As she’d just taken her first bite of a veggie slice, Peabody held up a hand. Then juggled the slice and her PPC. “Since September of 2054.”
“When’s his DOB?”
“Ah… September 28, 2033.”
“They converted it for him. Twenty-first birthday present.”
“Highly probable,” Mira agreed. “Which shows indulgence, but also strings. He lives there, but doesn’t own it. I’ll add, the level of the security system indicates they—and again, I lean toward the mother—will go to great lengths to protect him.”
“He’s closing in on thirty, but treated like a child. A spoiled one. I get it.”
Roarke handed her a plate with a slice. So she ate pepperoni pizza while she studied the screen. And began to strategize the operation.
“How long will it take to get through his security?” she asked Roarke.
“Mmm. A bit of time. I’ll need to make a few adjustments to Feeney’s equipment, so I’ll want… twenty minutes for that before we load up. Then? Five or six on-site to clear for eyes and ears. About that again to shut down the alarms, then the cameras.”
He paused, met her eyes. “This is assuming you want a stealth entry.”
“I do.”
“Well then, perhaps… mmm… five minutes to undermine the lockdown option, then two or three minutes at the outside to lift all locks.”
“So, twenty here, twenty there.”
She took the tube of Pepsi he’d already cracked for her and studied him as she drank. “Out of curiosity, how long if you hadn’t designed the system?”
Considering, he sipped from a tube of his own.
“Ah, hypothetically, if I were a thief, and a clever one rather than a businessman and police consultant, I’d want to take several days, perhaps a week or two, to thoroughly study the system. Then I’d need to design the tools needed to get through the various layers. This might take another two weeks, even a month. After that? About the same time I gave you.”
He ate some pizza. “But, unfortunately for me, unless I were exceptionally clever, I would likely have missed at least one of the underlayers of the system, as they’re designed for just that. So after that time, expense, and effort, I’d probably end up in the nick.”
“What you’re saying is he’s got a system that’s next to foolproof.”
“Nothing’s foolproof, but yes. It’s a bloody good system. And they’ve added every security layer we offer, and at considerable expense.”
Nodding, she glanced around at cops eating pizza.
“It’s different from when we went after Potter. I needed the whole squad there. He had a kid inside, and he had weapons. He was trained. This guy isn’t trained, he’s unlikely to be armed. He’ll have a street LC who should know how to defend himself.”
“But they worked it,” Roarke concluded.
“Yeah, and because they did, we’ll have him before he kills the next target. He’ll feel safe inside,” she added. “He’ll never see us coming because he won’t be looking. But he’s got a bloody good security system around him personally, too. And shutting that down comes after we get him.”
“The level of wealth the Harper Group can access is formidable, and it appears they’ll use it for this… wayward son.”
“You say wayward. I say shithouse rat crazy murdering fuck of a bastard.”
“Your way does sum it up nicely.”
“Who do you need to adjust the equipment?”
“Not to diminish McNab, but Feeney would be best for it.”
“Take him, get started. I can brief you on the op on the way.”
“Then we’ll be taking some of this pizza with us. You’d best grab another slice yourself before there’s nothing left but the memory.”
