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“Yes, sir. Everything is there.”
“Good job, mate.” Turning to look at the brothers, I give them a pointed look. There can be no fuckups here. If Aliana gets hurt because of someone’s stupidity, their families will pay. “Everyone knows where to meet after. Be there by five, or we come looking. No one will be left behind. Understood?”
“Yes.”
“Go on.”
“We are taking the truck?” Casper claps me on the shoulder. He knows I’m worried. Knows how this feels.
Nothing will make this right until I have her in my arms again.
“Yes.”
“You’re banking on her being inside.”
Not a question, but I nod anyway. “She’s smart. Way smarter than me, and I know that stealing this from beneath the watchful eyes of Scotland Yard and Interpol won’t be easy, but sneaking onto an isolated truck isn’t impossible. We know this. They’ll watch and track all movement while outside, but once inside behind a locked door, they always become sloppy.”
“Underneath the truck?”
“Or above.”
“We’ll help her, bro. You know I’m here for you.”
I’m not the biggest sentimental bloke with my family, but in that moment, I turn and give my cousin a quick hug. It catches him off guard, but he squeezes me just as hard before we pull apart. “Thank you, and I apologize ahead of time. It’ll all make sense soon, and I understand now your reaction when it came to Aurora. I wouldn’t hesitate to kill for her, and if shit goes south, I’ll give my life for hers.”
“It won’t come to that. Trust me.”
We bump fists, and then it’s all work. No more jokes. No talking.
We walk toward our destination while the commotion on the dock grows in crescendo. Dock workers yell out, and heavy machinery is being used to lift the crate. Every employee is watching that wooden box as if it were the holy grail while ignoring the two men who don’t belong there.
Shouts to be careful fill the night’s sky.
Loud noises follow as machinery lowers and then opens it.
And all while Casper slides in the keycard through the reader, making sure to avoid touching anything. He uses a handkerchief to open the door, and just before we step through, there’s a loud cheer from the unloading zone.
The metal door closes, and all noises cease, especially the low whining noise from the cameras as they move to follow our movement. We don’t look up while I press the scrambler to fuck with the signal, making it impossible for photo detection to play a part in the case when it’s discovered we have it.
The truck is right where Archie said it would be, and we open the cab to find our bulletproof vests and jackets, the holster that these drivers wear, and two badges. Each has a fake name, company IDs, and a pack of gum in mine that Casper raises an eyebrow to.
“It’s her favorite candy and trust me, she’ll freak out. I thought it might make her smile.”
Changing takes seconds, and I jump into the cabin and grab the set of keys along with the lock from the glovebox. I switch the originals to ours before coming back to where I wait.
After a minute, we hear a small thump and low curse. The noise is easily hidden behind the commotions the loading crew makes and the orders being shouted out by the museum director.
“Where are the men driving the decoy?” she suddenly yells out, and the Collado brothers walk forward, changed and with a set of papers in hand. They are dressed like us, and the older of the two makes eye contact through the side mirror as dock employees secure and lock up the artifact. “You two need to split up at the designated intersection. The maps are in the truck.”
“Yes, ma’am,” they answer in unison.
“Thank you, gentlemen.” There’s a hint of a fluster in her voice. It’s softer and husky.
“Of course.” This time it’s the younger of the two who answers, amusement coloring his tone while from my view, his brother’s eyes become hard. The hell? Within minutes, two other engines roar to life and Casper turns the ignition, waiting for the signal to back out and go.
“You okay?” he asks, his face holding concern. My knee bounces and my jaw ticks.
“Two of them.,” is all I can manage through gritting teeth, my eyes on the live feed from inside. Again, two figures. The male and the female; she’s doing all the work, though. Prying the container open with a crowbar to make sure they’re in the right truck. “They came in from the top, and their hope is to be out before we leave. There’s a beam above the truck they could climb out onto, and then escape through a window just below the roof line.”
