The Oberon was full on a Saturday night. The newspaper had placed an ad the week before about the new exhibit; Central American artifacts. It included pieces of jewelry, artwork and religious totems from pre-Colonial times. It was the kind of display which was usually seen at one of the larger museums on Wilshire Boulevard, but strings had been pulled to get the exhibit shown at this smaller, more intimate venue.

On the night in question, Alec and his men were in position. David was on the rooftop of a nearby building. Kiefer was in the gallery, mingling with the crowd. Outside, Jesse was in a position to see the back of the building and anyone who would try to get out.

Erika came in at around nine.

There was an access from street level through a back door, and when Jesse gave her all clear via an earpiece, she made her first move. Getting in was the easy part. The difficult bit would be remaining in place until closing. She would be alone until then. And once the lights went out, she had only a limited amount of time to get what she needed and leave.

* * *

Alec was nervous. He remained outside in a car where he kept communication with Erika. When she said she was in, he got out, circled the block on foot, and then entered the gallery.

The wine was pouring and the art aficionados were pleased, talking art between light bubbles of laughter. He caught a glimpse of Kiefer on the upper floor and nodded to him with a tight smile. There were plenty of pieces to see, both paintings and sculptures, but the heaviest traffic was around the newest exhibit. He took a look at his watch. The gallery was set to close at ten. An hour. A lot of things could happen in that length of time.

* * *

David watched from his rooftop perch. He’d gotten comfortable, was even a little bored when he saw a familiar face outside the front door of the gallery. “Um, guys,” he spoke up. We’ve got company.”

“Who?” Kiefer asked, whispering.

“Rick Hill,” David answered.

Alec heard the exchange and immediately turned towards the double doors. Sure enough, Rick walked through at that very moment.

“He’s here looking for Alec, or you think it’s a coincidence?” Jesse asked.

“Don’t believe in those,” David answered.

Alec walked the opposite direction. Over to the left and the back of the gallery, he snagged a brunette and spoke in her ear. “Hey, sorry, can I bother you for a minute, Shari?”

“Yeah,” she said. “What’s up?”

“I need you to stand in as my girlfriend for a moment. Are you game?”

“Sure, why?” she asked. “Has to be the least dangerous thing I’m doing here tonight.”

“It’s why we all love you. You’re a good sport, Shari,” he said.

They stood in one of the corners of the room, beneath a painting. Shari faced the door as Alec’s back was to it. They pretended to converse casually over their drinks.

“There’s somebody headed straight for us,” she said through gritted teeth.

“Uh huh,” Alec agreed.

He turned just then. It took a bit of acting, to look somewhat surprised when he saw Rick looking in his direction. He smiled and took a step forward. “Hey, how are you? This is the last place I expected to see you.”

“I guess I could say the same,” Rick replied.

“I dragged him this time,” Shari said. “It’s payback for me having to go to watch race cars on a Saturday morning.”

“Honey,” Alec said, wrapping an arm around her.

“So are you going to introduce us?” Rick asked.

“Oh, yes, this is my friend Shari. Shari, meet Rick Hill, one of my friends from way back.”

“Oh nice to meet you,” she said and extended her hand.

“The pleasure is mine,” Rick said.

After that, Shari was a chatterbox. She had something to say about every piece of art, and Rick made polite small talk with her. Alec tried to look attentive, but he was listening to hear if David or Kiefer were saying anything. At some point, Shari poked him in the ribs to get his attention.

“I don’t know about you two but I’m starving,” she said. “There’s a new restaurant a block from here. Would you like to come with us? Other than the men he works with I don’t get a chance to pick the brains of his friends that often. Except for the ones he works with of course,” she added.

“Ah, Shari. You know there’s not much to pick with those guys.”

“Screw you, Alec,” David said over the comm.

“All the more reason for us to have dinner with Rick,” Shari said.

“Why not?” Rick said. “I can always use a good steak.”

* * *

The plan wasn’t for Alec to have to leave the gallery, but it was better than having Rick stay there. He was suspicious that his friend had shown up in the first place. He didn’t know what to make of it. But this was definitely going to be a tense night.

They walked to the steakhouse and were quickly seated. It would take a good twenty minutes to get served most likely; which meant Rick would have no excuse to be back at the gallery. The only problem was he wasn’t going to be there either.

Rick excused himself to go to the men’s room shortly after they ordered.

“You’re brilliant,” Alec said as soon as Rick was out of earshot. “Good job getting him out of there.”

“Yeah,” she said. “As long as he doesn’t ditch us. Why do you think he was at the gallery?”

“I don’t know,” Alec said. “Something is up.”

* * *

“They’re gone,” Kiefer said into his comm. “We’re on countdown now.”

“I’ve got eyes on the restaurant too,” David said. “I can see them from here. They’re in a booth in the front. Shari acted fast.”

“That’s my lady,” Kiefer said proudly.

“No movement over here,” Jesse said.

* * *

At fifteen minutes before the hour, a call went out that the museum would soon close. Erika counted the time down. Hidden inside an unused back office, she was waiting for all the outer doors to be closed and the alarm systems to kick into place. Once that happened she only had a few spare minutes to move through the space and get the items she needed.

She’d heard Kiefer and Jesse talking back and forth over the comm and at some point, their words just became comforting chatter. They weren’t speaking to her directly. The only thing she did notice was when they said Alec had moved off site.

“Why?” she asked.

“He’s still close,” Kiefer asked. “Don’t worry about it, we’ve got you.”

* * *

Kiefer left the gallery with the rest of the guests. He went outside to his car and watched. “Anything going on out back?” he asked Jesse.

“Clear here.”

“Erika,” Kiefer said, “you’re up.”

“Yeah, I know, wish me luck,” she said.

Kiefer’s cell phone rang just then. He checked the screen before answering. “Shari? What’s going on?”

“Alec and I have Rick diverted,” she said. “Stepped outside to check on you. Do you know what he was doing here?”

“Not yet,” Kiefer said. “She’s moving forward. The gallery’s closed for the night so…no more browsing for him.”

“Alright,” she said, and then paused. “I don’t know why but I’ve got a bad feeling about this whole thing.”

“Between you and I,” Kiefer said. “I don’t either.”

* * *

Inside the restaurant, Rick and Alec were having a tense conversation.

“I didn’t want to say anything in front of your friend,” Rick said. “But I know you’re lying about my sister. You know where she is.”

Alec waited a moment before answering.

“I didn’t tell you for good reason,” Alec said. “How’d you find out?”

“Something didn’t feel right the other day. So I followed you. And low and behold, there was Erika, looking like the spitting image of my mother. I saw you two pull up at a hotel. Are you sleeping with her? Is that why you didn’t tell me?”

“Her life is being threatened by someone. It was her decision not to meet with you until she knew exactly who that was and the threat was handled. You just lost your mother and she didn’t see the use in putting you in any danger.”

“You should have told me,” Rick said.

“Maybe I should have,” Alec admitted. “What do you want me to do about it now?”

“I want to see her, I don’t care what’s going on with her.”

“That can be arranged. But give me tonight to at least tell her. She has a right to prepare herself for meeting you too.”

“How am I supposed to trust you’ll tell her? Where is she right now?”

“She’s out tonight,” Alec replied.

“What do you mean out?”

“Rick. Did you tell anyone else that you saw her?”

* * *

Erika moved through the back corridors of the gallery.

She approached the exhibit. The items she was looking for: a jade necklace and a jeweled dagger all sat side by side under cases of glass. Moving stealthily through the dark, she paused a moment to stare at what would soon become her loot.

A sound.

She wasn’t sure what it was, but there was movement somewhere inside the building. She was used to all the mechanical sounds of a building settling at night; air systems contracting and expanding, pipes, sometimes the wind against glass doors. It wasn’t that kind of sound.

Erika turned, but it was already too late. She saw the flash of a silver object; a hammer or a pipe, she couldn’t be sure. She raised an arm to block the blow, but everything went black.

* * *

Alec took off running down the street.

It wasn’t even a whole block, but by the time he got there it was too late. Just as he reached the gallery, he saw a van come screeching around the corner, almost running into him. Kiefer pulled alongside him in his sports car. “Come on,” he screamed. “Get in!”

* * *

When Erika woke up, she was sitting in a chair, bound and gagged.

It was dark and hard to see. She could feel blood seeping down her face from a cut on her forehead. She listened for sounds and heard traffic in the distance. Her head throbbed. She tried to sigh and realized that if she tried to move her mouth the gag choked her. She could hear her own pulse in her ears, feel panic as she realized that she was nowhere near the gallery anymore.

“Ah, look who’s awake,” a voice echoed through the darkness.

Erika lifted her head, which caused a rise of nausea. She put her head down again. She couldn’t let herself get sick enough to vomit. Lowering her head again, she closed her eyes and tried to ignore the feeling that the room was moving around her.

“Sorry, this had to be done so roughly. My people apparently don’t know how to do anything without going overboard.”

Erika felt fingertips touch the back of her head, and the gag was released. “You could say that,” Erika replied, still struggling to get her breath.

Laughter. A heavy, masculine voice.

“I like it. Your sense of humor is intact.”

“What can I give you in order for you to let me go?” Erika asked. “If this was about Pascale I was about to bring him what he wanted if you had given me a few more minutes.”

“While I approve of your work ethic,” the man went on. “It wasn’t really loot we were looking for. You don’t have anything I want.”

“Then why am I here?”

“You’ll see in a little while.”

* * *

“What the hell happened?” Alec yelled.

Kiefer was driving, pushing his Porsche far beyond the speed limit. They had the van in their sight but once they got on the freeway, they were caught in the clogged mass of traffic on the highway.

“I don’t know,” Kiefer admitted. “Whoever got to Erika had to already be there before we were. Someone’s been watching you.”

“Rick,” Alec admitted. “I can’t believe I messed this up.”

“It’s not your fault,” Kiefer said.

Alec’s cell phone rang. It was David.

“Are you still following the van?” he asked.

“We lost him.”

“No you didn’t,” David said. “I’ve got a beat on Erika, and it’s still live.”

“You’re picking up on her comm?”

“That’s been out since the gallery, but I have her wired. It’s still broadcasting. I gave her a subdural a couple of days ago, been tracking her ever since.”

The team had used subdural tracking devices before. In a couple of instances, it had saved their lives. What surprised him is that Erika had apparently gone to David on her own, and neither of them had said anything. That is if he hadn’t managed to dose her without her knowledge. The tiny implant went under the skin and was active for a little over seventy-two hours. It would eventually melt and be filtered naturally out of her bloodstream. Depending on when it was put in, their time to find her could be very limited.

“We’re getting off the freeway now,” Alec told him. “Tell us where to go.”

* * *

Erika tried to focus. She was in pain but her adrenaline was rushing, making her heart pound in her chest. The man was walking around her, circling her chair, but she could not see him. When he wasn’t speaking she strained to hear his movements, trying to figure out whether he was in front or behind her.

“What are you going to do with me?” she asked. If she could keep him talking, maybe she could keep him from hurting her for the time being.

“How did you live, when you were with your Mother?” he asked. “I was always curious. I wondered how she managed to keep you hidden from me. Because there was not a day I didn’t have someone looking for her, or more importantly, looking for you.”

“I don’t understand,” Erika said. “Who are you?”

“I didn’t find you until you landed in jail and even then you were using an alias,” he replied quietly. “But I knew you were somewhere in Czechoslovakia at the time. I had someone looking through records to see if anyone had come through corrections matching your description. And there you were. I had Emery on the next plane to go and get you. I’ve watched out for you ever since. You know, there haven’t been many others who have ever wanted to leave my employ, and of those who did, most were eliminated. It was such a minor thing but if you hadn’t gotten popped I may never have found you.”

“What’s your real name?” Erika demanded.

“Well, I am known by my business associates as Adam Pascale. But my real name is Lucas Hill. I’m your father.”

Erika took in a jagged breath. So many things which happened in her life that didn’t seem to make sense fell into place. Her mother’s paranoia and her attempts to keep her father away from her. The sudden appearance of Emery. The way she seemed to be held above a certain standard than the other thieves in her crew. She knew there were certain things Emery backed her up on that no one else could get away with. And it also explained why Pascale offered a deal for her to get out when he could have settled their disagreement through more violent means.

Erika had to consider the genuine fear this man instilled in her mother. She wanted neither of her children around him, but in a way, she had allowed him to keep Rick in an attempt to mollify him. He never really bonded with Erika, or so her mother told her, and she had hoped it would mean he’d be less ruthless in his pursuit of her. But he’d come after her anyway. He didn’t mind having her followed, or having one of his henchmen knock her in the head hard enough to split her skin open. And that was the least of what he was capable of doing to his own kid.

“Okay,” Erika said. “I’m not sure how I’m supposed to feel about that.”

“You’re honest at least,” Lucas said. “Very much like your mother, aren’t you?”

“I don’t see how that matters now when you’ve got me tied to a chair,” she said.

“I have a proposition,” he said. “One a lot better than making you do one last robbery.”

“Well if you want to actually negotiate,” she said, running her tongue over her dry lips. “Do I have to be tied up like a freaking hostage?”

* * *

Kiefer stopped his car along the side of the road, in an area where the vehicle would be lost in the shadows of the trees. There was only one house nearby; a ramshackle building with a large barn to the left of the property. It had once been a thriving home with enough acreage for horses and a small farm. It had been left unattended for years. And as David told them, a quick search of city records revealed it was owned by Lucas Hill.

“You were right about not telling Rick,” Kiefer said.

“Who knew that her father was involved?” Alec shook his head. “We can go in now or wait for Jesse and David. I’d rather we just go for it.”

Kiefer nodded, reaching for his gun. “I agree.”

* * *

Erika hadn’t been able to soften Lucas up enough for him to untie her, but she kept talking. She moved her wrists, just a little, trying to keep the feeling from going out of them. Whenever she was sure that Lucas was facing her she tried to wiggle them a bit, see if she could get them looser.

“I don’t understand what you want to talk to me about after you basically kidnapped me.”

“It’s something you either take or leave,” he said quietly. “I’ve raised your brother by myself since he was very small. I don’t know what it is, maybe something from your mother, but he’s not the kind of man I want running my business.”

“You mean your illegal business.”

In the dark, Erika strained to make out her father’s features. She was able to see the outline of his forehead and his nose, but not much else. He nodded in response to her question.

“He doesn’t have the stomach for it,” he said. “He does well to manage the real estate for me. I haven’t even told him about the other things I really do, I don’t trust him with it. But you seem to have an affinity. You already know the ground level of the business.”

“Hold on. You haven’t so much as talked to me for my entire life and you want me to suddenly turn around and apprentice to you?”

“And you say that as if your mother didn’t keep you from me her entire life.”

“From what I heard, she had a good reason.”

“She abandoned you too in the end, didn’t she? Are you more forgiving to her because you’re both women?”

“Well, she did that in service of not exposing me to you so I don’t know what you want me to say,” Erika sighed. “This whole thing is highly dysfunctional.”

“If I had tried any other way to reach you, would you have even spoken to me?”

“I don’t know. Can’t really work for you if we won’t even speak to each other. Or you won’t untie me.”

He moved. A moment later she felt his fingertips on her hand, and then the feeling of cold metal against her skin. He used a knife to cut her lose.

“Thank you,” Erika said.

He paused, kneeling beside her. “I’m going to untie your ankles. But you might as well know this place is very secluded. And if you try to run, you won’t make it very far.”

“You know, she was right about you,” Erika said. “I always thought maybe you weren’t that bad, or maybe her perception of you was a little exaggerated but if anything, she downplayed exactly how much of a waste you really are. I guess she didn’t want me to feel bad about being your child.”

“If you’re going to insult me you can sit there and rot. If you’re not going to entertain my wishes, there’s no reason for me to leave you alive.”

Erika heard a click. He’d cocked his gun, and he was pointing it at her. Maybe she should have went ahead and said yes to what he wanted. But this man, her father, was a rabid animal anyway. If she said yes he would probably kill her somewhere down the line, perhaps in a few weeks or a few years. All she knew for sure was that she was already tired of living under the shadow of Pascale. She knew this but for once in her life wished she could have taken her words back.

“What about Rick?” she choked. “He knows about me. What’s he going to think when I wind up dead?”

He paused a moment. “Oh, they won’t actually find your body. You’ll just be missing. And I’ll make sure I tell him you’re just like your mother, unreliable and flighty, gone off on your own.”

“Oh my God,” Erika said. “I understand now. Mom worked for you in the old days, didn’t she? That’s how she knew all the things that she did: how to steal, how to hide and invent new identities for herself. She used everything you taught her to stay on the run and keep us hidden.”

“She wanted out too,” Lucas said. “What I wanted was a woman to be my partner, build my empire with. And so she figured a way out.”

“No matter what she had to do,” Erika said, tears gathering in her eyes. “She made sure we were free.”

“But she was still a thief,” Lucas said. “How much easier, and how much of a better life she could have had if she had stayed here with me? And she would have watched your brother grow up. She took the relationship you could have had with him away from you.” He lifted the gun. “You’re no better than she is.”

* * *

Alec and Kiefer were closing in on the barn when a shot rang out in the silence.

The barn doors were closed, but not locked. Kiefer grabbed the edge of the door and threw it open as Alec darted inside.

The open door allowed in a flood of moonlight. All that Alec could see was a man standing in front of him with a gun, and Erika’s form on the ground, still partially tied to a chair. He wanted to go to Erika, make sure she was alright. She wasn’t moving, and for all he knew, she was unconscious or dead. He fell back on his training. Neutralize the threat, then treat the victim.

He aimed at the man and pulled the trigger.