“Callum, comm units are on the shelf behind the desk. Get everyone kitted out and on the same frequency. I want us to be able to talk to each other while we’re out there.”
Callum went where Lake pointed.
“Matt, we need restraints and tape. I want these guys immobilised.”
“Aye.” Matt eyed each man in turn. “Immobilised. Not neutralised. Remember, this isn’t an action movie. You can’t go killing willy-nilly in the Highlands. We’ll bag the guys, and when police backup gets here they’ll take them into custody.”
“What if they’ve hurt our women?” Josh asked.
Matt’s jaw clenched. “I didn’t say you couldn’t inflict damage. Just don’t kill anyone. The paperwork alone would be a nightmare. Plus the only people in this room with a gun licence either work in law enforcement or for Lake. The rest of you will be armed with stun guns and whatever else Lake has handy that’s borderline legal. Got it?”
The men nodded. This was Invertary. They were cut off from the rest of Scotland by location and now by the weather. Everyone present had learned from experience that sometimes you had to take matters into your own hands. As Matt kept pointing out, he was the only cop for miles, and backup was an hour’s drive away—in good weather.
“Mitch, Josh, flashlights, goggles.” Lake pointed at them. “There are night-vision ones and normal ones for keeping out the snow. They’re in back. Enough for everyone.”
Mitch headed for the storeroom.
“Grunt, Matt, Callum, arm yourself with whatever you’re familiar with. The rest of you stick to what Matt approves. Listen to his instructions on how to work the damn things. Consider it a c
rash course in safety.”
“Batons?” Callum asked, holding up the extendible batons the police used. They were lightweight, solid and could easily crack a skull.
“Definitely.” They would also be good for the guys who weren’t used to weapons.
“Let’s go,” Josh said as soon as he was kitted out.
“Not so fast.” Callum put a hand on his chest to stop him running out the door. “We need a plan. Easier to talk here than there.”
Josh bristled and pushed against Callum’s hand. “That’s fine for you to say. It isn’t your pregnant wife under siege in her own home.”
“You’re not the only one with a pregnant wife trapped out there,” Flynn said. His jaw was tight.
“Calm down.” Lake stood centre of the room. “Callum is right. Rushing off half-cocked will only get someone killed. We go in two waves. Callum, Grunt, Matt and myself first. The rest of you follow.” He looked at Mitch, Josh, Flynn and Harry. “You four are on bag and tag. Secure the men we bring down.”
“I don’t like that plan,” Josh said.
Lake stared at him for a beat. He understood his anxiety, his fear. It was the same one bubbling inside of him.
“It’s the one that will work. You can’t go cowboy and do your own thing. It will endanger the women and you could get us all killed.”
Josh’s jaw clenched, and Lake knew it gutted the guy to admit someone else was better able to protect his wife.
“No cowboy,” Josh said.
“We’ll get to our wives,” Flynn said, patting Josh’s shoulder. “We’ll keep our babies safe.”
Josh nodded and relaxed, slightly.
“Grunt and I will take the front,” Lake said. “Matt and Callum, you’re on the rear.” He looked at each of them in turn. “The key here is to get in fast and immobilise them before they know what hit them. We’ll use the cellar as a makeshift holding cell.”
“Can’t,” Josh said. “It’s packed full of furniture.”
“We’ll use another room for a holding cell, then.”
“Isn’t getting the women out of there the priority, rather than locking up these guys?” Flynn ran a hand through his overgrown hair.
“No,” Matt answered his cousin. “Having the women walk to town in this weather would be dangerous. We make sure they stay safe and warm exactly where they are. It isn’t just our wives in there—it’s their mothers and friends too. The Knit Or Die women are all retirement age. A trek through the snow to get into town would be too much for them.”