Chapter 15
Date: March 21st
Location: Destler House
Time: 7:05 p.m.
Normally it’s quiet, normally everyone is taught with anticipation, normally this type of espionage stuff only happened in the movies. For a long time my life hadn’t been normal, but I never expected to be in the back of a limo wearing a dress so expensive it could be used as a down payment on a house with Matt humming the Mission Impossible theme music.
“Is that necessary?” The driver had asked as we followed the line of cars up the driveway.
“You obviously have no taste for dramatic flair,” Matt simply replied back.
The weekend approached faster than I wanted it too and soon Matt and I were squeezed into fancy clothes and putting on a few prosthetics to throw people off. It turns out altering the nose or chin along with some colored contacts can make a person look completely different. So while my eyes were a bit irritated at least my hair wasn’t squashed into a wig.
“You guys ready?” Williams’s voice came in through my ear and part of me wondered if wearing an earpiece around potentially deadly skilled people was such a smart thing.
“Sooner we get this over with,” I muttered.
The more time I spent away from the Guardians base the more confusing things became. Seeing how Caldwell ran things made me think that my leadership skills were sending people in the wrong direction. None of his men had questionable ideals or morals, at least for that of a criminal. No one lost their temper, everyone communicated. I could name a handful of times where I just up and left to do my own thing because I didn’t trust that anyone else could get it done.
Another thing I noticed Caldwell had from all his men was respect while I had admirers. People liked the results I gave them, they liked that I could take charge from time to time, but no one would really listen to me when push came to shove. I was still a kid in everyone’s eyes who got a lot of lucky breaks and while I’d like to convince myself otherwise of that, I saw truth in it.
With the new threat of Lockstar potentially reemerging made me think to ask for Caldwell’s help. He knew more about the business than anyone and he could probably get rid of them without causing a huge media spectacle like I would. Asking him would hurt my pride, but if it helped people, than maybe that’s what needed to be done.
“Showtime,” I barely snapped out of my thoughts as the door opened and Matt slipped out, offering me a hand.
I was wearing heels, something that I still wasn’t accustomed to wearing as I spent more time at hideouts than charity galas, or whatever Amelia was calling this thing. The dress chosen was supposed to be classy, but with how tight it fit made me want to throw on a large t-shirt.
“Fancy,” Matt whispered to me as he looped his arm around mine.
The house looked like a manor straight out of the 18th century. Its stone walls towered over us and you could see a chandelier glowing inside from behind large panes of glass. The steps led up to a double door entry way where there were three security guards and a woman holding a clipboard with names on it.
“I feel like there should be cameras,” I joked.
“There are, everywhere, you’ll have to be careful,” William piped in and my smile faltered for a second.
I didn’t have time to be irritated or nervous or feel anything else as Matt and I were finally at the front. I felt a prickle of fear knowing that once we were inside things were only going to get a lot more complicated. Right now Matt had the computer hidden between the back of his shirt and his jacket and I sincerely hoped they didn’t frisk us.
“Invitation,” The clipboard lady hardly looked up as Matt handed her the slip of paper. She paused for a moment and pursed her lips while she looked through the list of names. “Enjoy the party Mr. and Mrs. Teirot.”
Security here was supposed to be top notch and even though it just looked like the big guys and the clipboard woman were the only things keeping people from going in I knew there were more. William wasn’t lying when he said there were cameras everywhere, upon entry there would be eight different cameras looking at you for facial recognition. It would take a 10 point picture of your face and run it through its database to see if it matched up with the names on the invitation. Since it connected to the internet and everyone posted pictures of themselves these days it wouldn’t be too hard to figure out if someone was lying or not.
Since we were prepared for this I had already scanned Matt and I’s faces in the database with our physical changes. Creating fake aliases and making sure that they held took some time. Since there security rivaled ours at the Guardian base, I wasn’t about to spend too much time in here for fear that our cover would be blown.
“The office is on the third floor, last door on the left,” William reminded us and I was hit with a sense of déjà vu. Normally I was the one on the other side giving orders, telling people where to go. To actually be on the other side was a little daunting.
“We can’t just rush up there,” Matt said and held onto my arm a bit tighter because I was already heading for the stair case. “We have to make small talk.”
“Small talk?” I nearly groaned at the idea. Part of the reason I wanted to be a hacker was so I didn’t have to do that bit.
“You know sweetie, there’s a lot more to being a con artist than creating fake artifacts,” Matt said sweetly with a charming grin on his face. “We have to know how to work a room and say the right things to the right people.”
“How else do you think he got half of his fortune?” William questioned on the other end.
“I tend not to think about how he basically robbed an elderly woman,” I mumbled while Matt and I circled the room.
“If it makes you feel any better, she was making cocaine in her basement and was responsible for 13 teenager’s deaths.” I open my mouth to retaliate or to at least say something witty back when Matt interrupts me. “Tall man, looks to be high up in the security rank coming our way, I need you to steal his key.”
“What?” When was this part of the plan?
“The third floor is going to be locked and we need to be quick, his key is the quickest way in,” Matt whispered when said large man walked up.
He looked to be 7 feet tall and made of pure muscle and would definitely be the type of person I would want on a security team. He had an intimidation factor that would make people think twice about trying to pull one over on you. However, knowing the Destler’s background, I knew he wasn’t the one to be most frightened of.
Even in heels I felt dwarfed and scanned him over again. He had little hair on the top of his head, but due to his young age I assumed it was by choice. His entire facial structure seemed a bit too small for his whole physique with eyes spread out a bit too wide. I imagined if he wasn’t as bulky it would look a little more normal based on society’s standards.
“Mr. Teirot, Mrs. Teirot,” The small said gruffly and part of me perked up when I heard a Chicagoan accent. “I wanted to thank you on Mrs. Destler’s behalf for your donation.”
“Not a problem,” Max’s own accent was gone and he gave him such a charming grin that even I believed it.
From the looks of the security guard he seemed to be Destler’s right hand man if she was making him make the rounds of thanking people for coming. He seemed obligated to be here and if Matt wanted me to swipe the key we needed him to stay a bit longer.
“We’re always happy to help,” I let my own Chicago accent take over and when his eyes widened a bit I knew that he was curious as well.
“Forgive me for asking, but are you from the Chicago area?” Suddenly his position didn’t look like he was going to leave for a bit and the new position granted me the sight of the key card hanging on his belt. At least it’s nice to know that once inside their security was a little more lax and predictable.
“Born and raised in Edgewater,” Now it was my turn to give a charming grin and Matt gave me a thumbs up while he tried finding a way to get the key card as I would prove as a better distraction. “You?”
“Lincoln park, though I only stayed there until college then I moved out West.”
“Couldn’t stand the air anymore?” I joked and he cracked a smile.
“Well California’s didn’t make my face hurt.”
I didn’t even fully comprehend what happened, but the next thing I know a person holding a tray of hors d’oeuvres falls on Matt making him stumble into the large security man. If I didn’t know any better I would’ve thought that this was a mistake, but I saw Matt discreetly pocketing the card a moment later.
“Oh sweetie,” I cried brushing off the various sauces that landed on his jacket. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”
Matt was looking perfectly sheepish and we started to head towards the stairs when security man stopped us again and I tried to keep my face schooled.
“The bathrooms that way,” He pointed in the opposite direction.
“Thanks,” Great now we would need to find a different way up.
“Oh and Ms. Teirot, may I have a dance with you later this evening?”
I’m about to say no when Matt elbows me subtly and my answer changes. The security man gives me one last bright grin while we head towards the bathrooms. The amount of people grew more scarce until there was hardly anyone in sight.
My eyes darted around the walls wishing I knew where the cameras were and faltering at every turn. They were hidden well and any attempt to cut off the feed or alter it would set off the security system. Matt pulled me into a room that I belatedly realized was the bathroom and locked the door.
“How do we get up to the third floor?” Matt asked and for a moment I thought he was talking about me.
“There’s a service elevator not too far from you, it’ll lead right up to the room adjacent to the office.” William replied and I could hear quiet clicking from a keyboard on his end. “I can disable security in the office long enough for you to switch computers.”
“What am I supposed to do then?” That seemed like a one man job and part of me felt put out for not being able to do the hacker portion.
“Distract the head security, he likes you well enough,” I’m about to retort when William breaks in again. “You’re supposed to be married, he called you Ms. when you and Matt were darting off, which means that he believes that you would be available.”
“Why do I always attract the wrong guys?” I mumble. “Matt can you do this?”
“Course I can, can you distract big guy out there, because if he knows I’m in the office he might break me in half.” He replied and I saw a bit of nervousness in his eyes.
“I won’t let anyone hurt you,” I look towards the mirror to fluff up my hair and adjust my boobs, wondering how most people went about this.
“What are you doing?” I heard William ask and knew he was watching me from the hidden camera that was in my necklace.
“I’m supposed to be distracting him and there’s only so much you can say about how Chicago’s politicians are worse than us,” I didn’t hear anything else but I imagined that William was rolling his eyes.
When I shifted my dress again my eyes immediately go down to where the scar of the bullet wound was supposed to be and found that it was expertly covered up with makeup. It’s like I was never hurt at all with all my scars being covered up, but I suppose it would be hard to explain why a “billionaire’s wife” has a 3 inch knife wound on her forearm.
“Good luck,” Matt gave me a quick hug as I exited the bathroom.
I felt my nerves start bouncing around inside me and had to remind myself to calm down. When I entered the main ballroom where Matt and I had been moments before I grabbed a glass of champagne to soothe me. The whole room was ornate and lovely with marble floors and stained glass. It was the perfect picture of classiness and perfection. Something really suited for a woman hosting charity galas instead of organizing an underground organization.
They seemed to be a bit like Lockstar, just without as much direction. Amelia was still angry over her husband’s murder and it looked like she sent the men to kill the assassins and informants rather than taking in people. There were a few times when Amelia would make an attack at Lockstar, believing it was the Lamour cult Valentin was supposed to be a part of, but nothing that produced any significant results.
She was dangerous because she had a lot of people at her command, but she was even more dangerous due to the fact that she was still acting out of rage and heartbreak. People with cloudy heads often created the most spilled blood.
“Welcome, welcome,” A voice boomed over the speakers and my eyes shot towards the Northside of the ballroom where a stage had been set up.
A woman in her late forties, early 50s was holding a glass of champagne and wearing an easy smile. Her dress was the picture of elegance and she didn’t look like she’d be involved in anything illegal, then again most criminals don’t look any different than a civilian.
“I wanted to thank you all for being here tonight and for your very generous donations. Because of you these wounded veterans will get the proper care they need and I can get that new television I’ve had my eye on,” Her corny jokes sends a mess of chuckles across the room. “So please enjoy the party and don’t get too drunk.”
Amelia quickly gets off the stage and the music starts again. My eyes were glued to her movements, knowing that as long as she was in my line of sight, she couldn’t do anything bad. At least that was the hope. If anything did go wrong I’d most likely be able to tell with the expression on her face. While I wasn’t as good as reading people as L.J. was, I’m sure I’d be able to put two and two together if she looks like she wants to murder someone.
I grabbed a glass of champagne to nurse while finding a place on the wall to continue to watch, but not be completely obvious about it. So far Amelia was just making the normal rounds of a hostess and thanking people for emptying their wallets for her. Although looking around, these people probably didn’t even make a dent in their fortune.
My back tensed when the quartet started playing a familiar song and my mouth turned. When I was younger my parents used to take me to galas and charities that was hosted by their “work” as real estate agents. I would be stuck in a corner bored out of my mind and this song would always play and all the people swarmed to the dance floor to sway to its soothing melody. Now I wondered how they pulled all that off if they were never real estate agents in the first place. Were those people apart of the Guardians? Or just someone they hired?
“So where does this money go?” I asked sipping on my drink.
“You’ve done your research Aurora,” William replied in my ear. “You know it all goes to the Not Forgotten fund for wounded veterans.”
“It just seems odd,” I answered back making sure no one was looking over and realizing I was talking to myself. “It doesn’t add up.”
“Neither does having a world class hacker go to college to get a degree, yet there you stand.”
That felt like another blow to my stomach and my face dropped slightly. I wanted to go to college because I didn’t want my life to be insane or crazy. I wanted a job and friends and a house with a picket fence. Ok that was pushing it but I certainly didn’t want to be in an expensive dress and always be looking over my shoulder waiting for someone to pull the trigger again. I was supposed to be graduating, Sam was, Terri wasn’t.
“I do believe you are in trouble,” The security guard broke my gaze from Amelia and I immediately brought my thoughts out of the past and gave him what I hope was a charming smile.
“In trouble of what?” I ask coyly back and hope that Matt has the computer by now, I didn’t know how well I would do with small talk.
“Boredom,” He held out an arm. “May I have this dance?”
I don’t dance.
“Sure,” I reply and lace my arm around his as we go to the dance floor. The last time I went dancing it was my 21st birthday and I don’t think you could call what happened in that club as dancing.
Thankfully, it was nothing to complicated and after making a mental note of how the other ladies danced I followed suit. Amelia was just behind the security guard’s shoulder as well so I could still see her.
“I’m Eric by the way,” The security guard finally told me.
“Maggie,”
“So how are you enjoying the party?” Oh it was just wonderful with all the knots in my back and my head racing wondering if anything was actually going according to plan.
“It’s quite lovely, it’s been a time since I’ve been to somewhere so nice,” The script that William had made us was easy to recall and I didn’t know whether or not I should thank him for his paranoia.
“It’s really not much,” Eric shrugged but I could see pride coming off of him. A quick peek over his shoulder showed that Amelia was chatting with an elderly couple. Everything was still going to plan.
“Well Mrs. Destler might disagree,” I joked but Eric stopped moving and his eyes grew unfocused. “Are you alright?”
“Yes, I think I just need some air, do you mind coming with me?”
My answer hesitated on my lips and I waited for William to give me a yes or no answer to give him, but was left with static. I guess that meant that it was ok to go and Matt wasn’t in any immediate danger as Amelia still had half the room to go through. Still, it was very risky to just leave him without much backup, although I doubt how much help I could be if things went south.
“Of course.”
I led him down the hallway Matt and I went down before and like before it was deserted. By this time Eric looked a little pale and I was growing concerned. What if the man just fainted on me?
Before I could ask him anything he grabbed my arm and shoved me in the bathroom and before I could utter a single word a gun was pointed to my head. All that I could think of now was not again.
“How do you know Amelia’s last name?”