Foxheart

Chapter Sixty-Two

Bull whistled softly, grabbing his attention again. She made a few hand signals and gestured further up the corridor. A pair of patrolmen were strolling down. She wanted me to help her take them down. The moment we did, we didn't have long to find Dupont. Lithgow had been very adamant that the moment a guardsman was taken out, it was only a matter of minutes before someone noticed. The patrols ran like clockwork and connected all routes. The guardsmen were observant. They would notice someone missing and raise an alarm.

But they had little choice. They had to find Dupont without hindrance.

The moment the two guards had marched their way just beyond Fox's position, Bull whistled again. Go now.

Fox went for the man closest to him while Bull swept up behind the tall woman like a shadow. Fox hand latched on the guard's face before he could utter a word and activated his glove. Within seconds, he was slumped on the floor, snoring heavily.

'Well done.' Bull commented as she tossed him a set of keys she'd filched from the guard's belt 'Now go get looking. Find the lass. I'll be with you in a minute.'

Fox ignored her as she began to drag away the sleeping bodies and turned his attention to Absolon. The Sprite twirled and whistled in curiosity.

'Can you find her?' He asked.

The Sprite whistled and instantly began to drift further down the corridor of cells. Fox followed, keeping to the wall and away from the bars, trying to keep himself as hidden as possible. He didn't want to try his luck being seen by anyone here. It was more likely they'd bellow for guards, spiting whoever it was we were trying to get out, or bed for him to release them. Either way, they'd get noisy fast.

So Fox kept his glove active and would switch off any lights he found, keeping close to the wall. And then Absolon came to a door nestled between too cells; a metal door, heavy and clearly going deeper into the prison.

Fox glanced at the sign above it.

'Tier two.' He whispered, then recalled what Lithgow had said. Dupont wasn't likely to be in the first ring of the prison block, but further inside. Tier one, precisely.

Fox frowned. This was exactly why recon was so important. Fox had no idea what was ahead of him, just vague advice from a man he didn't really trust. But Absolon was pawing at the door and whistling for Fox to follow. Dupont was in there so Fox just had to follow. He had to get her out.

Steeled with determination, Fox flittered forward, trying to keep himself out of sight of the occupied cells. He approached the door and fiddled with the keys, matching up the lock to the numbered key. He unlocked it and opened the door carefully.

Instantly he felt his heart quicken. To the right was a guard-post, habited by a dozing old man clearly there to check who was entering and leaving the tier. He didn't look like he was sleeping heavily, not until the Spirit at squeezed in through the gap of the door and floated over to him. Lord Bulwark licked the guard's nose and instantly his body went slack. The white cat turned to grin widely.

'I thought you weren't helpin'.' Fox hissed as he slipped inside and very carefully closed the door.

The Spirit just grinned further and slipped away, drifting deeper into the prison after Absolon.

'Best follow quickly. The little one is charging off now.' Fox heard him whisper.

Fox did but found it harder to keep himself hidden. Cells were on both sides of the wall in the tier, although the cells weren't as heavily occupied. But there were lights everywhere and voices echoed about the cold air, forever reminding him he wasn't alone.