Livewire

Chapter 17

For the most part, Kyle remembered the route back up to César's warehouse without having to rely on the navigation. He trusted Emilio, but the thought of leaving him with the Harley was playing on his mind a little. The truck heaved and rolled over the uneven road until they broke out into the clearing and the warehouse stood ahead. There were several other vehicles parked up outside - presumably the crew.

He pulled the truck up and parked near the other cars. After a few deep breaths to settle his nerves, he got out and marched inside. The others were already gathered in César's office, waiting for him. When he stepped through the doors all eyes turned to him. It was like an invisible force punching him in the chest but he remained calm.

César nodded to him. "Shall we begin?"

He placed the bundles of paper he was carrying down onto the table. "Let's start with introductions. I'm Kyle - the heist mastermind." He made air quotes. "I'm from London, where I used to run with a gang. Thievery is very much second nature to me."

"Hey, I'm Trudie. Kyle's number two. I'm a New Orleans girl in a crime family."

"I'm Marta, originally from Cuba." She had dark eyes and brown hair which fell below her ears. One ear was pierced into a helix and the other had a single, dangling feather earring. "I've run a few jobs in Mexico City already, mostly as a getaway on my bike."

"Hola, I'm Jorge, from Puebla state. I've done a few jobs for César in the past." He was a short man with salt and pepper stubble, wearing a trucker hat. "I'm here because I can drive haulage trucks."

"Felipe." He was lanky with dark hair. "Also from Puebla. I run with a biker gang and my boss owes César a favour." That explained the biker leathers he wore.

There was just one last person in the crew to introduce themselves.

"My name is Leon," an American. "I'm from Detroit but I've lived in Mexico for the last six years. My skills lie in computing, but I'm a passable forger too." His black hair was in dreadlocks and ties up into a ponytail.

"Gracias everyone," said César. "And of course I am César. I will be facilitating for Kyle. Providing equipment and selling the goods."

Kyle leaned onto the table. "Before you decide to join or not, here is the bottom line. The target is five hundred units premium booze, each with a street value of over a thousand pounds sterling. I don't know if César can get the full market value but once after his cut and expenses, the rest will be divided equally–"

"I will be selling to clients in the US. You can expect no worse than ninety percent market value."

"Well then, you can expect to take home at least thirty thousand pounds each. If that doesn't interest you, walk away now." He braced himself for all of them to walk out the door but no one moved. Glances were exchanged around the room but everyone was content.

He spread the papers out onto the desk and unfolded the map of the city. "In one week the shipment will arrive at Veracruz port, where it will remain for a day until it's loaded onto the back of a train bound for Mexico City, leaving the port at eleven PM" He pointed to the yellow highlighted line on the map. "This is its route out of the city." He moved his fingers to point at two red crosses drawn on the yellow line. "We are going to stop the train between these points."

Jorge shook his head. "How do we stop a train?"

"Ideally, we hack into the signalling system and turn the signal red." He looked at Leon and waited for an affirmation. "If we bring the train to a legitimate stop, we arouse no suspicion. That means no one needs to get hurt, we leave no witness and we keep off the police radar too." He moved his fingers along the highlighted line. "Once the train stops, we will have limited time to lift it off the train and onto a waiting truck. To make the best use of the time, Marta and I will ride alongside and climb on before it stops."

She nodded.

He smiled. "We'll carry chains and get them fixed to the container. As soon as the train is stopped, we'll need a crane in position to hoist the container up and onto the waiting truck. Once the container is clear, we let the train go none the wiser. If all goes to plan we follow the container back to the warehouse. Job done."

He looked around to gauge the room. There were no signs of contention.

"You will need some equipment for this then." Said César.

"Yes. A crane and a truck, two fast dirt bikes. Two lengths of chain strong enough to support the weight of the container. A van to transport the bikes too. I don't want to leave any evidence behind. We'll need some short range radios with earpieces too. Coveralls and gloves for everyone. Any tech gear Leon needs." He scratched his head. "And a handgun each too. To be used as a last resort only. If all goes well we won't even need them"

César nodded. "A wise precaution. I can acquire all of this for you but I will need payment up front."

Trudie handed him the old sports bag and he placed it on the table. "Take what you need from this." He unzipped the bag to reveal the remainder of his cash. Save for the few bundles he kept aside for an emergency fund.

The plan was easy enough in principle but pulling it off would be a considerable feat. The crew departed César's warehouse, going their separate ways. They would not speak again until the day of the heist.