The Heist

keypads, joysticks, and controls in an elegant dashboard arrangement of leather, oak, and brushed aluminum that was Bentley elegance married to Apple sleek.
    Kate was dying to take the helm, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to pry it out of Willie’s hands without punching her unconscious first. And probably Goldie wouldn’t take the helm anyway. Have patience, she thought. The journey to Griffin’s island would take about twenty-four hours, if they kept at constant cruising speed. So she could take a shift at the helm once they were out in open sea.
    She went down the curving staircase to the lower deck, where there were three staterooms and two heads. The master stateroom, by far the largest and most comfortable, was amidships, where the hull was widest and deepest, and was filled with natural light from two large windows port and starboard. There was a queen-size berth that had plenty of room on either side of it, even with the crate on the floor. There was a roomy C-shaped settee and collapsible dinette under the starboard window, a thirty-two-inch flat-screen television in front of the bed, a port-side cabinet with a minibar and safe, a full-height closet, and a private head with a full-size shower.
    Nick followed her into the master stateroom. “Who sent you the crate?”
    “I did. I couldn’t pack everything I needed into my bag.”
    “Like what?”
    “Handcuffs,” she said.
    “I like it,” Nick said. He gave her a salute, and left.
    Kate changed into her bikini because it seemed like something Goldie would do, and while she was putting on suntan lotion the yacht started with a lurch that nearly knocked her to the floor. Willie getting the feel of the controls, she thought. Kate hoped that Willie was a fast learner. She grabbed a hat and sunglasses and went topside.
    The ride out of the harbor and into the busy Lombok Strait was uneventful. Willie was at the helm on the flybridge, steering the boat through the gauntlet of ferries, tankers, longboats, and pleasure craft. A rusting wreck in the center of the bay bore testament to the dangers of navigating in and out of the harbor.
    They reached open water and Willie rammed the throttle to full speed, anxious to see what the yacht could do. Kate braced herself when the boat lifted and jolted forward. She turned to look at Willie, and Willie gave her two thumbs up. Willie slowed down to cruising speed after a few minutes, and Kate made her way to the stern and climbed the stairs to the flybridge.
    Nick was barbecuing shrimp and chicken on the built-in grill that sat beside a fully stocked minibar and a sink, all within serving reach of the aft dinette area. Willie stood at the starboard-side pilot station, looking ahead to the cluster of islands on the horizon, the wind whipping her hair into a frenzy of overprocessed yellow snarls, her barely contained nipples saluting the bow.
    The communications and radar array were located at the top ofthe mast, and toward the bottom was an outdoor shower. Kate bypassed the shower and went to Willie.
    “How is it going?” Kate asked.
    “It would be going better if I had a cold beer,” Willie said. “Other than that it’s fantastic.”
    Nick brought Willie a plate of rice, chicken, and shrimp. “I can take the helm if you’d like a break.”
    “No way. I never want a break. I could drive this mother forever. This thing’s better than a Zamboni.”
    “Yeah, and we don’t have to freeze the water,” Nick said, moving Kate away from the pilot station and toward the dinette, where he had their lunch set out.
    “I didn’t know cooking was among your talents,” Kate said, sliding onto the C-shaped settee, spearing a grilled shrimp with her fork.
    “I have a lot of talents you don’t know about.”
    Kate paused with the shrimp halfway to her mouth. “Such as?”
    “I’m a good chess player.”
    No surprise there, she thought. “And?”
    “I can iron a shirt, but I’d rather not. I can play the piano halfway okay. I can touch my nose with my tongue.”
    Kate lost her grip on her fork, and the fork clattered onto her plate.
    Nick smiled. “I knew you’d like that last one.”
    After lunch, Kate went to her stateroom, opened the crate, and sorted through the care package from her dad, amused by his thoughtfulness and impressed by his resources. He’d clearly amassed a huge network of contacts and plenty of favors duringhis years of covert military service. And it was paying off for her now. She