There’d been gasps in the court when the verdict and sentences had been read out. Many who’d followed the saga in the news considered Eva a hero, taking on the corrupt establishment against overwhelming odds.
The jury clearly thought otherwise.
A couple of hard cases walked by and gave Eva the look. Maybe they were doing it to let others know they weren’t scared of her, or maybe it was the prelude to another encounter. Either way, they were the least of her problems.
Her biggest concern was the ESO.
She’d heard about Henry Langton’s death and Joel Harmer’s arrest, but she was under no illusions that the ESO had gone up in a puff of smoke. How many of the remaining members were intent on avenging the Langtons and Mumford? The truth about Hank Monroe was now public knowledge and his political career was over, so there was no need to silence her about that. Would they be satisfied with her incarceration and let it go? It was a nice thought, but Eva wasn’t counting on it. It might be days, months, even years, but someday she expected someone to make a move on her. A gun might mysteriously make it through security, or the guards could suddenly disappear while she was in a room full of armed women. She could think of a thousand ways she would do it, which meant the ESO would never run short of options.
Eva finished her chow and took her tray to the cleaning station, then joined the line to await escort back to the cell. She would remain there for the rest of the day, only emerging to eat and shower. The chance to enroll for a prison job wouldn’t come around for another few weeks, after she’d passed her probation period. With a couple of black marks against her already, she wasn’t holding out much hope of finding something to take her mind off her predicament.
“Driscoll, front and center!”
She saw a hard-nosed guard known as Lott glaring at her. Eva did as the guard ordered, standing close to attention as the others filed past on their way back to the block.
“Turn around, hands behind your back.”
Eva turned and felt handcuffs go on, and immediately wondered if this was the ESO making their move. They would know from experience to incapacitate her first but she would happily disappoint them. Getting out of cuffs was something she’d learned years earlier, and they would only hold for as long as she let them.
“Let’s go,” Lott said. “Warden wants to speak to you.”
She led Eva out of the wing and through three manned security gates to a part of the prison Eva hadn’t yet seen. They passed a few offices before they came to a door with “Superintendent Foley” painted on the window.
Lott knocked and waited to be called in. “Sir, this is Eva Driscoll,” she said when told to enter. She maneuvered Eva to stand on a yellow line in front of the warden’s desk.
Foley wore a five-hundred-dollar suit and had the air of a man who held power and knew it. He opened a file, read for a minute, then closed it and looked up at Eva.
“Looks like you’re leaving us already,” Foley said, holding the file out for Lott to take. “Apparently, you’re considered too high-risk for this facility, which surprises me. In all my years at Bedford Hills, I’ve never had someone transferred for that reason. We specialize in reforming the worst of the worst, and if there’s a better place to deal with you, I’d love to know about it. Unfortunately, for security reasons, your new home isn’t listed. What do you make of that?”
Eva didn’t say anything. Only one explanation came to mind: the ESO was behind it. Once in their custody, it would be game over.
Foley was waiting for a reaction, but when he saw he wasn’t going to get one, he waved a hand at the guard. “Get her out of here.”
Eva was escorted back to her cell, uncuffed, and Lott remained outside the door while she gathered her belongings. Lott then took her to the reception wing and Eva signed for her belongings. She was given the clothes she’d arrived in—black jeans, white T-shirt, and a pair of sneakers—and a manila envelope. Eva tipped out the contents and saw a couple of items she didn’t recognize. One was a cell phone, which she knew for a fact she hadn’t brought to the prison. The second was a small key. There was also a few dollars in cash and the gold necklace her brother had given her when she’d graduated from high school.
After Eva signed for her things, Lott put them back in the envelope and reapplied the handcuffs before escorting her to the main entrance. They made the long walk in silence. Above them, the October sky was gunmetal gray, a color Eva normally associated with misery and depression.
It had never been more apt.
As they neared the main entrance, Eva could see a large black Jeep waiting just below the watch tower. It was parked between the inner and outer gates, and the tinted windows were up, preventing her from seeing the occupants.
Every sinew in her body felt wired for action. Should she tell Lott she was being set up, and that the men inside were going to kill her? There was no point, and Eva knew it. Lott had spent her whole adult life at Bedford Hills, and she’d probably heard every brand of insane rambling in that time.
Lott led her through the inner gate, and when it closed, the doors of the Jeep opened. A man dressed in a leather jacket got out and handed Lott a clipboard, not once looking at the prisoner. The guard checked the details, then signed the form and handed over Eva’s belongings.
Eva’s heart bounced in her chest but she said nothing. When the man removed her cuffs and put them on again in front of her body, Eva closed her eyes in case her emotions gave her away. She felt her arm being pulled and let her body follow as she was put in the back seat of the vehicle. Leather Jacket got in beside her and closed the door.
Eva struck with lightning speed. She put her cuffed hands around the man’s neck and kissed him with more passion than she’d ever managed in her life.
“Get a room.” Sonny smiled from the front seat.
Huff broke free from Eva’s lips and removed her cuffs. He immediately got a punch in the stomach.
“What the hell was that for?”
“For turning up in a black Jeep. You scared the shit out of me!”
“I did warn them,” Farooq said from beside her. “I told them you wouldn’t find it amusing.”
Smart started the engine and backed out through the main gate while Eva tried to get over her initial shock. As prison breaks went, this was one of the smoothest she’d known.
“How did you organize the paperwork?” she asked.
“We didn’t,” Huff said. “The same thing happened to us yesterday. Some guy with transfer papers picked us up at the gates at Sing Sing and took us to a hotel. He said we should be here at ten this morning and to show this form when we got to the gate. That’s all we know.”
It was getting weirder by the second. If the ESO were behind this, it was their strangest play to date. Straight out of left field, a mysterious benefactor securing their release.
And then there was the phone that had appeared in her belongings . . .
Eva opened the envelope and took the cell out, and before she had the chance to scroll through the menus, it began to play a familiar tune.
“Isn’t that ‘Hail to the Chief’?” Smart asked.
“Yes, sir, it is,” Colback said.
Eva stabbed the Connect button and put it on speaker.
“Hello?”
“Ms. Driscoll, this is Leo Russell. I see you got the phone I arranged for you. I expect you have a few questions, so I’ll be brief.”
The president? Sonny mouthed.
Eva nodded.
“I hope your time in Bedford Hills wasn’t too traumatic.”
“I’ve had worse,” Eva admitted.
“I have to thank you for exposing Henry Langton,” Russell continued, “and bringing the ESO to my attention. I’m just sorry that we couldn’t meet in person. I appreciate that you sacrificed a lot and risked your own lives to bring this man to justice, and I intend to finish that job. Langton, as you may know, died shortly after his arrest, but I’ve instructed a new agency—set up and r
un by some close personal friends—to investigate his activities over the years so we can identify other members of the ESO and the people they’ve influenced. I’m afraid this is going to take a few years, but someday we’ll be able to comprehensively say we’ve identified everyone involved.”
“Thank you, Mr. President. It’s gratifying to know that you’re taking my claims seriously.”
“Not at all, Ms. Driscoll. It’s I who should be thanking you. Due to the matter’s sensitivity though, any public outpouring of appreciation is out of the question. I’ve been able to arrange your freedom, but beyond that, my hands are tied. As far as your former wardens and cellmates know, you’ve been transferred to destinations unknown. As of now, you are free to go. It’s my understanding that the money you managed to steal from the ESO was never recovered, so I’m trusting you won’t be short of funds for a while. It should at least be enough to set you up in a new life for a few years.”
Eva murmured her assent.
“If you look at the release form, in the top left-hand corner there’s a serial number. In the bottom right-hand corner is the address of the printing company. Can you see them?”
Eva took the clipboard from Huff. “Got ’em.”
“Good. The serial number is a locker number, and you’ll find it at that address. I trust you got the key my man left for you. In the locker, you’ll find passports, driver’s licenses, and prepaid credit cards under your new identities. Mr. Smart, Mr. Baines, I’ve spoken to your prime minister and he has agreed to honor the pardon I’ve granted you. That document will remain sealed for the next fifty years, and even your own security services don’t know the names on your new passports. You’re free to return to the United Kingdom under your real identities or remain here as US citizens using the aliases.”
“Thank you, Mr. President,” said Smart.
“As I said, this is the extent of my intervention. From now on, you’re on your own. I can’t guarantee that the ESO won’t try to find you, but you should have enough resources to disappear until I can make headway with the investigation. I wish you the best of luck.”
“Thank you—”
The disconnect tone coming from the phone told them that POTUS had hung up.
“Well, there’s one to tell the grandkids,” Sonny said. “So, what’s the plan?”
“Len,” Eva said, “take us to Kansas City. Along the way, find a hotel where we can change our appearances and I can sleep with both eyes closed.”
Henry Langton’s bony hand reached out and clicked on the incoming message. The computer’s built-in encryption software prompted him to enter his twelve-digit password, then began deciphering the seemingly random string of characters. It took a full minute before he found himself staring at the transcript of a telephone conversation.
So, Russell let you out, did he?
He lit a cigarette and blew a cloud of smoke at the screen. His plan to have the six of them killed in prison was now moot, but strangely he didn’t feel any rage. Instead, a grin found its way to his lips.
Driscoll—indeed, the whole world—believed him dead. Armed with new papers, she’d soon begin to feel safe, and at some point, she’d get sloppy. When she did, he’d pounce.
Langton got out of his chair and walked around his office. It was adorned with some of his favorite pieces, shipped over from his house in Washington, but it still wasn’t home. He had access to every luxury a man could possibly imagine yet was effectively a prisoner in his own residence.
He walked out of the room and leaned on the wooden railing overlooking the atrium below. Men in black uniforms were hauling boxes into his new command center, which would be up and running in the next few days. He would once again have access to every security database in the world, and the operatives at his disposal worldwide would number more than a hundred. More would be added over time, which was something he had a lot of.
Only a handful of people knew he was still alive, and his recent surgery meant even those below him had no idea who he was. As far as they were concerned, he was just some old guy charged with overseeing a project of national importance. Once they’d delivered all the equipment, he’d bring his own men in to set things up and run the operation from his private island.
Langton walked back into his office and looked again at the transcript. It would be impossible to compile a list of all the places in the US that had key-operated lockers. Even if they could narrow it down and they somehow managed to spot her on CCTV, they’d be powerless to catch her unless they happened to have personnel nearby.
It wasn’t the end though. In fact, it was just the beginning. Now that he’d handed over the reins of the ESO, he could devote most of his time to tracking down Driscoll and her friends. In his spare moments, he would begin to prepare his grandchildren for their destiny. With their father gone, it fell to Langton to teach them the ropes so that someday they could take control of the organization. Langtons had led the ESO since its inception, and he wasn’t about to let that tradition slide.
He minimized the message and stared at the desktop picture. It was Eva Driscoll’s CIA file, and her face took up a quarter of the screen. Impatient as he was to get started, for him, the chase was almost as exciting as the prize at the end of it. She’d be a difficult beast to catch but catch her he would.
She couldn’t hide forever.
He would flush her out eventually, and she would only have one option:
Run.
If you enjoyed this novel and would like to know about Alan’s future releases, please email [email protected] including “Driscoll” in the subject line. You can find the rest of his books at www.alanmcdermottbooks.co.uk.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank everyone at Thomas & Mercer for taking yet another chance on me. I’d also like to thank fellow (and vastly superior) author Keith Houghton for listening to my inane ramblings when things aren’t going well. A final special mention goes to everyone who picked up one of my books, read it, and came back for more—you’re the reason I still write!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo © 2017 Darlene McDermott
Alan McDermott is a husband and a father to beautiful twin girls, and currently lives in the south of England. Born in West Germany to Scottish parents, Alan spent his early years moving from town to town as his father was posted to different army units around the United Kingdom. Alan has had a number of jobs since leaving school, including working on a cruise ship in Hong Kong and Singapore, where he met his wife, and as a software developer creating clinical applications for the National Health Service. Alan gave up his day job in December 2014 to become a full-time author. Alan’s writing career began in 2011 with the action thriller Gray Justice, his first full-length novel.
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