The elevator door opens, and I swing the shotgun from my back, step out of the elevator, cock it, and aim at the first nonliving thing I see, which is a wall ofemploye du moisportraits.
Frames explode and glass shatters, and the guard in the hall fumbles for his radio and his weapon like he can't decide which one he should be reaching for.
When I aim the still-smoking barrel at him, he decidesneitheris the best option.
Smart man.
I gesture with the shotgun that he should get on his knees, and once he's there, muttering something unintelligible in French, I use the butt of the gun to shut him up.
"Two more, approaching right. Five seconds."
I count it down and fire into the ceiling as they're about to come around the corner down the hall. They immediately back up.
"Use the gas," Atty says. "We don't have time."
"I've got it," Eli finally pipes up in my earpiece, and there's a short cut-off screech and the buzz of a Taser. By the time I'm around the corner, the guard is on the floor, and Eli is standing over him.
"Nice work."
"Thanks."
"I've disabled the silent alarm," Atticus announces in the earpiece. "But someone will have heard those shots. It's only a matter of time before they make the call to the authorities. Youhave five minutes if you're lucky, and it'll take at least three to get you out of there without being caught."
I pull Eli's mask from where I had it hooked to my belt and hand it to him. "Good thing I only need thirty seconds."
"Leading the way," Eli says, some pep in his step as he tears off the uniform shirt, leaving himself in a simple black tee, and pulls on the mask with the glowing red smile and matchingX's for eyes.
"Other guards?" I ask as we rush back the way he came.
"Dealt with."
Eli doesn't like fucking with people half as much as I do, so I know he wasn't exactly thrilled with Atticus's suggestion to dose them all, but it was the path of least resistance.
He jerks his thumb behind us as we walk. "The only reason that guy wasn't out, too, is because he drinks decaf. Heart problem."
"Should've put him out of his misery," I joke.Mostly.
Elijah snorts.
"This isn't playtime," Atticus grumbles in my earpiece.
"Oh, lighten up, Daddicus. This used to be fun, remember?"
I pull my earpiece out and toss it to Eli as he leads us into the vault room, where there are three snoozing guards surrounded by spilled coffee.
"Damn, Eli.Ice cold. Love it."
I kneel in front of the vault door, registering that it's a Fichet Bauche and immediately knowing how I have to do this.
Eli opens his mouth to say something, but I hold up a finger. "Sevvy has to work now. Please hold."
The noise won't bother me much since Jules taught me how to do it by touch instead of sound, but using both helps. Which is why I bust out the stethoscope Atticus fitted to a pair of rubber-tipped earbuds for me and push them beneath the hood of mymask and deep into my ears. Then I prop my phone against the vault and hit the stopwatch button.
Pressing the stethoscope to the door, I start.
The metal dial is cold and has just the right amount of resistance to motion. That'll make it more of a challenge, but I love working with this type of locking mechanism. I practiced on the flight over since it's been a while, but this sort of skill doesn't really ever leave you. It's like riding a bike.
I fight to calm the sound of my own pulse in my ears. Normally, not much of a problem, but I'm fucking stoked we're doing this. I thought after Eli… I didn't think we'd ever get back to this.
