Chapter 4: Two Faces Have I
Soon the spies emerged from below stage, and found Mr. Otten.
"Ah, Mr. Otten?" asked Sam pensively.
"Did you catch the thief?" Mr. Otten asked excitedly.
"No, sir. The diamond disappeared down a shaft; we couldn't catch the thief," continued Clover quietly. The spies were expecting Mr. Otten to be extremely angry at the failure of Security and WOOHP to prevent the theft.
But they were in for a shock, as William Otten tore off the mask he was wearing.
"I say, spies, rather bad show!" replied Jerry, the man under the mask! He was not angry, however.
"JERRY?" said Alex.
"Yes, Alex. This entire Expo was set up by WOOHP to bait the diamond thief, and off hand, I'd say he took it hook, line and sinker!" Jerry continued, matter-of-factly.
"You mean you WANTED him to steal the diamond?" asked an upset Clover.
"Certainly! We need to trace where his hideout is, and I can't think of a better way than to deploy a fake diamond with tracking transmitters embedded in it!"
"You COULD have let us in on the plan, Jerry!" exclaimed an angry Sam.
"No, I could not, Sam. I needed you three to react exactly as you did, to convince the thief that he had successfully cast suspicion on David, so he would go through with the theft of the William Oliver Otten Hand cut Precious diamond, or WOOHP diamond, for short!"
The spies' anger toward Jerry subsided, as Alex asked, "But how can WOOHP afford to lose a large diamond, even if it has trackers embedded in it?"
"Because the diamond is a very well developed fake! It truly is a masterpiece by Dr. Quincy's lab techs! Even gem experts would have a difficult time determining that the diamond is a fake, so I believe our thief will also have a tough time as well. The value of the diamond is approximately $100, including the trackers!"
Then, changing the subject, Clover asked, "When did you first believe David was innocent?"
"When you three relayed how the Freedom of France diamond was stolen. David would not have needed to drill a hole completely through the base – all he would have to of done was drill a hole from under the stage into the base. That led me to believe that there was someone else involved, and that someone wanted to cast suspicion on David…"
"…By planting the removable bracing pin!" replied Sam.
"Exactly, Sam! Why would the thief even need the access hole BELOW the bracing pin? He wouldn't."
"And you let us to continue to believe that David was guilty?" asked Clover angrily.
"You must admit, Clover, David's behavior is still quite out of the ordinary! Obviously something is going on with him - we just don't know what."
Then another WOOHP agent entered the room.
"What is it, Billings?" asked Jerry.
"An individual by the name of David Anderson was caught exiting the Expo Hall with a briefcase full of hand-cut diamonds. Also an Akbar Raliman was also caught with a briefcase full of money!"
"Very well, Billings. I'll go to the interrogation room," and with that Billings left the room.
"We want to go too!" stated Clover.
"Actually, Clover, it would be better if you three remain in the shadows, so he doesn't see you."
"That sounds good, Jerry!" replied Sam, as the three spies agree.
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In the interrogation room, Jerry starts by interrogating David.
"What is your name, young man?"
"David. David Anderson."
"Very well, David. My name is Jerry. As part of Security, it is part of our job to investigate anything suspicious at the Expo. Certainly, a briefcase full of hand-cut diamonds is suspicious."
"I can explain, Mr. Jerry! My family is involved in the bulk jewelry business. One of the things we do is buy large quantities of gems!"
"And how are these paid for?"
"Cash. Our suppliers avoid the Belgium Diamond Exchange, which allows us to buy the diamonds about 35 percent cheaper!"
"But aren't you afraid of having the cash stolen?"
"We are concerned, but I have the locked briefcase handcuffed to my wrist at all times, as does my contact. We make the exchange as quickly as possible in a public place, to avoid ambushes. Then we both exit as quickly as possible to a waiting vehicle. No one besides the involved parties knows what is in the briefcases!"
"I see. Do you know someone by the name of Akbar Raliman?"
"Yes! He is my contact!"
"That would explain why he has a briefcase full of money, when we stopped him.
"Very well, David, you can go with your briefcase, and I'll give orders to have Mr. Raliman released with his briefcase as well. Our guards will escort both of you to your vehicles, but in the future, I'd make sure I had some of my own Security with me, if you are going to do these exchanges, to prevent losing your briefcases, and possibly your lives!"
"You bet I will! Thanks, Mr. Jerry!" and a relieved David left the room.
True to his word, Jerry had both men escorted to their waiting vehicles by WOOHP agents. Jerry then went over to where the spies were watching.
"So there really was a logical explanation for David's behavior!" Jerry remarked.
"Well we could have told you that, Jer!" exclaimed Clover. "We knew he wouldn't be involved in anything illegal!"
Jerry just smiled, and continued.
"Now for the real thief!" Jerry said, as he opened his wallet communicator. "GLADIS, how is our diamond tracker working?"
"The signal is very strong! Patching the feed to your communicator!"
The gals huddle around Jerry to see the signal.
The thief was using storm sewers to get to within yards of his target area, then deploying a tunneling drone to dig the access tunnel, and the hole into the metal bases.
"Get ready, spies! I'm sending you to follow the tracker. I think it would be best if you used the hover/cycles instead of KIRTT, and approached our thief through the air, avoiding detection. You'll be equipped with laser lipsticks, x-ray/m-ray combo contacts, suction/flying/digging combo boots, metal cutter mood rings, sound enhancing earrings, and electronic signal tracer glasses! Good luck!"
