“Here,” Cruz says, tapping on the second x. We’re allowing for a five-mile radius, figuring that’s the most the escort cars will give the trucks before they blow the construction stop.
Bishop nods. “Once we take out the driver, we’ll zip tie him and toss him in the trunk of the car we borrowed.”
“And I’ll drive the truck, following the same route to their distribution center,” Gage finishes with a nod.
“And once Gage signals he’s in the driver’s seat, then we’ll let the escort cars through. We’ll hold them off for as long as we can,” Cruz offers.
“And around this point,” Gage says, strolling over to the whiteboard and pointing at the third x. “I’ll signal that I need to pull over here.”
“Which is where Lola and I come in,” Bellamy says, her eyes narrowing on the whiteboard like she’s seeing without seeing.
Bishop nods. “Once the truck and both cars pull over, we’ll have a very limited window of opportunity. We’ve picked the best location we can, but it’s still a fucking risk. So be quick, but don’t fucking kill anyone.” He slides his gaze to me as he says that.
I look down my nose at him. “Don’t look at me like that.”
“I’m looking at everyone,” Bishop says, swinging his gaze through all of us. “Disarm and zip tie.”
“And toss ‘em in the back of an eighteen-wheeler,” I say with a little whistle.
“You better fucking hope they don’t punch out the taillights on the way to that shitty gas station where the eighteen-wheeler is parked,” Lola drawls. “Or we’re all going to prison.”
“Not these cars,” Bellamy says before I can. “The security company made some enhancements to their escort vehicles, meaning they either disabled or removed those features, so we should be good.”
Bishop stares at her for a beat before he turns toward Lola. At this point, you and Rafe will drive one escort car, Cruz and Bellamy will be in the back with Gage driving the truck, and I’ll be driving the second car with Beck.”
Beckett clears his throat and looks at us. “Yeah, so the software’s solid. I found a backdoor in the casino’s inventory system. I can retag the chips with legit serials already in circulation. But depending on how many chips, it’s going to take at least three hours. Maybe three and a half.”
“Which puts us three-quarters of the way to their distribution center,” Bellamy murmurs, her finger tapping along her bottom lip. “So once they’re all retagged, we’ll need to get the fuck outta there and quickly.”
Bishop’s already shaking his head, like he knows exactly what she’s not saying. Probably because it’s the same argument they’ve been having for weeks now. “It’s too risky to leave a car somewhere. We don’t know when Beckett will be done.”
Bellamy blows out a slow breath, like she’s digging for patience. “I know that, Bishop. I’m saying I could drive an additional car, something big enough for all of us to hop into once Beck’s done. Then we don’t need to waste time searching for a car to borrow.”
Bishop glares at her. “I said no.”
Lola folds her arms across her chest. “Oh, are we back to the dictatorship again? I fucking hated it then.”
Ma strolls in with a cocktail in one hand, gaze sweeping the garage. “Trouble, honey?” She pauses next to Bishop, laying a hand on his forearm.
“Everything is fine.” Bishop levels a look at everyone, like he’s daring them to disagree.
Lola opens her mouth like she might call him out on it, but Bellamy elbows her in the ribs, and her mouth snaps shut.
“There should be a donut for you, Coco,” Bellamy says, nodding toward the open pink boxes.
Ma’s smile shimmers at the corners. “How… thoughtful of you.”
Bishop clears his throat. Straightens. “We were just?—”
Coco holds up a hand and waves his words away. “Don’t mind me. Continue where you are.”
“Once Beck works his magic, we’ll?—”
Coco’s gaze shifts to Beck as she taps one red-painted fingernail against her lips. “Hm, soyou’rethe magician.”
Beck nods slowly. “I wrote the code to retag the chips.”
“And you tested it?” Coco presses.
