picked up the scattergun, and Brad took the big revolver, a heavy .45 caliber Colt Single Action Army. Ryder ignored them, content with his knife. The whore was still crouched on the floor, staring up at Nolan. He looked back at her.
"Stay there for ten minutes. If you move before then, I'll tell this man to kill you." He nodded at Ryder, and she shivered. "Entiendes?"
"Si, I understand."
"Let's go."
They exited the cellblock and walked across a concrete yard. Around the prison walls there were a number of armored floodlights mounted on posts. Most of them were switched off, or more likely broken. Except the one that lit up the area close to the governor's house, separated from the main prison by a wall about three meters high. There was a gate set in the wall, which was open. Nolan eyed the illuminated yard with suspicion. It looked like a kill zone.
"It's okay," Ryder told them, "If we hug the wall, we can stay in the shadows until we reach the gate. Then we sprint through the garden in the back of the house, and out the front door. His car is parked outside."
"There's no one inside?"
"Not anymore."
They darted across the concrete yard and flattened against the wall. The spill of light made it impossible to go through the gate without showing themselves for a few seconds.
"We'll go through together. Keep it casual, try and look as if we own the place," Nolan told them.
He led the way into the lit area and strolled casually through the gate, with his men walking behind. They went through into the garden, and Nolan told the last man, Brad Rose, to close the gate behind them. As he pushed it shut, the security lights suddenly blazed, and the siren began its eerie wail.
"Shit, they found the dead guards," Brad exclaimed.
"Or that whore dropped the dime on us," Ryder muttered, "I should have killed her."
Nolan snapped at both of them. "Forget it, it's happened. Just concentrate on getting out of here."
They crossed the garden at a run and entered the house through the rear door. This time Ryder led the way, along the hallway and into the front lobby. A body lay on the floor covered in blood, and it looked as if his death had been a hard one. There was a staircase nearby, and on the bottom steps lay another body, a woman. She wore a white nightdress, most of it colored red from the blood she'd spilled when Ryder knifed her.
Nolan ignored John-Wesley's handiwork and tore open the front door. He could see the Mercedes SUV, parked only twenty meters away. A 'G' Class, one hundred thousand dollars if it was a dime. He’d obviously done good business, taking bribes from prisoners and their families. But another vehicle was skidding to a stop, only ten meters beyond the Mercedes, a jeep loaded with four soldiers. Almost certainly standard operating procedure to protect the governor and his family when the alarm sounded.
He had to make some fast decisions. Two handguns, a combat knife, and the scattergun were not ideal when you were squaring up to four modern assault rifles. It would have to do.
"Brad, go to the right, stay in the shadows. John-Wesley, take the left and work your way around to their flank. Make sure they don't see you. Will, I want you to stay here. When I shoot, let them have both barrels from that scattergun. You two men try to finish the survivors. Let's move."
Brad and John-Wesley sneaked out and began working their way around to the flanks. Will Bryce stayed out of sight, and Nolan snaked across to the SUV. He crouched behind the front fender and covered the four men with the Sig Sauer. At first, the soldiers made no move to approach the house. They stood talking, and from time to time glanced at the house, waiting.
After a few moments, they got suspicious. During an emergency, the lights in the house would have been switched on, and almost certainly the governor would come out to meet them and give them orders. Instead, there was only silence and darkness. Nolan heard one of them, a sergeant,