with the beach scene. He wore Ray-Bans, a Tommy Bahama silk shirt, khaki shorts, and leather flip-flops. Kate was dressed in an H&M tank top, Gap boyfriend shorts, and Nike running shoes. It was a warm and sunny morning, two days after they’d recruited Joe Morey and Boyd Capwell for the con. They had only six more days until the Chinese arrived in D.C. to get their rooster back.
“I’ve done the research,” Kate said. “Carter has a Gant Supermax Security system, the gold standard in security. Surveillancecameras watch every square inch of the property, inside and out. Infrared beams crisscross the rooms in constantly changing patterns that, if broken by anything larger than a dust particle, immediately set off the alarms. Even if you can get past all that, they have temperature sensors that can pick up an intruder’s body heat.”
“No problem.”
“A dozen armed BlackRhino operatives patrol the property at all times. Every one of them is a trained killer. They’re pros, with vast resources. They aren’t going to take us at face value or be fooled by smooth talk. They are going to do background checks and verify everything we say.”
“Relax,” Nick said. “My data forger in Hong Kong has built solid fake identities for us in every bank, government, law enforcement, and search engine database that BlackRhino is likely to check. They’ll hold up, at least long enough for us to get the rooster.”
They walked the length of the property to a short boardwalk that led to the cul-de-sac where Kate had parked their rented Escalade.
At the end of the cul-de-sac, and next door to Carter Grove’s estate, was a weedy construction site where work on a spec home had stopped early in the framing stage. An unmarked panel van was parked beside the office trailer that remained on the lot.
If Kate and Nick had walked into the trailer, they would have found Joe Morey inside, setting up computers, flat-screen monitors, and other equipment. But they ignored the trailer and got into the Escalade.
Kate turned to Nick in the passenger seat. “This entire operation falls apart if Carter says no.”
“He won’t say no,” Nick said. “Nobody builds a house like that unless they crave attention. And we’re going to give it to him in a big way.”
• • •
Carter Grove wasn’t a king, but he was a kingmaker. He was on the phone, talking to Muktar Diriye Abdullahi, the brutal dictator of a small African nation. Botan Omar Wehliye, the hotheaded, idealistic rebel leader who was trying to topple the regime, was simultaneously on a different line with Carter. Both men wanted to hire BlackRhino to bolster their forces with mercenaries, military advisers, and cutting-edge weapons.
“You may be fighting for your country’s ethnic heritage and religious values, Muktar, but that means nothing to me,” Carter said. “But when you overthrew the government twenty years ago, you nationalized the gold mines.
That
means something to me. You want us in your fight? It will cost you fifty million now and five percent of your annual mining profits for as long as your regime remains in power. Think about that for a minute, I’ve got another call I need to take.”
Carter put Muktar on hold and switched over to the line with the rebel leader.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Botan. I don’t care about the atrocities your people have suffered or the righteousness of your cause. You don’t have any cash to pay me. But if you overthrow the government, you’re going to control the gold mines. We want an irrevocable fifty-year lease on Frobe Valley. And don’t think you can say yes now and renege on the deal later, because we’ll assassinate your entire family and mutilate the corpses. That’s a promise. What do you say?”
Fifteen minutes later, Carter strolled out of his office onto a balcony overlooking the Atlantic. He was sixty-two years old, round-faced and round-cheeked, with a thin mustache and beard that he maintained to
“I’ve done the research,” Kate said. “Carter has a Gant Supermax Security system, the gold standard in security. Surveillancecameras watch every square inch of the property, inside and out. Infrared beams crisscross the rooms in constantly changing patterns that, if broken by anything larger than a dust particle, immediately set off the alarms. Even if you can get past all that, they have temperature sensors that can pick up an intruder’s body heat.”
“No problem.”
“A dozen armed BlackRhino operatives patrol the property at all times. Every one of them is a trained killer. They’re pros, with vast resources. They aren’t going to take us at face value or be fooled by smooth talk. They are going to do background checks and verify everything we say.”
“Relax,” Nick said. “My data forger in Hong Kong has built solid fake identities for us in every bank, government, law enforcement, and search engine database that BlackRhino is likely to check. They’ll hold up, at least long enough for us to get the rooster.”
They walked the length of the property to a short boardwalk that led to the cul-de-sac where Kate had parked their rented Escalade.
At the end of the cul-de-sac, and next door to Carter Grove’s estate, was a weedy construction site where work on a spec home had stopped early in the framing stage. An unmarked panel van was parked beside the office trailer that remained on the lot.
If Kate and Nick had walked into the trailer, they would have found Joe Morey inside, setting up computers, flat-screen monitors, and other equipment. But they ignored the trailer and got into the Escalade.
Kate turned to Nick in the passenger seat. “This entire operation falls apart if Carter says no.”
“He won’t say no,” Nick said. “Nobody builds a house like that unless they crave attention. And we’re going to give it to him in a big way.”
• • •
Carter Grove wasn’t a king, but he was a kingmaker. He was on the phone, talking to Muktar Diriye Abdullahi, the brutal dictator of a small African nation. Botan Omar Wehliye, the hotheaded, idealistic rebel leader who was trying to topple the regime, was simultaneously on a different line with Carter. Both men wanted to hire BlackRhino to bolster their forces with mercenaries, military advisers, and cutting-edge weapons.
“You may be fighting for your country’s ethnic heritage and religious values, Muktar, but that means nothing to me,” Carter said. “But when you overthrew the government twenty years ago, you nationalized the gold mines.
That
means something to me. You want us in your fight? It will cost you fifty million now and five percent of your annual mining profits for as long as your regime remains in power. Think about that for a minute, I’ve got another call I need to take.”
Carter put Muktar on hold and switched over to the line with the rebel leader.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Botan. I don’t care about the atrocities your people have suffered or the righteousness of your cause. You don’t have any cash to pay me. But if you overthrow the government, you’re going to control the gold mines. We want an irrevocable fifty-year lease on Frobe Valley. And don’t think you can say yes now and renege on the deal later, because we’ll assassinate your entire family and mutilate the corpses. That’s a promise. What do you say?”
Fifteen minutes later, Carter strolled out of his office onto a balcony overlooking the Atlantic. He was sixty-two years old, round-faced and round-cheeked, with a thin mustache and beard that he maintained to
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