Part of Kat wanted to jump over the rope, kick and claw at the desk—break it into a million pieces if she had to. Find the will, and be gone. Of course, she knew a basic Smash and Grab would never work at the Henley. Still, a part of her wanted to try.
“Are you ready, Kitty?” Hamish asked. “Kat?”
She took a deep breath. And said, “I’ve seen enough. Let’s go.”
Chapter 12
If Carlos’s apartment had seemed cold to Kat when she first saw it, then the following night the room felt absolutely frigid.
The London skyline was perfectly clear through the tall glass walls, with the London Eye spinning around and Big Ben overlooking the House of Commons. Kat was a hundred stories above it all, hidden in a fortress of steel and glass, and yet she couldn’t help feeling entirely too conspicuous, like anyone and everyone could see what they were doing. Even though Hale was on the other side of the Atlantic, Kat still wished she could draw the blinds.
“So what do we know?” Gabrielle asked. In the reflection of the windows, Kat saw her cousin sashay into the room.
“They’ve changed their guard patterns,” Hamish said.
“And most of their guards,” Angus added. “Which I don’t mind at all, I can tell you. One of those blokes was bound to remember me, handsome as I am.”
“Simon?” Gabrielle asked, but he just kept staring at the computers spread out on the table in front of him. It was like he didn’t hear a thing.
“Simon!” Gabrielle shouted.
“Yes.” He bolted upright, startled. “Yeah. Okay. Do you want the good news or the bad news?”
“Good,” everyone but Kat said in unison.
“Oh.” He deflated.
“What?” Kat asked.
“I don’t really have good news; I was just hoping to soften the bad,” he said.
“Just tell it like it is, Simon,” Kat said.
“Well, they’ve changed their cameras since we hit them last fall,” he began.
“That’s good news there, isn’t it?” Hamish tried.
“These have facial-recognition software,” Simon added. “So…no. But I don’t think they have any records of our faces from last time, so…hey…that’s good news!”
He seemed so happy, so proud of himself. And Kat couldn’t be still a moment longer. She started to pace.
“Cat in the Cradle?” Gabrielle said.
“We don’t have Hale,” Hamish said.
“You could do it,” Gabrielle challenged.
“Do I look like a classically trained violinist to you?” he asked, and Gabrielle didn’t broach the subject again.
“Then what about an Ace’s Wild?” Simon said.
Angus scooted forward. “With a little Count of Monte Cristo?”
“Exactly,” Simon said, excited.
“Yes.” Gabrielle crossed her arms. “That is the perfect way to remind everyone at the Henley that we were the kids locked in a supposedly abandoned gallery when the Angel was stolen.”
“Maybe that back door into their computer system is still there,” Simon said, and Kat could practically hear his palms sweating. “If it is, maybe I could—”