Page 33 of Phoenix's Last Heist
“I’m not asking you to steal anything, but youaregoing to break into their vault,” I hedge.
“Why am I going to do that?” Orion asks, an unpleasant edge to his voice.
“Technically, because we made a deal and I’m doing my part to prove that my information is valid,” I reply. “But more specifically, because I have a list of all the things I’ve acquired for the Triumvirate in the past and you’ll be able to see I’m tellingthe truth. Besides, I happen to have it on good authority there are a couple Xylothian artifacts in their vault that youmightwant to see for yourself. If you bring some proof to the Feds, maybe they’ll be less likely to sweep the corruption within their ranks under the proverbial rug.”
Orion’s fork pauses in front of his mouth.
“What Xylothian artifacts?” he asks.
“A necklace and a pair of earrings,” I answer. “I didn’t steal them, before you ask. But they've been on the black market for a while. The jewels come as a set. I can’t remember what they’re called, but they’re pretty blue things.”
“The Nebula Gems,” Orion says, anger and excitement warring in his eyes. “They’ve been missing for years. You’re certain the Triumvirate has them?”
“Well, Fobos did the last time I was there. The gems were marked to sell at the same auction, but I heard the Triumvirate locked everything back up after my little adventure. I haven’t heard anything else about them floating around the black market, though, so I’m assuming they’re still there,” I say.
“That doesn’t sound like much to go on if you haven’t been to Minaris in years,” Orion says.
“If you’re too scared to break into the vault, I don’t blame you. We can always turn around and go back to Xylothia and forget this whole thing ever happened.” I smirk at him and he glares back at me, pushing his empty plate across the table.
“I cooked, you get to wash the dishes,” he says. “And I’m not afraid of the Triumvirate. But I am a bit concerned that you’re sending me into a den of angry lupitians alone. I’m a capable fighter when the situation calls for it, but I’m not suicidal. Where will you be while I’m allegedly breaking into this vault? Kicking your feet up onboard, waiting for the perfect moment to fly off and leave me behind?”
“I resent that. Leaving you in Minaris never even crossed my mind,” I lie. Obviously, it did, but my brain keeps inventing excuses to keep him around—we have a deal, I like looking at him shirtless, and he’ll send the Feds after me the first moment he can. “I’ll be creating a distraction in the casino so you can get in and get out without too much trouble.”
“Oh boy. Before you freak me out with whatever ‘distraction’ plan you have, can you at least tell me how I’m just supposed toget intoa casino vault?” he asks, leaning back in his chair.
“Right. So, when I sayvault,it’s not actually a vault, per se, but more of a sort of library with really,reallygood security. I’ve thought about getting in before, but the problem was always getting backoutwith whatever goodies I tried to keep. It’ll be way easier for you to go in because you’re not actually trying to take anything,” I explain. “And it’s not reallybreaking in, so much as it’s more…being invited in under false pretenses.”
Orion narrows his eyes. “You wouldn’t be stalling, would you? Perhaps because you don’t actually have a plan for getting into this room?”
“Oh, I do. It’s just…you’re not going to like it,” I laugh.
“I don’t like anything about this,” he grumbles.
I stand to clear the dishes, then begin picking up the already-tidy mess he made while making us breakfast. Stars, even the messes he makes are more organized than my entire ship.
“Yeah, but you’re not going to be able to just walk up to Fobos and be like, ‘Hey, can I take a peek inside your vault? I hear you have some of my people’s priceless treasures stored in there’ and expect him to welcome you with open arms,” I tell him. “The only way you’re going to get in is to be invited.”
“That seems about as unlikely asbreaking in,” he says. “So I hope you’ve got a good idea rattling around that criminal brain of yours.”
“Good is subjective,” I say with an airy wave. “But I think it’ll work. You’re going to go in as a dealer.”
“And what am I dealing?” Orion asks warily, coming to lean against the counter where I’m washing dishes.
“The Solar Mother idol,” I answer.
“Absolutely not. No way. That is going right back to the temple on Xylothia and until then, it stays locked in the stasis cabinet in the lab,” he argues firmly.
“You aren’t going to actuallysellit, you’re just going to use it to get inside the vault,” I say. “Once you get in, you can say you’ve got other interested parties and leave. It’s that simple. Unless, of course, you can admit that youactuallytrust me enough to believe my information is good and we don’t need to go through this little charade to prove that it is.”
He eyes me up and down, making the desire heat in my blood. When he frowns and shakes his head, I refuse to examine how much it stings.
“You’re going to have to trust me one way or another,” I complain, my headache returning with a throb of irritation. “Either you trust me to send you into the vault, or you trust that I wouldn’t lie about who I’ve sold to and had dealings with.”
He rubs a hand across his chin, considering. “If I’m going to the Feds about the smuggling, they’ll want proof. I’m going to record everything I see in that vault and shove it in their faces,” he says grimly. “Then, they’ll have to do something about the looting. I can’t be a one-man army on Xylothia anymore.”
“Well, then you better practice acting like an entitled, good-for-nothing criminal, because that’s the only way you’re going to get proof,” I say. “You go in, act like you’re going to sell the idol, and get invited into the vault for negotiations. I’ll create a diversion to draw them out and while they’re distracted, you can record everything you need for the Feds. Then, assuming itall goes to plan, we get the hell out of the casino and jet off to someplace resembling safety.”
“What kind of a distraction were you thinking?” he asks. “It better be big enough to draw out everyone—including Fobos—while I stay locked inside.”
