Page 116 of Oddly Fine

“What exactly are your qualifications?” Matthew asked doubtfully.

Beckett would feel the same way if Gill hadn’t recommended her directly. He knew his boss didn’t mess around.

“I don’t make a habit of justifying my presence to small-dick assholes,” she replied coolly, not even blinking as she insulted him point blank.

Matthew huffed out a laugh of disbelief.

Beckett couldn’t help his instinctive bark of laughter.

“Well, just out of curiosity then,” Hayes said, arms crossed over his chest, looking perfectly relaxed as he smiled charmingly.

She sighed like she’d rather not provide the information, but she answered anyway.

“I was a CIA analyst for several decades. More or less built the cybercrime division,” she shrugged. “Among other things.”

“Is your pension so lousy that you’re already out of retirement?” Beckett asked.

“There’s only so much Scrabble and Pinochle a woman can take before she threatens to murder her neighbours.”

Beckett thought she made a good point. After a life of hunting down criminals and being at the forefront of an evolving technology, he imagined that sitting around and doing nothing would drive anyone insane.

“God—this is what I have to look forward to, isn’t it?” Hayes mumbled.

Beckett had the distinct impression he’d been talking to himself. He smiled at him with affectionate amusement.

“Very well,” Matthew said, like he was giving her his seal of approval. She rolled her eyes, because that was entirely unnecessary and she knew it.

“So how do you propose we proceed?” Hayes asked, since they could quite easily break in anywhere and steal shit—but hacking someone’s computer required a much more advanced skillset than they possessed.

“I have neither the crayons, nor the patience to explain the intricacies of it to you—but, tell me, how do you boys feel about a good old undercover bluff?” she asked, as she cracked her knuckles and waggled her eyebrows.

“I want to wear a big porno movie mustache,” Beckett replied, excitedly.

The others groaned in unison.

Chapter 21

“If I die,” Matthew said over the open channel, “tell your brother he was the best lover I’ve ever had.”

“Please know that I will shoot you when this is over with,” Beckett grumbled in response.

Hayes couldn’t help but smile.

The plan was remarkably simple.

John Clemens was a workaholic—unsurprising since he was getting paid handsomely to manage all of Mario Rosario’s properties, and failure to meet expectations would most likely lead to his permanent termination—read also: custom fitting for cement shoes. He worked from home, and rarely left the condominium tower he lived in—most likely so he was always ready to respond to Mario’s every need at any given moment. The only time he left his condo was to go fishing—which he did at the crack of dawn, like clockwork on Saturdays and Sundays, or to have dinner at the high-end restaurant located in the same building as his residence.

La cuillère d’argent was a set menu dining experience that appealed to the local aristocrats and the rich tourists seeking fine dining and exceptional views. Thankfully, Matthew had managed to get them a reservation. Since John dined there every night at 7:00, they’d shown up around 6:30 and gotten a table near the front door. As soon as the bald man arrived, Hayes had called it in, officially putting their plan into motion.

While the building was owned by the Mario Rosario, the restaurant was co-owned by Matthew and his sister, which came as a pleasant surprise when they’d sat down to orchestrate the whole thing. This meant that Matthew’s presence there would not be suspicious and why he’d been designated to be the one to break into John’s flat while John dined alone at La cuillère d’argent. Once inside the flat, he’d simply insert the connection device Adeline had given him, which granted her access to John’s computer, and leave her with the hard part of hacking John’s computer and accessing the necessary information.

For once, Hayes and Beckett actually had the easiest part of the job. All they had to do was sit back, enjoy a perfectly decadent meal, and update the team on John’s location. According to the restaurant’s files, which Adeline had already hacked, John usually spent one to two hours enjoying his meal. Adeline had estimated it would take her anywhere from 15 minutes to 3 ½ hours to get the information they needed. As a result, Beckett and Hayes were on standby to cause delays and distractions if she needed them to.

For now, though, Hayes savored his outrageously priced champagne and caviar.

“I don’t get all the fuss,” Beckett said, sneering at the little black pearls like they’d personally offended him. “They’re just really fucking salty—"

“I watched you dip a cold hotdog in soy sauce last week,” Hayes pointed out, trying to look highly offended and not let his fondness show for his outrageous partner.