sheriff on the crafts steps watching the soldiers take orders from Arsenal, the men seemed to be packing up equipment. Sheriff offered Mars a sip of water from his flask, which the boy received graciously.
‘Revive the unconscious man and bring him over to the others,’ the Lieutenant barked out orders to yet more soldiers and within five minutes Wolfe appeared a little dazed in front of them. He held his head where blood had trickled down his face, his hair and uniform wet from the water that had just been thrown over him.
‘Private release the hands of these men and provide them with some civilian clothing from our field packs,’ Arsenal said.
Levi produced a blade and cut through the plastic ties to both men, revealing marks where the tie had dug deep into their skin and restricted the blood to their fingers.
Sheriff quickly rubbed his fingers together with a painful expression on his face. He had pins and needles now the blood flowed freely. ‘Thanks,’ he said sarcastically.
Levi soon returned with garments, which could conceal, their identities.
‘These should help us mingle in with the locals,’ Arsenal nodded in appreciation towards the private. He continued. ‘You know what to do. Make sure you take up a strategic position to safeguard and monitor the target, but do not engage.’
‘I understand, good luck sir,’ Levi replied.
Arsenal saluted his replacement with a huge grin on his face. He walked out of the clearing with Levi and then stood at a distance watching the army unit pull out from the cover of the trees. The man had relinquished his position to help the greater cause of protecting Mars Magellan.
‘Hang on a minute, what’s going on here?’ Wo
lfe questioned with Sheriff the conversation he had just overheard between Arsenal and Levi.
‘Arsenal knows everything about or mission to retrieve a communicator, and he wants to keep us company. He has constantly monitored the lowlands of the continent and knows the best routes to get us into Newport or Prince town undetected. So I’m happy he is our guest.’
Wolfe appeared to be annoyed by the change of plan. ‘How can we slip in there quietly now we are a larger group, and how can we trust him, he might go blowing everything up at the first sign of trouble? He is too hot headed! Look at what happens when you get in his way,’ Wolfe pointed to the big lump on his head. ‘Military types are all the same. Do you not remember Gonzalo? I hope this is not going to get us killed!’ Wolfe was not convinced about the addition.
Sheriff spoke in an effort to convince his colleague. ‘Look I know this world and the different geographical parts of it, believe me when I say we need some help to get across the low lying areas of the continent. Parts of the terrain are unforgiving, and we would perish without a guide, he also knows the current situation of occupation down there.’
The words of comfort irritated Wolfe. ‘Who said anything about occupation? What are we getting ourselves involved in?’
‘We are not getting involved. We are involved already, and we have to find a way of fighting the aggressor and reinstating the throne,’ Sheriff looked across at Mars who was extremely confused.
Sheriff continued. ‘Look my friend you