The Silver Serpent - A Heist Novel

Another Happy Reunion

When we get on board, I demand a pair of handcuffs from Basma, who tosses them to me without a second thought. I cuff my father and tie him down, ignoring Tellio's questioning eyes.

"Wait a minute, is that-" Jessica starts, leaning forward. Tellio takes a half step back into the shadows, but she wasn't looking at him.

"Yes. Matías Perez. Your Chupacabra," I tell the team, turning away from my father and making eye contact with Payne.

He looks me up and down as if he's a medical robot, scanning for injuries, and I hide my hand from him, not wanting to cause a scene.

"So, what ha-hap..." I take a deep breath, "what happened?"

"It went exactly to plan. She did what, ahem, Donovan asked and went to retrieve the statue. When she opened the door, the bombs went off, and she was thrown back. When she got back up again, she opened the door all the way and saw the burning frames and gauze, and I swear she started crying. Then, she walked in and tripped the second wire, and your little art exhibit came to life," Basma fills me in.

I chuckle with pride, imagining her face when she saw the Mona Lisa being washed away to reveal the open-mawed, silver, hissing serpent against the chalky white background.

"So we're agreed, what she did was immoral and illegal, and if I testify, it won't come back to bite me?" I check, looking each agent in the eye. Every one of them gives me a definite nod, and I don't doubt them for a minute.

"Baby," Payne starts. Oh no, "what happened to your hand?"

"Uh, well, funny story-" I begin, cupping my hand. The blood on the top of the stump has congealed, and the flecks on my hand are dry.

"Your kid's brave. Cut it off himself," Tellio interjects.

"Loyal to a fault," Payne spits back.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Jessica asks, gesturing to Tellio.

"This man saved my life. He owns the aircraft that is supposed to be in the hangar where my fa- uh, Matías, and I had the quarrel, and he was alerted of the disturbance. I offered him a ride back to the States for his kindness in the matter. I hope that's alright," I twist my story, protecting Tellio.

"Why would you cut off your finger? Are you crazy?" Chase barks, standing up suddenly.

"It was the only way out," I look at the floor, ashamed for letting myself get into that situation. When I look back up, Tellio and Payne are gone. Well, they can't have jumped off the plane, I think, casting small glances around.

"Do you still have the finger? We can sew it back on," Chase offers, looking around like I misplaced it. I pull the finger out of my sweatshirt pocket, grimacing as I clean it off. The finger is limp and paling quickly.

"Do we have any ice? We'll have to ice it before we can do anything," Jessica springs into action.

"Jess was a field medic before she worked in the tech department," Basma informs me. We watch as Chase grabs a small tub of ice Payne would use for holding champagne and tosses it to Jessica, who then hands it to me. I give a little laugh as I put my finger in the ice bucket, thinking how funny it would be if I asked Payne for some champagne, and he opened up the bucket to see a finger.

A small groan sounds from the opposite side of the plane, and the three agents who were crowding around me turn their heads to see my father, stretching as he wakes up. Oh no. Unfortunately, Payne and Tellio re-enter the cabin, each with a scowl on their face and eyes shooting daggers at each other.

"Well, would you look who it is? My old friend James Payne," My father's words are slurred, but his next few come out sharp as a knife, "the man who tried to kill me."