William spent a lot of time drilling Julian’s expectations into us. We were to sweep the loot for chips right there in the vault as we loaded it into bags. The last thing Mercier wants is a GPS device to lead the police directly to him.
Now, while I’ve played along with William on this part and had Bebe send me the top-of-the-line scanner, I have no intention of removing all the GPS chips. I’m going to leave at least a couple in place so there is a clear trail for the police to follow—right from the stolen loot to Mercier. It’s the only way to take him down and complete my mission. He has to be found with the jewels in hand.
One of the items Bebe sent that I kept secret from William is a reverse jammer, or, as Bebe calls it, a bubble protector. Just as much as I don’t trust Mercier, I’m sure he’s going to feel the same way and not just take my word that I’ve given him only clean jewels. He’s going to have some type of jamming equipment at his estate meant to block GPS signals until he’s able to thoroughly go through each piece to make sure it’s clean. That will take a few days, and he needs some type of protection in the interim.
Hence, he’ll have a jammer.
However, I’ll have the reverse with Bebe’s bubble protector. It will lock onto any GPS-emitted signal and lock a bubble around it so it can still transmit. Where Bebe is deviously genius is that the device will also fool Mercier’s jammer into believing it’s doing its job, so he’ll be none the wiser.
So, in theory, all we have to do is show up, break in, hand the jewels over, trust in Bebe’s gadgets to leave the GPS signal intact, and slip away without Mercier killing us before the police arrive.
Simple, right? Sure…
“Let’s go over everything one more time,” William says from his perch on the couch. He’s been here since breakfast, insisting we walk through everything in detail several more times. Most people would be annoyed by the dull repetition, but Sin and I both know preparedness is the key to a successful heist. As such, we’ve gladly gone through the plan over and over again.
Where William has been invaluable is in throwing out potential kinks that could screw up our plans, then having us brainstorm quick ways around the issues. We’ve role-played until it seems like we’re stuck in a time loop, but at the end of the day, it ensures we’ll be ready to handle any hiccups.
“We’ll hit the roof around one,” I say, having recited this at least twenty times already just today. It’s right after one of the two night guards will have finished his half-hour break.
I drone on, meticulously going through every step we’ve planned out. Sin sits at the kitchen table, her steel-framed practice set before her. She operates the hand controls, peering at the attached four-inch-by-four-inch monitor that feeds a signal from a small high-def camera perched at the end of the scope above the drill bit. It lets her see everything she’s doing in real-time.
“What are you going to do if a guard hears you before you can sneak up and inject him?” William throws out. It’s a lame scenario that we’ve already talked through.
“I’m going to flash my tits at him,” Sin says as she continues to operate the scope.
“I’m going to drop him with a hand taser,” I reply, shooting her a grin. She doesn’t even spare me a glance, staying glued to the screen. The soft whir of the drill bit starts up. “Then move in to inject.”
“But then the other guard hears the commotion and comes to investigate,” William says.
“I’ll flash my tits at him, too,” Sin says with a chuckle.
“We’ve got it covered,” I assure William. “With as much experience as Sin and I have at sneaking around, neither guard will hear us coming.”
William nods, accepting that. We all know nobody can control every situation, and that’s where Mercier has to hope he’s hired the best.
Rising from the couch, William says, “Okay… I think you are as prepared as possible. I’m going to head out.”
I get out of my chair, intent on showing him to the door. Idly, I wonder if William knows he’s a dead man. Should I talk to him about it—give him fair warning to watch his back around Mercier?
Unfortunately for William and my conscience, I have to decide against it. His loyalty to Mercier might be bigger than his sense of self-preservation. I can’t afford to let him in on my concerns only to have him run to Mercier over it, which would cause the plug to be pulled and most assuredly put Sin and I in his crosshairs.