Months of preparation down the drain, her plans in ruins, and worst of all, thwarted by Ray Vecchio. They should have known she wouldn't give up so easily.
Victoria went through the apartment at which she had been staying, dumping her essential belongings into a pair of black duffel bags. Jack half-reclined on her bed and watched. She had asked him to stick around, in case she needed him for anything else.
"Too bad about the heist," he said, complacent because he had fulfilled his part of the deal and been well paid. "That stone would've looked real nice on you."
She tossed one of the bags into the corner by the door and turned to face him. "The ruby is nothing. I've got a chance at the original Fraser, and you're going to help me."
He shrugged. "Depends on what you want me to do, and how much it's worth to you."
"Information, to start with." She crumpled a red blouse and crammed it into the bag she still held. "Tell me everything you know about a cop named Caine."
She didn't like the way his eyes bulged in shock before he burst into uneasy laughter. "You're kidding, right? This is one of those hypothetical exercises, isn't it? I mean, you don't expect to tangle with Peter Caine, do you?"
She zipped up the stuffed bag and threw it in the corner with its mate. "Caine is the name of the other officer who was at the museum. He's the connection Ray has to this city. If we can--"
"No way!" Jack put his hands up to block the possibility. "You're not dragging me into this. If Peter's involved--or, God forbid, his father--it's no wonder your plan failed. It might have taken me several tries, but I've learned my lesson. I don't care how much you pay me, it's not worth messing with them again."
"Why?" She stalked over to the bed and raked him with a chill gaze. "What's so special about this particular cop?"
"I hate to admit it, but Peter's one of the best the city's got. He's the hotshot type who'll do anything to get the job done. I even gotta respect the guy, a little." He shook his head. "It's his father who gives me the creeps."
"His father?"
"Yeah. Kwai Chang Caine. Everyone in Chinatown knows him, and a lot of other people do, too. News like him gets around pretty quick."
She narrowed her eyes. If the only ones standing between her and Ben were a cop and his father, this might turn out to be easier than she dared hope. On the other hand, she got the feeling it took quite a bit to scare Jack, and he seemed dead set against the whole idea. She got the feeling he wasn't telling her the whole story. "So what is he? Some kind of special agent?"
He laughed again. "Not even close. He's a Shaolin priest."
She frowned and turned her back on him in disgust. He was playing her for a fool. She decided to ignore him and get on with her planning. "Think about it, Jack. Ben was ready to join me last time. He'll do it again. With him on our side, we can accomplish anything." She checked the apartment over to be sure she hadn't left anything important.
Jack pushed himself up into a sitting position. "Didn't you hear what I just said? Caine is no ordinary man. He's got these--I don't know what else to call them--powers. He can do things."
"Mm hmm," she said absently, pulling out each of her dresser drawers in turn and making certain they were empty.
"Nobody has been able to take out the two of them--nobody--and believe me, some really scary types have tried their best. Or worst. It's almost as though together they're invincible or something."
"Invincible, right..." She dusted off her hands and went to check the closet, letting Jack ramble on about how they were trained in martial arts and various other arcane skills.
"If you had seen some of the things I've witnessed, you wouldn't even suggest--"
She cut him off. "Enough!" It had been vaguely amusing at first, but he was taking the bad joke much too far. She wanted his advice, but not if he was going to go on irrational tangents. "I don't have anything against them, personally. All I want to do is use them to find Ben. Do you think you can handle that?"
He crossed his arms and considered. "Maybe. As long as I'm out of the line of fire. I won't kid you, I plan to be well away in case anything goes wrong. I don't know why you're so obsessed with this Fraser guy, anyway." He turned her own words back on her. "What's so special about this particular man?"
A cold smile graced her lips. Hate, love, that about covers it... "He's the key to everything I've wanted my whole life. He's...he has...he can..." She stopped, realizing that she was babbling. How could she sum up someone as complicated as Ben in only a few words?
"Is he really worth facing Caine for?"
At that she nodded, the answer to her question finally as clear as ice. "He is. He is a Mountie."