“Well, there it is,” I said. “Ladies and gentlemen, the Vault.”
We’d made it to Chicago without further incident, fleeing the temple and the wrath of St. George that was sure to follow in its wake. For most of the ten-hour drive, we’d gone over the plan about a thousand times, poked holes in it, argued about it, played devil’s advocate and finally hammered out something that was only somewhat likely to spectacularly fail when we attempted to pull it off. We’d reached the city, rented a single room at a roach motel and caught a few hours of stressed, exhausted sleep before waking up that evening and going over the plan one more time. And then, here we were, on a street outside the library, getting ready to pull the biggest heist of my existence.
“Everyone ready for this?”
“Do we have a choice?” Wes muttered beside me. “It’s either risk certain death here if we’re caught, or risk certain death with the Order if we’re caught. Must be a Tuesday.” Ah, the eternal optimist.
Beside me, Ember scooted forward, peering at the squat, unadorned stone building across the street. Her hand brushed my shoulder as she leaned in, and my blood heated. “Doesn’t look like much,” she observed, green eyes scanning the sidewalk and corners surrounding it. “But I guess that’s what Talon is going for.”
“Yeah,” I rasped out. “So don’t let it fool you. This isn’t going to be easy.”
“There’re only a few minutes until the next shift change,” St. George remarked from the back. “We need to move fast.”
“Right,” I muttered, and shoved the earbuds in my ears, then adjusted the mic on the wire. “Can everyone hear me?” They all nodded or muttered affirmation. “Good. Stick to the plan, and remember, everyone stays in touch at all times. If this all goes horribly wrong—”
“We’re probably dead,” Wes remarked.
I rolled my eyes. “If things go wrong, get out and meet back at the hotel. If Talon realizes what we’re trying to do, they’ll send everything they can to stop us.” I took a quiet breath, narrowing my eyes at the building. “We only get one shot at this,” I murmured. “Let’s make it count. Wes, St. George. You’re up first.”
With a sigh, Wes slung his laptop bag over his shoulder, opened the car door and slipped out, heading for the library across the street. After a moment, the soldier stuck a baseball cap on his head and slid the side door open. Pausing in the frame, he glanced back at Ember and me and gave a small nod.
“Good luck,” he said, and he was actually talking to us both. “Be careful in there.”
“You, too,” Ember replied. “See you on the other side, Garret.”
This time, the brief smile was only for her. Stepping out, he slid the door shut behind him, hunched his shoulders and began walking toward the library with his head down and his hands in his pockets. He followed Wes up the steps and vanished through the door.
“All right,” I muttered, leaning back and crossing my arms. “Now we just gotta wait for Wes to hack into the security system. Shouldn’t take too long. I hope. So...” I pointed the mic away from me and lowered my voice to a murmur. “Now that we’re alone, away from Wes and the soldier, and we have a few minutes to kill...you wanna tell me what’s going on, Firebrand?”
I felt her freeze, hesitate and then stammer, “What—what do you mean?”
“Don’t give me that.” I half turned in the seat to face her. “You’ve been avoiding me ever since we left the monastery. Whenever I try to talk to you, it’s like I have the plague. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you’re never in the same room with me alone.” I made a vague gesture at the ceiling. “I mean, hell, Firebrand, you even started a conversation with Wes, about coding, to avoid having to talk to me.” She dropped her gaze, and I frowned. “What did that Asian dragon say to you the day of the attack?” I asked, making her flinch. “Because I’m racking my brain to come up with a reason here. What did she say to make you freak out on me?”
“Riley...” Ember looked out the window, her brow furrowed. “I can’t...tell you right now,” she murmured. “Besides, don’t we have more important things to focus on? I mean, it’s not something I can casually throw out there just before we pull off a heist.”
“All right, fair enough.” She did have a point. “But just remember...” Reaching out, I touched her cheek, making her start and look up at me. “I won’t forget. When we’re done here, you’re going to tell me, Ember. I don’t like this keeping-secrets thing. We’re supposed to be partners. I need to know I can trust my team completely. Hiding things from each other can easily get one or all of us killed.”
We’d made it to Chicago without further incident, fleeing the temple and the wrath of St. George that was sure to follow in its wake. For most of the ten-hour drive, we’d gone over the plan about a thousand times, poked holes in it, argued about it, played devil’s advocate and finally hammered out something that was only somewhat likely to spectacularly fail when we attempted to pull it off. We’d reached the city, rented a single room at a roach motel and caught a few hours of stressed, exhausted sleep before waking up that evening and going over the plan one more time. And then, here we were, on a street outside the library, getting ready to pull the biggest heist of my existence.
“Everyone ready for this?”
“Do we have a choice?” Wes muttered beside me. “It’s either risk certain death here if we’re caught, or risk certain death with the Order if we’re caught. Must be a Tuesday.” Ah, the eternal optimist.
Beside me, Ember scooted forward, peering at the squat, unadorned stone building across the street. Her hand brushed my shoulder as she leaned in, and my blood heated. “Doesn’t look like much,” she observed, green eyes scanning the sidewalk and corners surrounding it. “But I guess that’s what Talon is going for.”
“Yeah,” I rasped out. “So don’t let it fool you. This isn’t going to be easy.”
“There’re only a few minutes until the next shift change,” St. George remarked from the back. “We need to move fast.”
“Right,” I muttered, and shoved the earbuds in my ears, then adjusted the mic on the wire. “Can everyone hear me?” They all nodded or muttered affirmation. “Good. Stick to the plan, and remember, everyone stays in touch at all times. If this all goes horribly wrong—”
“We’re probably dead,” Wes remarked.
I rolled my eyes. “If things go wrong, get out and meet back at the hotel. If Talon realizes what we’re trying to do, they’ll send everything they can to stop us.” I took a quiet breath, narrowing my eyes at the building. “We only get one shot at this,” I murmured. “Let’s make it count. Wes, St. George. You’re up first.”
With a sigh, Wes slung his laptop bag over his shoulder, opened the car door and slipped out, heading for the library across the street. After a moment, the soldier stuck a baseball cap on his head and slid the side door open. Pausing in the frame, he glanced back at Ember and me and gave a small nod.
“Good luck,” he said, and he was actually talking to us both. “Be careful in there.”
“You, too,” Ember replied. “See you on the other side, Garret.”
This time, the brief smile was only for her. Stepping out, he slid the door shut behind him, hunched his shoulders and began walking toward the library with his head down and his hands in his pockets. He followed Wes up the steps and vanished through the door.
“All right,” I muttered, leaning back and crossing my arms. “Now we just gotta wait for Wes to hack into the security system. Shouldn’t take too long. I hope. So...” I pointed the mic away from me and lowered my voice to a murmur. “Now that we’re alone, away from Wes and the soldier, and we have a few minutes to kill...you wanna tell me what’s going on, Firebrand?”
I felt her freeze, hesitate and then stammer, “What—what do you mean?”
“Don’t give me that.” I half turned in the seat to face her. “You’ve been avoiding me ever since we left the monastery. Whenever I try to talk to you, it’s like I have the plague. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you’re never in the same room with me alone.” I made a vague gesture at the ceiling. “I mean, hell, Firebrand, you even started a conversation with Wes, about coding, to avoid having to talk to me.” She dropped her gaze, and I frowned. “What did that Asian dragon say to you the day of the attack?” I asked, making her flinch. “Because I’m racking my brain to come up with a reason here. What did she say to make you freak out on me?”
“Riley...” Ember looked out the window, her brow furrowed. “I can’t...tell you right now,” she murmured. “Besides, don’t we have more important things to focus on? I mean, it’s not something I can casually throw out there just before we pull off a heist.”
“All right, fair enough.” She did have a point. “But just remember...” Reaching out, I touched her cheek, making her start and look up at me. “I won’t forget. When we’re done here, you’re going to tell me, Ember. I don’t like this keeping-secrets thing. We’re supposed to be partners. I need to know I can trust my team completely. Hiding things from each other can easily get one or all of us killed.”
