Page 30 of Mimosa

“I like that you worry, but I’m okay. I’m not totally helpless.”

Haze kissed his cheek. “You smell like dick.”

“Maybe because I got dick last night.”

“Cop dick. Gross. Go shower and meet us in the basement.”

“What’s up?”

“Things are moving on Maxfield.”

Mims forgot everything else. “No shit?”

“It was your program that caught it. I went in to check and there it was, flashing on the screen. You did it again, baby.”

Mims hopped up and started for the door. “Let’s go!”

“Shower first! You reek!”

“Right,” he said, laughing. “I’ll be down soon then.”

After a shower and change of clothes, Mims started to head down the stairs, but Abs was waiting for him on the main floor landing. Abs, however, was much different than Haze. He was smiling. “So?”

“So…we had a great time.”

Abs giggled and grabbed his arms. “Tell me everything, but not now. Murphy wants to get this painting done, and there’s a reason.”

“Reason?”

“I’ll have him tell everyone.”

Once they were in the meeting room, the secret door shut behind them. Murphy smiled at all of them, and he was ready to burst with the news.

“Some of you know, we now know who bought the painting, and what’s better, he’s a real douche. He’s such a douche that he thinks he’s well protected. Goldie is already planning to stake it out for security, and Haze is plotting out the way to get it. Mims, we need confirmation, and there are fourteen cameras around this place, or that’s what Goldie counted on a quick count. We can’t get a lot done today, as tonight is a weekend, but starting Monday morning, we’re getting ready to get this painting by Thursday.”

“What’s the rush?” Mims asked him.

Cosmo was the one to answer, “There’s a family here, and they just had a fire. They were pretty poor, and they didn’t have renter’s insurance. They lost everything. We’re going to buy them a home.”

Mims barked a laugh. “A home? Really? That’s…incredible!”

Cosmo preened, “Yeah. It’s exactly what I wanted to do, help people. Plus, we can give twenty thousand to the local shelter and that would help them for almost a year.”

“I’m in. Where is the painting?”

“It’s all on the screen, and we need you to hammer out the details. You have a few hours today, if you wanted to start, but if not, like I said, we’re getting this done by Thursday.”

“What about the fence?”

Haze told him, “I know an underground art gallery that will take it for full price. They’ll take a hefty commission, so they’reall for it. Totally skip anyone here where the BBC can fuck us over.”

“I’m starting now,” he said as he got up from his seat. “Are we done?”

“Yeah, Mims. Work with Goldie and Haze to chart a way in and then find the security system, and get Abs the information so he can be sure to get past it, once we head over there.”

“On all of it.”

In the next room, his computer was set up the way he’d done it years before. Every six months or so, he upgraded the software and some of the hardware to assure he had the best running systems available.

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