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“I didn’t see it,” she remarked, staring down at the Edwardian-style telephone. “It’s beautiful.”
“I prefer it to a piece of glass with a screen, but you can’t carry it around in your pocket,” he remarked with a grin. “Before I go, is there anything else I can get you?”
“No, and thank you.”
“Drink, think happy thoughts, and rest,” he said, rising to his feet and walking out the door.
As he left the room, she took another swallow, then realized she’d stopped shaking. She sipped again, then placed the glass on the nightstand, pulled the blanket over her body, and stretched out. Her eyelids were suddenly heavy, and she felt slightly giddy. Closing her eyes, she prayed for Marco’s safe return, then forced herself to think about her carefree days at her parents’ lakeside cabin.
* * *
Speeding through town, Marco turned onto Steph’s street, then slowed down as he searched out Joe’s white Subaru Forrester. Spying it directly opposite a stucco apartment building, he pulled in behind it, jumped from his Rover, and climbed into the back seat.
“Here are the keys to your Mercedes, boss,” Joe declared, handing them to Marco. “It’s parked in the same spot.”
“Great, thanks.”
“Is the girl okay?”
“Just shaken up,” Marco replied, “but did you have to shoot so close to my foot?”
“You said to make it convincing.”
“You succeeded. Okay, Benny, what’s the story,” Marco continued, looking over Benny’s shoulder at the laptop on his knees.
“The network had zero security. No firewall, just a password. As soon as you go in the building I’ll jam the signal.”
“Joe, listen up,” Marco began. “We have to assume the brothers will send someone when it goes down. We need to be quick. We’ll take the stairwell, less chance of running into neighbors. You pull down the shower rod and get the flash drive. I’ll stand inside the door and keep watch. If it’s stuck or taped, don’t mess with it, just bring the whole thing, minus the curtain of course.”
“Got it.”
“Are you set, Benny?”
“Yep, if anyone shows up I’ll text you.”
“Okay, Joe, let’s get this done.”
Climbing from the car, they jogged across the street and entered through the garage using Steph’s remote.
“Why didn’t we just cut the power?” Joe asked as they started up the stairs. “It would’ve been easier.”
“No control over the timing, and if there’s an onsite janitor it would be back on real quick.”
“Oh, right.”
Marco sensed Joe’s embarrassment.
“More reliable though,” Marco added. “I mean, when you’re dealing with IT stuff you never know what might happen.”
“That’s what I was thinking,” Joe remarked. “I don’t know how Benny does what he does, but I don’t trust it half the time. This is her floor, boss,” Joe declared, reaching the second landing.
Opening the door, Marco peered down the hall. “All clear. Go ahead. I’ll watch from here.”
Slipping past him, Steph’s keys in his hand, Joe walked swiftly down the passage. As he disappeared into the apartment, Marco glanced at the ceiling and spied the tiny black box tucked into a corner.
“Come on, Joe, we don’t have all day,” he muttered under his breath.
No sooner had the words left his lips when Joe reappeared, closed and locked the door, and walked briskly back to him.
