Page 154 of Smoke Screen
All good. This guy wasn’t going anywhere.
Still, Phin wouldn’t take any chances. He took a step, moving backward while eyeing the guard. “We’re getting out of here,” he said to Maddy, who fell in step with him.
He pressed the button on his ear bud. “We’re coming out,” he said. “And Maddy needs a bathroom.”
“Oh, man,” Cruz said. “You scared me. We’ll grab you at the gate.”
After hoppinginto the backseat of the nothing-special, gray sedan BARS kept on hand in case they needed a nondescript, blendable vehicle, Phin dialed Zeke, putting the phone on speaker.
“Everybody safe?” Zeke asked.
“We’re good. In the car with Cruz and Rohan. Where are you?”
“Looking for a quiet place to pull over so we can crack this safe open.”
Being prepared, thanks to Rohan-king-of-doom, they’d brought a drill, extra titanium drill bits, a borescope, a mini-vacuum, and of course, a generator in case they needed electricity.
“The condo?”
“I thought of it, but it’s thirty minutes from here. Thinking we find an abandoned building, pull into the lot, and do our thing.”
“If you have a problem,” Rohan said, “we could be stuck there awhile drawing attention.”
“Hold on,” Maddy said, her thumbs flying over her own phone’s screen. “Zeke, if you’re not too far from us, we’re only fifteen minutes from the Thompson Center’s storage facility. It has a security guard. If my key card still worked, I’d have access, but I don’t. President Thompson could tell the guard to let us in.”
“Is it big enough for us to work in?”
“For sure. It’s a small warehouse. It doesn’t have bay doors like the one we just left, but you could pull up front and take the safe inside.”
Cruz stopped for a light on the busy thoroughfare and eyed Maddy in the rearview. “Where am I going?”
“Make a left.”
“I’ll call Thompson,” Phin said. “I’ll explain the situation and see if he’ll let us use it. Maddy, send Zeke the address. Bro, we’ll meet you there. I’ll call you back.”
In full get-'er-done mode, Phin hung up on Zeke and dialed Thompson.
“Phin,” Thompson said, picking up on the first ring. “How’s it going?”
“Good, sir. We’ve secured a safe that, based on the intel from Vera’s guy, we believe has the jewels in it.”
Thompson let out a breath. “Excellent.”
“Unfortunately, the combination we have didn’t work. It’s not a problem. Zeke can crack it open, but we’re two hours from our place and don’t want to spend time driving. I’m aware the Thompson Center has a warehouse near our location.” He wouldn’t say how he knew this, but it also didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out. “To save time, if you’ll allow it, we’d like to swing in there and open the safe.”
Don’t ask if Maddy is with me.
If he did, what could Phin say? Technically, until the feds cleared her, Maddy was still a suspect.
Total pickle.
“Do it,” Thompson said. “I’ll have the guard let you in.”
Phin held up his fist, pumping it. How he loved decisive people.
“If you don’t hear from me,” Thompson said, “assume it’s set. Do you need anything else?”
“No, sir. We have everything. Thank you. I’ll call you as soon as the safe is open.”
