It was midday before the truck pulled up inside a huge shed. It looked like the other flatbed trucks were here already and unloading was about to start. She had nowhere to run; there were men all around in the building.
Carla dialed Agent Wilcox and whispered, “Trace the location of this phone, the cars are being unloaded and I am about to be discovered. I might not have a chance to speak to you again.”
The ropes were undone on the tarpaulin as Carla hid the rucksack, and phone, still connected to the FBI agent, under the car seat.
The cover slipped away and Carla shouted, “Hi Jack! Are you pleased to see me?”
There was a rattle of pistols being cocked, all pointed at Carla, as she stood prominently on the lorry bed.
As Jack approached, she jumped down and walked over to him, with a cheeky grin. Before he could say anything, a gleaming metallic blue Bentley Continental glided in and stopped. “The buyer,” thought Carla. She prayed that the FBI could hear what was going on.
“So, this is your buyer, is it Jack?”
Carla walked slowly and confidently towards the elderly man who had stepped out of the Bentley. No one wanted to start shooting in front of the buyer and certainly did not want him shot by accident, because now, Carla stood close to him.
“Hi! I’m Carla; I got all these cars for you. Had you relied on Jack here, you would have had a wasted journey. If I can be of service to you in the future, please let me know.”
“Who the hell is this, Jack?” the man enquired sharply, a look of fury on his face.
“Tell him the truth Jack, all your men are watching,” goaded Carla. She had no idea how this was going to play out, but it was more fun than cowering and being shot.
Jack needed to present a solid front to the buyer, future business depended on it.
“She is right, Mr. Stanton, this girl works for me, and she is a talented car thief. However, it is a team effort; the cars would still be in the warehouse if I hadn’t been able to transport them. I think Carla is a bit upset because we left her behind. We wanted to maintain your privacy. However, she is here now.”
“Let’s talk alone in your office, Jack,” said Stanton.
They walked away as Jack’s men closed in on Carla. They shut her in a windowless storeroom with a man standing guard outside.
Jack and Stanton talked about Carla’s involvement in the heist; Stanton was intrigued at her remarkable skills. Then they discussed the value of the cars and payment. This took about half an hour, which allowed the FBI to arrive and surround the building.
Aware that Carla might still be alive, rushing in would probably cause her death. Agents stealthily infiltrated the building and overpowered Jack’s men, without a shot being fired. Then they arrested Jack and Stanton.
The FBI hastily searched the building, including the storeroom, but found no trace of Carla. In their rush to find the car thieves, they failed to appreciate that the shallow heap of cardboard covered Carla’s slender body, as she lay flat on the floor.
When the FBI agents herded the thieves into the prison bus, she stealthily reached into the car for her phone, which she switched off, and took her rucksack. She hid silently in the shadows outside the building and when everyone had left, except the few FBI agents guarding the premises, she slipped away into the night.
Carla had no doubt; the FBI would be tracing any activity on her phone, so she used her spare SIM card, stuck inside the phone case, to phone Tom. Using her GPS position, she specified a place to meet; it was a diner several miles away.
He started to protest at his loss of time at work, but realized that if not for her, he would be arrested or dead by now. Next he phoned the older salesman who was preparing for the day as acting boss. Tom told him an emergency had cropped up. He had to leave, immediately and would be away for a couple of days. The salesman used the call to pass on the good news; their boss was recovering well from his heart attack, thanks to the girl thief.
Carla hid away in a barn, to sleep and wait out the long hours for Tom. Nearer the meeting time, she hitched a ride to the diner for breakfast.