“Down the hall,” Kurt tells us. “First left, halfway to the end. Then right. Vault’s near the building’s core.”
“How do you know?” Declan asks, voice almost a growl.
“Because I paid for the fucking plans. Stay focused.”
It’s an executive-level floor, mostly open with pillars every dozen yards and offices around the walls to take full advantage of the views. It’s dim, the space lit only by security lights, and it’s dark outside. We’re too high up to get much help from the city.
I pass a potted plant that looks like the one Declan bought for his apartment, and give it a glare. I don’t need that reminder right now.
Cole has his weapon out, taking the lead. Kurt’s behind him, ready for instructions if needed. Dario’s following, the thermal lance over his shoulder. That leaves Declan right behind me, bringing up the rear, and I can feel his eyes boring into my back.
We jog through the floor, and it’s quiet. We know there’s more security, but it’s a building with acapacity of nine thousand. Somewhere, there’ll be people here working—a handful of office workers spread through the building, a cleaning crew maybe—but there’s no one in sight.
Cole stops outside a heavy-duty door with a fingerprint scanner beneath a keypad. The walls are reinforced too, and there’re no desks in this area.
“Tasha, we’re in position,” Kurt says.
“Standby. Spoofing the access server in three… two…”
A green light illuminates beneath the keypad, and the door’s locks disengage with a click. Inside, there’s a column of steel plating a dozen feet in diameter, with a door that wouldn’t look out of place in Fort Knox.
“All right,” Kurt says, staring at it with his hands on his hips. “This is where it gets real, people. Dario, you can start. Cole and Declan, you two seal the stairwells. Genesis, you stay close with me.”
“You get the one near where we came in.” Cole hands Declan a fistful of zip ties. “I’ll get the other.”
Dario’s already putting on an oxygen respirator, and a welding mask over that. Kurt fixes the second oxygen tank to the back of the lance, then slaps his shoulder, and Dario enters the vault.
“Sealing you in,” Kurt says, closing the door behind him. With the amount of smoke that thing is going to give out, I give Dario about four minutes before he can’t see his hand in front of his face. “Ready to roll, Tasha.”
“Killing the elevators. Clock starts now.”
“Eight minutes on the lance,” Kurt says. Then heglances at me, turns his mic off, and nods for me to do the same.
I flick the switch, giving him a curious look.
“Inside that vault, there’s a little black box that I’m going to give you,” he says quietly. “Whatever you do, please don’t let it out of your sight.”
“Uh, sure.” My brow furrows. “Why me?”
“Because you’re my best rider.”
“Great, but… it’s a black box, not a stash of jewels or a bag of diamonds. Why don’t you take it, if it means so much to you?”
He smiles, thin and humorless. “Because they’ll expect me to have it.”
“Right…” He won’t answer, but I ask anyway. “Who’s ‘they’?”
“Better that you don’t know.”
Sounds ominous.
“What’s the black box?”
There’s not a flicker across his expression. “Better you don’t know that, too.”
Figures.“What do I do with it?”
“Keep it safe, and I’ll take it off you after this is all over.” He pauses. “If you have to choose between the black box and the diamonds, choose the box.”
