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We're finally coming close to the party!

Chapter 19

Police station, afternoon. One day before the party.

"We will be here and here, outside." Dwayne explained as he pointed at the entrance of the big land house where the party was to be held.

"Wow, imagine living in such a big house." Kris mumbled as she studied the blueprints with big eyes. The house seemed like a large Mansion with lot's of rooms and two floors.

Fidel smiled and nodded. "You will be here behind the bar. The personal area is here. We suspect that the vault to Blake's house is in his office. Which would be here."

"It's near the personal area." Kris commented.

"Yes, so are the camera's and the guards. There are two guards near the personal area and the room where we expect the party to be." Dwayne told Kris.

"Did you memorize the guest list already?" Richard asked as he walked towards them.

Kris nodded as she looked at the files in her hands.

"These are the guests we think that are coming. We aren't sure." Fidel explained.

"And we aren't sure that the diamonds are on his property. We only suspect that he has them." Richard said as he frowned at the blueprints.

"You only suspect? That's not a lot to go on." Kris mentioned as she straightened herself and looked at the three men.

"It's more than nothing." Dwayne shrugged. "This is the first time any information about the diamonds has come up in years. Sometimes we just have to improvise."

Kris looked at Richard. "I don't like to improvise very much. I'd rather have a tight plan."

Richard nodded. "Yes, so do we."

Kris looked at the blueprint again and memorized it further. "Those diamonds are worth a lot..." She sighed. "What people wouldn't do for them. Unbelievable." She shook her head in disdain.

"Yes." Fidel mumbled as Dwayne nodded.

"Do you know how to mix drinks Richard?" Kris asked.

"I was a waiter while I studied." He answered. Just for a very short period. He had hated it, being around so many noisy people. But he had to make money somehow.

"Okay, I've worked in bars also. Bringing drinks and fingerfood around won't be a problem."

"As long as you don't spill the hot stuff on people." Dwayne mentioned as he pressed his lips together not to laugh.

Fidel chuckled. "And try not to break any glasses..."

Kris laughed. "HA HA. Very funny." She rolled her eyes. "You all did an amazing job I think." Kris said as she looked at the blueprint again. "The supposed guest list, four people inside... What is the main goal? Getting the diamonds?"

"No, it's getting intel. As we said, it's highly possible that the diamonds aren't there. And it's possible that mister and missus Shaw have to go in more than once to befriend Blake and make him trust them. We don't know why he wants to talk to them. They didn't know that." Richard explained.

"Should I be worried?" Kris asked softly as she stared at the blueprint and at the position of the guards that would probably be there.

"That's why we're in the near vicinity. We just have to keep an eye on them. You can move around freely. As can I." Richard answered. They were with enough people inside to make sure they could help each other.

Kris nodded. "Okay, then the exits. How many are there?"

Camille and Nick walked in the station. "Bonjour." Camille said as she put her bag on her chair.

"Working hard?" Nick asked.

Fidel and Dwayne nodded. Richard looked up shortly and barely acknowledged the couple.

Kris made a welcoming noise as her eyes never left the blueprints. She was too concentrated. "What about earpieces and equipment?"

Fidel and Dwayne looked up at that and stared at Richard. "We don't have any."

Kris looked from Richard to Camille. "What? Why not?"

"Because this is Saint Marie, not London." Camille answered as she walked towards the table they stood around.

Nick sighed at that and looked at Kris. "We'll have to do it the old fashioned way then."

"Yes, sadly enough." Richard commented. "We have to be creative."

Kris's eyes fell on Nick. "But if something goes wrong..." Kris began.

"Nothing will go wrong, that's why we're here." Camille said.

But Kris didn't seem convinced. She gave Nick a worried look. "I hate to point out the obvious but the party is filled with criminals, you don't know who knows the Shaws. They haven't been on this island before. Only their names are known, not their faces."

"We know that." Camille said. "You've been in more difficult situations then this before, what's the problem?"

Kris shrugged. "It's just... I want to be careful. It seems dangerous to me."

"Are we going in without weapons?" Nick asked as he looked at Richard.

"We don't have weapons and we'll have to be creative. We are with enough people, if we work together and help each other we minimize any danger." Richard said. He felt worry spread through his chest.

"We'll just keep a low profile." Camille assured Kris.

"Yes, right." Kris nodded as she looked at Camille. Camille? Keep a low profile? Not a chance. If she saw bait, she went for it. Always.

"Okay, so let's go over this again now we're all together." Richard proposed.

Hours later

Richard was behind his desk again as he studied Kris and Nick who were mulling over the blueprint again. His eyes went to Camille who was rummaging behind her desk. It was as if she felt his eyes on him as she looked up at him. He made a gesture with his eyes as he stood up. She reacted immediately and followed him outside. It gave Richard a kick he had to admit, that he only needed one tiny gesture for her to understand what he wanted or meant. He cleared his throat when she stood in front of him on the porch. "I was hoping to have a word with you." Richard said as he wiped his clammy hands on his trousers.

"What is it?" She asked with a hint of worry in her tone.

"Yes, well... I was wondering... No... I was thinking..." He saw the look of impatience marring her features already. "Erm... I just... I wanted to say..."

She sighed as she leaned her shoulder against the warm wall.

"I..." He looked away. Out over the market. The cars.

"Yes?" Camille urged as she rolled her eyes. The time this man could waste when he tried to say something! Blurt it out already!

Richard glared at her. He hated her impatience. When she could clearly see he was struggling. And now even more. "For some reason... You know... Never mind." He finished angrily as he turned around and made to leave.

"What? O! Come on." Camille stated as she loosened herself from the wall and grabbed his arm to stop him. "You know me by now. I'm impatient." She shrugged as he turned around. His green gaze on her. "That's all. It's not that I'm not interested. It's just..." She looked out over the market now as she put her hands in her pockets. "I would just rather have you blurt it out then take so much time."

"Well, I'm sorry to be an inconvenience when I have something important to say detective Bordey."

Camille sighed and shook her head. "Richard, come on. I'm sorry. Okay? I'm sorry. I'll be really patient. What did you want to say?" She leaned against the wall again. "See? I'm all patience and ears." She told him apologetically as she gestured towards her relaxed and open posture.

He sighed. That infuriating woman. French. "Well, what I wanted to say really isn't easy now because of your reaction."

"Richard please. Just tell me. You can trust me, you know that." She prodded as she took a step towards hem.

"It's nothing special really." He looked in the distance. "I just wanted to say that I..." He looked at his shoes. At the concrete in front of him. "That I value our... Friendship very much.." He still had trouble saying the word 'friends'. As if he couldn't believe that she wanted to be friends with him or would see him like that. "And I... These last couple of days. Or weeks even.. Well they weren't very.." He cleared his throat.

She raised an eyebrow.

"How shall I put it... Well.. Er... Productive so to say."

"Productive? As in we're products?" Camille asked seriously as she smiled inwardly at his choice of words. She just couldn't help herself at making it more difficult for him.

"And I- What? No- No of course not. I wouldn't call you a product. Of course not." It must be that she doesn't understand that word. "When one says a product one means in general-"

"-I know." She cut off quickly as she grabbed his elbow. "Please stop explaining products to me and say what you wanted to say. " She didn't want to be here for hours getting all sorts of lectures.

He cleared his throat. "I meant that maybe... These last weeks..." He cleared his throat again.

Camille noticed that he really wasn't feeling at ease. And she enjoyed it. Was she that evil? She wondered about herself? Non. It wasn't that. She just loved seeing his human side. His real side. She loved seeing that things touched him, that he cared. That he had feelings too.

"We haven't been... On friendly terms a lot... With the.. A lot of fights... And I feared... I fear.. Or fear is maybe too big a word..."

"Just spit it out Richard." Camille urged.

"That I- You- We- We- I-" He couldn't continue.

"We aren't friends anymore?" Camille filled in impatiently.

"Erm, well... The.. Uh.. Yes... Maybe... That you weren't that happy with me. And generally friends are happy with each other and such..." He avoided making eye contact. "I think."

Camille breathed out softly and thought of that. "Don't you want me as a friend?" She asked.

This surprised him. He looked at her and studied her. "What? Yes of course I do, why would you think that?"

She shrugged. "Then don't worry. I care about you. That isn't just going away. And that we had some 'issues' these last weeks..." She shrugged. "That's how it goes then. That doesn't break a good bond does it?"

"It doesn't? I mean.." He thought she'd gotten sick of him. "I mean.. You and Kris...You are so close. I can imagine that that bond is very strong but with me.. We haven't known each other that long and-"

"And you can be irritatingly frustrating." She filled in. He looked up at her and he had the saddest look on his face she'd ever seen. "O Richard! I'm just teasing." Silly man. She grabbed his arm to pull him close and place a tender warm kiss on his cheek. "There." She said as he flushed. "Was that it? What you wanted to say? You were worried that we weren't friends anymore?"

He looked at her. With his mouth open. One sentence? It took her one sentence to say what he had been struggling to say for the past ten minutes? This made him feel even more clumsy. He still felt her kiss burning on his cheek. "I just... I wanted you to know that I value your friendship very much and I wouldn't want.. To lose that."

"You won't. Not unless you do something really stupid."

"Like what?" Richard asked.

"Why? You have plans to do something stupid?"

"No, it's just good to know these things."

She shrugged as she looked away in thought. "I don't know. It's not something I can just say like that. It's not a game or puzzle or rule book. It just is. Like feelings. They grow, or they don't.'

"Yes, yes of course."

"Thank you Richard. I don't want to lose you too." She said as she grabbed his arm again and smiled.

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