“No!” Hale and Kat cried in unison.
“Oscar the Grouch?” Gabrielle suggested.
“Does LaFont look to you like the kind of guy who takes out his own garbage?” Angus shot back, then shrugged. “Besides, he’s not in on it. The best we can tell, he’s getting conned just like everyone else.”
It took a second for that knowledge to wash over them all, but then Gabrielle bolted upright, saying, “Ooh! I know!”
Kat cut her off with a wave. “The Prince’s Palace is a fortress, Gabrielle.”
“I know,” Gabrielle said. “But palaces are fun.”
“This one isn’t. It’s got a twenty-foot fence and a thirty-man rotating guard detail. And they’re armed.”
Even in the dim light, Kat could see Gabrielle beginning to pout. “Which wouldn’t be a problem if you’d let me scale the cliffs.”
“Wait.” Hamish eased forward. “Why do we have to do it this week? We let ol’ Maggie sell it, see? Then when it’s all safe and sound in its new home…”
“There’s no way of knowing where it’s going,” Hale said. “It could end up underground.”
“In the private collection of some warlord or weapons dealer,” was Gabrielle’s guess.
Simon shook his head in frustration. “There are too many variables to account for the—”
“They might not be crooks.” As soon as Kat blurted the words, she saw five sets of eyes turn to her, look at her like she was crazy. Only Nick seemed to understand.
“Not everyone’s a bad guy,” he told them. “We wait and do this job later, and we might be the bad guys.”
“This is our window. Now.” Kat stood back and paced. “We’ve got tomorrow morning…”
Hale shook his head. “No time. No access.”
“The auction at the palace?”
“No good,” Simon said. “If we get over the walls”—he gave a considerate look at Gabrielle—“no exit.”
“Okay.” Kat took a deep breath. “That leaves us with…”
“The casino,” Hale said flatly.
“You should tell someone, Kat.” Nick’s voice was cold but his eyes were warm. “My mom—”
“If you want to go home to mommy, there’s the door.” Hale pointed over the side of the ship to the blue water and the long swim, but Nick ignored him.
He looked at Kat and asked, “How many cameras on the casino floor?”
“Sixty-two,” she said, without missing a beat.
“How many entrances?” Nick went on.
“Five public, three private, and four unofficial.”
“Exits?”
“Ten.”
“Average time to the street?”
“Two and a half minutes.”