Crusher drove to the restaurant and pulled around to the rear of the building, where he found Thomas’s work truck parked and Thomas seated inside.
As soon as Crusher and Draco stepped out of the rental car, Thomas climbed down from the truck, wearing jeans, a T-shirt and a jacket. He reached behind the seat and pulled out what looked like a laundry bag. He lifted his chin toward the rear of the vehicle. “You can change in the back.”
Crusher nodded toward Draco. “You go first.” Though Thomas had gone along with them up to this point, Crusher didn’t know him well enough to climb into the back of a vehicle and trust that the man wasn’t setting them up to be locked inside and driven out into the countryside, where they could be quickly murdered and their bodies disposed of. No one would be the wiser until they failed to show up to perform the mission to free Marta.
Draco took the bag to the rear of the vehicle and disappeared inside. Moments later, he emerged wearing the gray coveralls and cap. He waited with Thomas while Crusher entered the back of the truck and slipped into the other set of coveralls and a cap. They fit loosely on him and on Draco, as Thomas was as tall as both men but carried more weight around the middle.
While in the back of the truck, Crusher noted two more sets of coveralls hanging from hooks in the back corner, along with rubber boots, an array of mops and brooms and several cardboard boxes filled with cleaning supplies.
He stepped down from the rear of the truck and nodded toward Draco. “I think you can hide behind the other coveralls hanging back there.
Draco nodded. “My thoughts, too.”
Crusher turned to Thomas. “What about you? Where will you be while we’re inside the facility?”
Thomas held up his hands. “I’ll be drinking beer in the restaurant. If anyone asks, I’ll say that my truck was stolen.”
Crusher nodded and held out his hand. “Thank you. With your help, we might have a chance to save so many people.”
Reuben Thomas shook Crusher’s hand and then Draco’s. “Good luck.”
They left the man standing beside the rental car. Draco climbed into the back of the truck. “I’ll duck under when we get close,” he said.
Crusher slipped into the driver’s seat, familiarized himself with the gears, and started the engine. He drove through town and out toward Helvetic BioSolutions, willing his heartbeat to slow and forcing a calm he didn’t feel. This had to work. Otherwise, they’d have to go into wrecker mode, crash through the gate, then through the door into the building, fight their way to the ladies, and back out again, praying the damage to the truck from the crash wasn’t so severe they couldn’t drive away in it.
He wouldn’t hesitate to do whatever he had to, even if it meant crashing into the facility. However, the guards could start shooting indiscriminately, which could put the two women in the line of fire on their way out.
As he neared the gate, he performed a quick comm check.
“Fearghas and Caty here,” Fearghas responded.
“Phantom and Marsh in place,” Phantom said.
“Draco getting hot in the back of this truck,” Draco said. “Ready to get out.”
Crusher pulled his cap down over his forehead and stared straight ahead as he approached the gate and handed the guard Thomas’s ID.
The guard had barely glanced at the ID when the phone rang inside the guard shack, drawing the man’s attention away from Crusher. He turned to answer the call, holding the ID, the gate arm still blocking Crusher’s entrance into the compound.
For what felt like forever, Crusher sat still, counting the seconds as the guard spoke to someone in German. Crusher didn’t understand what the man was saying. He only wished the guard would finish the conversation, hand back Thomas’s ID and let him enter.
The guard ended the call and approached Crusher. He handed the ID through the window, his brow furrowing. He asked Crusher something in German.
Crusher had no idea what to say in response, so he nodded.
The guard’s frown deepened. He asked another question Crusher couldn’t understand.
His hand on the shift, Crusher got ready to ram the gate.
The phone in the guard shack rang before Crusher could throw the shift into drive.
The guard snorted, his lips pressing into a tight line. He turned back into the shack and hit a button on the wall. As the gate arm rose slowly, the guard answered the call, his gaze following Crusher and the truck as he drove through.
Crusher let out the breath that had lodged in his throat and backed into a parking space near the door where he’d seen Thomas park. He thought about leaving the engine running but changed his mind.
He went to the back of the truck, opened the door, and nodded to Draco. “Hand me one of the mops and bring one for yourself.”
Draco tossed a mop to Crusher, grabbed one for himself and hurriedly dropped down from the back of the truck onto the pavement. “What took you so long to get through the gate?”
