Accepting his explanation with a nod, I study the vault, noting it has a series of three combo dials. Not impossible but certainly not something I’m going to be able to crack quickly. William pulls up a different picture, this time taken from inside the vault. “Once you take care of the guards and Sin cracks the multiple combos, each interior lockbox can be popped with a lock-pick gun.”
This doesn’t surprise me. People often focus on the safe or vault as the primary means of security. They’re so confident the outer shell is unbreachable that they don’t bother with anything more than simple locks on the boxes, believing no one could make it that far.
But then I notice something else.
Hurrying to the screen, I point to the interior hinge on the vault door. “This is a magnet-plate alarm. When the door closes, the magnets connect, which activates the alarm. The door opens, the magnets break connection, and the alarm sounds. They’re usually set in conjunction with business hours. For example, a bank would have them engaged during non-business hours as an added layer of protection against nighttime thieves.”
“Even if you crack the combo, the vault door is designed to stay closed during non-business hours?” William asks.
“We’d have to rob it during the day?” Saint warily asks.
“That’s impossible,” I state with a shake of my head. “No, we’ll have to do it at night. But I’ll have to drill… right here. Scope it and remove the entire magnet plate. See how it’s screwed in? If I can remove the whole plate without the magnets breaking contact, the alarm won’t be tripped. It would be an incredibly delicate procedure. Risky, but it’s the only possibility I see.”
Mercier chuckles as he squints at the magnet. “I knew you would be invaluable to this team, Sin.”
I ignore the compliment. This job, which had already seemed impossible, just became exponentially more stressful.
Saint rises from his chair to get a closer look. After he examines what I’d indicated, he asks about the guards.
“Shoot them for all I care,” Mercier says with a nonchalant shrug.
“Yeah,” Saint drawls, crossing his arms. “Thought we had already established that we don’t murder people during our robberies. Too risky.”
“But this isn’t just any robbery,” Mercier counters. “This is the heist of all heists. There aren’t any more after this. You’ll be so rich you’ll be able to buy your own private island and never have another worry in your life. Hell, you’ll have enough money to buy a new conscience.”
“We are not killing anyone,” Saint maintains, his eyes steely and his jaw stubbornly set.
He and Mercier engage in a staring contest, but then Mercier finally shrugs. “I don’t care what you do. Not my job to plan it anyway—only to provide the backing. Just tell me what you’ll need.”
“A fast-acting injectable drug,” I say. “Will need to knock them out for several hours as it will take me a while to crack the combos.”
William nods. “Done.”
Mercier turns his back on us, returning to his desk. He sits and leans back, steepling his hands before his face in contemplation as he stares at the screen again.
Finally, he says, “The vault is still our biggest concern. A conservative estimate says there is over four million euros worth of jewels inside it. I’m willing to invest money into making sure we can pull this off. If I were to get you access to the same make and model of vault, could you practice on removing that plate?”
I smile, not sure whether to be impressed or repulsed by the lengths he’s willing to go to pull this off. “You don’t need to buy the whole vault. With the specs and the right tools, we can construct something to practice on. It would be a lot more efficient.”
Efficiency is a must. While we’ll need to carefully plan this, I don’t want to waste time. What I want is for this to be over.
Saint goes back to his chair, and I do the same. Casually taking his seat, he crosses one leg over the other before asking the most obvious and important question. “You said it’s worth over four hundred million… so what’s our cut?”
“Ten percent of anything you’re able to haul out. And let me be clear… I expect you to get most of it.”
“Fifty,” Saint counters, eyebrow raised in affront. “We’re taking all the risk.”
“Twenty,” Mercier replies smoothly.
“Thirty-five.” Saint’s smile is in no way pleasant when he softly adds, “And that’s our final offer. Take it or leave it.”
“Deal,” Mercier replies, flashing his teeth in what could be considered a grin. But I see something in his bared teeth and deep within his eyes that spells our certain deaths. He has no intention of giving us even one percent.
CHAPTER 23
Saint
We hold our final strategy session at Sin’s apartment. It’s been two weeks since our meeting at Mercier’s estate, and we’ve been working nonstop to get ready.
William’s been heavily involved, of course. His focus has been gaining entry into the building. Despite the fact he doesn’t actively work jobs anymore, he did a dry run of the building jump late one night to test the ease by which we could access the vent system. I was actually impressed at his initiative. At least it saved me a trip there.
Sin has been relentlessly practicing how to remove the magnet plate quickly but correctly from a small setup we constructed. We’d used a thick metal frame with two pieces of steel hinged on the outside to simulate the door opening where the magnet plate is located.
Mercier spared no expense in outfitting us for this heist. He got the most expensive, top-of-the-line scope. It’s operated by two handheld triggers from outside the vault, and it’s equipped with a screw bit and metal pincher for Sin to use to take off the plate. The skill needed to accomplish this task is immense, and she’s been practicing day and night. She has to unscrew four mounts while making sure they don’t come out all the way, so she can then exchange the bit for the pincher to pry the plate away without letting the magnets separate. Watching as she does this is amazing. She focuses with such keen concentration she seems to be in a different universe sometimes.
I’m actually proud of her dedication to this, because she knows our chance at being a normal couple going forward depends on the successfulness of this heist and taking down Mercier. Here we are getting ready to steal a fortune of the likes no one has ever before attempted, yet that’s not our driving force.
What is? How much we want to be together and what we have to get through in order to make it so we can be.
While William and Sin both had their areas to focus on, I worked on how to keep us invisible once we were inside while still ensuring we wouldn’t be seen once we left. Bebe came through with a shipment full of out-of-this-world gear, some of which I shared with William. The rest I kept secret in case we ended up needing it to save ourselves—heist be damned.
William marveled over the rubberized spray Dozer had created—although I hadn’t named the maker, of course, merely stating I never reveal my sources. The spray effectively renders motion sensors useless. There are jammers to take out the security cameras, along with a scanner that will locate any type of GPS chips some of the larger items might have embedded for tracking purposes.
William spent a lot of time drilling Julian’s expectations into us. We were to sweep the loot for chips right there in the vault as we loaded it into bags. The last thing Mercier wants is a GPS device to lead the police directly to him.
Now, while I’ve played along with William on this part and had Bebe send me the top-of-the-line scanner, I have no intention of removing all the GPS chips. I’m going to leave at least a couple in place so there is a clear trail for the police to follow—right from the stolen loot to Mercier. It’s the only way to take him down and complete my mission. He has to be found with the jewels in hand.
One of the items Bebe sent that I kept secret from William is a reverse jammer, or, as Bebe calls it, a bubble protector. Just as much as I don’t t
rust Mercier, I’m sure he’s going to feel the same way and not just take my word that I’ve given him only clean jewels. He’s going to have some type of jamming equipment at his estate meant to block GPS signals until he’s able to thoroughly go through each piece to make sure it’s clean. That will take a few days, and he needs some type of protection in the interim.
Hence, he’ll have a jammer.
However, I’ll have the reverse with Bebe’s bubble protector. It will lock onto any GPS-emitted signal and lock a bubble around it so it can still transmit. Where Bebe is deviously genius is that the device will also fool Mercier’s jammer into believing it’s doing its job, so he’ll be none the wiser.
So, in theory, all we have to do is show up, break in, hand the jewels over, trust in Bebe’s gadgets to leave the GPS signal intact, and slip away without Mercier killing us before the police arrive.
Simple, right? Sure…
“Let’s go over everything one more time,” William says from his perch on the couch. He’s been here since breakfast, insisting we walk through everything in detail several more times. Most people would be annoyed by the dull repetition, but Sin and I both know preparedness is the key to a successful heist. As such, we’ve gladly gone through the plan over and over again.
Where William has been invaluable is in throwing out potential kinks that could screw up our plans, then having us brainstorm quick ways around the issues. We’ve role-played until it seems like we’re stuck in a time loop, but at the end of the day, it ensures we’ll be ready to handle any hiccups.
“We’ll hit the roof around one,” I say, having recited this at least twenty times already just today. It’s right after one of the two night guards will have finished his half-hour break.
I drone on, meticulously going through every step we’ve planned out. Sin sits at the kitchen table, her steel-framed practice set before her. She operates the hand controls, peering at the attached four-inch-by-four-inch monitor that feeds a signal from a small high-def camera perched at the end of the scope above the drill bit. It lets her see everything she’s doing in real-time.
“What are you going to do if a guard hears you before you can sneak up and inject him?” William throws out. It’s a lame scenario that we’ve already talked through.
“I’m going to flash my tits at him,” Sin says as she continues to operate the scope.
“I’m going to drop him with a hand taser,” I reply, shooting her a grin. She doesn’t even spare me a glance, staying glued to the screen. The soft whir of the drill bit starts up. “Then move in to inject.”
“But then the other guard hears the commotion and comes to investigate,” William says.
“I’ll flash my tits at him, too,” Sin says with a chuckle.
“We’ve got it covered,” I assure William. “With as much experience as Sin and I have at sneaking around, neither guard will hear us coming.”
William nods, accepting that. We all know nobody can control every situation, and that’s where Mercier has to hope he’s hired the best.
Rising from the couch, William says, “Okay… I think you are as prepared as possible. I’m going to head out.”
I get out of my chair, intent on showing him to the door. Idly, I wonder if William knows he’s a dead man. Should I talk to him about it—give him fair warning to watch his back around Mercier?
Unfortunately for William and my conscience, I have to decide against it. His loyalty to Mercier might be bigger than his sense of self-preservation. I can’t afford to let him in on my concerns only to have him run to Mercier over it, which would cause the plug to be pulled and most assuredly put Sin and I in his crosshairs.
No… William will have to fend for himself. And I hate that. I have nothing against the man, and I respect him for his abilities. Hell, I even kind of like him. But I can’t risk mine and Sin’s lives just to give him a warning he probably wouldn’t heed anyway.
When I open the door, William gives me one final reminder. “Remember… come straight to Julian’s estate. Don’t call ahead. Just come straight there.”
I nod to show I understand. Unsurprisingly, Mercier had insisted we bring the loot directly to him rather than do the usual hand-off to a third party. If my suspicions that he intends to remove his little worker bees from the equation are correct, then he’s going to want to do it somewhere private and easy to clean up. Can’t get any more remote than his chateau in the countryside of Seine-et-Marne. Gunshots most certainly won’t be heard out there.
“Aha,” Sin exclaims, straightening from the small computer screen with the magnetized plate in her hand. “Forty-nine seconds.”
Incredulously, I gape at her fastest time yet. Before this, she hadn’t managed to crack it in under a minute. “That’s amazing.”
“Wonderful job, Sin,” William praises.
“Remind me to never play that game Operation with you,” I say with a grin.
She cocks her head, eyebrows knitting. “Play what?”
Laughing, I shake my head. “Never mind. But we’ll play it together someday so I can show you.”
Sin’s eyes warm at the barest hint we might have a future together. Smiling, she returns to her metal frame, putting the magnet back on so she can practice again.
William and I shake hands, and he wishes us good luck. When he’s out the door, I pull my phone from my pocket, realizing Sin’s father has tried to call me several times today.
It’s not anything unusual. We’ve been in frequent contact with him. Even took a short trip to London for a visit last week. We’ve been using George as a sounding board for the heist, fully bringing him in on the plan. We’re not doing it to humor him or appease his needs. Sin and I both recognize that despite his limitations, George is still a wealth of information and cunning. He has given us several good ideas. For example, he came up with the mini-plan to distract and divert the guards so we can get them safely injected.
Assuming George wants to brainstorm a new idea, I consider calling him back later, but then I notice there’s also a text from him. Call me. Away from Sin. Private.
That’s not good. Scared something bad has happened to George—perhaps medically—I decide to call immediately.
“I’m going to head down to the cafe on the corner to grab an iced coffee. Want anything?”
Sin wrinkles her nose. Besides that small gesture, she ignores me, so I take that as a no. She’s busy working the magnet again, her tongue sticking out in concentration.
“When I get back,” I say with a warning tone that causes her to lift her head, “you’re done practicing for the day. We’re going out to do something fun and relaxing.”
Eyes twinkling with mischief, she purrs, “We could stay in bed for the rest of the day. Do nothing but give each other massive amounts of orgasms. That’s both fun and relaxing.”
Laughing, I wink. “You’re not wrong about that. But we’re going out for some fresh air or something. We’ll do the whole orgasm thing afterward.”
“Got it,” she replies cheekily, then returns her attention back to her magnets.
I watch her for a minute, realizing she has completely stolen my heart again. The little thief, I think with a snicker. I’m not exactly sure when my fate became sealed yet again, but it’s a done deal for sure.
Shaking myself out of my musings, I leave her apartment. Once I hit the sidewalk outside, I call George.
“’Bout time,” he grumbles by way of greeting when he answers.
“Sorry. We were doing our last-minute planning session with William.”
“Good, that’s good,” he mumbles. “But listen… I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. I don’t think it’s safe for you and Sin to turn over the jewels after the heist.”
This isn’t something I’ve discussed outright with either George or Sin. She’s already aware of the danger. If I harp over it, she’s going to get suspicious that I might try to pull one over on her.
And she’d be exactly right.
&n
bsp; But I don’t feel the need to keep that bit of info from George. I can read the tone in his voice loud and clear. He’s terrified for his daughter right now.
“George… Sin’s going to be perfectly safe once we make it outside that building.”
“How?” he demands, not willing to accept my word.
He’s going to have to, though. “I can’t tell you the details. You’re just going to have to trust me, okay?”
“I won’t tell Sin,” he promises.
“I know. But I’ve got it covered. I swear. Just don’t tip her off or it won’t work.”
“I won’t,” he assures me quickly. “But I hope you know that anything you do to cut her out of the plan is going to royally piss her off. Be ready.”
“I know,” I murmur. It’s a tradeoff I have to be sure I’m willing to make.
Because she’s not just going to be pissed.
Sin is going to hate me for it.
CHAPTER 24
Sin
With a bit of gentle manipulation, I’m able to quietly pop the air vent from the frame. I hold still for several seconds, listening intently to make sure no one is coming before I lower it to the floor. It’s a painstakingly slow process as I don’t want the vent to bump against the wall or clatter against the wood flooring. I’m proud of myself when I complete the task in near silence.
Without a word to Saint, who waits patiently behind me in the air duct, I slither out of the vent and move to the side so he can exit behind me.
We’re dressed head-to-toe in black, including thin nylon face masks to hide our identities. While our goal is to disable all security equipment, we can’t take the chance we’ll be identified if something goes wonky. We’re traveling light, carrying only the bare essentials needed to get the job done. Most important is the equipment to disable the sensors and cameras, as well as the lightweight collapsible backpacks meant to carry the loot out. I also have the robotic scope, which is fairly lightweight and folds into a small unit that easily fits in my pack.
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