She'd hired private security for the meeting. Tommy had provided contact information for reliable men. They hadn't come cheap.
Chilled to the bone, Robert and Lee stood on either side of her. Robert held the papers for the property exchange. Lee carried a pump-action shotgun cradled in his good arm. The pink flamingo sling cradled his other arm. Neither of them looked particularly happy to be there.
Robert hadn't been pleased when she'd explained her plan to him. He'd wanted retribution for Benny and Park. His desire for revenge had surprised her. It revealed a bloodthirsty side she hadn't imagined him to have.
She turned to glance at him. He wore a deep frown. “Are you sure you want to be here, Robert? It isn't too late to step into the armored truck where you'll be safe.
He turned to look at her and attempted a smile. “This is where I need to be. I know I'm not a brave man, but I owe Benny and Park at least this much. I need to confront the people who killed my friends.”
Lee grinned at her when she turned to look at him. The suicide vest fit snugly over her leather jacket where everyone could see it. Rows of pockets had been sewn around the garment. Wires ran from pocket to pocket, each of them leading to a battery pack mounted on her back. True to his word, he'd fashioned the vest to be light enough to run in.
Another fifteen minutes passed before a line of cars advanced along the road leading to the airstrip. The cavalcade swung around in a curve to travel in Bai's direction. She counted ten large SUVs. Romano and the Martinez brothers were bringing a small army with them.
When the line of SUVs approached to within forty feet, the vehicles swung around in an arc to face the limo. The doors on the vehicles opened. Forty men wearing fatigues and carrying assault weapons disembarked with military precision. Twenty of the men advanced to within twenty feet of the limo and stopped. They dropped to one knee and trained their weapons on her and her entourage.
“I'm having a WTF moment here,” Lee said cleverly, looking aside at her with a smile. “You really know how to stir up shit, don't you?”
She shrugged in response and turned back to survey the enemy troops. The pointed weapons were an attempt to intimidate. Their show of force just made her angry.
The doors of the idling SUVs remained open. The rear guard positioned themselves behind the doors that formed a metal barricade. There was no sign of Romano or the Martinez brothers. She was beginning to get really annoyed when a black sedan approached.
“They're not taking any chances, are they?” she said, glancing at Robert and then at Lee.
“I am so nervous,” Robert replied. “I'm sweating and freezing at the same time. Why are they pointing their rifles at us?”
“They're just trying to scare us.”
“It's working,” Robert informed her.
The sedan drew her attention as it swung in behind the line of SUVs. Three men got out of the car to walk around and stand in front of the vehicles. All three wore flak jackets over business suits. Two men in fatigues carrying large duffle bags joined them. When a sixth man in battle dress joined the group, they started to slowly walk forward.
She'd done Internet searches to better know her enemy and studied the men as they approached. Romano looked nervous, fidgety. The man she recognized as Ray Martinez Jr. walked toward her, his face set in an angry scowl. The other Martinez brother, Oscar, smiled when he saw her looking at him. He was handsome and knew it. The man in camouflage showed no emotion. His head turned from side to side as he walked, his eyes constantly assessing the situation.
When the small delegation reached the front line, they stopped. Ray Jr. and the man in battle dress exchanged words. She couldn't hear their conversation, but the discussion became heated. Finally, the man in fatigues broke off the dialogue by dropping his hand in a curt motion. Whatever Junior had wanted, the man had denied. Anger reddened Ray Jr.'s face.
“Things might get a little tense during this exchange, Robert.” She glanced aside to see if he was listening. “No matter what anybody says or does, just remember to stay at my side. I'll see you don't come to any harm.”
“If you turn and run,” Lee added. “I'll shoot you myself.” He pointed two forked fingers at his eyes and then pointed them at Robert to get the message across.
Robert turned to confront him. “I wouldn't run away and leave Bai.” He took offense at Lee's dig. “I'm not brave, but I'm not a coward either.”
“Settle, boys,” she ordered, as the contingent with the money separated from the line of soldiers. “It's showtime.”
The six men walked to within five feet of the limousine and stopped. The two duffel bags dropped to the tarmac. The soldiers who'd carried the bags took one step back and placed their hands behind their backs to stand at parade rest. Romano and the Martinez boys looked at her expectantly.
She nodded in the direction of the waiting money, then led Robert and Lee around the limousine toward the exchange. She smiled as she walked to show the enemy she wasn't afraid. The swap had to take place on her terms for the plan to work. She needed to be in control of the situation.
The man in fatigues smiled as she came to stand before him. Widening her smile in response, she was mindful that some cultures consider a grin to be a predatory gesture. She bared her teeth. The symbolism didn't seem to be lost on the uniformed man. His eyebrows raised in silent appraisal.
“Gentlemen,” she said, gesturing at the bags lying on the tarmac. “I assume the duffle bags contain the money.”
The man in military garb replied, “They do. You're welcome to inspect the currency.”
She looked at him, curious. “And you are?”
“You may call me âThe Major.' Let's leave it at that. There's really no reason for introductions.”
She looked at The Major a long moment before turning to nod at Lee, who handed his shotgun to Robert and knelt down next to the bags. He opened the first one and rummaged to the bottom, pulling out stacks of bills at random for inspection.
While Lee inspected the money, she spoke to The Major. “I believe we have a mutual acquaintance.”
“And who would that be?”
“I didn't get her name, but she carried a garroteâa chunky woman with blonde hair.”
His face tightened and his lips drew into a thin line, but he didn't reply.
When Lee was satisfied the money in the first bag was genuine, he checked the second bag before standing.
“Satisfied?” Ray Jr. asked, anger written across his features.
Lee nodded his head to let her know the money was acceptable.
“Yes,” she replied.
“Then I want to check your vest,” The Major said. “As an act of good faith, I'd like to see that it's real.”
The request didn't come as a surprise. She carefully opened a pocket on her vest to pull out a square of Semtex, a high-grade explosive. It was embedded with solid aluminum balls the size of marbles. She pulled the detonator cap out of the clay-like substance and tossed the explosive to The Major for inspection. “You can keep that. I have lots more.”
The Major inspected the Semtex and pulled out one of the aluminum balls.
He tossed the ball bearing in his hand and seemed surprised at how light it was. “Very ingenious.” He looked at her and nodded. “It would appear we're ready to finalize this deal.”
“Not quite,” she said forcefully. “I want to hear the apologies.”
Martinez Jr. blurted out, “What are we apologizing for?”
“To start with, which one of you killed Benjamin Chin?” she asked. “I want an apology from the man who killed my friend.”
He answered angrily, “You want me to say I'm sorry for killing that jerk? It's his fault he's dead. He put his nose where it didn't belong.”
“Just do it,” said his brother Oscar, looking uncomfortable. “You knew it was part of the deal coming out here, Ray. We all did.”
Ray Jr. stared at her, petulant and hateful. Without wavering, she patiently met his gaze.
“Fine!” He shouted the word while turning to give his brother a dirty look. “I'm sorry I killed the guy. When he saw the property, he threatened to go to the authorities. I couldn't let that happen.” He turned back to look at her. “Are you happy now?”
She looked aside at Robert, who nodded his head subtly. He'd been determined to hear the truth about what happened. Now he had it.
She turned back to the men confronting her. “To answer your question, no, I'm not happy. But then, I'm not nearly as unhappy as Benny Chin's mother, who'll never see her son again. And what about Benny's secretary, Park?”
The men looked at one another a moment in confusion before The Major answered. “We had nothing to do with the death of Park,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “The woman performed a task on our behalf and was paid handsomely but didn't know who we were. We had no reason to kill her.”
She stared at the men. They seemed sincere, which didn't really mean much. It had occurred to Bai that Sammy Tu might have killed Park to silence her. Then again, Park was an alcoholic gambling addict who'd come into a windfall. They might never find out who killed the woman.
“And the attempts on my life?” she asked.
“I'm sorry we tried to have you killed,” Oscar Martinez said lamely. “But what's done is done. You've got your money.” He put his hand out for the papers.
“There's one more thing,” she said, looking at Romano. “I want to know why John Romano's son assaulted my daughter at her school.”
She watched as the men exchanged glances with one another. Apparently, no one, other than Romano, knew what she was talking about.
“It was all a big misunderstanding,” he blurted. “I had no idea my son was listening in on my conversations. He took matters into his own hands. I don't know what he was thinking. He's a kid, fer chrissake.”
The Major raised an eyebrow at her. “Don't take it personally.”
She ignored the suggestion and turned to nod at Robert. He handed the folder to Oscar Martinez, who opened the envelope to look carefully at the papers.
When he was satisfied, he nodded to The Major. “We have what we came for.”
Lee and Robert each picked up a duffel bag and walked toward the armored truck. As soon as they reached the truck, they heard the whupping sound of an approaching helicopter.
The Major looked at her with a question in his eyes.
“Transport,” she said. “No reason to be alarmed.”
Ray Jr. turned to The Major angrily. The Major shook his head and shrugged his shoulders at the change of circumstances. When he looked back at her, he smiled again with a crocodile's grin. She recognized a threat when she saw one. The Major was just biding his time.
“I assumed there would be transponders in the money,” Bai explained. “The Bell helicopter circling in for the pickup has a three-hundred-mile range. It will drop the money at a half dozen locations where the currency will be scanned for electronics, rebundled, and placed in new cases for transport. Don't waste your efforts looking for it. The money's gone.”
Arcing around swiftly from the Port of Oakland, the copter swooped in low over the water coming in fast and hot. The chopper dropped to hover behind the armored vehicle. Robert and Lee wrestled the heavy duffle bags full of money into the back of the copter. Then it immediately drifted out over the water to head toward San Francisco. The entire operation took less than a minute.
The Major spoke. “Miss Jiang, I can't say it's been a pleasure doing business with you, but it has been interesting.” He turned to the men at his side. “Gentlemen, I believe our business here is concluded.”
“You're not going to let her get away with this, are you?” Ray Jr. asked. His face was fused with anger.
The Major was about to answer when his earbud squawked. He listened intently before raising his arm straight into the air and opening his fist to show an open palm.
He turned back to stare at her. “We have company.”
“Do tell,” Bai said blandly.
He spoke into a microphone attached to his collar. In the event someone had missed his hand signal, he repeated his order to stand down. His men responded by laying their rifles gently on the tarmac before forming up to stand at parade rest.
Vehicles poured out of abandoned hangars at the other end of the runway. Dozens of cars and SUVs sped toward the meet. FBI logos clearly identified them as official government property. Bai stood quietly to wait as they approached.
Ray Jr. stared at her. “Is this your doing?!” His eyes bulged as he furtively looked for a way out. Unless he was prepared to swim, he had nowhere to go. “If this is your doing, you're wasting your time.”
“Just shut up,” said Oscar, putting a hand on his brother's arm in an attempt to rein him in.
Ray Jr. brushed off his brother's hand and moved toward Bai. His arm swung back to strike her. She pulled her knife from the sheath on her sleeve and met his hand as it came toward her. She drove the blade into his fist.
A hand grabbed Ray Jr. by the back of his flak jacket and jerked him to the ground on his back. The Major stood over the injured man and put up both hands, trying to defuse the situation.
“Everyone should remain calm!” he commanded, staring at Bai's vest.
Ray Jr. tried to get up while holding his bleeding hand.
The Major placed a foot on his chest and shoved him back to the tarmac. “Your father paid me to protect you, Ray. You're not making it easy.”
Federal agents surrounded the meet as dozens of agents poured out of their vehicles and brought assault rifles to bear before moving in to collect weapons.
The Major looked at her and smiled in amusement. “You're going to have a tough time explaining that suicide vest. Making bombs is a federal offense.”