Page 34 of Factory Thief

“It’s your disguise.”

“Are you kidding me? This won’t work.”

“It will if you do exactly what I say. Now put on the hat.”

I sigh and fit the scratchy straw hat into place.

“All right, put on the glasses…good. Now stoop. You’re an old man. Your back hurts, your hips hurt from years of straddling a tractor. Slouch a little more and let your mouth dangle open. Perfect. Now hold that pose.”

Victoria dons an old-lady-style head scarf and ties it on. Her posture changes as if by magic. She leans forward, hands gripping the wheel like claws, eyes squinting as if her vision is failing her.

“Where did you find those props?” I ask her, keeping the position she’s instructed me to take.

“Living off the land,” she answers as we slowly, ever so slowly, putter out of my driveway. Victoria eases us into the street and accelerates to a blistering fifteen miles per hour, half that allowed by the speed limit.

Three black SUVs skid around the corner at the end of the block, heading right for us.

“Vic!”

“I see them,” she says. “Just keep your old-man face on and relax.”

They flash past us. At any moment I expect someone to look over and recognize two wanted fugitives. Yet, even when they look directly at us, their face betrays not a glimmer of recognition.

We come to a complete, steady stop at the end of the block, then pull off toward the highway. I look back in amazement in the rearview mirror as men swarm out of the SUVs and take the house.

“Well, we’ve escaped,” I say. “Now what?”

“You’re asking me? My plans began and ended with that stupid flash drive you said would be there.”

“I didn’t know they would steal it. I’m sorry.” I heave a heavy sigh. “Look, I have some money hidden away in offshore bank accounts.”

“You what?”

“I hid it as a precaution…Foreign markets offer slow, but steady, growth compared to the more mercurial US stock market.”

“Listen to Mr. Data Analyst.”

“Yeah.” I give a rough chuckle. “It’s more than enough to leave the country and never look back. I could stick my toes in the sand in Belize or some other tropical paradise and live like a damn king.”

Victoria looks out the window, chewing her lip. “I guess that’s a valid option.”

I turn a frown her way. Why does she seem almost sad?

Wait a minute.

Would she miss me?

No, that’s utterly ridiculous.

We hardly know each other.

Sure, we were cray cray astonishing in bed together, but that doesn’t mean we really know each other. Why would she miss me at all?

Then it dawns on me. I’d miss her. I think I’m really starting to get the feels for Victoria, this broken doll who put herself back together into a one-woman wrecking crew. I’ve never met anyone like Victoria before. She’s smart, beautiful, and sexy. Sexy and beautiful can be strangers, but when they meet up in the same place, look out.

“Hey,” I say, my voice thick with portent. “If I left the country, left all of this behind…would you come with me?”

Victoria turns a shocked expression my way, her eyes and mouth wide.

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