“Who’s on the list that they want?”
“Aside from wealthy business types?More than two dozen current and former government officials from various different countries.”
“So they’re not going to force Edward to buy up a shell company?”
“Maybe they will at a later date, but right now, it seems who they know is more important than what the Pavluhkins can get them to buy as a cover.”Katie chewed on her bottom lip, the skin there ragged.“We’d be destroying a lot of lives if we go forward with this.The amount ofkompromatthe Pavluhkins can pin to these people is ruining.It’s not a decision we should make alone.”
“No, it isn’t,” Jamie agreed, reaching out to pat her on the shoulder.“Go get some rest, Katie.I’ll handle it from here.Thanks for your hard work.”
“Anytime.”
She wandered out of the office yawning, leaving Jamie behind to process the information she’d put together for him.After only a couple of minutes of hard thinking, Jamie called a number that wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for him if his comms log was ever reviewed.
“What?”Liam asked, sounding wide-awake even at this early hour.
“Breakfast is on me today.I expect to see you in a couple of hours.Zero seven hundred, sharp.Don’t be late,” Jamie said.
“I’ll be late if I want to.”
Liam wasn’t late, though he only gave himself about twenty seconds to spare.
Jamie was dressed and waiting for him in the office when he finally arrived hours later.Everyone except for Katie was up and getting ready for the day ahead, all of them aware that Liam coming over this early wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
“So what is it?Insider trading?Sex scandal?Selling of nuclear weapons on the black market?”Liam asked as he sat down opposite Jamie at the desk.
“You jumped from white-collar crime to treason in less than a second.That’s not how normal people think,” Jamie replied.
“We’re not normal.Katie work her magic?”
“And then some.”
Jamie briefed Liam as quickly and concisely as he could, laying out the job Jansen wanted them to do.Liam listened with a frown on his face that got steadily deeper as he flicked through the data Katie had compiled.
“Edward Saunders and his father are British citizens.Allowing their ruination won’t play well in the press if this gets out,” Liam said slowly.
“I know,” Jamie agreed.“To say nothing of the reputations of the international people their business relies on, or my own when it’s discovered Root Source, Inc.allowed a secondary breach to happen on purpose at the behest of a criminal enterprise.”
Liam grimaced, tapping his fingers against the chair’s armrest.“It’s a shit situation all around.I need to bring this to headquarters.I can’t green-light this on my own.”
“I figured you’d say that.”Jamie handed over a spare solid-state drive he’d copied all the data to.“We’re running tight, so if you can get me an answer before tonight, I’d appreciate it.We can’t move forward without approval, and an invitation to the gala is contingent on this job.Katie will still need a few days to initiate the business deal with Saunders & Associates.”
“Think I’ll skip the sit-down meal and get moving.You’ll hear from me one way or another by tonight,” Liam promised, snagging a scone from the half-demolished breakfast platter sitting on the desk.
“Thanks.”
“Don’t thank me yet.”Liam got to his feet, eyeing Jamie.“What are you going to do in the meantime?”
Jamie spread his hands, encompassing the holoscreens layered in the air around the desk.“Plan accordingly.”
“I’ll leave you to it.”
Liam probably thought Jamie would immerse himself in the various ways this mission could all go spectacularly wrong and work his way out of the problems.Which, to be fair, was exactly what Jamie did throughout most of the morning.Once lunch was over, however, Jamie pried Kyle away from monitoring the surveillance feed of the surrounding neighborhood, despite his protest, in favor of an afternoon out to see and be seen in keeping with their covers.
Jamie, never one to break a promise if he could avoid it, booked a private personal shopping appointment at a legacy luxury design house on Bond Street in the West End.Unlike some of the other shopping areas in London, Bond Street catered more to the wealthy than the middle class, with flagship stores of prominent design houses, jewelry stores, and everything in between taking up space street-side in the renovated buildings.
A good portion of everyday shopping was done online, but people always needed time away from work and home.Physical stores hadn’t disappeared; they’d merely narrowed down into specific niches that survived the Digital Revolutions around the end of the twentieth century.Which meant nowadays, the entire aesthetic of Bond Street was sleek and subtle on the outside while the interiors of well-branded stores overflowed with luxury products and fawning attention to their wealthy clientele.Three-dimensional holographic advertisements were relegated to one or two windows in each shop, showcasing the hottest styles of the season strutting down the fashion runways.
Levels of wealth existed even in the retail environment, or rather, especially within retail.What a person could afford and show off was as much a status symbol as where they dined and who they were seen with.Jamie had learned young the skill of putting yourself out there in a calculating way to draw the exact kind of attention you wanted.Their arrival didn’t go unnoticed when the SUV pulled up in front of the shop in question, the manager hovering at the entrance, waiting for them.
