Chapter 17 The Kline Wedding #4
“You have a big set on you,” Cassie said. “The last police officers who tried ended up in Longview Lake.”
“The work of ‘The Enforcer,’” Brick confirmed. “One of them was a former partner of mine. I want justice for him and his family, especially his daughter.”
“Fine! So long as you can promise that neither of us will be hurt in the process,” Cassie insisted.
“That was my condition for accepting this plan too,” Carry confirmed.
“That’s the stipulation. If it even looks like there’s a snowballs chance in hell that you are going to be hurt, we call it off and extract you then and there,” Danny confirmed. “In the meantime, keep your actions quiet and go about your jobs like normal. We want to take him down in Kansas City.”
“You know we are in Phoenix and San Diego then we swing back to the east coast,” Carry said. “We’ve got two breaks over the next five weeks where we return to Kansas City.”
“Yes,” Danny confirmed. “We’ve got your schedule and we are advance scouting every location in case we have to make a move while you are out of town.”
“Alright, I’ve got your drinks and burgers here,” Kara announced as she returned. “Sorry for the delay, but I had a little trouble with the drink machine.”
“That’s just fine, Kara,” Keith said. “Thank you for the meal and drinks.”
“You’re welcome. Can I get you anything else?” she asked with a big smile.
“I think we’re good,” Keith replied. “How about bringing the check so I can take care of that and give you a nice tip.”
“That is something I’ll happily do,” Kara replied. “I’ll be right back.” She left the table quickly, heading toward the bar area. Keith glanced around the dining area.
“Okay, we’ll proceed with this, so long as you two are good with the plan.” Keith eyed both of them. “If you have any doubts, now’s the time to speak up.”
“Just one question,” Cassie said slowly, leaning towards Danny. “How quickly are you planning to do this?”
“The sooner the better,” he replied softly. “We need to move as soon as we can to maintain the secrecy. Our extraction plans hinge on this being done before you sweep up the east coast.”
“And what if you can’t do it before then. What if Millard doesn’t take the bait?” Carry quietly insisted. “What do we do then?”
“We switch to B-17,” Brick said. “I don’t like that as a primary option. It puts Jack on the line as well.”
“Who’s Jack?” Cassie asked and quickly she felt Carry’s hand on her arm.
“He’s the guy that Andy trained,” Carry said in an assuring voice. “He’s the one that’s been giving them everything from within that he can access.”
“OH NO!” Cassie cried out. “That’s why mom think’s there’s a mole!” Carry quickly moved her hand over Cassie’s mouth as the patrons from other tables started staring in their direction.
“Quiet, or you are going to jeopardize us all,” she said in a hushing tone. “Don’t you think we’re already exposed enough?”
“Sorry, cousin. I wasn’t ready,” she said as her eyes went sad and she dropped her head. “I could have gotten us all killed?”
“In a different setting,” Keith confirmed softly. “But, we’re safe here. Randy has been watching this place for the past few days.”
“One more question,” Carry said. “Did you ever discover the identity of the Japanese guy that was with Millard over at Pimico?”
“Narutama Taito. It’s his grandson,” Keith replied. “Tanaka-San is watching him like a hawk since he returned to Japan.”
“Do you mean that he’s tied into Taito-San?” Carry asked. “Greg said that Taito-San was an ally.”
“We thought he was, but upon further review,” Keith said slowly then looked to Danny.
“Digging down, we found that Taito-San is connected to the Japanese Mafia, and helps to control the Japanese drug market.” The girls sat there stunned in silence. “We’ve got other agencies checking that line for us. Why don’t we just worry about what we have to deal with?”
“Okay,” Carry said cautiously and looked at Cassie. “Are you good?”
“We don’t have a choice. It’s a him or us situation now.” Cassie dropped her head into her hands as Kara arrived.
“Is she alright?” Kara asked as she handed the bill to Keith.
“It was just some shocking bad news that we had to deliver,” Keith replied gently. “She’s going to be fine. We’re here to support her.”
“Okay, but if she needs anything before you leave, let me know.”
“Will do, Kara,” Keith said as he signed the bill adding a sixty dollar tip. “This is a thanks for all your discretion.”
“I appreciate that.” She smiled. “Call on me if you change your minds about needing anything else.”
“Thank you, cutie,” Brick said. “We won’t hesitate.” Kara gave Brick a mock smile then turned with a flip of her colorful hair and walked away. “Alright, it seems we’ve got our plan confirmed. I’ve got to get back to the precinct after we complete our review,” he said looking directly at Keith.
“You girls should leave first, and we’ll wait a few minutes,” Danny suggested.
“Let’s go, cousin!” Cassie said as she stood up and adjusted her clothing. “We have a mission, and we can’t fail!” she declared through gritted teeth.
The hustle and bustle of servers moving between tables of the patrons left a cacophony of conversations flowing through the dining area.
Seeing the large number of patrons filled Alice with a slight sense of hesitation.
“Greg, do you expect us to dine amongst all those people?” she asked nearly incredulously.
“No, he doesn’t,” Ron said brightly as he walked up, thrusting his hand forward toward Greg. “You’re right on time as usual,” he confirmed. “I assume that you are Alice Kline?”
“That’s right,” she said firmly. “And who are you?”
“I’m Ron Tarrelton, the owner of this establishment, and also the shift manager.” He smiled. “We are honored to host you and your husband today.”
“Thank you,” she said with a slight improvement in her attitude.
“We’ve got your private dining experience waiting for you,” Ron said with a broad smile. “As you prefer, I’ve assigned Sarah here to be your hostess. Sarah, will you take care of our premium guests please.”
“My pleasure, sir. Would you please follow me to your private dining experience?” She pivoted then led them down the side hallway to their private room. “Room two for you and the Klines, Mr. Garrelson. Should I show them how the interactive tables work?”
“Would it be alright if Veronica and I show them?” Greg asked with a slight plea.
“As you wish. I’ll go get the bottle of wine you requested along with four glasses and be right back.” Sarah let the foursome enter the room then disappeared.
“You are going to love this table,” Veronica bragged. “I love spinning the entrées around and seeing them from all angles.”
“What?” Alice said as she saw the table light up like a full menu. “Is that?”
“A fully interactive dining experience,” Veronica bragged.
“It’s like a tablet that includes a projection element where you can actually see the object in full 3D experience.
I only wish they could include the smell with the visual,” she added with a hint of complaint in her voice.
“Come have a seat and check it out for yourself. You won’t be disappointed in the least.”
Alice sat down and looked over the menu. “I’ll be,,,” she began. “Bill, this is unbelievable. I can tap on anything on the menu and it projects above the table.”
“And you can spin it around by dragging your finger on the table image, even going so far as to flip it completely over,” Veronica advised, guiding Alice’s finger to move the selection around.
“That is impressive. I’ve never seen anything like this,” Bill stated as he sat down by Alice. “I’ll bet this costs a pretty penny.”
“Don’t worry about what it costs. This is my treat. I want you to truly experience the very best of Kansas City on this visit.” Greg smiled broadly. “I’m going to choose the sirloin today, Veronica.”
“Make sure you include the spring vegetables freshly steamed. The iron content is good for your blood pressure and immune system,” she admonished him.
“Yes, dear. I’ll definitely include them with the loaded baked potato, and following your advice, no bacon.” Greg smiled at Veronica then leaned over and kissed her cheek and whispered, “Thank you for being here. It means the world to me.”
“I am going to do the lemon crusted Salmon with Normandy blend and baked potato smothered in butter,” she said then turned and looked Greg directly in the eye. “I love you so much,” she said then grabbed his face with both her hands and kissed him deep and passionately.
“Now, that’s true love there,” Alice observed. “You just can’t fake that.”
“No, you can’t dear,” Bill said and did the exact same thing by kissing Alice deep and passionately.
“I love you with everything, Alice.” He turned to Greg.
“I hope that you and Veronica can maintain this kind of happiness like we have. Now, tell me more about this Kurile Islands expansion since we’re here. ”
“Noboko has a map with charts and other information that his father gathered, along with about forty-five sites worldwide that Nobuko Tashugi purchased before his murder in Japan, leaving him to try to untangle the mess of information.”
“Murder?” Alice replied aghast.
“Someone wanted to exploit his discovery. The latest information I have is that it’s still under investigation. The best news is that they didn’t find his algorithm.”
“Greg, son, just how do you know all this?” Bill nearly demanded.
“Because Nobuko Tashugi and I were very close friends. I met him on Wall Street at the firm I was interning with as a high school graduate preparing for college. David and I had a six week internship with an investment house. Nobuko was there trying to solidify the financing for his first attempt with the South East Asia project. David and I took what money we had and invested it. The rest as they say is history.”
“So, you were a close personal friend to Noboko’s dad, Nobuko, for more than a decade?” Alice asked point blank.