I grimaced as Wyatt entered my room. He swapped the smoke detector and alarm clock with identical copies before exiting.

Is he on to me? I wondered as I switched to the hallway camera feed.

He strolled to the next room a couple of doors down from mine, ran a keycard in front of the electronic lock, entered the room, and exited a minute or so later.

He visited and exited rooms after a minute or so inside. No rhyme or reason appeared to me at first, but I suspected those rooms had something in common with mine.

I accessed the hotel’s database with a couple of taps on my smartphone and inspected each number he visited. We all shared one commonality: we all checked in that day.

The tension released from my muscles as I concluded that he was simply vigilant. Given that this was Narcissa’s home, and she had challenged The Grandmaster, it made sense for him to suspect any visitors.

Deciding what to do from there was child’s play. I briefly considered inventing an excuse to transfer rooms, but my more cautious side noted that the operative might commit to something more drastic if I did. After all, who knew what he might attempt? What if he took my movement as evidence that I was The Grandmaster of Theft and escalated to violence? He had already broken the law by placing surveillance in my room, so violence wasn’t out of the question.

Furthermore, no matter what I did, he would draw an undesired amount of attention to me if I didn’t blend in. Staying the course and remaining stealthy was the name of the game.

Of course, stealth carried its risks. It requires its wielder to go all-in. You’re either a phantom or you’re busted. For us to accomplish our goal, I had to tread with caution. I had to do the thing I hate most of all: nothing.

Well, I mused as I strolled to my room, at least this isn’t the worst bug problem I’ve encountered in a hotel.

I entered the room and maintained my illusion. I decided against researching Gabrielle – Wyatt could’ve hacked the hotel as well and utilized the wi-fi to access my computer – and passed time watching a documentary. The night and Wynn arrived before I realized.

What’s your status? he texted.

Under surveillance, I replied.

What happened?

Paranoid Sharpe Security operative bugged the room. I suspect they plan to expose me if they can confirm anything.

I’ll get you.

No, I messaged. He’s only a problem if I give him a reason to act. Everything is optimal otherwise. Narcissa’s assistant Gabrielle is at the home. Proceed without me and record the ongoings.

I clenched my jaw upon sending that message. If it wasn’t for Wyatt, I could’ve done much more. I wouldn’t have been confined to a hotel. I wouldn’t have been reduced to waiting for a report.

It’s not the worst possibility, I reminded myself. Maintaining security trumped the boredom of inactivity. What’s more, it bolstered my disguise.

I retired for the night not too long after. Or at least I did until a rapping on wood stirred me from my rest. I lumbered to the door and peeked through the peephole to discover Wynn with a grizzly beard and ski hat.

I opened the door.

“Robyn, there you are!” Wynn said. “There’s an emergency at home. I came to pick you up.”

“What’s going on?” I asked, drowsy.

“I’ll explain on the way. Hurry.”

A chill swept through me before I nodded.

I bolted through the room and gathered everything up. I did have to change, however, so I shouted through the door that I was using the restroom – more for the sake of Wyatt’s recording than Wynn's – and entered the bathroom. A minute or so later, I was ready. Wynn and I left the hotel and piled into the pickup truck he rented.

“What’s going on?” I asked as I slipped into the passenger side, my heart pounding. “Did something happen?”

Wynn entered the driver’s seat. “Some paranoid security operative broke into your room and planted a surveillance device.”

I stilled midway through buckling my seatbelt. “You’re… You’re kidding, right?”

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Wynn pushed the keys into the ignition and started the car. “I don’t joke around with your safety. Which, speaking of, seatbelt.”

I released the belt, allowing it to zip back against the seat. It didn’t concern me. I instead glared at Wynn as my body broiled.

“Yell at me on the way. Just get your seatbelt on so we can go. There’s no turning back after the audible I called.”

I scowled while considering his assessment. If I did return, it would likely appear more suspicious. Wyatt would likely have questions which I wouldn’t wish to answer. Wynn’s right, I decided and clicked my seatbelt into place.

We zoomed out of Sokkinhveim, my scheme now jeopardized.

“This could appear suspicious,” I said, my voice restrained. “Wyatt might assume I’m The Grandmaster of Theft or an accomplice, at which point we’re blown. If we’re blown, he’ll investigate Narcissa’s home for anything out of the ordinary, as that would be our clear target. If he investigates her home, he, or someone else, might end up questioning Gabrielle. I know little to nothing about Gabrielle, so I can only assume she’ll expose MY SCHEME!”

“Protecting you is more important.”

I balled my hands into fists.

“Also, we might not need the plan anymore.”

I stared at the roof and counted to ten. “Why not?”

“We both know you’re going to want to listen, so why don’t we skip to that? The flash drive is in the glove department.”

I retrieved the flash drive, plugged it into the radio, and pressed play.

“I take it you already know who I am,” the recorded Wynn said. “If you want to talk, get one of the dogs and act like you’re taking them out for a late-night walk.”

All according to plan so far, I thought. When considering stumbling points, I considered what I might do, if someone were home and I were Narcissa. If I were in her position, I would’ve placed audio surveillance around the house.

A couple of minutes passed as Gabrielle performed as instructed. However, once she exited Narcissa’s home, she said, “If you’re trying to find Narcissa, you’re wasting your time here. I don’t know where she is.”

“Why don’t you?” Wynn asked. “Does Narcissa not trust you?”

“I know what I signed up for.”

“Are you a masochist? It’s the only reason I can think for tolerating her.”

“I’ve dealt with worse while making less.”

“Then Narcissa must value you. I wonder how much…”

“Not enough to save me, if you’re thinking of taking me hostage. It’s a waste of your time.”

My lips pursed and questioned if she was bluffing. Her glacial tone and Narcissa’s history with assistants suggested she wasn’t. From what I read, Narcissa went through personal assistants much like most people go through paper towels. Gabrielle was the first to last.

“Take you hostage?” Wynn said, his voice as genteel as ever. “I’m not that kind of thief. Narcissa may not care about you, but I do.”

“All you care about is what people think of you.”

“I wouldn’t be a thief if that mattered to me. I’m in the business of helping people. In this case, The Dilmurid. You’re aware of what The Maker’s Tear means to them, right?”

“What happened to them is sad, but—”

“No but. What happened to them is sad. And we have a chance to fix it.”

“I’m not risking my job—”

“You don’t have to. No one needs to know about this conversation, and I’ll pay you for your services. I just want some information and your cooperation on The Fifth. You wouldn’t need to do much.”

There was just enough of a pause for me to notice her contemplation.

“How much money?” she asked. “And how will I get the money?”

“We’ll discuss the how later. First, tell me how much you want.”

“Twenty thousand crowns.”

I gaped and reasoned that she was highballing us.

“I have a thousand crowns on me and four thousand more in an account,” Wynn said. “How about I give you a thousand now and four thousand later.”

“Twenty thousand. Or we’re done.”

“How will I know the information is worth twenty thousand? You could be setting me up.”

“You came to me, not the other way around. Either pay for the info or don’t.”

“Give the info and let me do some fact-checking,” Wynn said. “If everything is as you say, I’ll make sure you get paid.”

“How do I know you won’t betray me?”

“Because you know who I am.”

I pressed pause. “You agreed to give her twenty thousand crowns?!”

“She wasn’t going to help if I resisted. If you don’t want to pay, we can deal with her later. We can give her counterfeit money or blackmail her with what she told us or—”

“We’ll do nothing of the sort. It doesn’t please me, but I can’t fault her for utilizing aggressive negotiation tactics. I might have done the same, were our positions exchanged. I simply wish you negotiated more aggressively with her.”

“Didn’t seem like the best time. She had the advantage.”

I stroked my chin while considering what I might have done differently. Nothing came to mind. “Fair enough. We’ll settle our debt later.”

I pressed play again.

“Can’t believe I’m taking the word of a thief,” Gabrielle said. “Narcissa’s not alone.”

My eyebrow jerked up.

“She came up with this whole thing a few months ago. The first thing she had me do was reach out to Sharpe Security. I don’t know the details of the deal, but she’s getting help from the head honcho.”

“Head honcho?” Wynn said. “Are you talking about Benjamin Hunter or Vincent Sharpe?”

“Vincent. He’s lending some of his… I think he called them ‘The Damatessa?’”

“Kakaz!” I cursed.

As a quick aside, Kakaz is a curse word in Zabonji, my mother’s native language. She taught me it while young and, while I attended school, I formed the habit of cursing in it. I couldn’t get in trouble because nobody aside from Rae and Becca knew what I was saying.

Anyway, Vincent tested my patience with his incessant advances every time we met. Worse, he did so because of my heritage, as he’s zimaboo – a cultural fetishist for Zimavata.

Anyway, Wynn asked, “Do you know where she’s at?”

“No. Vincent put her into hiding too. But I can contact her. She got a phone exclusive for this and I’m one of the few who have it, in case of emergencies.”

“What is it?”

Gabrielle shared the number before saying, “But I don’t think it’ll help if you plan to lure her out or track her down somehow. She doesn’t have The Maker’s Tear with her.”

“How do you know?”

“She had six copies of The Maker’s Tear made and hid. I bet you the one she has with her is fake.”

“Any idea where she took them?”

“Of course. I’m Narcissa’s assistant. I arrange her meetings and organize her trips. One of them is in a safety deposit box in Obsidian Financial Holdings. I suspect it’s the real one, but I can’t be sure. She gave the second one to her twin, Elizabeth. Those two have hated each other for a long time though, so she probably didn’t trust her with the real one.”

“Why give it to her at all?” Wynn asked, verbalizing the same question I had.

“No idea. All I know is she decided to get back in touch with her at the start of this.”

Peculiar, I thought before considering why she might choose her sister. If she did trust her despite their animosity, assuming said animosity was genuine, it would likely be one of the last locales one might expect. I could imagine worse locales to conceal it.

“Where are the other three?” Wynn asked.

“I only know where two more are,” Gabrielle said. “I have no clue where Narcissa put the last one.”

“Just tell me where the last two are.”

“One of them is with Sharpe Security. It’s another one that might be the real deal, but I don’t know. I doubt the last one matters though. It’s buried in The Innasto. I have coordinates.”

After that, Wynn attended to everything else which remained with Gabrielle. He explained what her role in the con was, how she’d receive payment, and that we would contact her via the new cellphone, so she should keep it on her.

“If she’s telling the truth,” Wynn said to me, “we can probably wrap this up without worrying about Narcissa. If she’s lying, the plan is screwed anyway.”

I rubbed my temples. “She’s likely telling the truth. If this were a snare of some sort, she wouldn’t provide four different locales or incomplete information. A single, precise backdrop would function better as a snare. Regardless, the scheme we already have in motion is far more suitable. Narcissa knows where the true one is. If we control her, we control it. Fewer obstacles. This alteration simply endangered the scheme.”

“I stand by my call. Better safe than sorry. Besides, it’s not like this whole extortion scheme is your only one.”

I chomped down on my inner cheek and jerked my gaze off into the woodlands.

Discussing this is pointless, I realized. Wynn wouldn’t waver and what was done was done. If the scheme failed, I’d learn from the spyware installed on the phone Wynn delivered to Gabrielle. If it didn’t, we had nothing to concern ourselves with. Either way, I could only move forward.