Page 10 of Mine to Keep
When I’m sure it’s clear, I head to the primary bedroom, where there is a king-sized four-poster bed with mosquito netting around it. There’s a large wardrobe on the far wall, and another door that leads to a large bathroom.
I set my bag on the bed and look around the room, finding and disconnecting every camera I come in contact with. I leave them in the rest of the house but there’s no reason The Void needs to see how much sleep I don’t get. If they saw how I’m barely holding on, they’d have someone retire me.
Satisfied I’ve found all the cameras, I go to the wardrobe and open the doors. Pushing the musty and moth-eaten clothes to the side, I locate the switch on the back panel and click it. The paneling slides back, then opens, revealing weapons, zip ties, rope, gloves and other items I may need.
My phone rings as I pull out the Desert Eagle, marveling at the weight of it. Like Peggy said, it’s loud and will drawattention, but the vineyard is as remote as this safe house. No one will hear it, unless they’re in the house with Sands. It’s not often I get to use a gun like this, so I’m looking forward to it.
I close the panels and go to my bag, pulling out my phone before it goes to the voicemail. I grin as I answer. “Pegs.”
“You there?”
“You should know,” I shoot back good-naturedly. I’m sure some kind of alarm was triggered when I stepped in the door.
She giggles in my ear. “You know me so well.”
Surprisingly, I do. Peggy is my only friend. The other is dead, an agent of The Void they wouldn’t allow to leave.
“Find my gift?” she asks.
I look down at the gun in my hand. “I did. I’ll make good use of it tomorrow.”
Peggy prattles on about the target and the other amenities that are in the safe house.
I go back to the wardrobe and flick the switch up and down five times in quick succession, and a drawer pops open. I find a new suit, as well as some latex skin that matches my brown skin to wear over my hands so I don’t have to wear gloves and leave behind any fingerprints. There are also fake mustaches and wigs I can wear that look natural, makeup and a few temporary tattoos that will complete my disguise. Any description someone might give of me will be wildly inaccurate. She has me all set up.
“Thanks, Pegs. Job will be done tomorrow. I’ll be offline until it’s complete.”
“Gotcha. Send me confirmation pictures and I’ll forward to The Void.”
“As always,” I say and hang up.
I put the Desert Eagle where it belongs, close the drawer, and shut the wardrobe. Instead of hunting around for some dinner, I check that every door is locked and all cameras are turned on before I check the feeds. Then I go back to the primary bedroom,undress and lie down, hoping that I can get a few hours of sleep before I start recon on the Sands vineyard.
I wish the two men from the airport were here. Listening to Talon’s soft voice as he babbled about everything and nothing, and how smooth Javier sounded while they conversed in Spanish would have put me into a deep, relaxing sleep.
I barely get any sleep.
A noise on the roof startles me from my rest and I sit up, my Glock in hand, aimed at the shadows that haunt my dreams. It takes a few beats for my heart rate to slow, for me to realize the dark corners of my room don’t hold assassins that want me dead.
I aim my gun at the roof, wondering if someone from another company was sent to take me out. The noise sounds again, dragging across the slate roof.
Rolling out of the bed, I cautiously inch towards the window and peek out. There’s a tree right across from me, and the long branches must be dragging over the slanted roof as it sways in the breeze.
I blow out a short breath and click the safety back on my weapon, lowering it to my side. I check my phone and see I’ve only slept for two hours. It’s longer than most of my naps, so I take it as a win.
Since I’m awake, I go to my bag, pull out my gym clothes and go through my daily workout. Two hundred push-ups, two hundred sit ups, one hundred burpees, and a five-minute wall sit. It’s enough to get my blood pumping and some energy flowing through my limbs.
By the time I’m finished with my workout and I’ve taken a shower, the sun has crested the horizon, shining brightly intothe room. I have eight hours to do some recon of the vineyard and mansion before guests leave for the day and I no longer have a crowd to blend into. There are few entrances I can take based on the floor plan.
During the daylight hours, Joyner holds tours, has people help with wine-making, and hosts parties for wine tastings for the ultra-wealthy. No one worth less than eight figures gets an invite.
Peggy added one of my many aliases to the invite list. I make sure I grab the proper ID from the weapons cabinet and toss it on the bed.
At the exclusive wine tasting event I’ll be attending today, I plan to check the layout of the vineyard, as well as where Sands lays his head. According to Peggy’s research, he stays on the property because he’s paranoid about being arrested and deported. Being at the tasting will help me find an entry point for the kill, so I can be in and out quickly.
Opening the disguise drawer, I pull out some latex skin for my hands, a few tattoos, a hair piece that has short curls, and some makeup and head to the bathroom. Any other time, I would shave off my facial hair but with the hair piece, makeup and tattoos, I’ll be good to go. The jammer I’m bringing with me will also disrupt all cameras, so I won’t be spotted on any footage.
I also find some darker brown contacts so my eye color won’t be an identifying marker. A set of black-rimmed glasses complete my look. When I check myself in the mirror, I look like a totally different person. I adopt a British accent, repeating words over and over until I have the accent down enough to fool anyone not native to the UK.
