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“OKAY, THIS SHOULD DO it.” Francine leaned back. She’d commandeered one of Pink’s laptops and his larger tablet. The devices were arranged in the centre of the dining room table next to her laptop and tablet. I was sitting at the end of the table, Francine and Pink either side of me. Francine was scrolling on her smaller tablet and Pink was working on his laptop. My focus was solely on the screens.
Each screen showed the view from a body camera. Vinnie, Manny and Daniel each had their body cameras on. Colin had changed his bodycam for what Francine called ‘spy glasses’. The camera installed in the frame of the eyeglasses was only obvious once one had been made aware of it.
Manny and the others had just turned off the main road leading to the western suburbs. Colin, Vinnie and Armando were in our rented SUV. Daniel and Manny were with Inge in her small sedan. Manny was complaining about the cramped interior.
Across from me, Pink moved his chair back and glanced at the four screens. Then he turned his attention back to his other laptop, typing and scrolling, his face a study of his thoughts about whatever he was reading. Shock, interest, disgust and more shock flitted over his face.
My eyes were drawn back to the video feed. Inge was leading them into another street, laughing at Manny now complaining about the many draughts in her car. He was in the backseat, Daniel in the passenger seat.
I couldn’t see much from Manny’s body camera. Daniel’s was fixed on his collar and gave us an adequate view of the street they’d entered. The streetlights illuminated the area in soft pools of yellow light. All the houses in this street were surrounded by high walls. The select few that didn’t have solid gates gave us a glimpse of dark, sprawling lawns and landscaped borders leading the driveways to large garages.
Inge had been correct. This was an affluent area with beautiful houses that could easily be defined as mansions.
They slowed down and Inge exhaled. “Well, aren’t we just lucky.”
“I’d say.” The smile in Daniel’s voice was clear. “Looks like there’s a party.”
I counted eleven high-end cars parked in the street. A couple got out of a low red sports car. The woman was wearing a cocktail dress unsuited for the spring temperature, an embroidered shawl her only protection against the chill in the air. The man taking her hand was wearing a tailored suit, but no tie and the top button of his white shirt was undone. A large diamond sparkled on her ring finger and an expensive-looking watch peeked out from under his jacket sleeve.
“Park here.” Daniel picked up his phone.
Three seconds later, Vinnie’s phone rang. “Whaddap?”
“Tell Colin to park in front of us. Inge’s car will stand out too much next to these beauties.”
“You’re on speakerphone,” Colin said. “I’m passing you now.”
Colin parked behind the red sports car and Inge pulled in behind him. They got out and without discussion moved down two houses where one of the streetlights wasn’t working. The footage dimmed as they moved deeper into the shadows of the high wall surrounding this property.
“Did you notice all the security?” Armando asked Colin.
“A few houses even have guardhouses.” Colin pointed at a house across from the party house. “That one definitely has guards stationed there. The other two I saw looked empty.”
I blinked at the excitement clearly visible on Colin’s, Armando’s and Vinnie’s faces. Inge hid hers behind her usual mask of sweet ignorance. She was almost successful.
“I saw two houses with wire fencing on top of their walls.” Vinnie shook his head. “A bit of overkill, dontcha think?”
“Depends.” Armando lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug, then looked at Manny. “What’s the plan, boss?”
Manny uttered a sound of disgust, then scowled when Vinnie chuckled. He glared at Armando. “We did what we came for. To have a look at the house.” He turned his attention to Colin. “Will you be able to get close without being seen?”
“Don’t insult me, Millard.”
“Can’t you do a flyover with your drone thingie?” Inge asked.
“No.” Daniel shook his head. “Francine said Celma might be sloppy when it came to covering her hacker footprints, but she was vigilant about her own security. There’s a chance she might have a setup that will register a drone hovering above her property. Pink and Francine want to calibrate their drone first before using it here.”
“Hmm.” Inge blinked a few times, then stood back and looked Colin up and down. “Want to go for a walk, lover?”
“A romantic stroll?” Colin’s smile was filled with humour. “A wonderful idea.”
“Frey.” Manny’s tone was low in warning.
“Of all of us, Inge and I will be the least suspicious if we walk in this street.” Colin waved his hand at the other men. “You look like cops and robbers.” He took Inge’s hand. “We look like an elegant couple, out for an evening stroll.”
“Bloody hell.” Manny nodded. “Make it count.”
Colin huffed and pulled on Inge’s hand. “Let’s go before we’re even more insulted.”
She laughed and followed him out into the street. The others got back in the cars and I wondered what the sense was of all of them being there if only Colin and Inge were going to take the risk of going near Celma’s house.
Daniel’s and Vinnie’s cameras showed Colin and Inge walking down the street. Their body language was in sync. To the untrained eye, they exhibited all the cues of a loving couple. Inge leaned her head against Colin’s shoulder for a moment before smiling up at him and walking further.
“Ooh, look at this Lamborghini.” Inge leaned around Colin to look at the black car parked between a Porsche and a low-slung Mercedes. “I would never, ever drive such a monster, but wow. Just wow.”
“Didn’t quite make you for a car enthusiast,” Colin said.
“Neither did Jake.” Her tone turned sombre. “Once he recovered from his shock, he loved that he could talk to me about his favourite topic.” She cleared her throat. “Celma’s house is two houses from the party house.”
Colin smiled down at her in another show of faux affection. “We’ll stop at the gate and then again at the end of the property.”
She giggled and slapped him lightly on the shoulder. “Good plan.”
“They’re really good at this.” Pink’s eyes were wide as he stared at the screens.
“We so need popcorn right now.” Francine looked at me and back just as Colin and Inge stopped in front of a decorative wrought-iron gate.
Inge turned towards him and put her arms around his neck. “How real should we make this?”
“Real enough.” Colin lowered his head until he was speaking next to her ear, still loud enough for the mic to catch it. “But Armando might be pissed.”
“What?” She leaned back to look at him, then moved closer, kissing his cheek. “That’s absurd. What about Genevieve?”
“She knows there’s no one else for me.” He moved a bit to the side to allow Inge to have a better view of the gate. “She’s my world.”
“Aww, be still, my heart.” Francine pressed her open palm against her chest and looked at me.
I didn’t take my eyes off the screens. An all-encompassing emotion I associated exclusively with Colin warmed my mind. Irrationally, it felt as if my heart expanded and my insides melted. I bit down on my bottom lip and stared at the footage with nonsensical tears threatening.
Inge stood on her toes and made it look like she kissed Colin’s ear, her eyes never leaving the house. “You two are so lucky. Every single person on the planet wants what you have. Okay, I’ve seen everything there is to see here.”
Colin hugged her close once more, then stood back and took her hand again.
She winked at the camera on Colin’s glasses. “You’ve got a keeper here, Genevieve.”
They continued their stroll down the length of the property. At the end of the beige wall was a small gate. Colin stopped and took Inge in his arms again. This time he turned to face the house. “She has cameras all over the place. Even facing the street.” He lowered his head as if he was looking into Inge’s eyes, but kept his gaze on the house. “I also see a lot of motion-triggered floodlights.”
He lifted his face a bit more, the view on Francine’s laptop showing a large two-storey house. A significant portion of the top floor was a balcony that ran the length of this side of the house and wrapped around the other side, possibly with a beautiful view down this hill. White walls, tall windows and terracotta tiles gave the house an unmistakable Mediterranean appearance. A lush garden led to a medium-sized swimming pool, illuminated by soft lights inside the pool. This was a beautiful property.
“The cameras and floodlights are easy enough to bypass.” Inge cupped Colin’s cheek, her other hand resting on his shoulder.
Colin leaned in. “Francine, tell Millard to meet us at the end of this street. We’re done here.”
Francine picked up her phone. “Good plan. If they walk back now, it might look suspicious.”
She started tapping out a message and I watched as Colin and Inge slowly walked on, stopping once more for a faux embrace. Two houses down, another streetlight was out. That house not only had a high wall surrounding the property, it also had overgrown bushes that were incongruent with the neighbouring manicured sidewalks.
The moment they were next to the bushes, a dark figure stepped out from behind the foliage. I gasped. The black clothing and hoodie covering his face didn’t hide his identity. Paulo.
Colin’s reaction was immediate. He pushed Inge away from him, walked up to Paulo and punched him hard in the face. Paulo had not expected it and took a few side steps to regain his balance.
Both my hands flew up to grab my hair. This was one of the handful of times I’d seen Colin violent. He was one of the most self-controlled people I knew.
Paulo took his time to straighten and held both hands out, palms up. “I had to do it. Jake was selling all of us out. He was in bed with the Collector.”
“You knew about that all this time?” Colin’s voice sounded raw. I gripped my hair to prevent my head from shaking uncontrollably from side to side. But I couldn’t stop a low keen from escaping my tense vocal cords.
Inge was standing next to the dark bushes, barely visible. I saw her from Daniel’s bodycam as they drove closer, Manny swearing in the backseat. Inge had both her arms wrapped around her torso, only relaxing marginally when she noticed her car and the SUV stopping next to them.
“I knew for a while that Jake was banging his source. And that his source is not the Collector’s assistant.” Paulo lowered his hands, his contrite expression false. He nodded towards Celma’s house. “I also know a few things that can help you.”
Colin jerked when the car doors slammed behind him. He held out his hand, his palm facing back. Manny, Daniel and Armando stopped, but Manny had to grab Vinnie’s arm to prevent him from storming towards Paulo.
“You left us to die, motherfucker.” Vinnie strained against Manny’s hold.
“I panicked.” Paulo failed to convey the distress he was trying to paste on his face. “I’m really sorry.”
“The fuck you are.” Vinnie shook off Manny’s hand and walked back to the SUV.
Colin’s mouth twisted in fury. “What could you possibly have that would help us?”
“Access to that house.” Paulo shrugged. “I made friends with the company that installed her security system.”
“So why don’t you go in there on your own?” Colin’s jaw was tight, his voice strained.
I tried, but couldn’t relax my hands. My fingers tightened even more in my hair, my scalp tingling at the pull.
Paulo’s shoulders lowered slightly, but his micro-expressions betrayed his apprehension. “Everything you want in that house is out in the open, hanging all over her walls. You only need the security access to get that. I need someone with brilliant IT skills to get what I want. And I know you have people on your team who can help me. That way we both get what we want.”
“We don’t need your help,” Colin said through clenched teeth.
“Hm. Maybe.” His smile held malice. “But I can guarantee you won’t get in there fast enough to stop the Collector from executing her plan tomorrow.”
“What plan?” Colin’s fists tightened as he took a step closer.
“Do we have a deal?” Paulo looked past Colin to Manny. “Do we?”
I saw Manny’s answer before he spoke. But, as he inhaled, Vinnie stepped closer and whispered furiously into Manny’s ear. Manny’s scowl intensified, his lips thinning even more. Vinnie stepped back and Manny’s top lip curled. “Deal.”
