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“Mr. Smoker had his last cigarette break twenty minutes ago. He should be doing a repeat performance in another forty. The others are inside. There’s been no outdoor activity and no visible indoor activity since my earlier report to Marc.”
“So we progress to our attack position now,” Aidan said, referring to the barn, where they’d be launching their assault of the house. “We’ll move from point to point based on Philip’s recon—first the stone wall, then the drainage ditch, then the trees, then the barn. We wait for Mr. Smoker to come out and light up. Then we go.”
Both Marc and Philip nodded. The tactical plan had been finalized as Aidan’s plane was nearing Osijek. All three men were ready to act.
On Aidan’s signal, they moved.
Silently, using only hand and arm signals to communicate with one another, they made their way forward, stopping at each designated point and squatting down low for concealment and assessment. Once assured that they were undetected, they continued to advance, sidestepping all icy patches so their athletic boots didn’t make the slightest crunching sounds on the otherwise soggy ground.
They didn’t stop until they were secure in the shelter of the barn.
Anchoring their helmets, goggles, and radio microphones in place, they hunkered down and waited.
Crescent Woods Garden Apartments
Palo Alto, California
1 March
Thursday, 5:32 p.m. local time
Simone had parked on the tree-lined street directly across from Jia li’s apartment complex. Hers was one of a line of cars parked along the curb, so it blended in nicely, inconspicuously.
She was hopeful that this second part of the plan would go as smoothly as the first. The only potential obstacle she’d come up against at the Business School was a tired custodian whose cart was propping open the outside door. The cart itself was a blessing
in disguise, as it had allowed Simone easy access to the building. The custodian was the sticky part. Using her best damsel in distress techniques, she’d managed to convince him that she’d left her iPad in a particular room and prevailed upon him to let her in to find it. He hemmed and hawed for maybe two minutes, during which time he’d checked out her legs twice and her breasts three times. All part of her plan; he let her in.
The custodian waited outside the room, giving Simone plenty of opportunity to plant the device, slide her iPad out of her tote bag, and pretend to find it again. Exiting quickly, she’d thanked him profusely, clutching her iPad like a priceless treasure, and scooted out the door.
Success.
She’d reported in to Terri, who was concentrating hard on whatever she was working on and who sounded totally revved up by the results.
“I need you to make a quick stop at Fry’s,” she said. “There’s one right there in Palo Alto. Pick up a small USB drive, a name brand, not a generic, and one that’s easy to open.”
“How large a capacity should it have?” Simone asked.
“Anything sixteen gigabytes or bigger should be fine. And get some anti-static gloves in your size. Also, a padded manila envelope. Pay cash so there’s no electronic trail.”
“Of course.”
“One last thing. Make sure you have your laptop with you when you head out to Jia li’s apartment.”
“I already have it. It’s in my tote bag.”
“Good.”
Simone had squelched her curiosity. She’d get her answers when she needed them.
Now, she turned off her ignition and called Terri again, this time not only to check in but to fit in. She looked like yet another driver, parked and waiting for someone and, in the interim, chatting on her cell phone.
“I’m in position,” she said as soon as Terri was on the line.
“Good.” Terri had been quite pleased with Simone’s results thus far. “You took care of the errand?”
“I have everything you asked for, and my laptop is ready and waiting for your instructions.”
“Do you have a visual on Jia li’s apartment unit?”
