Black Friday

CHAPTER 73

Everything had gone smoothly. No more glitches. Asante was pleased.

The crew in Minneapolis had disbanded, destroying or taking with them anything that could be incriminating. And if they had gotten sloppy, or even if they were detained, it didn't matter. None of them had met him or seen what he looked like. They knew absolutely nothing about him. He had a new SIM card in his cell phone. He'd even reprogrammed his computer. The numbers they had been using to reach him, no longer existed. There was no way to connect any of them to Asante, which was just another mark of a brilliant project manager. Even members of his crew were cutaways. No one would be able to reach him now. Not the people he'd hired, nor the men who had hired him. Everything was in place.

The white Chevy TrailBlazer he'd chosen from the Las Vegas airport's long-term parking lot had proven to be a comfortable ride. It had also been a plus that the SUV didn't have an OnStar navigation system. The owner had accidentally left a printout of his flight itinerary on the passenger seat. He wouldn't be returning until the following week.

As extra insurance, before Asante left the parking lot he drove around until he found another white Chevy SUV. The second one was an older model Chevy Blazer, but it had served his purpose. He exchanged the two SUVs' license plates easily in the middle of the night with no one around to notice.

Asante had driven straight through, all three hundred and fifty-nine miles with only one interruption. He'd exited his route to stop at a storage facility a few minutes after crossing the Nevada/Arizona border. The entire trip had taken him just over six hours.

Now he ate dinner in his hotel room, a feast by room service standards. He could see the airport from his window, continuous blinking lights as the last of the evening flights came in and went out. That was one thing he liked about Phoenix. You could see forever without buildings getting in the way. He wondered if the blast tomorrow morning could be seen from this very window.

Asante finished the last of his dessert, wiped his mouth with the cloth napkin and shoved the tray aside. Standing, he could see the hotel's parking lot from this window, too. The Pullmans were in the Chevy TrailBlazer, packed and ready. Everything else he needed for tomorrow he had pulled from his duffel bag and laid out on the second double bed.

He fingered the Carolina Panthers baseball cap. It was beginning to show some wear though he'd taken good care of it over the years. He'd never watched a Panthers game in his life. In fact, he'd bought the cap at a convenience store in Junction City, Kansas. It had been an impulse buy at the time. Asante didn't believe in lucky charms but this ordinary ball cap had come close to being one.

He rubbed his hands together and glanced around the room. Everything was in place. No glitches. He'd get a good night's sleep.