Jerrod removed the glass cutter, said, "I think I'll go ahead and just take out the circle."

"Might as well."

From a foam-lined aluminum case, Jerrod lifted a new tool.

"What's that?" Letty asked.

"Called a cut opener."

"Cool."

He smiled, eating up the attention. She could've cared less, but making nice with Isaiah's cohorts didn't strike her as the worst idea she'd ever had.

He turned a knob. "I'm just setting the tapping force. Watch this."

Holding the device to the surface of the window, he placed the head of the glass tapper to the score line, then squeezed the lever. The cut opened in inch-long segments, slowly forming a perfect circle.

Up in the crawlspace, the hum of the motor had stopped.

Stu climbed down out of the ceiling with a circular saw, his face frosted with dust.

Isaiah said, "We happy?"

Stu grinned, wiped a sheen of sweat off his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt.

"I was able to get an angle on the subfloor. Cut out a four-by-four section. Little glitch. There's a slab of marble over top of it. It's gonna take two or three of us to move it. I was only able to lift it a quarter of an inch, and just for a second."

"Well, let's do this. See what we got to work with."

# # #

Letty tugged on a pair of latex gloves and went up first.

Richter's contact had said two a.m., but what the hell did that mean? Surely someone would sweep the room before the money showed.

She climbed over a tube of ductwork and emerged into a bathroom.

Swung the beam of her flashlight across the walls.

Swanky.

Giant Jacuzzi tub. Triple vanity. A TV embedded in the mirror. Double-headed shower with more floor space than some apartments she'd rented in her darker days.

She spoke into her headset, "This is not a mirror of our room. It's a large suite. How we doing on time?"

Isaiah hit her back, "No idea, but stay cool. We need some recon."

Letty struggled onto her feet. Her heart banging away.

She moved across the bathroom and through an archway.

Everything dark.

Perfectly quiet.

"Bathroom opens into the master suite."

"Take it slow and low, that is the tempo," Isaiah said. "There could already be cameras or motion sensors in place."

That gave her pause.

"Really?"

"Really."

At the open doorway of the master suite, she killed the light. Stared hard into the darkness.

"Would it be the end of the world if I turned on a proper light?" she asked.

"Nah, go for it."

She found a panel of dimmer switches next to the entertainment center and brought up the lights. Her eyes burned for several seconds.

The living room boasted a wet bar, a desk, in-room dining area, plasma high-def, and a sitting area adjacent to a floor-to-ceiling window.

The curtains had been swept back.

The desert floor glittering below like crystals in a cave.

Isaiah said, "Are the curtains drawn?"

"No, they're open."

"Close them."

She pulled the curtains, then moved on toward the front door.

Said, "There's a powder room and a room with a massage table by the entrance. Otherwise, we're early to the party."

"All right. We're coming up."

# # #

Letty sat on one of the white leather sofas, staring at the time on her iPhone.

12:23 a.m.

One hour and thirty-seven minutes.

Isaiah, Jerrod, and Stu had been circling the suite for the last fifteen, studying the floor plan.

Jerrod said, "We have to already be here when they roll in."

Stu was shaking his head.

They moved out of the bedroom and eased down onto the couches.

"We don't attack until we know what's coming through that door."

Isaiah said, "Intel says six men."

Jerrod said, "What if it's a dozen?"

"Then we go home," Stu said.

"Here's what's going to happen," Isaiah said. "They'll send two men in to sweep the room before they cart in the cash. Confirm all's cool. We can't be in here when that happens. How many cams we got, J?"

"Three, I think. They're with Mark. Where is he, by the way? He was supposed to be here twenty minutes ago."

"We'll put a cam in here, one in the bedroom, one in the bathroom. We let them come in. Let them get comfy. Then we come up through the floor like the fucking wild bunch. We're going to be charging in with Taser cartridges. They'll be carrying something with a tad more bite. Full-auto subs if I had to guess. We got no margin for error on this takedown. It has to be fast and quiet. One minute, they sitting around chillin'. The next they're twitching on the floor. We're gonna have to ball gag and zip-tie a minimum of six men inside of twenty seconds."

Isaiah called Mark again but he wasn't answering.

"Something's wrong," he said.

"Yeah," Stu said, "he prolly decided to bail and get stoned. Where'd you find this kid anyway?"

"He came recommended. Highly."

"Well, he was our uplink to the room. To the hallway. Without him, we got no eyes. Without him...I think we're done."

Isaiah bristled. "Done?"

"How we supposed to pull this off coming in blind?"

"You're looking at a ten million dollar payday and you talking about walking away that easy?"

"I didn't come out to Vegas to die."

Isaiah looked at Letty.

"What?" she said.

He stood and walked over to the wet bar, opened one of the cabinets.

She said, "Hell no."

He smiled. "Not saying it ain't gonna be tight, but I'm thinking we can fit you in there. You gonna be our eyes."

"Hell no."

"Really? That's cool. I'll cram Stu in there and you can bust in here with the big boys, facing down sub-machineguns with a Taser. I mean, if you feel that'd be your best contribution to the team..."

16

It was dark, cramped, and muggy in the cabinet. Letty crouched with her knees drawn tightly to her chest. Her iPhone was set to silent, and she clutched it in her right hand.

1:34 a.m.

With the slab of marble flooring in the bathroom back in place, she couldn't hear the boys in the room below. Nothing in fact but the throbbing of her heart like some anxious drum.

What am I doing?

What am I doing?

A week ago a waitress.

Now this?

Robbing a casino?

But it was beyond exhilarating, and she hadn't even thought of using in hours.

Her phone lit up—Isaiah texting.

call if you can

She dialed.

"Tell me you found Mark."

"He's AWOL."

"Seriously?"

"Still ain't answering."

"Shit."

"He was our ride out of Dodge. Had the radio, the scanners down cold."

"So what now?"

"What now? Nothing now. We stand the fuck down." She felt a flare of relief, a pang of regret. "I hate this," he said, "but we gotta be ready to roll. Can't just camp out on the roof of the convention center with nine duffel bags full of cash. Hoping to somehow figure this shit out before the sun rises and the S.W.A.T. rolls in."

Letty closed her eyes, surprised as the needle swung firmly into regret.

"It's the score of a lifetime," she said.

"You think I need to hear that shit?"

"I have an idea," she said.

"What?"