Chapter 7 #2
The older man tapped away at the keyboard. Screens flashed on the monitor and disappeared, replaced by others. Finally, he stopped, pulled a small biometric scanner from a drawer, and laid it on the desktop. “Please,” he said, nodding toward the scanner. “Place your thumb on the scanner.”
Cate pressed her thumb against the small device.
Dmytro had her do it several more times until her print was completely filled in on the monitor. He tapped the keyboard. “Now, we enter your name and thumbprint into their database as another signer on the account associated with box number one-five-seven.”
Cate’s lips curved slightly. “You hacked me into their system?”
“Hack is such a harsh description of what I do,” Dmytro said. “I prefer to refer to my work as weaving the fabric of credibility for the betterment of lives.”
With a laugh, Cate flung her arms around the older man and kissed him on the cheek. “You can call it anything you like as long as we get inside that bank as soon as possible.”
His face flushing a ruddy red, Dmytro turned away from Cate. “I will schedule an appointment for one o’clock this afternoon. That should give you time to collect your passport from the US consulate, gather what you need, and make it to the bank on time.”
“Thank you, Dmytro,” Cate said.
Draco frowned. “Can you sprinkle some of your pixie dust and get me in as well?”
Dmytro led Draco through the same process and added him as an additional member on the safe deposit box account.
“Now, we need to get there before the real owner empties the box,” Draco said.
Cate held up her cell phone, displaying the time. “We have a few hours until our scheduled meeting at the bank. One of those hours we’ll need to spend retrieving my passport at the consulate.”
“Consulate first, then shopping,” Draco said. “You could use a nice business outfit for our visit to the bank—and a wig.”
Cate frowned. “A wig?”
“The receptionist will remember us from yesterday and that we spoke with the now deceased Stefan Brunner.”
“Yeah. A disguise will help smooth the way.” She tilted her head to one side. “What about you?”
“I have a hat, sunglasses and a nice pair of trousers in my backpack.”
“Consulate for my passport and shopping for a disguise. When we’re done shopping, we’ll head to the bank as a couple checking the contents of their safe deposit box,” Cate nodded.
“A wig and sunglasses should get us past the receptionist and the silent sentry who stood at the base of the staircase to Brunner’s office.
Once we have the contents of the box, I want to have a chat with Inspector Brandt.
He’s got some explaining to do if he thinks Brunner’s cause of death was suicide. ”
“Agreed,” Draco said.
“Let’s get going,” Cate said. “I have my father’s credit card burning a hole in my pocket. I want to be ready when we arrive at the bank.”
“Do you need backup while you’re out shopping?” Crusher asked.
“It wouldn’t hurt,” Draco said, “especially after Brunner’s sudden demise.”
Crusher stood.
Marta rose to join him. “I’m coming,” she announced
Crusher’s brow furrowed. “Is that a good idea? It could place you in harm’s way.”
Marta snorted in an unladylike manner. “Wouldn’t be the first time. Besides, neither one of you can go into the ladies’ dressing rooms. I can.” She smiled broadly. “And I can help Cate make good decisions about the clothes she chooses.”
“She comes,” Cate said.
Draco exchanged a look with Crusher and shrugged. “We’ve been overruled. Are you ready to go now?”
Marta stood beside Cate. “Ready.”
“I’m ready,” Crusher said. “Lead the way.”
Cate retrieved her passport from the consulate, happy to have a form of identification after weeks without one.
For the next hour, the four of them shopped, guarded, and critiqued until Cate had nice charcoal-gray slacks with a matching blazer, a soft royal-blue silk blouse, and a pair of black ballet flats.
Cate had insisted on flats over heels in case she had to run.
They visited a wig shop and selected a wig of loose golden-blond curls that reached Cate’s shoulders. Sunglasses completed the outfit.
The women ducked into a lingerie shop and emerged half an hour later with a bag of what they termed “unmentionables.”
With Cate situated, the ladies turned on Draco and forced him into a men’s clothing store, where they outfitted him with dark gray dress slacks, a black button-down shirt, and a jet-black leather jacket.
He cringed as the clerk rang up his selections, and he handed over his credit card.
He had the money to cover it, but damn, nice clothes weren’t cheap.
By then, they were hungry and found a restaurant where they could sit inside, out of the cool air. Crusher and Draco sat with their backs against the wall, watching for any sign of trouble.
Marta and Cate reminisced about their time in captivity and their eventual extraction from Helvetic BioSolutions, with Crusher and Draco offering their perspectives on the rescue.
If Freddie hadn’t been missing, Calloway hadn’t been playing dead and Brunner hadn’t been murdered, the day would have been nice—just two couples out shopping in Zurich, like any other day in the lives of tourists.
They returned to Hammer’s headquarters and prepared for their rigged entry into the vault at Brunner’s bank.
Cate used Hammer’s office to change into her new clothes.
Draco stepped into the armory where he changed among racks of weapons, comms and body armor. Hammer knew how to outfit his team with the best equipment.
He emerged minutes later in his new clothes, wishing he was still in his jeans, T-shirt and the old jacket he’d arrived in when he’d stepped off the plane in Europe, ready to kick ass and do whatever it took to free Cate and Marta.
The door to Hammer’s office opened, and a gorgeous curly-haired woman stepped out in a tailored slacks suit and sunglasses. Bright red lips curved into a teasing smile as she slid the sunglasses down her nose. “Hey,” she said in a sultry voice. “You clean up well.”
His mouth spread in a wide grin. “You’re not so bad yourself.” In that moment, staring at this stunning version of Cate, Draco was glad they’d insisted on the clothes he’d purchased.
“Are you ready to open Pandora’s box?” Cate asked, still using that sultry tone that had Draco tied in knots.
“I’m ready,” he said and held out his arm. “Just remember how spooked Brunner was inside the bank.”
Cate nodded. “The walls have eyes and ears. We need to keep our conversations to a minimum.”
Hammer had a car service vetted and waiting outside the building to take them to the bank.
The driver was instructed to park nearby and wait for Draco’s text to pick them up and deliver them back to the Brotherhood Protectors International headquarters, where they would review what they found in the box.
Passports in hand and the key tucked in Draco’s pocket, they entered the bank like they belonged.
Draco prayed Dmytro’s hack job proved effective, or they might never know what the safe deposit box contained.
The same receptionist approached them, a little less confident and with a smudge of shadows beneath her eyes that her makeup barely concealed.
Even the bored guard of their last visit straightened when Draco and Cate entered.
They had to know by now of Brunner’s death, thus putting them on edge.
Draco held up the key and said, “We’d like access to our safe deposit box.”
“Number, please,” the woman said.
“One-five-seven,” Draco replied.
“I’ll need to see a form of identification.”
Draco and Cate handed over their passports.
The woman carried them to her computer, clicked on the keyboard, her gaze going from the passports to the monitor.
Draco held his breath. Cate’s hand on his arm tightened.
Moments later, the woman returned their passports to them. “Herr Carlson will see you to the vault.”
A man emerged from the doorway behind the receptionist’s desk, wearing a navy-blue suit and tie. He stopped in front of Draco and Cate and held out his hand. “Passports, please.”
He briefly glanced at the passports and at Draco and Cate’s faces. “Follow me.” He turned on his heels and led the way to the door behind the receptionist’s desk, then pressed his thumb to the biometric scanner. A lock clicked, and he held the door open for Cate and Draco.
Once through, he took the lead again and stopped at a heavy vault door. Here, he stood back and motioned for Draco and Cate to approach. “Press your thumb to the biometric scanner.”
Draco nodded for Cate to go first.
Her jaw tight, she pressed her thumb onto the scanner and waited.
The light turned green.
Her shoulders relaxed slightly as she stepped back and gave Draco a brief smile.
Draco touched his thumb to the scanner and counted the seconds. Two seconds and the light blinked green.
He needed to buy Dmytro a beer. The man was a genius. They were lucky to have the support of Hammer’s team in Zurich.
Herr Carlson scanned his thumb. When the light turned green, a heavy lock clicked. Carlson turned the four-handled crank in the middle of the solid steel door and pulled it open.
The walls of the vault were lined with row after row of boxes in various sizes.
Small and medium were higher up. The ones closer to the floor were larger.
Herr Carlson led them around a tabletop positioned in the center of the vault to the far corner and pointed to a medium-sized box marked 157.
“You have your key,” he stated rather than asked.
Draco held up the brass key.
Herr Carlson gave a brief nod. “I will wait outside the vault to give you privacy.” The man left them alone, obviously confident their key would open only one box.
Draco held out the key. “Here, you do the honors.”
Cate took the key and inserted it into the lock situated at her eye level. It turned easily. She reached up and attempted to pull the box out of the wall. “It’s a little heavier than I thought.”
“May I?” Draco asked.
Cate stepped back. “Please.”
Draco tugged the box free and laid it on the wooden tabletop.