They headed towards a big black saloon with blacked out windows, parked in the tree-lined avenue next to the park. It was a sweltering day and the shade of the trees was welcome, as they entered the rear of the car.
Jack and the driver sat in the front. The driver wound down the rear windows sufficient to enable two other men to look in at or shoot Carla or Tom, with their silenced pistols.
Jack commanded, “Both of you, please strip down to your underclothes and remove your shoes, I want to be sure this conversation is private.”
Reluctantly they stripped off. In spite of the tension, Tom started to tent in his pants. He had only ever wet-dreamed of being practically naked in the back of a car, with a beautiful, sexy girl. Her soft fragrant skin brushed Tom frequently, as they removed their clothes in the restricted space.
One of the men, roadside, searched the clothes and gave Jack the all clear. He tossed back their clothing and they got dressed again. The two outside men squeezed into the back, the car started and moved off. Both men had their guns ready on their laps.
Jack said, “I always find the threat of death brings out initiative and determination to succeed, in people who work for me. One way or another, I want those cars. Tom may not be able to do everything himself, but as long as he gets the right result, that will be good enough for me. Just tell me what your part in this will be, Carla?”
“Basically, I am the person who will be making the cars available to you, not Tom. I want your word that he and his family will be not be harmed, or implicated in the theft and that you will only deal with me. For my part, I want a cut of the profits.” Carla stipulated.
She could tell by Jack’s expression that he was annoyed. This meeting was a waste of time, the girl was totally mad. He’d hoped she had inside knowledge that would open up the building, so he could simply walk in and drive away the cars.
“Jack needs a reality check,” she thought.
By now, the saloon car had glided out into the suburbs. Jack told the driver to pull into the clearing ahead, it was time to body dump the two passengers.
The man sitting on Carla’s right, sensed more than saw. Two straight rigid fingers jabbed into his eyelids as they blinked shut. Her fingertips wiggled between the lids and fingernails raked down his eyeballs, deeply gouging the corneal tissue. In that quarter of a second, his amusement at what Carla had said, turned into a sea of burning agony. He immediately buried his face in his hands, bellowing and screaming at the top of his voice.
All but Carla were startled and confused at the sudden outburst.
She grabbed the gun from his lap, while turning to the right, and pushed hard with her legs to force Tom along the back seat, into the man next to him. The man’s gun hand was trapped, as the pressure continued, relentlessly.
Carla flipped off the safety catch, slide-cocked the pistol and pointed it at Jack’s face.
“Now Jack, tell your men to leave their guns alone, or they will need a new boss, one with a head.”
The driver braked hard, skidding to a halt on the secluded dirt parking area. She had wedged herself firmly, so the gun never wavered.
Jack snarled. “Hold off, don’t touch your guns.”
“Thank you Jack, I can see we are going to get on well and make some serious money. First, as a sign of good faith, I want all your weapons. Tom, start with the man next to you. Take his gun and cover him as he climbs out and lays face down on the ground, hands behind his head.”
Tom felt the pressure from Carla relax and he grabbed the pistol. He released the safety, and cocked it.
“Get out and lay on the ground.” commanded Jack to his man, who did as he was told.
The other man was still screaming in pain, so Carla pistol whipped him unconscious with the suppressor end of the pistol.
“He was getting on my nerves,” she complained.
“Now I want your driver to join your man on the ground. Cover him Tom, as he walks around the car. Remember Jack, you will be dead before me, if your men make a bad move.”
The driver eased out of the car and placed the pistol on the ground as he walked over to lie beside his colleague.
“Ankle holster,” thought Carla as she noted the movement of the man’s trouser leg.
The man slowly knelt, one knee on the ground, as though he was going to follow through with the other, but reached for the gun.
Phut.
The bullet tore through the side of his calf muscle, between his legs.
“Is your man stupid, or does he want you dead, Jack?” shouted Carla, menacingly.
Tom rushed over and relieved the man of his gun. The fire in the man’s leg was subsiding as it went numb, a short-lived relief, though.
“Now Jack, I am not convinced that you understand your position in this affair. Get out of the car and place your weapons on the ground.”
He climbed out and faced Carla. “I don’t carry weapons -that’s what these men are for.” He replied; the vicious tone in his voice barely contained.
“Hmmn! Not working out so well, is it Jack. Now strip off ALL your clothes and we will talk about things.”
She shot into the ground, under the toes of his left foot. The shock wave surged up his leg, equivalent to jumping down several steps, with a rigid leg. He fell over and clawed the hard soil to ease the pain.
“Come on Jack, I’m getting bored now. Get those clothes off!”
Jack rolled over and stripped, standing was too painful.
It was Carla’s intention to make the man so filled with rage that he would come after her but she needed to postpone that desire for revenge, until after the car theft. That respite would only occur if she could convince him she was able to carry out her part.
“Jack, stand up when I talk to you, you look so small and insignificant, lying in the dirt like a pathetic refugee.”
Naked, purple with rage and pain, he stood up.
“Jack, you do know that you are an arrogant cunt, don’t you. I mean, threatening little Tom here with death, if he does not do the impossible. I want you to take this gun off me, and kill me. Do you think you can do that, Jack?” She taunted.
“It would be a pleasure.” His voice quivered with pent up anger.
“To be fair, if you make a move, I will shoot you somewhere very painful. Come on Jack, you can do it. You so want to rush me, grab me by the throat and squeeze the life out of me, don’t you?” She taunted again, smirking at his impotence.
Jack tried to move, but his brain kicked in. He realized he was not able to get to her.
“Not possible to kill me is it Jack? Even the loud mouthed bully that you are can’t do the impossible. Do you feel arrogant now, Jack? Your men are laughing at you; you must at least try to kill me!”
He gave a roar of rage that would have impressed the Incredible Hulk. As he started to run at her, she shot into the ground again just under his left foot, as it hit the ground. He spun in the air like a shot rabbit and fell down, crying out with pain.
“OK Jack, I think you have learned that the impossible IS actually impossible, even for people like you. However, I can get you the cars you want. I will open up the warehouse where they are stored, start the cars and you can drive them away. All I want is just $20,000 – quite reasonable wouldn’t you say?
“There are only a few miles of fuel in each car, so it’s up to you how you move them. I will come with you and collect my fee the moment your buyer pays you. Is that ok, Jack?” Carla deliberately emphasized his name and it grated. She meant it contemptuously, sarcastically; not politely as he first supposed.
He thought over her simple offer and there was no down side. Her life would end the moment the cars drove out of the warehouse.
“Ok, that is fine by me. As long as you get the cars and I never see you again, I can work with that.” He faced the dirt as he spoke, a sign of insincerity. Carla expected nothing less.
“Pop your clothes on, Jack; if anyone sees you there, naked, with those two men laid out like buggered whores, they will think the worst.”
Jack dressed hastily, his self-image damaged irreparably.
“Jack, some time on the night of the 11th, next Sunday, I anticipate the cars will be available. However, there is some uncertainty regarding the time. You will need to stand off until I call you, and then come in fast and hard. Then, I reckon you will have at least five minutes to load up and go.
“Keep surveillance on the area from 9.00am Saturday and warn me if you see police or security staff approaching. I will be very busy and I can’t do everything.
“You will also have to orchestrate a continuous disruption of police routine from Saturday morning and increase intensity from Sunday evening. This will be simple things, like smashed shop windows, general in and out hits that will tie up the police, as they attend. Make sure they are well away from the showroom, so it will lengthen any response time. Frankly, with what I have in mind, you should not see any police or security men at the warehouse, but that is something I cannot guarantee.
“Don’t forget, I will be in the middle of all this and I plan to avoid trouble. Are you able to do as I ask?”
“Yes. I could do that.” A grudging respect was creeping into his mind. Perhaps the cocky bitch was more than she appeared. Still, the big test for her would be opening the warehouse and starting up the cars.
Carla questioned. “How do you propose to shift the cars? There will be no time to refuel them.”
“I was going to put them on low loaders and tarp them so no one sees what is underneath.” Jack replied, confidently.
“You do realize most of these vehicles have minimal ground clearance. As they enter or pass over the top of the ramp, they will bottom out. There is no margin for errors; your men must practice, till they can do it in their sleep.” Jack nodded. He knew she was right; he had overlooked this detail of the operation.
“What would you suggest?” He asked.
“The truck and tarp idea is the best way to move the vehicles any distance. I would drive them to various locations nearby so they could be loaded under cover, using lifting equipment. For example, you could hire several flatbeds like cinder block lorries, with cranes fitted.
“A lorry and say, two cars, could meet where loading won’t be seen. Disguise the car profile with a box shaped light timber framework, all covered over. The individual cars get to the loading point by different routes. Drive the loaded lorry to the buyer.”
“What if the cars are spotted as they are driven away or whilst on route?”
“There is a risk when the cars leave the warehouse, but they will be well away by the time the police are suspicious of a robbery. On route, they will be noticed because they are so outstanding, but do you phone the police every time you see a flash car? Anyway, it will be hours before witnesses come forward and you will be long gone.” Carla’s argument was convincing - it all made perfect sense.
“I need all the details of routes, meeting places and location of the buyer and will follow you in the most valuable car. I do intend to get paid, Jack.” She said his name like a death threat.
“Ok, but first tell me, how will you disarm the warehouse security and get the keys from the safe?” Jack had just revealed that he knew more than he had previously let on about the security arrangements the company had in place. Tom had not told him, so someone else must have.
“If I told you that, you would have to kill me.” Carla laughed at the twist to the usual spy retort.
Jack was not amused, but he let it drop. He didn’t really need to know – that was her problem.
During the next few days, Carla and Jack prepared for the robbery, confirming the details as they developed.