Perfect Scoundrels (Heist Society #3)(40)

“Wait. Far be it for me to say this”—Hamish looked around the compartment—“and if anyone tells Uncle Eddie I suggested being an upstanding citizen I’ll kill ’em, but aren’t there…laws and stuff? I mean, can’t you…you know…sue him or something?” asked the boy who had once stolen an entire circus, all three rings.

“You’d think so,” Kat explained. “But according to what we got off of Garrett’s computer, the patent office has a bogus design on file for the Genesis plans. That means that if and when the real Genesis turns up from some other company, Hale Industries won’t have a legal leg to stand on. Needless to say, it’s handy when the person responsible for protecting the design is the same person intent on stealing it.”

“We’re in the wrong business,” Angus said.

Simon nodded. “So true.”

“The bad news is time. We’ve got to get the prototype and design back now,” Kat said.

“Why?” Angus asked.

“Because Hale Industries is dangerously low on working capital,” Gabrielle said. “The return on investment of the last five products has been less than one percent, and without a major influx of cash from subcontracts and the buzz that a hot new product can bring, the share price is going to go through the basement.”

Everyone stared at her.

“What?” Gabrielle raised an eyebrow. “I’ve conned a lot of MBAs. So Garrett plans to sell the Genesis prototype and its blueprints to the competition, make a fortune, and destroy Hale’s family all in one blow?”

“Two birds,” Hamish started.

“One stone,” Angus finished.

“If I didn’t hate this guy so much, I might kind of idolize him,” Hamish said. “Is that wrong?”

No one answered.

“The good news is that we know what he’s doing now—what his endgame is.” Suddenly the car was too stuffy. Kat wanted to open a window. “Yesterday, Gab and Hale and I followed Garrett to his meeting with the buyer. Something he said led us to believe that he has stashed the prototype and plans in a safety deposit box.” She took a deep breath. “At the Superior Bank of Manhattan.”

Angus’s face broke into a wide grin. “I’m sorry, Kitty, but I thought you said it was in the Superior Bank of Manhattan.”

“I did,” Kat told him, but she didn’t exactly feel like smiling back.

“The Superior Bank of Manhattan?” Simon said. “The Superior Bank of Manhattan? The Superior Bank of—”

“Yeah, Simon,” Gabrielle said, cutting him off. “That’s the one.”

“It’s going to take resources,” Kat said.

Hale nodded. “Done. What else?”

“People. More than are in this car,” she said.

“Please.” Gabrielle gave a dismissive wave, and crossed her long legs. “What else?”

But the final thing, Kat seemed almost afraid to say.

“Time.” She swallowed hard. “There is no way to steal the prototype before the launch—not if it’s at the Superior Bank of Manhattan. Their security is too good and…it’s the Superior Bank of Manhattan. No one has ever done it.”

“That’s what they said last time.…” Hamish said.

“And the time before,” Angus added.

“The Cleopatra Emerald was being moved, and that made it vulnerable. We had two weeks for the Henley,” Kat countered. “The launch is in three days. I don’t know…”

“So we steal time,” Hale said. His words had a force to them. And for a second, they scared her. Then Hale softened, retreated. “So what do you say, Kat?”

She nodded, but it took her a moment to mutter, “Okay. We just have to delay the launch, right? We can do that. We just have to…” But she let her voice trail off, absolutely unsure what to say.

“I don’t see what the problem is.” Gabrielle stretched out on a bench. “We can find Garrett, right? And he can’t sell the prototype if he is…shall we say…tied up?” She gave a self-satisfied smirk.

“Gabrielle!” Kat rolled her eyes.

“What?” Her cousin looked as innocent as she could possibly be. “We could keep him someplace nice. It will be like a vacation. Or rehab. He might even thank us.”

“Yeah,” Kat mocked. “Thank us…have us arrested for kidnapping…really, they’re practically the same thing.”

Gabrielle huffed. “You have obviously never conned anyone in rehab.”

On the other side of the car, Hamish slapped his thigh and proclaimed, “I like it!”

“Of course you do,” Kat said.

“Now, now, hear me out,” Hamish went on. “We don’t have to kidnap Garrett. Not if we kidnap the buyer.”

“Or distract him,” Angus added.

“Like the Bulgari job,” Hamish said.

“You mean the job that landed half the DiMarco family in a South African prison?” Kat said.

Angus shrugged. “Nobody said it was perfect.”

“You’re missing the point, guys,” Kat told them. “We have to get the prototype back before the launch. If the investors and stockholders see the faulty model…”