Isabelle was already moving the conversation along, though. ‘What’s happening on the ground now, Raj? Dom?’
‘I have ten guards at various locations surrounding the farm – they’ve been there all day,’ Raj said. ‘They report normal activity. Nathaniel is not believed to be inside the house. He was seen to leave at 1600 hours. He has not returned. The house is quiet.’
Dom added, ‘Comms are normal at this time – no sign Moran’s warned them what we’re planning.’
Isabelle glanced at Raj. ‘Is there anything you need?’
He shook his head. ‘The vehicles are being fuelled and prepped now. We leave at midnight.’
The room had gone still. Everyone knew how important this moment was. Everyone knew what was at stake.
Isabelle turned to face the crowd, which now filled the converted classroom and spilled into the hallway. It seemed every person in the school had come to see what was happening.
‘This is a crucial operation.’ Her voice was strong but tinged with sombreness. ‘Our future depends on what happens tonight. Once we have Carter back, we can begin to plan our next steps as a school. As a family. For we are the family of Cimmeria Academy. This is our home.’ For a brief second her gaze met Allie’s. They both knew how short-lived this home could be. ‘I think we all realise it’s time to end this battle with Nathaniel once and for all. But we cannot do that until all our people are safe.’
She turned to Raj.
‘Bring Carter home. We’re counting on you.’
30
The planning continued into the night.
When Allie finally slipped outside for a breath of fresh air just after eleven o’clock, ten black cars were already parked on the long gravel drive. Waiting.
It was a cool, clear night, with a hint of autumn in the air. The moon hung low on the horizon, casting just enough light to see, but not enough to reveal what needed to remain disguised.
A perfect night for hiding, she thought.
It was so strange, what her life had become. She’d been Allie Sheridan, trouble-maker, angry girl. And now she was Allie Sheridan, heiress, fighter, rebel.
She wasn’t entirely certain how she’d got from there to here. It happened so fast.
With a sigh, she lowered herself down to the top step and pulled up her knees, wrapping her arms around them. She wondered if Carter could see the moon from his room in that farmhouse. If he knew they were coming.
If he believed in her as much as she believed in him.
She didn’t know how long she’d been there, lost in her thoughts, before a familiar French-accented voice broke the silence.
‘Are you afraid?’
Sylvain stood in the open doorway. The light framed him from behind, adding hints of gold to his wavy, brown hair.
Allie’s heart lurched.
He kept his eyes on the sky.
‘A little,’ she confessed.
It was a lie. In reality, her stomach was tied in knots. So much hinged on this night. Everything was in the balance. Carter’s life, most of all.
‘Me too.’ A self-conscious smile touched the corners of his lips. ‘It’s a dangerous plan. Maybe we’re foolish to trust this man.’ For the first time he met her gaze. ‘But every courageous person is also a fool, no? You have to be stupid to jump out of a plane. Or climb a mountain.’
It was oddly nice to talk to him. She’d missed his accent. His oddly formal way of speaking.
I will hate it, she realised, if we can’t figure out how to be friends.
She stood up, to be on the same level as him. ‘What do you really think? Is this going to work?’
His turned his gaze back to the moon.
‘I don’t know. I hope so. For Carter’s sake. But there’s no way to know with Nathaniel involved. Everything is a game to him. And he always seems to predict our next move.’
‘I just wish I understood how we got here,’ she said, frustration in her voice. ‘How everything got this bad.’
Sylvain stayed silent for a long moment. ‘Things got bad one step at a time. The way they usually do.’
Allie wondered if they were talking about the same thing.
‘Sylvain,’ she said. ‘I am so sorry about everything.’
He closed his eyes, his lashes soft shadows against the planes of his cheeks.
‘Don’t, Allie. I don’t want to talk about that. It’s done.’
‘I know,’ she said. ‘But you and I both know that, whatever happens tonight, we don’t have much time left here.’ She gestured at the dark grounds around them. ‘We could all be split up. You’ll go home to your family. I’ll go wherever Isabelle goes. Our lives are going to change. Who knows when we’ll see each other again?’ She took a step towards him. ‘I know we broke up but… I don’t want to lose you from my life. I will always be your friend. If you let me.’
He let out a long breath and turned his eyes back to the moon.
‘Allie, I don’t…’ His voice trailed off.
She held out her hand to him. He dropped his gaze to it, hesitating for a long time before finally taking her hand in his strong, steady grip.
Allie fought back a sudden urge to cry for both of them. For Cimmeria. For Jo. For everything that had been lost in the last two years.
‘I am so, so sorry I hurt you,’ she said, her voice low. ‘Please be my friend.’
He pulled back. For a second she thought he would say nothing. That he’d just walk away. But then, as so often was the case, he did exactly what she hadn’t expected. He leaned close and brushed his lips against her cheek, light as feathers.
‘Toujours,’ he whispered in French.
And then he was gone.
She spun around just in time to see him disappear inside, his back straight, walking fast into the light.
At midnight, Allie followed Isabelle and Raj down the wide hallway to the front door.
Outside, a crowd of black-clad guards waited. Among the faces looking up at them, Allie spotted Zelazny and Eloise, and, in the back, Sylvain, Nicole and Lucas.
Allie was to stay with Isabelle in the control car – thanks to the stitches in her neck, she couldn’t go into the grounds with the others. Being nearby would have to be enough. Zoe had been forbidden to accompany them. She was upstairs in Dom’s office with Rachel – sulking.
As soon as their boss appeared in the doorway, the group snapped to attention.
Raj paused, surveying his team with cool assessment.
‘You’re trained. You’re ready.’ His gaze was predatory as he looked out at them. ‘Let’s roll.’
The low, ominous roar that came back from the group made the fine hairs on the back of Allie’s neck rise. It was a bloodthirsty sound.
With swift efficiency, the group divided into the cars. Seconds later, the rumble of powerful engines filled the air.
Allie and Isabelle climbed into the back of a black SUV. The driver nodded to acknowledge their presence but, after that, kept her gaze straight ahead.
Throughout the thirty-minute journey, Isabelle sat stiffly, arms crossed, eyes straight ahead. Both of them had earpieces, connected to the comms system. Dom fed through constant updates from the team already on the ground at St John’s Fields.
‘Nathaniel has not yet returned,’ Dom said, as they drove down a dark country road. ‘House and grounds are quiet. No activity. All appears normal.’
‘Copy that.’ Raj’s voice responded.
The roads were nearly empty and at half past midnight they turned into a tiny country lane, bookended on both sides by high hedgerows, and slowed to a crawl. After a short distance, they pulled off the road.
The driver cut the engine.
In the sudden quiet, Allie could hear the other two women breathing, and the ticking of the cooling car engine.
‘Where’s the target from here?’ Isabelle’s voice broke the silence.
The driver pointed across the dark, adjacent field to a cluster of lights a short distance
away.
‘Those lights are the farmhouse,’ she said.
Allie stared at the light cluster, trying to guess how far away it was. It was hard to tell in the dark, but she figured she could probably get there in ten minutes, running fast.
Isabelle pressed her microphone button. ‘Control in position.’
Raj’s voice crackled through Allie’s headphones. ‘Alpha Group in position. Lima Group, state your status.’
Seconds later, an unfamiliar male voice spoke: ‘Lima Group in position.’
Raj responded. ‘Copy that. Romeo Group, state your status.’
A female voice responded. ‘Romeo Group is in position.’
‘Copy that,’ Raj said. And so on, through all the three groups assigned to enter the property and the three who would remain outside the fenceline.
When all had responded Raj said, ‘All groups remain in position until you receive further orders from me.’
Now, all they could do was wait.
Time seemed to stretch. Allie forced herself to breathe. Next to her, Isabelle was staring into the darkness, unblinking.
Allie kept looking at her watch. It was nearly one o’clock. Nathaniel could come back at any moment.
Come on, Nine, she thought. Don’t let us down.
But nothing happened. Five minutes ticked by. Then ten.
Suddenly Dom’s voice crackled urgently in their earpieces. ‘We have action. I’m patching Nathaniel’s comms through to you.’
Nine’s deep, gravel voice boomed into Allie’s earpiece. ‘Repeat. Intrusion alarm sounding in Quadrant Nine. All personnel report to Quadrant Nine immediately. Intrusion alarm sounding.’
‘Any visual?’ A voice Allie thought she recognised as Six asked him.
‘Negative.’ Nine’s reply was curt. ‘I’m inside the building. I will stay behind. Everyone else report to Quadrant Nine for possible intrusion.’
Allie turned to Isabelle, eyes wide. ‘What’s happening? Have they spotted us?’
The headmistress kept her gaze on the lights in the field. ‘This could be a decoy to get the other guards out of the way. It’s not us. It can’t be us. We wouldn’t be spotted.’
But her hands knotted into fists in her lap.
‘Copy that,’ Six said after a moment. ‘Heading to Quadrant Nine now. All personnel to follow.’
Raj’s voice overrode Nathaniel’s guards. ‘Teams Romeo, Alpha, Lima, we have a go. Move in now. Repeat move in now. Alpha Group moving in. Others, please respond.’
Seconds later a woman’s voice. ‘Romeo Group, moving in.’
A man’s voice followed. ‘Lima Group, moving in.’
Allie squeezed her hand hard against the handle of the car door, digging her nails into the smooth plastic.
A minute passed, then: ‘Romeo, Lima and Alpha Groups have reached the location.’ Raj’s voice was a whisper. ‘No sign of target.’
Allie closed her eyes. Please, God, let this work. Please…
Silence fell. Then, Raj’s voice broke over the speakers. ‘Alpha Group, on the move.’ His voice shook, as if he was running. ‘We have the target. Repeat target in custody.’
Allie drew in a sharp breath and covered her face with her hands. Something held tight inside her let go.
They’d done it.
Next to her, Isabelle punched her right fist into her left hand. ‘Yes.’
‘Copy that, Raj,’ Dom said, and Allie could tell she was smiling. In the room with her, people were cheering.
Allie dropped back against the leather seat of the car. It was over. Carter was coming home.
Suddenly, Raj’s voice appeared again. He was shouting, breathless. ‘We are under pursuit. Repeat. Alpha Group on the run. All groups take evasive action…’ Allie could hear him running, his voice shook with every step. ‘Alpha Group…’
There was a sound like a gunshot. Then the radio went silent.
31
Allie couldn’t seem to make herself breathe.
Isabelle covered her lips with her hand but showed no other emotion. She leaned forward.
The radio crackled into life when a woman spoke, breathless and clearly running.
‘Romeo Group on the run.’ There was a sound of gunshots, and Allie couldn’t tell if they came from the radio or from the field outside. The woman was shouting, ‘All groups are taking fire. Return to vehicles. Move, move, move.’
Panicked, Allie spun to look at Isabelle. ‘We have to do something.’
But Isabelle was already on it. She leaned forward towards the driver. ‘Start the car. Take us to St John’s Fields.’
The driver shot her a surprised look. ‘But my orders…’
‘Your orders are to take us to St John’s Fields and help our people,’ the headmistress snapped.
The driver started the car.
In Allie’s ears Dom’s voice was insistent. ‘Alpha Group, verify your location. Alpha Group, are you reading me?’
There was no reply.
They shot down the narrow road, tyres spinning. Allie rolled down the window and stuck her head out, straining to hear anything above the engines. In the distance, she thought she heard shots. She definitely saw lights in the field, swinging wildly.
The narrow road curved and undulated sharply through the darkness; the driver took every bend as fast as the vehicle would allow.
Come on. Come on, Carter. You can do this. Run for your life. Run for me.
They rounded a turn at speed, just as a man, clad all in black, burst out of the darkness into the road.
Allie screamed. The driver slammed the brakes, throwing them forward hard and then back again. The wound on her neck throbbed.
Clearly recognising the driver, the man ran to her window.
When he saw who was in the car, the guard’s eyes widened.
‘Which way are they headed?’ Isabelle barked.
He pointed down the road ahead of them. ‘That way. I was trying to pull the guards off Raj’s trail, but they ran right by me.’ He held Isabelle’s gaze. ‘I think they know he’s got the target.’
They all heard more gunshots in the distance. The guard took a step back. ‘I gotta go.’
He took off running, Allie heard his voice in her earpiece. ‘Lima Group unable to locate Alpha.’
Allie stared out the open window. At first, all she could see in the darkness was trees and pastures. But then, just ahead, she saw something else. A blur of motion.
‘There!’ She pointed. ‘Someone’s running.’
Isabelle looked where she indicated. Her lips tightened. ‘Driver, stop the car.’
She spoke into her microphone. ‘Dom, this is Control. We can see Alpha Group from the road. We’re going after them.’
Allie reached for the door handle. Isabelle gave her a look. ‘Your neck.’
‘My neck will survive,’ Allie said, unbuckling her seatbelt.
They both leapt from the car at the same moment.
It was dark, but they were used to darkness. Side-by-side, they crashed through a gap in the hedgerow, leaping over a narrow but deep stream bed to get to the field where they’d seen the others.
Allie climbed a fence to get a view of the field. Again, she saw the oddly disconcerting blur of black clad runners moving against the night.
‘There!’ She pointed to the movement. The runners were heading to the right, running low and fast. It was impossible to see from here who it was. They had to hope it was Raj.
Allie and Isabelle moved quickly to intercept them.
‘If we get to those trees,’ Isabelle whispered, pointing to a cluster of pines, ‘we can catch them. It will be easier to lose the guards with cover.’
Running in the pasture was difficult – it had been used by cows or horses, who’d left deep pits and ruts in the mud. The uneven steps jolted her, putting pressure on her stitches – her neck burned but she ignored the pain. Carter was out there somewhere. In the dark.
She could hear shouts in the distance
– there’d been no gunfire for some time now, and she hoped that was a good sign.
The trees were close. She put her head down, and increased her speed.
Just as they reached the edge of the woods, though, someone grabbed her with such force her feet left the ground.
Struggling in the man’s grip, she swung around, fists raised.
It was Nine.
They stared at each other. He spoke first. ‘What the hell…?’
‘Let her go.’ Leaping between them, Isabelle swung a perfectly targeted swing kick towards Moran’s face.
‘Wait!’ Allie called out, as Nine dodged the blow at the last second. ‘This is him. This is Owen Moran.’
Isabelle didn’t move out of her defensive stance. Her eyes locked on his.
‘Which side are you on, Mr Moran? Are you here to free Carter? Or to take him back?’
He held up his hands. ‘Lady, I just risked my bleeding neck to get your kid out of the sodding house. Now if you’d let me run the hell away before someone blows my stupid head off, I’d appreciate it.’
‘Where are the others?’ Allie asked impatiently. ‘Where’s Carter?’
‘I’m not sure – we got separated in the pasture,’ he explained. ‘The other guards came back sooner than I hoped. They saw us heading for the fence and took off after us.’
‘So they’re near.’ Isabelle frowned, squinting in to the darkness. She seemed to have accepted Moran’s honesty, for now, at least.
Allie still wore her earpiece; she’d been tuning out Dom’s updates but now she heard her voice grow insistent. ‘Control, please respond. Control: your location.’
‘Isabelle,’ Allie said, ‘Dom’s trying to reach you.’
Isabelle pressed her microphone. ‘This is Control. We’re in the pasture 500 metres from St John’s Fields.’
‘You’ve got to get out of there,’ Dom said. ‘Nathaniel’s coming back.’
Allie’s heart seemed to stop. She turned to Nine before realising he couldn’t hear what she’d just heard.
‘Nathaniel’s on his way back,’ she said. ‘We have to get out of here. Isabelle…’ She looked at the headmistress, who shook her head.