Jackpot

50

Teddy had his feet up on the coffee table in Stone’s suite and was watching a game show from the 1980s when Millie Martindale came through the door. She poured herself a drink from the bar and sat down next to him.

“Gin and tonic?” Teddy asked.

She took a sip then nodded.

“I always hate those fancy clear decanters because you can’t tell what’s in them,” she said. “Especially with the clear liquors. I was hoping for gin or vodka and not tequila, which always makes me sick.”

Teddy stood up and went to the bar and grabbed the decanter Millie had used and brought it back to her.

“People rarely put tequila in decanters, even though it’s one of the best liquors for it. If they do, though, it tends to be obvious with the word tequila etched into the glass or some kind of cactus decoration. With vodka it’s usually thick glass to help keep it chilled and the stopper is always in very tight. With gin, most of the best brands have subtle golden or blue hues so they’re served in decanters with absolutely clear magnifying glass to enhance those hues.”

“They teach you that in spy school?” Millie asked.

“Believe it or not, that was part of my movie industry learning. Alcohol knowledge is very important in the entertainment industry. Stone and Peter Barrington gave me and Dino and Ben a private lesson a while ago that included a robust discussion of decanters and how not to end up drinking tequila when you want gin and how to get water into your glass without anyone noticing to keep yourself from getting too drunk when you need to stay at a party long enough to make a deal or get vital information.”

“Who would have thought that the training for being a movie producer would be useful for a spy or vice versa?”

“I wasn’t just pumping my own ego when I was telling those D.C. stuffed suits that the entertainment industry has invaded every nook and cranny of our country.”

Teddy didn’t realize until he saw the look on Millie’s face that he had just let some major secrets of his loose. He suspected Millie knew most of it already if she’d been working with Lance Cabot, but confirmation of any part of his current or past activities was never something he volunteered. He’d been in Macau long enough and was well-rested enough that jet lag and exhaustion were no longer an excuse for his lax behavior regarding security, so maybe there was an underlying reason.

Back in L.A. he’d been working hard to establish his own identity separate from Stone Barrington and then from Peter and Ben. He’d won an Academy Award as Billy Barnett as part of the production team for his last film with Peter and as Mark Weldon, he’d also won for Best Supporting Actor.

Before he’d been dragged to Macau, he’d been scouting locations for a film he’d packaged himself and was hoping to star in as Mark Weldon without Peter or Ben’s direct involvement. Dale Gai and Millie Martindale seemed like potential partners as he developed his own team.

“You look like I lost you,” Millie said. “Were you deep in thought about decanter glass choices?”

“What can I help you with, Millie?”

“The FBI looked at data from the drone that killed Li Feng’s decoy and they traced it back to a local gangster named Sonny Ma.”

Teddy didn’t like that she had more evidence linking Sonny Ma to this whole thing. Maybe Kevin had gotten it wrong and Sonny Ma really was trying to kill Li Feng and make it look like Arrow was responsible. Teddy didn’t know why he would do that, and he’d seemed genuine enough about wanting to leave that part of his life behind, but Teddy could also seem genuine when he needed to, when his life depended on it and he’d seen plenty of criminals who really did want to leave but were unable to for any number of reasons.

“How did the FBI get that data so quickly?” Teddy asked.

“My... friend Quentin Phillips is a special agent with the FBI and he took the drone with him when he flew back to the U.S.”

“The FBI was able to analyze the physical wreckage of the drone?”

That would be a huge advantage over just the electronic data which he’d given to Kevin the last time he’d seen Sonny Ma implicated in a related scheme.

“Well, not exactly. Not yet.”

Teddy was already doing the math in his head about when the FBI’s plane would have left Macau and when it would land.

“He’s still in the air,” Teddy said.

“He sent them the data from the drone over e-mail and they’ll confirm it with the physical wreckage when he lands.”

Teddy found a scrap of paper and a pen and wrote down an e-mail address he knew Kevin Cushman would have immediate access to.

“Have your friend e-mail everything he sent to the FBI to this address as well.”

“‘Warplord’?” Millie asked.

“We all have identities from earlier in our lives that we regret but can’t change,” Teddy said.

She emptied the rest of her drink and poured another before stepping into the bathroom. When she emerged a few minutes later, she nodded, and Teddy waited to hear from Kevin. A former priest from Philadelphia had just been whammied on Press Your Luck when Kevin called the suite’s phone next to Teddy.

“This one is bogus, too,” Kevin said.

“Bingo?”

“Bingo.”