Young, old, kids and teens. A motley bunch, tight though… and they’ve made it this far. They must have some fight left in them to want to raid that prison. Well, good on them. First things first though, Rose, hang in there girl, we’re coming to get you—
Sledge led them along Skyline Drive to the east. They rode in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Sledge kept going until they arrived at the Oaks Overlook. Mercy watched as Flynn and Tawny dismounted their horses. She swung her leg up and over and jumped down from her mount, her whole body ached.
“Christ, I’m walking like John Wayne,” Flynn said, rubbing his legs.
“Ditto,” Tawny said, in obvious discomfort.
Mercy checked her watch; 4:47 pm. “At least we’re here on time. Sledge, can you stay here with the horses? Barnes will take us in from here, we’ve got the map and bearings. We’ll be OK. Give us twenty four hours, if we’re not back by then—”
Sledge nodded, “Yeah, if you’re not back by then I’ll know you’ve had your ticket punched.”
“Yeah, well, I wasn’t actually going to say that. But thanks for your… clarity—” Mercy replied.
“Don’t mention it,” Sledge replied, spitting on the ground. He gathered up the horses and watched as they made their preparations.
When they were ready Mercy gave Sledge a final wave. She turned to follow Barnes as he headed west, picking his way down the slope through the trees.
Here goes nothing—
The next hour and a half was full of rough, ankle-twisting terrain. Barnes took his time and they descended towards their destination in silence. The sounds of nature surrounded them; birds sang overhead and the breeze rustled the leaves. The scent of honeysuckle and wild garlic filled the air and a collection of red butterflies fluttered along beside them. Mercy concentrated on the terrain and forgot the aching in her legs and back.
This could actually be enjoyable, under different circumstances—
Barnes stopped and raised his hand. Mercy halted and listened to the sounds of the forest. Barnes knelt on one knee and brought out his binoculars, he focused on the valley below.
Mercy drew near to him, “What do you see?”
Barnes grunted, “Two hundred meters ahead… the clearing in the valley. There’s a road leading up to a perimeter fence. Everything’s overgrown, but if you look closely you can make out silo hatches, and some concrete structures above ground. There’s a radio-camera mast in the centre. The cameras will have 360 degree coverage—”
Barnes handed Mercy the binoculars. The others kept their positions on the hillside behind. Mercy looked at the site, processing what Barnes had told her.
“The perimeter fence looks overgrown in places… which would give us some cover. That camera though, that’s a headache. If there’s working AI in there, it’ll be linked to those hunter killer bots, like back in Annapolis. If they spot us, they’ll be on us in a flash. Shit—” Mercy handed the binoculars back.
Barnes narrowed his eyes, “We could probe the perimeter, make it look like wildlife, see what the response is—”
Mercy chewed her lip then shook her head, “We could… but then we’d lose our one ace… surprise. No, I’m not prepared to lose our one advantage. There has to be another way—”
The sun was dipping to the western horizon, its red rays sending out a burst of warmth and colour over the hillside.
Barnes looked at his watch, “It’ll be dark soon. What do you want to do?”
Mercy closed her eyes, her mind spinning.
We’ll only get one shot at this. We can’t afford to blow it at the first hurdle. We need to get underground undetected. Shit, shit, shit—
“Hey, one of the hatches is open,” Barnes hissed, passing the binoculars back to Mercy. “Southeast corner, see the white concrete wall? Well, just in front of there—”
Mercy focused on the spot. The light was fading fast. “Yes, got it. Do you think that’s where they got in?”
One piece of the jigsaw—
A footfall. Mercy turned to see Jade inspecting the site with her own binoculars.
“We should go in at first light… in the morning mist. It’s thick as pea soup in these parts. If we wear our thermal suits under our clothes and go in under cover of the mist we should make it to that hatch. I’ve got wire cutters, we can cut through the chain link in that corner, it’s thick with ivy there which will give us some additional cover. What do you say?” Jade said, putting away her binoculars.
Mercy stared at Jade, then nodded.
Second piece of the jigsaw puzzle—
Mercy glanced at Barnes, “I like it—”
Game on. Game on—
The night was cold but uneventful. They woke at first light to a thick mountain mist.
“Have something to eat and drink. We’ll stash our packs here and just take our water bottles and weapons,” Mercy said to the others. “Barnes can lead, I’ll take over once we’re underground. Me, Tawny and Flynn… we’ve got the biotech. So has Annalise, but this is our fight. Annalise can you hang back and watch our six?”
Annalise loaded her shotgun with slug rounds and nodded, “No problem—”
Twenty minutes later they were ready.
Barnes led them through the trees to the ivy laden perimeter fence. He found a gap in the ivy. “Well I can’t see the camera or the mast through the mist. So if I can’t see them, they shouldn’t see us,” he whispered.
Mercy clenched her fist.
Yeah, and here’s hoping the foil blocks our heat signatures—
“OK, let’s do it—” Mercy said.
Jade produced the wire cutters and started working on the fence. Ten minutes later they had an opening big enough for them to squeeze through. Barnes led the way,
