Jackpot

13

Arrow Donaldson watched from his suite in the stadium as the girl from the CIA made her way back through the construction site and to the SUV that had returned for her. He knew it was a risk rushing away from the airport as quickly as he had because it made him look suspicious. He’d been counting on Lance Cabot and the rest of the government delegation to give him the free rein he was accustomed to in his city, but this girl was going to be trouble. His initial burst of surprise and admiration for her moxie had faded, replaced by resentment and fear that she would ruin his carefully calibrated plan.

When the girl’s SUV pulled away, Arrow dialed every number he had for Lance Cabot and got a series of voicemails, anonymous beeps, and even a busy signal before he stopped trying. Instead, he called a local number and spoke to Ziggy Peng.

“Change of plans,” Arrow said.

“It’s always change of plans with you. Why even plan?”

“I’ve attained my position by being nimble when necessary. If my methods bother you, you are more than free to seek employment elsewhere.”

“What is the change?”

“I need you to do the job tonight instead of tomorrow.”

“It will be handled.”

“Let me know when it’s done.”

“Of course.”

“Oh, one more thing,” Arrow said.

“Yes. There’s always one more thing.”

“There will be another woman there, an American with the CIA. If she dies as well, there will be bonuses for everyone.”

Ziggy Peng hung up the phone and sat down behind his desk, twirling in his chair like a child. He wasn’t happy with how he’d handled Dale Gai. It was never right to hit a woman, even if it had the desired effect. He picked up the golden apple he’d thrown at Dale and took a bite. No sense in it going to waste.

The plan had always called for an attack on the visitors from the United States government and the traitor Li Feng, and the specifics of the plan came together easily. The Chinese military had lately been testing stealth drones in Macau and Hong Kong. They were small and easy to maneuver, but also had enough firepower and kill capabilities to rival a small fighter jet. Bingo, with his technological expertise, was going to hijack one.

Finding a drone to hijack had been easy. U.S. tech companies had found numerous weaknesses in the drones’ security, and a few rebellious souls had posted on message boards tips for hacking them in an attempt to make themselves feel better about conspiring with the Chinese government to spy on dissenters. The more complicated part of the plan was developing programming code that would hide the true origin of the hack and make it look as though a former gangster from Macau named Sonny Ma was responsible. Ziggy Peng found the whole thing ridiculous.

He’d tried many times to convince Li Feng that elaborate plans were always a terrible idea and that if she hated a man, she should kill him. Ziggy Peng had killed many men that he hated, and many more that other men hated. This was the first time he’d been involved in an intricate plot just to make a man look foolish. Men rarely needed help looking foolish.

“Are you ready?” Ziggy asked Bingo when he answered.

“For which part?”

“For all parts. You need to go tonight. Soon.”

“I’ll be ready.” Bingo hung up.

With the key part of that plan in motion, Ziggy turned his mind to the problem of Dale Gai.

Arrow Donaldson was in the back of his SUV when Ziggy Peng called to tell him they were a go. When they hung up, Arrow called Millie Martindale.

“I’m still very impressed at your initiative and stubbornness,” Arrow said.

“That’s very nice of you to say, even if it’s a lie,” Millie said.

Arrow clenched his teeth and took a pause so he didn’t say something that would put the whole plan in jeopardy. He’d had enough of this woman’s second-guessing and impertinence. A man in his position had earned deference. Was owed it. Why was that so hard?

“Take it however you will,” Arrow finally said, “but the truth is that you made your case and I don’t see any reason not to put Li Feng in your care as soon as possible.”

“Really?”

Her tone was more suspicious than thankful, but he held his temper in check. He wasn’t an impulsive man, and the reason he’d made it as far as he had — and was able to get people to do his bidding — was because he didn’t fly off the handle like he’d seen other men in charge do. A response to a challenge should always be calculated.

“I have other things to attend to. This city is very important to me, and I am very important to this city.”

“Yes, I understand,” Millie said, her tone once again implying doubt.

Arrow felt a flare of anger, and reminded himself that Millie Martindale would soon no longer be a thorn in his side. He gave her the address of a hotel on the water and the room number where she was to go and hung up before she could say anything further.