Page 80 of Billion-Dollar Ransom
“How about some eyes inside Schraeder’s plane?” Nicky asked. “Even a FaceTime from Virgil Tighe’s cell phone would be useful. Hope, can you get him on the line? And where the hell did Haller go?”
“He said he was taking some time in the conference room to regroup,” Hardy said. “I know, I know. I’m also pretty bummed he didn’t kiss us good night.”
“Are you still trying Tighe, Hope?”
“He’s not answering his phone,” Hope said.
Keeping his eyes fixed on all those pallets of cash, no doubt.
Virgil Tighe remained unreachable right up until the plane landed, when he sent a terse message to the task force:We’re here.
Touchdown was a lot rougher than anyone had anticipated. Nicky watched as the plane skittered down the tarmac like a wobbly stone across the surface of a pond. She didn’t realize how nervous she was until she released her grip on the arms of her chair.
The plane braked to a complete stop mere seconds before the deadline.
Virgil and three Capital employees made quick work of unloading the four pallets and single jewelry case. The cargo door, unfortunately, was on the opposite side of the video feed, so Nicky didn’t lay eyes on the ransom until Virgil and the others returned to the plane and took flight once again.
Leaving abillion dollarson the dusty tarmac in the middle of the high desert.
How easy would it be, Nicky thought, to just speed in with an ATV and scoop up that jewelry container? More than half a billion dollars for a tank of gas and about a hundred and twenty seconds of effort.
Was this part of One’s plan? Scoop up the gems and leave behind the cash as if it were pocket change, a sick kind of gratuity?
She wouldn’t know until the kidnappers finally showed up to collect their prize.
CHAPTER 90
“YOU KNOW, THIS is my favorite part of police work,” Mike Hardy said. “Up late, belly full of candy bars and coffee, waiting for absolutely nothing to happen.”
Nicky gave him a tiny smile. “We won’t have to wait too long. I don’t think these guys are going to leave an obscene amount of money just sitting there on the tarmac.”
“I don’t know, Nick,” he replied. “I’m not sure I’d drive all the way to Palmdale even for a billion dollars.”
“I’m surprised I can convince you to spend the night in Koreatown with me.”
“You’re right. You might as well be in the real Korea.”
This was about as much humor as they would allow themselves under the circumstances. Though maybehumorwas too generous. Both had spent the past twenty-four hours wide awake and stressed to the breaking point—pretty muchanythingwould be funny at this moment. Anything to ease thetension of Nicky’s secret fear that Mike was somehow involved with One. Thathewas their mole in the task force.
Because it’s the charming ones you need to watch out for.
“I’m surprised you didn’t want to be out in the field for this one,” Nicky said. “You usually like to be in the center of the action.”
“Didn’t I just tell you how much I hate Palmdale?”
“But you’d have the thrill of the stakeout and all, just like in the good old days.”
Mike grinned and nodded slowly, understanding Nicky’s not-so-subtle dig. “The good old days with my pal Tim Dowd, you mean?”
Here it was, finally out in the open.
“Is that why you stayed behind, Mike? To keep an eye on our little task force?”
“Yeah, Nick. That’sexactlywhy I stayed behind. My job in this whole thing is to make sure you don’t get too close to my employers. Who are totally the kidnappers. If I start to think you’re onto them, I have instructions to take you out.” Mike made a gun with his fingers and pulled the trigger.
“But you wouldn’t have to kill me,” Nicky said. “It would be enough to let One know everything happening here in the Sandbox. And you could have given your accomplices access to our chat program.”
“Which would be incredibly clever, if I knew how to do such a thing, which I don’t,” Mike replied. Then he stared at Nicky, all humor drained from his face.
