Chapter Six
CAM
It took me about ten minutes to change and gather the tools I’d need to bypass the door locks the Maybach came equipped with.
I smiled to myself, grateful for my brother Jessie who’d been a master at getting into all kinds of cars.
The guy he sold stolen vehicles to, ran one of the biggest chop shops in Vegas.
Gary took in all kinds of cars and paid well.
I assumed he stripped them of parts and sold off the pieces rather than selling them whole.
At sixteen, I hadn’t understood the reason for that, but after Jessie had taught me about VIN numbers being traceable by the police, it’d made sense.
I still worked with Gary when I needed fast cash.
For him, I took much less expensive rides, almost always with rental agency stickers on them.
They were quick, easy money, and once I’d disabled the GPS and peeled the rental agency stickers off, they were practically untraceable.
Josiah paid a lot better than Gary, though, and as far as I knew, Gary didn’t hurt anyone.
He was a kindly, older guy whom I genuinely liked, and he employed lots of mechanics who didn’t have papers.
I liked the idea of that too. Undocumented immigrants had been vilified as of late, so knowing that some of them had good jobs that I could only assume paid well, made me content to keep working with the man who employed them.
I locked up the apartment and we headed back downstairs.
I’d caught him looking at my collection of vintage comic books when I’d come out of the bedroom.
I kept them in the drawer under my coffee table in plastic coverings since I didn’t want them to get damaged; that meant the FBI agent had been snooping.
The way he’d blushed, turning bright red under his tawny skin when I’d caught him, was kinda hot.
I wasn’t used to palling around with FBI agents, but if I was forced to do it, hanging with Mars and his friend, Mickey, wasn’t such a bad thing. Both guys were gorgeous.
I still wasn’t sure about bringing them with me in search of the Maybach.
As I sat in the backseat, while Mickey filled Mars in on his conversation with their boss back in L.A.
, I was only half listening. I watched the familiar sights of the Strip as Mars drove to the restaurant.
I’d lived in the city all my life and knew it like the back of my hand.
Over the years I’d seen it grow, avoiding the recession we were currently in.
I didn’t pay much attention to financial things, but from what I could tell, business was still booming in the city.
Tourists still flooded in to gamble away their paychecks and pay exorbitant prices to see stupid entertainers who headlined at all the big casinos.
On my days off—like most locals—I stayed away from the Strip. I left that to visitors who didn’t mind the shitty stop and go traffic as long as there were lights and signs to stare at with wide eyes.
Mars turned into the parking lot of the restaurant and I hunched down while he waved off the valet and opted to self-park the Camaro.
I didn’t want security to notice me in case they questioned one less person in the car as Mars drove back out after I snagged the Maybach.
Provided I could find the car I wanted. The other reason I’d chosen this particular restaurant was that it had a back exit without a manned booth.
All I had to do was pay with cash at the kiosk and then drive the car right out.
I’d put on a disguise back at the apartment, donning a full beard, thick, false eyebrows, and a mustache.
Mars had laughed his ass off when I’d come out of the bedroom, but I’d ignored him, confident in my disguise.
I’d added chin and nose prosthetics which wouldn’t fool anyone up close, but would change the shape of my face just enough to fool facial recognition software once I got caught on camera.
The braided dreads wig fell almost halfway down my back.
I’d read somewhere that Las Vegas had something like ten thousand security cameras in public spaces, making it one of the most heavily surveilled cities in the U.S.
This garage had tons of them from the lot itself to the kiosk at the back gate, so there was little chance my image wouldn’t be captured by one or more of them.
Mars drove slowly around the lot and as he did, I spotted two Maybachs, one of them with the dealer sticker still taped to the inside back window. I was giddy with excitement, unfazed when I caught a glimpse of Mars grinning at me in the rearview mirror.
“Ya were right.”
“Jesus H. Christ,” Mickey grumbled. “We’re really gonna do this.”
Mars turned to look at him. “Ya cleared it with Candy. Stop going on. Sometimes I think you’re a bloody old woman, Milky.”
Mickey shot him a shitty glare. “Candy did clear it…grudgingly.” He quickly turned away as Mars reached out and patted him on the shoulder.
“Don’t worry so much, matey. Cam knows what ‘e’s doing.” He glanced at me in the rearview mirror. “Ya do, don’t ya?”
“Pfft. Yeah, I know what I’m doing.” I pointed. “Park in that corner. It’s a camera blind spot. I want to avoid anyone seeing me getting out of your car which is identifiable since I assume your tags are legit.”
Mars nodded. “Smart. I didn’t think of that.” I could see his grin in the rearview mirror as he flicked a look up at me. He found a spot in the corner not far from the vehicle which just happened to be close enough to watch me do my work. I checked my watch.
It was just after one o’clock, which meant the lunch rush was in full swing, but I wanted to get into the car and out of the lot in less than three minutes.
It would take time to disable the GPS as well as the electronic alarm system, both of which were located underneath the chassis on this model.
If I wanted to avoid being run over if the owner returned and decided to drive away with me under the car, I needed to make it quick.
“Wish me luck!” I said, filled with adrenaline as I jumped out of the car.
“Good luck!” Mars said as Mickey slid down in the seat with a pout on his face.
I could understand his reticence in me doing my job.
I had to guess it wasn’t every day that an FBI agent watched a serious crime being committed, only to do nothing about it.
Weren’t FBI agents required to intervene if they witnessed a crime, just like the cops?
I’d read that somewhere too. Mickey had cleared it with their boss, but since I’d only had negative experiences with law enforcement so far, I had to trust they’d keep their word.
FBI guys usually kept their word…didn’t they?
I put it out of my mind as I ran to the Maybach, looking around the lot to assure there weren’t any other cars driving around and no restaurant patrons lingering or walking through the lot.
I kept my face turned away from the cameras knowing from experience and talking to some of the guys on Josiah’s crew, that the cameras weren’t manned by live security personnel in this lot.
They wouldn’t be able to pick up where I’d come from until security reviewed the tape once the vehicle’s owner reported it stolen.
As soon as I confirmed I was alone, I dropped to my knees, rolled over, and scooted underneath the car.
It didn’t take me long to locate the alarm system and GPS, and in just under two minutes, I’d disabled both.
I checked my watch again, holding still as two pairs of feet became visible.
Laughter reached my ears as the stilettos stopped at the car next to me.
I held my breath, staying right where I was, praying the women weren’t driving the Maybach.
Instead, the door locks on the BMW beside me popped open and the stilettos disappeared as they stepped into the vehicle.
In seconds they were backing out, making a three-point turn, and driving away.
I let out my breath, waited about thirty seconds, and slid back out, checking to make sure I was still alone.
Confident no one was around, I pulled a small electronic box out of my pocket and went to work to get inside.
I pressed several numbers and watched the digital display run through a series of numbers.
I glanced at my watch, hating that I had to wait as it cycled through.
When it finally stopped, it was only a few seconds before the door unlocked all on its own.
I grinned to myself and slid into the driver’s seat, thrilled that no alarms had gone off.
I looked under the dash, just to make sure there was no redundant alarm, and then took a deep breath of the clean, new car scent that always sent a thrill through me.
The push button started the nearly silent engine, and I pulled out of the parking space.
I drove to the back entrance, glancing at Mars and Mickey as I passed by, unable to stop myself from flashing them a thumbs up and a toothy grin.
I jumped out of the car at the kiosk, and used cash, then impatiently waited for the horizontal boom gate to rise.
Easing out of the lot, I turned onto the Strip and breathed out a sigh of relief as I drove into the midst of afternoon traffic, confident of my destination.
Traffic cameras would be reviewed as soon as the theft was reported to the cops, so I detoured several times into various underground garages and then back out different entrances again and again.
I caught sight of Mars following in my rearview mirror a couple of times, and had to smile to myself, impressed that he hadn’t lost me so far.
I was really beginning to like him, plus he was pretty to look at.
By the time I finally pulled into Gary’s shop at three-thirty, I’d pulled off the wig, beard, mustache, and facial prosthetics, certain I’d fooled the traffic cams. Mars pulled in twenty seconds behind me.