Undersea Prison by Duncan Falconer Page B

conveyed to Sir Bartholomew that time was tight but he had the chair.
    ‘We propose an escape,’ Sir Bartholomew said.
    ‘What?’
    ‘An escape. Prove the prison is flawed and the President can immediately order a temporary closure to review security - which will, of course, become a permanent closure. Rather like Alcatraz.’
    Ogden frowned.‘First of all that place is escape-proof. I’ve been through all the scenarios and, trust me, it doesn’t get any tighter than Styx. Therefore you would need help from the inside. We won’t get any cooperation from the Agency and we sure as hell can’t ask the Felix Corporation to leave a door open.’
    ‘Of course not. We understand that entirely.’
    ‘So how the hell are you going to do it?’
    ‘We’ll manage.’
    ‘You guys’ll manage ?’ Ogden asked, unable to mask his cynicism.
    ‘Hear me out. First, let me stress that if anything should go wrong at any stage of this operation you’ll be protected from having any connection with it. I think that’s a most important point to bear in mind. Let me give you the opening scenario . . . The White House will commission a private British company to carry out a survey of the prison’s security.We will need a little help with aspects of the initial set-up phase but it’s very insignificant and in any case it would be an expected detail in setting up the evaluation. Then we get a man inside - and he escapes. If it looks like the game is up at any stage we say it’s just a part of the private security appraisal.’
    ‘You’re kinda missing one glaring point here, Barty. Styx actually is impossible to escape from. I’ve been down there. It makes Alcatraz look like a paper bag.’
    ‘ We don’t think Styx is impossible to escape from.’
    ‘Houdini’s dead, Barty, and “Beam me up, Scotty” - you know, Star Trek - is fiction.’
    Sir Bartholomew’s smile was like that of a father to a naive son. The truth was that he had no idea what the operation entailed and, like Ogden, believed the prison to be as he described. But he was ostensibly a salesman and on a good day he could sell ice to an Eskimo. ‘This private company will be getting a little bit of help, of course.’
    ‘You mean your SIS will do the job.’
    ‘One of those organisations, I suppose.’
    ‘You’re serious, aren’t you?’
    ‘I’m well known for laughing at my own jokes,’ the ambassador said, no sign of a smile on his face now.
    ‘So how are you going to do it?’
    ‘The plans have not been finalised but I’m told the operations department is very pleased with what they’ve come up with.’
    ‘I sure would like to see those plans . . . Look, I’ll be honest, Barty. I can maybe buy someone getting in. I never saw a study on that because, well, who would want to? But getting out? No. Not without help.’
    ‘Of course you can see the plans.’
    ‘I would have to approve every phase.’
    Sir Bartholomew sighed. ‘Planning by committee is a recipe for disaster.’
    ‘That’s non-negotiable, Barty.’
    ‘OK, but let these chaps get on with it. They are rather good at it, you know . . . And bear in mind that any interference by your chaps is tantamount to culpability. It would only compromise the authenticity of the independent survey.’
    A frown wrinkled Ogden’s forehead as he searched for pitfalls. ‘How long before the plans are ready?’
    ‘I’m told the latter phases are complete. The initial phase requires some input from your chaps.’
    Ogden got out of his chair and went to the window. ‘As I said, should anything go wrong at any stage . . .’ said Sir Bartholomew.
    ‘Yeah, yeah, we’ll be covered . . . You guys just love your secret-service missions, don’t you?’
    ‘And you don’t, I suppose?’
    ‘You really think you can get a man inside that place and then out without assistance from the prison?’
    ‘Me? No.’
    Ogden looked back at Sir Bartholomew quizzically.
    ‘I’m with you,’ the ambassador