Page 9 of Defying the Relic Hunter

My narcissistic cousin bragged he was going to pull off the heist of the century by snatching the medallion during the museum’sbig event.He wanted the theft splashed across all the news feeds. Giuseppe gloated how he was going to make Zarek and his warriors look like inept fools.

Yeah, that wasn’t gonna happen. I had kinda riled them up and they would be expecting an attempt on the amulet. Now, not only did I have to deal with a pissed off Coletti, but my cousin too. Giuseppe was an obnoxious prick and unfortunately, a damn good thief.

Giuseppe’s plan lacked imagination and flare. He and his crew would go in disguised as rich patrons of the museum. He had Uncle Aldo forge guest passes and create several Halloween themed illusion discs to create a diversion.

Uncle Aldo hadn’t said a word about Giuseppe’s plans or given me any kind of heads up. Was it because I was no longer a clan member? I rubbed at the ache in my chest. God, I hoped not. My uncle was the only family I had left. Ok, I had a few cousins I could count on, but being clanless bothered me more than I thought it would. Uncle Aldo was the clan’s gadget master, so he officiallyhad to help Giuseppe.

I clicked on another email from Giuseppe. Dum-dum had acquired an electromagnetic pulse gun to take out the power. I shook my head in disgust at all the big yellow smiley faces he had posted. Was he twelve?

He went on to tell Uncle Aldo that once he’d triggered the holograph, all hell would break loose. Me? If I was a guest, I would think skeletal warriors waving blood encrusted swords around were part of the entertainment. No one would be running for the exits. The chances of him pulling off a successful snatch and grab weren’t good. Should I warn my cousin? Nah. It was his vote that got me kicked out of the clan.

I was out of time, money and options. If I didn’t get my hands on the amulet before tomorrow night, I was screwed. Luckily, one of Uncle Aldo’s contacts was Humberto Lopez, a master electrician with an awesome security clearance. He had been hired by the museum to add extra lighting.

My uncle gifted Humberto with a three-day fishing cruise in Baja, Mexico and had planned on impersonating him. Since that was no longer possible, it was up to me to pull off the heist. Alone. Which was pretty damned scary.

The next morning, it took me two hours to transform myself into a fifty-year old Hispanic man. I studied my image in the mirror. The fake beard, brown contact lenses and a wig with a realistic receding hairline turned me into Humberto’s twin. I winced as the elastic band I used to bind my girls down bit into my skin. It was extremely uncomfortable and made breathing difficult. Hopefully, I wouldn’t be doing any running.

I drove my uncle’s truck to Lopez Electrical. It was in an old, battle-damaged strip mall along with a pizza joint and a hair salon. I scanned the area with my bracelet. Only the secretary was in the office. I touched an icon and poof! All their security cameras and communication devices went down.

Now all I had to do wasborrowone of Humberto’s company vans and I was good to go. Uncle Aldo’s clever gadgets made bypassing a vehicle security system easy. All I did was point and click. I climbed into an old panel van with Lopez Electrical on the sides and drove to the museum. My scanner showed me where the security guards were located. To my relief, there were no Coletti life readings. Ethan was probably still searching Glendale for me.

My heart pounding in my chest, I opened the back doors of the van and took a deep breath. I could do this. Giuseppe’s mocking face suddenly appeared in my mind. “You’re as worthless as your father. Blood always tells.” My spine stiffened. My father had died a hero. It was time I proved Giuseppe and the clan were wrong about me too.

I grabbed my tool kit and a ladder. After a visual survey of the area, I assumed Humberto’s unique gait and walked to the back door. Failure wasn’t an option. I had no desire to spend the next twenty years in jail or God forbid, being forced into marrying a Coletti asshole. Ugh. A fate worse than death. I pushed the button on the intercom.

“State your business,” a computerized voice said.

Discreetly, I tapped my bracelet and the voice modulator kicked in. “I’m Humberto Lopez, I have a work order to install some extra lighting.” My voice was now an exact match for Lopez’s, right down to the faint Mexican accent.

I tried not to fidget while they scanned me. Their scanners should pick up the bio signs of a Hispanic man.

“Access granted.” The door swung open.

A security guard gestured at me. “Follow me.”

I trotted after him. The minute I stepped into the main gallery, the executive, in yet another plaid suit, rushed over to me. “Did you bring the lights I specified?”

“I did, Mr. Owen.” I opened my tool kit and pull out a miniature circle of gold lights.

“Perfect.” Owen gestured to the display case with my amulet. “I want the lights to cast an unearthly glow over the medallion.”

“Yes, sir. It won’t take me long to install it. It might cause a blip in your security systems when I power it up.”

Owen waved his hand. “Fine. Fine. Just get it installed before Ethan Jones shows up.”

My stomach knotted in alarm. “Yes, sir, and how long before he arrives?’

Owen glanced down at his wristband. “You have an hour.”

“I’ll have it done by then.” I placed the lights back in my tool kit and set the ladder up.

“Good. Good.” Owen hurried over to two staff members rearranging a display. “No. No. No. Not like that.”

He had just upped the ante a lot. It was a good thing Uncle Aldo had trained me to keep my cool in all situations. The war had forced all of us to become a Jack-of-all-trades, so installing the light was something I knew how to do.

I hauled my tool kit to the top of the ladder, quickly put in the light and added a few goodies of my own.

I cast a casual glance around as I climbed down the ladder. The guards’ attention was on the catering staff as they hauled their equipment in. Time for a diversion. Alakazam! A large flock of pigeons flew in the open doors. They swirled this way and that.

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