The Knights Victorious. William Speir

and allowed the mirror to swing open, revealing the corridor and stairs beyond, but the Knight didn’t want to take any chances.

      The Knight remained at his post, holding onto the metal bar on the back of the mirror used to keep the secret door from opening. The ornate frame had several “peep holes” worked into the wooden design, allowing someone standing behind the mirror to see what was going on in the coat closet and the foyer beyond. He watched the soldiers congregating in the foyer to report on the results of their search.

      Several minutes after the Corporal ordered the building searched again, the squad met in the foyer to report.

      “The building’s empty, and there are no hiding places,” the soldiers confirmed.

      “Very well,” the Corporal responded. “We’ve wasted enough time here. Move out!”

      As the squad left the Commandery’s compound and turned right to continue their patrol, the Corporal looked back at the cars parked inside the courtyard. Where did they go?

      The Knight behind the mirror saw the soldiers leaving and did a quick count in his head. He thought that he saw the same number leave the Commandery as he saw enter, but he had to make sure. He waited for a couple of minutes before carefully opening the mirror. He quietly stepped out, closed the mirror behind him, and made his way across the coat closet to the foyer. He stuck his head out but saw no one. He entered the foyer and looked out the window next to the door. No soldiers were visible in the compound. He searched the first and second floors. Finding no one, he went back to the coat closet, pressed the lock release on the frame, and opened the mirror.

      After he closed the mirror behind him, he walked down the corridor to the stairs leading to the rooms underneath the Commandery. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he walked over to one of the doors, knocked twice, twice again, entered a code on the keypad, and opened the door.

      Thomas Campbell Anderson looked over his wife’s shoulder at the images on the video monitor. “Are they leaving?” he asked, seeing the soldiers exiting the compound.

      “It looks like it,” Emily McCafferty Anderson replied. The video monitor showed images from the cameras planted on a tall building down the street. Tom and Emily watched the squad of soldiers exit the Commandery’s compound and turn right to continue making their way down the street.

      Paramaribo, the capital of Suriname, had just fallen into the hands of rebel forces, but the members of the Order of the Saltire were safe.

      Tom looked around and nodded to the members of the Order of the Saltire who were hiding in the underground room. In addition to the members of the Paramaribo Commandery and the Grand Prior of Venezuela, there were four other leaders of the Order present. These other leaders of the Order were with the Grand Master on a trip to South America to meet with four new Commanderies and a new Priory. Emily, Ralph Gardner, and Sam Billingsly were also with the Grand Master, along with Tom’s sister, Sophie Douglas, who was the only person present not a member of the Order.

      They heard someone knocking on the outer door: two knocks followed by two more knocks – the signal that everything was all clear. The door opened, and the Knight who had been standing guard at the top of the stairs entered the room.

      “They left,” he stated as he walked in. “They didn’t find anything.”

      “Good,” the Prior of the Commandery stated. Turning to Tom, he asked, “What do we do now?”

      “I still think that we should try to get to the U.S. Embassy. It’s possible that diplomatic communications are still working and we can get a message out about what’s going on around here with Il Nona,” Tom replied, referring to the mercenaries from Europe who were the core of the rebel forces. “If we can’t make it to the Embassy, then we’ll to decide what to try next. Do we come back here and hide until everything’s over? Do we try to get out of the country somehow? Or do we try to help the situation by working to restore communications or attempting to rescue some of the government officials taken to the Presidential Palace?”

      Ruth Fernández spoke up. “If we can’t get to the Embassy, then I suggest we attempt to get out of the city and head for Guyana. We can get the members of the Order there to help us to contact your government about what Il Nona is doing.”

      “That could be risky,” Sam commented, “especially if the rebels control the rest of the country.”

      “True, but we should at least try,” Ruth replied. “If the way to the U.S. Embassy is blocked, it’s because the rebels don’t want the embassies knowing what’s going on yet. If they succeed in destroying the army and the current government, it’ll be too late for help to come. Someone has to get word to the right people while there’s still time to help put down the rebels and prevent a slaughter.”

      “But Sophie’s a civilian,” Liam protested, referring to his wife who was also Tom’s sister. “She didn’t sign up for this. If we can’t get to the U.S. Embassy, I think that we should find a place for her to hide here in the city.”

      “You’re not leaving me here alone,” Sophie objected, clutching his arm.

      Liam hugged his wife. “Don’t worry, honey. I won’t leave you. I’ll stay with you no matter what happens.”

      “If you can’t get to the Embassy,” the Prior said, “then anyone who wants to can stay here at the Commandery. I’ll keep a couple of us here to look after you.”

      “Are you sure?” Tom asked. He had to admit that he felt more comfortable with that suggestion.

      The Prior nodded. “I think that it’s the best solution. We’ll escort you to the Embassy, and if you can’t make it, we’ll keep you safe and hidden until the way to the Embassy is clear.”

      “Very well,” Tom said. “Thank you. Is there anything else to cover before we leave for the Embassy?”

      “I don’t think so,” the Prior said. “We should leave as soon as possible.”

      “Everyone get your passports,” Tom said to the members leaving for the Embassies, “but leave your luggage and valuables behind.” Giving Sophie a hug, he added, “We’re going to be fine, sis. The Marines at the Embassy will keep anything from happening to you.”

      “I hope so,” Sophie whispered in Tom’s ear.

      “Your Excellency,” the Prior said to Tom, “I just thought of something. I don’t think that it’s a good idea to try to get a group this large to the Embassy at the same time. I think that we should split up into two groups. Smaller groups will attract less attention, and it might be better if we kept you and the Lieutenant Grand Master separated.”

      Tom didn’t want to split up the group, but there was wisdom in the Prior’s suggestion. “You’re right. We should split up the group.”

      Looking at the officers, Tom continued, “Let’s split into the same two groups we’ve been using for the past week. Sam, you’ll take the Lieutenant Grand Master, the Grand Marshall, and the Grand Chancellor with you. Ralph, you and I will take the Grand Secretary, Sophie and Emily with us.

      Emily walked over to the case for her surveillance system, opened it, took something out, and walked over to Sam. She handed it to him and came back over to stand next to Tom. “It’s a camera,” she explained. “We’ll both place one near the Embassy so we can see if the way’s clear in case we have to try this again later.”

      “Good thinking,” Tom commented.

      The Prior turned to the members of his Commandery. He pointed to two members and said, “You two stay here and keep the Commandery secure.”

      Pointing to another member, he said, “You escort Ruth to her Embassy and come back here. The rest of us will split into two teams to escort the rest of our visitors to the U.S. Embassy. I’ll take one team and lead the Grand Master’s party.” Turning to the Knight who had been standing guard behind the mirror as the Commandery was being searched,