I. CHAPTER 7: COUP D'ETAT

***Somewhere along the North Imperial Highway…***

“Dragon 2, come in, Dragon 2. Over.”

“…”

“Dragon 2, come in, Dragon 2. Dragon 1 heading 40, over.”

At that point, Marcel turned off the radio, much to the surprise of the corporal. They had been travelling the North Imperial Highway for some time now, and—while the road was free of traffic—they were still yet to encounter the 1st Platoon, 3rd Company of the Imperial Guard, which the lieutenant had sent to secure the Imperial Highway and escort them to Manila.

Exhausted by their plight, the Count of Sey was silent. The only noise inside the car was that of Ayan’s quiet sobs, as she saw the deaths of her friends back in their barangay. Pau comforted her, and she kept glaring back at the lieutenant for causing the Ilocanos to murder their neighbors.

“You didn’t have to do that, Sir Lieutenant,” she told him. The tone of her voice alone condemned the actions of Marcel.

“As a member of your guards, Your Imperial Majesty, it is my prerogative to ensure your safety…even if it means I’ll sacrifice your subjects.” The lieutenant did not even look at her. “Your friends and neighbors sure love you; if you don’t wish to waste their sacrifices, then by all means, escape and rule. And ruling does have its ugly head.”

“I…” Pau’s voice drifted. She knew and understood what the lieutenant meant, but she still objected to his deed. “This is the reason I left Lemery…you know? Arthur and I have already agreed that if he dies without an heir, I’ll succeed him. But…I knew I can’t properly rule; there’s too much sacrifice…and I don’t have a stomach for that.”

“Your Imperial Majesty,” the Count of Sey entered the conversation. “The late emperor knows what he is doing. He is a great judge of character, and his wisdom has led us to near-victory against the Ilocanos…had it not for his untimely death in Lingayen. Yes, the task of ruling an empire is difficult, but if the emperor trusts you, I’m sure he saw something in you that we don’t…with you included.”

“And Your Imperial Majesty,” Marcel interjected. “I’m just your guard. Whatever your issues with His Late Imperial Majesty are yours alone to solve. As for me, my problem and duty is to protect you, and your closest loved ones.”

Pau’s eyes fell on Ayan, who drifted into sleep on her lap. While the words of the lieutenant were true, she couldn’t help but think that he was too detached to be trusted with people she considered her ‘family.’

Nevertheless, it was the last thing on her mind. As silence returned to the car once again, they noticed that they had stopped. The corporal, who was driving the vehicle, called Marcel’s attention to the pair of soldiers standing at the middle of the highway. With them was several barricades erected to stop anyone from passing their checkpoint unimpeded. A sign on the blockades said:

‘103rd Battalion, 1st Regiment of the Imperial and Royal Army Area of Responsibility. Stop at the checkpoint.’

“What’s going on?” the Count of Sey asked, alarmed. “Why is there a checkpoint in the middle of this highway?”

“And that’s the soldiers from the 1st Regiment!” Marcel muttered. “What are they doing here, miles away from the border?”

“Sir,” it was the corporal. “I don’t like this. The 1st Platoon is nowhere to be found, and there’s a checkpoint of the 1st Regiment here.”

“Did the crooks in Manila get wind of our movement?” the nobleman said, much to the horror of Pau.

“Your Grace, what do you mean by that?”

“Trust us, Your Holiness,” the Count of Sey tapped her shoulder. “We’ll get you to Manila, even if it cost us our lives.”

Pau could only look at the nobleman with silent bewilderment. Deep inside, she was beginning to regret her decision to come with them; though, Ayan was with her, so she had to cooperate with the group. Meanwhile, the lieutenant removed his seatbelt and felt his revolver inside his coat, just to be sure. “Get your gun ready,” he ordered the corporal. “We might be dealing with some fucked up shit this time.”

----------

Marcel and his corporal got down the car and confronted the soldiers at the checkpoint, leaving the Count of Sey with instructions to escape with the empress if things go awry. As the 1st Regiment soldiers saluted them, the lieutenant bellowed, “What are you doing here, gentlemen? The frontline is miles away from here!”

“Sir,” said the first sentry, taking note of Marcel’s rank, “we received orders from Manila telling us to move our positions to this spot.”

“What?”

Another sentry went forward and whispered something to the first sentry. Then, he explained further, “My apologies, sirs, but the order is from Gapan. General Ariza passed the instructions from Manila to our commander in this sector, Lieutenant Colonel Gapuz.”

“But what for? Don’t you know that the Ilocanos have already infiltrated the positions you abandoned. They are now storming Cabanatuan and Palayan as we speak!”

There was an uncomfortable expression on the sentries’ faces as they learned of the news of the attacks in the border cities. However, the first sentry stood his ground. “We’re just following orders, Sir! I don’t think the Imperial Guard has jurisdiction over us.”

The same sentry came over once again and whispered another to the first sentry. Then, he gave him a piece of paper, which the former read, all the while repeatedly looking at Marcel’s face and collar rank. The lieutenant felt something was off, though he remained unmoved so as not to alarm the checkpoint guards.

“My apologies, Sir,” said the first sentry, pointing his gun at the lieutenant and his corporal. “We’re under orders to arrest any member of the Imperial Guard on sight.”

“What are you talking about?” Marcel blurted out.

The sentry then gave him the paper. It was an order from the office of the Chief of Staff in Manila. Marcel skimmed over the letter and stopped at the paragraph that read: ‘The Imperial Guard has committed treason to the Empire and her people by attempting a coup d’etat. Any member of this treasonous unit should be arrested—along with the civilians they have with them, or shot if they tried to resist.’

At once, the sentries of the 1st Regiment moved to restrain them, disarming the corporal when he tried to reach for his service revolver. Marcel tried to reason with the first sentry, but his pleas fell on deaf ears.

----------

Back in the car, the Count of Sey and Pau watched with horror as the sentries arrested Lieutenant Spitz and the corporal. Then, the other sentries quickly moved to surround the vehicle, guns pointed. They shouted orders, though the thick, bulletproof glass and body muffled their voices.

“Your Grace, what do we do?” Pau’s voice was shaking. By then, Ayan was already awake, and she was confused at their predicament.

The Count of Sey pulled a revolver from under his coat, and turned the engines on. “I can’t allow you to be captured, Your Imperial Majesty,” he answered. “As the loyal chamberlain of the late emperor, it is my duty to protect your dignity and honor. Hang tight, milady!”

“Wait! Wait!” the empress bellowed. “You’re not going to abandon the lieutenant, right?”

“We all know what we signed for when we did this,” the nobleman replied.

“No!” Pau insisted. “I demand that we save the lieutenant!”

“We can’t do anything anymore, Your Imperial Majesty! We’ll get killed!”

Then, the empress showed the count the butterfly knife she’d been hiding inside her clothes. “You’re underestimating me, Your Grace,” she commented. “Remember, I lived through two assassination attempts, and in the boondocks all these years. This kind of danger doesn’t faze me, or Ayan. Give me your gun.”

Half-shocked and half-impressed, the Count of Sey smirked as he complied to his liege’s demand.

----------

On the other side of the vehicle, the sentries of the 1st Regiment repeatedly shouted their orders for the occupants to surrender themselves. Marcel was bewildered that the car wasn’t moving; in his mind, he wondered if the Count of Sey understood his instructions to escape when they were arrested. His heart sank in despair as the soldiers started bashing on the windows, in an effort to break and unlock the car doors…though he was still relieved they brought a bulletproof vehicle.

“Come out with your hands in the air!” the other sentries ordered, never lowering their guns. But there was no answer. Finally, someone brought a breaching ram. It was then that one of the car windows lowered, and…

“!!!”

The sentry carrying the breaching ram was killed with a shot directly to the forehead. As he fell, his comrades began peppering the vehicle with bullets, flattening the tires, though just denting the car body and cracking the bulletproof glass. Inside, while they were relatively safe, the Count of Sey, the empress and Ayan ducked to avoid bullets and other debris that might’ve gone past the armor.

With everyone distracted, Marcel seized the opportunity to gain back his freedom. With his mechanical arms, he broke free from the restraints of the soldiers arresting him. As they were about to search him, his service firearm was still concealed in his trench coat. Once he got it on his hand, he killed his captors with two quick shots, and was about to shoot another when he heard the first sentry call out to him…

“I would stop resisting if I were you, Lieutenant!” the man said; his rifle pointed towards Marcel’s head. “I don’t want to kill a fellow Oriental, but if you move, you leave me with no choice.”

“Sergeant,” the lieutenant tried to appeal to him. “Do not believe the orders from Manila. Those stinking generals in their air-conditioned offices are the treasonous ones. Join us, and let’s help the true empress claim her rightful throne.”

“What are you talking ab—!!!” The first sentry didn’t finish his sentence as his head exploded into a bloody pulp. The corporal also freed himself, and grabbed one of the rifles of his captors, which he used to kill the first sentry as well as the other soldiers in the checkpoint.