When I pushed myself up from where I’d been crouching, I almost stumbled onto the pressure pad. I didn’t want to assume the pad was connected to the security system Ziv had deactivated, so I didn’t know how close I came to screwing everything up. It didn’t matter. I had what I needed, and it was time to go.
When I told Ziv I was ready to exit the bedroom, he told me to hold still. Nerves gripped my stomach as I realized that meant the guards were no longer contained to the guard room. I stayed quiet until Ziv gave me the all clear.
He navigated a clear path to the wine cellar for me, and within moments I was safely in the tunnel. As I made my way out, I couldn’t help thinking how smoothly that had gone. Which, if it had been the old Elek, would not have surprised me. He wasn’t as up on the latest security tech I was. But then, how in the world had he gotten the crown out of the Hungarian Parliament Building?
It still didn’t make any sense.
I waited at the end of the tunnel until I heard Linney’s familiar voice tell me to come out. I raced to the van and jumped in, sliding the door closed behind me and turning to give Ziv a high five. The three of us were ecstatic. This was what we had come here for, what we had planned meticulously for, and even when the plans had changed, we had overcome the last of an obstacle and still got my hands on the ground.
I couldn’t wait to see Falcon’s face when I handed him the crown.
As Linney drove us back toward the small town where we would wait until it was time to pick up Falcon and Mouse, I heard Ziv pecking away at his phone to send Falcon the all clear.
As soon as we were parked on a side street, the three of us huddled in the back of the van to go over the op. I explained in detail what I had found in terms of security, and I expressed my concern over it having been a little too straightforward.
Linney asked, “What could he have done that would have made this harder for you?”
I shrugged. “I mean, if he used a random guard’s fingerprint so that it was harder to know which one to get. But then that’s a pain in the ass when you want to go to bed. And then, if money isn’t an issue, why not put fingerprint scanners at the hatch? Hell, why not put a complete secondary security system in that’s wired to a battery backup? Thieves would be slowed down by having to do double the work. Double hacking, double deactivating, double video loops.”
Linney put an index finger to her chin. “The only person who would know to come through the tunnel is you. Well, that’s not accurate. Whoever built the tunnel would also be suspect, but they would be stymied by all kinds of security protocol before even getting close to the bedroom. And you have to admit, Elek would not expect you to have access to his fingerprint.”
“That’s a very good point. He knows I can make a prosthetic fingerprint, but he wouldn’t in a million years think I could get his fingerprint without his knowledge,” I admitted.
“And everything you described is a bit overkill when it’s only going to protect you from the absolute topmost elite art thieves, of which there are currently two: you and him,” Linney said.
Before we could spend too much time on it, Ziv got a text back from Falcon.
“Let’s go,” Ziv said with a grin. “Now, who’s Hungary?”
Linney and I groaned at the stupid pun.
When we pulled down the long driveway to our rental house, I saw Falcon’s luxury sedan from the night before still sitting in the driveway. I’d forgotten about it, but now I wondered why we hadn’t just had Falcon and Mouse meet us at the private airport since we had two vehicles.
“Hey, guys,” I said, “just drop me off and head toward the airport so you can get the stuff loaded. We’ll meet you there.”
“Sounds good,” Linney said. “Do you want to leave the crown with us?”
I laughed. “Not on your life.”
Ziv shot me a look. “If you take off with that thing, I will find you and I will shove it so far up your ass your liver will demand control over an Eastern European country.”
“I’m not going anywhere, except to get Falcon and Mouse and meet you at the airport. I promise.”
I hopped out of the van and jogged to the front door, making sure to enter the house before they’d pulled out of the driveway just in case they really needed reassurance.
“Who’s your daddy?” I called through the house. “If you’re ready, come and get it.”