Dangerous Desires (28 page)

“The best-laid plans…” Nash shrugged.

“Well, Avery’s got things covered from his end as well,” Hannah said. “He’s created alibis for Nash, Annie, and me, but we don’t have much time. Langley’s already on edge and they’re going to get suspicious if we’re out of the loop for too much longer.”

“What about Tucker?” Drake asked, his heart rate ratcheting up at the thought of his brother. “Any news?”

“They’re still stonewalling at Langley. Of course Avery’s inquiries have all been off-book. But they’re basically sticking with the original story. Tucker wasn’t CIA and he died in Nevada with the rest of his military unit. Anyway, Avery isn’t buying. But so far he hasn’t found anyone who is willing to contradict the party line.”

“The suits are closing ranks,” Annie said. “Not surprising.”

“Yeah, well, they weren’t counting on me.” Hannah smiled. “I’ve been at it nonstop since I first heard that Tucker might be alive. And since digging for dirt is second nature to me, it wasn’t long before I started to unearth things that make it look like Langley has been playing fast and loose with the truth.”

“So what have you got?” Drake asked, leaning forward, his body tightening with anticipation.

“Well, first off,” Hannah said, “Tucker Flynn wasn’t in the military. I hacked into army files, and there’s no record of his ever enlisting. Or training or anything. He just pops up, a full-fledged soldier. On the surface it wouldn’t appear hinky, but the deeper you go the more obvious it is that his service record is a fake.”

“And what about the CIA’s divisions? Could you hack into them?”

“Didn’t have to.” Hannah shook her head. “I have a friend with the proper clearance. Just took a couple of drinks and a pissing match about the best code words. She uses Billboard Top Ten.”

“Songs?” Madeline questioned, her tone incredulous.

“An alphanumeric combination of the song title and its placement in that week’s chart,” Hannah said. “It’s only the personnel files. And an outsider would never have access, so there’s no need for fancy encryption. Anyway, the point is that your brother was most definitely a member of D-5. And I cross-checked the others who died in the alleged plane crash. They were D-5 as well.”

“What about their missions?” Annie asked.

“Unfortunately, that
is
an encrypted system. And the fail-safes there are a much tougher nut to crack. So far I haven’t been able to get in. I did find a reference in some old chatter reports of suspected U.S. activity in Colombia around the right time period. But there’s no verification, and nothing to indicate that it was in fact D-5.”

“So we’ve got proof that Tucker was working for the CIA. And some anecdotal information that might indicate his division was in Colombia. But nothing else that proves definitively that he was there. Or that he might have been captured and imprisoned at San Mateo.”

“But there wouldn’t be evidence of that,” Madeline protested. “I mean, he was still playing his undercover role. As far as the Colombian government was concerned he was an insurgent named Andrés.”

“Exactly right.” Hannah beamed at her as if she were a prized pupil. “And that’s why I decided to go at it the other way round.”

“You started looking for Andrés.”

“Yes. First step was to try to find a last name,” Hannah said. “I was able to dig up a prisoner roster from three years ago. Approximately the time when Madeline was there. She’s listed as an American. A political prisoner.”

“Yes, but what about this Andrés?” Drake asked impatiently.

“There were two, actually,” Hannah said. “One of them with the last name Diaz and the other Castillo.”

“Either of those names sound familiar?” Drake asked, turning to Madeline.

“No.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry. He never told me his last name. And it wasn’t the kind of thing one asked.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Hannah said. “You said your friend was a revolutionary. And only one of the two men tracks to FARC. Castillo. It took some digging but I found some government records—Colombian—that verify a sweep they did of a jungle stronghold just south of Cali. According to their incident report the entire base was destroyed, most of the insurgents killed in the process. But there were three survivors. One of whom was Andrés Castillo.”

“And he was imprisoned in San Mateo,” Nash said, eyes narrowed as he considered this latest revelation.

“Yes. Around the time of Tucker’s alleged death.”

“But that’s still not enough to prove that Tucker and Andrés are one and the same,” Annie said.

“What about Madeline’s playing card,” Drake asked. “Did you find anything to verify its authenticity?”

“Well, without the actual card, I can’t vouch for it completely,” Hannah said. “But I did uncover information about the cards and each division’s color coding. Division personnel are definitely issued playing cards. Langley has been using them since the inception of the division program. And according to my intel, the card Madeline described was definitely associated with D-5.”

“So if Andrés had the card, then we know he at least had contact with someone from D-5,” Nash said.

“But since he’s also a ringer for Drake’s brother,” Madeline insisted, “it seems likely that the card was his.”

“I agree with Madeline,” Hannah said. “Based on what we’ve got, I’d say that we can be pretty damn certain that Andrés is Tucker.”

“You used the present tense,” Drake said, his heart pounding. “Does that mean you think he’s alive?”

“Actually, yeah.” Hannah shook her head emphatically. “I do. I managed to access the San Mateo files with prisoner records. And Andrés Castillo is definitely alive and kicking. ”

“Oh, my God.” Drake swallowed, his mind reeling. “I didn’t think… Hell, I was afraid this was just some kind of cosmic joke.”

“But it’s not,” Madeline said, reaching over to cover his hand with hers. “Tucker is alive.”

“And I think I’ve got the working elements of a plan to rescue him,” Hannah said, turning the laptop so that
everyone could see. “This is a view of the prison from here in Magdalena.” She pointed to a picture of the prison rising out of the jungle, perched at the top of a tree-studded rise. “It was originally built by the Spanish as an area fortification. In the 1800s it was used as a hospital. And about fifty years ago it was converted to a prison.”

She switched to a new photo, this time an aerial shot of San Mateo. “Okay, so you can see the prison here. It’s basically a U-shaped building with two wings, each containing a cell block. There are also a couple of outbuildings. And the whole complex is surrounded by an eight-foot stone wall.”

“With barbed wire on top,” Madeline added. “And two guard towers built into the wall. You can just see them through the trees.” She pointed to the spire of one tower breaking out of the canopy.

“How many guards in the towers?” Drake asked, studying the photograph, memorizing the layout.

“No more than two,” Hannah said.

“But they’re usually only in the towers during the day,” Madeline said. “Particularly when people are in the yard, since it backs right up to the wall.”

“What about security cameras?” Nash asked, making notes on a white legal pad.

“There aren’t any except at the front gate,” Hannah said, shaking her head. “Overall, external security is pretty rudimentary, principally because of the location and the wall. Basically the only way in or out is through the front gate.”

“Or over the wall,” Drake mused with a frown.

“Maybe from inside, but definitely not from the outside,” Hannah said, switching pictures again to show a
section of the fence. The dropoff was immediate, the rocks making it almost impossible to maneuver. “It’s just too steep.”

“She’s right.” Nash nodded. “The gate is our best opportunity for access.”

“Okay, so what’s security like at the gate?” Annie asked.

Hannah switched pictures again, this one depicting a gated opening in the wall. “The guardhouse has external cameras and it houses central security for the entire complex. Best I can tell, it’s manned twenty-four/seven. Easiest way in is for you to convince them to let you through.”

“Somehow, I’m thinking they’re not going to be too keen on the idea of us just waltzing in.” Drake frowned.

“They will if they think you’re there to repair a problem,” Hannah said, moving to another photo. “This is a picture of the local electrical company’s repair van. It’s in a lot about five blocks from here. Assuming I can access the electrical grid, it shouldn’t be too hard to interrupt service. Meanwhile, you guys can secure the van and use it to convince the guys at the gate to let you save the day, or night, as the case may be.”

“She’s right,” Madeline agreed. “There’s less personnel at night, and security should be a little more lax when everyone inside is securely locked down.”

“It just might work,” Drake speculated, considering their options. “But it’ll have to play out as realistically as possible. Which means we’ll need the proper gear to convince them we are who we say we are.”

“I’m already on it,” Hannah said, “Avery gave me
some names, people who’ve agreed to help us for the right price.”

“Okay, so far so good,” Annie said, “but once we’re inside the gate, where do we go from there?”

Hannah hit a key and the computer screen dissolved into a diagram of the prison’s buildings. “There’s an outbuilding just past the main gate that serves as the utility hub. That’s where they’ll expect you to go. Fortunately for us, that same building also provides access to what used to be the main structure’s septic system, a cesspit underneath the prison that connected to chutes inside that originally served as conduits for… well, you can guess.”

“Tell me you’re not asking us to climb through shit,” Nash said, his distaste apparent.

“I’m not.” Hannah shook her head. “The system was abandoned eighty years ago. But sometime in the sixties when the place was converted to a prison, they widened the chutes and turned them into maintenance crawl spaces. They provided an easy way to access wiring and so forth without having to disrupt security within the prison.”

“Seems to me like it would have accomplished just the opposite, the crawl spaces providing the perfect exit for the discerning inmate.” Annie frowned.

“Never would have worked,” Hannah said. “The cell blocks are separated from the rest of the building by security gates. And the only access to the crawl space from the interior of the building is through a small service closet near the southwest corner, here,” she said, switching to a diagram of the prison’s floor plan.

“So even if a prisoner knew about the crawl space,
he wouldn’t be able to access it without getting past the gate,” Annie said.

“Exactly,” Hannah agreed. “And from what I can tell, prisoners aren’t allowed off the block all that often.”

“Hardly ever,” Madeline concurred. “The doors to the exercise yard are at the end of each cell block. And meals, if you can call them that, are served in the inmate’s cell. The only time I was ever out of my cell block was when they took me to the infirmary—which has its own security.”

“So which wing were you in?” Drake asked, nodding at the floor plan.

“I was here,” Madeline said, pointing to the east cell block. “About halfway down. The prisoners on my side were mainly older men and a few women. People deemed less dangerous.”

“And the west cell block?” Nash prompted.

“That’s where they keep the stronger men. And the inmates who caused problems or were marked for execution. Not that they ever used those words, mind you. But we all knew it happened.” She shuddered, and Drake remembered she’d told him once that she’d heard them shooting at night. “Andrés’s regular cell was in the west block.”

“Do you know which one?” Annie asked.

“As a matter of fact, I do,” she said, her face tight as she worked to control her emotions. “The solitary cells are at the end of the west block, so to get there you have to walk along the corridor. And unfortunately, I made the trip a couple of times.”

“And you saw Andrés while you were there?” Hannah asked.

“No. He was in the infirmary then. But we talked about
it later. And he told me where his cell was. My having been on the block made it easy to visualize what he was describing. And besides, the two wings are basically mirror images. His cell would have been right around here.” She pointed to a spot about two-thirds of the way along the west cell block. “Of course, there’s no guarantee he’s still there. People got shifted around all the time.”

“I’m trying to get a firm location,” Hannah said. “But to do that I’ve got to end-run the prison IT system’s safeguards. It’s slow going, but I’ll get in, and when I do, I’ll have access to the current inmate roster.”

“Okay,” Drake said, still sorting through all the details, “so let’s assume that we make it through the front gate and into the service passage. Then what?”

“Like I said, you’ll come out here”—Hannah pointed to the floor plan again—“in a storage closet. The opening to the crawl space has been sealed off for years, but you shouldn’t have any problem getting through. The good news is that by coming in this way, we’re circumventing the first security gate.”

“What’s the bad news?” Annie asked, her brow furrowing as she studied the drawing.

“You still have to get past the second,” Madeline said. “Like Hannah said, it’s keyed electronically. Operated through some kind of central system.”

“Which means in this day and age it’ll be computerized,” Hannah said. “So I should be able to open it remotely.”

“After we deal with the guards.” Nash frowned. “Any idea how many?”

“It varies,” Madeline said. “But never more than two on each side. And at night there should only be one.”

“And if I can rig their security cameras,” Hannah continued, “the right hand will never know that the left has been immobilized.”

“The whole thing is going to have to happen really fast,” Drake said, running through the entire scenario in his mind. “Before anyone has time to clue in to what’s what.”

“I agree, timing is going to be important,” Annie nodded. “So, are the interior cell locks electronic as well?”

“No,” Madeline said. “They’re all mechanically keyed locks. Or at least they were when I was there.”