Free Collection by T.K. Lasser

entry again. “Look for Girl.” If Lucien needed a girl, the museum was the last place he should look. Cicero himself knew of a few places in town where a guy didn't have to look very hard, and a few more where the girls did all the looking. All for a reasonable fee and minimal effort.
    If that was what Lucien was up to, no wonder he hadn't told Dani. It had been a while for Lucien, but Cicero was glad to see the old guy still satisfied the occasional human urge. He closed the computer, turned the glass in his hand, and hoped Lucien was having a good time.

8
    AIRPLANE. One more variable to the problem. Lucien hoped that he had made the right choice by coming quietly. It was a little late to formulate another plan. He knew that the situation was in his control, but doubt crept into his mind. The only way that he was in trouble was if someone in his own organization had betrayed them. That was not possible.
    The original painting was in the Zurich vault. To get into the vault to access the art, you needed two people with the appropriate security codes. It would have to be two senior vault caretakers, the most trusted and dedicated people in their little family. One person might possibly go insane enough to try something like this, but not two. Another possibility was that the security had been circumvented somehow. Again, very unlikely. Lucien had designed the system himself, and he was certain that any of the numerous improper access indicators he had installed would have warned him or any of the other security offices by now. If any of them were set off in any of the vaults around the world, all of the security offices were notified. They needed to know if there was a threat to any of the sites, because this would indicate a threat to all of them.
    The last time that painting had seen the light of day was when he himself had put it away in the vault with the Zurich head caretaker, Franka. Lucien had spoken to her several times since then, and there was no indication that anything had happened to it in the intervening time. Franka was an excellent caretaker. If anything had happened to the original, he would have heard about it. Raleigh's new dealer must have a fake. Lucien didn't know where it came from, but he had to make it go away.
    They boarded a small jet waiting on the tarmac. Jane's feet felt like cinder blocks, but she couldn't think of a way to escape. They were the only people around, and her keepers were prepared to shoot her without hesitation. Gerald and Steven escorted Jane and Lucien to the rear of the plane. They sat Lucien near the window with Jane handcuffed to him and the chair. Gerald and Steven sat across the aisle so that they could recline and not have to worry about their captives trying to wrestle a gun from them. Raleigh got on last and ignored them again. He sat near the front and proceeded to work on his computer.
    Lucien tried to get some information from Gerald before they took off. “Where are we going?”
    Gerald smiled. “Don't worry, you won't need your passport.”
    Games, huh? “So, we're staying in the country at least.”
    â€œI didn't say that. I mean they don't bother inspecting Mr. Harris's plane. Makes it easier to bring home various mementos.”
    Steven laughed quietly. “You couldn't carry enough Cohibas onto the plane last time.”
    Cigars…“We're going to Cuba?”
    Gerald cuffed Steven on the head and the conversation stopped abruptly. Lucien looked at Jane. She had her head in her hands.
    â€œDon't cry, please. We'll be okay.” Breaking down now would only make the flight worse.
    She raised her head and Lucien could see that her face was red, but not from tears. “I am not crying! I am angry! You said that you would take care of me, and now we're on a plane to a country that couldn't care less about American law. We are screwed, and nobody will care when they find our nameless, probably headless,