The Five Dollar Mail (Book 1: The Green & Book 2: Lynch's Boys)

167: Enemy of My Enemy

Cover painting by Angela Taratuta. Chapter artwork of Lily by Liezl Bueneventura. All graphics by me.

"Bugger."

Lily glanced up at Bender, who was feverishly working on opening the iron bilboes keeping Saint shackled to the gate."Oh, Bender," she groaned. "Don't tell me you can't free him."

Bender grunted, not looking up. "Hold that light up a little closer, Miss Lil," he muttered. "Not exactly the right tools for the job. But I'll get him loose one way or the other."

Lily's heart was in her throat. This is it. We save him or we don't. She turned her attention back to Saint's haggard, shadowed face, blurry and unfocused before her. "You're shivering. You must be freezing." We might be saving him so he can die later, but at least he won't be dying here alone in the dark. He'll be with us. She swallowed hard, reflexively reaching to adjust the glasses she wasn't wearing. With me. "I meant what I said, Pete... I won't leave you behind."

Saint leaned his stubbled face into her hand, shaking his head slightly. He met her gaze, his eyes dark and swimming in the dim yellow light as she brushed his hair back from his brow. "Little Miss..." he said, gently chastising her. "You shouldn't have come back here...ugh!"

"Sorry, mate," Bender grunted apologetically. "Didn't mean to stick you. It's...been a while." He repositioned himself on his knees. "Can't buggering see what I'm doing..."

Saint shifted impatiently. "If you can get me out of here, you can jab me all you want."

"Jon." Lily peered over Saint's shoulder, carefully holding the candle stub so that it shone light onto the cuffs. Her heart twisted when she saw the blackening rivulets of drying blood smearing Saint's wrists. Miss Lovelace did this. How...how could she? We trusted her. Hurt and helpless anger roiled through her and she shoved the feelings away, trying to keep her thoughts focused. Her sense of violation was a burning ache. She pretended to befriend us. How could she? "Jon," she tried again. "You surely weren't serious about taking his hand off..."

"I was deadly serious, Miss Lil."

She jerked her head up to meet his gaze. The tiny, dancing flame threw eerie shadows across his pale face and filled his eyes with molten brass. He shook his head slowly, She couldn't see his features clearly, but his voice was tight with fear. "And if you're praying it doesn't come to that, love...I can promise you're not praying half as hard as I am."

Her breath caught in her throat, new fear clawing her insides. The implications of what Jon had just said terrified her. Sickening images flitted through her imagination, of dragging a bleeding and maimed Saint through this terrible place, of Jon forever haunted with the awful burden of having bloodied and maimed him. She realized she was staring at Jon in horror, her hand pressed to her lips.

He quickly turned his attention back to the lock, grimacing with effort. His hands were shaking. "Dammit!" he hissed desperately. "Balls! Son of a..."

There was a tiny, barely audible click. It seemed to echo like cannon fire in the confines of the tunnel.

Bender's breath exploded from his lungs in a rush. "Ah!" He fumbled the lock out of the iron loop on the end of the shaft. "Got it!" he nearly laughed with relief. "Got it!" He grabbed the other end of the rod and jerked it free. The cuffs fell from Saint's wrists with a dull clank.

"Alright, mate, that's one...." He snatched the bent temples free of the lock and immediately went to work on the padlock on the gate itself.

"Oh...oh, thank you Jesus..." Lily grasped Saint by the shoulders, helping him ease his awkwardly bent arms through the gate. A wave of relief threatened to bowl her over. She realized she was crying again, hot water stinging her eyes and dripping from her jaw. "Saint...can you get up?" She grabbed his arm and helped haul him to his feet.

"Hungerford, I could kiss you." Saint swayed dizzily, reaching down to retrieve his coat and hastily shrugging into it.

Bender's lip tugged in an almost imperceptible smirk. "That's buggering tempting, mate." he muttered, his face mirthless with the effort of concentration. "But let's save the pashing till you're out, yeah?"

"Maybe the two of us could muscle the whole thing out of the wall." Saint took the light from Lily's trembling fingers and held it over the Bender's feverishly working hands. "Little afraid that's all that's holdin' the roof up, though."

"Let me try the lock first. I think I'm remembering..."

A pinpoint of light in her peripheral vision drew Lily's attention back down the corridor. "Oh! Oh, no...gents..." They're coming back! "Jon! They're...they're..."

"I see them." He glanced up, his breath coming in shallow gasps as his fingers fumbled. "Shit! Miss Lil, come back through, love."

"No! I can't...oh!" Not now! Not when we're so close! She gasped as Saint grabbed her arms, shoving her against the tunnel wall at the gap in the gate.

"Now, Lily." Saint commanded. "Go!"

Bender spared a free hand to grasp her upper arm through the gap, giving her an impatient pull. She pushed her body through, helped along by Saint shoving her from the other side.

"Go, Lily!" Saint hissed,his voice frantic. "Don't get captured! Go!"

Hester's voice echoed angrily down the corridor, the light coming closer. "Dammit! I knew it!

"Hungerford..." Saint said. "Get her out of here."

Bender was gritting his teeth and shaking his head, his lips drawn back in a feral snarl of determination.

The sound of the gunshot blasted through the tunnel like a freight train. Lily cried out, the wall exploding in a stinging spray of shrapnel about a foot away from Bender's head.

Saint gave her another hard shove. The chipped edges of the gap bit painfully into her back as she slid free. Another clap of thunder rent the darkness, the bullet singing through the air as she and Saint instinctively ducked. Bender's expression never changed. Lily saw Saint's bruised hand come through the bars and squeeze Bender's wrist. "Hungerford. Go," he breathed. "I'll keep them busy."

Bender shook his head, narrowing his eyes. He didn't look up. "Shut up and hold that buggering light steady," he snapped, shaking Saint's hand off.

The light in the tunnel started bobbing as the person holding it broke into a run. Lily's breath left her in a panicked sob. No! Not now! I can't do this again!

The lock clicked in Bender's shaking hand and he wrenched it free with an inhuman cry of triumph and impatience. Snatching open the door, he hauled Saint stumbling through the opening and slammed it shut behind him.

"Run, mate," he barked, delivering a brutal shove to Saint's back that nearly knocked him off his feet.

"Jon, come on!" Lily cried frantically.

Bender hastily stuck the lock back into the gate, and jammed the pair of temples into the keyhole. He gave Lily a tight, mirthless smile and gave the lock a hard twist. The metal stems snapped off in the keyhole. "Keep shooting, love! Bring it on down!" he howled down the corridor at their pursuers, grabbing Lily's outstretched hand as the three of them pelted wildly down the dark tunnel.

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