By keeping strictly to the alleys and side streets you are able to avoid the occasional clan patrol and you soon reach the banks of the Rio Grande without being seen. Then you work your way west towards the Stanton Street Toll Bridge, the only bridge still spanning this once-great waterway. A cluster of old US immigration offices standing at the approach to the bridge provide a safe place for you and Knott to hide while you wait for the others to show.
‘Where are they?’ you whisper, glancing anxiously at your wristwatch. The time is 0055, five minutes before the hour you are due to rendezvous, but the waiting is making you nervous.
‘We’re here!’ hisses a voice from behind. It is so unexpected that you nearly jump out of your skin.
Captain Frankland and Sergeant Haskell emerge from the shadows and hurry forward to join you. They apologize for giving you such a scare, but you can tell by the wide grins on their faces that they are clearly amused by your jumpy reaction. They arrived a few minutes ahead of you and Knott, and they have already scouted the bridge. There are four clan guards on the bridge itself but none at all on the service walkway beneath it.
‘We’ve an hour before the explosives are due to arrive,’ says the captain, checking his watch. ‘Everyone ready?’
You nod in unison. ‘OK then. Let’s go!’