“Okay, so let’s say I believe you. Where does this little game go next?”
Adriana swallowed hard. She knew Allyson couldn’t be trusted. The moment she had the chance, the American would try to kill her and take the painting. But it was a risk Adriana had to take.
“You may or may not believe your employer will kill you when this is over, but whether you believe it or not doesn't matter. It is going to happen. Unless…”
Allyson’s patience was running thin. “Unless what?”
“Unless we work together.”
18
Allyson laughed. Not an insincere laugh for the sake of being courteous; she genuinely thought Adriana had gone mad.
“That is the dumbest thing I’ve heard in a long time. What makes you think I need you?”
Adriana remained cool. “Last I checked, the score is one to nothing.”
The comment sent a surge of anger through Allyson. No one told her she was losing. She charged forward, punching hard with her right fist. The knuckles were on course to sink squarely into Adriana’s nose. The target, however, dipped left and grabbed Allyson’s wrist. Momentum carried the attacker forward as Adriana locked her fingers around the base of her hand and yanked back and down.
Allyson dropped to her knees instantly. She yelped in pain as Adriana twisted the hand to the bone’s limits.
“That was not meant as a taunt for you. It’s a fact. If you would like to continue this conversation like adults, I will let you go. Otherwise, I will be forced to break your wrist, an injury that would pretty much keep you out of any more thievery for the foreseeable future. What will it be?”
“You think you’re so good?”
“You don’t?”
Allyson snorted through the pain. “Good point.” She paused a second, considering her options. Neither was very good, but she didn’t have a choice. “Fine. Tell me your plan.”
Adriana let go and shoved her away, taking a step toward the window to get clear.
Allyson grabbed her wrist, rubbing it with her thumb and middle finger. “I don’t know what you think is going to happen here. There is only one painting. And I have to deliver it to my employer.”
“And I need to save my father.”
“So what is your plan? We team up and get the remaining paintings, save your father, and I get nothing?”
Adriana’s head moved slowly back and forth. “No. I propose we work together and get the last two paintings, deliver them to the Belgian, and then steal them back from him.”
It would have been a good plan except for at least a half-dozen flaws, the first of which Allyson was happy to point out. “I thought you didn’t know who this guy was. If you don’t know him, how are you going to find him?”
Adriana sidled over to the desk against the wall and pulled out the chair. “Let me worry about that when the time comes.”
“So let me get this straight,” Allyson said, taking a few slinking steps past the bed. “You want to steal this painting from some big banker guy, and then the third one, whatever and wherever it might be, and then steal them back from the person you’re supposed to take them to, a guy you’ve never met and don’t know? Yeah, sounds great but I think I’ll pass. You should have killed me when you had the chance.”
She turned around and started to leave, but Adriana’s next words stopped her. “I’ll pay you.”
Allyson stared at the door for nearly ten seconds before she spun back and faced Adriana. “You’ll pay me? Is that it? You want to buy me off because you don’t think you can beat me?”
Adriana took the opportunity to laugh. “No. I’m not worried about beating you. I’m worried about beating them. The way I see it, the only chance any of us have to survive is by working together. We get the remaining two paintings and then steal them back. After we give them to your employer, we go our separate ways.”
It was an interesting proposition, one that she didn’t think Frank would approve of. “There are too many pieces in play for that. If what you say is true, and we try to pull off a job like that from this… Belgian you keep talking about, there’s no way a guy that powerful lets us live. So again, thanks, but I’m going to take my chances with my boss.”
“Frank Shaw is not your friend, Allyson. He’s using you. And when he’s done with you, he’ll throw you away and bring in someone new to do his bidding.”
Adriana had been saving the checkmate piece of information for the right moment. She didn’t see any other way than to use it now. During her investigation of Allyson’s identities and known associates, Shaw’s name had popped up too many times for it to be a coincidence. There were photos of the two together at business functions, charity auctions, dinners, and major political rallies. Most of the images came with a caption such as, “Frank Shaw and his mystery woman.” The mainstream media wasn’t great at digging, but it was a task that had proved simple for Adriana’s resource team.
Using Shaw’s name had produced the desired effect. Allyson’s face paled in disbelief. “How do you know about Frank?”
“It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that I know who you work for. You really should try to stay out of photos. In this line of work, you can never be too careful.”
Allyson didn’t appreciate the lecture, but Adriana wasn’t wrong. If she’d been hanging around Frank too often, someone would have taken a photo of her. Perhaps several. Now with everything online, it was often a matter of minutes before news spread. She’d seen the articles speculating on her relationship with Frank. Nothing had ever happened between the two of them. She’d meant what she said about Frank treating her like a daughter. The fact that Adriana knew she was working for him was disconcerting, but her accusations were worse.
Adriana went on. “Frank may have helped you out, but you have to believe me. He is going to kill you, whether you take him the paintings or not.”
“How can you be so sure? And what about the Belgian? Won’t he be after you?”
“I’m going to kill him before he gets a chance to move on me.”
“If you can find him.”
“I will. Right now, though, we need to find a way into Immelman’s home.”
Allyson’s head tilted a little to the side, her face crumpled in confusion. “Who’s that?”
“The Swiss banker. We have to find his home, discover a way in, and take the painting. I’ll pay you for your help.”
Allyson couldn’t deny that her interest was piqued. “Yeah, you mentioned that before. How much?”
“I’ll pay you whatever Shaw was going to pay you upon delivering the painting to him.”
That was no small sum of money, but at this point, money didn’t matter. The only thing that did was saving her father. Despite the huge amount, it still barely scratched the surface of her and her family’s holdings.
“You can afford that?”
Adriana’s head moved up and down in a slow nod.
“Okay, let’s say I accept your offer. How do I know you won’t try to skip out?”
It was an obvious question, one that Adriana had already anticipated. “If I do, you’ll hunt me down and kill me. Right?”
“Absolutely.”
“Then we understand each other.”
Allyson nodded. “Good enough. Where do we start? I couldn’t help but notice you said something about finding Immelman’s house. You don’t even know where it is?”
“Not yet. But we will in a few minutes. The Internet is great for tracking people down. And a high-profile person like Immelman will be hard to hide.” She moved over to the corner where she’d kicked her rucksack and propped it on the table.