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“Do you have a secure connection?”
“Via 4G.”
“Then transfer the money.”
“Now?”
“Yeah.”
She smiled broadly and typed in a few more commands, finally hitting the ENTER key with a flourish.
“Well?”
“Don’t be impatient. These things take time . . . Yes. There.”
She held up the laptop so he could see the screen. Their newly formed company, Orion Consulting, now had bank balances that totaled just over seventy million dollars.
“That should keep you in ammunition and unfashionable leather jackets for a while.”
“So we’ve completely emptied bin Musaid’s accounts?”
“Down to the equivalent of twenty-eight thousand U.S. dollars.”
“Why did you leave him twenty-eight grand?”
“So the banks don’t close the accounts and notify him.”
“Does he have overdraft protection on any of them?”
“Yes. Two.”
“Okay, max out his overdrafts and get me that last twenty-eight grand.”
She worked for a few seconds more. “Done. I think you Americans would say that Prince Talal bin Musaid is officially fucked. He has multiple large mortgages and other loans, salaried staff, and various taxes coming due—none of which he’ll be capable of paying. He has whatever cash he keeps on hand. After that’s gone, he won’t even be able to buy groceries.”
“And you’re still confident that you can keep tabs on him?”
“My guess is he’ll run to Europe. He has a successful brother there who’s distanced himself from Saudi Arabia and the monarchy. When the prince discovers his accounts have been drained, I suspect he’ll go to him for money, advice, and protection.”
With a little luck, that’s exactly what would happen. It was impossible to know if Nassar and Faisal would tell the little prince that the CIA was onto him, but bin Musaid would be smart enough to realize that this wasn’t just some random hack. And when he made that connection, he’d start wondering if a foreign government was behind draining his accounts. More important, he’d start wondering what his life was worth in Saudi Arabia. How far would the king stick his neck out to protect one of his dumbass nephews? It wasn’t like he had a shortage of them.
“Once bin Musaid’s outside of Saudi Arabia, he’ll be isolated and easier to deal with. We just need to—”
Claudia’s phone started to ring and she held up a finger before picking up.
“Bonjour, chérie!”
Anna. Rapp frowned, reminding himself that these kinds of interruptions were part of his life now. That didn’t mean they weren’t going to take some getting used to, though.
“Yes, of course you can. It sounds like fun. How high? Well, you should be very careful, yes? Remember what happened last time.”
She was staying with Irene and being largely cared for by her son, with whom she’d developed an immediate rapport. It turned out that Tommy had always wanted a little sister and was being a startlingly good sport about the new demands on his time and teenage dignity.
“Yes, of course. Soon. Don’t run if it’s wet.”
She hung up and Rapp glanced over. “How’s she doing?”
“Oh, fine. Her life has always been chaotic. She’s used to it. Sometimes I wonder if she’d get bored if she was ever forced into a routine.”
