Crushed (26 page)

"Do you not see what they're doing?" Luke's voice was filled with rage. "They're using us! Even after we're gone, they'll continue using people. It's not fair what they've made us into. Revenge is the least we owe them."

Suddenly, the sweet, sincere Luke that Sophie had seen before vanished. She understood immediately what he'd wanted by contacting her in the first place. He thought she would join him in fighting against Max because he'd killed her parents. He saw her as an ally in his plot, not just a friend.

"Cleo's not the same as Max." Robert reminded him. "The hell Max's put you through has nothing to do with us."

"No, you mean nothing to do with you." He shot back. "It has everything to do with Sophie. Cleo might not have killed her parents, but she didn't try to stop it either. We could use this mission as a way to bring them down!"

"I remember when I could afford to be idealistic. You really think discovering these paintings will unveil some magic secret that will throw them in jail? A secret so big they couldn't pay their way out? All you're holding onto now is hope, not facts. Cleo and Max are untouchable. That's not me being negative, that's the honest truth. Anything you see yourself getting out of this mission is a fantasy."

"Is this why you didn't want him to help from the start?" Sophie asked, feeling isolated from the argument for a moment.

"The only thing he can get out of helping us is punishment. I'm not trying to be cruel, I'm being logical. There's nothing that can possibly back up his hope."

"A seven year hunt for two people over a bunch of stolen paintings? That's ridiculous, even by your standards." Luke sounded both hurt and desperate. "There has to have been something to make Max act this insane."

"Other than the fact that he's already insane? The pride of the rich isn't something either of us knows anything about."

"I still want to help. It doesn't matter if I don't find anything. I have to try." His passion was impressive, though it didn't convince Robert.

Sophie began to lose track of the argument. They continued to fight with each other, their voices growing louder and louder until she was sure they couldn't even hear the other speak. She didn't know what was really fueling their fire, but she did have an idea on how to stop it.

Pulling out her cell phone, she used speed dial to call Cleo's phone. She switched the phone on speaker mode, so that everyone could hear the conversation she was about to have.

"Hello?" Cleo's smooth voice asked from the other end of the line. "This better be good, I was in the middle of something."

The room fell silent as both men turned to stare at her phone.

"I was just wondering something." Sophie glanced between Luke and Robert, her face impassive. "Who's in charge of this mission with my parents?"

Cleo paused for a long moment. "Between you and Robert?"

"Yes."

"Whatever he may think, you're in charge." Her voice was matter-of-fact. "I assumed he was just a volunteer." She thought for a moment before continuing. "In your case, though, it wouldn't be smart to make him angry. You aren't good enough to work solo."

"He won't give up on me. He needs this mission just as much as I do." She noticed Robert's eyes narrow into a glare. "So, just for clarification, I get to make the major decisions?"

"It's your mission, do what you want." Cleo now sounded annoyed. "If that's all, I wasn't lying when I said I was busy."

"That's all. Thanks, Cleo." She ended the call, glancing up at the two silenced men with a smile. "Luke's working with us."

"No, he's not." Robert took a step forward, and she stood up to challenge him.

"Yes, he is. You heard the lady, I'm in charge." She took one step closer to him, coming only inches from his face. They were both smiling threateningly at one another.

"You aren't going to win this battle."

"I think I've already won."

Robert already knew his next tactic. "You're going to put him in danger.

"It's his decision, not mine." She answered, having predicted what he would say next.

"What if I say I won't help you?" He sounded confident.

"I say that's bull. You made a promise."

"I've been known to break promises before." He whispered. Now they were so close they couldn't possibly step any closer.

"If he betrays us, I'll give you full control. I'll be a nice little puppet and listen to everything you tell me."

His lips curled into a genuine smile. "Sounds too good to be true."

"I'm making you a promise now. I keep my word."

"Tempting." He mused, staring into her eyes to see if she was lying. "I guess we have ourselves a deal."

When he agreed to her terms, they broke apart like nothing had happened. Luke, who had been forgotten in the middle of their argument was watching them in shock. He didn't understand their system as all.

"You're hired." Sophie told him, grinning sincerely now.

"I guess it's my turn to thank you?" Luke still seemed uncertain if he was allowed into the group or not.

"We're even." She replied. "Well, almost."

"If that's all, then I really would like to get some sleep." Robert broke in, motioning for them to leave.

They didn't question him now, and obediently left the room.

"You can sleep downstairs." Sophie whispered as soon as they were on the second floor.

"I don't think I should test Robert's patience anymore." He smiled softly down at her. "This is enough for tonight."

"I'll call you tomorrow when we know something."

"I would appreciate that." He awkwardly bent forward to kiss her forehead.

Her body froze in surprise.

"The revenge thing is definitely one of my motives, but don't let him tell you I'm not in this for you too." He smiled shyly before walking down the staircase.

Sophie stared at the wall across the hall, her eyes wide and her heart beating furiously.

"What was that?" She whispered to herself as she heard the front door close downstairs.

*  *  *

Robert, true to his word, had encoded the entire file by the next morning. He'd already spent hours flipping through the massive amount of papers, figuring out the gist of what had happened.

Slavsky hadn't faced just one challenge while searching for Susanne and Gerard Parker...he'd faced numerous dead ends.

Their next target was a woman, who was supposedly Susanne Parker's closest acquaintance. She also happened to be the first dead end in the investigation concerning Sophie's parents. Slavsky had done everything in his widely influential power to get Diana Apell to talk. He'd come up more than short, with scars to show for his efforts.

Diana Apell had begun her career in this business as a hacker. She'd had genius-like skills with computers that easily made her one of the most valuable people in her field. However, unlike other hackers, she'd had powerful ambition. She'd gone from working for people like Cleo, to rivaling them in both influence and wealth. Her rise in status occurred over a fifteen year period, which was all but unheard of for someone having started at the bottom.

She'd met Susanne and Gerard when they'd all been nobodies. All the file revealed was that they'd been close friends, and the rest was history. It didn't go into detail about their relationship, but for Diana to risk her status for them meant they must've been close.

Hearing about Diana gave Sophie the first surge of hope she'd had in weeks. Even knowing they'd succeeded in stealing from Slavsky didn't give her this much relief. She hadn't realized that Slavsky's problems with the investigation had to do with something like loyalty. Maybe Robert was right, and Diana would give them something to work with.

Diana was certainty powerful enough to keep a secret for this long. She now ran her own empire of a business, while occasionally dabbling in her old job as a hacker. Unlike Max and Cleo, who'd never had to work a day in their lives, Diana enjoyed working everyday. Those who knew her consistently referred to her ambition.

Instead of feeling daunted by this next task, Sophie looked forward to it. Not only would she be able to move forward with the mission, but she might learn more about her parents in the process. The photograph Robert provided of Diana also calmed her fears. The woman was just as small as she was, and her smile was welcoming rather than threatening.

"It's not smart to trust her this early in the game." Robert warned as he watched her expression.

They were sitting in his room, going over the file together. She was laying on her stomach on his bed, while he was lounging in his computer chair. A few weeks ago they would've never been so relaxed in each other's company, but now it felt natural.

"Why is that?" Sophie asked, flipping through the pages he'd given her.

"A person with a record like Slavsky's doesn't run away with his tail between his legs over nothing. She has a pretty smile, but underneath all that lies a vicious competitor."

"Well, it's not like we're Slavsky." Sophie turned to him, wondering why he sounded so guarded. After last night she felt like he should be more confident than she was. "She has no reason to not trust us."

"Wrong again." Robert shook his head. "Really, you need to start seeing the bigger picture. Diana's not an idiot. She'll know we're working for Cleo, and that's enough reason for her to back off. Worst case scenario, she won't want to tell us anything because Cleo's involved. Luke's not the only one with a grudge against her and Max."

"Do you think there's something to what Luke believes?" Her eyes were focused solely on him now. She felt that he might've lied last night to try to scare Luke off, but he wouldn't get away with lying to her.

"Not at all." Rob sighed, spinning around in his chair. "Luke's desperate to find a way out. He'll believe anything, even something crazy. Our job isn't to bring down the bad guys, it's to give them back their toys. Don't get any ideas."

"I'm not. As long as I'm safe, I don't care what they do." She paused, her eyes lowering back to the file. "I just wish there was something we could do for Luke."

"Worry about your problems first." Robert scowled, crossing his arms. "Now can we get back to our work?"

Sophie nodded, motioning for him to continue.

"We did a decent enough job last night. Our success was due mostly to luck, but I'll take that any day. This next task is going to be interesting. Our objective is to get caught this time." He raised his hand before she could question him. "Diana Apell is more or less untouchable now. She rarely makes personal appearances, and by rarely I really mean never. She's learned to be excessively cautious over the years, which has led to a sense of paranoia."

"So, meeting with her isn't going to be as easy as scheduling an appointment."

"Exactly. She'd smell us from a mile away, and get as far away from us as she could. We're connected to Cleo and Max, who she probably doesn't want anything to do with." He handed her a new folder of information to look through. "I've got the perfect plan to deal with this problem."

Sophie browsed what he'd just give her. The folder contained lists of Diana's past activities, which mostly consisted of lavish celebrations for her various clients. She was known to host huge gatherings, all of which she never made an appearance at. Unlike Slavsky, who preferred to keep his clients a secret, Diana flaunted hers to the world.

"We're going to crash one of these parties?" Sophie guessed.

"We're going to crash the biggest party." He corrected. "Which happens to be occurring this evening."

"What?" Sophie nearly shouted. She glanced her watch, realizing it was already noon. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"I never said this work was going to be consistent. If we let this chance pass by, we're going to have to wait another two to three months for the next one."

"Why can't we just break into her home? She never attends these parties anyway, it says so right here." Sophie pointed at the folder.