Without law 9, p.27
Without Law 9, page 27
“Paige,” I said. “Didn’t you say the lake goes down further?”
“Yeah,” the brunette agreed. “There’s a spot where it goes down and connects to East Creek.”
“Alright,” I said. “That will be our escape route.”
“Okay,” Paige said.
“What if they don’t have us outmanned?” Bailey asked.
“Then we’ll find somewhere to dock the boat, and we’ll try to infiltrate after some reconnaissance,” I said.
“We’re going to try to infiltrate a fort?” Anna asked with a raised eyebrow.
“If it looks unguarded or unoccupied,” I said with a grin. “Then yes, that’s exactly what we’ll do.”
“Alright,” the redhead chuckled.
“So,” I said. “Is everyone clear on the plan?”
“Got it,” Bailey agreed.
“Me too,” Paige said.
“Yup,” Tara added.
“Aye, aye, captain,” Anna said with a smile.
“Good,” I said. “Now keep an eye out for any area we could use for cover.”
The girls were quiet as we traveled along at a steady pace, and every once in a while Paige would shout out an order or go make a quick adjustment to the sails or rudder. We had been sailing all day, and the sun had grown low in the sky as we traveled. It was nearly twilight.
“It’s going to be dark soon,” Bailey said.
“We still have a while,” Paige said. “It’s not quite twilight yet.”
“Well, how long until we get to the fort?” Tara asked.
“We’re almost there,” the brunette said.
“Is that a ferry place over there?” Bailey asked, and she pointed to several large boats off the shore.
“Yeah,” Paige said. “That means we’re almost there.”
I pulled out my binoculars and scanned the area, but I didn’t see anything yet because we were still too far off.
“It shouldn’t be long before we’re able to see it,” Paige told me.
“I’m just concerned about someone seeing us before we see them,” I explained.
“The fort is kind of around a corner,” the brunette said. “So we should have a view before anyone else does, but they do have the ability to see all around, so I don’t know.”
“It would depend on where they were at,” Anna said. “They could not look our way at all.”
“That’s why we’re going to hang back and try and do some reconnaissance,” I confirmed.
“So,” Tara said. “If nobody is there are we going to take the place over?”
“Well,” I laughed. “We have a pretty good setup on campus.”
“Yeah,” Bailey agreed. “We’d have to bring all the solar equipment over here.”
“Unless you want to go back to not having hot showers,” I teased the platinum blonde.
“I’ll pass,” Tara said, and she wrinkled her nose.
“That’s kind of what I thought,” I chuckled.
“I think that’s it over there,” Paige said, and she squinted and pointed in the distance.
I brought my binoculars up, but I could barely make out the top of what appeared to be a concrete structure.
“We’re still too far away to get an accurate visual,” I sighed.
“So what else does this fort have?” Bailey asked as we peered through our binoculars.
“Well,” Paige said. “They do reenactments there, and they have an antique weapons collection, and beautiful gardens.”
“Hold up,” Tara said. “Did you just say they have a weapons collection?”
“Well, yeah,” Paige said with a frown. “But they’re all antiques.”
“That doesn’t mean they wouldn’t work,” I said.
“Are they like muskets and cannons?” Bailey asked.
“I believe it would be something like that,” Paige said. “But I never went so I can’t say for sure.”
“Let’s hope it’s muskets and cannons,” I chuckled.
“Okay, this is going to sound totally weird,” Anna cleared her throat, “but I really want to fire off a cannon.”
“Oh, my god!” Tara gasped and then giggled, “me too!”
“Same,” Paige laughed.
“Totally,” Bailey chuckled. “I bet it makes a big boom. Do you think we can get one on the boat?”
“Okay, pirate girls,” I laughed.
“I heard they have a corn maze, too,” Paige said.
“I’m sure that’s a great source of food for someone,” I said.
“So, well plunder it!” Tara giggled. “We are badass pirate girls now. With a soon to be cannon on our boat!”
“Okay, this is kinda the stupidest but most awesome idea we’ve ever had,” Anna laughed.
“We can’t really get it on the boat,” I pointed out.
“Shhh,” Tara said. “Just let us dream, Pirate Captain Sexy Muscles.”
“Sexy Muscles?” I snickered.
“Totally your pirate name,” Tara confirmed.
“I’d go for Pirate Captain Big… uh…” Paige started to say.
“Cock!” Tara finished.
“I was going to say ‘guns’ because of Uhh, Tav’s arms, and his weapons,” Paige said as she blushed a bit at me.
“I love Pirate Captain Big Cock,” Bailey laughed.
“Me too,” Tara gasped.
“Me three,” Anna agreed.
“This is sounding like the name of a porno,” I laughed.
“On a boat?” Tara snickered. “With four women? Soooo hot.”
“Not to change the subject, but we are almost to the King’s Garden,” Paige said as she looked out to the water. “There should be a dock there.”
“What is the King’s Garden?” Bailey asked.
“It used to be for soldiers,” Paige said. “They would grow food there, but now I’m sure it’s just flowers for the tourists.”
“Would we have a line to see the fort?” I asked.
“We should,” the brunette agreed.
“Let’s get there quickly, then,” I said. “The sun is starting to set.”
Paige directed us, and we moved swiftly across the water. The sun was low in the sky and the horizon had begun to fill with a deep orange that emanated outward.
“There!” I called as I scanned ahead and saw the small boat dock.
Paige pulled us up to the dock and hopped out to tie us off, then she had us close the sails to try and hide us even more. There weren’t any other boats on the dock, so there was nothing to hide behind, but she pulled us as close to the shore as she could so that we got some coverage from the trees.
We crouched down in the boat and scanned the area with our binoculars. I could see the King’s Garden just past the boat dock. There were a few small buildings to the side, but it was mostly a large stone fence.
“So what is that place again?” Tara whispered. “Because it just looks like a concrete wall to me.”
“It’s stone,” I said. “Not concrete.”
“Fine,” the platinum blonde said. “Stone.”
“It’s a botanical garden,” Paige explained. “Basically just another tourist attraction.”
“There’s some buildings over there,” Bailey said.
“There are,” I agreed.
“Should we check them out?” Anna asked.
“Maybe,” I said and I pursed my lips.
“If there are people at the fort then some of them might have chosen to come over here,” Bailey said.
“That’s true,” I agreed. “But I’m not sure how likely that would be.”
“Why?” Paige asked. “I’d rather live in the garden.”
“It would be a good place to grow food, too, probably,” Bailey added. “Isn’t that what it was used for to begin with?”
“Yes,” I said. “But it’s not quite time to plant. Though you girls may be onto something, and if we could find someone over there then maybe they could tell us more about what’s going on at the fort.”
“So we’re going in?” Anna asked.
“Yes,” I said. “We’re going to clear the place, then we’ll come back to the boat. I don’t want to risk someone at the fort spotting us.”
“Got it,” Anna said.
“It’s twilight,” I said. “So we have some cover, just stay low and follow me.”
“Got it,” Paige agreed.
The girls all pulled out their weapons and hopped off the boat after me. It was a short distance to the garden, so I kept low but kept a quick pace as I made my way over there with the girls behind me.
I made sure to stay to the side of the buildings as we approached so there wasn’t a risk of someone seeing us if they were inside the garden. It wasn’t a far walk, but with the twilight and unfamiliar territory, it took several minutes to get where we needed to be.
I made it to one of the small buildings on the edge of the garden and found a back door. I turned the knob to find that it was open, so I turned back to the girls and gestured to each of them a direction for clearing the area.
They nodded their understanding, so I slowly opened the door and flanked right quickly and quietly. The building was fairly small, and it didn’t take long before it was clear.
I didn’t like that the door had been unlocked, but I had no evidence to show that someone had lived there recently, so I decided to let that feeling go. It could have been occupied by whoever had lived there after all, and they could have gone to one of the camps and just left the doors open.
“All clear!” Anna called out first.
“This way, too,” I agreed.
“Was this like a groundskeeper’s house or something?” Tara asked.
“That’s quite possible,” I said.
“It’s cute,” Paige said.
“Yeah,” Bailey agreed. “I like it.”
“It seems like it’s only set up for one person,” Anna said.
The small cabin had a kitchen, living room, and a bedroom, but not much else. It was definitely old, and the wood and paint reflected that, but it was still in good condition. If there were people living in the fort, this would definitely be a good addition if they ran out of room. Plus the old fireplace would be a great way to keep warm in the winter.
“It doesn’t look super dusty,” Bailey said.
“It doesn’t,” I agreed. “But it’s also twilight, which makes it more difficult to see.”
“That’s true,” the blonde agreed.
I ran my finger across a hutch in the corner to check for dust. It seemed there was plenty, and while one piece of furniture didn’t necessarily mean that there hadn't been anybody there, it was a good indicator that it had at least been a while since the place had seen a visitor.
“There are not really any signs that someone has been here,” Anna said.
“Yeah,” Paige agreed. “I don’t see any cans or food wrappers or anything like that.”
“The door was open, though,” Tara said.
“I thought the same thing,” I said. “I don’t like that, but we don’t know what it means yet.”
“We still have other places to look through,” Anna pointed.
“Let’s clear the other buildings,” I agreed. “Stay vigilant. Just because nobody was in this one doesn’t mean somebody won’t be in the next.”
“Got it,”Bailey said with a smile.
“Let’s do it,” Anna said.
We headed back outside and cleared the three other buildings. They were a bit larger, but so open and empty that it didn’t take much time at all. This place must have served as a museum or something mostly. We found what appeared to be a gift shop, but it had been completely emptied. I figured maybe they sold flowers from the garden instead of the typical toys and things that other places sold. There was also a main area that had seating and a kitchen in it, I assumed it was used for tours. Overall the place was fairly boring, though the old colonial era architecture was something to be admired.
“Alright,” I said once the last building was cleared. “Let’s head to the garden.”
“What are we going to do in the garden?” Bailey asked.
“I want to see if we can get a better vantage point on the fort,” I explained.
“How are we going to see over the fence?” Tara asked.
I picked up a chair from the dining room we stood in and raised an eyebrow at her.
“Got it,” the platinum blonde said as she grabbed her own chair. “Let’s do this.”
We carried our chairs out to the garden and to the furthest wall that was closest to the fort. The garden itself was beautiful, especially with the sunset, and I understood why Hollywood called it the magic hour. Everything was lit up with a beautiful orange glow. The flowers had bloomed for spring, and some were still on their way, but green stalks shot out of the ground in preparation.
“This place is gorgeous,” Bailey said.
“It is,” Paige agreed. “I would definitely choose to live here over the fort.”
“Which is more practical?” I asked with a raised brow.
“The fort,” the brunette said. “But which is prettier?”
“The garden,” I chuckled.
“Exactly,” Bailey said with a grin.
I peered over the edge with my binoculars to see that this was definitely a better vantage point.
Over the wall I had a great view of the eastern side of the fort. It was tall and clearly made of stone, though the light had faded quickly. There was a decent distance between the gardens and the fort, at least a quarter mile if not further. A few trees sat between us, but mostly an open field that had started to grow with spring. There was also a single road that led around the fort.
“Paige,” I said. “Do you know where that road leads?”
“Hm,” the brunette said, and she thought for a moment. “I believe it leads up to the highway.”
“That seems like it could be bad,” Anna said.
“Yeah,” I agreed.
“I don’t see any place where they’ve blocked the road further up,” Bailey said.
“I don’t think you would,” I said.
“Why not?” the blonde asked. “Wouldn’t you want to keep everyone out?”
“Well, yeah,” Tara said. “But you’re in a fort, couldn’t you just, like, shoot anybody that got too close?”
“You could,” I said. “It could have been an issue over the winter, but I’m not sure anybody would head toward the lake instead of continuing south.”
“I guess that’s true,” Paige agreed.
I peered back through my binoculars at the massive structure. The fort itself was built from stone and was shaped in a classic star shape with five points to give it lines of fire in all directions. It was on the top of a hill on a promontory that jutted out into the lake. It was designed a few hundred years ago to totally control passage up or down the lake, and though it had only been a tourist attraction for years, it could still serve that purpose once again. Whoever was in charge of this fort was in charge of Lake Champlain.
As I stared at the stone walls, I couldn’t see anything that looked like a person, only some old cannons on the battlements. The wall itself wasn’t lined with much, a few taller sections stuck out, but there weren’t any people I could see, or any statues or structures. It looked barren and strange.
“Has anybody seen movement?” I asked.
“None,” Anna said.
“Me neither,” Bailey agreed.
“Alright,” I said.
“What does that mean?” Paige asked.
“It’s getting darker by the second,” I said. “I don’t trust that there isn't anybody there.”
“What do you want to do?” Tara asked.
“We’re going to get back on the boat and go down toward the east creek,” I said. “We’ll find somewhere to camp out there for the night, then we’ll do some more reconnaissance in the morning.”
“Wouldn’t it make more sense to just stay on the boat for the night?” Anna asked.
“Not if we can’t be sure the place is clear,” I said. “If there are people over there, then they’ll know this land far better than we do, and they could easily sneak up on us during the night.”
“Dang,” Bailey breathed.
“How are we going to clear a fort anyways?” Anna asked with a raised eyebrow.
“We’ll cross that bridge tomorrow,” I said.
“To east creek it is,” Tara said.
“Let’s get going,” I said.
I led the girls back to the dock and we hopped on the boat. The sky was a deep blue as the twilight took over and night threatened to make its debut. I gave the fort one last look with my binoculars, and for a second I thought I saw movement, but it was gone in an instant, and I couldn’t be sure. What I was sure of was that I wanted to get going, and get going fast. If there were people over there I didn’t want them to spot us before we made it to safety.
“What’s wrong?” Anna asked.
“I thought I saw movement,” I said in a low voice.
“Are you sure?” the redhead asked.
“No,” I said with a shake of my head. “It was quick and it could have just been an animal or a shadow of a cloud.”
“Well, shit,” Tara said.
“Whatever it was,” I said. “We aren’t going to stick around to find out tonight. We need to get to safety.”
As we headed to our positions on the boat, Paige began to call out orders.
“Sails!” she hollered.
“Paige,” I whispered fervently.
“Oh, shit,” the brunette said, and she covered her mouth. “Sorry.”
“It’s alright,” I said. “But let’s get this thing going quietly.”
She nodded and gave us each a task.
I took the rudder once more while Bailey, Tara, and Anna adjusted the sails, and Paige walked around and made adjustments as we went.
We set off from the dock back onto the lake slowly and steadily, as quietly as we could. We were still nowhere near professional sail team level, but we had improved a lot since our first outing on the water. Paige was a good teacher, and it was a good effort from the team. I figured we could easily make it to east creek without being spotted if there was anybody in the fort.
We began to sail down toward the channel that led to the east creek. The night had taken over, and the moon made its appearance above us as we sailed along on the black lake.
