The Faberge Heist Read online

  The Fabergé Heist

  (Matt Drake #21)

  By

  David Leadbeater

  Other Books by David Leadbeater:

  The Matt Drake Series

  A constantly evolving, action-packed romp based in the escapist action-adventure genre:

  The Bones of Odin (Matt Drake #1)

  The Blood King Conspiracy (Matt Drake #2)

  The Gates of Hell (Matt Drake 3)

  The Tomb of the Gods (Matt Drake #4)

  Brothers in Arms (Matt Drake #5)

  The Swords of Babylon (Matt Drake #6)

  Blood Vengeance (Matt Drake #7)

  Last Man Standing (Matt Drake #8)

  The Plagues of Pandora (Matt Drake #9)

  The Lost Kingdom (Matt Drake #10)

  The Ghost Ships of Arizona (Matt Drake #11)

  The Last Bazaar (Matt Drake #12)

  The Edge of Armageddon (Matt Drake #13)

  The Treasures of Saint Germain (Matt Drake #14)

  Inca Kings (Matt Drake #15)

  The Four Corners of the Earth (Matt Drake #16)

  The Seven Seals of Egypt (Matt Drake #17)

  Weapons of the Gods (Matt Drake #18)

  The Blood King Legacy (Matt Drake #19)

  Devil’s Island (Matt Drake #20)

  The Alicia Myles Series

  Aztec Gold (Alicia Myles #1)

  Crusader’s Gold (Alicia Myles #2)

  Caribbean Gold (Alicia Myles #3)

  Chasing Gold (Alecia Myles #4)

  The Torsten Dahl Thriller Series

  Stand Your Ground (Dahl Thriller #1)

  The Relic Hunters Series

  The Relic Hunters (Relic Hunters #1)

  The Atlantis Cipher (Relic Hunters #2)

  The Rogue Series

  Rogue (Book One)

  The Disavowed Series:

  The Razor’s Edge (Disavowed #1)

  In Harm’s Way (Disavowed #2)

  Threat Level: Red (Disavowed #3)

  The Chosen Few Series

  Chosen (The Chosen Trilogy #1)

  Guardians (The Chosen Tribology #2)

  Short Stories

  Walking with Ghosts (A short story)

  A Whispering of Ghosts (A short story)

  All genuine comments are very welcome at:

  [email protected]

  Twitter: @dleadbeater2011

  Visit David’s website for the latest news and information:

  davidleadbeater.com

  Contents

  Other Books by David Leadbeater:

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

  CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

  CHAPTER THIRTY THREE

  CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR

  CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE

  CHAPTER THIRTY SIX

  CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN

  CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT

  CHAPTER THIRTY NINE

  CHAPTER FORTY

  Other Books by David Leadbeater:

  CHAPTER ONE

  PRESENT DAY

  Jax was one-fifth of the greatest heist team the world had ever known. More than that, he was its leader. In its lifetime, the team had pulled off eight highly lucrative heists, each one so seamless, so brilliant, that their team had become thought of as ghosts. Many believed they were an urban legend, but even so they had been given a name: The One Percenters, because they were in the top one percent of all criminals around the world.

  This was the start of their ninth heist.

  Jax concentrated on keeping his profile as low as possible. Cara, Steele and Kushner were close by. They were all part of the entourage surrounding a large man with a great deal of bluster. Faye was staying remote as she always did—their tech geek, she handled everything from afar and was as distant during a job as she was when they were all together.

  Jax looked around. They were inside an advanced tech lab in the heart of California, here to steal an item that would simplify their upcoming heist. Of his three companions, Cara was situated closest, her mid-length blond hair hidden under a black wig, steel-framed glasses concealing her model-like face even further, a high collar and padded clothing adding to the disguise. Both Steele and Kushner were similarly concealed. Steele was large anyway—he was the blunt instrument, the muscle of the group—which made Jax think maybe he’d gone overboard with the added layers. But maybe not. Nobody appeared to have noticed him.

  Which was probably due to the brash, noisy Texan in whose shadow they walked. His name was Kirkwood and he was a billionaire looking to invest in the tech lab. Faye had spent weeks finding the right patsy—a man that courted and loved the limelight—and then getting Jax and the others added to his visiting entourage, complete with backstory and security passes. It hadn’t been an easy task, and Jax had thought they wouldn’t make it in time—the Las Vegas heist was planned for three days’ time—on several occasions. He’d thought more than once that they would be forced to carry out the heist without the gripper gloves. But then Faye found this Texan tool they could use to cover their entry, and it was all go.

  Jax watched everything. The lobby they walked across had a high domed ceiling, constructed of white panels and glass. Sunlight streamed through the windows, giving the place a warm, airy feel. Their footsteps echoed from the tiled floor to the ceiling, and there were many footsteps. Kirkwood came with a large support staff.

  As a group, they approached a reception desk with Kirkwood’s constant chatter claiming all the attention. The receptionist was already on the phone to inform of the important man’s arrival and, in just a few seconds, doors at the back of the room opened and several suited men walked out.

  “Mr. Kirkwood,” one could be heard saying. “Thank you for coming today. My name is Steinfeld. Would you come this way?” There was a pause and then an added clarification: “All of you.”

  Jax fixed his eyes on the floor. The team knew where they were going and what they had to do. Faye had taught them the schematics of this place two dozen times. They knew where every camera was placed and how to avert their faces from the prying lenses. Or, at least, they thought they did.

  When one of the automatic doors jammed, the man called Steinfeld let out a long sigh. “Apologies, sir,” he said. “The computer system has been faulty for the last few days. I thought it was fixed.” The look on his face told Jax someone would pay later.

  The door soon reverted to normal, performing as it was supposed to. The system glitches were all part of the plan, designed to accustom the staff to them over a few days so that the one that allowed Jax’s team to act would be considered just another malfunction.

  Once in the lab’s inner sanctum, Kirkwood and his staff were led along a curving corridor with windows to the left that overlooked landscaped grounds. To the right stood secure laboratories, most with their window
s opaquely glazed. Jax knew it was done manually, at the touch of a button, and wondered what Steinfeld didn’t want them to see.

  They were nearing the moment when they would have to act. Cara, Steele and Kushner drifted nearer to Jax, faces taut but determined. Kirkwood pushed through a door into a large conference room. Jax checked their rear. Nobody followed.

  Faye was in their ears, speaking over their secure comms. “Five . . . four . . . three . . .”

  Jax readied himself. The lights flickered. An alarm rang and then stopped. Kirkwood shouted. Automatic doors and windows went crazy. Jax used the distraction to slip through a door to the left that led to a new wing, Cara, Steele and Kushner at his back. The CCTV system would be running on a temporary loop down this corridor. They needed four minutes.

  Jax counted three doors, stopping outside one that read: Advanced Anti-Slip Development. He tried the door, working on the law of averages. Often, they were left unlocked and saved the team time. This one wasn’t.

  Cara was at his side. “You feeling good?”

  He knew what she meant. “Save it for later.”

  Steele was at Jax’s other side. The big man looked ready and mean enough to chew through the door if he was told to. Then Kushner pushed past.

  “Make way.”

  Kushner was the consummate thief of the group, the pure artist. He was their expert and directed all matters concerning entry, exit and the robbery itself. Now, he spent seconds attaching a homemade circuit board to the door’s keypad and finding its combination. The lock clicked open and they were inside. Jax moved to the front again, ready to give the orders.

  “Far right.” He pointed. “Grab the gloves. Make sure you get the display models and not the prototype.” Kushner moved off. “Far left, liaise with Overwatch on the computers. Scramble everything to cover our retreat.” Cara hurried over to a computer terminal. “And you—” he turned to Steele “—watch the door.”

  Jax stayed central, overseeing it all. Faye counted down the time. Three minutes passed. Kushner had accessed the gloves but had stopped moving.

  “There’s a second layer of security,” he said. “Shit.”

  They hadn’t anticipated that. Jax waited for Faye’s next comment. “You have forty-five seconds.”

  “How good is it?” Cara asked, looking up, but still typing. “I’m about ready here.”

  “Not hard, but it’s gonna take more than forty-five seconds.”

  Jax shook his head. “Not good enough. Cara, help him.”

  Kushner looked up, stroking back several stands of hair. “There’s nothing she can offer that I don’t already know.”

  Cara ran over to Jax. “I don’t know what you love more. Your reflection or your brain.”

  Jax agreed but stayed quiet, gauging the situation. Forty-five seconds passed.

  Faye spoke over the comms: “Ready to scramble their systems one more time in five . . . four . . .”

  “Hold up,” Jax said. “We have an issue here.”

  “The risk increases—”

  “I know how the risk increases,” Jax interrupted, feeling annoyed at everyone. They were flawless. They were practiced and well-informed. Only the best thieves carried out eight major heists without leaving one salient clue beyond a few grainy photographs. His anger rose, reddening his neck and cheeks.

  Cara noticed. “Relax. Just relax. We don’t want attention.”

  She was right. He fought it. Jax had always been shrewd, able to read and react to a situation almost instantly. But he was also ex-military and tended to treat threat with violence. For years now, he’d been able to rein it in, but lately had felt the vicious tendencies overpowering him. Cara said it would split their team apart. That, or get them caught. But then Cara was only here for the art, skill and ingenious fluidity of it all. She abhorred violence, which was why she hated Steele.

  Lately though, Jax had agreed with their team’s muscle. He’d hurt two bystanders and a guard this last month. Two of those attacks hadn’t been necessary. One had been way over the top. Cara saw it all and pulled away from him as a leader. She was right. His changing attitudes could end the team, one way or another.

  But Jax had good reason for his growing anger. He couldn’t share it with the team. In fact, the last thing he could do was share it with the team. Jax had a secret—something nobody else on the planet knew, not even the so-called One Percenters that made up his legendary crew.

  The secret was called Bella.

  She was his wife, and he’d married her in total secret three years ago during a One Percenter hiatus. When the idea for the new Vegas heist had been floated by Kushner just three months ago, Jax had first checked with Bella. She’d had no problem with it. She knew everything about his past and the people he worked with. She knew and accepted that the heists, although dangerous, were what kept Jax and the others sharp, dynamic, on the edge of life and death, which was how they lived their lives best. Jax agreed and Kushner started a preliminary analysis of the heist. Cara and Faye helped.

  Three days ago, when they were almost due to start, Bella disappeared. Jax went crazy, ransacking every local establishment for her. He’d even considered contacting the police.

  But then he was contacted by a man who worked for a Mexican cartel. They had taken Bella and were offering to return her in exchange for both the fruits of their upcoming heist and his team. Jax had been stunned. Left speechless. As far as he knew they’d never crossed another criminal, let alone one as dangerous as the cartel. Kushner had been very particular about it in the past. They’d even anonymously paid two sets of thieves off on previous occasions, not wanting to step on their toes. Questions bombarded him. How had they known about Bella, about the marriage, and about the heist? How had they known where to find him and why did they want his entire team?

  It seemed somebody believed the urban legend rumors weren’t rumors at all and had been keeping tabs on them. And whoever it was wanted the Fabergé eggs.

  Jax wished he’d never heard of the eggs. The upcoming heist had taken on a dark, desperate aspect. Jax reverted from a shrewd leader, able to calculate, watch over and pull together a job from gestation to completion, to the violent, ex-army man Cara had first met twelve years ago. Back then, he was a man trying to change and she’d helped him achieve that. Now, he was a man trapped in an agony of conscience, of respect for his colleagues, and love for his wife. The training was trying to take over.

  Cara saw his struggle and questioned it. But he couldn’t tell her the truth. He had to figure out a way to complete the heist, save his wife, and hand over the eggs without losing his entire team to the cartel.

  “Done,” Kushner interrupted his thoughts, holding the gloves in the air. “I have two pairs.”

  Perfect.

  Jax felt a rush of relief. For a moment there it had felt like everything was falling apart before they even got going. He couldn’t think that way. Bella’s life depended on it.

  Cara was eyeing him. “You okay?”

  “Stop asking. I said I was good.”

  Steele backed away from the door, eyes angry. “Two guards coming.”

  “Here?” Cara asked, exasperated.

  “Didn’t wait to find out. I’ll handle it.”

  “No.” Cara stepped toward him. “Not your way.”

  “Don’t worry.” Steele flapped her away.

  “Are you gonna harm them?”

  “Well, I’m not gonna lick them.”

  Jax saw the team’s infrastructure fraying. Things had always been edgy between Cara and Steele, but it had been a minor issue. Well, that and Kushner’s narcissism. Seeing the chance of a major problem developing, he stepped forward.

  “You two relax. I’ll handle this.”

  In his ears, Faye said, “I can always get them called away.”

  Jax was by the door, watching it open. Silently, he cursed Faye for not stepping in sooner. But she’d always been insulated from real life, a girl alone and apart, and had n
o feel for danger. He couldn’t blame her.

  “Hey guys,” he said, stepping into the first guard’s eye line. “You got that system fixed yet?”

  “On with it. Where’s your ID?”

  Jax was furnished only with the visitor pass they’d gained by entering with the Texan loudmouth. They hadn’t had time to steal and then create a genuine ID with the big heist going down in just three days.

  “On the table,” Jax said. “Let me get it for you.”

  He turned, letting the door close in the guard’s face and beckoning Steele to get into position. The big man grinned, sliding behind the frame. Cara looked dismayed and ran forward, catching the frame.

  “Hey,” she said. “I’m sorry. He’s too proud and too stupid to tell you he left his in the break room. Here, check mine.”

  Jax had been ready to lure them in and attack, but now fought down the urge. Cara wasn’t taking too much of a chance. The break room was only four doors down and she’d lifted an ID from the computer desk she’d been working on. He admired her ingenuity. He knew she was trying to save the guards some damage, but doubted it was going to work.

  “Says here your name is Jack Cross.”

  “Jac,” she said. “Short for Jacquelyn. Someone made a mistake.”

  It was desperate. There were times when it might work. Guards that might accept it, especially when Cara smiled at them. But not with these two. They were dedicated to their work.

  “Step back,” one said. “We’re coming through.”

  Cara stepped aside, shaking her head and looking down. She knew what was about to happen. Jax grabbed the arm of the first man to appear and wrenched him inside. The man staggered forward into a desk, the top part of his head striking a metal lip. Blood sprayed across the desk and down the side. Jax jumped on him. Steele took the second guard, stepping around the frame and punching him in the nose. The man fell to one knee, struggling to pull a Taser from his belt. Steele grinned at Cara for effect and then allowed the man to draw it.