Would Calling This Part Mine Kampf Invoke Godwin’s Law?
“This map is really detailed, Emil,” Sigrun praised the rather crude but indeed quite detailed drawing. “You drew this from memory?”
“Nah,” Emil said airily, “I sketched the place when Russet brought us there for the big scam.”
“What are those marks?” Tuuri asked.
“Shot placement for demolishing the place. Don’t worry; I’ll use the C Scheme on there.” Emil blushed as they all stared at him, Tuuri and Reynir actually gaping. “What? Don’t you guys plan out how to blow up everywhere you’ve been?”
“If it’s that old a map, though,” Sigrun mused, “then we should cut Lalli loose to make sure they haven’t made any improvements before we get there.” She turned to where the scout had been resting, only to find him gone.
“He slipped off to do just what you were about to ask of him about ten minutes after we got clear of the bridge,” Tuuri told her.
*
Reynir fidgeted as he sat next to Tuuri on the driver’s bench. Finally, Tuuri told him in exasperation, “Will you please just ask what you want to ask?”
“Um... Ahhhhhhh...” Reynir was still uncertain how to begin. “You seemed kind of-- I mean, what you said earlier-- I just wondered-- You look Indian, but you hate ‘em, and I want to know why.”
Tuuri blushed. “Oh, um, well, it’s just that... Lalli and I, our ancestors were a bunch of Cherokee who married white people, over and over again--I mean, neither of us color our hair to make it blond. Nor do we hide on some reservation, but make our own way, in our own good township. But we’ve had dealings with pure-bloods--” again, she made it an epithet “--before, and every time, they’ve shown themselves to be cowardly, lazy, lying, mean... To be blunt, I’ve seen white folk both good and bad, but nothing good about pure-bloods, and much evil.”
Reynir sat thoughtfully for a bit. Then, he said, “I hope someday you see the good in them, for I do believe it’s there.”
*
When Lalli returned, a scant half hour before they were to reach the gates, he and Tuuri updated Emil’s sketch, laying it out for Sigrun’s perusal; though not much updating was needed. Nor was there much alteration of the basic plan, though Emil teasingly asked if “the little Mastermind” had any suggestions.
There wasn’t much conversation after that, though the ten minutes or so until they reached the gate dragged on like an eternity. But, as each of them had something to do in the plan, they each had to ready themselves to get it done as best they could.
*
It was almost anti-climactic how everything went according to the plan. Oh, sure, Sigrun had to get a bit, ah, creative in doing her part, but it wasn’t as if they needed those guards alive or anything. And Lalli may have messed around with which tower he took out when, but it none of it kept Emil from blowing various things up, Mikkel from rescuing the slaves, Reynir from readying whatever transport was around for said slaves to vamoose in, or Tuuri from wielding the turret gun to great effect.
The only problem proved to be the absence of Russet, though that would solve itself soon enough...
