She tucked it into her jeans pocket.
“Do I get to carry a gun?” Luis asked as he inspected the racks of weapons, including AR-15s, mini machine guns and handguns of all shapes and sizes.
“Have you ever fired one?” Maurice asked.
“No,” Luis admitted. “Although I’m sure I could figure it out. How hard could it be? You point and pull the trigger.”
“No guns for him,” Amelie said.
“My thoughts, exactly,” Maurice said with a grimace. “Tell you what, Luis, when this blows over, I’ll take you out for target practice. If you like it, we’ll get you signed up for firearms training and a safety class.”
“I’d love that, but I’ll have to wait until I have a better handle on my work schedule.”
“The offer is open,” Maurice said, handing Luis earbuds. “This is your communication device that’ll keep you in contact with the team. Keep chatter to a minimum.”
“Yes, sir.” Luis fit the communication device into his ear. “Testing. Testing. Can you hear me?”
Maurie pressed a hand to his ear. “Very loud and clear.” He handed a set to Amelie.
She placed them in her ears. With a wink, she flipped her hair. “Hey sexy, can you hear me?”
“Affirmative,” he said. “Along with everyone else on this frequency.
“Really?” she squeaked.
“You bet,” Remy said.
“You can talk sexy to me anytime, as long as my wife, the senator’s daughter, approves.” Beau chuckled. “Coming over to the dark side, are you?”
“If wearing body armor and breaking into church towers counts,” Amelie lifted her shoulders and let them fall, “I guess I am.”
The rest of the team performed a comm check, verifying all radios were sending and receiving.
“We’ll take my truck into New Orleans,” Maurice said.
“Luis and I will take my SUV,” Xavier said. “That way, we arrive separately. And since we’ve purchased our entrance tickets online, we don’t have to stand in line.”
Maurice drew a deep breath. “We’ll converge inside at the base of the clock tower.”
“The rest of us will arrive in my SUV,” Remy said. “We’ll park in a parking garage, split up and take point around the exterior of the building. We’ll be there if you need us.”
Maurice checked his watch. “Takes a little over an hour to get to New Orleans and park. That will leave us two hours inside the cathedral. Hopefully, it won’t take that long to find what we’re looking for.”
“Everyone ready?” Remy asked.
His team, Luis and Amelie all nodded as one.
“Let’s go!”
They filed out of the boat factory, loaded into vehicles and left, taking different routes through town before they headed southeast into New Orleans.
Amelie sat quietly in the passenger seat, wondering what they’d find and if they’d meet any resistance from the National Park Service or people interested in owning the long-lost Monet.
“Worried?” Maurice asked.
She nodded. “A little. I’m more anxious than anything to see how this treasure hunt works out.”
He reached across the console for her hand. “Promise you’ll stay close to me. I can’t protect you if you’re more than three feet away.”
