The Chameleon

by Michele Hauf

  “You just got paid half a million. What do you care?”

  “Then why the—?” He gestured in the direction of the safe. He wasn’t going to get answers, but he wasn’t going to not try. “I don’t get it.”

  “You don’t need to. Are you dissatisfied with the little amount of work you’ve had to put in, in order to earn your keep tonight?”

  “No, but—”

  “No buts.” He gave the vault door wheel a spin. Taking out a cloth, Clive wiped the stainless steel, despite still wearing gloves. “Get the van ready.”

  Clive started to walk by him and Jack caught his palm against the man’s chest, slamming him against the wall. “I need to know what the hell is going on before I go anywhere.”

  Now that he stood so close to him, and got a good look at his face, Jack thought Clive’s eyes looked glossy. And his smirk was slippery, almost loose. It was a weird thing to notice. But the man was normally so tight and in control. Did nerves do that to him?

  “I don’t like your sudden switch in alliance, Jack.”

  “It’s not a switch. I’m your man. No worries. But a bloke has a right to know what he’s involved in.”

  “Jack?” Niles wandered down the hallway, tugging earbuds from his ears so they dangled on the cord about his neck. “What’s up with you two?”

  “Jack’s not happy with his paycheck,” Clive said. “You happy with your paycheck, Niles?”

  “Hell yeah. And Saskia got another number. We’ve only one left to go.”

  Clive roughly tugged away from Jack’s grip and held his gaze in the dim light. But he spoke to Niles. “The job’s done. We’re heading out. Jack was just on his way out to start the van. Right, Jack?”

  He had no proof that Clive might have left something—poison—in one of the boxes. But that didn’t matter, because the ECU could alert the bank and order a search after the fact. Which meant he couldn’t call in an arrest on the man tonight. The only thing they’d have on him was the small silver box. And he had no proof that hadn’t been a plant, something Clive had brought in along with him in the event one of them did ask what was up.

  Shite. The job was not finished.

  But Jack’s choice had been made.

  “Yeah. I’ll go get the van started,” he said, and wandered off, shoving his hands in his trouser pockets.

  Behind him, he heard Niles say something about this becoming a habit, leaving without taking a thing. Clive’s chuckle echoed down the hallway. There was something weird about that man that he couldn’t quite place a finger on.

  Swinging around the corner of the stairwell, Jack topped the main floor and stared down at Saskia, still intent on her job, completely unaware that it was all for nothing.

  He’d been close to roughing up Clive in an attempt to get the truth out of him. But that would have blown his cover. Good thing Niles had shown when he had. Yet now, they still had next to nothing. Not without a thorough search of all the safe deposit boxes in that basement vault.

  He’d failed the ECU. It didn’t feel right walking away. He never left a job incomplete. But Kierce Quinn’s research had narrowed it down to a single box, or at the most, five possibilities. They could easily locate the target within minutes. Jack tapped the earbud to turn it on.

  “You in?” Kierce asked.

  “Yes. And now I’m out.”

  As Jack bent to crawl through the hole in the wall he looked back, wishing he’d walked up to Saskia and told her that he was sorry. He should tell her that he felt a certain way about her. And that certain way was new and exciting to him.

  Now, it was too late.

  * * * *

  Not terribly surprised at Clive’s announcement the job was complete, Saskia put up a good argument. She only had one number left! She just needed another fifteen minutes. But Clive was insistent.

  She packed up her tools, wiped down the safe door and floor for fingerprints, even though she wore latex gloves, and followed the men toward the exit. On the way past the stairs leading down to the safe deposit room she wondered if Jack had opportunity to see inside. She’d heard voices from below and Niles had gone down to take a look. If Jack had gotten a visual on the box, or even the area where Clive had been working, it could help the investigation.

  Had he already called it in to the ECU? Would they hear police sirens soon?

  A weird nervous energy hastened her steps toward the supply room. Even knowing she had a get-out-of-jail-free card didn’t make her any less eager to get the hell out of Dodge. She needed to confirm with Jack where the mission status was as soon as they could find a moment alone.

  After the crew made it through the drill hole, Clive announced they would leave the equipment behind. Standard procedure. They’d worn gloves while drilling, but Niles made a sweep with alcohol wipes over the drill to be safe. The accountant’s office was closed until Monday, same as the bank, so they didn’t expect any of the equipment to be discovered until early that morning. That gave them well over a twenty-four hour head start.

  After working up a sweat sitting before the vault door, Saskia braced for the chill air, and held the back door open for the men. The van’s exhaust fumes stirred up a gray cloud around them as Clive climbed in the back, followed by Niles. Saskia walked around to the passenger side and slid in.

  Jack was not behind the wheel. And even as her intuition screamed and jumped and cursed her for an idiot, she tried to rationalize.

  “Jack must be around the corner,” she said.

  “Taking a piss in this weather?” Niles said. “His wanker will freeze off.”

  But Clive wasn’t laughing. Nor was Saskia.

  “The bastard is gone,” Clive said. He met Saskia’s gaze in the dim light and she shrugged, but she knew her reaction had read as genuine to Clive. And now the real challenge would begin.

  Chapter 17

  “I’ll drive,” Saskia announced to the men in the back.

  She slid over to the driver’s seat and put the van in gear. Nice of Jack to at least keep it running and warm. Though, why she was finding ways to pat him on the back was beyond her. He’d abandoned her.

  Or rather, he’d done exactly as he’d planned to do, and he hadn’t lied to her about that.

  When exiting the back of the accountant’s office, Saskia had noticed the ice was beginning to melt. Driving shouldn’t be a problem. And they couldn’t afford to sit here too long. Jack could have called in to the ECU and thus, the authorities. And until she knew exactly what Clive had placed, or taken, from the safe deposit box room, she had to keep him away from police hands.

  “And here I thought if anyone went AWOL on the team, it would be you,” Clive said as he slid onto the passenger seat.

  What the…? Seriously?

  “Thanks for that vote of confidence,” she said as calmly as she could manage. Her heartbeats banged drums. Betrayed by two men in less than five minutes. How was that for payback? “I have done nothing to deserve your distrust. If anyone should be asking for explanations, it’s the people who have no clue what is going on. Why we walk out on heists without a single bill or gold brick in hand.”

  “It’s all about the process of going through the motions and making others believe they’ve been robbed. Or at the very least, infiltrated. You knew we’d pull out as soon as one of the two targets had been breached. Same as with the Belgian job.”

  “But I was so close to opening the vault. We could have taken loads. Was the reward you took from the safe deposit box room so much greater?”

  She turned the vehicle, heading for the airport, where both Niles and Clive were destined. She was too, but now she had the van to get rid of. She needed more information from Clive.

  “You must have gotten master keys for the boxes, eh?”

  He didn’t answer, but she could feel his scrutiny on the side of her face. She�
�d said too much. Had destroyed the confidence she’d earned by acting curious about something she should have no curiosity over. Maybe? Most individuals involved in a heist were kept in the loop. It was how trust was earned.

  On the other hand, she knew well that Clive was a need to know kind of guy. If the man did have a master key to turn the lock on a safe deposit box, he would ultimately have to have the key that matched the box too. And those were only issued to box holders. Unless someone had made a copy and Clive had obtained it. Made the most sense. He must have gone into the room with a key, knowing exactly which box he wanted to open. To take something out?

  No, to leave the poison behind.

  “Is this how all your heists go down?” she dared to ask. “In and out. Keep the crew in the dark?”

  “You insist on complaining when your bank account just got five hundred thousand fatter.”

  He had a point. And a smart person would not push the issue. She shouldn’t. This wasn’t even her main focus. Jack Angelo was. And he had a head start that she couldn’t allow to grow too long. She had to call the ECU and have them track Jack while they still could. But she couldn’t do that—couldn’t even risk a text—in Clive’s presence.

  “Why the sudden curiosity?” Clive asked. “You’ve done the exact same thing with me in Belgium. Why do you care now?”

  He was starting to think. And that wasn’t good for her.

  She made a wild gesture with her hand and gave a shake of her head. “Hormones!” she managed. “I’m just a mess tonight. Sorry. You know. You’re right. I don’t care. I’ll get the cash and that’s all good with me. I really need an aspirin, is all.”

  “Fresh out.” Clive turned to face the road.

  Had she wheedled her way out of his suspicion with that stupid excuse? Unlikely.

  “We’re headed to the airport?” Niles asked from the back. “Aren’t we doing to dump the van?”

  “Saskia can handle taking care of the vehicle,” Clive said. “Right?”

  “Of course. I know the junkyard where Jack was taking it. He arranged for another getaway car to be parked there. Unless he’s moved it. I didn’t know his plans included ditching us.”

  She sighed. At least she could be honest about that much.

  She swung the van in toward the airport. As she pulled to park at the drop-off, she checked the rearview mirror. Her mustache was still in place.

  Clive grabbed her wrist, tightly, and leaned in. “I can trust you, yes, Sass?”

  Preventing a wince was impossible. “Of course you can. I don’t understand why you would have reason not to.”

  “Maybe those hormones of yours will make you do something stupid.”

  “The only thing I want to do is dump the vehicle then get a ticket out of the tundra. Seriously.”

  He nodded, yet his grip remained firm. “You know the way to contact me. Wait a week, then send me your details to the online drop box. The payment for tonight’s job will show in your account in three days, after I’ve confirmed nothing is out of order.”

  “What could possibly be out of order? I’ve done the work. We made a clean getaway.”

  “It’s how my employer likes things to go,” he said. “Don’t worry, Sass. You trust me, yes?”

  No. Not at all. “Of course. I would have never done job number two with you if I did not. Forget my stupid questions. I really need a nap.”

  The man chuckled and opened the passenger door. The back door opened and Niles jumped out, slamming the doors behind him. He didn’t say goodbye. It wasn’t his style. He was already inside the airport when Clive got out and wandered off. He turned and watched as Saskia made her way out of the drive-up area.

  Why didn’t the man trust her? What had she done to alert him? Because he’d questioned her alliances before she’d spouted off those curious questions. And the other night he’d been suspicious too.

  It wouldn’t pay to rack her brains now. She had to dump the vehicle and find Jack. And as far as deep cover went, she was no longer in it.Pulling out her cell phone, she called the ECU headquarters and connected with Chester Clarke, the tech guy stationed in London, whom she worked with whenever she needed real-time support and backup. It was late, but he was there more often in the evenings than early mornings.

  “Saskia. You are on dark mode. Waiting for us to contact you.”

  “Can’t wait.”

  “Is there an issue?”

  “Just help me, will you, Chaz? I need a track on Jack Angelo.”

  “The Helsinki job? Right.” She heard clattering on the keyboard. “Kierce Quinn, out of Paris, has been working with that asset. Here’s the info…” He must have been scanning the dossier on the case. It had been well over a month since Saskia had contacted anyone at the ECU. “Has Angelo still got the chip in him?”

  “As far as I know.”

  “Your job was to keep him in the unit. Saskia, did you lose him?”

  “He’s…not immediately locatable. I need you to check with Kierce Quinn to see if Angelo reported anything regarding a poison drop-off during the heist tonight.”

  “You don’t have that information?”

  The accusation was obvious in his tone. Saskia fisted her fingers. “I was busy cracking a bank vault. Didn’t have time to stand and chat while also trying to keep the target unaware of my alliance to the other asset. And I’ve got a vehicle to dump. Just call me back when you’ve got a location on him.” She hung up.

  Ten minutes later she—or rather the man she appeared to be—handed the owner of the junkyard a stack of bills and stood back as the van was loaded into the crusher. She would not walk away until she saw that piece of metal get compacted. It was never wise to trust that those she hired could manage a job without supervision. And she wouldn’t risk anyone snooping in the van. Not that they’d left any evidence behind.

  The junkyard owner seemed oblivious. Chawing on the end of a smelly cigar, the smoke from it curled about his frothy red beard. He pushed the big red button on the crusher and metal began to crunch and tear and compress. Sounded sickening, but much better than the sound of a compressed spine or broken bones.

  What would Clive do to her if he discovered her duplicity? Why was she letting that man get to her like this? They’d completed the job with but one tiny snafu. Clive had apparently gotten what he’d wanted. And she had been left standing high and dry with no evidence that he had planted the poison.

  And if Jack had that evidence she had no way of knowing what he’d done with it unless Chester Clarke could learn something from the Paris operative.

  Fifteen minutes after seeing the van reduced to a rectangle of metal and chrome, she thumbed for a ride at the side of the highway. Jack had not left a vehicle near the junkyard. A trucker pulled over and offered her shivering ass a ride into town. It was only five miles, but she handed him a fifty and thanked him when he dropped her off.

  Standing two blocks down from the apartment she’d rented, Saskia answered her cell phone. Chester had a location on Jack.

  “That’s close.” She glanced up the quiet street. And she knew exactly where it was. The surgeon’s office. “What about Angelo’s report to Quinn?”

  “No contact. And Quinn was expecting to hear from him. Find Jack Angelo, Saskia. It is imperative.”

  “I’m on it. I’ll report back when I’ve got him.”

  Chester clicked off without saying goodbye. And Saskia wanted to ask why it was so imperative. If an asset went off the grid, then why not let them? What was it about Jack Angelo that was so important to the ECU that they’d put her on his ass to keep him?

  Not that she’d managed that one very well.

  She wasn’t going to beat herself up over this. Chester’s info placed Jack nearby. She hadn’t lost this one yet.

  Saskia jogged toward the surgeon’s office which was a few block
s beyond where she’d been staying. She had no weapon, save a small jackknife that she’d brought along in case it had been needed during the heist, so she pulled that out from the backpack but kept it folded in her palm. She was deadlier with her fists and fast moves.

  It was easier walking the streets now that the ice had begun to melt, but also sloppy. The air smelled fresh, as if awakening from a long, moldering slumber. Why she noticed that was weird. She really needed a vacation.

  Should she have taken Jack’s offer to go off the grid seriously? Could she? Not anymore. The offer had surely been rescinded. But she’d never thought that her life could be different than it was now. Freedom was a concept, not a reality. And if she didn’t get Jack in hand her current freedom would dangle from a thread.

  “He had better still be here,” she muttered.

  Approaching the nondescript office door set into the brick wall, she counted the time from when the crew had exited the bank and now. A little more than an hour. Which is why, after kicking in the door, she wasn’t surprised to find a dark office.

  Flicking on the light switch, she scanned around the small, dank reception area. The smell of alcohol lured her back to another room where she found a surgical table and dented metal cabinets with master locks on each drawer pull. In the waste bin she noted small bits of gauze with bright red blood on them.

  Jack had been here. And recently.

  She pressed her hand to the stainless steel table. Didn’t feel any warmth. But if Chester’s GPS had tracked the chip here…

  “He couldn’t have been gone for more than a few minutes.”

  Her phone rang again. Chester said, “He’s moving. Heading south of the position I originally gave you. I’ve got you on radar. You’re less than a hundred feet from him.”

  Him? Or the chip now removed?

  She had to work fast. Saskia headed out the door and turned left.

  “The other way,” Chester said.

  She swung around and ran, boots splashing in the puddles.

  “It’s moving rapidly,” Chester reported. “Must be in a vehicle. It’s going to pass right before you…”