A few minutes later, Mike was up and dressed. I told him that our first problem were the two guards outside of his room. He stood there for a moment while he attempted to think of an answer, then he looked over at me and gave me a mischievous grin, as he picked a brass lamp from the bedside table.

Without explaining his idea, he turned around and walked outside into the hallway, where the two men where standing. As he passed through the doorway, he slammed the bottom end of the lamp into one of the guard’s face. Before the other guard could react, Michael had also laid him out with a blow from the lamp.

Michael turned to me and asked me to help him drag the two men into his room. I went outside and assisted my son to get the guards out of sight. As we brought the last one inside, I asked him were he had come up with an idea like that? He paused for a moment and replied that he had read it in a book once.

Following a good laugh, I told Michael that we should take the uniforms off the men, and dress as guards. That way we would be able to move through Palace City without any interruptions. That would be the easy part, but getting out might be another story.

He asked about what we should do with the two guys—if they were to be found, that would be disastrous for us. I grabbed one of the men and pulled him over to the bed, and my son figured out what I was up to. Michael helped me put the man into his bed and covered him up, making it difficult to identify him.

I grabbed the other man (who happened to be much lighter), and put him over my shoulder. I told Mike that I would take the man to my room and do the same with him. Michael said that he would meet me back in his room, since it was closer to the elevator.

With the unconscious man draped over my shoulder, I grabbed his rifle that was left on the ground and ran out of the room and raced down the hall toward the one I was assigned to. I was hoping the entire way that no one would walk out into the open to catch me, before I could get the body to my room.

Finally, I reached my room in a nick of time; the wounded part of my shoulder really ached. And though I knew it was only a few yards, it seemed like I had just ran twenty miles. Inside, I tossed the man from my shoulder to the bed. Michael really did a number on him; he didn’t even move when he hit the bed. In fact, the man looked dead, but he was still alive. I could see him breathing.

I covered him up with a blanket, but left one leg exposed, showing that the man was wearing the same black slacks I had on last night. I knew they would eventually come and check on the guards when it was discovered they were missing, but we all should be long gone by then.