Page 46 of The Prize

“And what might those be?”

“In case I need to use them.” It was a bad lie but he seemed to mull it over.

He stepped away and stared down the hallway. “I promised you full access to this house and also full access to me. I want you to feel safe. I need to build your trust. So, if this is what you need to see, then fine.”

“Fine?”

“Let’s simulate.” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

I swallowed hard and gave a nod. “What are you going to do?”

“Lock up the house and break into it. How does that sound?”

Boom... I’d just gotten Icon to reveal his methods.

Yes, that climb this morning had actually delivered a good outcome. This was the kind of evidence I should be going after. He could focus on his stupid painting that he’d never be able to replicate. I mean, we were talking about a sixteenth-century masterpiece that would be savagely scrutinized by one of Burell’s highly trained art experts who would run a slew of precision-centered tests.

Meanwhile, I’d use this time to gather evidence on Wilder and when the time came, do what had to be done. My heart ached with the thought of it. Taking down Icon would probably mean I’d go down with him. I leaned against the wall to steady my legs.

“Are you okay?” He looked sincere.

“Of course.” I refused to be a chess piece moved on a whim. No, I was going to be empowered and prove my place in the art world as someone who didn’t sway when the pressure intensified. “Where would we start?”

He held my stare. “On the roof. I’ll show you how I utilize that entry point—”

Uneasiness washed over me. “Show me in here.”

“Shall we have breakfast first?”

“I’m not hungry.”

He smiled. “Zara, your stomach’s grumbling.”

Right on cue it grumbled again and I rubbed my stomach to tame it.

“Jade,” Tobias snapped—making me jump. “Bring us two bowls of fruit salad and two mugs of coffee.”

His small drone rose and headed up the ramp and I watched the door swing open for it.

“Ready?” Tobias broke into a cheeky grin.

He showed me how he placed interference on surveillance cameras by using an app he’d designed on his watch; how to turn on the night-vision mechanism while wearing snazzy-looking goggles, and with the same lenses how to recognize infrared lights when abseiling into a pitch-black building.

Half an hour into my lesson we took a break to eat and Tobias leaned back against the chrome workstation and scooped in mouthfuls of fruit salad. I sat a few feet away and finished off mine and drank my coffee, all the while memorizing in detail everything he had showed me.

We kept going and I learned how Tobias navigated sensitized floor tiles by hooking up a suspended system so that he’d not touch the ground but could swing with full movement and grab a painting without touching the ground. There was also a knack to rolling through invisible laser beams to prevent their activation and I learned that too. The final piece of the puzzle came together to add to what I’d already learned from the Icon break-ins that I’d studied back in London.

I’d descended into the center of the hive.

Tobias pulled out a large chrome case and tapped it. “This contains everything I need when I’m traveling.”

I stared at his large box of tricks waiting to be discovered.

“Give me a second, okay.” I waved off seeing it and plopped down on a bar stool and leaned on the workstation. This had been a fascinating insight and as an art investigator these skills would take my career to the next level—I’d seen behind the curtain.

Tobias came toward me and knelt before me, resting a hand on my knee. “It’s a lot to take in.”

I tried to catch my breath as my head swirled with all I’d seen. Every moment that unfolded had provided me with indisputable evidence he was Icon. I’d been provided with a step-by-step process of how he pulled off his heists.