I took up vigil at the door, listening and feeling for anyone’s approach. At twenty-eight minutes, I checked the progress bar. Ninety-eight percent downloaded. Ace had been right on. I checked my watch. I was supposed to be meeting Kamal in ten minutes. I would be late. I kept my eyes on the screen. Ninety-nine percent. At least I felt secure that Kamal wouldn’t be barging in all of a sudden. If he was meeting me at the museum, then he’d have to almost be there. It took another minute, but the bar flashed one hundred percent. I unplugged the HDMI cable from my phone and replaced everything in the drawer exactly as I’d found it. Then I gave the room one more cursory look and left the apartment, locking it before dashing down the steps and to the metro.
I made it to the museum five minutes late, which I thought was pretty good, all things considered. Kamal stood by a staircase on the outer rim of the Louvre, and tapped his foot impatiently as I walked up to him. There was already a massively long line of people waiting to gain admission. I couldn’t wait for the drop off when I could give Kamal the tracked flash drive. I hoped we’d be able to follow the trail today so my pickpocketing days would be over.
He didn’t waste one second in commanding me. His tone was sharp as he spoke. “You’ve got forty minutes in the Louvre. Here’s your pass, you won’t have to wait in that long line. Go right up to the guy by the glass enclosure.” He pointed. “Meet me back here and we’ll go over what you’ve done. Get as much as you can, but don’t get caught. Here’s the bag of the day.” He handed me a leather satchel that had a long strap I could drape over my shoulder. It had a sun stamped on the flap, the sign that identified me as Kamal’s pickpocket, and kept me from getting my butt kicked by competing gangs.
I wasn’t sure if Kamal was watching me or if it was someone else, but someone would definitely be watching. If it was Kamal, I needed to be good—if it was his boss, I needed to be even better. I had to impress these guys and hopefully win a meeting with someone higher up the chain. If he didn’t have the drive, I needed to get a good idea of where else I could look.
The sheer size of the Louvre was daunting, but when I’d first arrived in Paris, I’d spent a little bit of time for several weeks making my way through it. Today I walked into a massive hall with arched, painted ceilings that was lined with enormous paintings on both sides. Benches lined the center along with planters that had been placed exactly in between the benches. I spotted my first mark.
She stared thoughtfully at a painting of a war scene from the 1600’s and her purse sat about an inch to her left. I could easily sit next to her and take my sweet time getting what I wanted out of it even though hundreds of people were passing through the area at all times. Just as I was about to pickpocket her, the hair raised on the back of my neck. I looked around and couldn’t pinpoint the threat. There was too much commotion all around. That’s when I noticed the camera. It was hidden at the top of one of the paintings to my left. Perhaps a security guard was watching me through a live feed. Even if that wasn’t the threat, I knew better than to go against my feelings. I moved away from that mark and chose someone else, then continued on to take from five other unsuspecting tourists.
I exited the Louvre to meet up with Kamal after the requisite forty minutes. As I walked toward him, I decided not to give him a tracked drive at our first meet. Instead, I gave him an empty drive.
We made the swap effortlessly, and then he sent me back to do the same thing again.
On the second drop, I got a big haul and handed him one tracked drive with all the other stolen property. It wasn’t until the third drop that I could see faint signs of the smile he was holding back. I assumed he was happy with my take. One of the tainted drives was mixed in again, and I cringed just a little bit thinking about him having two tracked drives already.
It seemed a bit heavy-handed to even give him two, but we didn’t have a lot of time. If one of the trackers didn’t work, hopefully the other would. I had one empty drive left and one tracked drive, the one intended for another pickpocket. I fingered it in my pocket, thinking. There wasn’t really a good candidate for it. I’d watched—all the pickpockets handed their stuff over to Kamal, one way or another. He’d just end up with it anyway. And two drives was suspicious enough, let alone three. No, I wouldn’t plant this last drive. I’d keep it. It might not be a bad idea to have one in reserve anyway.
“You’ve done really well,” Kamal said as soon as I met up with him the fourth time. “Let’s just meet at the end of your shift at four and see what you can get in that time.”
“Do I get a lunch break? I’m starving.” I shoved my hands into my pockets and rocked back on my heels.
“Sure. Make sure you get just as much as you did this morning by four o’clock, and you can take as long a break as you’d like.”
“Okay. You got it.” I pulled my hand out of my pocket and a drive fell to the ground. It was the third tracked drive. I winced inwardly. Swifter than I thought possible, Kamal shifted his foot over the drive. Heat rose in my chest.
“The stand at the end of the path down there,” he said, pointing, “serves a great panini and fries.”
I nodded, working hard for a couple of seconds to hide my exasperation with myself and act normal. How had I been so clumsy?
After pointing me in the right direction, he reached casually down and grabbed the drive as he retied his shoe.
I mouthed the word sorry as I walked away, hoping he would think I’d just made a beginner’s mistake.
I grabbed a turkey panini from the place Kamal had suggested near the entrance to the gardens from the Louvre and enjoyed the heat of the day on a shaded bench. At least, as much as I could. A little irritation niggled at me. I texted Ace with updates on what I was doing.
No one even gave me a second glance for entering the museum the fourth time in one day. It wasn’t unusual for tourists to enter and exit the Louvre on the same day because it was a place you could spend a week in and not see everything. People would leave to eat or just to take a break for a while. I went to the halls of statues this time and had to concentrate on the task at hand and not spend all my time gawking at the amazing sculptures. After only a few hours, my phone buzzed. It was Kamal. Meet me in Halle in the alley two streets south of the fountain.
Got it, I texted back in a rush. Instead of letting the niggling worry settle in, I ignored it in my excitement. Maybe I’d be able to be done with work early for the day. I had to walk right past Mad Dogs in order to get to the alley Kamal wanted to meet in. It took a bit of restraint not to stop and quickly buy a crepe on my way, but I managed it. I turned the corner and spotted him smack dab in the middle of the alley. It was dark and narrow, and the smell of wet dog wafted over me as I walked toward him. He was looking in the opposite direction, so I thought I’d sneak up on him and give him a fright. I was tired of being so serious all the time. Maybe it was a sign I’d been separated from Jeremy and Ace too long.
Just as I was a few feet from him, ready to say, boo, Kamal turned to me. Boo hung on my puckered lips, but never came out as he came right at me, a scowl on his face. I had to resist the urge to sweep kick him.
“Where did you get these?” He held up four drives. Three were tracked.
Caught off guard, I didn’t know what to say. In two moves I could have him completely disabled. Was it the right thing at this moment to give myself away? No. I had to ride this out. I had to find my way to the lost drive.
He rushed the remaining distance to me and pinned me against the alley wall, a knife against my neck. “I said, where did you get these?” His lips were only inches from my face and a light mist of spit coated me as he spoke. My eyes fluttered, trying to avoid the spray as dread spread through my veins.
I had to stay calm and think despite the abject fear that gripped my chest. Stay submissive. Stay submissive. “I lifted stuff from a hundred people, and you’re asking me where I got four drives? Are you crazy?”
He pushed me harder into the wall, and I felt the
prick of the knife on my neck. I tried not to swallow, but in the end, I had to. The chances of me escaping his grasp now that he had the knife at my neck were slim at best, even with my excellent skills. Had I acted the second he came after me, he wouldn’t have stood a chance. But then I wouldn’t have had a chance of retrieving the missing drive.
I forced tears into my eyes, needing to appear weak. “The Louvre?” I eked out. “The Louvre.”
He released me just a bit. “Who do you work for?”
“I work for you,” my voice was raspy, dirty sounding.
“Who gave you those drives?”
“I took them from people in the Louvre. Please. What’s going on?”
“There were trackers on three of those drives. But you already knew that, didn’t you?”
I shook my head—a slight motion—one that ensured my neck wouldn’t be cut.
He pushed hard again. I let the tears flow. I needed him to have compassion on me so it would be easier for him to believe me.
“What’s going on?” I whispered, my tears falling freely now. “Please. I don’t know what’s going on. Is this a test? Part of my interview?”
He backed up all of a sudden and brandished the drives in one hand and held the knife out with the other. “Some of these have trackers. Where did you get them?”
“Trackers?” I rubbed my neck and coughed. “I got them at the Louvre off different people, but I can’t remember who. I just can’t remember. I’m sorry.”
“Are you sure? Think, Eva. Think.” He moved toward me, and I shrank back, screeching, covering my neck like I was truly afraid. “Remember, you put one in your pocket, why?”
That’s when I figured out a lie that could save me. “You told me drives could be valuable! I looked for guys with laptops, not students but people who looked, I don’t know, business-like. There was a guy I got a couple off of, I thought I really scored. He was tall, in a suit, all official looking. I remember thinking he must be a government official or something. That’s why I went after him.”
“Are you sure?” he asked. One of his eyes narrowed.
“I’m sure,” I squeaked. “I’m sure.” I had to decide if I was going to stand up to him now or play the weak victim. In gang situations, it was important to be able to assert yourself so you weren’t picked on, but only when it came to your equals or lessers. With a boss, it was important to appear submissive and indebted if you wanted to last for a while.
“Are you sure no one gave these to you?” He waved the drives in front of my face and grabbed my arm. “Because I will find out if someone did.”
“I’m sure,” I said, shaking my head eagerly. “I stole them. No one gave me anything.”
He took a step back and looked off in the distance like he was thinking about something.
“What happened? Explain all this to me, and maybe I can help.” I furrowed my brow.
His rigid posture softened slightly and he took another step back, letting go of my arm. It burned as blood rushed back in. “These drives you gave me, they’re being tracked by someone, someone who wants to know where they are.”
“Why would anyone track their drives? That’s just crazy.” I wanted him to think I was totally naïve and couldn’t even think this through, but at the same time willing to help him out.
“Because wicked important stuff can be on a drive.”
“Right, right, that’s why they could be worth money. Like that Tom Cruise movie, uh…”
“Mission Impossible III. Yes.”
“What was on those drives I got? Was it something, you know, worth something?” I knew very well that nothing important was on those drives, but I made my voice eager.
“Nothing important. I’m guessing whoever you stole those from hadn’t had the chance to download whatever information they wanted to put on them.”
I stood with my shoulders slumped slightly forward in a way he would consider non-threatening. Little did he know that in three moves, I could end his life, even from this stance. “So if these drives are so worthless, why did you just get all crazy with me? Aren’t they the very things you want?”
Maybe if I kept him talking, I could get him to say his contact’s name
“Yes and no. I mean, we want untracked drives.” He leaned against the wall. “Or tracked drives from known sources.”
“Well, who would put valuable info on a drive that wasn’t tracked? Didn’t you just say—?”
“Look. Some people put valuable stuff on drives without even knowing it. The guy I give these drives to knows what’s important and who’s important. The only thing is that he won’t take tracked drives without knowing where or who they came from.”
“Well how are you supposed to know if they’ve been tracked?” I threw my hands out to my sides as if I were exasperated. And I was. This system was crazy.
“Actually, I have a computer program that checks them. If they are, I chuck ‘em fast.”
“Hmm. No way around the tracking?”
“I think Marco has a way, but he’s only willing to use it when he knows the source behind the information.”
Ah, I got him to say a name. Marco.
“Huh. I’m sorry I stole tracked drives. I’ll try not to do it again, but I’m not sure how to avoid it.”
“Just make note of who you get any drives from. You could even snap a picture if you get the chance.”
“I can’t believe you were accusing me of working for someone. What was that all about?”
He sighed. “Look, I have to constantly be on guard in this business.” He lowered his head and looked at me through one eye like he was still a little suspicious.
“Maybe I should just toss any drives I get from now on away.”
He stood up straight and shook his hands out in front of him. “No. No. We get a ton of money from good drives. I just need to be careful where I check them. Today I was in a hurry and checked them at my apartment. It just made me nervous. It’s been a few weeks since we’ve run into a tracked device. And get a picture of the people you get the drive from or at the very least a description of them. I am going to be watching you, though. Today seems like too much of a coincidence.” He looked at me again, his face tight with suspicion. “Why did you have a drive in your pocket, anyway?”
I’d already come up with an excuse in case he asked me. I almost told him I thought about keeping that one for myself, but I thought stealing from him would be a pretty bad idea. “I was taking things right and left and didn’t always bother to put everything into the bag. I just missed it when I put everything in there before I left the Louvre. It was small. What can I say? It won’t happen again.”
“I better not get any more tracked drives from you. That’s all.” All strain left his face.
It seemed like the situation had been defused. He noticed I was rubbing my neck, and he moved toward me, a softness in his eyes.
“Sorry about that. It’s only a small cut. I’m sure you understand.”
“Would you really have killed me?” I narrowed my eyes and moved away from him.
“If you were a spy of some sort, yes.”
I recoiled, my hands touching the wall behind me.
He put his hand out. “This is how I make a living. It’s not the best, but it works for me. And I can’t have anyone messing it up.”
I didn’t take his hand. I had to stay in character. I had to be afraid of him. “Have you ever killed someone, then?”
“No.” He said it a little too fast, and then he touched his nose. He was lying.
“Good. ‘Cause that totally freaks me out. I don’t know if I could trust you if I thought you’d killed someone.”
He shook his head and forced a smile. “No. I haven’t. But if someone threatened me or my job, I would.” There was determination and purpose behind his words. He had killed, and he would again. A cold, wet snake slithered up my spine. It took all I had not to shiver. I leaned hard on the wall.
His phone beeped and he pu
lled it out of his pocket and looked at it. “I gotta go. See you tomorrow. Louvre at nine fifteen sharp by the Mona Lisa.”
I nodded. It still surprised me that he was so protective of this job. I wished I knew what his motivation was. Did he protect it because he loved it or was there something else? If I knew that, I would have some leverage over him. Until then, I was an open target and needed to be careful.
I waited thirty seconds, then I followed him. Inside, I was still reeling from the attack—I’d been alone, no backup, with a knife to my neck. And now I was following that knife, again with no backup. What is the matter with me? I wondered. But I knew the answer. Nothing was wrong with me. This was just too important to let go.
I remained a good distance from Kamal as he walked purposefully over the sidewalks, blending into the crowds and disappearing when there were none. A constant stream of cars filled the streets and every metro tunnel was hopping with people rushing about. He picked up loot from four different kids at four different spots, all very open. Not a single Parisian seemed to notice anything amiss. He was smart, careful. I kept with him as he made his way to a business building I wasn’t familiar with. Could it be the clearinghouse for all the stolen goods? I snapped a picture of the placard with the names of the business behind the door then took a few pictures of the buildings and the surrounding area and sent it all to Ace. I had to force myself not to go in and explore. I’d bring it up when I officially got back on the mission if it was still relevant.
Fatal Exchange Page 9