12. Chapter 12 #3
She had to play this smart. Given the way Raz acted after sex, as if she was something to use and discard, she needed to play her cards more cautiously.
The rogues had given her no reason to trust them with the truth.
This was a team that had one goal in mind, and saving a murdering thief that took out their friend wasn’t one of them.
“Don’t you have your own crew for that?” Sid asked. “Why do you need us?”
“Because Matsuda can’t find out we took it. And I don’t have the resources to accomplish that.”
“Why not?” Raz asked.
Her fingers tingled, and her heart palpitated with anticipation of the next heist. This group was the solution.
But this…this was different. A mingling of fear trapped her tongue to the rear of her throat.
If she failed, it wasn’t just her life on the line.
“It’s at the b-bottom of the ocean.” At their confused faces, she continued, “Stuck in a submarine.”
“Like a working submarine?” Lewis asked, eyes wide.
“The US Navy was supposed to shoot it down in 1946 to keep it out of the Soviets’ hands.”
“Are you talking about the I-401?” Sid cut in.
She grinned internally. So, Sid likes conspiracies? “The I-402, to be more exact.”
“Hold it.” Lewis put his hands out. “Someone, please explain.”
Sid said, “We acquired two special subs from the Japanese after they surrendered during WWII. Are you telling me the conspiracy around them is true?”
She nodded. “After we received them, the US was supposed to destroy both, but they used the same footage at a different angle as proof they wiped out the other. Instead, someone sank it to the bottom of the ocean—intact so they could bring it up after the war to study.”
“What’s so special about them?” Lewis said.
Kate waved a dismissive hand. “It was the first aircraft carrying submarine capable of housing fighter jets underwater.”
“Woah. I don’t remember that happening,” Lewis said. “Though I was probably running away from my clan at the time.”
What? How old is he? Shaking her head, she put herself back on track. “The government kept it under the ocean secretly until the 1980s, when a rogue agent sold its whereabouts on the black market.”
“And Matsuda eventually got his hands on it?” Sid asked.
She nodded. “Remodeled it too with a nuclear reactor and moves it every month. He even has the United States Navy assisting him with crew changes underwater.”
Muttered curses filled the room.
Sid leaned back in his chair. “I know Matsuda has deep pockets and blackmail for miles, but to have the Navy working for him…that’s power.”
“Have you heard anything about this?” Raz asked, staring at Caige, who had gone stone serious and contemplative.
“Some rumors had been circulating in the CIA and Homeland Security,” Caige said.
“Nuclear reactors raise red flags. No one found anything concrete. As for the Navy’s assistance, he’s been getting away with piracy for decades, so it’d make sense he has some high-ranking insiders.
What proof do you have? Who’s your source? ”
“I can show you everything I have.” She clasped her clammy hands together under the table.
Her source was everything and could raise red flags among the group, but she needed them to trust her.
“Sajani Reedy. She works on the submarine and is my key to everything. She didn’t have a full understanding of the Bell’s powers until there was an accident on the submarine.
The Bell went off and possessed half the crew.
They killed everyone else and then turned on each other. ”
The look of contemplation on their faces told her they’d definitely be looking up Sajani. They’d be stupid not to. Kate only needed to curb their questions about why a medical doctor would be on board.
“Why can’t Matsuda know you stole it?” Lewis asked.
“If he thinks he still has the replicated Bell and tries to sell it, his inability to hand it over might start a feud with someone just as powerful. It’s the only way to weaken his empire—if not kill him.
” That was part of her plan, but the truth was…
if she stole the thing Matsuda was holding over Naomi, she wanted to give her the opportunity to bring Matsuda down without him realizing she was free.
Raz leaned forward. “What will you do with the Bells?”
“Destroy them.”
The room grew quiet for a moment, and Kate could only stomach looking at her hands. She needed this—needed them. But she would do this alone if she had to. She had no other choice.
“Why should we trust you?” Sid asked.
She closed her eyes, trying to push dread to the back of her mind.
“You can listen to my plan and decide for yourselves. I wouldn’t have put this much effort into a heist if I wanted to sabotage you in the end.
But you can trust this. Without me, you won’t find that submarine or get on board.
Matsuda isn’t above tying up loose ends…
especially Sajani, if he gets wind that you’re sniffing around her. ”
The men seemed to converse among themselves with just their eyes. When they each nodded toward Raz, Kate followed their focus.
“Tell us your plan.” The determination in Raz’s stern gaze caught her off guard.
Her heart fluttered with hope.