Eden’s expression was fierce. “I need Kane to let Leland know everything he’s found out about Becker. Leland will be able to have everyone coming down on him like a ton of bricks as soon as he hits Puerto Rico.”
“He has that much power?”
“Oh yeah, he can get that done. I don’t want Becker disappearing into the wind.”
“Let’s make this fast.” He got Max back on the phone and explained the situation. It was like Asher thought—Kane was a block away from the bank on a rooftop, keeping watch on the secret police’s operation. Max promised that Kane would call Leland from his current position and fill him in with the details.
What?
Asher almost lost his footing as the vault shook.
“Ouch!” Eden yelled.
“Eden, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I bumped hard into the table. What was that sound? Why did the vault move? Was it Ezio? Is he okay?”
“No, it came from the safety deposit wall.”
Asher called Max.
“What was that?”
“What was what?”
“Something just felt like it hit and shook the vault. Did they hit us with charges?”
“Hold on, I’m getting a report from Kane.”
He and Eden looked at one another.
“It was the earthmover,” Max said. “It slid down into the hole it was creating. According to Kane, one of the secret police was operating it.”
“You’ve got to be kidding, who manages to do that?” Asher exclaimed. He turned to Eden, “There goes the possibility of creating a ramp for the tank to go down.”
“Huh?” Max said.
“Never mind,” Asher said. “Check with Kane, see if they are going forward with the dynamite and pentolite.”
“Will do. Ezio briefed me on the problem with the door. He and the others will get it figured out, don’t worry.”
“Don’t tell me not to worry, it makes me worry more.”
“Fair enough,” Max sighed.
“Hey, I just thought of something,” Eden interrupted. “We said that the concussion would likely kill us if they did the dynamite thing. What would it do to the safety deposit boxes?”
“It’ll blow up the ones that are directly near the blast, but the others will be fine,” Asher answered.
“How big of a hole are we talking?” Eden wanted to know.
“If they’re smart, no more than two-by-two meters.”
They both looked over at the huge wall of boxes and realized that would leave hundreds of boxes intact, if not over a thousand. It would be worth it.
“How soon will they get it done?” Eden asked Max.
“Ms. York—”
“All things considered, can it with the Ms. York and call me Eden. Will Ezio get the door open before they blow us up?”
“Absolutely. Kane and Cullen are trained snipers. As soon as they look close to having this put together, they’re going to hit the dynamite before they get down in the hole.”
Asher grinned. He liked it. Still, he’d like to be out of the vault first, just in case they couldn’t get off the shot.
“Nic said he’s trying to call you. Need to hang up now.”
He did, then his phone immediately vibrated. It was Nic. “Yeah?”
“We have a plan. Raiden and Ezio found a piece of rebar that they plan to use as a lever. Part of the gate twisted, so they can use that as the fulcrum. They really think they have a good shot of getting the gate pushed away for a minute, maybe two. That’s all the time you’ll have to squeeze out when I put in the passcode. We need you ready as soon as the door clicks open.”
What Nic wasn’t saying was, if they lost the battle holding the gate, he or Eden could be crushed as the door slammed shut.
“Got it.”
“I’m keeping the line open, so you know what’s going on.”
“Good.”
The kid hadn’t put his phone on speaker, and that must be Raiden’s doing. Apparently, this was not a good situation.
“Got your shoes?”
Eden pointed downwards. Ash nodded in approval. “They’ve brought something better for you to dress in as you climb through the mess to get to safety.”
“You guys really are Boy Scouts,” she teased.
“I was an Eagle Scout, ma’am.” Nic’s voice was proud.
“How stable is the building out where you are?” Asher asked, just killing time.
“Nothing moved while we were spelunking. I might take this up as a hobby. Ezio says he’ll take me caving sometime.”
“Great, now you’re going to—”
“They’ve got the gate moved. I’ve put in the code and I’m opening the door.”
Asher had Eden positioned to go first.
He could see Nic through the door, straining to keep it open. Shit, it was going to be a tight fit even for Eden.
She saw it.
“Asher?” she looked back at him.
“No time,” he said, as he started pushing her through.
As he squeezed through a little bit, he could see what Raiden and Ezio were doing. It wasn’t looking good. He shoved her hard into Nic’s arms.
“Raiden?” he yelled.
“Gotta hurry, man.”
“You gotta give me more room.”
He started through, trusting that his team would make it happen. His head, left shoulder, and left leg were in, but there was no way his chest was going to make it.
“Three inches, I just need three inches,” Asher called out.
Asher was sweating bullets. He might trust his team, but what happened if the rebar snapped?
Happy thoughts. Happy thoughts.
He pushed at the door, trying to help. Did it just move?
“Now!” Raiden cried out.
The door gave another two inches at most. Eden grabbed his left hand and yanked. He pushed off on his right leg. His shirt tore.
“Thorne!” Raiden shouted. “Now!”
He shoved for all he was worth.
Asher actually felt the door snip at his boot
