“You know this would go a lot easier if we knew what the plan is,” the muscle grouched.
“And let you leave me behind?” I scoffed. “I don’t think so. I'm not one to rely blindly on the honor among thieves, especially when it's clear that you’d ditch me without a second's hesitation. We are just going to have to trust each other. Now shut up and put the panel against the wall.”
As much as he complained, and he complained a lot, the muscle followed my instructions pretty quickly and did his job well. Too bad he only cooperated with me because the mastermind told him to, and the mastermind barely trusted me enough to use my escape plan. The hacker, though, was doing his best to not make it obvious that he liked me more than the people he was working with. I couldn’t blame him. They were jerks.
Once the wall panel between the hacker and muscles walls had been removed, I talked the hacker through reworking the wiring and after a few tries, we had the doors unlocked.
“Well done! Now we need to clear out before security comes back to collect one of us,” I said. Maguire stepped out of his cell and gave me an appreciative nod, the other two thieves following suit with trepidation.
“What happened to you not handing out favors for free?” The mastermind said.
“If I leave them behind, they can tell the big guy what I did. It's called being strategic. Plus, the deals you three made are binding either way so I still net a win.”
If looks could kill…let's just say it's a good thing we had a deal in place and I was worth more to the mastermind alive, at least for now.
“I honestly don't care what happens to most of you once we get out of here but if any of you rat me out, trust me, it won't end well for you,” I said pointedly.
The hacker and the safecracker looked cowed, so I knew I didn't need to worry about either of them. The one I believed to be the lookout looked bored with the entire situation. I knew so long as I didn't push too far, the mastermind would play along and the muscle would follow his lead.
Escaping a highly guarded casino basement with this much of a powder keg in tow would be tricky, but that just made it more fun.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
I got some strange looks when I pulled out the compact, but I held it like someone would to see around corners, which seemed to satisfy them. Progress was slow getting through the hallways, mostly due to the sheer size of our group. I tried to keep a close eye on the time as we went, running through what I knew of the casinos event schedule.
“Okay, this door leads to the waiting area for the three main theaters,” I explained quietly. “Two have events ending soon at the third has a show starting in about an hour. We are going to wait until the crowds start moving, then exit one at a time. Just go with the flow until you can get out of the building, then…I don't really want to know what you do after that, obviously. If we ever meet again, we have never met before. Got it?”
“We leave first,” the mastermind said matter-of-factly.
“Whatever boats your float. Just don't forget you owe me one.”
We waited in an awkward silence until the sounds of the crowd started to trickle through the doorway. The muscle tried to go with the mastermind but I didn't let him. Everyone had to wait their turn to ensure no one got screwed over. After a very tense 45 minutes, everyone had left but myself, Maguire, and the hacker.
“Piece of advice,” I said, grabbing the hacker's arm. “Don't go back to your rallying point. Whatever the plan was, do something else. If you want a new line of work, get a bunk in the travel lodge and go with the flow. The choice is yours.”
He looked at me like a deer in headlights for a few seconds before he blinked a few times, shaking his head. I pushed him out the door and closed it behind him, leaving Maguire and myself in silence.
“You take the muscle, I'll keep an eye on the hacker?” Maguire suggested.
“Sounds good. Be careful and be sure to play along with security.”
“Will do.”
We exited into the crowd and started after our targets. I had to use the compact to find the muscle, but thankfully I caught him before he left the casino. I kept my distance while he talked with the mastermind. The others were nowhere to be seen.
As I watched them, the muscle handed the mastermind a cell phone. I had no idea where he had gotten it, but I was far more interested in what they planned to do with it. Without looking away I pulled my phone out of my pocket and started up a program that I paid a technomancer to design for me.
Took a while to work off the debt but it more than paid for itself. It took a few seconds to sort through the signals going in and out of the casino to find the one for the phone. I managed to lock on around the time the mastermind made his phone call.
They didn't talk for long, but it was enough for me to get the information I needed. I made a phone call of my own.
“I have a lead on who hired them,” i said “You are clear to move in and take the team.”
I took great joy in watching those two get arrested for the first time in a matter of hours.