Chapter 47

 

RENEE PEEKED HER head around the corner and breathed a sigh of relief. She needed to do a dummy run of the escape route to make sure nothing essential had changed. The theatre was in the main building. She exited out through the backstage door into the main hallway and headed down the empty corridor. Several offices were on either side, including both Jäger’s and Harrison’s.

She noted every one of them was in darkness and tested them as she walked. All locked. She glanced up at the camera. Frei had looped a twenty minute stretch of video to cover her. Still, she wasn’t keen on relying on technology.

At the south exit, she stepped out into the howling wind of the quadrant. She would be glad when they left here. She was sick of the wind. It gave her earache. Caprock winds gave Colorado a run for its money.

The quadrant was silent. She looked southeast between hers and Aeron’s buildings. There was a guard post there. She pulled a small rifle scope from inside her jacket and put it to her eye. He was inside, feet up. Good.

She snuck eastward along the building. Every office window was dark. Second floor windows had several lights on. The staff who catered for the vice principal and ran the school were still working.

Jäger. The man made her skin crawl.

Just concentrate. You don’t need to think of him drooling over her.

She scowled up at the windows. Most had curtains or blinds drawn. It would still be best to keep close to the wall in case. She glanced west at Sawyer and Jones’s buildings. They lay in darkness. Sawyer was in the theatre. Jones hadn’t returned from the canyon.

Her own building on the east had two lights glowing on the third floor. She placed the scope to her eye. Two cleaners, a maintenance man. She’d need to watch them. “Urs, you know anything about the general staff?”

“Don’t trust them, over.”

All she needed to know. Renee reached the corner and peeked around. A second guard house stood at the front of the main building. It normally held three guards. She peered through the scope. One inside, one walking in the direction of the main building. The other headed east toward the boys’ dorm. Her route.

“Guard on the east dorm could be a problem,” she whispered into her mic.

“He’ll turn and walk to your position before turning back.”

Renee backed up and kept herself pressed to the wall. If he noticed her, she’d be getting air. For now she would act like she had one of the students with her. How observant was he?

The guard turned as Frei said because his footsteps echoed, growing louder. She pocketed her scope and waited. He stopped with a scrape of heavy boots.

Her heartbeat thudded a slow steady rhythm in her ears.

His footfalls echoed again and faded into the distance.

She breathed out a sigh of relief.

She ducked out and crept along the path to the dorm, dipping into shadow as the guard reached the main building to turn. It would be close every time. She hurried along the darkened path beside the boys’ dorm and reached the corner. She hurried through the shadow to the back door of the garage and tapped once before opening it up. Frei and Jessie stood waiting.

“Five minutes. You need to be quicker.”

Renee raised her eyebrows. “Not with scared teenagers in tow, I won’t be.”

“Good point.” It was Frei’s way of teasing her. She stood in full black-ops gear. Only her eyes were visible. Jessie was in a matching outfit.

“We’re heading to the cars. Keep an eye out for Owens.” Frei tapped Jessie on the shoulder. “Let’s go.”

“How will you keep out of sight?” Renee knew all the cars were parked to the northwest of the main building on a floodlit stretch.

“Skill,” Frei stated. “And dust.”

“Huh?”

Frei tapped her mouth. Both she and Jessie looked to have filters in place. “It’s Caprock. A dust storm.”

“But . . .”

Frei gave a thumbs up over her shoulder as she and Jessie walked out of the garage.

Renee rolled her eyes. “At least someone is prepared.”

She turned and headed back out into the night. Dust storm, right.

Frei was just kidding, right?

 

URSULA WAS IMPRESSED at how Jessie was coping, considering so much rested on her, the girl had remarkable composure. The wall of dust swept toward them and she gave the thumbs up to the kid. She’d found Jessie the best filter she could. It was inbuilt and essential with Jessie’s asthma. She was carrying emergency pumps in a few pockets too.

Ursula pulled on her goggles and made sure Jessie’s were secure before the dust roared into them. As she’d calculated, visibility dropped to less than a few feet. Perfect.

They crept through the dust without running into any trouble. The guards had taken cover in their huts. That left them to walk unhindered to the cars.

Ursula touched her mic. “You take the left, I’ll take from the right, and we’ll meet in the middle.”

Jessie gave another thumbs up and Frei watched her scurry off before pressing the button on her watch and activated the scanner app. The alarm light stopped and the headlamps flickered on.

Ursula couldn’t see the main building and was certain it was mutual. She popped the hood and pulled her tools out. A car couldn’t move without a battery.