‘Oh,’ he said. ‘Is that all? I thought it might be hard or something.’ His tone was sardonic. ‘Jesus Christ, kid. You don’t ask much, do you?’ He raked his fingers through his hair. ‘Even if I wanted to do that, I’m not sure I could. Nathaniel has guards watching that kid. Constantly.’
‘One of those guards is you,’ Allie said reasonably. ‘And you know the others. How many watch him overnight?’
He held up two fingers.
‘Can you get a shift tonight so that you’re one of them?’
‘Maybe,’ he said. ‘Probably. I don’t know.’
He was close. Allie could tell. She nearly had him. He didn’t want to – the job was dangerous. But he would do it. If she didn’t blow it.
‘You know what Nathaniel’s doing is wrong,’ she said. ‘I can tell you do. And I think you’re a good person. You don’t want to work for him anymore. I think you’re trapped.’ She leaned towards him. ‘We will help you. Get Carter out of that room tonight at 1 a.m. Take him to the side door – the one leading to the stables. We will have people there waiting for you. They will get you and Carter to safety. For this, my people will pay you one million pounds. Cash.’
His jaw dropped.
‘That is the deal we’re offering you, Mr Moran,’ she said quietly. ‘We will change your life.’
If she’d punched him in the stomach he couldn’t have looked more stunned. Perspiration broke out on his brow.
It took him a second to reply.
‘How do I know I can trust you?’
It was a loaded question. But Allie didn’t blink. ‘I think you’re a pretty good judge of character, Mr Moran. Do you think you can trust me?’
For a long moment they stared at each other across the table. Then he pushed back his chair and stood up. She couldn’t read his expression.
‘One o’clock,’ he said. ‘I’ll get the kid out. I can’t promise any more than that.’
It was well after seven o’clock by the time they got back to the school.
Raj rode back to the school in the car with Allie and Zelazny so they could go over everything Nine had said. By the time they reached the front gates, they’d formulated a plan.
They had no choice but to work fast. They had less than four hours.
When the SUV stopped at the front door, they leaped out, jogging together up the front steps. Isabelle met them in the entrance hall – Raj had filled her in by phone along the way.
They ran upstairs to Dom’s office, planning as they went.
Allie could never remember them working like this before – with such urgency. As if all their own lives depended on it. Not just Carter’s.
When they arrived, Dom already had the maps up on the wall.
‘Update?’ Raj snapped as they stormed into the room.
‘Nine is back at work,’ Dom said. She glanced at Allie. ‘He appears completely normal.’
‘Any news on Carter?’ Allie asked.
The American shook her head. ‘Not a word from anyone.’
In a way, it was good news. If Nathaniel was suspicious of what they were planning – if he had any inkling – he’d be moving Carter, or protecting him.
‘What’s the plan, Raj?’ Isabelle asked.
They gathered around a map. The boundaries of Nathaniel’s farm had been carefully measured and marked on it.
‘We leave here at midnight,’ he said. ‘Arriving at St John’s Fields, we have thirty minutes to set up. My teams will be here, here, here and here.’ Raj pointed at four locations widely spaced around the farmhouse.
‘Ten vehicles will wait on this road.’ He pointed to a slim white line that ran past the front of the complex.
Allie, who had seen it on the satellite feed many times, could visualise the narrow country road.
‘Isabelle and Allie will wait here.’ He pointed to a location about a quarter of a mile from the farmhouse. ‘They’ll coordinate communication and provide backup assistance.’
Allie’s heart gave a flutter of excitement. This had been decided in the car on the way over. With her injury, she couldn’t run well enough to be out on the ground, but they’d agreed she could be close.
That had to be enough, this time.
‘Presuming Moran does as he’s said,’ Raj continued, ‘once Carter is secured, we separate, travelling on foot to the vehicles in multiple teams. Each team acts as a decoy for the others, in case the security system is alerted.’ He glanced up. ‘We need to keep them divided and confused.’
All the instructors were arriving now as word spread of their return, along with senior Night School students and a few of Raj’s guards.
Raj, still dressed in jeans and the casual grey top he’d worn to the Chequers, was in his element. Confident and focused, but relaxed. Next to him, Isabelle was tense, her forehead creased with worry.
‘How many guards will you take?’
‘Thirty.’ Raj’s jaw was set. ‘If we’re going in, we’re going in mob-handed.’
‘Good.’ The headmistress gave a terse nod. ‘The rest will remain here, guarding the grounds.’
The plan was solid. Everything had been carefully thought out on their side, at least.
But Allie was increasingly worried about how Nine could pull this off. He was alone against all of Nathaniel’s well-trained guards.
If he failed, Carter was dead.