Brad Keels was sitting in his hotel room, looking out the window at the activity in the mid-day streets below, the modern hotel room contrasting with the street markets filled with the locals in a variety of brightly colored garb. His attention was drawn by an insistent banging on his door. He went to the door to check and, puzzled, began to open it. Colonel Kieferts pushed the door the rest of the way open and barged into the room.
"What's wrong?" Keels asked.
"That's what I've come to find out." Kieferts looked intently at Keels. "If you're double crossing me, you'll find out that you've made a fatal mistake."
"Calm down, get something to drink," Keels said. "What are you talking about?"
"I don't want to calm down and I sure as hell don't want a drink," Kieferts declared. "I want my money."
"I put two million into your account last week," Keels protested, puzzled. "You should still have plenty."
"Well my account is empty. I don't have a dime," Kieferts said. "And the National Security Force is rounding up all my people. Every one of my facilities is being raided."
"I thought you had someone high up in your pay," Keels frowned. "He's supposed to warn you."
"Well, apparently, no one warned him," Kieferts said. "They took him out and shot him this morning. Somehow the security force has information on my operations. Someone has tipped them off." He looked at Keels with suspicion, "Someone who knows everything about my operation."
"Is this going to set us back?" Keels asked.
"Set us back?" Kieferts was incredulous. "It's over. Didn't you hear me? They are closing down all my facilities. They are rounding up all my people. My men are dying left and right." He waved the gun around.
Keels started to look frightened, he said placating, "I can get you some more money right now. Maybe we can regroup, save what we can of the operation."
Kieferts snorted, "This whole operation is done. I'm trying to get as many of my people out of the country as possible and I don't have a damned dime to do it with. I need money, Keels, and I need it now." He pointed the gun directly at Keels.
Keels paled and went over to the table in the corner to open his laptop. As the system came up he said, "How much do you need to extricate your people."
Kieferts said, "Under the current conditions it will be expensive. I can probably save everyone who can still be saved for half a million."
Keels looked at the gun and assured him, "I can do that, let me log in and transfer it." He typed a couple of entries and then looked puzzled. He made a few more entries with growing agitation. He looked up and said, "Something's wrong, my account is empty too. I am going to have to contact my banker in Zurich." He reached for his cell phone.
Atkins dashed into the room, a gun in his hand as well. He shouted, "Colonel, the security forces are here, they're coming up the elevator now."
Kieferts looked back at Keels, his face filled with rage. He shouted, "You can talk to your banker in hell." He aimed at Keels.
Keels said, "Wait, there has to be a way to figure this out."
Kieferts shot him between the eyes and as he collapsed onto his laptop, the table fell over tossing it and his body onto the floor. Kieferts turned toward the door, "Atkins, we are going to have to shoot our way out and see if we can get lost in the confusion in the street."
Atkins said, "Yes, sir."
They ran into the hall. There were more security forces than they expected. The attempt to shoot their way out was short, bloody and unsuccessful.
