"Well, will you look at this?" Gustav's voice cut through the silence as he walked into the room, ordering his guards to ease off and allow him to speak first.
As they flanked him, his eyes flickered with smugness and arrogance. He had won. And though it taunted her to see him relishing in his victory, Jorja suppressed the urge to tell him what she thought of him. His day of reckoning was upon him. Victory would be hers soon. She would wait it out, and when it finally came, it would be every bit as sweet as she expected it to be. For now, his presence provided her with the much-needed time the computer disk required to complete sending the files. So she would let him mock her with his eyes, bite her lip, hold her cards close to her chest, knowing that he wouldn’t be smiling for long.
Their eyes locked, his intensely staring into hers, like bulls preparing to fight. Then Gustav finally spoke again.
"I always knew you weren't acting alone. I mean you were good, make no mistake, the best if I am truthful. But I always knew there was no way you could have cracked some of those security systems on your own. I just didn't care to know back then. As long as you got me what I needed I was content. But here I am. Finally meeting the man who most probably helped you put me behind bars. Not necessarily the introduction I would have liked, but I am not going to pass up the opportunity to meet the man behind the world's once master art thief, caught like a deer in a trap right here in my own house. And under duress, I might add! It's a dream come true if you ask me."
Gustav's voice was mocking but under the sarcastic tone and flattering words, it oddly hinted at admiration, but something else laced his tone. As if he knew something she didn't. Something she couldn't quite put her finger on yet. Trapped by their enemy and two armed men, Ben and Jorja stood side-by-side and faced their imminent fate. But now that he had said what he needed to, Jorja couldn't ignore that time was no longer on their side. Careful not to alert Gustav, she sneaked another glance at the drive. The light had turned green. It was finally over. She had succeeded in exposing every clandestine transaction this man had ever made. Thanks to her, his entire business was now in jeopardy and, even if he one day did get out of prison again, he would have nothing to come home to this time. The contents of the flash drive had burned every bridge he had ever built to the ground and there was no way back from it.
But knowing what was to come his way would have to be enough. If she did not make it out of here alive to see his face when it happened, she would be okay with it.
Her eyes searched the corners of the room for a way out, evoking Gustav to react with laughter.
"Oh, that's priceless, you're already looking for an escape. Let me save you the trouble, Georgina. There is a reason I chose to keep you here in this little hidden gem of mine in the first place. I have made some, how shall I put this, associations during my time spent behind bars. Associations that are light years ahead of you and your old pal here. Not to mention that I do still have a lot of confidants of my own in high places, very high places. Friends who owe me favors, some of which I was forced to call upon earlier than I had anticipated when you turned on me. Nonetheless, it allowed me to make a few modifications to my once antiquated security system. I think you might be quite impressed by it. You will find the security in my house now tighter than that of the Bank of Spain's, and not even you can break in or out of this place. Take them!" He shifted gears and commanded his men to take Ben and Jorja captive. He had made his little celebratory speech.
And she didn't care anymore if he killed her. She had done what she needed to do. But Ben, she could not let his death be on her conscience too.
"Let Ben go, Gustav. He has nothing to do with this. This is between you and me.” She made a desperate plea.
Intrigued, Züber told his men to wait as he stepped toward his prisoners.
"And why would I do that, huh? I reckon the two of you might come in very handy in my future endeavors. Like I said, Georgina, we are partners, always have been, always will be. The way I see it, you owe me. Without me, you would have never had the opportunity to create the illustrious title you are now so desperately clinging to. You are no good to me dead. But as long as I have the upper hand, you, and your skilled friend, will do exactly as I say."
He snapped his fingers to have his men take hold of Ben and Jorja, then turned his back on them as he walked toward the door, and lay all his cards on the table when he stopped to say,
"Time is often a luxury most businessmen don't have. But when the world suddenly hands you nothing but time on a silver platter, it affords people like me the very commodity that is the most valuable of all in our line of business. Time to plan our next heist. I already told you. You are worth more to me alive than dead. Now, if you will excuse me, I am late for my banquet. Can't leave my esteemed guests waiting. Who knows what profits are to be made?" He smiled then barked a command at his men.
"Tie them up. I'll deal with them later. And this time, do a proper job of it."
Gustav's revelation burned in their minds as the armed men took them captive. He had not planned to kill them after all. He needed them, both of them. Though relieved to hear their lives would be spared for his selfish gains, she could not deny that the prospect of getting back into the business was exciting. Even if under Gustav's coercion. And she knew deep down inside Ben felt the same and that he would leap at the chance too.
The armed men took them downstairs to the sitting room where they tied them to chairs in the middle of the room. When they left, they took the fire pokers with them as if they knew this was what she had planned the first time she tried to escape. Of course, she thought as her eyes found the cameras in the corners of the room. They were watching. That's how they knew Ben had come for her.
After the men left them alone in the room and disappeared through a door they locked behind them, Ben spoke for the first time.
"I'm not going to say I told you so." His voice was calm and steady, his tone almost melancholy.
"Good, then don't," she replied, as she watched him wriggle in an attempt to loosen the far too tight ropes around his body.
"No, you know what? I am going to say it. I told you so! This is exactly what I said would happen. Now we're stuck here with no way out and the tantalizing prospect of being forced into pulling heists for this evil man again."
"And what's so bad about that, Ben? Are you telling me the idea doesn't excite you?"
He stopped to look at her.
"Are you hearing yourself? None of this would have happened if you had listened to me. Georgina, you know how I feel about you, but you are so blinded by your vendetta to get back at Gustav that you have lost all logic. We cannot go back to pulling art heists. It's insane! We've been out of it for two decades. Everything has changed. We have changed. You might have been at the top of your game back then but that was a long time ago. I am not ready to die, Georgina. We were kids back then. And spending the rest of the days the good Lord grants me behind bars isn't how I'd like to spend my retirement either."
Ben's voice had turned gentle and warm, like his eyes. He was right; her heart had been consumed with hatred and malice. But that was not the part that had suddenly taken her by surprise, caught her emotions in her throat. Including God in his plea for her to let it go, reminded her of the person she had become and the life she lived in St. Ives.
And that person was not filled with anger and vengeful thoughts. Looking into Ben's eyes she realized she had lost focus, forgotten whom Ewan fought so hard for. Tears welled in her eyes as she recalled his parting words. Leave anger to God.
As her heart and mind pondered the last words her friend spoke to her, it was as if a flash of lightning shocked her into understanding. At the time she did not know why he had said it, or even what it meant, but right now, staring into the eyes of the man she loved more than anyone else in the world, she knew what Ewan had tried to tell her. His words were meant to warn her, as if he knew precisely what was to come. Once again, he was protecting her, warning her to be careful, telling her not to let vengeance rule her heart.
And at that moment, as her heart filled with sadness, and tears flooded her eyes, she also understood why Ewan had given her the fridge magnet. Because ever since he had met her, Ewan had tried to help her, like an angel placed beside her, guiding and protecting her. He had seen the wall she had built around her, to protect herself—to shut him out, and to stop God from coming in. All Ewan had ever wanted for her was peace, God's peace. And peace did not come from seeking vengeance on the ones who’d harmed her.
Jorja's shoulders shook beneath the ropes as she recalled the words on her refrigerator.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
He leads me beside quiet waters,
He restores my soul.
And as the words looped in her mind and heart, she asked God to forgive her, to restore her soul, to lead her beside quiet waters.
When she had confessed her heart to God, she turned her watery gaze to Ben and asked that he forgave her too. And as God released his grace on her and set her free, she said, "Georgina no longer exists. My name is Jorja."
As her words echoed in the sanctified space between them, the sound of gunshots outside the house warned them that their past was still very much present and that it was far from over.