Page 21 of The Eagle's Vault

“Exactly,” said Will. “And after you left Cassaforte, I downloaded a bunch of data from it, including signals from the facial scanner. It’s all encrypted, but Brie and I will sort it out.”

“Decrypting it as we speak.” In Brie’s background, the clack of her keyboard ramped up in speed. “That’s why the team doesn’t move in to the office until tomorrow. We need our processing time first.”

Leigh sucked her bottom lip in, head twisting this way and that, absorbing the city around her. “And here I thought you were just a pretty face.”

The teasing remark was delivered with such a deadpan, I couldn’t help but laugh. “Pretty and talented. What more could you ask for?”

“Oh, I could ask for plenty.” She let out a small sigh, a serious expression falling over her. What would Leigh Barton ask for if she could have anything? She lifted her clutch and pointed down the river. “If I didn’t think I’d break my ankle, I’d say we should sneak off to the Castel Sant’Angelo. I looked it up before Isaac and I left the hotel and it’s only a twenty-minute walk from Cassaforte.”

Not what I was hoping she’d ask for. “You really want to see the city, don’t you?”

Leigh breathed out, her energy waning. “I’ve been to virtual conferences, seen presentations about penetration testing and the tools that thieves use. But experiencing it firsthand? It’s a whole different ball game.”

The way she ping-ponged between subjects threw me. Definitely not as simple as I’d originally assumed.

I cocked an eyebrow at her. “You mean the tools thievesandsecurity experts use.”

“Right, security experts.” From her tone, it was clear she realized there was more going on.

“Leigh,” said Scarlett, “Isaac wants to know how you’re feeling.”

Her body deflated and the woman I’d first met surfaced. “I’m fine. Tell him we’re walking slowly.”

“And he wants to be sure you’re wearing your bracelet.”

“Tell him I never take it off.” Leigh let go with her clutch hand and began slipping her other arm out of mine, but I clapped a hand on top of it, keeping her there. Trying to keep some of the joy inside of her, instead of letting it melt all over the sidewalk.

“What bracelet?” I asked.

Happy-Leigh was vanishing before my eyes. “What do you do about the temperature? It’s not middle-of-winter cold, but I imagine it would cause problems if you’re doing precision work for more than a couple of minutes.”

“We’ve got gear for that,” I said. “Special thermal suits that keep our body heat in.”

Brie asked, “Do you want me to ship the gear, Dec?”

“Hold off on that. I need to finalize the list of equipment we’ll need. Not sure we’ve got a suit that’ll fit Isaac.”

“Got mine here in London,” Will said. “You think it’d fit him?”

“Possibly.” I mentally compared Will’s broad shoulders to Isaac’s narrow. It wouldn’t be perfect, but he’d be a better match than Rav. “Ship it over. Maybe we’ll get Emmett’s shipped over with mine. We’ll find one that fits him.”

Leigh grew quiet while the team chatted in the background. We needed direct assault plans and a million contingencies. That was Scarlett’s forte, ensuring we went in with twice the planning required. But Isaac would be a wildcard. If he was exaggerating his skill level, as I suspected he was, we might need someone else to step in.

Scarlett or Jayce could handle it. I’d have to make sure they had suits, too.

Just in case.

“The only thing we haven’t dealt with before is the chain key.” A key was normally the least of my worries, but in this case, it was something my team didn’t have experience with. It was a variable we could prep for once we’d figured it out. We had two of their keys, so maybe I could manufacture a lock to test on.

“Drilling the locks out would have been easy enough.” Leigh’s mood remained flat.

I leaned in close and whispered into her ear without the earpiece, “Want to keep going to Castel Sant’Angelo?”

Her step faltered and she peered up at me.

“You know I’m still listening, right?” said Scarlett. “You need to get a cab and meet us at the hotel so we can review the video.”

I grinned at Leigh, searching for the spark she’d exhibited when we’d left Cassaforte. “We have until Thursday night. They can spare us for a couple of hours.”

---