High Stakes, page 31
Tanner looked at his cards and arranged them to create the five-card and two-card hands. He put the cards facedown and moved a large stack of chips to the center of the table.
“I put in fifty thousand.”
Volkov raised an eyebrow. “You wouldn’t be bluffing, now, would you?”
“Only one way to find out.”
Volkov stared at the two sets of cards. He shrugged and moved a stack of chips into the center. “I’m a curious fellow.”
“How curious?”
“I’ll see your fifty and raise it ten.”
Tanner considered this, then flipped up the edges of each of his hands to show Lara. Why had he done that?
Because he had nothing, she realized.
A pair of garbage hands.
What in the hell was he thinking?
Trust him. Go with it. He’d shown her his hand and that must mean he wanted her help. She’d had years of keeping Volkov from reading her, and it was never easy. This time she must make it impossible. She allowed the faintest smile to touch her lips and then she looked quickly away. Had she reacted fast enough or had she given away Tanner’s bluff?
Tanner finally nodded. “Then I’ll raise you…thirty thousand more.” He placed another stack of chips into the middle of the table.
Anton, who was acting as croupier now, inhaled sharply.
Volkov’s gaze narrowed on Tanner. Lara remembered that she’d once overheard him tell Anton that he could always tell more from a man’s hands than from his face. She wished she’d mentioned that to Tanner, but it was too late now.
No matter, she realized. Tanner’s hands were rock-steady, and his face was totally relaxed.
Volkov smiled. “I fold.” He tossed his cards down faceup to reveal he was holding a pair of fours with his two-card hand and pairs of Jacks and Kings in the other. Far better than what Tanner had. “Perhaps my sixty thousand dollars earns me the right to see what you were holding.”
“It’s now my sixty thousand.” Tanner pulled the chips over to his side of the table. “If you wanted to see my cards, you knew the price, Volkov. Deal, please.”
Volkov was clearly annoyed, but he dealt again. In the games that followed, Volkov continued losing. Badly. Tanner’s controlled, steely strategies in the early rounds had given Volkov a false sense of his opponent’s strengths and weaknesses, Lara thought. Which, she realized, was Tanner’s plan.
Volkov realized it, too, but any adjustments he tried to make only added to his woes. Tanner was always one step ahead, anticipating Volkov’s moves and countermoves with almost uncanny ability.
After an hour, Tanner leaned back in his chair. “The fates haven’t been good to you tonight. Perhaps I should let you off the hook.”
“Stay where you are,” Volkov snarled. “It can all change on a dime, as you know.”
“Yes, as we’ve seen tonight. But the stakes are still too low to hold my interest. I’m getting bored, Volkov.”
“I can promise that things will soon get much more exciting for you.” Volkov spoke it as a threat.
Tanner tilted his head. “Is that right?”
“I guarantee it.”
“I see.” He looked down at his chips. “By my reckoning, I have almost one point two million dollars of your money here.”
“Almost.”
“But these are just chips. I’d feel more comfortable if I had cash, rather than these pieces of wood.”
“You don’t think I’m good for it?”
“We both know men who claim to be billionaires but can’t afford to pay their gardening bill. Let’s just say I’d feel more comfortable with a bit more evidence.”
“You insult me, Tanner.”
“I wouldn’t want to do that. But you don’t have the most ethical reputation, and I told you that I have to recoup my finances. I need you to show me proof.” He paused. “Maybe we play for something other than money.”
“What do you propose?”
“Freedom.”
Volkov frowned.
“Whose freedom?”
Tanner glanced at Lara. “The original prize that cost me a great deal of time and trouble to obtain. I believe we were going to use her anyway, but I seem to have gained an advantage and I might as well throw her in with the pot.”
Volkov wrinkled his brow. “Freedom? Do you think I’m a fool? You want her for yourself. You’re crazy. Do you know how much time I’ve spent on that bitch? She has to learn the lesson I’ve been planning all these years. I won’t let her go.”
Tanner gazed at him impassively. “Perhaps I used the wrong word. You’re right, of course, I do want her for myself. I can see why you’re so intrigued by her. Though the word freedom would also include not having to look over my shoulder for the rest of her life. I can’t always be there to kill the ridiculously inept men you’d send for her. I’m sure Lara would be happy to have a go at them, but she’s had enough Trials in her life.” His voice lowered. “But since you’re being so stubborn about her, I guess I’ll have to raise the pot to make it irresistible.”
Volkov tensed. “What are you proposing?”
“We play again. I’ll add another million to the pot. Plus sign a waiver to allow you to take my deposit in your Grand Cayman account that we were supposed to be playing for tonight. Winner take all. If you win, you get the entire pot and I promise to turn Lara over to you.”
“You can’t do that to me. I won’t go anywhere without Maria,” Lara said fiercely. “You can’t make me.”
“Well, it seems we have to add the mother.” Tanner shrugged. “But you can’t beat the deal.”
Volkov’s cheeks were flushed, his eyes glittering as he looked down at the chips. “It might be possible.”
“I’ll throw in the Lago Grand Sport,” Tanner said.
“I’ll play you,” Volkov said immediately. “Winner take all.”
“His word means nothing,” Lara said. “Don’t do this, Tanner.”
“Oh, I have no intention of just taking him at his word,” Tanner said softly. “For starters, I want to see him produce a financial instrument to guarantee that he can pay me for my winnings so far. An electronic bearer bond should do the trick.”
“This is ridiculous,” Volkov fumed as he pulled out his phone. “I can have one for you in ten seconds.”
“Do it.”
Volkov impatiently held up the phone to allow it to scan his face, thumbprint, and eyes. “This is humiliating. I’m going to remember how you treated me. Once we finish here, you’ll never be—” He froze as he stared at his phone screen. “What in the hell?”
“Problem?” Tanner asked.
“No.” He performed the biometric scan once more, then appeared even more puzzled. “I don’t understand.”
Tanner grabbed Volkov’s wrist and angled the phone screen toward him and Lara. “Balance zero? What are you trying to pull?”
“Nothing.” Volkov raised his hands. “Wait! I have other options.” He pulled up another page on his phone. He signed in, but again a bewildered look crossed his face. “What the hell…”
Volkov waved frantically at a slender man dressed in a stylish gray suit.
Lara leaned toward Tanner. “That’s his finance director, Vincent Kael. I didn’t realize he’d have him here.”
“I did. That’s why I set up the Grand Cayman bank transfer over the phone,” he whispered back. “I needed him to have a money man on duty for authentication.”
They watched as the two men worked on the phone together, trying several more sites.
Volkov dazedly shook his head. “I can’t believe it. Every account, gone. Move everything,” he rasped to Kael. “Now. Before I’m totally wiped out.”
“But sir, I—”
“Now!”
“Yes, sir.” Kael pulled out his own phone and began frantically working.
“Hurry! I told you, do it before I’m totally wiped out.”
Tanner smiled. “My, it’s an old-fashioned bank rush,” he murmured to Lara.
Volkov suddenly looked balefully up at him. “You did this.”
“How? I’ve been sitting here with you. Though if you need some cybersecurity experts, I have some of the best in the world on my payroll.”
Volkov was still glaring at him. “I’ll bet you do.”
Tanner stood and waved his hand over his chips. “Mail me a check once you get things worked out, will you?”
“Tanner!” Volkov screamed with rage.
Tanner pulled Lara to her feet and moved her toward the exit.
She leaned close. “Did you just wipe him out?”
“Not yet. It takes a little time.”
“What just happened?”
“It’s called an Adler move.”
“Is that a poker strategy? I’m not familiar with it.”
“It’s not a poker strategy. In one of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Holmes tricks a character named Irene Adler into revealing the location of a letter by making her believe her home is on fire. She goes right for it. I just updated it a bit.”
“Updated how?”
“I made Volkov believe his financial house was on fire. He doesn’t know it, but he was just connecting to dummy web pages he thinks are his financial institutions. I created those pages myself. His accounts all appear to have been zeroed out. He’s now frantically going to every account he owns in order to move his fortune to safety. He doesn’t realize that my associates are watching every virtual move he and his financial manager are making, every account number, every biometric reading, every password. He’ll be cleaned out within minutes.”
“The Adler move…” Lara said. “I didn’t realize you were such a man of letters.”
“I’m more comfortable with numbers, but I’ve been known to crack a good book now and then.”
“Too bad for Volkov.”
“Yes. Too bad.”
“Though I refuse to feel sorry for him. He was only considering taking your deal after you threw me into the pot. It was that blasted car that sealed the deal for him.”
Tanner smiled. “The man clearly has no taste. But you have to remember that he intended to have it all anyway.” The smile faded as he opened the door for her. “We’ll have to tread carefully out here. This isn’t over yet. We’re keeping Volkov busy, but I’d judge he’s almost ready to explode. I think it’s time we got a little head start before Volkov decides to take off after us.” He took her elbow and started to run toward the Mercedes across the road. “We’ll jump on this road that connects to the interstate. Then we’ll double back and circle until we reach the ridge road that leads to the canyon. I’ll drive this time. Unless you can tell me that you’ve had experience driving in the mountains. Those roads can get pretty rough.”
“You can drive. I don’t have that much experience with mountains, and I’ve watched you drive at Sandrino Place.” She slid into the passenger seat. “Where in the mountains? I thought you said something about snipers.”
“So I did, but I think we’ll be able to avoid them.” He tore out onto the road. “We’re going in another direction.” He reached for his phone. “But just in case we can’t…” He dialed Rennell. “We’re on the move. I’ll be heading up the mountain toward the ridge. You might have to run interference. The card game went splendidly, which means that Volkov is in a very foul mood and might want to castrate me.”
“If it wasn’t Volkov, I’d empathize,” Rennell said. “I’ve felt like that about you many, many times even when my mood was just fine. How close are they?”
“I’m doubling back now and heading up the mountain. I don’t want to go too fast. I want them to be able to see the headlights to follow me. No sign of them leaving the casino yet.”
“Then call me when you have to worry. I’m busy right now.”
“I’ll do that. Are the charges set?”
“We probably had the ones on the upper ridge set before you were halfway through your poker game. The lower ones required more time and thought, but we’re getting there. I just wanted to orchestrate something more interesting in case we got a visit from Volkov. I didn’t want him to feel that we didn’t appreciate him.”
“We? I thought you were handling the charges alone. Who did you pull in to help?”
“Just some bozo who doesn’t know squat about dynamite, but knows enough to keep quiet when I need to concentrate. We’re getting along all right.”
“That’s an amazing compliment in itself. But are you sure that the ridge charges will do their job? If we’re going to lead Volkov into a trap, I don’t want to lure him with a dead device.”
“They’re not as interesting as the ones down here. But they’ll do the job…I think.”
“Could you be a little more reassuring? I have Lara in the car and she’s already had a more complicated evening than she was prepared for.”
“But she can handle it. And she’s probably sitting there resenting you thinking she can’t. She knows I don’t make mistakes. She doesn’t need me to tell her. Isn’t that right, Lara?”
“Absolutely. On all subjects,” Lara said. “But it’s good to hear it from the expert.”
“Which Tanner is not, except in a few minor categories. Did he really pull off making Volkov blow his mind?”
“Any minute now.” She smiled at Tanner. “He handled that minor category very well, indeed.”
“Then we’ll have to see if we can stop playing around and go the distance.” Rennell’s tone was suddenly dead serious. “I’m ready, Tanner. Give me the word and it will be the Fourth of July.” He cut the connection.
Chapter
16
Rennell immediately turned to Maria, sitting on the ground beside him. “Satisfied? I did what you wanted. You heard her voice and she’s fine.”
“As fine as she can be when they’re going to be chased up the damn mountain at any minute.” She nodded jerkily. “Yes, I’m as satisfied as I can be, considering. Though I was half afraid you’d tell her I was here.”
“Why would I do that? It would disturb the balance of the operation. You’re not doing too bad so far.”
“I’m doing exceptionally well,” she said dryly. “If I wasn’t, you would have gagged me and tied me up somewhere to get me out of your way.”
“True. But don’t let it go to your head.” He was focusing his binoculars on the casino. “You’ve only set the one charge so far, but you did well enough for me to trust you with the others. Just be ready to move fast when I tell you.”
“Of course. I want this over. When you tell me to jump, I’ll ask how high.” She grimaced. “Like a humble bozo should.”
“You didn’t like the ‘bozo’?”
“I would have liked it better if you hadn’t enjoyed it so much.”
“One has to take pleasure wherever it appears,” Rennell murmured. “I’ve been cheated of the joy of killing Volkov all evening, so I just had to make do…” He lowered the binoculars and turned to her. “Are you ready to go? If you’re too scared, then don’t do it. I don’t want you screwing it up.”
“I won’t screw it up. I’m not scared. It’s just a job to be done. You’re the one who would probably screw it up if you tried to plant those charges. I’m small and I can move fast and light. You’re huge and you’d probably stumble over those men.”
“I wouldn’t stumble, but I might be more visible.” He shrugged. “Then what are you waiting for? Grab the charges and get moving, bozo.”
Maria grabbed the backpack and slung it over her shoulder. “I’m out of here. As long as these blast charges don’t go off in my hands.”
“It’s not the charges I’m worried about.”
“Volkov’s men? They won’t see me. I’ll be in and out before you know it. You’d be surprised how living with an ass like Anton can give you the skill to fade into the woodwork whenever you choose.”
“Still, keep an eye out. There’s at least eight of them on the ridges surrounding the casino. There’s only two of us.”
“I’ve no choice but to take those odds, do I?”
Rennell smiled. “No. Forgive me for stating the obvious. Good luck.”
Those last words surprised her. He was usually so noncommittal. “You, too. See you back at the car.”
Maria crouched and ran into the brush. She kept low, looking out for Volkov’s men as she made her way across the ridge. She stopped, unzipped her knapsack, and pulled out the first of the radio-controlled blast charges. It was tiny, scarcely bigger than a bottle stopper. But she knew it wasn’t meant to cause major damage, like the monstrosity Rennell had planted in the box canyon down the road. Still, it would serve their purpose.
She raised the small antenna and pushed the device into the bush. She ran and repeated the process four more times, spacing the charges about fifty feet apart. She was about to place the sixth charge when she heard a snap behind her.
She froze.
Snap.
Twigs breaking. Brush rustling.
Someone was coming!
She rolled behind a tall boulder and crouched low.
The footsteps grew louder, and she could see a man with an assault rifle making his way toward her. She recognized him as one of Volkov’s bodyguards, a red-haired man the others called Pinky.
He was now less than six feet away. Another few steps and he’d be right on top of her. She glanced around. Nowhere to go without him seeing her, and in any case she couldn’t outrun the bullets from his gun.
Pinky stopped. As he looked around, Maria could see that his eyes were scanning across the patch of brush where she’d left the explosive charge. Shit. He was going to see it.
His walkie-talkie beeped, and he abruptly turned away. The radio blared something she couldn’t understand. He responded, “Copy. All clear down here.”
He turned and walked away.
Thank God.
She waited another few moments to let out the long breath she’d been holding. She slowly moved back around and finished setting the charge.
She looked into the knapsack. Four more to go.
She could do this.
* * *
Mountain Casino
