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.’