Phoenix Heart: The Last Heir

CHAPTER 2: Blood and Decisions

Gabriel woke up to the sound of someone screaming outside the tent. 

He jerked upright and reached for the knife he kept under his pillow before he realized it was just Old Mike having another nightmare. 

The man had fought in some war years ago and sometimes he forgot where he was.

Vera stirred next to him, making Gabriel feel guilty for waking her. She needed all the sleep she could get.

"It's okay," He whispered, staring at her fondly. "Just Mike. Go back to sleep."

But Vera's eyes were already open and she looked at him with something that might have been fear. "Did you mean what you said last night? About the money?"

Gabriel nodded. "Yeah. We're close now. Real close."

She smiled, but it looked tired. Everything about her looked tired these days. "You're too good to me."

"Not possible," Gabriel said, planting a kiss on her forehead. Her skin felt too warm. Fever again.

He got up and pulled on his jacket. The tent was cold enough that he could see his breath and Gabriel made a note to steal some more propane for the heater. Add it to the list of things he needed to steal.

"Where are you going?" Vera asked.

"Work," Gabriel said because that's what they called it now. Easier than saying he was going out to rob people. "I'll be back before dark."

Vera coughed and nodded. Gabriel tried not to notice the way her hand shook when she pulled the blankets tighter.

Outside, the camp was waking up. People were starting their fires and trying to figure out what they would eat today. Gabriel knew most of them by name now. 

Rita, who used to be a teacher before her husband died, left her with nothing. 

Carlos who had three kids and worked two jobs that still weren't enough. 

Young Tommy who was only sixteen and had run away from a foster home that was worse than the streets.

Good people. Broken people. People the city had chewed up and spit out.

Gabriel headed north toward the business district. He had spotted a good mark yesterday. 

Some executive type who ate lunch at the same restaurant every day. Creatures of habit made the best targets.

But his mind kept going back to the phone call. Ten million dollars for one job. It sounded too good to be true. Gabriel had learned that things that sounded too good usually were.

Who was this woman? How did she know his real name? And what could possibly be worth ten million dollars to steal?

The questions spun around in his head while he worked. He lifted a wallet from a tourist near Navy Pier. 

Grabbed a purse that someone left on a bench while they took pictures. Pulled three hundred dollars from a tip jar when the barista turned around.

Small jobs. Safe jobs. Nothing that would get him caught.

But the whole time he was thinking about Pier 47 and midnight and ten million dollars.

By the time the sun started to set Gabriel had made almost nine hundred dollars. Good day. Really good day. He should have felt happy about it but all he felt was tired.

The walk back to camp seemed longer than usual. His feet hurt and his stomach was growling loud enough that people on the train probably heard it. 

Gabriel couldn't remember the last time he ate a real meal. Yesterday? The day before?

Didn't matter. Vera needed the money more than he needed food.

He was still two blocks from camp when he heard it. A sound that made his blood turn to ice. Someone crying in a way that meant something was really wrong.

Gabriel started running.

He reached the camp and saw people gathered around his tent. Rita was there and Carlos and a bunch of others. 

They all had the same look on their faces. The look that said something bad had happened.

Gabriel shoved through them and pulled back the tent flap.

Vera was on the mattress and there was blood everywhere. On the blankets. On her hands. Dripping from her mouth.

She looked up at him and tried to smile. "Sorry," She said and her voice was so quiet Gabriel almost couldn't hear it. "I tried to clean it up but there's so much."

Gabriel dropped to his knees next to her. His hands were shaking and he didn't know what to do. Press something against her mouth? Call an ambulance they couldn't afford?

"It's okay," He said even though nothing was okay. "You're going to be fine."

Vera coughed again and more blood came up. Her eyes were scared now. Really scared. "Gabriel I don't feel good."

"I know, baby. I know. Just hold on okay? We're going to get you help."

But they both knew the truth. They didn't have enough money yet. The treatment cost one hundred thousand dollars and they only had eighty two thousand. Eighteen thousand short.

Eighteen thousand dollars might as well be eighteen million.

Unless.

Ten million dollars for one job.

Gabriel looked at Vera and saw her getting weaker right in front of him. Her breathing was coming faster now and each breath sounded wet and wrong. 

How much time did she have left? Days? Hours?

He pulled out his phone and stared at it. The unknown number from last night was still in his call history. He could ignore it. 

Keep stealing small amounts until they have enough. Hope that Vera lasts long enough.

Or he could take the job and save her tonight.

Rita poked her head into the tent. "Gabriel, honey you need to get her to a hospital."

"I know."

"I can call an ambulance."

"No," Gabriel said too fast. Ambulances cost money they didn't have. "She'll be okay. She just needs rest."

Rita looked like she wanted to argue but Gabriel gave her a look that made her back off. 

When everyone was gone, Gabriel sat with Vera and held her hand. She had fallen asleep or maybe passed out. Her pulse felt thin and fast like a bird trying to escape.

He waited until the camp was quiet. Until everyone had gone to sleep or at least stopped paying attention. Then he carefully laid Vera down and covered her with all their blankets.

"I'll fix this," He whispered even though she couldn't hear him. "I promise."

The walk to Pier 47 took almost an hour. Gabriel had to take three different trains and then walk the last mile along the waterfront. 

The pier was in an industrial area where nobody went after dark. Warehouses and empty lots and the kind of silence that made you think about every choice that brought you to this point.

Gabriel checked his phone. Five minutes to midnight.

He almost turned around. Almost went back to camp and Vera and the life they had built out of nothing. It wasn't much but it was theirs and it was real.

Then he thought about the blood. About Vera's scared eyes. About how little time she had left.

Headlights cut through the darkness and Gabriel's heart started pounding. A black Bentley rolled up and stopped twenty feet away. The engine was so quiet Gabriel barely heard it.

For a long minute nothing happened. Gabriel stood there and wondered if this was how he died. Lured to an empty pier by a stranger with promises he should have known were lies.

Then the back door opened.

A woman stepped out and Gabriel forgot how to breathe. She wore a suit that probably cost more than a car and she moved like someone who had never been afraid of anything in her entire life. 

Her hair was pulled back tight and her face was the kind of beautiful that made men do stupid things.

She looked at Gabriel the way someone might look at a bug they were deciding whether to step on.

"Gabriel Hale," She said and it wasn't a question. "You came."

"You know my name," Gabriel said. "That's not fair. I don't know yours."

The woman smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. "You can call me Miss. Names don't matter. Results do."

"What do you want me to steal?"

Miss reached into her jacket and pulled out a photograph. She held it up so Gabriel could see. 

The picture showed some kind of crystal or gemstone. It was red like a ruby but bigger. Way bigger. About the size of a fist.

"This is called the Phoenix Heart," Miss said. "It's currently locked in the private vault of the Siegel family estate. I need you to steal it."

Gabriel stared at the picture. "The Siegels? You want me to rob the richest family in Chicago?"

"The third richest actually. But yes."

"That's suicide."

"That's why I'm paying ten million dollars."

Gabriel's mouth went dry. Ten million. He could save Vera and have enough left over to take care of her for the rest of her life. 

They could leave Chicago. Start over somewhere warm where she wouldn't have to sleep in a tent and cough up blood.

But the Siegels had security that made Fort Knox look easy. Guards and cameras and probably dogs. People who tried to rob them ended up dead or in prison for life.

"Why me?" Gabriel asked.

Miss put the photo away. "Because you're good. Better than you know. I've been watching you for six months Gabriel. You're smart and fast and desperate. Desperation makes people capable of incredible things."

"I could die."

"You could. Or you could walk away right now and watch your girlfriend die instead."

Gabriel felt anger flash through him. "You don't know anything about her."

"I know she's coughing up blood. I know you need one hundred thousand dollars for an experimental treatment. I know you're eighteen thousand short and running out of time," 

Miss took a step closer. "I'm offering you a way out. Take it or don't. Either way I'll find someone else."

She turned to walk back to the Bentley.

"Wait," Gabriel heard himself say.

Miss stopped and looked back at him. "Yes?"

Gabriel thought about Vera. About the blood and the fear in her eyes. About the way she said his name like he was the only good thing left in her life.

This was wrong. Everything about this was wrong.

But what choice did he have?

"How do I get inside?" Gabriel asked.

Miss smiled and this time it looked real. 

"There's a charity gala at the Siegel estate in three days. I'll get you in as catering staff. You'll have exactly one hour to find the vault and take the Phoenix Heart. After that you're on your own."

"And the money?"

"Half up front. Five million deposited in an account I'll set up for you. The other half when you deliver the Phoenix Heart to me."

Five million dollars. Enough to save Vera and then some. Gabriel felt dizzy just thinking about it.

"One more thing," Miss said. Her voice got hard. "If you take this job you don't get to back out. You don't get to fail. You steal the Phoenix Heart or you don't come back at all. Understood?"

Gabriel swallowed hard. "Understood."

"Good." Miss pulled out a card and handed it to him. "Call this number tomorrow. Someone will give you the details."

She got back in the Bentley and it pulled away into the darkness. Gabriel stood on the empty pier, looking at the card in his hand. Just a phone number. Nothing else.

He had just agreed to rob the most dangerous family in Chicago.

He should have been terrified. Maybe he was. But all Gabriel could think about was Vera and the blood and how he was finally going to save her.