Chapter 50 Ian
“Where are you?”
Rossi demanded when I answered the phone just as I rounded the curve before the farm.
“On my way back.”
I didn’t feel the need to tell him information over the phone in case the wrong person was listening.
“I thought we agreed that you weren’t going to go anywhere. You needed to stay here, so nothing happened to you.”
He sounded almost concerned about me. “You stole a car from him. While they’ve been generous, that doesn’t mean they’ll allow you to do anything you want to.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, staying there was what you mentioned, and I never agreed to anything of the kind.”
I cheerfully responded. “Anyway, I found out something that will help us from an unexpected ally.”
They were waiting outside when I got back to the farmhouse. I held up a hand to stop them before they started. “A friend called for a meeting in Sandymount. She wouldn’t meet with anyone else, so I went.”
I waited for them to close their open mouths before continuing. Hopefully, Rossi would pick up on who it was, but I didn’t want Lucas knowing in case it got her into trouble.
“She told me everything about what went on and some stuff that I didn’t know about my Andrew. Andy. I told her that Collette was my priority, but that I wanted to find Heather afterward and get her out. This girl was super scared. She said that Heather’s father will scorch the earth looking for her.”
I handed Rossi the piece of paper that she’d given me with a map and the instructions on the best times to get in.
I didn’t trust Lucas, and I knew that Rossi would use it properly. Plus, there was the fact that I’d taken a picture of it before giving it to him.
“Shite, this is everythin’ we needed about the Kelly compound. We can totally get her out, but it’s going to take another day, two at the most, to get that many people put together for that kind of project.”
Lucas took the paper from Rossi’s hand.
“Collette doesn’t have two days. He may not even have hours. We need to go today.”
I stared at both of them. “With all that information, we can form an assault and get Collette out.”
“While I don’t agree with Lucas’ approach, I do think we should go over the plan and try to figure out the best way to get Collette out safely.”
Rossi followed Lucas out into the yard and toward the barn. “Having a plan put together is the better option.”
“Are you comin’?”
Lucas grinned at my annoyance.
“To the barn?”
I scrunched up my face in disgust. “Really?”
I followed along grudgingly because there wasn’t anything else to do.
“That’s what the barn is for.”
Lucas winked at me as he opened the doors of the barn to reveal a huge group of people hunched over a set of maps.
“The informant we went to see also gave us some plans, but he wasn’t certain about the codes and inner layout. That’s why I said it would take a day or two to work out all the parts.”
Lucas smiled like he’d fixed the entire world with just the wave of his arm.
“Why are we wasting time?”
I snapped. “If you just go in and follow the directions, then everything should be okay. Collettewill be right where she said and we can bring him home. Sure, Edmond Kelly will have some guards, but we can take those out.”
“That’s just not how we do things here. You Americans are so rash. You want to rush into things with no sound plannin’.”
“These are the plans. Why not just use them?”
I went for a short walk before I punched someone.
When I came back, they were still trying to talk, argue, and discuss more ideas into the wee hours of the night.
I worked on my computer, waiting for Rossi. It would be too obvious if I ordered him into the house with me..
Rossi came in.
“Ready?”
I closed the laptop.
“Let’s get a little reconnaissance on our own while everyone is still asleep.”
Rossi nodded.
I didn’t wait for another invitation. I scurried up and followed him out to the vehicle. Action, this was what I needed to do. I needed to feel like I was actually doing something instead of jabbering over how to get the rescue done.
“Now this is the kind of action that I’m talking about.”
The keys were dangling from his hands, and I took them.
“When did they decide was going to be the best time to do the rescue?”
I wanted to know if a decision had been made in my absence. I was pretty sure one hadn’t.
“Not soon enough.”
Rossi growled. “They aren’t seeing the urgency that we are in this situation.”
After a short drive, Rossi motioned out the window to a large castle. Massive was the only way to describe it. There would be tons of security, and getting inside was going to be difficult, even with the intelligence from Heather.
“Even with the help that Lucas could bring us, it will be hard to get inside, much less rescue Collete. Can it even be done?”
I felt overwhelmed by the idea. We weren’t going to make it in time to save him.
I pulled into the small village at the bottom of the hill and turned around. Unlike America, where there were driveways or areas to turn around frequently, there was nothing out here that would allow that. All of the drives were gated with no room to maneuver.
If a car had broken down, the whole road would have been blocked. It was the perfect way to ambush someone.
I wasn’t sure that their way of travel was any better than ours, but it was certainly a prettier trip through the countryside. Los Angeles didn’t have much in the way of scenic views.
We’d barely started to turn the car back through when my phone rang.
“Hello?”
I didn’t want to say her name in case someone had her phone and was listening in.
“You need to come as soon as you can. Father gave permission to Sergi to let the dogs have fun with her in the morning.”