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Chapter 5

“Stop being such a pussy.”

Calum whacks my shoulder playfully. I fake a wince.

“I’m just saying, usually we do a stakeout for these things. Watch and gather intel before we do our little mini, money heist routine.”

“Ernesto’s intel was solid.” I shift to lean against the passenger door, facing him fully. “The meeting is in twenty minutes. I’m sorry we don’t got time to do a whole call-of-duty, reconnaissance mission. And really… money heist? We ain’t thieves.”

Calum’s hand plows through his hair. “Then what do you think you’re going to find? Do you think Gaza just leaves incriminating evidence for thirsty investigators like you to just stumble on?”

I let out an exasperated sigh. I take a breath, staring out of the windshield. Our recon van is parked on the opposite side of the street, right by the docks. But the meeting is at a shipping yard in the bay of cargo containers. A shipping division owned by none other than Zenith. With Orian himself attending, the meet is too hot. It’s basically a gathering of elite crime lords. We wouldn’t make it even a mile near that place without getting a bullet to the brain.

No. Had to play it smart.

So, it had me thinking about what Ernesto said about Gaza living on his yacht. Someone like him wouldn’t be dumb enough to keep any dirt on him just in case he’d get an unwanted visit by the coast guard. But the man is too paranoid to stash anything imperative away from him. No, he would still want to keep it on site.

There was a case last year. One of his men got arrested, and the guy got chivvied in lock-up before he even had the chance to snitch. Case gone. The only thing that they got was Gaza doesn’t do any electronic transfers. Which means he’s old school and to spell it out. He probably records his dealings by hand in a ledger. All the old timers do it. And I’m betting if he’s in business with Zenith. It will be there.

This, of course, is all just speculation.

“Look, you gotta trust me on this.” My head lolls to the side to stare back at him deeply. “Have I ever steered you wrong?”

He gapes at me with comically large eyes. “No, you just steer me into danger. I know you’re big on the whole risk and reward thing. But this is crazy. Do you know what would happen if you were caught? If they knew you had illegal means of taking down illegal businesses?”

I shoot up a finger. “Not illegal.”

“What do you call what we’re about to do?”

“Necessary,” I say with a grin.

He shakes his head at me, defeated. “One day you’re gonna get me killed, princess—” he bolts up in his seat, “—check it out, we got tactical movement.”

A string of armed men in black march out. Clearly bad guys. Gaza’s in the middle, the most prominent one of all. The buttons of his fine-embroidered shirt clinging on for dear life. His gritty, salt-and-pepper beard match his charcoal grey suit. Shortly, they all roll out in a military-style convoy, all surrounding the Mercedes Benz G wagon. How cliché of him.

“Let’s go.”

I lurch out of the seat, crouched; I hobble to the back, where all the magic happens. Calum plops down on the seat before the table and I fix on my earpiece. My tight, four-strap backpack is already secured to my rear. Calum hits the spacebar and the impressive display of several monitors all blink awake at once. He slides the microphone over and logins into the computer.

I glance at the camera drone perched on the edge.

“You sure this ruse of yours is going to work?”

“If it doesn’t… Gaza’s remaining men will give your face a new breathing hole,” he says, whilst his fingers fly across the keyboard with expert ease. He then plugs the microphone into another device. “Since they use radios. I’m going to use analogue modulation to tap into and isolate their frequency with my very own transceiver.”

I nod, faking understanding. “Your nerd talk really turns me on.”

He looks back at me, fighting a smile. “Be serious.”

I give him my no-nonsense face. “Then once I’m in, you’re gonna place a jamming field over the entire area so they can’t call the cavalry. I only have a five-minute window to get in, sleuth and get out.” I run a gloved hand through his hair before he can swat it away. “I got this, goldilocks.”

He shakes his head. A life-giving smile conquers his face. “Famous last words.”

He activates his transceiver thing. For a few moments, there’s only static until the speakers boom with foreign voices. An exchange of terse words. Sounds like they’re giving each other updates.

“Hope you’ve been practicing your Spanish.”

“I only had to learn a few sentences.”

He tunes in and initiates the voice modulator to disguise his voice.

”Informe de estado. Veo movimiento no autorizado.”

In a second, multiple voices start flooding in.

"Dónde?”

"Cual es tu ubicacion actual?”

"Diga su nombre y número.”

Only three offenders aboard. Okay, I got this. I’ve done worse.

Calum tunes in again. ”Posible agresor tratando de romper la terraza."

"En ruta!”

Calum pats my side urgently. “Go! This should buy you time. Get in and get me eyes, there could be other possible offenders abroad.”

I pull the balaclava over my head. I jump for the door, sliding it open. I hop out, making a cross-country leap across the road. Flickering street lights cast intermittent halos in the abyss-black night sky, their weak glow barely piercing the thick shroud of darkness. The uneven light lends an eerie cover, shadows shifting with each step, the sound of my swift approach swallowed by the whispering waves below. The salty tang of the sea air mingles with the faint scent of diesel, guiding me towards the looming silhouette of Gaza's yacht.

The earpiece crackles before Calum’s voice breaks through. “You good?”

“All clear.”

I reach the stern of the ship. I grip the waist-length railing, vaulting right over it. “You got eyes in the sky?”

“Launching white wing now.”

A small snort escapes me. “Would that make you the white Sam, and me your black Bucky?”

The glass doors are wide open, and I sneak right inside, my eyes doing a thorough scan.

“Of course you’re my number two. Since we both know, I’m obviously the main character.”

“As if.” I whisper back. “Sam would be nothing without Bucky. Facts.”

“That’s because Bucky is always best friends with the hero. Double facts.”

Wow. When I think of a yacht, I think of luxury. But for a yacht, everything is impeccable and shiny. However, it feels more like a floating, fancy prison than a lavish on-the-sea home. I make my way out of a contemporary living room area. And down a Persil white hallway with incandescent lights lining the walls and steel bars mounted on the low-ceilinged roof.

I try one door. Storage room. Another. Useless. Footsteps clap on the porcelain tiled floors. Shit! I scurry back into the storage room, gently closing the door behind me. Right then the shoes thud past me, growing, then receding with the distance. Once my heart stops smashing against my ribcage, then do I gather enough courage to get out.

After a few more attempts, I step into the cool embrace of an air-conditioned server room, the sudden drop in temperature a sharp contrast to the warmth outside. Rows of sleek, black server racks line the walls. The rhythmic hum of cooling fans fills the air. Red and white lights flash intermittently on the servers and cables snake along the floor and ceiling. The atmosphere is sterile with the pulse of digital life palpable in the air. I unstrap the bag, picking out a diminutive device that will help him bypass their cyber security and give Calum unimpeded access.

“White wing has visual… it’s looking insane out there… men in black crawling everywhere in the shipping yard. It’s like a crime festival. Felons only.”

“That fast?” My voice suppressed to hushed tones.

“The yard is like only five minutes from the docks. You in?”

“You’ll have eyes in...” I strap the backpack on, heading towards the primary server. “5...4...3...2...” I open the ingress and plug in the device. “Now.”

“Kay, just give me a sec.”

I throw constant glances at the door that I can just imagine swinging open.

“Guy with a gun can walk in any moment.”

“Compromised the security of the firewalll… almost too easy. I’m kinda disappointed,” he reports, “I’m in.”

I yank out the device, closing the door. I pocket it.

“Pulling up surveillance… yesss. I’ve got live feed on the inside. I have eyes on you and visual on the meet. And can I just say. You look beautiful.”

I make a brisk start to the door, looking down at myself. “My face is covered?”

“Exactly.”

“Such a prick.” I reach for the door, cracking it open to catch a glimpse outside. “Okay nerd, where’s Gaza’s office?”

“Two doors north. Better be quick, guard number two is doing perimeter sweep. Other two ain’t doing jack but talking on the sun deck.”

I zip down the corridor. “That’s because no one would be dumb enough to rob Gaza.”

“Except for you,” he retorts.

“That’s why he won’t see it coming.” I make it to the door, pushing down on the handle. It won’t budge. “Plus, I’m not robbing him. Not really.” My eyes search the stretch of white. And I spot a camera at the top right corner. I wave at it. “Hey Gandalf, I kinda need to pass here.”

Promptly, the door blinks green. I burst inside. His office is compact, basically bare. I rush to his desk. I inspect all the draws. Empty. I move the mouse and the screen goes on. Locked.

“You think you can hack into his computer?”

After a moment of productive silence, he responds, “No way... seems the old timer got new skills. The computer system in his possession is equipped with an advanced encryption standard algorithm. AES is exceptionally efficient in its 128-bit form and also employs encryption keys of 192 and 256 bits for heavy-duty encryption purposes.”

“Can you crack it?”

“Not in the time you have... my lawd.

Panic flares within. “What?”

“Orian Moon just arrived. All the leaders did. I recognise some of them… big hitters ...and we have it all on camera. Okay. You need to get out of there.”

“Getting them on camera isn’t an actionable offense unless they got product. Which I know they don’t.”

“They don’t,” he says grudgingly, “but your five is up, baby girl.”

Frustration forces me to kick the jaunty leg of the desk. “No, I’ve come too far.” I pause to think, focusing my thoughts. “I don’t think he has anything on his computer anyway… that’s not where the gold is. Calum, pull up the schematics of the ship...are there any new alternations?”

“You need to get out. You’ve got a tango approaching.”

I dash out of the office, zooming aimlessly through the labyrinth of glaring white corridors.

“Where do I go?”

“Gaza’s main suite at the end of the hall. It’s empty.”

When I reach it, I open the one door, slipping inside.

“Hey you were right, looks like there were renovations done to the yacht. Not recent though. There’s a secret compartment in his bedroom. East side wall.”

I spin around. I gawk at the disgustingly huge, nude and obscenely graphic self-portrait.

“I’ll never be able to unsee that.”

“Is that his… yep. I’m gonna sanitize my eyes now.”

I dart to the portrait, removing it from the hook. I place it down against the wall, revealing a steel box vault embedded into the wall.

“Okay, this is starting to feel like a heist. I can’t break into a vault.”

“Relax, it’s a high grade electronic safe. Sophisticated but hackable.”

“Can you—”

“Shit! They shot white wing, shit!”

“What?”

“There were legit snipers on top of the shipping crates. Hadassah, they know. We’re compromised. Abort. Get out of there!”

“Open the safe.”

“Hadassah, stop dicking around!”

“Open the damn safe.”

He blares a lithany of cuss words, his fingers hammering so hard on the keyboard I can hear it through the comms.

“I can’t bypass the biometrics. It requires a retinal scan. So unless you plan to gouge Gaza’s eyes out. Get out of there!”

“Do it or I die. I’m not leaving here empty-handed.”

“I’ll kill you myself.”

Promptly, there’s a loud click. Then two more clicks, followed by churning gears.

“It’s amazing what one can do when they’re under pressure.”

“Or when they’re desperate,” he corrects aggressively.

The safe’s door pops open. To my surprise, despite the many shelves, it only holds one thing. No money. No fake passports. I pluck out a book. But it doesn’t look like just any book. Leather bound, gilded edges with metal rivets, looking mythical.

“You got incoming!”

I remove the backpack, quickly shoving the mysterious book inside and strapping the bag on. Before I can even turn. A pair of rough hands grab me from behind.

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