Free Redemption by Will Jordan

Russia isn’t exactly rolling in money these days.’
    ‘There’s no need for them,’ Dietrich added, indicating the map again. ‘Khatyrgan is a hundred miles from anywhere, and well north of the Arctic Circle. Even if a prisoner made it out, they’d have nowhere to go.’
    The prison itself was a fortress, but the real enemy was the icy wilderness beyond the walls. Without a vehicle, any escapee was as good as dead. The futility of their situation was probably enough to keep most of the inmates in line.
    ‘Based on similar facilities in East Germany, I’d expect no more than two or three guards on duty overnight,’ Dietrich went on. ‘One patrolling the cell blocks, one in the security centre and one as backup. They’ll all be tired and bored. They won’t be expecting trouble.’
    Drake nodded. ‘Which brings me along to Phase Five – extraction. Once we’ve secured Maras, both teams will rendezvous with Keegan at the south-west tower. We’ll rappel down the outer wall and exfil.’
    ‘How do we get out of the country?’ Mason asked.
    ‘We’ll have a Chinook transport chopper on standby,’ Cain explained. ‘Once you’re out of the prison, it’ll land nearby and pick you up. It’s been modified for long-range operations so it should have enough range to get you home.’
    Mason leaned back in his chair. ‘Then it’s back to Alaska in time for coffee and bagels, huh?’
    ‘Here’s hoping, anyway,’ Drake said.
    ‘The pilot won’t be able to stay on station for long,’ Cain reminded them. ‘So I suggest you don’t waste time.’
    Drake raised an eyebrow, but said nothing on this. ‘I suggest we use the time we have to cover as many contingencies as possible. I want to hear absolutely everything you think could go wrong, every concern, every worry you have. We plan this thing down to the last detail, because we don’t get second chances in this job. We plan as a team, we go in as a team, and we come home as a team,’ he added, giving Dietrich a significant look. He snatched up his cup of coffee and downed the remaining contents in one gulp. ‘Let’s get to work.’

Chapter 11
    DRAKE WAS ALONE in his cramped office, surrounded by stacks of paperwork, folders, maps, photographs, notebooks and empty coffee cups. Light from the setting sun slanted in through his window blinds, casting thin strips of shadow on the opposite wall. It was a beautiful day outside, not that he was in a mood to appreciate it.
    The entire afternoon and evening had been occupied with intense planning sessions, going over every aspect of the operation from beginning to end, trying to anticipate every potential problem and find ways to counter it.
    What kind of defensive positions were sitting atop the watchtowers? Would there be a guard in each one, or none at all? If the stairwells leading down into the prison were locked, did they have the right tools to break in? Did the stairwell doors open inward or outward?
    These were all questions that could mean the difference between success and failure – or more likely, life and death – when they were halfway around the world in a Russian prison. Drake had seen more than one operation almost end in disaster because of some minor hitch that nobody had anticipated.
    Every member of the team had a chance to voice their concerns, and often did so in very vocal terms. But at last they’d hammered out an operational plan that everyone was more or less satisfied with; no mean feat considering how little time they’d had.
    Now the planning was over, the real work began for Drake. As team leader, that meant reviewing every aspect of the op from beginning to end, processing equipment requests, and making sure everyone in the team was organised and ready to go.
    His job wasn’t unlike a parent watching over their brood of children before school, checking they had their lunches packed and clean clothes on. Except, instead of asking for crisps and cheese sandwiches, these kids were