Margo had made a list of things to do and get in order before and after BAAM hit the Federal Reserve Bank. She also had to work on creating the virus. Then she would have to put the virus through several trials to make sure it worked.
BAAM sat inside an office in an old factory located in the industrial district of Tampa. It used to be a sewing factory until the crash in 2008. The recession after the crash doomed the factory for good. No one had been in it since. According to Aaron, the owner of the building was a motivated seller, and he got the place dirt cheap. He had used a dummy corporation to get a loan from the bank and put down fifty grand as a deposit.
“Well, this is it. What do y’all think?” Aaron asked.
“It’s big and dusty,” Bobbi answered with her noise turned up.
“I’ll be sure to hire a cleaning service,” he said sarcastically.
“We haven’t had a chance to really look around,” Anthony stated.
“As long as it has power, internet, water, and a place where I can work in peace, I like it,” Margo said.
“It has all of that. Now, let’s get down to business,” Aaron said. “You guys bring your money?”
Margo and Bobbi handed Aaron cashier’s checks. Anthony handed Aaron a cashier’s check and dropped a small black duffle bag on the desk.
“What the hell is this?” Aaron asked with confusion. “You said you had the cash. This is only for a hundred thousand.”
“The rest is in cash in the bag.”
“Seriously?” Aaron asked with annoyance.
“Look, I don’t trust banks like y’all do. Hell, we have robbed them of millions ourselves, you know,” Anthony said.
Bobbi laughed.
Margo had to chuckle herself.
Aaron grinned. “I see your point. It’s probably for the best if I made some of the deposits in the dummy escrow in cash, anyway. Now that we got that out of the way, Bobbi, do you have an announcement to make?”
Bobbi grinned like a Cheshire cat. “I do. I got the executive assistant job at the Dallas reserve.”
“Cool,” Anthony said.
“Yeah, all I had to do was fuck the potential boss, who is now technically my boss,” Bobbi said. “He’s pretty old, but it wasn’t that bad. I’m impressed that he could get it up at his age.”
“Ew!” Margo cried with a frown.
“Damn, girl,” Anthony said as he shook his head. “Well, we appreciate you taking one for the team.”
“I’m glad you do. I’m sure it won’t be the last time,” Bobbi said nonchalantly.
“When do you start?” Margo asked.
“Next Monday.”
“That only gives you a week to get settled,” Anthony said.
“I’ve already started submitting applications for an apartment under my Federal Reserve alias,” Bobbi said. “Until then, I’ll have to stay in a motel.”
“I’ll allocate money to you today for the temporary move,” Aaron said. “After I get this place dust-free, you guys can move in what you need to work on IDs, the virus, and everything else.”
“Do you think this place can be used as a temporary living space?” Margo asked. “Considering that we have to leave Florida afterwards, I’m going to have to sell my house. Just in case it sells before the heist, I’ll need a place to live.”
“You can stay with me if that happens,” Bobbi said.
“Bobbi, you’re going to have to sell your place too,” Aaron chimed in. “Sooner is better than later.”
“Yeah, you girls should get your money out of the real estate as soon as possible,” Anthony said.
“What about you?” Bobbi asked.
“The house is in my mom’s name for tax purposes. She can rent it out for extra cash after I’m gone. The only thing in my name is the restaurant. Morris has wanted to partner with me there for a while. The only reason I hadn’t let him is because I know he’ll use it as a front to sell more of his . . . merchandise. I didn’t want to jeopardize what I had going on there by letting him conduct business in my restaurant. But since I’ll be leaving, I’ll just let him buy the place from me out right. He should have the cash for that.”
“There is a loft upstairs and some rooms in the basement,” Aaron said. “Matter of fact, I think I might set up a little sleeping spot for myself here, so just in case I’m here late at night, I don’t have to drive back to the boat.”
“So how long will I have to work for the reserve?” Bobbi asked.
“Hopefully no later than December twenty-first,” Aaron said and looked at Margo.
“Yes, hopefully,” Margo confirmed.
“You can do it, Margo, baby,” Anthony said with confidence.
“If anyone can, it’s you,” Aaron added.
“Just in case I can’t, is there any way we can put this off until next year?” Margo asked.
“Not worth the effort, and it could be even harder to crack their system next year. Every year the Federal Reserve upgrades the firewalls and scanning capabilities,” Aaron explained. “It’s best we do it this New Year’s since I’ve already collected all the need-to-know information. It’s still current. Next year, it won’t be.”
“All right,” Margo said.
“So, Bobbi, you know what to do once you start the job, right?” Aaron asked.
“Yeah, like I always do. Learn the computer system as best and as quick as I can. Note any security cameras. Become friends with anyone associated with physical and cyber security.”
“And to find a computer that you can d******d the virus on,” Aaron added. “Or see if we can get into the mainframe room.”
“Yeah, that’s new, but I haven’t forgotten,” she said.
“Margo is working on creating the bug. Anthony and I will be creating false identities and creating a trail of history for them so no one will notice that millionaires have popped out of nowhere,” Aaron said and started digging into his pockets. He pulled out keys. “These are keys to the front and back door of the factory. You guys should be able to move your equipment in by the end of the week.” He passed the keys out to them.
****
Margo pulled onto Sunset Boulevard with the drop top down on her red Mustang. She waved at her neighbors as she drove by. When she got to her house, she had nearly slammed on the brakes. Bruce Style’s black SUV was parked on the street, and he was sitting on her porch steps with a bouquet of white roses.
She pulled into her driveway. He approached her as she got out of the car. Margo didn’t have time for this. She was in the middle of the biggest score of her criminal career. The last thing she needed was an FBI agent with a crush popping up unexpectedly.
“Hi,” he greeted with a smile.
“Hi,” she said wearily. “Bruce, what are you doing here?”
“Waiting on you. Here, these are for you,” he said and offered her the flowers.
“What are these for?”
“This is to show you that I am sincere about making up for the stiffed tab at the country club last year.” His eyes were almost as vulnerable as a little boy’s.
She softened and took the flowers. “Thank you. They are beautiful.”
“Will you let me take you out to dinner tonight?” he asked seriously.
“Bruce, the flowers are enough. White roses are my favorite. You’re forgiven, okay?”
“I appreciate your graciousness, but I still feel like I owe you a meal. I know a place that cooks a mean steak. You like steak?”
She did, but she couldn’t go out with him. Then a thought entered her head. Bruce lost interest in a woman when he believed he had conquered her. That’s what happened with him and Bobbi. Once Bobbi was suckered in by his charm and she had slept with him, Bruce had disappeared quicker than a mouse who had gotten the cheese without tripping the trap. With that fact in mind, she decided to accept his invitation. “I love steak. You’ve convinced me.”
“Great,” he said with excitement. “You won’t regret it. I’ll pick you up at six.”
“Hold on,” she said. “I drive myself on first dates. And make it seven.”
“I can agree to that.”
“Where do you want me to meet you?”
“Jimbo’s Steakhouse,” he said proudly. “And don’t dress up all fancy. It’s just a good ole joint were people are just people.”
Oh God, it sounds like a place where sawdust is on the floor.
Bruce and Margo met in the parking lot of Jimbo’s Steakhouse. The place looked like a huge log cabin on the outside. The parking lot was full of cars, trucks, and SUVs. As Bruce bragged about the food at Jimbo’s, Margo was thinking that she would have to wash her car tomorrow because the parking lot was more dirt than gravel. She was thankful that she took Bruce’s advice and dressed down for the occasion. This place wouldn’t appreciate Blahniks, diamond earrings, and a designer dress. She wore blue jeans and tennis shoes. Her white blouse was open and tied in a knot at the bottom. Her light blue tank top hugged her double- D breasts. They walked through the door. She refrained from frowning at the loud country music that blasted from the ceiling speakers. Not only was there sawdust on the floor but nut shells as well. Well, I’ll be damned, she thought with wide eyes. Barmaids with tight, white T-shirts walked around with tray
Bruce put her down on her feet. They came together in a kiss. This kiss was more aggressive, hungrier. Margo could feel his hands loosening the knot at the bottom of her blouse. Bruce smoothed the shirt off her shoulders and down her arms. She shook her wrist to be rid of the top. He started pulling the end of her tank top out of her jeans as she grabbed the bottom of his black polo shirt. Bruce raised his arms to let her pull it over his head. Tossing it quickly to the side, he pulled her tank top off, exposing her breasts to the night air. He got on his knees and then unzipped her jeans. Then he pulled them and her panties down to her knees. Bruce dipped his middle finger into her folds as he took a pink nipple into his mouth. Margo moaned as his finger rubbed her clit. His tongue swirled around her areola. He pulled back and blew on it. She quivered and moaned as it budded and tingled. Bruce attacked her other breast with hunger. It hardened in his mouth. His tongue flicked it, ma
Bruce was sound asleep until his cell phone chimed. He blindly reached for it on the nightstand. He was surprised when he grasped a piece of paper instead. Letting the phone ring, he groggily opened his eyes to look at the note. “Thanks for an exceptional evening. I truly enjoyed myself. See you around, M.” He frowned and looked over to the other side of the king-sized bed. She was really gone. No woman left his bed after he got done with them. The phone finally stopped ringing. Whipping the yellow sheet off his naked form, he slowly stood and stretched. See you around? What the fuck does that mean? See you around? His phone rang again. “Maybe it’s her. We exchanged numbers yesterday afternoon just in case she got lost getting to Jimbo’s.” Bruce picked up the phone and frowned when he saw it was Alec. Normally, he would be happy to hear from his buddy, but he wanted to talk to someone else right now. “Hello,” he a
Margo pulled up to the old sewing factory. She was supposed to meet Aaron at eight and she was over an hour and a half late. She popped the trunk. Thankfully, Aaron was outside posting “Private Property” signs on the gates and the building. “Good, I’ll have help getting this stuff in here,” she mumbled. “Hey, I see you finally showed up,” he joked as he walked toward her. “Yeah, sorry I’m late. I . . . had a late night,” she said. “Can you help me carry this desktop equipment and programming books inside?” “Sure. I got the perfect little office for you.” Aaron helped Margo get her things into an office. The floor was white and lime tile. The desk was big enough for two monitors, and the chair looked pretty comfortable. It was obvious that Aaron decided to spend a little money on cleaners for the warehouse. Margo didn’t think he had the entire building cleaned; that would have been a small fortune within itself.Sh
Margo had worked her fingers to the bone for five and a half days. Every time she came close to having something, it would crash as soon as she tried to transfer it to Aaron’s undetectable flash drive. She leaned back in her chair in her office. Someone tapped on the door. “Yeah.” It was Aaron and Anthony. “Hey, girl, guess who’s on the phone?” Anthony said with joy. “Hey, Margo,” Bobbi said through the speaker of Aaron’s cell. “Hey,” Margo said with glee. She hadn’t heard from Bobbi in over a week. Aaron perched himself on Margo’s desk, and Anthony sat in a folding steel chair. “How’s Dallas?” Margo asked. “Wretched,” Bobbi replied with disdain. “I don’t like it here. The men are absolute pigs. Seriously, I feel like I’ve gone back in a time warp. Women are not taken as seriously as they should be here. We’re like second-class citizens.” “Maybe it’s just cultural di
Instead of being at Jimbo’s Steakhouse BBQ for a few hours, they stayed until eight o’clock in the evening. The time had gotten away from Margo because she ended up having a better time than she thought. It was great to watch Bruce play with the kids there along with Keisha. Margo and Lana had a nice chat. Then Alec, Margo, and Bruce played softball with a few other guys and teenagers. Bruce walked Margo to her door. She unlocked it and turned around to face him. “Thank you for taking me to the barbeque.” He grinned. “I told you you would have fun.” “I did, and I hadn’t played softball since I was in high school. You were the hero of the team with that homerun that won us the game.” There was a twinkle in his eye. “I’m glad that I helped the team, but the reward of that kiss you gave me was better.” “Oh, I’m sure my kiss and the three other women’s kisses right after was great for you,” she remarked. She had given
Margo was excited about her trip to Monte Carlo. First, she had to catch a flight to Dallas. Then she, Bobbi, and her boss were going to be picked up personally by the filthy rich billionaire who was their host. And if Margo wasn’t excited enough, the billionaire was going to let them fly to France with him on his private jet.Luckily, Anthony had finished one of her post heist personas, and he and Aaron thought it would be a good idea to show at least one legit trip on her fake passport.Margo was checking things off her list when her doorbell rang. She couldn’t imagine who it could be. Her question was quickly answered when she opened the door.“How come you didn’t tell me you were leaving town for the weekend?” Bruce asked.Her mouth dropped open. “It was a last-minute decision, and how did you find out so quickly?”“Last minute, huh? Then how come Lana and Alec knew before I did?” Bruce asked as he walked past her into the house. It looked like he had just gotten off w
It was a few days before Thanksgiving, and Margo was only a few inches away from creating a virus that was stable, spread to all twelve Federal Reserve locations, could extract and transfer funds to various locations at once in a hurry, and could lay dormant until 11:59 p.m. on December thirty-first. She also had three couples who were interested in buying her house. She had placed an ad on a for-sale-by-owner website in September. However, Margo didn’t place a for sale by owner sign in the yard because she didn’t want her neighbors or friends to know. They would have asked too many questions, plus Bruce would find out. She had to disappear without a trace. Margo had also been slowly selling some of her household things on eBay. She had sold both bedroom sets in her guest rooms in October. She kept the doors closed to those rooms so Bruce wasn’t any the wiser when he spent the night. Her mind drifted to Bruce. During the past few months,