Crushed (15 page)

"So, this whole art thing is just a game?" Sophie found herself turning towards Luke in interest. Robert would have never given her this much information at once.

"To them, yes. When you have all the money in the world, the next best thing is obtaining something priceless."

"Like art." Sophie offered.

"Exactly. Though, over the years stealing from places like museums lost its' charm. Now, they are more entertained with stealing from each other." Luke leaned against the railing of the stairs, his dark eyes focusing on her.

While she'd begun to accept that this business was all just a game, there was something she could not understand.

"If this is just a sport for them...why is it that my parents were murdered?" Unexpectedly, it felt strange to speak about her parents' deaths.

Luke paused, his eyes glazing over with an emotion Sophie could not read.

"When playing chess, you don't consider the loss of a pawn. Many, if not all strategies involve sacrificing pawns for the bigger objective...winning. When money entitles you to the lifestyle of a king, it's easy to see people like myself as pawns. It doesn't matter if we're gone, as long as they win in the end."

There was nothing she could possibly say in response. What he was saying was so wrong, it was almost impossible to believe.

"While Cleo does see her workers as pawns, she's humane enough not to kill them when they serve their purpose. Max, on the other hand, has been twisted by his superiority. He doesn't consider us to be people. Which is why he can kill with a clear conscience."

"You...work for someone like that?" Sophie whispered, her eyes widening.

Luke turned away from her, not meeting her eyes. "Like I said before, you shouldn't be in a place like this. Robert and I are different in many ways, but we share this one quality...we don't care about ourselves. Both of us understand that we're pawns and we work for them anyway. You're better than us. You have a future ahead of you. Those kids have a future brighter than their parents before them. Get out now while you still have a chance."

"I have an agreement with Cleo." Sophie answered, wondering if Robert asked Luke to tell her all this. "After a few years I'll be gone."

Luke rolled his eyes, scowling darkly up at her. "You don't think everyone else has an agreement? All of them make promises...it's what they do. When your time is up, Cleo will continue to make bigger and bigger promises, attempting to get you to stay. If you last more than three years she won't want to let you go."

"I don't need bigger promises. I'm satisfied with what I'm getting now."

"When the promises end, the threats will start." Luke whispered. "This business isn't as easy as you think. We work for the kind of people who don't enjoy losing out on their investments. If you think Cleo hired you just because of your parents, you're hopelessly naive. She wants something out of you, I just don't know what it is yet."

"Who are you to be so concerned about my life?" Sophie asked coldly. She didn't want to be so mean, but she was beginning to grow defensive. The realization that maybe she was being naive was painful.

"I like you." Luke stated bluntly. "I like the look in your eyes. It's interesting."

"What?" She asked in surprise.

"Robert and I deserve this kind of fate. It doesn't matter to us if we're being used. We chose this life because it's the only one we can allow ourselves to live. You're an unsuspecting victim, just like your parents. Do you think it's a coincidence that everyone knows their names? They're used as an example to anyone who tries to mess with people like Max."

Sophie tried to take in everything he was saying. She stared out over the lawn, examining the bright summer day with unseeing eyes. The sunny sky began to seem oppressive from where she sat. All the pleasant things about summer seemed to be distorted now that she knew more about the truth. The life she'd been so determined to succeed in had thrown her yet another challenge.

"I understand what you're saying. It's not smart for me to stay here." She began uneasily. "I can't leave. Maybe I'm just being foolishly stubborn, but I'm not giving up yet."

Luke stood with his back towards her. "I was afraid you were going to say that." He sighed deeply, glancing back with a tired expression. "If that's your decision, I'll just have to live with it."

As she began to examine him, Sophie found that the man standing in front of her was rather handsome. His appearance was dark, but when he was relaxed his face held a serene kind of charm.

"Let me teach you the rules." He offered, holding out his hand towards her. "I know Robert is selfish. He won't teach you if it will hold him back from doing what he wants. I know what I'm doing, and I can teach you just as much."

"Teach me?" Sophie stared at his hand as if it were a foreign object. "Everything?"

"I'm going on a mission tomorrow, you can come if you'd like. Max let's me do what I want on my free time. You wouldn't have to worry about him finding out. If you want, I don't have to tell Robert either."

His offer was tempting. However, it would require her trusting him. She wasn't sure if she was ready for that just yet. Luke might've attempted to show her his sincerity, but living with Robert had taught her to be suspicious of everyone. There was also the added fact that he worked for Max.

Though, there was something about Luke that made Sophie want to trust him. Unlike Robert who's personality was always changing, Luke seemed stable. In this kind of business where everything seemed to be constantly shifting between lies and truth, Sophie saw him as a kind of rock to lean on. He'd given her no reason not to believe in him other than the fact that he worked for Max. Compared to Robert, Sophie felt like she would have no regrets if she held on to the hand he was offering her.

Hesitantly, she took hold of his hand. He pulled her up, flashing her an innocent grin.

"Are you in?" He asked, sounding innocently excited.

"I guess so." She sighed, wondering if she was doing the right thing. "You won't make me regret it, will you?"

Luke stepped away from her, still wearing a goofy smile. "Of course not. I'll make sure you don't get into trouble, I promise."

As he walked away, Sophie couldn't help but feel like she'd given him a present.

Luke was different from Robert in many ways, but they were ways in which Sophie needed him to be different. He was younger, darker, and more serious than Robert, but there was also a deep sincerity in his personality that made Sophie want to believe in him.

From the bottom of her heart, she hoped he wouldn't disappoint her.

CHAPTER SEVEN

In our world there are very few universal truths. The most commonly known is that we will all eventually die. The second, is that everyone will inevitably lie.

"Does this make me look professional?" Sophie asked Gwyn with mock interest. The girl had been staring at her disapprovingly for the better part of an hour. Sophie had tried a handful of times to break the tension, but Gwyn wouldn't respond.

Sophie sighed, knowing she deserved the cold treatment. She'd brought this on herself, though she wouldn't take back her promise to Luke.

"Don't go." Rylan broke in from her doorway. His face was locked in the same disappointed frown he'd worn ever since Luke had left yesterday.

Both Rylan and Gwyn's stares were cruel in their intensity. There was no avoiding the betrayal flashing in their expressions. The message they were sending couldn't have been any clearer.

They trusted her to stay loyal to Cleo. Working with Luke would make her a traitor, which is something they couldn't forgive.

While a part of her felt guilty for leaving, she knew that this was something she wanted to do. All the family comparisons she'd made the other day were nothing compared to her desire to learn more about Cleo's world. Luke had told her more in an hour than she'd gleaned from weeks of knowing Robert and the others. She simply couldn't pass up this chance to know more.

"I'll be home before you know it." Sophie began, staring into the mirror with a stoic face.

She ran a hand through her cropped hair, trying not to notice the baggy-eyed woman that was being reflected back at her.

She might've chosen to side with Luke, but the decision had stolen almost all of her sleep. A few weeks, no, even a few days ago Sophie would've made the choice without a second thought. However, she truly hated feeling like she was betraying the others.

It shouldn't have bothered her. Not when Robert had betrayed her countless times before, and his actions had been much worse. Yet, Sophie felt like she'd been on the verge of grasping something very important, when Luke's entrance had caused it to slip from her fingers.

"Do you have to go?" Rylan asked coldly.

Sophie turned to look at him, her eyes hard. She knew from the way he was looking at her what he was really asking. He wanted to know if her decision was worth risking everything. It was one thing to work with Robert, who shouldn't be trusted, but an another thing entirely to work with Luke, whose boss was a known murderer.

The same murderer who was behind her parents' deaths.

"I'm not working for Max. I'm working with Luke. There's a difference."

"Is there?" Gwyn asked, sounding older than her age.

"I have to go." She said with as much confidence as she could muster. "You both know I'm not above making stupid, compulsive decisions." Sophie had come to terms with this part of her personality since coming here. For the better part of her life, her grandparents had pressured her to make logical decisions without acting first. It was a mindset she hated, and one she'd been forced to work with every day.

This world that Cleo offered did not ask for a rational mind. Being a thief was the least logical path one could choose. It wasn't the reliable career her grandparents had wanted her to take, but an insane and lucrative way to cheat the system.

It had been a rash decision to join Cleo in this world of thieves. Her initial choice had been followed by a wave of other irrational decisions, which had gotten her to where she was today. Acting without thinking was reckless, but it was the best way Sophie knew how to deal with the situation before her.

Rylan stared at her for a long moment. His eyes grew serious. Sophie noticed how they reminded her of Robert's, though Rylan's were a great deal less threatening.

"If that's your decision, we have no choice but to deal with it." Rylan motioned for Gwyn to follow him as he backed out of her room.

Gwyn shot her a pained expression as she left. Her eyes were filled with blame, but she didn't have anything more to say.

Sophie rubbed her eyes once she was sure they were gone.

It was odd to feel responsible again, for two people she didn't have a direct connection to. She shouldn't have had to explain herself to them, though she'd felt obligated to do so.

All she could hope for now was that today would be worth it. Luke might've broken her bond of trust with the kids, but maybe he would teach her something to make up for it.

She glanced out of her window, her eyes searching the driveway just as a car pulled in.

Her eyes glazed over as she felt a twinge of doubt inside her chest.

Taking a deep breath, she turned to leave.

*  *  *

"The first thing you should be aware of is that many people go into pulling of a successful heist." Luke explained after he'd pulled to a stop in an abandoned parking-lot. Sophie would've felt anxious if he hadn't pointed out their target, a relatively small museum, only a few blocks away.

"More than one person?" Sophie asked suspiciously. The last mission she'd been on had only been with Robert and herself.

"If it's a decent job, then yes. The bigger the job, the more people you need, but for our purposes you need to know only three: the hacker, the con artist, the thief. If you haven't put it together, we're the thieves." Luke smiled briefly before continuing. "Every good operation incorporates all three."

Sophie forced herself to keep up with him, even though he was speaking quickly.

"Hackers create the programs we need to break into our target. Their job is to destroy security systems of all kinds, to give us a playing field to work with. It sounds simple, but they have to go up against the newest and most specialized technology. Con artists in our business are literal artists. The most common method of stealing is replacing the stolen painting, or item with a replica. The better the replica, the longer we have to escape once the switch takes place. Con artists are in charge of making the replica as indiscernible from the original as possible."

It was a lot to process, but everything Luke said made sense.

"Cleo and Max have spent years finding the best hackers and con artists there are, whereas thieves like ourselves are expendable." Luke continued, sounding uncaring.

"Wait." Sophie held up her hands, sensing he would continue if she didn't stop him. "If they have enough money to buy the best, why settle for just any kind of thief?"

"Under normal circumstances, once a thief gets to a certain level of skill, they start to get ideas of their own. Hackers and con artists are easily influenced, but thieves are more confident. It takes more to threaten a thief than holding the police over their heads." Luke paused, noticing that Sophie still seemed confused. "You have to understand that hackers and con artists really have nothing to do with the boss. Money is transferred, products are received. With thieves, it's imperative to know your boss. Unlike the others, thieves understand who they're working for, and they naturally can see the bosses' weaknesses. It's comes with the job."

"So Cleo and Max don't trust the best and brightest of thieves?"

"Absolutely not, and with good reason. There are enough stories about thieves turning against their masters." Luke glanced away from her, though she couldn't place the reason.

"It's kind of insulting." Sophie muttered, turning her eyes out of the window. "I wish I had something other than being invisible to offer."

"You don't realize just how invisible you are." Luke reached in his pocket and pulled out his phone. He worked with it for a moment before offering it out to Sophie.

The first thing that stood out to her were the large bolded letters at the top of the screen.

COLLEGE STUDENT MISSING. BELIEVED DEAD.

Cold chills began to creep down her arms.

"This isn't about me?" She reached for the phone and he let her have it.

The meaning of the article was clear, though it took Sophie five minutes for the truth to set it.

Someone had reported her missing, and now the authorities were investigating her disappearance. Everyone assumed she'd been kidnapped, since there was no trace of where she could've been.

"I...I dropped out." Sophie whispered at the phone. "I sent emails to my professors letting them know." When she'd left, her professors were the only ones who cared. She'd spent so much time by herself, she'd doubted anyone would notice her absence but them.

"This is what it's like to be completely invisible. Cleo wanted you off the map, so she took away your identity."

"Why...why would she do that?" Sophie felt like someone had punched her in the gut. When she'd agreed to work for Cleo she'd know things would be different, but not this irreversibly so.

"This makes it harder to run away, right? It's hard to go somewhere when everyone thinks you're dead. On the bright-side, you'll have an array of different identities to choose from now." Luke's voice was bitter.

"I cannot believe she did this." Now it was fear that replaced Sophie's shock. "What happens when the police find me? A haircut isn't going to fool everyone for long." Her voice rose in panic.

"This is Cleo we're talking about." Luke said, as if he were reassuring her. "Any investigation into your case will be a joke. In a few weeks, when the news dies down, they'll leave it alone. I'm honestly surprised this article came out at all."

Sophie was getting tired of people referring to Cleo as some kind of all-powerful being. Robert had made a similar comment when she'd mentioned the police coming to the house. Even Luke seemed awed by her influence. Sophie was not nearly so impressed. Intimidated was a more accurate term.

"If she can take away my identity, what else can she do?" Sophie clenched her armrest, hoping it would stop her shaking hands.

Luke's eyes grew sad, his face dropping in disappointment. "This is why you shouldn't be in this kind of business. I tried to tell you."

Sophie found it hard to believe that Luke just accepted everything. His loss of identity, the chains of his existence.

Then, she remembered he wasn't working for money. Unlike her case, Luke probably wasn't given a choice. He was threatened into doing this, which made his situation much more terrifying.

She took a few slow breaths, calming herself. This was yet another challenge she was just going to have to deal with.

"I'm sorry." She said after a few moments had passed. "That really got to me. I didn't mean to freak out."

"It's my fault. I shouldn't have told you." Luke seemed genuinely guilty.

"No, I'm glad you did." Sophie tried to smile, but the effort was too much.

They both stared out of their respective windows in silence. Only the sound of sirens in the distance called them back to their mission.

"Do you still want to come with me?" Luke glanced at her cautiously. "You can wait here."

Sophie's eyebrows knit together as she remembered Robert making a similar comment, though in a nastier way.

"Of course I'm coming along. You can't ditch me that easily." She tried to make her voice sound like it normally would.

"Great." Luke pushed open the car door, and before Sophie could react, he was opening her door for her.

She smiled genuinely now, enjoying how innocent Luke seemed at times like this.

"So, what's our target for today?" She asked, hoping to restart the conversation.

"A painting by James Rosenquist." Luke stated, glancing at her to see if she recognized the name.

"Really?" Sophie's face fell in disappointment. Of course she recognized the name, but she respected the artist so much she felt a wave of guilt sweep over her at the thought of stealing from him.

"Don't be upset. It's one of his less popular works." Luke offered.

Sophie doubted that a lesser known work would be worth stealing, but she didn't let her distrust show.

"Who was the hacker and con artist for this mission?" She asked, trying to focus on the task at hand.