Episode 46
The Plan
Gecko finished his pushups and leapt to his feet.
It was the evening before the big day, and he was ready for action. The others paced about in their cells—even Tortoise was stretching.
He felt good. He felt really good.
Tortoise was stretching. He went over the plan again. He hoped he was fast enough, and didn’t kill anyone. It seemed hard to believe they could pull it off. Maybe this time would be different.
Lately he’d been thinking a lot about what had happened since he’d left home. He’d been struggling to meditate, and there wasn’t much else to do. He’d tried to think about other things as much as he could, but sooner or later he would remember something, like Gudge ahead of him silhouetted against the sky, the feeling of the rope around him and his feet sinking into snow, the great voids on either side, and his thoughts would turn again to what had happened. He kept seeing things. The bodies after the battles. Lt Worley hanging like a cocoon, blood slowly colouring the white canvas.
He went over the plan again. He just hoped he was fast enough. He was beginning to get annoyed they were still in here. They hadn’t even done anything.
Indira sat against the wall and quietly watched the others for a while, then went back to sleep.
Vee paced, flexing her talons. She lay on her rack for a while, staring at the ceiling. Got up and paced. She lay down again. Got up, paced. She lay down, put her hands behind her head.
Why had she said that?
They awoke during the night to the voices of gaolers.
The prison wing door unlocked: and Captain Polly strode in.
Polly was in overalls and handcuffed, surrounded by gaolers.
“Captain!” Everyone was stunned. Polly took them all in and smiled slightly, but said nothing. She waited with the air of someone watching a child attempt a difficult task while the gaoler unlocked the sixth cell, locked her in it, and undid her handcuffs.
The gaolers left, unaccountably embarrassed. The prison wing door closed and locked loudly.
Polly looked out of her cell. “Tortoise, Vee, Gecko, Indira—finally!”
“How did you find us?” Vee asked. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
“Clearly in the wrong direction. How did you all wind up in high security?”
“Reconnaissance,” Gecko said. “This place is a maze.”
“Alright everyone, I’m taking over this operation so you’d better start being useful. I have to say, I’m pretty unimpressed with your efforts to date. What do we know so far?”
“Captain, the good news is I’ve got an escape route. We also have a new plan.”
“Yes,” said Vee, sceptically. “And it requires someone who can talk their way out of anything.”
Polly laughed. “John’s never around when you need him. Alright Gecko, you’re up. So what’s the plan? I hope you’ve all succeeded in snaffling a spoon at least. That includes you, Tortoise.”
Next episode: The Great Escape!