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“I’m not doing it. I’m getting my lawyer involved,” Mr. Gruff said.
He wanted to call my bluff.
“Nonsense, Jeffrey,” Miss Scratchy said. “You heard the man. The set needs to be complete. I know you know George at the studio. Just call him and get the movie prop. Do you really want to bugger this up and make enemies of us all?”
“Yeah, Jeffrey,” another said. Two more piled on after that.
Mr. Gruff gave in, and the group started to plot how they could get the replicas we needed.
Chapter 32
Adam
By late Wednesday,the entire team was at my house, preparing for the drop. I’d called in half a dozen extra agents, and I was going over assignments with them while Kelly was getting wired in the bedroom.
My phone rang with Dad’s name on the screen. I stepped out the front door to take it.
“Adam, have you sent that whistleblower information to the SEC?” Yesterday, he’d emailed what he wanted me to send on about Dennis Benson.
“I took care of it this morning.” I’d attached an affidavit saying I’d gotten it from a confidential informant and forwarded it on.
“Great. I’m going to be out in DC in the next day or two, and we’ll do dinner.”
“Dad, I might not be able to make dinner, but lunch might work.” There was no way I could make a dinner with my responsibilities with Kelly, but that was too complicated to go into now.
“I’ll call and let you know.”
Nothing ever changed. He meant he would dictate the terms of our meal.
We hung up, and I went back to the group inside.
Playing hardball with the jewelry owners yesterday had paid off. Yolanda had arrived this afternoon with convincing replicas for all the stolen items. She believed what I had in the backpack I’d prepared would pass inspection by anybody except an experienced jeweler.
I’d added the tracking necklace the Secret Service had given me to the bottom of the pile. It wasn’t as upscale as these other pieces, but it didn’t stand out when they were all thrown together.
My phone rang, and it was our boss, Dempsey, no doubt triple-checking to see that we were ready for this evening’s operation.
“We’re ready,” I said before he had a chance to ask the question.
“That’s not why I’m calling.”
Waiting for the punchline, I stayed quiet.
“Our Guy Fawkes group just hit another bank. I’m pulling Jenkins and Harper to check it out. You and Neil stay.”
“But we need them here to cover the SMK meet.”
“It’s not your call, Cartwright. Montgomery County isn’t going to hold the scene forever for us. Figure out how to make your operation work with fewer assets. If he’s smart, SMK won’t be personally at the meet anyway.”
I’d had the same concern myself. “That would be the smart play, but he has ten million reasons to want to handle it himself.”
* * *
Kelly
Rylie,one of the extra FBI agents Adam had called in for this, was with me in the bedroom. She was fitting me with my wire.
The FD-473 form I’d just completed lay on top of the bureau. I’d gladly signed away my privacy rights for them to record me at this meeting, or drop off, or whatever it was.
