Chapter 3
Adam
What the fuck was that?
It’s like I’ve never talked to a woman before, with the stumbling over my words and being generally awkward as fuck. To be fair, I haven’t had a lot of time to work on my game with being undercover for so many years. Women haven’t been a priority. Hell, sex rarely is either.
I’m so caught up in my head, I don’t notice Nico until his smug grin is right in front of me.
“You ready, asshole?”
I watch Nova leave in a hurry before I face Nico.
“So, he does like women. I was beginning to wonder.”
“Shut the fuck up, man.” I shove him out of my face.
“Always so testy. Come on, fucker. I’m supposed to show you the ropes or some shit.” He moves to the exit.
I soundlessly follow him around the back corner of Bella’s and toward the coast. It’s rocky over here and feels eerily like I’m walking to my death.
That is until I see an opening further down, on a spot that seems impossible to get to.
Nico keeps walking until we hit a small path that leads to the cave opening. If you didn’t know it was here, you’d miss it.
“This way,” he grunts.
Once in the cave, I see a package sitting in the back corner. The package is about the size of a large college textbook.
I slowly approach as if it’s somehow going to trigger an explosion or something, however illogical that is. Nothing happens, not that it would.
“Just grab that damn thing. Jesus,” Nico bitches from the opening.
The artifact is heavier than I anticipated, but with my job done here tonight, it’s time to go back to my apartment and get the hell away from Nico.
“I can handle it from here,” I tell him, hoping he leaves and lets me get to my car alone.
“Bossman said to show you the ropes. I’ll lead you back.”
I can tell there’s interest as to why I want to get rid of him, so I need to shut up and follow him. There needs to be no suspicion. I follow him on another path that leads to the parking lot out front of Bella’s. He’s parked right next to the opening while I have to walk more toward the front.
“Next time, park over here,” he says before getting in his car, not letting me say a word.
“Thanks, appreciate the guidance,” I grumble before heading to my SUV.
Once inside, I eyeball the package as if I have X-ray vision and can see what’s being moved.
It could be one of the ancient tomes we’ve been on the hunt for.
It was stolen from the MET, which prompted this entire undercover mission.
We won’t get that lucky, though. This entire operation has been the antithesis of lucky.
Nothing has gone to plan, and that’s why I’ve been here for-fucking-ever.
But this is a step in the right direction. When I get home, I’ll take pictures of it all and see if there’s a way to view what’s inside without disturbing the package at all. I just know Oscar will know if the smallest piece of tape is out of place.
Until then, I’ll let my mind wander to Nova.
The woman who shut me down so swiftly that it’s only made me more curious about her.
It seemed like she was playing hard to get, not that she was appalled by me in general.
It’s making me want to figure out if I can talk to her more and see where it takes us.
The drive to my apartment is only about fifteen minutes.
The bustle of New Rochelle isn’t like that of New York City.
It’s calmer while still having the draws of metropolis life.
You get the homey vibe of a smaller place, as well as the opportunity of the big city—a fact that Oscar loves.
If he were in NYC, he would have more attention on him.
Here, it’s practically a sleepy little town in comparison.
One that he can control from the ground up.
With easy access to the entire East Coast, it’s been foolproof for Oscar.
Once I’m back in my apartment, I go to the hidden safe in the bedroom. I exchange the artifact for a burner phone and lock it right back up. Less than five minutes later, I’m back in my SUV, heading toward the pier.
Check-ins are reserved for imperative information. I’ve been disconnected from my team for a couple of months now, but with an artifact in hand, it’s time.
The little spot under the pier takes some time to get to, but it’s private. No one can overhear me, and the sound of the waves helps discourage anyone from snooping and getting curious.
“How’s the weather where you are?” Juliette answers on the second ring. She’s the intelligence lead in our little operation. She’s a beast with computers. Her question is something she chose as a joke to make sure I wasn’t compromised.
“Sunny as ever,” I deadpan.
“You know, when I made these code phrases, I expected you to be more fun.”
“In what world is any of this fun?”
“That’s my point. How about a little levity in your life? You don’t need to always be so doom-and-gloom.” She sighs.
“I’m not. I just try not to lollygag when I call in.”
“Always so professional.” Juliette hums. “What do you have for me?”
“Actual hands on the prize.” I may be in a spot that I’ve vetted, but I won’t give any information away carelessly.
“Are you shitting me?”
“Nope. Picked it up tonight and delivering it tomorrow.”
“Can you tell what it is?”
“Textbook-like in size. Doesn’t rattle or have any distinguishable sound,” I recount what I discovered.
“Hmm … That doesn’t exactly help narrow it down. You’re supposed to drop it off tomorrow?”
“Yes. But this is the opening we need. I’ve never even looked at anything on this side of the business, so this is progress,” I tell her.
“I agree. I’ll inform Bossman and let him know we’re on standby if things escalate quickly. What’s your plan from here?” she asks.
“Wait it out. Be dependable and see how much rope he gives me. As soon as I get the freedom needed, I’ll call.
The hope is that I get eyes on what we’re looking for or intelligence on the bigger …
package … coming in. If I’m let into the fold more, I’ll have more to bring you.
I’ve already photographed the package from today.
I’ll send it to the secure email,” I rattle off.
“Good. If Kellen needs anything else, I’ll send it to your Dropbox.”
“Sounds good. Don’t work too hard, J.”
“Ha ha. You know I’m the one who holds this place together.”
“I’ll just have to ask Stone about that one.” I smirk, knowing I’ll set her off.
“Don’t you fucking dare,” she hisses.
Stone and Juliette have a very interesting relationship. I think everyone knows they’re into each other, except the two of them. It’s great material to work with, though.
“You’re too easy to mess with. Talk to you later.” I hang up without fanfare but with a smile on my face.
Fuck, I miss my friends.
Over the course of the last night and this morning, I attempted to open the package without it being obvious that it was tampered with.
I couldn’t do it. Oscar has some specialized wrapping technique that I couldn’t figure out how to replicate, so undoing it wasn’t a smart idea.
Now, I’m driving to his apartment downtown to drop it off.
I’m unsure what I’ll find when I get there. Will I be brought into the operation more? Will this be the end of it all? With Oscar, you truly never know. It’s why it’s taken so fucking long to infiltrate his business to this level. He’s cautious to an extreme.
The high-rise towers above the city. I quickly find the visitors parking before heading into the lobby, with the artifact tucked into a briefcase.
“Roth. Chris Roth. Mr. Cano is expecting me,” I tell the security guard behind the front desk.
“He’s expecting you. My colleague will take you to him.” He gestures to another man off to the side.
I nod, not wanting to speak more than needed, before following at a clipped pace.
The elevator ride is quiet and long. Once we are at the top floor, I’m ushered out and left alone in the sprawling entry way. I’ve been here twice, and both times I wasn’t allowed past the entryway.
“Mr. Roth, right this way.” An older gentleman comes out of nowhere, startling me.
My eyes dart around as I follow him. On the walls is artwork, I’m sure originals of all the big names.
Some, I know for a fact have been stolen.
On a table off to the side of the hallway, I come across a wooden sculpture.
The Shigir Idol. Holy shit. I can’t stop my eyes from widening.
The world’s oldest wooden sculpture is just sitting in my boss’s house.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Oscar’s voice blindsides me.
“Incredible,” I whisper, turning my attention to the man.
“It’s one of my favorite pieces. One of the oldest in my collection as well.”
“I’ve seen pictures but, wow, in person …” My reaction is genuine, but I also need to not give away anything to tip him off.
“It’s truly something to behold.” His voice holds wonder in it, something I didn’t realize he was capable of. It makes him seem more human, but I know the truth. “I didn’t realize you knew art.” He heads to the room closest to us, and I follow.
“It’s more of a hobby, truthfully, and I tend to like the history of it more than the actual art.”
“Ah, a fellow history lover. How wonderful. Nico is … not as cultured.”
I barely contain my snort at the idea of Nico being anywhere close to the label of “cultured”.
“Yes.” He nods at my not-so-concealed reaction. “Please have a seat.”
I set the package I intercepted last night on the desk in front of me before taking a seat in the chair.
His office is exactly what I expected—dark woods and many, many different artifacts and pieces of art.
Hell, this office is enough evidence because I know for a fact that half of these have been reported stolen.
Too bad this place is locked down like a high-security prison.
“Thank you for bringing this to me.”
“Of course.”
“Last night was a … test of sorts,” he says.
I tilt my head but keep quiet to allow him to lead the conversation.
“You’re aware of the buying and selling of artifacts side of my business, but currently, I have suspicions about Nico, and I no longer want to take it all on my shoulders.
I’ve been looking for a … director of sorts.
Obviously, Nico has his hands in a little of everything, but I’m trying to separate it all out in order to grow the business. I need culture and sophistication.”
“And I’m that?”
“I believe so. Am I wrong?”
“No.”
“Good. Then I will be giving you more and more responsibility as the weeks go on. We have something … larger coming to us within the next month. This will all be to prepare you to take the lead on that.” He leaves nothing for interpretation.
“I’m honored, sir.”
“You’ll need to be at Bella’s more while you get the hang of our delivery system. Usually, the bouncers get a tip-off when something is delivered, but I would like to remove them from the process.”
“Are you interested in starting a different system? I’m sure I can come up with something a little more efficient or less risky with the amount of people around or who know about it,” I offer.
The slow smile that spreads across his face is a sign that I’m on the right track.
“I would be amenable to that.”
“I can work on that during the day and then spend some time at Bella’s in the evenings until I figure out a new way to be informed of drops.” I go to stand.
Oscar holds his hand up. “It goes without saying that this stays between us. The crew at Bella’s cannot be trusted with such important business.
That’s why I want to remove any responsibility from the men.
This will allow you to reach me directly if you encounter any issues.
” He slides me a cellphone. “I expect you to check the products from here on out and make sure they are as described. I have people on hand who verify the authenticity, but I need to make sure it’s not broken or something else entirely.
Do not do this at Bella’s. Take it home.
I’ll have a designated day to drop things off here.
If I need something sooner, I will let you know. ”
“Thank you for the opportunity.”
“I’ll text you a time when things are getting delivered. There will be a note attached that describes what it is. Do not text me back; only call me if there are problems. We’ll talk about your ideas when you do drop-offs.”
I know when I’ve been dismissed. I bow my head and stand to leave.
“Oh, and Chris?”
I turn around, my eyebrow arched up in question.
“If you let me down or things get leaked, you’re done.” His sinister smile doesn’t deter from his message—if I fuck this up, I’m as good as dead.
“Understood.” Then I leave, with a pit in my stomach and adrenaline running through my veins.
This is exactly what we needed. I just need to survive it first.