The two guards were supposed to circle the field that surrounded the temporary structure and maintain the same distance between them at all times. These two, however, must have gotten bored and decided to walk together so they could talk and entertain themselves through the last couple hours of their shift. They passed in front of Patton, headed east. They then turned north for a football field’s length. When they made their turn, Patton made his move. He was carrying both his rifle and his pistol with both lethal and non-lethal ammunition. He really didn’t want to kill anybody, but if faced with the choice between his own life and theirs, he would choose his own.
He struggled to remain quiet while sliding down the hill. The rocks were slick now, and tended to roll when Patton contacted them with his boots. When he reached the bottom, Patton stopped to make sure the guards were still moving away from him. They were still facing away so he sprinted to the structure. The distance was about fifty yards, but he made it quickly. He reached the back of the building and found cover. He checked the guards’ position again. He could see them standing on the far side of the field. At least one of them was smoking.
The door had a simple padlock, which he knew he could defeat in only a few seconds. Patton removed a small block of homemade plastique and mashed it into where the shackle met the body. He inserted a tiny blasting cap, which was attached to a receiver. Patton turned away and activated the detonator. There was a small crack. When he turned back to the door, he found the lock on the ground in several pieces. Before opening the door and entering the structure, Patton looked again to see where the guards were. They were out of sight. He quickly entered the door and closed it behind him.
The door led to a small office, probably used by the guards and nurses. He unlocked the door leading out of the office and cautiously walked through it. He had his pistol held high, loaded with his non-lethal ammunition. He entered a long hallway that had heavy-duty doors on both sides. Above the door to his left hung a sign that read “Men.” A similar sign reading “Women” was to his right. He made his way towards the Women’s side and tried the knob. It was unlocked. He crouched low and walked in as quietly as he could.
There were seven or eight bunk beds on either side. Not all of the beds were occupied—not yet, anyway. Patton sneered in disgust. With every tyrannical government come arbitrary arrests, and crackdowns on what are usually considered natural rights. Patton figured this prison would be full to overflowing with prisoners in a few months. Instead of letting that happen, he was going to empty it.
On the front of each bed was a page holder that displayed the prisoner’s name. Patton made his way up the right side, looking at the names. None said Jennifer or J. Larsen or anything like that. He went the other way, searching the names, but still no luck. As he looked at the name at the last bunk, he hung his head. The disappointment hit him like a kick to the gut. It took him a few moments to collect himself and decide what he should do next. Patton made his way to the woman in the closest bed. She was a blonde who looked to be in her mid-twenties. He tapped her lightly on the shoulder. She awoke with a gasp. Patton covered her screams with his gloved hand. He whispered in her ear, trying to reassure her that he wouldn’t harm her. After what seemed like an eternity, she finally calmed herself.
“Jennifer Larsen. Where is she?”
Her eyes were still wide with shock. She was still breathing heavily, but she was able to answer him somewhat quietly.
“She’s not here anymore. They moved her inside yesterday.”
A mixture of disappointment washed over him. He was disappointed she wasn’t there, but at least someone had recently seen her. Even though he’d assumed Brian White was trying to throw him off by telling him his wife was dead, a grain of doubt had lodged itself in Patton’s mind. Having a sure knowledge that she was alive gave him better focus.
“What’s your name and why are you here?” he asked her, trying to lighten the mood between them.
She took a deep breath and sat up in her bed. “I’m Ashley Hatterly. To be honest, I don’t know why I’m here. I just called a friend of mine and told her what happened to my husband. He got hurt in an ambush the other night. They were out looking for somebody and the guy got the jump on them.”
A surge of guilt washed over Patton. He knew that he had been somewhat responsible for her being here now and completely responsible for hurting her husband.
“Is he okay?” Patton asked, swallowing hard, not quite sure he wanted to hear her answer.
“Yes,” she nodded, “he got cut up a little, but… hey!” she said loudly, and he had to clamp his hand on her mouth again.
“Shh!” he said harshly. “I need you to be quiet.”
Ashley nodded then took a deep breath when he let go of her face. After a few seconds of catching her breath, she got her courage up again and said, “You’re Patton Larsen.”
Patton looked around the room to make sure than no one else was awake. He turned back to her and nodded. It shouldn’t have been hard for her, he realized. He’d just run for governor and now his image was plastered all over the media.
“Yeah, and I came here to find my wife. Where is she and how many guards are around?”
The woman shrugged, making Patton realize that asking her was pointless. She’d just gotten here the day before. She was still probably in shock from being arrested and put into prison. She wasn’t about to know much. An idea suddenly came to him and he couldn’t believe that it hadn’t occurred to him earlier.
“Do you want to get out of here? Do you feel like you could get away if I let you out?”
The young woman turned away from him and seemed to stare off into space. Tears formed in her eyes and then poured down her cheeks. He’d struck a nerve of some sort, but he wasn’t sure if it was sadness or resolve. Finally, she turned to look him in the eye.
“I want to get out of here. I want to get back to my husband,” she said strongly, leaving him no doubt that she was capable.
Patton nodded and told her to wake everyone and tell them what was happening. If they wanted to escape, they would have to get dressed and be ready in no more than five minutes. Meanwhile, Patton went to the men’s side and woke the prisoners. Once everyone was gathered, he peppered the prisoners with questions. Where was his wife? How many guards were on duty?
A woman told Patton that his wife was inside the permanent prison structure under heavy guard. A man told him there were more guards at the prison recently. Patton figured it was because of his break-in at City Hall and subsequent mauling of Asher’s search party. The next statement changed Patton’s plans altogether.
“I was in the medical office waiting for a doctor. The door was cracked open so I could hear two guards talking. They said they’d been ordered to kill Jennifer Larsen if you tried to come and break her out. She always has someone with her. I don’t think you’ll be able to get to her,” the prisoner said matter-of-factly.
Patton was silent, his jaw set tightly. His original plan was to break in, rescue his wife, and then escape through the mountains. Now, it looked like he was going to rescue everyone besides his wife. He couldn’t be one-hundred percent sure this person was right but he had to weigh the risks before making a rash decision—especially one that get his wife killed.
As Patton considered his options, a new plan was beginning to develop. He would break these people out and take them to safety. Asher would, no doubt, come after him, but he could probably get them through the mountains in a couple days. More importantly, Asher would need to keep Jennifer alive as bait—to try to get him to come back and break her out again. After another minute of thinking, Patton’s mind was made up. He huddled the prisoners around him.