Livewire

Chapter 42

Kyle's hands gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles went white and his hands began to cramp. His eyes stung from crying and his nose still dripped, forcing him to sniff. He continued to wipe the tears from his eyes while he drove, using the sleeve at the back of his hand to soak them up.

In the past few minutes he had truly been through hell. He didn't know if Pepe or the other guards would have informed Baldo or not, but he couldn't take the chance. He had to complete the heist and get away for good.

He was done with this life and needed to leave it behind. No more gangs, no more criminals, no more robbery. Just him and Trudie. Off grid.

They arrived at the rendezvous point and Kyle pulled the truck up alongside the other one. Marta rolled on by on the Harley to give the illusion the truck had not stopped.

The others leapt out of the van and got to the back of the trucks, Felipe jumping onto the forklift. It would be much slower now, without Jorge.

The first pallet was right at the back so it was easy to pick up on the forklift. The ramp was put in place at the back of the second truck and Felipe drove the first pallet on. He had to be careful backing down to the ramp but took it slow.

In a swift operation, they swapped the ramp to the other truck and Felipe drove up to get the next pallet. He backed out, inching down the ramp being as careful as possible. As soon as the forklift was on solid ground, the others had to swap the ramp to the other truck again.

It was a slow and tiring operation, repeating each step for every pallet they got out the back of the container. Every second counted, but it could not be rushed.

For the last pallet they did not need the ramp. It was placed at the back of the truck and the doors shut.

The group gathered around Kyle.

"Trudie, ditch the forklift in the woods somewhere. Felipe, you get the gold to the drop off. Leon, pick up Trudie and wait for me at the Aguila Logistica compound. I'll drop the container at the port and get the truck back."

He lifted the walkie talkie to his mouth. "Marta, the gold is transferred. I'm getting the truck back on the road. Over."

"Copy. Over and out."

Leon took off his shirt and held it out to Kyle. "You're covered in blood, you'd better change."

"Thank you."

He took off his own shirt and used it to wipe the blood splatter from his face and arms, then he put on Leon's shirt.

He walked back up to the truck cab and climbed up. The engine was still running, so he just pulled away. It was time to commence phase three.

He drove the truck faster to catch up with Marta, with Leon in the van just behind him. They had taken some time to make the swap so even riding slow, Marta had covered some distance.

They caught up and Kyle flashed the truck lights, the signal to Leon to stop spoofing the tracker signal. Once he'd passed Marta, the van and bike turned off. He was now on his own, heading toward the port.

The gates of the port loomed up ahead and a lump formed in his throat. Knowing that this was the place his deceased best friend and adopted brother had spent his entire adult life working, made this last part particularly hard.

He needed to compose himself. Now that Jorge was not there to take the lead, it was all on him. He brought the truck to a stop and rolled down the window. His mind flashed back to the time he watched a truck arrive and depart from the port before. When he'd done his reconnaissance.