having a squabble with her dad, and it ended with her flipping him off. Leanne and Tina were sat at either side of the clump, studiously not making eye contact with each other. Ashley was amazed. In the middle of all this, not one of them could get over their beefs. Still, as petty a collection as they were, Ashley had charge of their lives. She had to see them get out—every one of them.
Ashley turned to Rick. ‘So you want a straight swap now? Everyone out in exchange for…’
‘The plane,’ Rick finished.
Ashley paused. She was going to have to put this tactfully. ‘You still want the plane, then?’
‘Why wouldn’t I? I can’t grow wings and fly out myself, can I?’
Ashley nodded. ‘No, right, of course. I was just wondering if it might be better to maybe…’
‘What?’
‘Rick, I guess I’m just thinking that it’s going to be difficult to get to the plane without…’ Ashley stopped, trying to think of a diplomatic way to say this. But there wasn’t one. If he tried to do it this way, Ashley was sure that it was going to go wrong and someone was going to end up hurt. Maybe one of the hostages, maybe a police officer, maybe just Rick. But even that, Ashley didn’t want. She kept thinking about that son he had. The boy would be watching all this on the news. As awful a father as Rick had been to him, the kid would be utterly, irreparably traumatised if he watched something bad happen to his dad on the news. Ashley had to make one last appeal to his common sense. ‘The truth is, I can’t guarantee your safety if you try to escape. I still think it’s a better idea to hand yourself over.’
Rick eyed her, his face inscrutable. She was tempted to backpedal. But in the end, she held her nerve and waited.
And then Rick started to cry.
Ashley was shocked, but she tried not to show it, tried to seem as though career criminals wept in front of her all the time. She patted his shoulder. He looked up at the touch. ‘Oh, Ashley. I don’t know what I would have done without you, love. You’ve been a rock.’
Ashley smiled. ‘I… Yeah. I’ve tried.’
‘And I think it’s so nice of you to look out for me like this, but you just don’t understand. You’ve never been inside.’
‘That’s true,’ Ashley was forced to admit.
‘I can’t do another stretch. It’ll be me last. I’ll never come out, I know it. I gotta go for it. I gotta live me dream.’
Ashley felt like this was the most honest conversation she and Rick had had to date, and she had to push forward. ‘But isn’t alive and in prison better than… the thing you’ve been worried about?’
‘The thing?’ Rick asked.
Ashley was gonna have to say it. ‘Getting shot.’
Rick nodded. ‘I’m not up for one in the dome, I’ll grant you. But I reckon I can avoid it. I’ve been googling this bloke, name of Cooper. He hijacked a plane, got two hundred grand, and got away. They never found him. If he can do it, I can do it. After all, I’ve gotten this far, haven’t I? I got you two in here, which was no small thing.’
Ashley had to agree with that. He was crafty alright, and he’d had some luck on his side. But it couldn’t last forever. ‘I know, but what if…’
Rick wiped the tear from his cheek, and his face abruptly hardened. ‘Ashley. I said no. It’s my way or nothing, alright?’
Ashley closed her mouth. She’d thought she’d found an in. But Rick’s tears were meaningless. They were for the camera, as ever. She started to feel a familiar feeling, that heat in her neck that came just before she gave someone a real hard blast of truth. ‘Rick-’
‘Ashley?’ said Gina from behind the camera, surprising both her and Rick. ‘I think we should go ahead with what Rick wants. He seems to know… he knows what he’s doing.’ Ashley felt Gina kick her beneath the table. Not hard. Just a light tap. But Ashley got the message. Down girl.
Ashley took a deep breath and forced down the desire to give it to Rick extremely straight. It took a lot. ‘I’m sorry. You’re… right. I’ve read about that guy before, DB Cooper. You’re right, he did manage to achieve all that. You could too.’
Rick’s hard face melted. ‘I knew you’d see it my way.’
He proceeded to detail