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“Okay, Liam, here goes nothing,” Marco declared, tapping out a message to Oleg.
I’m ready to throw the switch, Mr. Zeppelin.
Liam began to pace while Marco waited, staring at the screen.
Now.
Marco ran his fingers through his hair, the signal for Benny to cut the power.
The compound was plunged into darkness.
But Benny had worked his magic.
The cameras continued to film and record.
* * *
Steph had thought she’d heard the panel slide away. Opening her eyes and seeing no one in the room, she’d decided she’d imagined it. Though her shoulder ached, it wasn’t terrible, and anxious to know if anything was happening, she opened her laptop and clicked on the camera feed.
Her pulse ticked up.
The operation had begun.
Staring at the grounds, the moon offered enough light to see men grappling near the wall. She watched for a minute, then flipped through the rooms. “What the fuck?” she gasped, her heart suddenly leaping. “No, no, no.”
With its floor-to-ceiling windows, the lounge across the hall had just enough light from the moon to see Marco’s tall frame and the stocky build of another man.
Marco’s arms were raised, and the other man held a gun.
Horrified and panic-stricken, Steph grabbed the house phone and dialed 011. Benny didn’t pick up.
Staring around the room, she searched frantically for some kind of weapon. Seeing nothing, she hobbled into the bathroom and opened the cabinet under the sink. Finding a spray can of bathroom cleaner, she snatched it up, and grabbed the bathrobe hanging on the back of the door. Hastily slipping it on as she limped across to the panel, she headed into the dark, gloomy hall.
* * *
When Liam had produced his revolver, Marco had quietly lifted his arms in the air.
“I’m sorry, I do like you,” Liam grunted. “I wish this could have happened another way. Toss your gun on the floor.”
“I don’t have a gun,” Marco replied, then glanced out the window. “I take it the guys wearing FBI vests fighting with my men belong to Oleg. Not a bad plan.”
“More will be climbing over the fence shortly,” Liam snapped. “If your boys are smart they’ll lie down, and I don’t believe you. Lift your trouser leg?”
“Why did you go down this road, Liam?” Marco asked, bending down and pulling up the cuffs of his slacks. “See? Nothing. I told you, I’m not carrying. Tell me, Liam, why? You’ve been a law and order guy for years. What changed?”
“What changed? You think I changed? Fuck, Marco, I’ve been bent since the day I started. I’ve just been clever enough not to get caught. Drugs mostly, but I’ve had enough. It’s time for me to get out and have some fun. Oleg presented me with the perfect opportunity. Just one of your paintings—one—” he added emphatically, “will pay for a very cushy life on an island someplace.”
“And your partner? Is Jack bent too?”
Liam laughed out loud.
“Jack’s an idiot,” he exclaimed, still chuckling. “He has no clue.”
Stu’s phone chimed in Marco’s pocket.
“Perfect timing. That’ll be Oleg. He just heard everything,” Liam barked, his voice abruptly changing. “Answer it.”
Lifting it out, Marco read the text.
