Page 57 of Celtic Dragon
“No, not yet.”
“And you are?” he asks.
“Emma, I’m his fiancée.”
“Is there a way you can contact him? I was told that we would be transporting four women and five men. By my count we’re a lass and five lads short.”
“We’re waiting on the other six. They’re supposed to be here by now.”Where are they?Something must’ve happened, or they would have been here by now.
“You realize, ma’am, that I can’t wait for them. I need to have this plane loaded and boarded by midnight,” the pilot says.
“I know. We still have some time. Hopefully they’ll get here.” I’ve never been one to do a lot of praying, but I figure that now is as good as time as any to start.
Chapter 21
Caden
Our first stop is the Belfast Knights clubhouse. We drop the loaner bikes and switch vehicles. After spending a few minutes with Declan and the guys that are helping us, they hop into a black SUV, wish us well, and drive away. They’re going to be our lookouts at the prison and need to get there before we do.
Parked next to the SUV is a truck. It almost looks like an 18-wheeler, but it’s shorter, white, and on the side in big letters it readsHM Food Services.
“What’s that?” I ask.
“What? The lorry?” Liam responds.
“The what?”
“Oh, lorry, it’s our word for truck. This one delivers food to the prison,” Liam says.
“Oh. I guess we’re making a food delivery tonight?”
“You got it. Had to get you in through the gate somehow,” he replies. Opening the back, he says, “Ice, you ride up front with me. You three, in the back.” The boys get in the back and Liam and I get in the cab.
When we get to the prison, we stop just outside the gates. Liam asks, “You ready for this?”
“Do I have a choice?” I reply and he laughs.
Personally, I don’t find any of this funny, but maybe that’s how he deals with stress. Me, I have nothing to be laughing about right now. The prison is a fucking fortress. There’s a fifteen-foot fence that surrounds the entire prison. An eighteen-foot concrete wall topped with barbed wire also surrounds a portion of the prison. The outer gates appear to be solid steel and are electronically operated.
Liam pulls up to the main gate, stopping at the guard stand. “Late delivery?” the guard asks him.
“Aye,” he says. “They got us working OT tonight.”
The guard flashes his flashlight into the cab of the truck, looking at both of us closely, and then says, “Go on.” He lifts the gate and just like that, we’re in.
“Shit, I was afraid he was going to recognize you,” I say as we drive through the gate.
“I knew he wouldn’t. I was an internal guard. The gate guards rarely venture inside the prison.”
“That’s good to know,” I reply.
He pulls over to the left side of the prison and stops in the darkness. “You need to get out here. I need to go around back to the loading dock to make this delivery, then I’ll be at the tunnel to pick you all up.” He reaches under his seat and pulls a latch and I hear a click. “The guys in the back should be able to get out now. The tunnel is right over there,” he says, pointing in the direction of the main entrance. “Be safe, watch your ass, and hopefully I’ll see you on the other side.”
I nod and get out of the cab, walking to the back of the truck. They’re getting out as I approach. We close the back and Liam leaves.
As we slowly approach the entrance, through the shadows of the cars in the parking lot we can see Declan and T-Rex talking to one of the guards just outside the main doors. We hear a bit of yelling and commotion, but we’re sure that’s a distraction for our benefit. I look at my watch: 9:13 pm. We have two minutes to get over to the spot where Liam indicated. Heading in that general direction, I see a small hint of light coming from beneath the bushes. I tap Rebel on the shoulder and whisper, pointing to the light, “That’s it.” He nods.
We approach the entrance, which is basically a round manhole opening. It’s not completely open, but I hear a voice from inside. “You Ice?” the man at the door asks.
