The Cocky Thief

Chapter 7

"Okay, Hart." Austin walked through the rows and rows of grapevines. "I'm here and I'm clear. It's time to tell me the game plan because I'm not doing one more thing for you until I hear the whole story."

"No one suspected anything?" said Hart without even a "Hello, Austin. Good job!"

"Since I'm not currently serving as grape fertilizer, we can be reasonably certain I've passed the preliminary round of tests. But this place is crawling with staff, some of whom are packing Glocks, so I need to know exactly what I'm getting myself into."

"In a few days, the most exclusive wedding of the century is about to take place at that house. Greg Stranger is going to give his wife-to-be a special wedding present. One of his clients is lending the happy couple a necklace to wear on the big day. I need you to get that necklace and bring it to me."

Austin ran a hand through his hair. "Where is the necklace being held? Is it in a safe? How many guards are there? What's the exit plan once I have it? Do you have anything resembling a plan?"

"My plan was to put one of the best thieves in the world within spitting distance of the thing. If you can't do it, just say so."

"Going after a man's pride is basically a nut shot," said Austin. "Sure, it's effective, but not very sportsmanlike."

Unsurprisingly, Hart didn't find humor in the statement. "I'm stealing a necklace valued at thirty million dollars, Miles. You think I care about nut shots? I want this done no matter what has to happen. I cannot overstate the importance of getting this right."

"If you want to get it right, then I need something to go on. I'm good but I'm not fucking Superman."

There was a pause on the other end of the line. "Tell me what you need and I'll do the best I can to get it to you."

"The basics is a blueprint of the place. And not just the layout. I'm talking duct work and electrical."

"You thinking about climbing around in air ducts? I thought that was only in the movies."

Austin wished. "It's a thing and trust me there's a lot more dust than you see in the movies. In a place this size, I'd never fit, but most rooms, especially vaults that house priceless items, require adequate ventilation. The schematics will give us an idea of where to look."

"Is that it?"

"Hard to know what I'll need when I don't know what I'm breaking into. I'll keep you updated."

"How is it looking? Did anyone seem suspicious of you?"

There was the cop paranoia he was expecting. "I'm fitting right in here, Hart. Thieves like us can fit in anywhere."

"I'm not a thief."

Austin snorted. He really hated the situation he was in, but giving Hart shit about his moral compass might make up for all the trouble. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, boss. I'm sure we'll have a long talk about what you really are once we're sharing a table in hell."

"Keep me updated on your progress. I'll email you the schematics once I get them." Hart hung up.

Austin shook his head as he put the phone into the pocket of his black suit pants. The vineyard was pretty enough, but what really caught his eye was the private meeting between the Murray women about seventy yards out.

He couldn't hear what they were talking about, but whatever it was, it was intense. Jennifer didn't even seem to know he was there. If he was going to pull this off, he couldn't have someone wandering into his room at all hours of the night. Maybe he could tell her he had a wife and kids at home. She was persistent, but she didn't seem unreasonable.

He never should've gotten into this situation in the first place, but some temptations were too hard to resist. He resisted the urge to walk toward whatever intense conversation they were having like his curiosity demanded. He knew he had more important things to be curious about than family drama. He continued down the rows of vines, trying to get a good idea for the size of the place. The thinly spread out vines offered shit for cover. If he had to make a run for it, he'd better hope there was bad lighting because there was nowhere to hide out this way.

The vineyard stretched out as far as he could see. If he had to run, he'd want to get out as quickly as possible, so he turned and went in the direction of the road. A car would be the best way to make a fast escape. It should be easy enough to slip into an unsuspecting guest's room and swipe the keys. If he played his cards right, he'd be gone hours before anyone knew something was wrong.

That was one of the best things about his cover. Once he had that paperwork signed, he could really do whatever the hell he wanted. No one would notice the missing lawyer.

The sun was getting low in the sky and he had to squint to get a good idea of the area. He followed the driveway until he could just make out the front gate.

The limo driver had buzzed in to get in, and Austin was willing to bet that the gate didn't automatically open when someone was leaving. Which meant that if he was taking the car out, he'd need to get the gate open.

First things first. He needed to know what kind of gate it was. He got a little closer and then took out his phone. He could probably take pictures and not raise too much suspicion, but considering those guards Stranger already had on the property, he'd prefer to not be on anyone's radar. But there was one thing that came out of this social media-obsessed culture that was never threatening: selfies.

Austin took out his phone and turned on the camera. He didn't turn on the front-facing camera, because that took pictures at a lower quality. If he wanted this to work, he'd need to zoom in as much as possible. He turned his back to the gate and then aimed the camera as best he could without seeing what he was shooting and clicked away.

Once he was reasonably certain he got the gate, he turned around and took more selfies. Mainly because it made a lot more sense to get a picture with the vineyards stretching out behind him. Not that he had anyone to send them to.

He could show it to Jennifer, though. She'd probably get a kick out of it. He shook his head at the stupid thought. Jennifer didn't give a damn about seeing some stupid picture he took of himself.

He walked back into the sun on his way to the house. He noticed a few cameras lining the driveway, but made sure his gaze never lingered long enough to let anyone on the security team know he was interested.

Definitely more than a normal level of security. But people like Stranger tended toward extremes when it came to protecting themselves and their possessions. Stranger knew better than anyone how easy it was to have everything taken from him. He'd made a living profiting off exploiting companies.

It was only fair that Austin give him a taste of his own medicine. He laughed to himself at the thought as he went back to the house. Who was he to play Robin Hood? No. He was in this for his own benefit. No one was ever going to accuse him of being a hero.

Instead of going back to his room, he continued through the house until he could look out at the back vineyard.

Jennifer, her mother, and her sister weren't there anymore. He shouldn't care, but he really wanted to know what they'd been talking about.