The Heist

Chapter 21 (@geocait)

A few hours before --- Jake's POV

The Mustang crashes through the ticket onto a grassy clearing. I can see a dead end with a ditch approaching fast. "Jump now!" I call to MC. And thankfully, she does without any further discussion. By the time she dives out the passenger door, I am already leaning back to grab the bag with my laptop, the foot still on the gas pedal. To my dismay, I realize that the strap of the backpack has caught on to something and is stuck. I take the foot off the gas and pull as hard as I can until I feel something rip. As I turn around, the car bucks and I can feel it crashing over the edge. I clench my teeth and brace for impact.

It turns out that this is one of the few moments in which luck is on my side. The ditch must have been used as a landfill. The car had slowed down a bit after I went off the gas pedal and it drops only a few feet down onto a heap of old garbage. From there, it slides to the bottom of the pit. I open the door and scramble out of the car, still in disbelief that I survived this unscratched. Relieved, I take a deep breath. That was a mistake. The air is filled with the smell of rotten leaves, garbage and ... dead goat?

But all this is forgotten when I hear MC scream. Ignoring the stench, I scramble up the landfill back to the edge of the ditch. Up there, the next surprise is waiting for me. MC lies unconcious in the arms of my old friend Kyle.

******

"We brought you here in Kyles car." Jake finishes his recall of the events. Only now I realize, that my hands are balled into fists. "Are you kidding me? You almost got yourself killed over your laptop?" Jake looks flustered. "We would have been screwed without the computer and all the data I have on there." "You. Could. Have. Died." I press through gritted teeth. Jake pulls me into a hug. "I'm sorry, MC. I guess I wasn't really thinking at that moment."

After he releases me, I turn to Kyle. "How come you were there? Weren't we supposed to meet you in Raderdorf?" "That was more luck than anything, to tell you the truth. I was already on my way to the old factory, when I got wind of Marks men catching on to you. I was able to follow their movements and cut your path using some side streets. Your car was anything but subtle, so spotting you and following was a piece of cake in the end." "Do they know you were there, too?" I ask. He shakes his head. "Unlikely. I left all devices, that could potentially be tracked, behind. And the car is a rental."

"I could really use a drink right now." Walking past Jake I leave the room and find myself in the kitchen of a run-down shack. "We only have water, sorry" Kyle chuckles and points to the table where a few bottles are lined up. I grab one of them and take a big gulp. The cold liquid makes me feel a bit better and helps clearing my head. "So, what is the plan now?" Eyeing Kyle again, I come to the conclusion that I can't fully read him, yet. But Jake seems to trust him and buy his story of wanting to bring down their former mentor as well. I decide to do the same, for now.

"James filled me in on your situation. I know what evidence the FBI is after to be able to nail Marks ass to the wall. Noone, except Mark himself, has access to the system containing the data. But I do know where it is and how to get to it." Kyle stops and takes a deep breath. He gives Jake a look as if saying 'You are not going to like what comes next.' Then, he continues: "We can't have you just walk onto the farm. Especially not you, Jake. Everyone is on the lookout for you, Mark made sure of that. With her, on the other hand..." he points at me "...we have a chance to get her in unnoticed." "There is no fucking way, I'll allow that." Jake interupts him. "Are you trying to get her killed?"

Kyle crosses his arms in front if his chest. "Let me finish, before you rip off my head. Mark has summoned everyone to the farm, for some sort of big announcement. I know, this will make it more difficult for us. But at the same time it is our best chance. There will be a catering company. Every employee has been screened, but I managed to set up everything to sneak in an additional waitress. I just need a foto of MC, to make an access pass. James and I will monitor everything from the inside and cause a distraction, if the need arises. MC will get in, sneak to the server room and access the data with your remote help. She'll wear a wire and a small body cam for you to communicate."

"Over my dead body!" Jake bursts out. "I won't allow risking MCs saftey like this." The two of them are getting into a heated argument and look like they are about to throw hands, while I feel anger rising up in me. I smash the water bottle onto the table in front of me, causing the others to topple over.

"Enough!" Both men flinch. They obviously forgot that the subject of their argument was standing right there. "Don't I get a say in this?" I put my hands on my hips and look from one to the other. "I'm in this shit as deep as any of you. And you can be damn sure that I'm going to pull my weight. This is what I signed up for. And I'm not going to chicken out, now that we are getting close." For a long minute, both Jake and Kyle stare at me in shocked silence. It seems as if noone dares to speak. So I say: "Let's get to work, shall we?"