Sweet Revenge

she stood, patient, counting off another full minute. No alarm broke the silence. She stopped praying long enough to reattach the shield.
    Philip’s fingers were nimble, and his ear was keen. He worked with the patience of a master jewel cutter. Or thief. Part of his brain asked the same question over and over as he listened for the click of tumblers. Where was she?
    It was fifteen minutes beyond the optimum time they’d calculated for her passage through the halls to the vault room.
    Through her amplifier he heard the satisfying clatter that meant the first lock was freed. She’d dealt with the alarm. It was some small comfort. He caressed the second dial, tilted his head, and kept his eye on the door. Five minutes more, he promised himself. If she didn’t show in five minutes, he’d go find her and the hell with the necklace. He flexed his fingers like a pianist about to arpeggio. The first tumbler fell just before he heard the doorknob turn. He was behind the door and pressed flat when Adrianne stepped in.
    “You’re late.”
    The giggle escaped and told her how close her nerves were to snapping. “Sorry, I couldn’t get a cab.” She reached for him, held on, and that was enough to steady her.
    “Trouble?”
    “No, not really. Just a couple of guards with a dirty magazine and some Turkish dope. It was quite a party.”
    He tilted her head up to his. Her eyes were clear and steady but she was pale. “I’ll have to remind you you’re a married woman now. Next time you don’t go to a party unless I’m invited.”
    “It’s a deal.” She pulled back, amazed at how quickly the fear had drained. “Any luck?”
    “What a thing to ask. Better start working on the key, darling. I’m almost through.”
    “My hero.”
    “Keep that in mind.”
    They worked side by side, Philip on the last combination, Adrianne on the unwieldy key. Twice he stopped her because her filing distracted him.
    “That’s that.” He stepped back. “I’d almost forgotten what a delightful sound tumblers make.” With a quick check of his watch, he grinned. “Thirty-nine minutes, forty seconds.”
    “Congratulations.”
    “You owe me a thousand pounds, darling.”
    She swiped sweat from her brow as she glanced up. “Put it on my tab.”
    “Should have known you’d welch.” Sighing, he bent over her shoulder. “Nearly done?”
    “I gave you the easy part,” she muttered. “It’s a very complicated design. If I take too much off at once, I won’t be able to make it work.”
    “I could try my hand at picking it. Might eat up an hour.”
    “No, I’m getting closer.” She put the key in, turned it gently left, then right. She could feel the resistance in her fingertips. With her eyes closed she could almost see the brass rubbing against the fittings. Pulling it out again, she filed a fraction here, a fraction there, adding drops of oil, then switching to sandpaper for the more intricate work. Her fingers cramped like a surgeon’s during a long, tedious operation.
    It took thirty more long minutes. At last she slid the key in, turned, and felt the lock give. For a moment she could only kneel where she was, the key still in her hand. All of herlife she’d been driven toward this moment. Now that it was here, she couldn’t move.
    “Addy?”
    “It’s a little like dying, you know? To finally accomplish the most important goal in your life. To know that when it’s done, it’s done, and nothing else you ever do will have the same impact.” She drew the key out, then placed it back in her pouch. “Still, it’s not done yet.” Taking out the remote control, she punched in the code. The light blinked red. The diamond on her finger flashed as she set the bypass. The red light winked out and its mate lit in a steady green.
    “That should do it.”
    “Should?”
    She turned to smile at Philip. “It didn’t come with a warranty.”
    Because he understood, he stepped back and let her pull open the vault door herself. There was a rush of hot air. Adrianne could almost hear it. Perhaps it was the long-dead queen weeping. She swept her light into the vault, where it glinted on gold and silver and precious stones.
    “Aladdin’s cave,” Philip said. “Every thief’s ultimate fantasy. My God. I thought I’d seen everything.”
    Gold bars were stacked in a waist-high pyramid, silver ingots beside them. There were cups and urns and platters made out of the same precious metals, some crusted with jewels. A