2 The Job of Jobs

"So you're telling me that you organized the heist of the century? In a factory?" Jessica asks the man who is driving the black Volkswagen Golf.

"It's not any factory, miss. It's the factory that prints the banknotes that go to the Bank of England."

"What was the place's name again?"

"Deben Security Printing Ltd, part of the De La Rue empire."

"And why are we going to print all the money when we could simply take it from the Bank of England?"

"No one would expect a huge heist in a printing company. I'm not saying that it's going to be easy to break in or that it has zero security. It's actually a really large building with various side buildings, but if compared to the Bank of England, it's going to be way easier."

The woman puts her feet on the dashboard.

"Plus, if everything goes as planned, the authorities won't even know about the heist until we took the money and left for international waters."

"What about my brother? How can I pay his bail now that the police knows about me?"

"I'll have someone deal with it."

"You're seriously starting to sound like some kind of mafia boss, Maestro."

*Flashback - Three month ago*

It's a sunny day of June and the beach in Brighton is full of people sunbathing, swimming and partying. A handsome, tall man heads to a near bar and orders a tequila sunrise. While the barmaid is preparing the drink, he starts flirting with her.

"So... What are you doing here?" His Australian accent is evident.

"Working?" The brunette smiles.

"I see... But are you sure this is the right job for you? Shouldn't you be walking on a runaway? You have the looks for it."

She blushes and thanks him. When she gives him the cocktail, he writes his number on a napkin and hands it to her.

"Don't forget about me when you'll become a top model, 'kay?" He winks and while walking away, he bumps into someone.

"Sorry." He doesn't look back and keeps on walking.

"The Brisbane job was impeccable. The escape plan was perfect. No one suspected that such a charismatic thief would escape from the sewers, right mister McCormack?"

The man freezes on his tracks.

"I had in mind a new, better job here in the UK. A billion english pounds and a free ticket to international waters. What do you think?"

"Who the hell are you?" McCormack asks, turning around nervously to check if anyone heard the conversation.

"I'm the Maestro and I know that you want to hear me out."

*End of the flashback*

Jessica throws her backpack on the wooden floor. "What now?"

"Now, miss Walker, you just stay in this safe house and keep a low profile until I come to give you a pass to Wonderland."

"Wonderland? And what am I supposed to do in Wonderland?"

"Well... You'll have to wait to discover it."

Jessica sends the Maestro an annoyed look. "You still owe me many explanations."

"I promise, once in Wonderland, I'll answer to all your questions. Until then, stay safe and pick a name you want to be called with throughout the job." He leaves the house, closing the door behind him.

*Flashback - Five months ago*

"And... Checkmate!" Maestro says proudly.

"Come on, not again. You must be a genius yourself if you keep on beating me this way. No one did that before."

"Beating you at chess?"

"Beating me at chess multiple times in a row." The woman looks suspiciously at the man sitting opposite to her.

"Before you ask, no. I didn't cheat in any way. I'm an honest man." The man's grins.

"That's what a dishonest man would say." She hides a little smile.

That day was a particular hot one in Yorkshire.

"Hey, Josie. If you're done being humiliated by this guy, I want to have some drinks."

Maestro lowers his voice. "You still use Josie Alberts as alias? In my opinion, you should change it. It's been a while since your last job. Don't you want to move on?"

'Josie' slowly gets up from her seat and then, she starts running away.

"Hey! I just want to talk." The man starts running after her. The latter slows down to catch his breath but 'Josie' doesn't look tired at all, instead she starts running even faster.

"Please, miss, I just want to talk. I'm not a cop. I'm here for a job. A good one." But the woman doesn't stop and disappears behind a corner.

A few days later, the Maestro tracks down 'Josie' again and the second she sees him, she shouts at him.

"Are you a stalker? Because you definitely look like one. Stop following me! I'm not interested."

"You don't know the offer yet."

"Thank you for your time, but I'm still not interested."

"One zero, zero, zero and other six zeros. That's what I'm offering you. Sure you want to refuse it?"

'Josie' turns around.

"A billion bucks? You must be kidding me. What are we robbing, the Bank of England?"

"More or less."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You'll discover it soon..."

"Can you stop being mysterious? Because it's not helping you to make me join your cause."

"Sorry, but I can't tell you more now. So, are you in?"

"Is this a joke?"

"No. What makes you think so?"

"You follow me like a psycho, you offer me a job worth one billion pounds, you don't give me any other info and then, you want me to give you an answer immediately? That sounds like a joke to me."

"You have to trust me so-"

"Trust you? I've never seen you my whole life. And by the way, you look like a douchebag cop. No offense."

"None taken and I completely understand the mistrust you have towards me. But this job isn't any job: it's the job of jobs. And I need the best of the best to pull it."