Lifeboat

35. The Rescue

"So you're telling me that you knew all about this sick, repulsive, inhumane experiment before I was even conceived?"

I spat out the words without thought of the content. Dante looked at me as if through a window. Detached and observant only.
"That's what I'm saying, I suppose." He tipped his head, apologetically, his left eyebrow raising in question.
"Do you still trust me, Poll?"

The query weighed heavily on me.

Could I?

His next actions would be the only way to reaffirm my faith in him. Grasping his hands I pulled him close, forcing him to look me square in the face. My bottom lip trembled as I spoke.
"If you knew where your wife was, would you do anything to get her back?"

Dante's pupils dilated instantly. His fingers returned my grasp with a vice like grip, stopping the flow of blood through my wrists.

"What do you think?"

Ice shards clung to the edge of his words. He stared at me. The dark brown of his irises turned black.
"Where is she?"

I shivered across my shoulders and shook myself free from his hands.
"Erica swore me to secrecy. She wants you to be safe. So does your wife."

He shook me roughly, his teeth clenched as he snarled at me.
"Take me to her. Now."

I understood from his reaction that there would be no other choice. Truthfully, I still wanted to get the Doctor out of there and, as much as it pained me, get them back together.

Glancing over in the direction of the gunshots, I whispered to him.
"We should wait it out for a while. Make sure they take their search the other way. I'm fairly convinced that Erica will lead them a fine dance. They'll believe us to be heading towards the Central Committee."

"And we will." The conviction in Dante's voice came across strongly. "But first, we have to get Cristina out."

"Cristina? I don't remember, is that her name?" I could hardly hear my own words. My heart had sunk to my bowels, a cold hollow space remained in my chest.

Dante stretched upwards, seemingly testing the renewed strength in his body.
"Yes. Cristina. My wife."

Without any further discussion, we huddled close to the sandbanks and arched our way back up the beach. Nothing disturbed the quiet sighs of the waves. Once the bulky outline of the building became visible against the night sky, we automatically hunched lower and slowed our movements. The less we stood out from the darkness the better. Just in case.

Reaching the wall, I sank to my knees and crawled through the sand. The damp grains squeezed under my fingernails. A solid thump behind me informed me that Dante was on all fours as well.

So far so good.

I found the spot in the concrete with a tell-tale chip. Slapping my hands around on the sand about me, Lady Luck smiled in our direction. My fingers grasped a slim metal pole. Perfect for prising our escape block back open.

Dante sat up on his haunches. I couldn't help giggling at his expression as he turned his head quickly, scanning for danger. Upon hearing my amusement, he snapped his attention back to me.
"What's so funny?"

"You look like a meerkat."

He growled and resumed his guard duties.

The steel pole proved to be adequately long and strong enough for the job. I ground it into the chip, finding the right point of entry. I'd assumed it would be difficult to move, but in reality a scrape of stone immediately rewarded my efforts.

Maybe I'm stronger than I think?

It only took a short while longer to reposition and prise the concrete free. As before it landed with a heavy thud on the ground.

"Dante," I hissed. "Let's go."

I scrambled back into the corridor, the skin of my knees scraping against the rough concrete. Dante followed quickly. We both stood up and gratefully stretched our backs straight.

He grinned at me like a schoolboy. So out of place for the situation.

"Keep your eye out for guards."

"Really." I sneered and tipped my head. "You honestly think that needs to be said?"

Dante sighed then flapped his hands to get me moving.
"Don't start with me."

He pushed past me and sneaked his way up the corridor. Back the way we had fled only a few hours before.

I kept as close behind him as I dared. His irritation was obvious when he snapped his head round to glare at me. Perhaps it was more his impatience to get to his wife. I supposed that I should give him some leeway under the circumstances.

At the curve of the tunnel to the right, he halted. He shot me a warning by waving his fingers behind his back. A rumble of voices echoed down the corridor in front of us. I froze.

Dante stepped back gingerly, all the time flicking his hands to usher me away. We backed up and sank down to the hole in the wall.

The sea breeze whispered through the escape route, teasing me.

I grabbed hold of Dante's elbow, balancing my nerves as much as my body. His crouching bulk heaved against me. The thin shirts separated our skin but not our heat. I snuck a peek over his shoulder to catch the elongated shadows of the guards as they stopped to talk in the LED lights.

Leaning closer, my cheek grazed the rough stubble of his chin. His body odour wafted up stale and strong. Wrinkling my nose, I whispered lightly in his ear.
"My God, Dante. If they don't see us they're definitely going to smell us."

He flexed his shoulder up quickly and snapped me under the jaw with a sharp blow.
"Shut it."

I pulled away and rubbed at my sore chin, tears smarting my eyes.

Slowly, we gradually got to our feet and stepped backwards once again. I guessed he felt the same way as I, that the guards would not be coming any further and we could maybe find an alternative route to his wife's cell.

It went unspoken that we would not be giving up.

A subtle shift in the density of the air behind us warned me that we were no longer alone.

"There you are, Miss Tander." The familiar light, sing-song voice of the man with the grey-blue eyes came from behind me. "We've been looking for you everywhere."

Goosebumps coarsed up my spine as I froze to the spot. The acrid stench of chemicals flowed around me. Dante spun round, his face contorted into a snarl while his fists clenched.

"Oh, and I see you have found a friend. Why, you've made my life so much easier."