My warning look was too late. I saw Paul’s face turn ashen. Luke didn’t try to cover his gaffe although he looked regretful.
“Sorry, it needed to be said,” he stated quietly.
Paul pushed his glasses back up his nose with a finger. “Luke’s right. If I had thought there was a chance, I would have tried to escape long before now. With more of us I think we can do it.” He looked at me. “What do you have in mind?”
My respect for him grew immeasurably in that moment.
We sat in the alcove for the next hour and discussed and argued over how we would escape Drake Mountain, all the while trying to act as though we were just socializing. Occasionally, just to allay any suspicions, we would take turns to go out and play a game of pool. We finally reached a consensus on a course of action.
Luke, Ben and Paul would begin stockpiling anything that could be made into or used as weapons. They would begin by smuggling knives from the cafeteria at each mealtime and hiding them in the mattress of Luke’s cot.
As a part of my new duties, I already had a pistol and a Taser. I would try and obtain at least one more firearm, preferably two so that Luke and Ben were both armed. If I could get more of the Tasers I would. They might be easier to come by than guns.
Paul was sure that he could persuade another group of six boys to come with us but in the end, we decided that the more people involved, the more chance that word of our plan would leak out. We settled on our core group: Me, Luke, Ben, Indigo, Brooke and Allie, along with Paul, Toby, Beau and Paul’s sister, Ava. It would be a group of ten, but I was sure of the integrity of my group and their ability to keep the whole thing quiet, and Paul seemed to be just as confident in his. I felt a creeping optimism. With surprise on our side, we might just be able to pull off an escape without any casualties.
Of course, our enemy, for their part, were well trained, armed and physically stronger than us. During our planning I repeated again and again that surprise was an absolute necessity. The last thing we wanted was a running battle in confined spaces as we attempted to get out.
We would still be outnumbered and outgunned, but if we were lucky we could be out with minimum contact and without alerting them to the fact that anything major was happening.
“So, we are going out the same way we came in?” asked Ben.
“I found…” Luke said. “Well, I’m pretty sure I found the emergency exit. It’s not marked on the schematic, but I found an anomaly on the Professor’s level. A place where there should be a room but there isn’t. It’s got to be it.”
“I don’t think we can risk it,” I said. “Not unless we’re sure, and even then, it’s the most dangerous place for us to try our escape. It’s crawling with the Homeland Security men. I don’t see an option but to go out the main way.”
Even Luke, who was normally gung-ho about such things, agreed. “Yeah, I had come to the same conclusion. You all know where the main exit is? We were blindfolded when we came through, but of course I found it on the schematic.”
“Yeah,” said Paul. “It’s past the lobby. You follow that corridor along for a few minutes, take a left turn and at the end of that big room is an armored door… that’s the way out. There’s more than one door though. Not sure what you call it when there are two, but there’s an interior door and there’s another one on the outside with a big space in the middle… like in a castle, you know, so if the enemy got in the main gate there was another one to stop them.”
“It’s a sally port,” said Luke.
“Sally?” said Ben. “Sounds a bit of a girly name for an armored door.”
“Sally port is the name for the whole thing, the outer door, the inner door and the space in between. The idea was, that if the outer door was breached, the inner door would remain closed and your men could sally to destroy the enemy in the confined place. These days it’s just the name given to an area where you can open a main door and a guard can monitor who comes in before securing it and opening the inner door. Like in a prison… or a government facility like this.”
“I still don’t get why they would need Sally to come and destroy the enemy,” said Ben seriously. I could see mischievous glint in his eyes, but Luke couldn’t.
“You idiot, Ben! I just told you! Sally means attack or thrust...”
Ben fell over laughing and Luke finally realised that he was being tormented. He punched Ben in the arm. We all had a giggle, even given the seriousness of our situation… we were teenagers, after all.
“How do you know all this about the gates?” Luke asked Paul.
“When we surrendered ourselves, they black bagged us too, but there was a small rip in mine. It was in the side, but I was able to shrug and move my head around as we were walking, so by the time we got to the entrance it was almost to the front. I didn’t get to see much, but I could kind of see the entrance and how the doors operated.”
Luke looked impressed.
“So, this guard controlling it, where was he?” I asked.
Paul shrugged, “I didn’t see anyone controlling it, just a couple of armed guards.”
“Well, that’s the thing,” said Luke. “Sally ports are usually remotely monitored and watched via CCTV. Nowhere near where the shit is going down…”
As soon as he said it, I knew. The control room on the lower level. Shit.
“That’s going to be a problem. I think I know where it is, but it’s guarded day and night.”
“We’ll find a way,” said Luke.
I wasn’t so sure and felt the bright optimism I had felt just a few minutes ago begin to fade. He must have seen it from the look on my face and put his hand on my shoulder. “We’ll work on that part of the plan, don’t sweat it.”
I nodded. If anyone could work something out, Luke could.
“Funny to think,” he said. “A year ago, probably the most important thing we had to worry about was how we would make it to the next level of Grand Theft Auto on Xbox.”
“Yeah, now we’re in it…” Ben said.
We decided that we would make our escape in exactly five days. That gave us plenty of time to stockpile the weapons and anything else we needed, and to spread the word to the girls.
We would make our escape in the morning. Early. We settled upon 3am on the fifth night. I would come up to Midlevel via the cargo elevator, avoiding the Homeland guards in the Lobby. I would then make my way to the Square and, avoiding the night patrol, move onto the boy’s dorm to let them out. Paul, Toby and Beau would remain in the dorm with the door propped open while Luke, Ben and I went the North wing to free the girls. I knew from my patrols that the long corridor leading to their quarters would be guarded by two Homeland guards, so we would face our first resistance there.
“We might have to kill somebody or several somebody’s before the morning is over. Are you all up to that?” I asked gravely.
Luke and Ben nodded with certainty while Paul also said yes after a pause. He didn’t look totally convinced, but I’m pretty sure if it came to protecting his sister Ava, he could and would do what he had to do.
“We just have to remember why we’re doing this, it’s so our sisters and all of us can have some sort of life,” Ben added.
After we three had collected the girls, we would make our way carefully back to the Square. I didn’t want to hurt the men patrolling the Midlevel, but I knew that it may be necessary to incapacitate them in some way
Once we were back in the Square, all four of us would make our way down the corridor to the Lobby. It was here we would face more resistance, given that there would be at least two Homeland guards patrolling that room. They, most definitely, would need to be neutralized.
“It’ll be hard to take them by surprise,” said Ben.
“I know,” I said. “I figure I’ll be the best person for the job. While it might be unusual to see me at 3am in the morning, it won’t be totally shocking for them. I can say I took a wrong turn or pretend I’m sleepwalking or something...”
“Yeah. Right, once we take them out we head to the exit, but at least one of us will need to go down the elevator to get access to the control room.”
“But how will that person get to the gates after they open them?” asked Paul.
I didn’t have an answer for that. In fact, I had deliberately avoided thinking about it. I looked at Luke and by the expression on his face, I could see that despite his promise to come up with a plan, he too was out of ideas.
“It’ll have to be me. I’ve got a pass and I’m stationed down there…”
“That’s fine, but how will you get control of the sally port, open it and get out? Surely some sort of alarm will go off, you’ll only have a couple of minutes at the most,” Ben chimed in.
I’ll have to stay. I didn’t voice my thoughts.
“Don’t even think about it, Isaac. We’re not leaving anyone behind, least of all you.”
I didn’t argue with Luke. I knew he would never agree with me staying behind, but the more I thought about it, the more obvious it was. I would have to stay and take whatever punishment they decided was appropriate. I could worry about my own escape at a later date.
“What?” Ben asked, not quite following our thought patterns.
“I have to stay. It’s the only way we can get the gates open…”
“No!” The English boy said. “Not on.”
“We’ll come up with another way,” said Luke.
Paul didn’t comment, I thought from his silence and the serious look on his face that he probably knew I was right.
“Fine, fine…” I said holding up my hands in capitulation. “Let’s go through the other phases of the plan and worry about that particular problem closer to time.”
They agreed to let it go at that, so I got off the topic as quickly as possible.
“Now what about when you’re…when we’re out? Any suggestions?”
“Well first things first, we have to get to the lodge,” said Ben.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “Paul, from the little you could see, how bad was the trail from the lodge to the facility? How dangerous I mean? It felt terrifying while we were walking it blind.”
“I know what you mean, although it wasn’t till about halfway along that I was really able to see much. It wasn’t as scary as you think. Sure, it is pretty rough, it’s a mountain trail after all, and there were some steep drops, but the path itself is quite wide. I think we’ll only be in danger if we are being pursued, because obviously we’ll be moving faster. It will be tiring though, it’s a pretty tough hike.”
“Okay, that’s great intel,” I said. “So, we know what we have to do, you guys start gathering those items for weapons and I’ll do my best to get us some real hardware. I’ll also take care of getting a message to the girls and keep my ear to the ground with what’s happening outside. We don’t want to run into the Chinese as soon as we leave.”
“Where are we going after … if …we make it to the lodge?” asked Paul, tentatively.
None of us had really thought about that. ‘
“Well, you, Toby and Beau know the area better than we do, Paul. Do you know of a rural area that’s not too far away? One that we could get to within a day or two days walking?”
He thought for a moment. “Yeah, I do actually. I think I know the perfect place. It’s called Moultonborough. It’s west of Plymouth. I only ever went there on a bus, but I guess it’s roughly a day and a half’s walk from Lincoln. I went there once on a school outing…you know, one of those farm visits they do when you’re little.”
“Sounds great, a farm would be ideal if we can find one. The more isolated, the better. Sometime during the week, try to draw us a map of some sort, if you can.”
“Sure thing, it’s pretty easy though, straight down the 93, once we’re in Plymouth I will know where to go, I think.”
We were set, we agreed we would lay low for the next little while but promised to meet every night in the rec room in case anyone thought of anything or ran into any issues.
“Good work. Let’s wrap it up then.”
I headed back to the barracks after our little meeting. I wanted an early night, not just to sleep but to mull over the plans and strategies we had decided upon.
As I lay there staring at the ceiling, worms of doubt began to tunnel through my mind. Yes, I had managed to lead Luke, Sonny, Ben, Brooke, Indigo and Allie to safety once before. But that was different. We were in the open then. On the move with plenty of places to hide when we had to.
Now we were basically trapped in a box, in close proximity to a well-armed and clearly dangerous enemy that held all the cards. There was literally nowhere to hide or run. If I managed to get them out safely, I would consider my job done. Facing the inevitable consequences after the escape would be a lot easier for me to bear if I managed to get them all out with no losses.
44
The next few days were full of routine for all of us. Luke began work in the mines and seemed to thrive on the physical activity. Every evening when we met in the rec room they would report what they had managed to stash for our planned escape. It seemed to be going well.
They had squirrelled enough butter knives for everyone and Luke had managed to smuggle a small lump of granite into the room. After lights out, he had been busily using it as a whetstone to sharpen the blades of the dull knives. That wasn’t all he managed to smuggle out.
The third night after he began work in the mines, Luke pulled me into the alcove of the rec room. He was walking with a slight limp, and when he sat down next to me he had his leg stuck out at an odd angle; he appeared to be unable to bend his knee. My hopes suddenly crashed. We all needed to be fit and ready to run if this thing was to have even a hope of succeeding.
“What happened, how bad is it?” I asked, already working through scenarios for dealing with a lame Luke.
A secretive look passed over his face. When he was sure no one was looking he snatched my hand and pushed it onto his upper thigh.
“Dude what the Hell…?” I snatched my hand away when I felt a hard, thick object under the material of his pants leg. He cracked up laughing, amused to the point where he fell back in hysterics.
“Don’t worry man,” he said, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes. “I don’t have a woody for you… it’s a woody for me.”
“What?”
He waited until the few people who had looked around at his laughter went back to their business before he put his hand on his leg. He smoothed the material so that I could see the shape clearly. It was a shaft about two foot long and about an inch and a half in diameter. When he took his hands away, I could barely make it out.
“It’s the handle of one of the makeshift picks we use when we mine. It’s like a broom handle but a bit sturdier. It broke while I was mining, so I stashed it when the guards weren’t looking. I was going to hide it in my mattress, but I didn’t have a chance after work. Anyway, it was so worth the discomfort to see the look on your face!”
“I’m glad I was able to amuse you,” I said sarcastically. “What do you think you are going to do with a broom handle? Sweep the Professor’s men off their feet?”
“Not exactly. I’m going to make an Assegai.”
I saw the weapons trivia king looking at me, waiting for me to ask.
“Okay Luke…enlighten me. An Ass what?”
He laughed, looking pleased with himself. “Glad you asked. It’s a Zulu weapon. A short stabbing spear. The Zulu used them in close quarters fighting. It’ll be ideal for the corridors in here if we have to fight our way out.”
He made two quick, violent stabbing motions to demonstrate how he would use it.
“Not bad, I won’t ask how you’re going to make it, but if you happen to make another one I have dibs on it.”
“Okay,” he agreed. “Sa
me goes if you manage to get another gun.”
“You got it.”
The next day, John and Bowman returned. Meeks and I happened to be completing our report at the duty desk when they were escorted in by two Homeland Guards, one of whom was Williams. Meeks stepped forward.
“We’ll take it from here,” he said, moving in front of Williams and planting a hand on his chest to block him from coming any further.
Williams grabbed the smaller man’s wrist and began to twist it as his partner stepped forward. I tensed but John Hurst intervened. “Easy Meeks, we’re fine. Just go and get the Colonel.”
Meeks struggled for a few seconds longer until Williams flung his hand away, sending the soldier stumbling backwards a step. Hurst stepped between them quickly.
“I said get the Colonel!” he snapped at the red-faced Meeks.
Meeks appeared ready to argue but eventually turned after giving Williams a filthy look. John turned to Williams after Meeks disappeared around the corner.
“Thanks for escorting us down, we’ll make our report to Colonel Randall.”
Williams gave John an ironic salute, then reached over and ruffled my hair rudely.
“How’s it going soldier boy? Be careful what company you keep.”
He gestured to his comrade and headed to the elevator. The effect of his condescending pat on the head was twofold. First it made me feel like a little kid, second it came across as an implicit threat. I struggled to come up with a smartass reply. I did, just as the elevator doors opened and they stepped in.
“You be careful too, ma’am!”
Williams turned and looked towards me from inside the lift. Instead of the look of anger I had hoped to provoke, I saw instead mild amusement. He held my eye for a second before the doors closed. Self-doubt gripped me. What was I thinking? I was just a dumb kid out of my depth and he knew it. I felt John’s hand on my shoulder. I knew he meant to help, but it didn’t comfort me, just reinforced my feelings of inadequacy. Colonel Randall bustled into the reception area.
America Falls (Book 3): Cold Comfort Page 8