Page 29 of The Picasso Heist
“Any surprises?” he asks.
“Only the one you just gave them.”
I can see Terrance and Pierre off to the side of the stage talking intensely to Charles Waxman, CEO of Echelon. What rhymes withcharm?Smarm. That’s Charles Waxman. His slicked-back hair says it all. Technically I work for him but he has no idea who I am. That will change soon.
In the meantime, with the clock ticking, Waxman’s trying to figure out how the hell Echelon’s encrypted VPN phone lines just went down. Surely there’s a little sweat building at the base of that slicked-back hair.
Like falling dominoes, Waxman grabs Terrance, and Terrance grabs Pierre, because while Echelon’s clients stretch worldwide, it’s the heavy hitters from France who will be out in droves for this auction—or, rather, sitting in droves in their giant châteaus and bidding on the phone. French billionaires have a very proprietary view of all things Picasso. Never mind that the artist was Spanish-born; hecreatedin France, and this newly discovered masterpiece landing in foreign hands would beun désastre.
That’s why I needed that small key in Pierre Dejarnette’s office.
Pierre’s old-school ways don’t end with wine and women. Although he reluctantly accepted the technological age, he has never fully embraced it. The cloud? Letting his golden list of clients and secret sources just float around in the ether for anyone to steal as if it were some nude selfie of a celebrity? Not a chance. Pierre backs up everything with pen and paper, an actual handwritten directory that he keeps locked in a desk safe. I saw him open it once when he invited me for a tour of the valuations department during my internship. What I didn’t see was where he kept the key. As it turns out, it’s the bottom drawer on the left, tucked underneath a ceramic ashtray with the logo of his beloved Paris Saint-Germain football club.
Score.
“How much longer?” I ask Skip.
“I can’t see the overlay patch in real time but I’m guessing another minute or so.”
Step 1: Create a problem that Echelon’s IT department can solve but only in a MacGyver kind of way, the digital equivalent of a paper clip and chewing gum. For example, rerouting their VPN phone lines through a single-source entry point via a temporary overlay patch. In layman’s terms, allowing overseas Echelon clients to call in on their personal phones without any encryption.
Step 2: Make the IT department think they’ve saved the day—or night—by having that paper clip and chewing gum hold up through the early part of the auction. Until…
Step 3: All hell breaks loose during the Picasso sale.
CHAPTER25
OF COURSE THEIT guy sports a ponytail.
“Here he comes now,” I whisper.
“How does he look?” asks Skip.
“You mean besides his Men’s Wearhouse suit that’s two sizes too big for him? I can’t tell yet.”
I watch as the IT guy weaves his way through the last of the Echelon members entering the room to take their seats. He’s heading for the very anxious trio of Terrance, Pierre, and Waxman, although it’s Waxman who’s hiding it best, which is a bit counterintuitive, given that as CEO of the auction house, he has the most to lose with this sudden crisis. It’s near impossible to fetch a hundred million dollars for a Picasso if most of Europe and Asia aren’t in the game.
I glance over at Bergamo, who’s seated with his wife. They’re chatting with another couple. Bergamo’s doing most of the talking. He looks calm.
“What about now?” asks Skip.
I look back at the mini-conference of Waxman and company. The IT guy is still talking. Terrance and Pierre are nodding. Waxman is still putting on his best fake smile:Nothing to see here, folks. Nothing at all.
“You’d think they’d have the sense to step out of the room,” I say.
Skip chuckles. “It’s too late for that. The optics are worse if Waxman suddenly disappears. The auction’s supposed to have started by now.”
“Any chance the IT guy didn’t figure out the solution?”
“He’d have to be the most incompetent nerd in the world. I all but teed it up for him,” says Skip. “No, right now he’s explaining the fix, and Waxman is contemplating the risk.”
“It’s taking too long,” I say.
“It’s a big risk.”
“We may have misjudged him.”
“Waxman? His last marker at the Bellagio was for three million. Give him another minute.”
