“Twelve?”Liam asked, backing away before the guards arrested him for their assortment of bruises.
“Twelve,” Josh muttered, and Liam breathed a sigh of relief.
“Everybody’s clothes are in the bathrooms,” Josh said.“Ten minutes to change.Break.”
Tonight, Liam thought, when he’d literally rinsed away the sweat in his armpits and asscrack and held Josh in his arms, he’d ask Josh where the expression “Break!”came from.The crew used it a lot, and he wondered if it was a sports term, since their basement meeting room was decorated with the colors and logos of every sports team in Chicago.
His mind was wandering, a stress response, he knew, and he pulled it into focus again as he spotted his bathroom.Every one of them had a different restroom to run into, and every restroom had a yellow backpack with a worn, nondescript T-shirt in it, and a pair of pants in anything but black.
Tienne was waiting in Josh’s bathroom so he and Josh could exchange clothes.Tienne wore a white shirt and tan baggy shorts, and within minutes, he was escaping wearing all black with a yellow backpack that held a rolled-up reproduction of Rembrandt van Rijn’sAn Angel with Titus’ Features,which had disappeared from circulation when the Nazis had stolen it in the late 1930s.
They didn’t think the authorities would care that the reproduction was missing, since the real one was now hanging in its place, and Danny did like his trophies.
Twenty minutes later, Liam was back in the Palais Royale shopping center, his yellow backpack on his back, the black one wadded in his pants pocket, while the Louvre, he was sure, was swarming like a hornet’s nest.
“How we doing, gang?”Josh asked, and Liam glanced up to see him walking briskly toward their exit platform.
“Grace and I are heading for the airport,” Molly said.“Peace out.Good job, everybody.”
“Liam, don’t let Josh die,” Grace said, and Liam grimaced, because of course he said it.
“Josh can take care of himself,” he said, and was relieved by Josh’s gentle snort.
“Tor and Marco are in place for our signature,” Stirling said.“And I just got word that stage one is complete on the other side of the world.”
Liam let out a breath.Stage one had been the most dangerous part.
“And I’ll be sitting next to Josh in five,” Liam said.
“Off to Germany to meet our next team.”
“Good work, everybody,” Josh said.“Comms off.”
Liam watched as Josh hit the bud in his ear, and then, to Liam’s horror, he staggered.It was almost imperceptible—if he hadn’t been watching to see if Josh was okay, he would have missed it.In spite of their plan to meet when they sat, Liam picked up the pace, coming alongside Josh and slipping his arm around his waist.
“Almost missed you,” he said, breathing with relief as Josh let him support some of that slight weight.
“I’m here,” Josh said, his breath coming fast.
“Adrenaline?”Liam asked kindly.
“Didn’t expect to crash so hard,” Josh muttered.“God, I’m glad we’re not flying to Germany.”
“Not too much longer,” Liam said, kissing his temple.
There were big screens along parts of the mall concourse, showcasing things to visit in the Louvre, and suddenly the one in front of them erupted with a breaking story.
The volume was turned down, but Josh and Liam got a good view of the famous glass pyramid above them, and the hologram bounced off one of the panes into the pathway to the museum itself.
It featured an outstretched hand, beams of rainbow light coming from the fingertips.
“Nice job, Stirling,” Josh murmured as they rushed past.
“Did Tienne design that?”Liam asked.He’d only heard the caper finale described as “the signature.”
“Oh yeah.Danny gave the specifics, though.He said Kadjic’s smart but unimaginative.It’s why he keeps stealing and hoarding art.He doesn’t understand it himself—he just wants to keep it from other people.”
“Nice,” Liam said thoughtfully.“So Danny’s rebranding.Instead of ‘Lightfingers,’ meaning ‘thief,’ he’s becoming ‘Lightfingers, the spreader of light.’”
