Chapter 8
Putting the pieces together
The men walked into the office, it was a cavernous office spanning 2 floors. The back wall and ceiling was nothing but glass. The floor and walls were ornate wood and the desk was on an elevated platform above the rest of the first floor. The carpet around it was bright red and it continued to staircases on either side of the elevated platform. The stair cases were ornately crafted steel and spiraled upwards to the second floor. The walls were covered with books and maps in large wooden bookshelves. Mr. Black continued to the 2nd floor and everyone followed him. The second floor was much the same, except one wall was adorned with a very large fireplace with two chairs in front of it. In the center of the room was a very large oak table with many papers draped across it. The one on top was a blue piece of paper with blue prints of the reserve that they were going to break into. Mr. Black rolled the papers up and set them aside, he pulled out a piece of paper and a pen and looked at Tony.
"What's the car we're using?"
"BMW M5, black if possible with bullet proof windows and nos."
"Excellent, Weapons are taken care of, what other equipment do we need?"
"Uh, night vision goggles." Brian said.
"Sounds good. Now, for planning" He said as he picked the blueprints and papers back up and set them on the table.
He unrolled the papers and spread them out. He looked over the blueprint and the schematic details of the building. He wrote down numbers on the paper and drew lines and circles and figures. The men watched him as he did so, then Tony spoke up.
"What are you doing?"
"Making the plans for the operation. I'm giving it the codename operation Lightning. Lightning meaning you get in and out quickly."
Tony nodded as he let Mr. Black draw on the blue prints and shuffle through papers. He continued to write numbers and draw paths and weird figures on the map. He held up a piece of paper and looked at it, he stared perplexed by it. Then, he handed it over to Tony who stared at it.
"What do you make of this?"
"It looks like a large steel door. Probably encased with high density metal and safe guards. It looks to be one of the most complex vault doors ever conceived."
"Exactly! And you men are to break into it and steal the money in it."
Tony looked down at the blue prints and examined them closely. The numbers and drawings made no sense to him. He flipped through the different papers and charts on the building. He matched pictures with points on the blue prints and he traced path outlines from all the entrances. He continued to study the vault door, and the blueprints. He looked up at Mr. Black.
"I don't see how we can pull this off without a miracle; this is going to be insane. There's no way to do this. We cant honestly pull this off."
"We can and we will, it just takes the right planning. Please, hand me those documents over there, I need to study the maps and diagrams some more." Mr. Black said as he pointed to a stack of papers on a book shelf.
Tony walked over to the shelf and picked the paper up and handed them to Mr. Black. Mr. Black nodded and looked over the papers and the blueprints. He walked away from the table and sat in a chair by the fireplace. He sat there and began to read over the documents and look through pictures. He began muttering to himself and Tony walked towards Dieter and Brian.
"You two can go to bed. I'm going to stay here and look over the maps and documents. I'm going to stay and work on the plan. Is that all right?"
"Yeah, sounds good. Better you than me." Brian added as he walked down the stairs.
Tony turned back to the blueprints and began looking them over. He leaned on the tabled and began to fish through the documents trying to find anything that could help them out. He put pictures on the blueprint where they would be in real life, wrote down details. He looked over at Mr. Black who was busy looking at his documents; he turned and headed down the stairs quietly. He walked over to the desk and began to fish through the drawers. He moved papers out of the drawers and set them on the desk and began to go through them. He came across a sheet of paper that had a list of names and data, but it also held something Tony didn't expect.
"Oh my god. You're kidding, that can't be him. Donald Love is Mr. Black? It does explain all the cars and the money. But I don't believe it." He said as he stared at the paper.
He shoved all the papers back into the drawers and headed upstairs to the map table. He walked over to the table and pulled up a chair and sat down. He put his hands on his head and stared at the map. He couldn't figure out the best route and he couldn't believe what he had just seen. He heard noises from Mr. Black's area and looked over and Mr. Black was walking over to the table. He set the papers down and stared at the map rubbing his head.
"I can't figure it out. I don't know how to do this."
Tony looked at the papers then back at the map and smiled, "I think we can find a way."
The men came together and looked through maps and documents and pictures about the building. They each began to write down numbers and figures on pieces of paper and on the blue prints. Tony picked up a set of blueprints for the ventilation ducts and studied them and drew lines on the map where they would be.
"How big are the vent shafts?"
"Not nearly big enough for anyone to fit through, but perfect for a few smoke grenades."
"Perfect, that's all wee need them for."
He looked back to the documents and poured over the documents and charts. He looked at Mr. Black who held up a piece of paper and began to write things down hastily on the blueprint. He looked up at Tony and smiled.
"I think I got it."
"Well, what is it?"
"Well, the reserve was built into the side of the mountain as you see here," Mr. Black said pointing to the rear of the facility on the blueprint, "We can enter through the large vent shafts in the back. We get to a level above the facility and scale down the mountain towards the building."
"Okay, so we do that, we scale the mountain and get on top of the facility. What if the vent shafts aren't big enough? The schematics show that they're barley 36 inches in diameter, we can't fit through there, and we need another entrance."
"Well, we could just break through the skylight in the atrium of the building. We just cross over the roof without setting off the motion sensors and attracting the cameras. And once we do break in through the skylight, we have alarms inside that we don't want to trigger and there's a guard at the front desk. We need to neutralize him before we can enter the building."
"Okay, so we shoot him before we break through the glass, and we have someone one the ground to take out the power box and security systems. Then once we enter the facility we just let that man in?"
"Yes exactly. Then after that, we have a laze trip floor we have to get across. Breaking into one of the largest vault doors in history. Oh, and there's the guards with MP5's that will be stationed throughout the building. But you guys can all handle that, correct?"
"Yeah, definitely, where's the power station for the facility though?"
"The power facility is located in the rear of the building. It's in a security shed hidden by the cover of the mountain. The shed is security locked, but we got a man on the inside who's going to leave a key in the bushes near it. Your man is going to go in and cut the power to the building and then you do the break in."
"What of your man on the inside, what do we do about him?"
"He's going to assist you in the mission, I've already briefed him. He has access to access cards so I don't think you will have to break through the vault. Once inside, look for him, he's a tall Cuban man named Umberto, he'll know what to do."
"Right, excellent. This should be a quick job in and out."
"Correct, then you bring the money to me once you finish."
"Where do we meet after the mission, Where's out contact point?"
"The contact point will be at a tiny bridge over a creek. I'll give you a map before you men head out. We meet there and make an exchange, you give me the money and I give you your payment and then we go out separate ways."
"All right, now, the equipment, when can we get that?"
"The car I can get you tonight and I'll let you check it out tomorrow in the morning. The weapons and gear I have in the basement, we can check that out now or wait until the other men are up. It's your call."
"We'll let them sleep, we all have a large day ahead of us, we all need some rest. I suggest you get some rest as well." Tony said as he walked over to the stairs.
Mr. Black nodded and walked over to a bookcase on the far wall. He looked back to the stairs, Tony was long gone. He pulled one of the books and the shelf swung open revealing a long dark passage. He walked down the passage until he came to a large staircase; he walked up the winding stairs that led to a tower that over looked the whole compound. The room at the top was filled with technical equipment, radar screens, and monitors, everything someone needed to keep an eye on their occupants. Mr. Black looked at a screen that showed Tony walked down the hall towards his room. He opened the door and went into the room; Mr. Black sat down on a couch on the far side of the room and rubbed his hands through his hair.
"Inform Umberto, we'll be having guests tomorrow at the reserve. Also, tell him to have strike teams set up to enter after the time has gone off." He said as he laid down and closed his eyes.
"Yes sir" the technician said as he dialed in a number on the phone on the desk.
The Sun shone in through the windows in the tower. Mr. Black woke up and stretched his arms and legs. He walked over to the console and brought up views of all the men's rooms. They were all sound asleep, except one, Tony. He scanned through the image of Tony's room, but Tony wasn't there. He began to cycle through the views from the cameras located in his house. Finally, he found Tony in the kitchen eating scrambled eggs. He smiled and walked down the twisting stair case and to the dark hallway. He went to one of the wood panels and rubbed his hand on it, it opened up revealing another passageway. He walked down the passage way until he came to a large steel door; he pulled the handle and emerged in the foyer of his house. He walked down the hall and entered the kitchen.
"Tony, how are ya?"
"I'm good, how long have you been awake?"
"Oh I woke up about 10 minutes ago. I was just about to go out and get your car for you. I'll get it fitted and I'll have it back here around 1."
"Yeah, that's fine."
Mr. Black walked out of the kitchen and headed out the front door. Tony got up and put the dishes in the sink and headed up the stairs to the other men's rooms. He walked into Brian's room and sat down on one of the chairs facing the window. He opened the curtains and looked out at the scenery below. He could hear Brian waking up behind him and turned around.
"What are you doing here?" Brian asked half asleep.
"Brian, I found out who Mr. Black really is."
"What, how? Who is he?"
"After you guys left and went to bed, I look at the papers for a little while then I walked down to his desk and went through his papers. He's Donald Love, He is Donald Love! Why does he want us though?"
"You have to be wrong, Donald Love died 3 years ago in Liberty City."
"No, he didn't, he left. He went into isolation. He came here and built this estate. He did this to hid from everyone. He changed his Identity, his face, everything. He wanted to escape from it all and now he wants to pull one last job. We have to turn him in, all the criminal activities that took place in Liberty City, we can bring this guy down. We can do it, we have to."
"Tony, no, you're wrong he's not Donald Love." Brian said as he went back to sleep.
Tony, infuriated got out of the chair and walked out of the room. He walked down the hall to his room and sat on his bed. He looked around at the surroundings and closed his eyes. Slowly he began to fall asleep. He was awoken with the sound of a car speeding on the gravel path and stopping and honking its horn. He arose from the bed and walked over to the window. He looked out at the garage below him and saw the black M5 in the doorway to the garage.
"Ha, he did get it." He smiled as he walked to the door.
He walked down the hallway and down the stairs and over to the garage. He stopped by the car and looked at him. The bright sun glistened off the metallic black paint, Tony had to cover his eyes as he looked at the car. It was immaculate, great piece of engineering, one of the finest cars every made. Tony walked around to the driver door and opened it up. The inside seats were custom made sportco seats, he sat in the racing seat, it seemed to wrap around him. He put his hand on the metal alloy shifter, the metal felt cold on his hand, he rubbed his hand on the shifter and then closed the door. One the dash was a tiny red button, he looked at it and smiled, it was the NOS he wanted. He opened the door and got out and looked at Mr. Black.
"Perfect, and you're positive it's bullet proof?"
"Yes, 100% just as you requested."
"Good, now, lets get the other men and get our weapons set. Tonight is the night we dance."
The men headed inside the house and down into the basement. They walked down the same stone corridor that the men had entered the day before. Tony opened the large wooden door for Mr. Black and they entered into the same room filled with paintings and jewelry. Tony didn't bother to look around he walked straight to the door on the far side of the room, he opened it up and they stepped inside.
The light shined off the metallic walls as the entered the room and turned the light on. Mr. Black walked over to the far wall and picked up the phone and dialed a number, he waited for a second and spoke.
"Yes, Gerard, please send the men into the weapon safe. Yes, thank you"
Mr. Black turned back to Tony and looked at him. He eyed him and walked over to a large assault rifle on the wall, he carefully picked it off the hook and held it up. He reached into a drawer below and pulled out a magazine and shoved it in the gun. He handed it over to Tony.
"That should be perfect for you. That and a pistol." Mr. Black said as he gave Tony a pistol and let him admire the guns.
"How am I going to carry these?"
"The strap on the assault rifle, swing that over your shoulder and your pistol will have a side holster on your gear." Mr. Black said as the other men made their way into the vault.
The men looked at Mr. Black and all the weapons on the walls. They walked around in circles in the room admiring the weapons that adorned the walls. Mr. Black smiled and picked up a shotgun and handed it to Brian who took it and held it in his hands. He admired the chrome shotgun and aimed it at a wall, the gun was surprisingly light. He smiled and nodded.
"Yeah, this'll be fine."
Mr. Black nodded and handed Dieter an MP5 and a glock. He took the guns and nodded and smiled. He looked at Frank and gave him a handgun, unknown to anyone he winked to Frank and walked towards the entrance of the Vault. He faced everyone and smiled.
"Gentlemen, tonight, we attempt one of the largest robberies in history. The importance of the success of this mission does not need to be stressed. I know there's a lot riding on your shoulders right now but I have faith in all of you. You men are the best at what you do in this country and I have assembled you all here for one purpose. This job will make you all very famous, and historic in our line of work. Sometimes to make your company rise to the top, you need to take others down. You men have a lot riding on this, take care in it. I have put your suits you will be wearing in your rooms on your beds. Go change into them and meet me at the airport. I'll be loading the gear into the plane. You'll be briefed on the flight there. That is all." With that Mr. Black walked out of the vault and out of the room and down the hallway. The men looked at each other and smiled, they all headed off to their rooms to get ready for the task at hand.
Tony walked down the hall to his room, he had other things on his mind besides the mission. He couldn't stop thinking about the information he had uncovered and how Brian, the only other one here he could trust, didn't believe him. He walked over to the bed and looked at the black polyfiber outfit. He picked it up and looked at it, there were a lot of things on it he didn't understand what they did. He put the skin tight suit on and walked in around in it. It was very tight and restricting, but he figured it was for a good purpose. He slid the pistol in its side holster and put the night vision goggles on his head and slid the assault rifle strap on his shoulder. He walked out the door and met the other men in their black suits, They all nodded and walked towards the foyer. The men knew the risks involved but went along with it anyways. They walked down the stairs into the foyer and met with their driver. They looked at each other and nodded. There was no turning back now, they were about to enter the dance of their lives, and they may not come out with their lives.