Night Games Pt. 12

He had to think a moment.

"By reputation. Essex girl. She's a mastermind. Thinking on it, the sort of person who could bring a crew like this one together."

"Well, she did." Helen replied. "That's who Luc says is on the video. And he says she's enough of a mastermind that she might be able to orchestrate both heists and come up with a way to get her people out of Sweden after that Gold Room thing The Swede told us about. So, yeah, she's as good as Luc says."

Susan Bailey spoke up next.

"Well, you were saying earlier how the motivation for stealing from you is probably street cred. If Mander and Luc have both heard of her, she's already got that. Why would she be after more?"

"The same reason people climb Mount Everest." Helen explained. "Because it's there. Julie and I were just talking about how a lot of people still think I schemed to get the throne and usurped Maria. And Mander and I were talking yesterday about how the only job that could be bigger than the Star would be pulling one over on me. So, I'm a challenge and this is personal."

"This could just be me remembering a bunch of movies again." Susan answered. "But I thought heists took weeks and months to plan and carry out. This Tracy woman's done it in days. You've been saying how whoever tipped her off had to have gotten their information from someone on the inside and she got and acted on that information within forty-eight hours. It sounds like she thinks on her feet like you do, Helen. And if she's as clever as you, she's figured out by now that we know she's planning to use the tunnel to get in. Knowing that, would she still take that route?"

Troy had some thoughts to offer on that.

"They had to take the tour to scout the castle and learn about the tunnel in the first place. She could have used the rest of the tour to locate other possible entrances, or she could have stopped digging once she struck gold with the tunnel. Since she's smart, we have to consider that she explored other options."

"She's approaching the problem like a criminal." Julie offered. "If she's figured out that we know she's coming, she's going to assume that you're approaching things the same way. She knows you're not going to fill the Denti house with cops, because turning to The Man isn't Helena Parker's style and would go against every criminal instinct she possesses. So, if she thinks like you, she'll see a trap coming. But, thinking like you, she's either got an idea of how to defeat it, or she's going to make something up as she goes."

"So now," Helen concluded. "I'm trying to outwit myself. I think I've already taken steps in that direction." She turned to Julie. "Sorry to crack the whip, Mistress, but I'm going to need your work ready before midnight. That's probably when they'll be coming."

Julie thought of a sarcastic reply but recognized that Helena was under enough pressure already and decided against it.

"All right, Also Mistress. But being a criminal herself, Tracy's probably reasoned that you'd reason that they'd come at midnight, so she's probably going to strike earlier to catch you off guard."

"Ok, then." Helen agreed, walking over to her computer. "We've got a trap to set and a short time to do it." She turned it on. "And they still don't know what we know. So, let's plot a counter-heist, everybody!"