Page 51 of Baker

I motioned toward the opening. “Goose, Ghost, get in there. Goose hands to Ghost, Ghost through the opening to me, and I’ll give it to you, Tito. Get moving, fellas.”

After Tito handed them flashlights, Ghost and Goose disappeared through the hole.

I heard Ghost whistle through his teeth and then give his opinion. “Holy fuck.”

“Stop gawking and start passing shit out here,” I said through my teeth.

Goose’s head emerged through the opening. “Two small safes. Both steel. Need to torch holes in the top. We good?”

I looked at Tito. “You hear that?”

He exhaled slowly and then clenched his jaw. “Make it quick, fan the smoke, and keep your fingers crossed.”

I’d be damned we were going to take the risk for fur coats, televisions, and artwork. I looked at Tito and raised my eyebrows. “We gonna be alright?”

“The sprinkler heads are activated by temperature or smoke. Temperature won’t be a problem, so as long as the smoke doesn’t get to them, we’re good.”

I extended my arm. “Hand me the torch.”

Tito handed the portable torch to me, and then a pair of goggles. I pushed the equipment through the hole. “Brother Ghost, take off that shirt and fan that motherfucker like your life depends on it.”

“Roger that, Bake.”

Light from the flame flickered through the opening as the sound of the torch cutting steel hissed in the background. With my asshole puckered and my muscles tense, I waited for the fire sprinklers to engage, the cops to show up, or the fire department to come crashing through the front door.

“Three and fifty,” Tito said.

My bowels ached from the nervous tension. As I counted silently to calm myself, the sound of Goose’s voice broke the eerie silence.

“We’re in,” he shouted. “So far, we’re good.”

In a matter of seconds, three gold bars were placed at my feet. It was one and a half million dollars’ worth of gold. I picked up two of them and grinned to myself at their weight.

I refrained from expressing emotion as I handed them to Tito. “No more than eight bars to a bag.”

“Got it, Boss.”

I picked up the third. Before I handed it to Tito, the clank from three more being placed at my feet caught my attention. My heart began to race at the thought of making a three-million-dollar haul. I picked up one of the three and handed Tito the two bars.

Before I grabbed the remaining two, there was another clank. Then another. And, another.

I looked down.

Five bars were on the floor. My heart raced as I did the math in my head.

Jesus.

Four and a half million.

I knelt and peered into the dimly lit vault. “How many more bars?”

“Three,” Goose said. “And a hell of a lot of cash. And jewelry.”

“We’ve got two and thirty,” Tito said.

“Two and a half, fellas,” I shouted through the hole. “Let’s get to cracking.”

Three more bars were set at my feet. Then, Goose shoved a backpack through the hole. “Probably weighs one fifty. Gold and diamonds.”