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“Hey, yourself. How’s it going in Napa?”
“Well, it’s been rainy, but I’m not complaining too much. The Marians put on a massive wine tasting for us yesterday afternoon. Needless to say, we got hammered. I’m only just now waking up. How are things there?”
“Fine. I mean, not fine. But… Well, the op is fine, my heart… not so much.”
MJ’s tone softened. “How so your heart? Tell me what’s going on.”
I thought for a minute about what I wanted to admit and what I wanted to keep close to the vest. Honestly, I needed a friend. I needed someone I could trust completely, someone who could give me perspective. “I’ve done something stupid.”
“Stupider than stealing priceless works of art?”
“I’m being serious. I think… I think I’m falling for the FBI agent. And, before you say anything, I know how stupid that is. I know I can’t trust him. This is the man who’s been after me for years, who’s wanted to put me in prison, whose entire career is based on prosecuting art thieves. But… I… I don’t know. It’s like… It’s like I can’t help it. And I’m not sure I want to.”
“Aww,” MJ cooed. “Baby brother’s falling in love. Finally. Tell me all about the stud muffin.”
She didn’t get it. “This is not a good thing, MJ. This is awful. There’s no future for me with this guy. And more than that, I just realized that my immunity deal does not cover me from prosecution by other entities outside of the US.”
I heard a woman’s voice speaking softly in the background. I was sure it was MJ’s girlfriend, Neckie. “I’m sorry, sis. I didn’t mean to interrupt your time with Neckie. Tell her hello for me.”
“It’s fine. She just asked me if I wanted some coffee. We have some time before she gets back. Listen, about the immunity deal, you told me there was no evidence against you and that we didn’t really need to worry about making sure you were covered.”
“I know, and that’s still true. I can tell the bullshit he told me about the Berlin job was probably just that. Bullshit. But, remember the exclusion in the contract? It says I’m not protected against prosecution and crimes related to the theft of the Hungarian crown. But this whole mission is to steal the crown from the person who has it.”
“Honey, you’re protected while on a sanctioned mission. That crown mission is sanctioned, right?”
I looked out across the water, noticing the current had picked up, causing whitecaps to form. It was less welcoming than usual, more menacing and dark. It was like the Aegean was reflecting my own mood.
“Yes, it’s sanctioned. But…”
“King, do not tell me you’re planning something outside of this mission.” MJ’s bossy sister voice made it very clear that was unacceptable.
“The man who has the crown… He… he was the one who got me into all of this. I want… I want him to get punished.”
There was silence from the other end. I wasn’t sure if MJ was thinking through what I had said, or if she was gathering herself up to tear me a new one. It turned out to be the latter.
“King, you promised you were done with this life. You wanted to be done. You very specifically told me you wanted to be on the right side of the law from here on out. If you follow the FBI’s instructions on this mission, you will be fulfilling your plan for the future. But if you decide to go rogue, to do something stupid like a criminal would do, then you will be right back where you were before. And you’ll be no better than the man who got you into this. I want you to think about that.”
She was right. That was never in doubt. But that didn’t mean it was an easy pill to swallow.
“I just… I just want to see if there’s a way to do both. The FBI can get the crown back, and they can nail a longtime art thief in the process. Wouldn’t that be a good thing?”
“No!” MJ’s shout came through the phone enough to hurt my ear. “You listen to me right now. The minute they have that man in custody, he starts telling them every single thing Kingston Wilde did wrong while you were working together. He tells them every heist you ever planned, every illegal move you ever made, and every illegal move you ever even considered. He tells them where to find evidence of your work, he tells them where your money came from, and he provides all kinds of proof we have to assume he has for your roles in a million thefts you committed together. You’re crazy if you want your special agent to get that man in an interrogation room.”
