Chantry had been right about something. I couldn't pull off this operation all on my own. Deshavi most likely would need to be carried and there was no way I would be able to fight off the jailers and alerted authorities, who were in pocket with the jail owners, while carrying and dealing with Deshavi. I needed a wing man to either carry Deshavi or keep the others at bay while we escaped.
It wouldn't be easy then either. Any kind of airlift would be out of the question, as it was strictly monitored Russian airspace. The local authorities were likely in on it and received payoff money to keep the business of the private prison a secret so they would be of no use to go to. The best and really only option left was to make our way overland towards the south. The problem with that option was that Siberia was a vast wilderness and winter was fast approaching.
We would likely have to hole up somewhere for the winter. The winter could be more deadly to us than the prison rescue itself. If we made it through the winter to the spring it would be a testament to the will to survive. Chantry had said that there were agents, who would volunteer for such a mission, but I had roundly refused the much needed help. In all likelihood this rescue mission was a suicide run and my consciousness couldn't justify the death of those agents in a private war of my own.
To be on this mission one had to be personally invested in it beyond any bond of friendship or monetary gain, which is why I had come here. I stopped the car and got out the sea breeze instantly ruffling my long white hair. I made my way up the quaint walkway strewn with flowers in pots and others trailing along the walkway itself.
I stared at the door for a long moment. I had no right to come here and do this, but in a way I had no choice. I raised my hand to knock, but the door opened softly to reveal Ella standing there gracefully. She reached a hand up to curl some of her hair back over an ear. It was an endearing gesture from the articulate woman and I started to turn away and head back to my car.
I couldn't do this to this woman!
Her son was all she had. I couldn't take him from her. I only knew too well what that felt like and I wasn't going to allow her to experience that private hell because of me.