Firebreak

3

"I wasn't there for that part of it," Lloyd said, and sipped his water. This was the first thing he'd said since Elkins and Wiss had started their story.

Grinning, Wiss said, "Larry, you'd be back inside if you were there for that part of it."

"And we nearly wound up inside, too," Elkins added.

Parker said, "Just to break in on this for a second. Larry, why were you inside?"

Lloyd looked sheepish. "Well, mostly," he said, "attempted murder. The rest they folded into it, the grand theft auto, the embezzling, all of that." He shrugged, and offered that nervous smile, and said, "One little movement becomes fifteen, twenty separate crimes."

'They like to slice and dice, the law," Wiss said.

'They slice what you did into little pieces, so they can dice you"

Parker said to Lloyd, "You're on parole?"

"Yes, I am."

Nodding at Elkins and Wiss, Parker said, "How many crimes you committing right now, in this room?"

"About twelve," Lloyd said. "When I came across the line from Massachusetts, I was already in violation."

"So now you're on the run?"

"Not me," Lloyd said. "Right after this meeting, I'm going home."

Wiss grinned at Lloyd like a fond parent, and said to Parker, 'They put an electronic keeper on him."

With a modest shrug, Lloyd said, "It believes I'm in a library in Pittsfield right now."

Parker said, "That's right, you're the electronics man." Looking at Elkins, he said, "And so's Paxton Marino."

"That's it," Elkins agreed. "We broke into that private art gallery of his, and we set off a whole different alarm system we didn't know anything about"

Wiss said, "Fiber-optic lines in conduit in concrete, under the house, underground down the hill, separate power source, separate alarms, unreachable."

"You can turn off everything in that house," Elkins said, "shut down the electricity halfway down the road, that art gallery's still humming."

"Which we didn't know," Wiss pointed out, "till our partners yelled down to us there's red flashers coming."

"If they'd of come up quiet," Elkins said, "they'd of got us."

Wiss said, 'They got our partners."

Parker said, "How'd that work?"

Elkins explained, 'They thought they could outrun them downslope to the intersection. We didn't. We took the other truck and drove up into the woods, along that road he built."

'That doesn't go anywhere," Wiss added.

Elkins shook his head. "Only to the elk."

Wiss said, "We came to the end of the road, and fuck it, we kept driving."

"Until we crashed the truck," Elkins said. "From there on, we walked."

"Freezing our asses off," Wiss said.

"Come on, Ralph," Elkins objected, "it wasn't that cold. It was September."

"It was September in Canada," Wiss said.

"Anyway," Elkins said, "we didn't want to walk in circles there in the dark, so we just got away from the truck and hunkered down and waited for morning."

'They never did come up," Wiss said. "Not that night."

"We figure," Elkins said, "at first they thought it was just the two guys they caught, and the one truck. So that worked out for us. But we still had to walk north, away from there, all the next day, through this forest, until we found a road in Canada."

"So you got out," Parker said, "but your partners got nabbed."

"Right now, they're out on humongous bail," Elkins said. "Their lawyers are dickering with the prosecutors."

"About what?"

"Us," Wiss said.

'They blame us for what happened," Elkins explained. "If we'd just gone in and took the gold, plan A, we wouldn't of tripped those extra alarms."

Parker said, "So what do they want?"

"Us to go back," Elkins said. "Get the Old Masters this time, divvy with them." "Why?"

"Because they wanna jump bail, and it's their families' money and houses and stuff, and the job would cover it."

"Or?"

"Or they turn us up for a better deal and they don't jump bail."

"Not good for us," Wiss pointed out. "Frank and me, we're family men, we got roots, we can't live on the run."

"Or in the pen," Elkins said.

Parker said, "And this has to be done right away."

"Before they get a trial date."

Wiss said, "And that brings us to Larry."

Standing, Elkins said, "Larry, you explain it, I made myself thirsty," and he went off to get the bourbon bottle.

Lloyd said, "When I got out, Frank and Ralph were among the people I was told to get in touch with by

friends I made on the inside. That was four months ago. I don't think they took me seriously at that time."

"We didn't have a use for your talents at that time," Wiss corrected him.

"Whatever." Lloyd nodded at Wiss, then said to Parker, "What they did at Marino's house, essentially, was make a firebreak, the small fire you set in front of the big fire to steal its fuel and keep it from coming on. By breaking in once, but not managing to come out with anything, they've told Marino and his people what the weaknesses are in the system. It will have been upgraded by now, but there's no telling exactly how. I do know the original structure used the Internet as part of the alarm system, but apparently they didn't have cameras installed in there."

"Lucky for us," Wiss commented.

"Probably what it is," Lloyd said, "if this art collection really does contain that many well-known stolen artworks, Marino doesn't want to train a surveillance camera on it. But he might decide now to go to infrared. We can't tell from out here what he'll decide to do. The only thing we know for sure is, whatever he decides, he'll have the money to pay for it."

Elkins was in his chair again, the bottle on the coffee table. Parker said to him, "What's your idea?"

"We're looking for one," Elkins said. "Once we're in, Larry can deal with the science-fiction shit, and Ralph can handle the normal locks and barriers and all that, and I'm good at the logistics, getting the materiel we need, getting everything out."

Wiss said, "We were thinking, this time, maybe we'd come in from the north."

Elkins said, "I got Saskatchewan maps, Montana maps, surveyors' maps, all that stuff. There used to be a lot of logging up there, still is some, there's little roads and trails all over the hills up there."

"None of which we found, unfortunately," Wiss added, "for most of a day."

"But now we know where they are," Elkins said, "from the maps. And we can get to the place from that side. But we still need a solid way to get in."

Parker said, "I don't like traveling a lot around Canada. Too many ID problems."

Wiss said, "No, we don't need to go through Saskatchewan, we can still be based in Great Falls like last time, and drive up eighty-seven through Havre. It's when we're in the wilderness up there, we may cross-border a little."

Parker said, "You don't have an easier way to get these guys their money?"

"If you know of something," Wiss said, "Frank and me'11 listen."

"No, I've got nothing," Parker said. "A little thing I have to do, but there's no money in it."

"This one isn't easy," Elkins said, "but they never are. It's worth your while, Parker, if you come in on this."

"Worth your while, too."

"We know that," Wiss said, "that's why Frank called you."

Parker considered. He had nothing else, he didn't know who had hired the hit man, Charov, he didn't know what complications that could lead to, but it looked as though he and Claire should stay away from the house for a while. He said, "You cover my expenses."

"Done," Elkins said.

"And I don't pay you back out of my piece."

"No, I understand that."

"I gotta deal with a different problem tomorrow," Parker said. "Where and when do you want to meet?"

"The Muir, in Great Falls, next Monday," Elkins said. "You'll still be Lynch?" ,

"Yes." Looking at Lloyd, he said, "You're gonna be in Montana, your electronic gizmo is still gonna think you're in a library in Massachusetts?"

Lloyd laughed, with real pleasure, like a kid. 'That's what makes it fun," he said.