Page 66 of Stuart Woods' Smolder

The delivery van driver slammed on the brakes and stared at the sight ahead.

“Oh, shit,” his coworker said from the passenger seat.

A wall of fire filled the road, a few dozen feet in front of them.

“Back up, back up!”

That snapped the driver out of his daze. He reached for the shifter, but before he could put it into reverse, someone knocked on his window.

Standing outside was a man in a uniform and face mask, just like the guy who had sent them down this road.

The man motioned for the driver to roll down his window. He did so.

“You can’t come this way,” the man said.

“I see that. I’m going to turn around.”

“Can’t go that way, either.”

“What do you mean?”

“Exactly what I said.”

Without any other warning, the man brought up a small canister and sprayed its contents into the cab.

Within seconds, both deliverymen were unconscious.

—

By the time Benji reached the van, Devin and Sticks had subdued the men inside, and Devin searched the driver for keys.

Benji glanced at the still burning barrier, then said to Sticks, “You want to take care of that before it becomes a problem?”

“I don’t see why. It’ll probably burn itself out.”

That isnotwhat it looked like to Benji. In fact, it appeared to him that it was just moments away from jumping to the dry vegetation beside the road.

“Take care of it,” Benji snapped. Starting a major blaze was not part of the plan.

“Fine. Waste of a good fire, if you ask me.”

Sticks walked off with one of their fire extinguishers.

Devin backed out of the cab, holding a set of keys. “Found ’em.”

“Give them to me, then go help Sticks. I’ll take care of this.”

Devin tossed him the keys, then grabbed the other extinguisher and jogged toward the fire.

Benji opened the back of the van and grinned. A picture-shaped item covered in protective wrapping was strapped against the side of the van.

He cut through the restraints, slit open the Bubble Wrap, then peeled back the plastic and confirmed it was the correct painting. He took a photo of it and sent it to Simon with the message:Bingo.

After transferring the painting to the trunk of the sedan, he keyed the walkie. “You guys done yet?”

“I think so,” Devin replied.

“Sticks?”

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