Page 87 of Smoke Screen
It had to be Rory. Had to be. “If it’s a coincidence, it’s a damned convenient one. He knew the queen’s pieces were boosted. That hasn’t been released.”
Phin swung to Cruz. “Have you found anything on the queen’s collection?”
“Zippo. It’s all about the Pierres. It could be out there and I haven’t found it yet.”
Doubtful. Cruz had a knack for dealing with lowlifes online. Somehow, he slipped into that greasy underbelly and let it go the minute he shut down his laptop. Phin had always admired that. His ability to turn ugliness off.
Zeke tapped his phone’s screen a few times, then turned the volume up and set it down. “By the way, Thompson agreed to send us the video you wanted from the executive suite.”
Alrighty then. Loads of progress today. “Great. When we get it, I’ll take a look.”
“For?” This from Cruz.
The sound of a phone ringing filled the room and Thompson immediately picked up, cutting off Cruz’s inquiry. “Hello?”
“Sir,” Zeke said, “I have Rohan, Cruz, and Phin on the line. Thank you for your patience while I assembled the team.”
“Hey, guys. Louis called me about ten minutes ago. He took it upon himself, after being advised not to, to offer a reward. I’ve been holding him off, but my father is antsy. That makes Louis panic. All that being said, we’d like to put an end to this situation as quickly as possible.”
Phin sat forward in his seat, rested his elbows on the table. “Sir, it’s Phin. Do you know how he put this reward out? Who he talked to?”
“He told me he spoke to a couple of dealers he trusts. I’m told they have connections on the black market.”
In which case, one of those dealers could have reached out to Rory. “That’s not unusual. I spoke to someone this morning who has similar contacts.”
“The good news,” Cruz said, “is they’ve kept it quiet. We haven’t seen anything online regarding a reward or the queen’s collection.”
But Rory knew. Phin chose not to add that little factoid. Wouldn’t serve anything at this point.
“It won’t stay that way,” Zeke said. “Now that it’s out there, we should move quickly. What did Louis say regarding this reward?”
“Reward, my ass. I’m calling it a ransom. One of his contacts called him. This contact, he wouldn’t tell me who, says he knows where the jewels are hidden.”
Zeke exchanged a look with Phin, who rolled his bottom lip out and gave a noncommittal shrug. Could be something. Could be bullshit. He held his hand to Zeke, the I’ve-got-this signal. “Sir, Phin again. Do we know which pieces?”
“Louis said it’s the Pierres and the queen’s collection.”
That made two people, Rory and whoever Louis spoke to, who knew the queen’s pieces were in play.
“Gentlemen,” Thompson said, his voice low and direct, “what’s your gut reaction? Do you think whoever we’re dealing with actually knows where the pieces are?”
Phin exchanged another look with Zeke, holding his hand for Zeke to take that one. “Sir, I like to have proof and we’re not even close to that. What else did Louis say? How is this reward supposed to be handled?”
“Wire transfer. But there’s a catch.”
Of course there was. Catches always made Phin think scam. Then again, dealing in the black market, nothing was easy. “Louis said,” Thompson continued, “the person knows the location, but it’s a secure area. He can’t get in.”
Well, that’s a problem.Zeke held his hands up, giving each of them the WTF face. Phin waved it off. Wouldn’t be the first time they busted into a secure building. Still, it was a pain in the ass that came with a lot of risk. The main one being the legal headaches and possible jail time.
In this case, they had a former President of the United States on their side. That alone was a bonus.
Phin glanced at Cruz, who wore one hell of a big-ass smile. This was right up his alley. The guy lived for action. The more adrenaline, the better.
Cruz sat forward. “Sir, we’d need to know what we’re dealing with in terms of the location. Security, floor plan, that sort of thing.”
“If I’m understanding,” Thompson said, “you’re saying you’d be willing to breach the area?”
“That’s correct,” Zeke said so matter-of-factly that Phin had to question all of their decisions. Did anyone find it shocking that they had no issues—none—with breaking and entering?
