“Just get it done.” Fert’s voice was menacing. “I’ll take care of the enforcers if you fuck up and attract attention. And I’ll leave your body for them to find.”
A wobble began in my belly. I tried to ignore it. I’d been around plenty of threatening people before. I didn’t know why Fert scared me more than them.
The keyholes were going to be easier, so I decided to tackle them first. They were both open in under a minute. I turned to the bigger problem. A code lock.
The lock looked relatively flimsy, and I guessed it was the sort that wouldn’t let the handle turn if the correct code wasn’t offered.
I didn’t know how many numbers it wanted me to punch in, but even if it was just three, there would be a thousand possible combinations. Four digits? Ten thousand. Six digits meant a million. I could stand here for the rest of my life trying to tap in numbers and never get the right code.
No. Guessing numbers, when I knew nothing about the occupants, was a game for dollies. I examined the casing of the number pad. It had no visible attachment points. If I could get it off, the handle would be easy to turn. Using a solid-looking piece of metal from my picks, I levered the front of the casing up. Grinned when it separated from the number pad and door handle. I pulled it off and left it on the floor. Laid out before me were an assortment of components. And two screws holding the pad to the door.
“One of these could be an alarm,” I muttered. It wasn’t really my problem. My job was to get the door open, not worry about the consequences of doing so. Still, I looked over the circuit for any obvious sign it was hardwired. Nothing jumped out at me, so I used a flat-tipped pick to unscrew the whole thing from the door.
Once it was off, the metal of the door handle’s inner workings pierced a big hole in the door. A ratchet easily turned it, and the door was open.
“About time,” Fert grumbled. Jerel said nothing. He didn’t seem to talk much when Fert was around. I didn’t blame him. It was easier not to get shot if he avoided attention.
We went inside. Nothing about this place seemed expensive. No bearskin rugs or wing-backed chairs or any of the other fancy shit I’d seen in other houses I’d broken into. Just a nondescript black floor made out of who knew what, and plain metal walls.
“The walls are platinum,” Jerel said.
“Jesus,” I breathed, hearing the translator change my words into something more local as they came out of my mouth.
As if they had platinum here. So much platinum, they could use it for walls. That was alot.I couldn’t say it, though, without blowing my cover, so instead I just kept going. Jerel opened a door and we came to a safe.
“You again.” Fert jammed his gun into the small of my back and shoved me with it. I took two involuntary steps toward the safe then I looked at them and shook my head.
“Safes aren’t my area of expertise. You need a safe cracker. I’m a breaker,” I insisted.
“Don’t lie. I saw you open one at Ghil’s place. Go on. Get this open.”
The muscles between my shoulders got tighter. I clenched my fists in frustration. Didn’t people usually have stethoscopes to open safes? And this clown expected me to just get this unlocked with no help at all?
“I never found the third number for the combination,” I reminded him quietly.
“Yeah. So don’t fuck up this time.” He waved the gun again.
Having no choice, I walked to the safe and examined it. Shook my head.
“Not possible. Look at it. That’s not a spinning dial like the one at Ghil’s. That’s digital. A number pad. I could stand here forever trying numbers and still not get it open.”
Fert cocked his gun at me, making a weird growling noise. He was crazy. Out of control. Jerel stepped between us.
“This isn’t how we usually work,” he insisted. “C’mon, Fert. We’ll take the whole thing. Ghil will get it open with his tablet.”
Jerel held his hands out and looked into Fert’s eyes, trying to placate him. Fert glared at me for a couple more seconds, clearly deciding if he was going to shoot me through Jerel or not. Then he met Jerel’s gaze and lowered his weapon.
“Fine. But the boss should know she’s fucking useless.”
“I got us this far,” I retorted, but I didn’t pursue the argument after that. Fert wasn’t someone to fuck with. He was the sort who would kill people for fun then the boss would be like, “Oh, Fert, you scamp, where will we get another safe cracker?”
Jerel picked up the safe, and his legs almost buckled under the weight. Plaster fell off the wall where two securing bolts were ripped out of it. Fert took the other end. It seemed weird that something so small could weigh so much.
We returned to the car and drove back to Ghil’s place, where they handed the safe over. At this point, I was curious to know what was inside it.
“How’d she do?” Ghil eyed the safe with glee.
“She got us inside without a hitch,” Jerel reported.
“She couldn’t open the safe. You can do better than her,” Fert contradicted.
Ghil looked from one man to the other. “The safe’s my job.” Turning to me, he added, “You passed the second test. Come back tomorrow and I’ll have tonight’s payment for you.”
“Thanks.” I knew I was being dismissed. Disappointed not to see inside the safe, I turned and left.