“Not finished yet,” I mumble as I run my fingers over my lips.
“What are you talking about?” Bell asks as she shakes me.
“Showers, Ty and Tina,” I say.
“They finished ages ago. And why are you asleep in the office under bathrobes?” Bell asks.
I sit and feel bleary eyed. My mouth feels all dry. I rub my eyes. “I came in for the robes and had a whiskey while I was waiting, and now I'm here.”
“You had a whiskey?” Bell says.
“Yeah,” I reply. “I had such a vivid dream, Tina and Ty were about to fuck, and I caught them.” I look into Bell’s eyes. “One whiskey wouldn’t make me pass out like that, you know I can handle it,” I say.
“You don’t think it’s been drugged?”
“Take a shot and we’ll check it. Maybe this is another clue or something.” I wobble to my feet. Bell supports me as she grabs the bottle of whiskey.
“I feel a little shaky,” I say. “And don’t mention the dream please.”
“It isn’t a conscious dream if you’ve been drugged, it's not as if you thought of them,” Bell says.
“He has a killer body and huge cock though,” I say.
“Thanks for the info, I'll have a sip of this and see for myself,” Bell says giggling.
We walk from the club to Bob's office. I sit on the couch. “Where have you been?” Owen asks.
“Passed out on the office couch. I think I’ve been drugged.”
“How?”
“From this?” Bell says holding the bottle of whiskey up.
“We’re starting to get a collection of things here,” Bob says. “And Owen was right, the next page in the notepad has the map image, so this note came from the office.”
“And the whiskey, who could have done that?” I ask, feeling slightly dizzy.
“That’s easy, we just have to get it tested,” Owen says. He feels my head to check my temperature.
“What about the precinct, what’s happening there?” Brent asks.
“From outside, you can only tell it's not real by the cop’s attitude… and the way they stand around so much,” Ty says. “They also have a few extra cameras than a typical precinct would have.”
“Tina, did you notice anything?” I ask.
“The same really, there’s no other way in apart from the front door,” she explains.
“And where is the vault?”
Britney bangs on the office door and hobbles inside. “I might have the answer for that.” Britney sits on the couch and hands Bob her cell. Tina grabs the first aid kit and bandages her ankle. “Ooh, that feels better.”
Bob takes Britney’s cell and connects it to his computer. He hits the play button and we all stand to watch the video. Boys being boys, the first two minutes are made up of cops flirting with Britney. They sit near her on the seat inside the precinct. They do this while she’s waiting until her car can be fixed. As far as precincts in this area go, it looks pretty real.
“Watch the end cell,” Britney says.
Red and green lights flash against the wall, and the wall opens. The bars on the cell open as if they’re on hinges, then two guys walk out wheeling an empty cart.
“That’s it, the vault is the end cell!” I say.
“I think it’ll be a little more secure than this video shows, but it looks that way. And there is nothing to say it’s underground,” Ty says. “They’re not expecting to be robbed, they never would. So why do they need to make it so secure? They just have to keep it out of sight.”
“Can we get through the walls?” asks Owen.
“No chance,” Bob says. “The two cells at the sides actually run up the side of it. There will only be one wall, oh, and the roof, that might be accessible.”
Britney shakes her foot and sighs through gritted teeth. “How about the floor?” Bob smiles at her. She is one smart cookie, it seems.
“Down, down, deeper and down.”
Owen
“There’s no cold war that cannot be settled by some time in bed.”
The office empties and I sit with Bob talking about the possibility of digging into the vault. “I would like to say yes, but I can’t see it. It would be too far-fetched,” Bob says, now shaking his head.
“What do you mean far-fetched?” I ask.
“Well, can you really believe we could dig underground, and tunnel into a vault in the middle of the desert surrounded by ex-military? And… not be seen?”
“If it was a movie or a book, anything could happen,” I say with a laugh.
“Bullshit, that would be a B grade movie. We’re the A team, well, so to speak,” Bob says.
“Damn, you really look up to everyone don’t you?” I ask.
“I take what I do very seriously. If I was sub-standard, that ass, The Kingmaker, he would’ve won already,” Bob says defensively.
“What do you suggest?” I ask Bob.
“I can only envision the ceiling or the front door,” he replies.
“Front door!” Britney says.
Bob and I turn to face the couch. “Why the front door?”
“Oh, come on, how fucking dramatic is that in an action movie? You know, with bullets ringing around everyone’s head. What city councilors are going to be expecting that shit to happen?” she explains.
“As a second attempt, it's actually highly more likely to succeed,” Bob says. “Even if they have ex-military. Hmm, we don’t necessarily want attention though.”
“Explain more?” I ask.
Ty and Janey walk in. “Alex said we have help from Ingrid, that Russian casino owner?” Ty says.
“Front door it is. We’ll just storm the fucking place and take the whole damn thing,” I say laughing.
Britney sighs. “Why the hell not?”
I look at the others. “Just changing the subject, where are Brent and Mikey?”
“Mikey’s gone to speak to some people about the other seven we have these folders for, now,” Bob says. “And Brent has gone to finish off trying to find some more card dealers, he is panicking about it.”
“Did Alex leave instructions about how to get hold of Ingrid?” Janey asks.
“Bell has her cell number and the hotel address,” Bob says.
“Jesus Christ Bob, is there anything you don’t know?” I ask laughing.
“Owen, you should know… from the start, I'm da main man.” Bob laughs. He was trying to sound Jamaican.
“I can’t deny that Bob, you're da man, for sure.” I look at Janey. “You want to come with Bell and me or stay here?” I ask her.
Janey stands. “I think I'll stay here, I’m a little woozy after that whiskey.” I kiss her cheek before I go.
Janey walks up the stairs to lay down as I walk across the courtyard and enter into Brent’s and Bell’s apartment. “Anyone home?” I call up the stairs.
I make my way up to see if Bell is around.
“Bell?” I shout.
“Just in the bedroom, you can come up if you like,” she calls back.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, Brent isn’t here, he won’t mind.”
I take off my shoes and make my way up the wooden staircase. I can hear heavy breathing coming from the bedroom. It sounds like Bell is having one hell of an orgasm.
I push open the door and look at the bed. The empty bed. “Here I am.”
“Geez, be careful on that stool. Those curtains look really heavy.” I walk over and hold her hips. I can see half of her tattoo on her slender body as she stretches to fit the curtain to the pole.
“There we go. All done. How do they look from there?” Bell asks.
“Luscious, very luscious,” I reply, realizing I’m thinking of Janey.
“Owen, the curtains… how do the curtains look? You really are love struck.”
“They look great, at least you can have the balcony door open, and some privacy as well,” I say.
“That was what I was thinking, it's great with the coo
l air, but bugs and stuff just get on your nerves.”
“Now that I’ve found you, do you want to go and speak to Ingrid? We have a dramatic plan of attack on the precinct.”
“Don’t tell me… Britney?”
“Yeah, the first option was to dig, but Bob said that was a little too hard for anyone to do, so we're going for the shootout option,” I explain.
Bell jumps from the stool. I steady her as she lands on the floor. “Thanks. I have her hotel and cell; do you want me to call first?” Bell asks, looking at her new curtain creation.
“Nah, let’s surprise her, and I hope she likes surprises,” I say. “Do you know anything about her?”
“Not a thing, apart from that she had a severe crush on Alex.”
“No wonder she’s offered to help. How do I stack up against Alex?” I ask.
“Sorry, even if you were here with Brent, both of you together just don’t have it,” Bell says smiling. “Alex is calendar boy hot!”
“We can’t all be that gifted.”
Bell pinches my cheek. “At least Janey loves you.”
I screw my face up a little. “What do you mean, Janey loves me?” I ask.
“Oops. Did I say, love? I meant like,” Bell says, now winking at me.
We arrive at the hotel where Ingrid is staying. It's evident she has serious wealth, and it's easy to see why the councilors are trying to sting her for so much. Even the lobby has Russian mobsters or hit men scattered around the place. She has some serious, serious security.
“What room?” I ask.
“Not what room. What floor,” Bell says giggling.
“The whole floor?” I feel my eyes widen on their own.
“Alex said she won’t go into the penthouse. Apparently, it’s way too obvious, and she always books a full floor, two below the penthouse.”
We ride up in the elevator. Even the elevator boy looks as if he is a Russian guard. We arrive at floor forty-two and step in-between the next two security guards. We make our way to the end of the hallway and the next two security guards.
The door opens from inside. We enter the apartment. I see Ingrid sprawled over the couch in an ivory negligee. “Forgive clothes. Good for relaxing,” Ingrid says.
“It's a pleasure to meet the great woman Alex mentioned,” I say.
“Bah. Alex, he just says that!”
I shake my head. “No, it's true. He holds you very high in his esteem.”
“Alex good man. His Brooke is lucky woman, very lucky woman.”
“Did Alex mention our situation?” Bell asks.
“You want wodka? You look like a wodka guy.” She smiles.
“Um, thank you.”
“Whiskey girl, you drink whiskey?” Ingrid says.
“How you know?” Bell asks.
“You look like a biker chick,” Ingrid says laughing.
“I was.”
“Joke. Alex tells me bikey chick love whiskey,” Ingrid says. “Now, let me see. The fucker who take our money. We get it back, with interest?”
“That’s the plan. I'm not sure how much you know, but below the four, there are now seven corrupt departments. We have dealt with one,” I explain.
“You kill him?”
“No, we had proof the fire department were taking bribes and not taking money from their bosses.”
“Quicker to kill him.”
“I wish we could just kill them all,” I say.
“I can arrange that,” Ingrid says smiling at Bell.
“No. We have to get into the vault from the front, it's the easiest, but it will not be the quietest way in,” I explain.
“Bell, quick question. You ever munch on pussy in bike club?” Ingrid asks.
Bell looks at me and grins. “It has been known to happen.”
“Bike clubs bad for women.” Ingrid smiles. “Soldiers, guns. Just tell me the day and what you need. I give you good English speaker like me.”
Bell smiles. “We’ve sorted that.”
Ingrid raises her glass. “Prost.”
“Prost,” I reply as I down my glass in one.
“You drink like a Russian. Are you Russian?”
I look at her. “Not that I know of. Unless I have parents or grandparents who were Russian.”
“You never know. You have brothers and sisters?” Ingrid asks.
“One brother who is dead, and one sister who is in a coma. And just recently I was told that I have another sister.”
“And you no idea who or where?” Ingrid asks. Her accent is definitive, like a lullaby that makes you feel tired all of a sudden.
“No idea at all,” I say.
“I'm sure. In time, you find sister. That bonus when all this finished.”
“It would be nice. I'm sure my sister in a coma will not survive,” I say. I feel sad and calm at the same time.
“What hospital?”
“St Luke’s in Philadelphia, they have a special burns unit there.”
“So, these pigs. We going to give them everything they deserve?” she asks.
Bell nods. “Hell yeah. This is my club they’re fucking with.”
“I like you bikey chick, you have bigger balls than half my men.”
“I have to admit Ingrid, Alex was so, so right. You're one cool woman,” Bell says. “And you are extremely beautiful.”
“I have to be cool. Who listens to woman otherwise, eh?”
“Thanks for your help,” I say as we walk out.
“It is my pleasure. Send kisses to me for Alex.”
“Sure thing,” says Bell, trying not to laugh.
“There’s no cold war that cannot be settled by some time in bed.”
Janey
“Oh, what a tangled web we weave... when first we practice to deceive.”
Ingrid was on board with the full-on assault of the police precinct as soon as we were ready. Owen had already seen the amount of support she had, and that was just from her security based around the hotel.
I walk back downstairs to Bob's office which has become the real hub for everything. Britney is on the couch making gooey eyes at him and taking his picture with her cell phone. Young love really is a remarkable thing to watch. It can be sickly, at times, but so damned innocent.
Bob had come up with a detailed schematic plan of the precinct and Ty had taped it to the wall. It was evident that this could be a walk in the park or… one of the hardest things the group had ever done.
There was also a best-guess estimate of the size of the vault that Bob had constructed from the video. From what could be seen in the quick clip on Britney’s phone, the depth of the vault (that could contain cash) was approximately twenty-five to forty feet, give or take.
The estimated cash haul would be enormous. If the councilors never transferred any overseas, Bob had estimated a figure of around eighty million, at a bare minimum. Eighty million sitting comfortably in one building at the edge of a golf course.
“Don’t you think that estimate is too much?” I ask Bob.
“The casino is nearly ten years old. Just say it rakes in a quarter of a mil per week. Well, that’s thirteen million a year.” He smiles. “And that’s without any of the property sales, the club sales, the golf course sales or any other corruption we might’ve missed.”
“Okay, I get your point. It's a lot.” I open my eyes wide.
“How many vehicles to shift all that is something else I have to calculate,” Bob says grinning.
“Where is everyone else? There always seems to be a lack of people at the moment,” I ask.
“We 're not complaining are we Britney?” Bob says.
“Of course not, we have some. My hero is here, that’s all that matters.” Britney giggles as her phone takes another picture.
Bob swings his chair from under his desk. “The shit might hit the fan in the next few days.”
“Why?” I ask.
“Mikey has been to all the department heads who report to these four councilors. Give the
m a day or so to check if they’re in the shit, and then they’ll make their report upstairs.” He gives a serious look. “Give the councilors a day or so to try and come up with some understanding of what is happening. And then they’ll have to respond.”
“Are they thinking of moving the cash? I mean, do you think they’ll consider that?” I ask.
“Nah, where are they going to move it to? Remember, they don’t know that we’re aware that they have it.”
“Has Mikey taken the applications for this place at the same time?”
“He has. Hopefully, we’ll avoid any request for payment, much like the way the fire chief went off with his thumb up his ass.”
“Beau is a smart guy when it comes to money,” I say, impressed by his help.
“I know, he had me searching everywhere to try and find out how they did it,” Bob says as he crosses over to the couch.
“What do you think will happen when this is all over?” I ask Bob.
“I have a very strong feeling, once this has been sorted, some sense of normality will set in,” he says.
“We still have no clue about The Kingmaker’s daughter, only that note and the whiskey,” I say. “And where is the whiskey?”
“Mikey took it to a guy who does work for the cops, he’s going to test it.”
“I had a really bad dream when I had that glass,” I say. “Not a bad dream, it was a sexy dream.”
“That happened to Cally and Ty earlier in the series,” Bob says plainly.
“Say again?”
“The series of events. It happened earlier in the series of events,” Bob says. “He was drugged and Cally caught the shitty end of it.”
“It looks sorted now though. Especially when you see them together.”
“Yeah, it was more of a hiccup, but they sorted it eventually and now look at them,” Bob says. “Like me and sexy Britney.” Britney flashes her eyes at him. He looks immediately smitten.
“Do you believe in fate?”
“Me. I believe in technology, and how you can manipulate things with it,” Bob explains.
“We’ve heard about everything you’ve done, and you have basically been the one person who has been there all the way,” I say.
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