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“The less you know,” Vivian said. “Let’s just say it’s not a good fit for everyone. And I don’t really care. Do you?”
“Me?” Ben touched his bandaged hand to his chest. “Not if it stops Yuri from beating me to death, I don’t. I just don’t want any bodies on my head tomorrow night.”
“Agreed,” Jay said. “Vivian,” Jay leaned forward to catch her eye, “we think the best way to get down there undetected is in a cloud of chaos. I wouldn’t mind making the billionaires feel scared as shit, reminding them that they’re mortal. “
“Robin Hood and the merry men didn’t terrify the rich.” Vivian pressed her lips together.
“Didn’t they? They jumped out of trees and surrounded the carriages. The poor elites were alone and vulnerable. Then Robin Hood took what he wanted.” Jay took a swig of beer. “When we had that first miss with Amanda, I did a search of successful attacks on the uber-wealthy. Do you know what I found? There was an attack on the Davidson family here in D.C.—oil guy. It wasn’t in the papers, but it was in public police reports. The thieves swarmed the ballroom dressed in costume – green army men. They were performing, then they took control of the room. Their green guns were the real deal.”
“What did they want? The women’s jewelry?” Wade asked.
“They were moving wealth from bank accounts to crypto just like we tried to do on a much smaller scale.”
“I don’t want to do that,” Vivian said. “No. I’m not getting involved with something like that.”
“It’s not why I’m telling you the story. It’s the idea that we can distract the guests with something they think is entertainment when, in fact, it’s a setup.”
“Sounds like we need more people,” Ben said.
“Boz has a crew,” Mike said.
“That true, Boz?” Vivian asked.
Boz nodded. “Probably. I’d need to hear the plan to see if they can do it. We have to figure they’re gonna want to get paid. There will have to be some kah-ching at the end of the night. No one’s putting their neck in a noose for a formula sold on the dark web.”
“The jewelry the women are wearing, do you think would be enough?” Jay asked.
“I imagine it would be.” Boz looked at the far wall as if running the scenario. “Yeah. That and the wallets, right?”
“Something bad happens outside, and you have, what, ten trained security guys running in?” Vivian asked.
“Nine from us,” Jay said. “But they won’t. A master lock shuts everything down in case of Armageddon. They put it in after the D.C. riots. The idea was that if there were wolves at the gates, no one out and no one in. We can sustain for 72 hours, which is more than enough time for the National Guard to calm the masses. The distraction starts, putting Gator, Jack, Ethan, and Owen into action.”
“And you,” Wade said.
“Not me. They will target security when this goes down, and they will investigate us. We don’t want that, so I need a dose of your date rape drugs. When things go off, I’ll lock us in, then drink it in my coffee. I’m out of commission. They test my coffee, and I have cover.”
“Good,” Mike said. “Yeah, I like that. How are we getting in?”
“I’m in charge of checking invitations,” Jay said. “So I can let you all in if you’re dressed as guests.”
“Tuxes?” Boz asked, looking over at Mike.
“Haircuts, shaves,” Mike said. “Probably manicures to get the grease out from under their nails.”
Boz looked down at his own hands, calculating. “Tomorrow is a tight turnaround.”
“When else will we be able to make this work?” Vivian asked. “It seems like miraculous timing.”
“We just need a distraction to get everyone where we want them,” Jay said.
Vivian reached over and clicked on the side light as it grew dark. “Where’s that?”
“Looking out the glassed balcony on the second floor, so we’ve got them corralled when I throw the lock.” Jay grinned.
“How?” Vivian asked.
“Mike’s drone show is the distraction. They do a light show with a good theme.”
