Chapter Sixteen
The thief activated the last of the disposable cell phones. The culmination of all the heists was nearing. Although the thief always worked alone, it was necessary to have contacts to gather information and be an extra set of eyes and ears. Using disposable cell phones made it easier to have untraceable numbers, thus ensuring there was no direct link to track. And since this was the biggest job to date, contact was necessary to ensure the meticulous plans weren’t foiled. It just wasn’t about the goods that were being taken, this was about control and the downfall of the Belcastro Empire. Besides that it was necessary to keep an eye on the authorities. Suspicions were already being raised regarding the crates that were currently at border control that housed the loot from all of the Mexican heists.
“Fuckers are getting wise. Lucky for me, the Belcastros are my last hit. Just make sure that the goods I’m shipping to you are unpacked, checked over against the itinerary I’ve e-mailed you then distribute as arranged. The art dealers and jewellers are waiting and as soon as they receive the crates payment will be made. The weapons are en route to the warehouse. You may be useful to me now, but you don’t fucking touch them until I set foot on home soil, are we understood? Good, now fuck off and start getting ready — control is about to be mine and soon I will have an army to build!”
The call was abruptly ended as the cell phone was crushed in the palm of the gloved hand. The last of the stolen flash drives were downloaded onto the memory of the laptop and then were destroyed the same way as the cell…crushed. Backups were taken in the form of new flash drives that were then concealed on the thief’s person.
The information was like winning the Lotto! Every crew member’s details — birth certificates, home addresses, and bank details to their ranking in the crew was documented. One flash drive also listed where the warehouses were located, as well as a catalogue of the illegal contents held within. The docks were the main thoroughfare for the entire Belcastro operation.
With a smug grin, the thief made numerous checks that all was in order and then closed the laptop down. It was time for some shut eye. Every ounce of energy for the heist of his existence to date would be needed. This day would be a defining moment, and there was no room for surprises or failure.
Not today.
Chapter Seventeen
Both men sat in silence over the breakfast table.
A very uncomfortable silence.
Xavier looked up from his plate of eggs, sausage and bacon to see Shuggie tearing into his third bag of blood. Mopping up the last morsels on his plate with some bread, he could feel his friend’s eyes boring into him.
“If you have something to say to me, spit it out like a cheap whore, yeah?” In truth, Xavier knew exactly what was pissing Shuggie off, and didn’t particularly want to hear it.
“Ah think yer working too hard, Commander. Actually...” Shuggie put down the drained bag and wiped his mouth with a napkin, “...we think yer working too hard, ahn the stress is beginning tae show.”
“We?” Xavier sat back in his chair and looked over at Shuggie. “Who the fuck are ‘we’?” he said, giving him a pointed look.
Shuggie shifted uneasily in his seat before replying. “Ah, well, ye see the thing is that you’ve no been quite yersel lately, so ah took it upon ma’sel tae speak tae the Doc oan yer behalf.”
Banging his fists on the table, Xavier leaned forward, growling, “What fucking right did you have to do that?” The look he gave was murderous, and Shuggie remained in place his demeanour calm. He had been anticipating this reaction.
“Calm doon Commander, ah hud jist mentioned tae her that ye seemed a bit aff.”
This did nothing to temper Xavier’s mood, in fact he was increasingly darkening as he listened to Shuggie’s explanation.
“I’m going to spell this out for the hard of thinking,” he glared at Shuggie. “There is fuck all wrong with me. I do not suffer from stress, and if I find out you are gossiping about me behind my back again I will put my fist down your throat and punch you a new one, we clear Lieutenant?”
Undeterred by Xavier’s threats, Shuggie continued, “Ye huv become obsessed with that Friera wummin.” Oh god was that a worry — that old decrepit harridan who lived in the main town. “So much so that ye are shouting fur her in yer damn sleep!” He was on the verge of enquiring whether the next stage was necrophilia as Friera looked like she already had one foot in the grave!
Just as Xavier was about to go napalm on Shuggie, his cell rang. Pulling it out of his pocket he answered it, but his eyes were trained the whole time on Shuggie as he imagined ninety nine different ways of annihilating him right now. He was getting quite creative with the methods, until his attention was brought back to the phone call.
“I’ll be there in fifteen.”
Ending the call, Xavier stood up
“This conversation is not fucking over, yeah?” As he grabbed his weapons and started for the door, he shouted without looking back, “The Belcastro mansion was targeted this afternoon, but the alarms scared them off. You stay here and run over the CCTV footage to see what shows. I’m going there to shut off the alarm and find out what the fuck happened. Keep your comms open at all times, otherwise I’ll fix it so you have a visit with the Doc that I can guarantee neither of you will enjoy — understand?” The last word was punctuated with the door slamming closed behind him.
“Well, that went well, considering’,” Shuggie thought as he got up and headed downstairs to his workstation.
****
Alicia glanced at the clock and she gave a lazy smile. She’d taken a quick nap when she returned to the hotel as the heat was getting too intense, but she’d managed to sleep well into the afternoon, 3 p.m. to be exact. She was normally a creature of habit, mornings being her favourite time of day. She always woke around 6 a.m. giving her enough time to wake properly, enjoy her cup of earl grey tea and suck her first cherry heaven of the day without them being rushed. Apart from the lolly, Alicia never ate breakfast. But here in Mexico? Here she had enjoyed the indulgent long lies, full breakfasts and intermittent naps that she was allowing herself to have.
Her evenings had typically been late ones. After dining alone, Alicia would take a long walk, perhaps catch the last of the entertainment that the hotel provided. With the heady mix of humidity from the Mexican heat and her excursions, she was exhausted by the time she belly flopped onto the king-sized bed in her hotel room.
But today was the last day of her vacation, so she had ordered brunch in bed so that she could relax for as long as possible. Alicia had packed her case last night, leaving only the essentials out for today. As she checked over her outfit that was laid out over the chair, she grinned. It was perfecto!
She wanted nothing to ruin this day for her. Slipping from the sheets, her pink manicured toes hit the cold tiles and Alicia shivered a little when warm met cold as she padded through to the shower room. Hitting the dial, the shower came to life. She liked the room to be filled with steam. It cleared the tubes, and thanks to her little routine she was pleased to say she’d never suffered as much as a common cold. As the water pelted from the shower, she closed the door behind her to keep the steam in as she returned to the bedroom.
Just then there was a knock at the door — food had arrived, and just in time as she was famished!
After taking her time to enjoy the rich, freshly prepared meal she could feel the liquid sloshing around in her full belly. But she reminded herself that this was her relaxing time and it was custom to eat and drink too much whilst sunning yourself. As she dabbed her mouth with the cloth napkin, she tipped the service attendant for being so prompt and providing such a mouth-watering brunch — it had been delightful — and wished him a pleasant day as he stared at her for a moment, looked at his hands with the generous tip, panicking that he was behind schedule and rushed out the door.
Once she had drank what was left of the pot of tea, she returned back to the shower room. By now, the s
team was billowing out from the door. Ahh! Just the way she liked it!
The shower she took was a long and relaxing one, standing under the spray head for what felt like eternity. The jet spray undid all the knots in her muscles from her lengthy sleep. Her journey home was a long one, so one so she made sure she took her time. Check out was at 2:00 p.m., but her flight home wasn’t until midnight. After she left the room she would have a whole lot of time on her hands with nothing but her own thoughts to fill her day.
Once the routine of wash-dry-dress was complete, she slipped her feet into the eighteen holed pink docs she never left home without, her babies securely placed into their hiding places before turning her attention to her hair. With a quick blast of the dryer Alicia’s natural brunette waves fell over her shoulders.
Alicia never bothered with make-up. She could never understand why people wore it in the first place. Cherry lip-gloss was the only product along with her moisturizers that touched her skin. Wrapping her black leather jacket around her waist, she placed her shades on top of her head, took a final scan about the room to ensure she’d left nothing behind and she was ready to leave. Grabbing her case from the where it was sitting at the door, she made her way to reception to book out, thankful that the hotel offered a holding room for luggage until the airport transport arrived later that evening.
Thanking the staff for her wonderful experience, Alicia looked at her watch, slung her passenger bag over her shoulder and walked out of the resort heading west. She had a day to fill before she flew home…didn’t she say before this was going to be a day to remember...?
Chapter Eighteen
A change of tactics never does anyone any harm, especially when the target of your desire knows you are coming for them.
All bugs within the Belcastro mansion were still in place. Whoever they had employed to enhance the security systems couldn’t be that good. But then again, the thief thought concealed within the brush located at the back of the property, I’ve never been caught to date because I am that good!
The thief wasn’t stupid or sloppy in his line of business, knowing exactly what he was doing. Timing is everything and as the Belcastro’s would be expecting an unwanted visitor at nightfall, this heist would be done during daylight hours. Professionalism meant the art of tactical surprise and never leaving any clues behind.
Snr Belcastro was in his Mansion enjoying an early evening meal alone. This was going to be easier than initially thought! The dining room was situated to the back of the property, the safe and vaults were to the west wing. No one would hear the intruder but by the time place had been ransacked over and the Mafia Don realised what had happened? The thief would be gone, already on the way to continuing onto stage two of their grand plan.
The heel of the thief’s hand gave a soft tap to the window, before using both hands to slide the old style sash window upwards, ensuring it was done slowly and quietly. Halfway up, the thief turned at the waist and jumped backwards to sit on the ledge of the partially opened window. The black leather gloved hands gripped the wooden frame, and the thief hoisted his body through the small space. A soft thud was all that was made as the thief lowered down onto the dark oak flooring. The thief's face was fully concealed behind a black mask and as camera one and two were disabled easily.
“Fucking child’s play,” was said in a muffled tone.
Satisfied that no one had detected the intrusion, the thief knew part one was nearly completed. The years of planning and stakeouts was nearly coming to an end. It had all been leading up to this — the final part of the plan, and the end scene would be the icing on the cake.
Taking a step forward, the intruder didn’t see the almost invisible trip wire, but did hear the alarms going off, dogs barking and lots of shouting and disarray.
“Ah fuck! This wasn’t meant to happen!” All the other robberies and crimes had gone smoothly, and to have a hitch like this so late on in the game was not only an inconvenience, but could jeopardise the thief's life’s work. Within seconds the thief was gone, fuming at the unforeseen obstacle that had just occurred. A more detailed stakeout was needed and this heist would need more planning, which meant an unscheduled return at twilight.
“Fuck!”
Chapter Nineteen
The view from up high was stunning.
The water had a slight ripple coursing through it from where boats were coming and going, but apart from that it was relatively calm. The sun was starting to set to the West. The day had been overcast, which pleased Alicia as she didn’t feel cheated out of a day of sunbathing. Her final day in the holiday resort of Cancun had been relaxing and peaceful until two hours ago, a minor glitch to her day that she had almost calmed from.
Last time she checked her watch it had been 8 p.m. Two more hours until her coach transfer would arrive to escort her to the airport for the dreaded flight home. Flying made her sick, but it was a sacrifice she made once a year so she felt accepted and fitted in with society. Being a loner, this was of great personal importance to her.
Pushing herself up with her hands, she pivoted her body from her lying position to a sitting one and swung her legs over the edge of the container. Sunsets were beautiful to watch and here she had a bird’s eye view.
****
Xavier’s mood went from bad to worse by the time he had arrived at the Belcastro’s mansion, disabled the alarm and received the report of the incident. After balling out Hawkeye on the inferior quality of the CCTV footage — which had given Shuggie nothing to work on as nothing had been picked up on the cameras — he left before he committed mass murder.
The Belcastro guards were beyond inept, and he was fully intending to head towards town to find a cheap bar with even cheaper females. But he couldn’t even get pissed without being pissed off.
Answering his cell with a grunt, Shuggie quickly gathered that today wasn’t the time for chit chat or pleasantries, such as “hello” and so cut to the chase. “Negative oan the CCTV Commander, no DNA trace, nada, zilch. However, the security detail doon at the docks hus picked up a mobile internet signal near tae the Belcastro containers. Sending the coordinates fur ye tae check oot.”
Giving a disgruntled snort, Xavier checked the details sent to his iPhone and started up his battered Ducati, cursing under his breath about not having taken it to the garage to be fixed yet. Heading towards the docks, he parked half a mile from the main gates, not wanting to give the thieves any indication that he was there. The tracking signal Shuggie had fixed on the mobile internet he identified was getting stronger. A sly smirk formed on the corners of his mouth as Xavier shut his cell down and stood at the container where the signal was emitting from.
He walked around it, listening intently, but there was no noise from within. Just then he noticed a shadow falling to the north west of his position. Looking up he frowned, narrowed his eyes and stared. Two tiny feet in pink leather boots — no treads, low heeled — swinging from the top of the container. Reaching up with one arm, grabbing the ankles, he yanked hard, pulling the perpetrator down to the ground.
Chapter Twenty
“What the fuck are you doing here?”
It wasn’t often that Xavier was lost for words, but when he recognised the thief as being the female who had run him down days earlier — the object of his unwelcome thoughts ever since — he was speechless.
“Friera?”
One minute she was enjoying the sunset, the next moment Alicia let out a shriek as someone yanked at her boots and she was free falling off the container and through the air where she landed with a thud on her behind. Scrambling to her feet, her brown eyes looked up to be met with green….it was him!
“I was enjoying the sunset until you came along! Why the fuck did you just do that? If I’ve any broken bones you will be paying my medical bills!” Alicia stood with her hands on her hips glaring up at him.
“Medical bills? You have some balls, Sweetcheeks, I’ll give you that yeah? Where are the rest of your gang? And
don’t even think about saving their asses because if you have any notion of a survival instinct you will know that I’m not in the mood for playing fucking games, understand?”
Xavier paced furiously in front of Alicia, still trying to work out in his head how she could possibly be implicated in the thefts, but he couldn’t deny the evidence. She was as guilty as sin. It was just a pity, the sin was theft and not…chastising himself to remain focused, he bridged his arms across his chest and glared at his captive waiting for an answer.
“Have you lost your damn mind? What gang are you bleating on about?” Alicia moved her hand to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear as she just stood and stared at the arrogant man who had clearly just came from the mental asylum. He was trying to intimidate her. His stance was deadly, feet were wide apart and he spoke with authority. It was then she saw the glint around his neck...dog tags. Great! She was face to face with Action Man! “Stalking is a crime you know?”
Alicia pushed up onto her tiptoes to give her some leverage. As with their last encounter, she had to strain her neck to look up at the blond haired, green eyed homeless looking man, and he was sporting a beard that would almost give Santa Claus a run for his money. She took the dog tags in her fingers and slowly massaged them with her fingertips as her eyes looked them over.
“Commander Raige,” her Italian purring the ‘R’ as she said his name out loud, then abruptly she dropped her hand, turned and started to walk away from the huge male. She could feel his eyes boring into her head like a laser beam as she purposely took slow steps. “I won’t tell the authorities about you being the hit and run driver nor will I tell them about today’s incident. Now if you’ll excuse me soldier boy, I have a flight to catch. Arrivederci Com- an-derr!”
The Heist Page 6
