Jack Knife by Diane Capri

Author:Diane Capri
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: AugustBooks
Published: 2022-02-07T18:44:17+00:00

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Chapter 26

Wednesday, May 25

White Kings Palace

Jake and Margaret, having escaped their cell in the basement, rushed to the top of the stairs leading to the first floor.

Their escape was abruptly halted by the heavy steel door with an electronic lock, closed tighter than a submarine hatch.

Jake’s vague improvised plan had been to rush whoever opened the door, overpower them, and force his way out of the stairwell. Which should have worked well enough. He was a big guy. He’d played enough football and won enough fights off the field to take down a man.

Except no one came to help the jailer who was busted up and waiting on the floor of their cell.

Jake remained in position for a while, ready to bust heads if that’s what it took to get his mother out of there. After five minutes, he concluded no one was sitting in the room on the other side of the door watching the camera feed.

After thirty minutes, he concluded that the jailer’s backup must have gone on a dinner break or something.

After the first hour, Jake realized he would need a new plan.

There was no doorknob on the basement side. The door opened out onto the first floor.

Whatever activity might be happening on the other side of the door, the noise didn’t carry through.

He examined every inch of the door and its frame and the walls around it. He found no way to go over, around, or through.

On the plus side, there were no CCTV cameras in the stairwell, and the camera probably couldn’t see in there. The jailers couldn’t see what Jake and Margaret might be doing as long as they stayed on the stairs.

He wondered if the night shift had been just the one sentry.

The clock in his head told Jake they’d been sitting here almost two hours. There was no clock in the stairwell to confirm, and neither he nor Margaret wore a watch.

The jailer he’d subdued and locked in their cell must have awakened long ago. But he’d made no sound, which was odd. He could have simply asked for help. The camera would have transmitted his request instantly.

The fact that he hadn’t demanded to be released probably meant there was no one monitoring the cells. He’d been working solo.

It was strange.

If that guy was the only person on duty for the two prisoners, who had killed one of theirs, Jake wondered how many men were stationed here at the compound.

What were they doing that was more important than aiding their man or recapturing their hostages?

Margaret stood up to stretch her cramped muscles again. She’d done that several times before. Had they hurt her in some way before he arrived?

She whispered, “Jake, I need to pee.”

“Me, too.”

“You still think someone is coming to rescue that guy?” Margaret asked.

“Eventually, they’ll have to. He’s not going to leave on his own,” Jake replied. “Something else has them occupied now. It could be morning before they get around to him.”

“Are we just going to sit here and wait?”

Good question.

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