Chapter 4: The Corbomite Maneuver
Ellington Mansion. Sunday, February 24, 2008.
"No, I'm not giving DeLuca $50,000," Neal insisted. "Not even temporarily."
Sara assumed that was the case, but she was relieved to hear his confirmation. She didn't relish breaking into her piggy bank for that scumbag. Once DeLuca dropped Neal off, Jones and Peter took the surveillance van to Peter's house. From there they participated in a briefing via a conference call. Aidan, Richard, Keiko, and Travis joined in from Travis's office at Root32.
Neal had gotten DeLuca to believe that yesterday evening's gathering was a strategy session for Thursday night—a true statement, as it turned out. But it might appear suspicious to have a second gathering so soon afterward, and they were working on the assumption they were being monitored by members of DeLuca's crew.
"You're relying on Aidan for the earnest money instead," Travis suggested.
"That's right," Aidan confirmed. "Neal will tell DeLuca he's wiring him the money, and I'll work some razzle dazzle to convince DeLuca it occurred."
"Aidan's maneuver will allow Jones and me to access DeLuca's bank account," Peter said. "Best of all is DeLuca's agreement to let Jones and me view his books."
"Travis, do you have a way for us to photograph the books without DeLuca's knowledge?" Jones asked.
"Not a problem," Travis assured him. "The CIA had requested a device that should fit your needs and it's ready for beta testing."
"Is this a variant of your snooper pen?" Sara asked.
"Something even more inobtrusive," Travis said. "A camera is embedded in a pair of eyeglasses. A miniature switch is activated by nudging the glasses higher on your nose, a common gesture eyeglass wearers make. A camera within the frame then records whatever you're looking at. I'd like both Peter and Jones to wear them. You'll need to make room in your schedule to practice the technique."
"Just give us the word and we'll be there," Peter said. "Any chance we'll be able to use the glasses afterward on other cases?"
"The CIA already knows we work with the Bureau and Win-Win," Aidan said. "It won't be an issue."
Aidan reminded Sara of Neal. Both of them straddled two worlds. Neal had found a way to balance art with investigations. Aidan divided his time between the cybersecurity world of Root32 and game programming at Scima Workshop.
"Neal, you mentioned that you'd arrange for DeLuca to observe one of your celebrity clients," Richard said. "Who's the lucky person?"
Neal turned to Sara. "Which client are you taking out to lunch?"
"Diana already volunteered. She can't wait to be transformed into Beyoncé. Richard, she offered to make herself available whenever you can fit her in."
Upper East Side. The following Wednesday.
Diana gazed around the luxurious surroundings of Le Cirque and sighed expansively. "I feel like I should send DeLuca a thank you card and sign it with Beyoncé's signature. Did I mention Christie has volunteered to play a celebrity too?"
Sara chuckled. "We may have to limit the number before Richard cries 'Tilt.'" Diana's impersonation of Beyoncé was perfection. Janet had acquired a magnificent wig to complement Richard's prosthetics. Sara could easily fantasize she really was lunching with the famous entertainer.
DeLuca had entered the restaurant with one of his henchmen shortly after they arrived. They were sitting in another section of the large dining space. Sara had picked a table where the nearby tables were all taken so they wouldn't have to worry about being overheard.
For the event on Thursday evening, Neal had promised DeLuca he'd install a video camera for him to watch and hear the proceedings. Mozzie's supporters would be transformed by Richard's magic into celebrities. Aidan's sound-mashing wizardry was also essential. He was preparing a feed of the synthesized voices of the stars supposedly in attendance. The background chatter blended with jazz music would be broadcast back to DeLuca along with the live video.
"Who will Henry impersonate?" Diana asked.
"Since he's assumed the role of Captain Kirk for the Red Diamonds con, he couldn't resist portraying Chris Pine." The actor played a young James Kirk in the upcoming Star Trek movie slated to premiere in 2009.
"The perfect choice for the Corbomite Maneuver. Will we see any other Star Trek actors?"
"Kirk could hardly be there without Spock," Sara said, trying not to smile too broadly. She and Beyoncé were supposed to be talking about investments, after all. "Travis insists on coming as Zachary Quinto. Aidan's giving Richard a break. He's going to recycle Neal's Owen Wilson look. Keiko will be his plus-one, disguised as Korean pop star BoA."
"Is Mozzie behaving himself?"
"He has no choice. Janet takes her role of gatekeeper very seriously and is keeping a close watch on him. We're all reminding him that the Enterprise needs to stay in dry dock for repair. His pleas to be equipped with a cloaking device are falling on deaf ears."
"Between the Doctor Who musical and backstory for the Red Diamonds, he has plenty to work on," Diana said. "Has he shared any details about the Red Diamonds' next target, the Nizam diamond?"
"A little. The yellow diamond is reputed to be about 340 carats in size. It was mined in India and owned by the Nizam of the princely state of Hyderabad."
Diana's brow wrinkled. "Who is—or are—the Nizam?"
"That's the Hyderabad term for the ruler of the state. The diamond disappeared during the upheaval brought about by the annexation of Hyderabad by India in 1948."
"I've never been to India," Diana said. "I'm looking forward to it. Will we scour ruins in our search?"
"I wouldn't be surprised. More than likely, the diamond will be hidden behind a Hindu statue in some forgotten temple."
Diana arched an eyebrow. "Has Mozzie been watching Indiana Jones movies recently?"
"I did hear familiar strains coming out of the media room over the past few days. The last known owner of the diamond was the Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan. He was involved in the reconstruction of several Hindu temples. I doubt Mozzie will be able to resist the linkage."
"What date do you have in mind for our departure?" Diana asked.
"Neal and my schedules are clear next week. How does yours look?"
Diana pulled her phone out of her bag to check her calendar. "No conflicts at my end." She stroked her long mane. "Unless I'm on tour, of course." Her expression grew serious. "Will Henry have any difficulty justifying the cost?"
"No, because we're folding the trip into other business. Since the three of us are supposedly conducting our gem searches as part of our secret lives, we'll need to provide cover. You and I will meet with an investigations agency in New Delhi that Henry is considering partnering with. Neal will schedule a get-acquainted meeting with the Art and Antiquities Unit, India's equivalent to D.C. Art Crimes. They recently joined the Interpol task force."
Diana smiled. "I love it. Our deep cover will help make us irresistible." She looked down at the remnants of her Chilean sea bass. "I'm told Beyoncé is very fond of desserts."
"And DeLuca is still here," Sara agreed. Her only problem would be figuring out which one to indulge in. Brioche bread pudding, cannoli Siciliani, torta de mele ... the sacrifices she made for the con.
#
Travis and Aidan were waiting impatiently in Win-Win's tech lab when Peter, Neal, and Jones returned from their meeting with DeLuca.
"Any issues?" Travis asked.
"Nah." Jones grinned as he handed Travis his eyeglasses. "I channeled my inner Klingon."
"While Peter radiated financial savvy," Neal said proudly. "DeLuca was mesmerized by his account books of Mozzie's transactions."
"I couldn't have done it without your bank statement forgeries," Peter told Neal. "They sold the con."
"Which I couldn't have done without your input," Neal said. "You provided the forms, making my work easy."
Peter placed his glasses on the workbench next to Jones's pair. Travis had brought over his equipment from his office so that he could upload the results and have them available for review.
"DeLuca lived up to his part of the bargain," Peter said. "His accountant was there with printouts and ledgers. The bank names were blacked out," he warned Aidan. "You may have a difficult time tracing the transactions."
"I doubt it," Aidan said confidently. "But let's take a look."
Travis connected to the glasses wirelessly. "Are you using wifi?" Peter asked, pretending to act like he understood the technology.
"Bluetooth?" Jones guessed.
Travis smiled. "The technology is fractal-based. It's similar to the fractal phone Neal used last year in Salzburg. A patent is pending. We decided to call it Root45 since a 45-degree angle is commonly used to demonstrate fractals to the uninitiated."
Aidan had kept his eyes glued to the monitor during Travis's explanation. "We got him!" he interrupted, a grin breaking out.
"The routing information?" Neal asked eagerly.
Aidan nodded, remaining focused on the images. He cycled through them at a dizzying rate as he applied various filters. How could he possibly absorb the info? But Peter already knew he was a genius. He and Travis could probably run rings around Spock.
"Then all systems are go for tomorrow," Neal declared. "Peter, you've spoken with Karen?"
Peter nodded. "She's agreed to be present along with three other agents. More will be outside. She did make one request."
"I spoke with Richard, and he's already agreed," Jones said.
Neal's puzzled expression was quickly replaced by a knowing smile. "What celebrity does she want to be?"
"Karen thought Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada would suit her very well." As Jones bemoaned the fact he couldn't be transformed since he and Peter would be there in their "official" capacity, Peter joked along with the others. He wished his gut was in a laughing mood.
Assuming Aidan could trace the bank information, they'd likely have more than enough evidence to charge DeLuca with racketeering and fraud, but Peter was convinced something else was at play. How else to explain that Mozzie was being so docile? Peter had been initially convinced that the designated Enterprise would throw a wrench in their carefully formulated strategy by pulling a solo maneuver. The fact he hadn't so far probably meant that he and Neal had made some sort of bargain.
According to the agreement, DeLuca would remain outside during the event, monitoring the feed from his limo. An hour into the reception, two of his thugs would meet Neal at the back door and be led to the basement where they were to collect the stash of money. After Neal handed over the briefcase containing Byron's counterfeit bills, Karen and her agents would arrest them while the agents outside would take DeLuca into custody. Then during questioning, Karen would run a prisoner's dilemma on DeLuca to get him to confess to more crimes. Simple, right? But when Neal and Henry were concerned, nothing was ever that straightforward. And added to the mix was one frustrated spaceship itching to leave drydock.
The next day at the Ellington Mansion.
The reception was in full swing. The costumes reminded Neal of a Halloween party. Mozzie was the man of the hour, circulating between celebrity couples with Janet at his side as he supposedly enticed them with investment prospects. Sara had hired El's company, Premiere Events, for the catering.
Angela attended the event as Amy Lee while Michael was in charge of Danny and Wendy at the Burkes' house. El joked that the two babies were members of their first crew, but for this job, they'd maintain a remote presence.
That morning at work, Neal had clued Peter and Karen in on the sting's twist. He figured that by telling them together, Peter might not go ballistic. Henry was also present to lend his support. They were all pros. The danger would be minimal and a lasting conviction would be their reward.
The possibility existed that DeLuca wouldn't act as Mozzie predicted. In that case, the mobster would walk away with a lighter sentence. But this was a man who'd already attempted to kill Mozzie once. What were the odds he wouldn't try again?
When Neal went to the back door, he wasn't surprised that DeLuca had replaced one of the thugs. It was a given that DeLuca wouldn't let someone else handle all that cash. So far everything was proceeding according to plan.
Neal pressed a fractal button in his pocket to alert Mozzie. The signal was also transmitted to Sara.
"Mr. DeLuca?" Neal swallowed nervously. "Are you sure you want to take the risk? What if someone spots you?"
"I'm just one of the guests," he said smoothly, sending Neal a fake smile. "You probably have a wine cellar in the basement. You can always excuse my presence by claiming you were showing it off." His face hardened. "Take me to the stash."
The two were all wearing suits but it wasn't difficult to spot the bulges indicating they were packing heat.
Neal led the way to the basement. "Byron had taken advantage of an old Prohibition-era tunnel to hide the money," he explained. "Walter discovered the location years ago. He's been skimming off sums to seed the investment scam. I'd suspected the tunnel was where he hid it and planted an infrared surveillance cam. Two days ago, when I alerted him that a city inspector wanted to inspect the tunnel, I figured he'd return to the hidey-hole. And he did."
The basement consisted of several rooms, including a large media room, storage room, laundry room, and a wine cellar. The entrance to the tunnel was behind a workout space Neal and Sara had created during the big remodeling project. What DeLuca didn't realize was that there were two staircases. In addition to the one Neal had used that led to the media room, a back staircase linked the kitchen to the wine cellar. Karen Saunders and her fellow agents would take advantage of it to get in position. Sara was coordinating the action so that those monitoring the event wouldn't suspect anything was amiss until it was too late.
DeLuca broke into a sweat as Neal opened the concealed door to the tunnel. The door's veneer matched the surrounding plastered wall. He and Sara had installed mirrors and cabinets around the entrance so that the door outline wouldn't be visible. At the time, they'd thought it would be fun to have a secret tunnel. They hadn't realized it would be so useful.
"We'll need to move quickly," Neal said, keeping his movements nervously jerky. "Your guy should guard the staircase."
"Max, go ahead," DeLuca said with a nod to the stairs.
Neal entered the tunnel and retrieved the worn leather briefcase. It was the same case Byron had used. Neal could easily imagine him smiling as the con unfolded. Neal hadn't had a chance to run a con with Byron. This was the next best thing. In Byron's honor, he was wearing one of his suits.
He exited the tunnel and gave the case to DeLuca. As expected, the mobster couldn't wait to see the contents. He placed the case on a card table Neal had set up just for that response. The placement would keep DeLuca facing the correct direction. The sight of crisp thousand-dollar bills in neat packets locked him in place. Whoever had counterfeited them was an expert.
"Neal? What are you doing down here?" Mozzie demanded angrily, appearing from nowhere. "You should be upstairs ..." His eyes widened in horror. "You found the money?"
"And I'm confiscating it as retribution," DeLuca said, whipping out a gun equipped with a silencer. "Caffrey, move next to Walter. I'm taking over this operation, starting now. You two will be found shot—the unfortunate result of a business disagreement. Rotten luck for you, Caffrey, but someone has to be the fall guy."
"Not so fast," Karen ordered, coming out of the wine cellar. "Frank DeLuca, I'm arresting you on attempted murder, extortion, and fraud." Never had Meryl Streep looked so powerful, and Peter was right beside her, gun in hand. Other agents emerged from the laundry room to overpower the hapless thug by the staircase. The pair had been under constant surveillance the entire time with agents ready to step in when DeLuca made a move. Neal and Mozzie wore bulletproof vests but Neal was sure they wouldn't be needed, and he was right. Not a shot was fired, and DeLuca would now face attempted murder charges.
#
The next evening, the mansion was the venue for another celebration. This was a smaller, private affair for just the residents.
They had an abundant supply of food since El insisted they keep the leftover appetizers. The champagne was on ice. Neal and June planned to sing a few duets later in the evening, but a round of toasts was the first item on the agenda.
Neal raised his champagne flute. "To Byron. I like to think his spirit guided the con."
June's eyes grew moist but her smile was bright. "He would have been so proud of us—and the mansion— for what we pulled off." She turned to Mozzie. "And the cause couldn't have been nobler."
Mozzie stood up and bowed to the group. "Thanks to your efforts, the Dentist of Detroit can finally rest in peace. I've already started the rumor mill about how DeLuca besmirched his reputation."
"Is the mobster truly out of our lives?" Janet asked.
"We can all rest easy," Sara assured her. "His actions in the basement when combined with his bank records will result in multiple sentences. He could have escaped with a lighter sentence. No one tricked him into attempting to kill Neal and Mozzie, but he sealed his fate when he announced his intention."
"I knew he wouldn't be able to resist," Mozzie said complacently. "The son is like the father. His greed was his undoing."
Janet clinked glasses with him. "I'm happy to close the curtain on that mobster. Although ... in an odd bit of serendipity, I heard talk of a Guys and Dolls revival. I suppose I could call the events of the past week research."
"Don't look at us to star in it," Mozzie said. "The Red Diamonds con will give our crew plenty to do." He turned to Neal. "Has there been any progress on that front?"
"I don't know if you'd call it progress, but John Hobhouse called me with news of another missing historic gem. The Austrians examined the Habsburg crown jewels and discovered one of them was a fake. The gem is a large blue-green emerald mounted at the top of the Imperial Crown. That makes the fourth known theft."
"Have any forgeries been found in the British crown jewels?" June asked.
"Fortunately not, but security measures have been strengthened. The Tower of London is now using the anti-malware program Aidan's company developed. Other museums are signing up as well."
"We'll leave for India next week," Sara said. "But we're not the only ones focused on precious gems. Peter has a case too."
"When did this happen?" Neal asked. He was surprised he hadn't heard about it, but he'd spent the afternoon at Columbia.
"De Beers contacted him this afternoon," Sara said. "He told me about it during the bus ride home. The company is worried an employee has been siphoning off diamonds." She smiled at Mozzie. "I don't know if this will fit into our con, but you can never have too many sparklies."
Notes: Thanks for reading! The next Red Diamonds story is a globetrotting tale. I've written an introduction to Destination Africa for the blog. The story will be posted on July 23.