Chapter 5

Emma sat on the tree, her binoculars glued to her eyes watching the Manor house. She had four different locations all around the property but all of them were at least a mile away where she could see the property from different viewpoints. After a week of spending hours up trees, she was becoming confident she was understanding the timetable and itinerary of Jaroslav and his employees.

Jaroslav and his four henchmen were the most difficult to predict as they seemed to come and go as they wanted without adhering to a pre-set pattern and she realised there was little she could do to second-guess where they would be at any point in time. The mistresses or "sluts" (as Emma called them) of the Ukrainian were easier to predict as he had two living with him and at least another two who lived off-site, and they had a fairly regular timetable.

The brunette came to see her lover Thursday and then Monday, both times in the late afternoon and stayed all evening, while the blonde girl went out on the Saturday afternoon and then the Tuesday evening. It took Emma a good few hours to figure out that the blue top she was wearing was so she could watch a local football team as a supporter. She had no idea if she went to the stadium or just to a local pub, but when they played, she went out.

Emma built up a very detailed account of everyone's movements, including the gardener whom she had knew would be gone long before she started the raid. She also spied the odd van or car that would stop overlooking the property and stay there for hours but along with the family of squirrels who regularly ran across the garden it was simply not relevant to her spying. She did wonder if a competing gang were also scoping out the property but she made sure she wasn't seen by them and they never stayed for as long as she did.

She brought Tony along a few times to watch so he had an understanding of the property but he seemed more interested in the women, and then got Jamie to come and visit. She began to worry about their temperament when Jamie got bored and was even worried whether they had the ability to do a job as big as what she was planning, but she had little choice. There was not time to get a new "crew" as her window of opportunity was small before the auction house got the art and it disappeared out of sight. The two men were risks, but the rewards were such that it was worth it.

She was plotting to take some art worth over three-quarters of a million pounds from one of the most dangerous men in England and knew that they would need to be at their best to even get in, let alone get away with it.

Emma had stayed out of court because she was always very careful who she worked with: they had to be professional and sound and she would not take any unnecessary risks. This job was a big risk, but the payout would be worth it, and she even thought that it would mean she could take a year out travelling. She might even stay in South America.

Tony took a deep breath and drove up the drive of the Manor in Emma's battered Transit van that she had begrudgingly lent him. Jumping down and dressed in a blue workmen's outfit, he grabbed a clipboard and a toolbox from next to him and walked into the entrance, glancing at Charlotte.

"Hello love," he muttered with an air of inappropriate familiarity and looked at her breasts in the tight material. "Mayflower Plumbers, something about a leaky duct."

Charlotte scowled as he spoke and glanced down at the Visitor's List. "You are not on the list," she muttered and turned to Oliver who shrugged.

"I ain't heard nothing," he added and Tony signed the guestbook and held out a pass. Oliver froze, it was one that he had given to Emma and Charlotte's scowl deepened.

"I already got me-self me key," he told her and Charlotte sighed and looked at Oliver. "I was 'ere last night. Got called out from pub, missed the footy."

"That can't be right," she muttered as Tony held the white credit-card sized plastic to the door and it beeped to let him in. "Visitor's don't keep the passes," she added. "Someone's not done somethin' right."

Oliver puffed. If they checked the pass on the system they would see that it was created by him when he had to do the temporary passes at the beginning of the week and questions would be asked. He panicked and spluttered. "Yeah, but, the, um, it, um..."

Charlotte giggled. "I love it when you get tongue-tied."

Oliver's mind whirred as he frantically thought through the ramifications. "OK, if he got the pass then it must have been given to him by someone quite senior," he argued and Charlotte nodded.

"Yeah, probably."

"I'll check and make sure it is handed in or deactivated at the end of the week," Oliver added and Charlotte didn't respond as she had a phone call to deal with.

Tony had made it past the main door and had worked his way along the sales office to an interconnecting door to the main house. There was silence and quietness as he swiped his card in front of the sensor and walked through.

Oliver had clearly known what he was doing when he created the pass and he appeared in a small lobby which led into a corridor. There was a CCTV camera in the corner of the room and he glanced up at it and then strode confidently down the corridor and through a big security door. The main house was big and Tony had a rough diagram Emma had supplied to him of the layout of the floors he needed to visit.

He had seen on the electrical and wiring plan Emma had found in a bundle of documents Oliver had given her exactly where the alarm system was wired up to and he made his way to a small security office near the front door; it was staffed but the alarm system was held in a cupboard just outside and he nervously opened the panel as he could hear the guard talking.

He took a couple of pictures on Emma's phone and then silently closed the panel before sliding away from the security guard. He heard a noise and slid into an alcove and then watched a pretty girl walk past him without noticing his shape pressed up against the wall. Tony worked his way back to the door and then passed through it, with the help of his access card; he was nervous, he heard of Jaroslav Doszak and did not like the idea of being caught skulking around his house.

He returned to reception and then nodded towards Oliver and Charlotte, sliding over his pass. "Cheers love."

"You fixed it?" Charlotte asked and he just grunted,.

"Course," he said and leant over the counter. "I can control any leaking plumbing."

Charlotte giggled and he raised his eyebrows at her, blowing her a kiss. He returned to his Transit van to drove to see Emma at his local café who was waiting for him.

Emma nodded at him as she entered and he swigged from his can of fizzy cola. "So you can knock out the alarm system?"

"Easy," he replied, sliding Emma's phone over to her. "Piss easy." Emma squinted and he sat back in the chair. "But I want 'alf."

"Half?" Emma exclaimed, her smile disappearing.

"'Alf," he said. "I is big and ya can't do it without me. And Jaroslav is a fuckin' nutter."

Emma sighed and held her finger out, jabbing it into his chest. "It's a third each or ya not on the job."

"I done all the spying. I want half. Call it danger money"

Emma rubbed her chin. She had already said to Tony that she was definitely taking at least a third as it was her idea and she had done all the planning. He wondered if this Jamie be happy with a sixth, and looked at her inquisitively. "Why half?"

"Cos ya ain't doing na job if I don't get half."

Emma took a deep breath and nodded. "I'll speak to Jamie," she promised and he got up from the table.

"Me isn't waiting for too long, ya hear me?"

"I hear you," Emma snapped. "Where's pass?"

"Gave it to ya friend on reception." She scowled and watched as he left the café and started walking down the hill towards the flat he shared with his girlfriend and two children. Tony glanced behind him as Emma emerged from the café and he turned around to face her, walking backwards as three police men came running past, bundling Tony to the ground,.

"Tony Walker, I am arresting you on suspicion of theft, burglary and breaking and entering," she heard from the me-lee and groaned; she was about to find out just how crucial Tony was to the operation.

"Oliver," Jamie called gesturing to his brother, who stormed past him with a scowl.

"You gave that guy a pass to go swanning in. Questions were asked."

"What guy?" Jamie asked and Emma shook her head.

"Our alarms expert. Who has been nicked."

"Nicked?" Oliver squealed. "Right well I want out. I want..."

"He was nicked for a job he pulled two weeks ago," Emma snapped. "Nothing to do with this one. It's fine."

"So, what do we do 'bout alarms then?" Jamie asked.

"Right well I need to take care of the alarms. Shouldn't be too much of a problem as I've been studying the plans and they are little basic. We just need one more for the distraction."

Emma looked at Oliver who was shaking his head. "No way."

"What?"

"No way. No way am I being part of your raid."

"Too fookin' right," Jamie added and looked at Emma. "You've lost ya marbles if ya think he can do it."

Emma sighed. "They go to the auction house soon. It's now or never Jamie. Shit or get off the pot. I need someone I can trust."

"What?"

"I mean, if we don't go tomorrow night then we aren't getting our fifty, or hundred thousand each. And I've spent too much time planning this to not do it." Jamie grumbled and then muttered something about Chelsea or Drake. "I ain't working with anyone I don't know," Emma said firmly. "I need to know they are good."

"Chelsea is cool," Jamie replied and Emma rolled her eyes. "She'll be fine."

"The answer is no. I need someone who has been around the house, and the only person is Oliver."

"But..."

"But either him or we don't do it."

Jamie threw his gloves down onto the floor in anger and scowled at Emma, ignoring his brother. "For fucks sake."

"I am not doing it," Oliver told her, his heart beating angrily and shook his head. "I don't want to do any time. I want to settle down."

"I ain't doing no bird," Emma said forcefully. "I ain't planning on getting caught. The job is easy as I've been back through the plans you got. Jaroslav clearly reckons that no-one will nick from him so his security is a bit amateurish."

Jamie grunted causing Emma to glare at him. "Well it's not that easy."

"Listen, I did over a five bedroom detached in Dorset last year and that had more security than this place. All we need is the code to the vault."

"Oh is that all?" Oliver taunted. "Look, this is a bad idea. Just leave it."

Emma rolled her eyes. "I can reset the alarm system if we have to but I'd rather just walk in, it's easier."

"Well I still don't want to know," Oliver said resolutely and Emma glanced at him and then Jamie.

"Look Oliver, we can probably do it without you, but we need two people to cause distractions and if we have to scarper we need someone who knows the layout 'cos if the shit hits the fan, I want to go to the double glazing offices 'cos there will be fuck all people there."