No Good Deed, page 6
It was the fact the guard assigned to Mai’s neck was nowhere to be seen.
He stepped back inside. “The guard’s gone.”
Laura eyed him. “Guard?”
“For the necklace.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “You’re kidding me. Did he run away?”
Acton shrugged. “He didn’t look like the type to run from a fire alarm.”
“Maybe he went to check on things?” suggested Mai, both hands covering the necklace.
“He’s got a phone.” Acton pulled his out to confirm it was still working when a second rumble shook them.
“Secondary explosion?” suggested Laura.
“Could be, but I still don’t think it’s hitting the building. It doesn’t feel close enough.”
Tommy stared at him. “You can tell?”
Acton chuckled. “Son, I’ve had so many damn explosions go off around me in the past few years, I can guarantee you this one didn’t hit the building we’re standing in.”
“So then maybe we’re safer in here.”
The curtain was flung aside before Acton could agree, and a staff member entered saying something in German.
Laura replied in English. “Do you know what’s going on?”
The man shook his head. “No, we’ve just been ordered to evacuate the building, that’s all I know. Now, I need you to leave immediately.”
“Very well.”
They left their booth and the man directed them down the corridor. Acton turned to Laura as he pulled out his phone again. “I’m going to let Hugh know where we’re going.” He was about to send a text message when he cursed. “I don’t have a signal.”
“Really?” Laura retrieved her own cellphone from her clutch. “Neither do I.”
Acton turned to Tommy, their tech wizard, who already had his own phone out, his thumbs working it furiously. “I’m picking up other signals, so it’s not the corridor we’re in blocking it. It’s the cellular service itself that’s out.”
“Are we all with the same company?” asked Mai. “Could it just be that they’re down?”
Tommy shook his head. “No. We’d just be switched over to another carrier. This is different. It looks like the entire cellular network is down.”
They rushed through a set of doors held open by two staff members who directed them toward the stairs. Acton was tempted to rush down them but forced himself to maintain a reasonable pace after noticing Mai struggling to keep up, her dress not designed for running, though Laura wasn’t having any issues with hers slit up the side.
“Everybody remain calm. It could still just be an accident.”
Another rumble swayed the chandeliers overhead, and he exchanged a concerned look with Laura. They both remained silent, not wanting to worry the others. It could still be an accident, but he doubted it. A series of explosions took out the power and communications, only moments after it appeared over $20 billion had disappeared?
That was too much of a coincidence.
It had to be related, and it meant once again, they might be in the thick of it.
14 |
Vienna City Hall, Control Center Vienna, Austria
Reading cursed as the faint emergency lighting cast a dull glow over the Control Center. All the equipment appeared to be on battery back-up as the displays were still active.
“Just remain calm, people. The generator will kick in within a few seconds,” said someone behind them, and within moments, she was proven correct.
Reading pulled out his phone to check on the others, firing off a quick text message, but received an error. He showed the phone to his son. “What the bloody hell does that mean?”
Spencer leaned in then pulled out his own phone. “Cellular service is down.”
“This is bullshit.” Reading strode over to Vida, huddled in the corner with several of the armed security detail, her back to him. One of the men made eye contact then whispered something. Vida turned and Reading didn’t give her a chance to say anything. “What the devil’s going on? We have explosions, power failures, and now communications failures, only moments after twenty-two billion dollars goes missing? There’s no way this isn’t all connected.”
She shook her head. “I have no idea. The building is being evacuated. Perhaps you should go and be with your friends.”
Reading dismissed the idea. “This is now a law enforcement matter, and I’m Interpol. I’m going to be staying right here until the local authorities arrive to take over.”
“Take over what?”
He stared at her dumbfounded. “The investigation, of course! Don’t you get what’s happening here? If twenty-two billion has indeed just been stolen, this is the biggest theft in history, and it happened right under all our noses. Everyone in this room is a suspect, because the way your assistant described the security to me, this should be impossible. Someone in here did this, or someone who had access to this room did this.”
Vida sighed heavily. “You’re right, of course.” She glanced at the three men she had been talking to. “Let’s go find Mr. Meitner and let him know what’s going on.” She turned on her heel and headed for the exit as another rumble rippled through the room.
Spencer joined his father, his face flushed with the excitement of the situation. “What are we going to do?”
“We’re going to do what we were trained to do. Figure out who’s behind this, and help bring them to justice. But first, we need to make sure the others are all right.”
15 |
Vienna City Hall, East Emergency Exit Vienna, Austria
Acton’s grip on Laura’s hand tightened as they emerged into the night. Fires flickered in all directions, thick black smoke billowing upward, merging with the heavily overcast skies threatening rain. He guided them to the side, away from the throngs, now in more of a panic as they witnessed the evidence of what was clearly a major coordinated attack on the city.
“This can’t be good.” Tommy held his phone up high as he slowly turned. “There are no cellphone signals anywhere in the area.”
“No power either,” said Acton, just noticing why the fires were so visible.
Laura scanned the crowd. “We need to find Hugh and Spencer.”
Acton glanced back at the doors. “Well, they’re not going to let us back inside.”
“If he couldn’t find us here, where would he look for us?”
Acton thought for a moment. “Ultimately, the hotel, I guess.”
Laura surveyed the chaos. “Maybe that’s where we should go. If this is all about stealing the money, then it might be wise to get away from ground zero. For all we know, they might decide to blow up the building to hide the evidence.”
Acton tensed at the idea and glanced at Tommy and Mai, who, despite being adults, he still felt responsible for. “The hotel is quite the distance from here, and there’s no way we’re going to get a taxi. The police will cordon off the area any minute now.”
“What about our limo?” asked Tommy. “It should be nearby.”
Laura glanced back at the entrance. “The driver said to just text him when we were ready and he’d be at the VIP entrance within a few minutes. That means he has to be parked nearby.” She flagged an employee. “Where is the VIP entrance?”
“You have to get out of here now!” replied the flustered woman.
Laura remained calm. “That’s what we’re trying to do. Where is the VIP entrance?”
The woman pointed to their left, then resumed ushering the thinning crowd away from the building.
“Let’s get moving,” urged Acton. “I don’t want to be around this place any longer than I have to.”
Laura placed a hand on his shoulder, steadying herself. “Just a second.” She raised her right foot and twisted the heel off, then did the same with the other.
Mai’s eyes shot wide. “Oh, I forgot!” She quickly removed her own heels as Acton and Tommy both stared in amazement.
“I didn’t know you could do that.”
Laura rolled her eyes at Mai. “Men.”
Mai giggled.
Acton gave them both looks. “What? You think you know every secret about men?”
“Yes,” they both echoed.
“Your sex is an open book,” added Laura.
Acton shook his head. “Okay, you know the opening on the front of men’s underwear?”
Mai nodded.
“You know what it’s there for?”
She blushed. “Well, it’s so that…”
“Oh God, James, don’t make her say it,” admonished Laura. “It’s so that you can stick your little guy through it and pee standing up.”
Acton glanced at Tommy. “Tell them.”
Tommy grinned. “We don’t use it.”
Both women stared at them. “Then why the hell’s it there?” asked Laura.
Acton shrugged. “No idea. But I think I’ve made my point.”
“Fine.” Laura held up her detached heels. “It’s a new invention. You need to watch more Shark Tank.” She pointed in the direction the staff member had indicated for the VIP entrance. “Now, let’s get moving. And as soon as we get back to the hotel, I’m Googling why the hell men’s underwear have an opening that they don’t use.” She gave him the eye. “I hope I don’t find out it’s just because my husband and the company he keeps”—she cast the eye over at Tommy―”are merely uncouth.”
“Hon, you already know that.” He gave her a toothy smile then gently jabbed Tommy on the shoulder. “Better uncouth than all that fumbling, heh?”
They proceeded across the front of the building as the conversation continued, the distraction keeping them all calm. They rounded the side and Laura pointed at an entrance. “That looks more familiar, doesn’t it?”
Acton agreed then glanced at Tommy. “Any signal?”
“Nope.”
Acton cursed. “Then we can’t text our driver.”
Another explosion, this one the closest yet, erupted on the street running in front of City Hall. Acton grabbed Laura and swung her so his body shielded her, as Tommy did the same with Mai.
The blast quickly subsided, leaving behind the screams, which were far more disturbing. Acton urged them all forward. “Okay, we’re definitely getting the hell out of here. That was closer for a reason.” They jogged toward the entrance and Acton flagged a staff member who had a small hand-held radio. “Where are the VIP cars?”
“What’s your name?”
“Professor James Acton.”
The man held the radio to his mouth. “Bring the car for Professor James Acton around.”
“It’ll probably be under my wife’s name, Professor Laura Palmer.”
The man relayed the additional information, then turned to them. “We’re doing the best we can. We pulled these old radios out of storage when all of our communications went down. We’ve got all the drivers in a group. I radio my partner, he calls out the name, and the driver gets his car then brings it here. It’s slow, but it’s working. You hopefully won’t have too long to wait.”
“Where are the drivers?”
“Just around the corner.”
Acton stared at the line of cars and the panicked VIPs waiting to get in them. He turned to the man. “Call him off. We’ll go to him.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I don’t want to get stuck in this mess. Not when they’re detonating bombs a few hundred feet away.”
The man relayed the cancelation and Acton took Laura’s hand. “Let’s go.”
They continued along the side of the building and rounded the corner where they found a large group of chauffeurs in a huddle, everyone appearing nervous as screams and sirens from the front of the building echoed.
Acton raised his hand. “I’m looking for Kristoph, the driver of Professors James Acton and Laura Palmer!”
A hand shot up in the middle of the crowd. “Right here, sir!”
The crowd parted and their driver, Kristoph, emerged. “I’m glad to see you’re safe, sir.” His eyes narrowed. “Weren’t there six of you?”
“The other two were in the control room when this started. They’re both law enforcement, so we’ll just have to trust that they’re all right. Can you get us to the hotel?”
“Absolutely. I’ll get the car.” He pointed to a cleared area. “Wait for me there.”
“Okay.”
Kristoph rushed off and Acton led them to the indicated section of the parking lot when he noticed activity to his left. “What the hell?”
16 |
Vienna City Hall, Ground Floor Vienna, Austria
Reading headed down a long corridor, Spencer at his side. The last explosion was close. Too close. The Control Center had been ordered evacuated and the alarm, now blaring over the speakers, was rapid, an all-personnel evacuation order now broadcasting. His concern for his friends was growing. He wasn’t sure what was going on yet, but he had little doubt everything was to sow confusion after the massive theft.
He turned to Roy Wagner, who had briefed them on the security. “Your thoughts on this being an inside job?”
Wagner shook his head. “Absolutely not. Everybody was vetted. The security team crawled up everyone’s ass for months. I had friends from ten years ago getting phone calls about me. There’s no way it was an inside job.”
“So then, it was outside. Hackers?”
Again, Wagner shook his head as they continued down the corridor. “Impossible. Closed system. We only had one open connection, and that was directly to Mr. Meitner’s bank. Everything else was being phoned in. This was as secure as it can get, which means…” The man paused.
“Which means?” prompted Reading.
“Which means it had to be an inside job,” finished Spencer.
Wagner sighed. “You’re right. It has to be an inside job, but I have no clue who it could possibly be. We’ve all been working together for months on this, and like I said, we’ve all been vetted. And besides, this isn’t just somebody hacking from the inside. You heard those explosions. That’s terrorism. Doesn’t that mean there have to be people outside that are involved?”
Reading agreed. “And more than one person means a conspiracy.”
“Or hired hands,” suggested Spencer.
Wagner shook his head. “But what about the bombs? It’s one thing to hire some thugs, but how do you get explosives?”
“You can get them,” said Reading. “If you know the right people.”
“But how would anybody working for Mr. Meitner know people like that?”
“They shouldn’t, however, your security people might. And a lot of them could be ex-military, ex-Special Forces. They might have contacts.”
“Would former soldiers do that?”
“Most mercenaries are former soldiers. Just because you’re a soldier doesn’t mean you’re automatically a good person. There are always bad seeds in every population, but it also doesn’t mean you can’t fall on hard times and take desperate action. And your share of twenty-two billion could be a lot of temptation. The real tell will be what we find outside.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, what are those explosions targeting? If it’s mass casualties, then I’m guessing terrorism. If they’re limited to electrical and communications infrastructure, then that’s more likely private guns for hire. A good man who’s fallen on hard times might commit a crime, but he’s not going to intentionally target the innocent. It would go against all of his training.”
They emerged into the cool crisp air, police, fire, and ambulance arriving, the crowds directed away from the building and down the streets by staff and emergency personnel. Reading stopped at the bottom of the steps, scanning the crowd for Acton and the others. His eyes came to rest on a chilling scene on the roadway in front of the complex just as Spencer pointed at the same area.
“Look!”
Dozens were down, the smoldering wreck of a car proof of the cause. A car bomb had been detonated, likely the last large explosion they had felt, which changed the equation. This was a mass casualty event. This was either terrorism, or a theft so brazen that those behind it didn’t care who was hurt. All they cared about was getting away with the money.
Wagner was beside himself. “Why do this?”
“Because they’re little shites who don’t give a damn about innocent lives,” spat Spencer.
Reading shook his head. “No, think about it. The money had already been stolen when they shut down the power and communications. Right now, nobody is after the money. They don’t even know it’s missing unless they were in that control room. By now, whoever took it has transferred it to hundreds if not thousands of different accounts around the world, and the mules are already being used to withdraw the cash. Targeting those people wasn’t necessary.”
“Like I said, they’re pieces of shit.”
“I won’t disagree with you there, son, but there’s something else going on. We said this is an inside job, which means someone in that control room was involved.” He jabbed a finger toward the slaughter. “That’s the distraction. As soon as that went off, all the emergency services focused their attention there, so that whoever is behind this could make their escape.” He turned to Wagner. “There are no cars here, and they’re not going to escape on foot. Where would they go?”
Wagner shrugged. “I have no idea. Beyond the control room and the main stage, I haven’t really seen much.”
“What about where we were dropped off?” suggested Spencer.
Reading shook his head. “No, but you might be onto something. The limo driver said to text him and he’d be there in a couple of minutes. That means there’s a staging area for all the vehicles.”
Wagner’s eye shot wide. “I know where that is. It’s in the back.” He glanced back at the doors, now blocked by several police officers. “I guess we’re not going that way. We’ll have to go around the outside.”
_preview.jpg)
_preview.jpg)
_preview.jpg)
