Chapter 20 #4
The Brazilians stood and the older Bento spoke in rapid fire Portuguese pointing an arm with aggressive force.
Ned and Aldo got busy taking folders from the file cabinets and emptying the safe of its contents.
Bento stalked to the desk and stared at Jean Luc until the Frenchman moved.
The Brazilian sat at the computer and powered it up. Jean Luc asked him what he was doing.
Dane translated for his cohorts, “He said he’s erasing it. They don’t need anything on the computer anymore.”
Jean Luc asked how they would they know if he’s been honest with his accounting.
Dane said, “Bento said he’s making a copy first.” They watched as the Brazilian pulled out a flash drive, backed up their files and then shut the computer.
Then he lifted it from the desk, turned it over and disemboweled it, sticking a circuit board in his pocket.
When he was finished, he smiled, sat back in Jean Luc’s desk chair and spoke.
“What did he say?” Miller asked Dane.
“He said the computer is now a useless hunk of metal. They’re going to leave it on the desk. Presumably to throw us off.”
Dane looked at Miller and nodded. “We got them. They should have smashed it to shit. But they’re too worried about their larger operation to draw suspicion.” Dane turned back to the screen to watch them all head for the door.
“He said it’s time to celebrate and—” Dane stopped talking and listened carefully. Tavares said Shana’s name very clearly. The room went still.
He breathed as slowly as he could as the rapid rise in his heartbeat urged him to move to action.
He fisted his hands and forced himself to digest the words as the man spoke.
The man asked if Shana would be joining them.
He wasn’t talking to Jean Luc. Tavares stood directly in front of their camera and looked directly at Ned, waiting for the answer.
Ned started to say yes, but Jean Luc spoke up. Clearly and loudly and looking past the man into the camera, “Non. She has the competition in the morning.”
There was a pause where Dane watched the Brazilian study Jean Luc before deciding something. Then he spoke in English and said, “We will all be celebrating tomorrow evening.” He turned and the room was empty and silent a moment later.
“End of the show.”
“That was disappointing.” Shana turned and walked away.
“You expected Jean Luc to corner Ned. Ned’s too slimy even for him.” Dane followed her to the kitchen.
“They seem interested in our Shana,” Chauncey commented as he rose from his chair.
“No matter. The operation gets shut down by the end of the competition regardless. We’ll call the governor to send in some backup staties. When Cap gets back here.”
“You have any food in this joint?” Shana rummaged through some cabinets.
“Help yourself. Nothing I’d eat unless it was the end of the world and all the real food was gone.”
“Maybe Cap can pick us up some takeout.”
“Sure. Call him.”
Shana walked back down the hall away from them while she tapped Cap’s number her phone.
Dane handed Chauncey a beer from the refrigerator and took one for himself before he closed the door.
“Aren’t you the least bit worried?” Chauncey asked.
“I’m worried as hell,” Dane said under his breath.
“I’d like to strangle Jean Luc right now for not ringing something out of Ned after Lynch left.
I don’t know what game he’s playing, but he may be trying to make sure he gets the information off camera so he can keep it and negotiate with it. So help me—”
“I think you’re right, but I don’t think he’ll let anything happen to Shana. For whatever reason, he’s taken a shine to her.”
“Whatever reason? You take a look at her?”
Chauncey laughed. “Yes, but I believe it’s more than the obvious. Jean Luc isn’t the type to have his head turned by a statuesque beauty. Dime a dozen in his life.”
Dane grunted and sipped his beer. What was it about that girl?
He said out loud, “Don’t know what he sees, but he sees something.”
It was Chauncey’s turn to grunt—one of those “sure, whatever you want to tell yourself” grunts. Or it could have been Dane’s imagination.
Shana walked back into the kitchen to find him and Chauncey leaning against the counter sipping beer as if they were on vacation. Like he should be.
“He’s on his way. He’ll bring Chinese. Figured it was more nutritious than pizza.”
“When he gets here, we’ll eat, talk, then get the governor on the line. We all need to be on the same page for the final takedown.” Dane spoke to them both but looked only at Shana.
“You’re confident that Jean Luc will get the information we need then?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Then why didn’t he press Ned on camera as we agreed? Is he afraid of the Brazilians?” She seemed concerned.
“No. He wants to hold the information from us. Wants to deliver it when he wants to deliver it.”
“That would be foolhardy. What if his fishing expedition gets him in trouble with Ned and we’re not there to back him up?”
“His bad luck. Guess he’s betting Ned will leave him alone until after the competition tomorrow—to see it through until the end. Then take out his revenge.”
“If that happened then we’d all be in trouble. Especially Shana,” Chauncey said.
“Then we need to make sure we find Susan Whittier before the end of the competition.”