Only it’s not about winning.
It’s about her.
About her trusting me enough to guide her to the most vulnerable parts of herself, and thereby granting me a gift I don’t deserve.
So no, I don’t control her.
She is giving it to me.
EPILOGUE
Reid
Playlist: Are You Gonna Be My Girl – Jet
“Iknow where the Mona Lisa is,” Avery tells me as she sits on my desk. “And you will help me steal it.”
“I will most certainly not commit a crime,” I say.
“Technically, it’s not a crime; we’re just returning an object of historic importance to the rightful owner.”
“Technically, you surely won’t return it and take it for yourself,” I tell her.
“Nah, I am reformed,” she says. “Haven’t stolen anything in the last two years.”
“That is not true, and you know it,” I say.
“Let me rephrase,” she says and smirks self-sufficiently, “I didn’t steal anything that wasn’t on your orders.”
“As if I could ever confirm,” I say.
“Just let me right.”
“No,” I say. “So where is it?”
“Here,” she says, rolls out a plan, and points at the penthouse of a skyscraper.
“Billionaire’s row,” I say.
“Uh-huh.”
“Yeah, not happening,” I say. “How do you believe you’re getting in there? And there is only a single exit.
“No, there are multiple exits; one would involve a helicopter, the other jumping from the terrace with a kite, and one using the window cleaning hooks.”
I stare at her.
“You’d jump from a fucking terrace with a kite?” I ask her incredulously.
“Terraces, roofs, windows. Done so many times when this got tight. Thought about that when I stole the hat. But you were too fast, and I apparently too drunk. So, are you in?”
“How valid is your intel?” I ask.
“You won’t get her the official way,” she says. “The moment that warrant is requested, she’ll be gone.”
“And why do you think that is?”
“Because that penthouse belongs to Theodor Hester Langley.”
