Jackson sighed, leaning away again.
Alex finally turned back to study the rag-tag group who were heading out between the gates now with a guard on every side of them. There were four men to watch over eight girls, two more than went with each larger group of men. It seemed the Council was afraid of them.
Instead of following the dirt road winding away to the plains, the girls were led toward the reinforced canyon mouth. They followed the first guard up a rough path over the berm, and then continued down the other side into the canyon.
Lena reached out and gripped Alex’s arm.
He nodded. This movement and the distant sound of the paddlewheel moving down the river were likely no coincidence. These girls were the big transfer. They were being moved. Without a means to follow, he would get one shot at planning their rescue.
Jackson looked through the glasses. “Four sniper rifles, four side arms, four Tasers,” he whispered. He turned back to them. “It doesn’t matter how dangerous you are, a bullet in your head will kill you as fast as anyone else. The guards are Sparks, Lena, and they mean business.”
“So did the team of men that moved in with Alex trying to grab me at home. So did Alex, for that matter.”
He told Jackson to stand down with a gesture. She was right. Not invincible, but right.
She leaned in. Alex could read the eagerness and fury in the motion.
“Too close to the prison,” Alex murmured. “We’ll wait for them to get past us and then follow at a distance. When I have more of a plan, I’ll let you know.”
The group of girls and guards made their way along the narrow path at the bottom of the canyon. Their glazed eyes and the mechanical movements of the too-thin bodies coursing with the electricity keeping them docile infuriated him. He couldn’t imagine what it was doing to Lena.
Lena remained focused on the girls, except to occasionally arrow her gaze to each of the guards, marking them. She was making plans of her own. He hoped Jackson would be ready to roll with whatever she improvised. He had little doubt that when he finally said, “Go,” she would do whatever she deemed necessary to get those girls free.
Once the group made their way past, he leaned in. “When we finally act, we need to disarm first. We will have a much greater chance of making it back to the train if they don’t fire a shot. No shots. No alarm. No pursuit. Got it?”
“I want to turn off the damn collars first.”
He shook his head. “They rely on the collars. They’re focused on them. The guards have to be dealt with first.” He imagined the fists she clenched in frustration were a reluctant agreement. He leaned closer. “With four of them, paralysis is our best bet. Can you manage all of them at once? We’ll finish them.”
She nodded once, hard.
He leaned back and turned to Jackson.
The Ward gave him a silent thumbs-up, but his worried gaze fell on Lena.
The group moved into the far mouth of the canyon and off to the left in a diagonal line toward the river’s edge, below the elevated path Alex had led them in on. He was willing to bet on his hunch now. The girls were being removed from the prison for parts unknown. He hated that he wouldn’t be able to follow. They’d be rescuing this group, but losing the opportunity to discover any others at the paddleboat’s final destination.
Alex checked back along the path for any rear guards. Satisfied, he put the binoculars in their case and secured them in the pocket of his pack. He didn’t want them damaged in what was to come. With no further movement along the pathway, he eased into a crouch and gestured for the others to follow him out of their hole.
They worked their way along the hillside and moved down to the path at the bottom of the canyon where they had more freedom to move. When they reached the mouth, Alex headed for the wall of the canyon. He eased out, checking along the river and down the shore.
The humming of the riverboat’s engines drew closer, but it still wasn’t visible around the curve of the river and the tall butte to the right. The guards had moved the girls further up to sit on the rocky shore, but not far enough to guarantee a gunshot wouldn’t echo up the canyon to the prison. The guards, clearly bored, stood over the girls. They were waiting for the steam barge and its shore boats to collect their human cargo.