“Turn around, put your hands behind your back,” said Ty.
Hanger did as he was told, shuffling around on the back seat so that his back was to Ty. Ty leaned inside the car, grabbing Hanger’s wrists as he got ready to zip a fresh set of PlastiCuffs on him.
“What’s the big plan?” Hanger asked him. “One of you climbs the wall at the back and one climbs the wall at the front?”
Ty didn’t respond.
“Or you ring the bell and pretend to be a delivery guy?” Hanger continued.
“What’s it to you?”
“I’ll tell you what it is to me. I don’t want to be sitting trussed up like a turkey in the back of this car when the cops roll up.”
“If he has the girl, he’s hardly likely to be calling the cops, is he now?” said Ty, securing one wrist.
“Fair point,” conceded Hanger. “But even if you get over the walls you still have to get inside the house and that ain’t happening.”
“Oh yeah?” said Ty.
“Oh yeah,” said Hanger. “He has that place locked up like Fort Knox and he doesn’t just open the door to anyone, especially two dudes he doesn’t know from Adam.”
Ty grabbed his wrists and spun him round on the seat so that Hanger was facing him. Lock wandered over to see why it was taking so long.
“What do you suggest, smart guy?” said Ty.
“He knows me. I’m the one who brought her here,” said Hanger, looking from Ty to Lock and back again.
“Like we could trust you?” said Ty.
“You don’t have to trust me. Think about it, you get the girl back and we’re even. Unless you’re going to rat on our deal. I help you get inside, you collect her, and I go free. No trust necessary. If you think about it, I’m the one who has to trust you, not the other way round.”
He shrugged his shoulders, showing his hands cuffed behind his back. “You’re going to have to take these off. Think the dude might figure something’s up if he sees me cuffed up like this. Or he’ll get turned on. Either way.”
They put Hanger in the back seat and walked away from the car, far enough that he wouldn’t be able to overhear the conversation.
“What do you think?” said Ty.
“I don’t trust him, but he has a point,” said Lock, glancing back over to the car where Hanger was sitting quietly, head bowed.
“Yeah, he does,” said Ty. “We can climb walls and try to break in, but if we can get this dude to open the front door for us, then it’s pretty much job done. Search his crib, see if she’s there and if she is, get her out.”
“Or we could split the difference?”
“What do you mean?” said Ty.
“Hanger gets him to open the gates. We drive in, park at the side, but only one of us goes to the door with him. Looks less suspicious that way too.”
“And one stays outside, or comes in after?”
“Yeah, maybe. What do you say? I’m not in the best of shape to be scaling a wall right now anyway,” said Lock.
They walked back over to the car. Lock opened the rear door and leaned in.
“He’ll open the gate for you?”
“I don’t know,” said Hanger. “But it’s worth a shot.”
Lock slammed the door closed again and turned to Ty. “If he doesn’t go for it then we’ve lost the element of surprise.”
“Then we call the cops. Lie and say we’ve seen her inside. That gives them probable cause to roll in there.”
Lock knew that you could spend hours debating different approaches to a problem, but at some stage you had to pick a plan of attack and commit to it. In any case, whatever route they went down would change in the process. It was that old military saw about no plan surviving first contact with the enemy.
He opened Hanger’s door again. “Ty’ll take the cuffs off you and you can ride up front. But I’ll be back there, right behind you, and if you try anything it won’t be your foot I’ll be aiming at. You hear me?”
“Loud and clear,” said Hanger.