that way. And standard security doctrine is to get on wide busy roads as soon as possible."
"It's a gamble."
"They'll go south," I said.
"Anything else?" Eliot asked.
"I'd be nuts to stick with the van," I said. "Old man Beck will figure if I was doing this for real I'd ditch it and steal a car."
"Where?" Duffy asked.
"The map shows a mall next to the highway."
"OK, we'll stash one there."
"Spare keys under the bumper?" Eliot asked.
Duffy shook her head. "Too phony. We need this whole thing to be absolutely convincing. He'll have to steal it for real."
"I don't know how," I said. "I've never stolen a car." The room went quiet.
"All I know is what I learned in the army," I said. "Military vehicles are never locked.
And they don't have ignition keys. They start off a button."
"OK," Eliot said. "No problem is insuperable. We'll leave it unlocked. But you'll act like it is locked. You'll pretend to jimmy the door. We'll leave a load of wire and a bunch of coat hangers nearby. Maybe you could ask the kid to find something for you. Make him feel involved. It'll help the illusion. Then you screw around with it and, hey, the door pops open. We'll loosen the shroud on the steering column. We'll strip the right wires and only the right wires. You find them and touch them together and you're an instant bad guy."
"Brilliant," Duffy said.
Eliot smiled. "I do my best."
"Let's take a break," Duffy said. "Start again after dinner." The final pieces fell into place after dinner. Two of the guys got back with the last of the equipment. They had a matched pair of Colt Anacondas for me. They were big brutal weapons. They looked expensive. I didn't ask where they got them from. They came with a box of real .44 Magnums and a box of .44 blanks. The blanks came from a hardware store. They were designed for a heavy-duty nail gun. The sort of thing that punches nails straight into concrete. I opened each Anaconda cylinder and scratched an X against one of the chambers with the tip of a nail scissor. A Colt revolver's cylinder steps around clockwise, which is different from a Smith & Wesson, which rotates counterclockwise.
The X would represent the first chamber to be fired. I would line it up at the ten o'clock position where I could see it and it would step around and fall under the hammer with the first pull of the trigger.
Duffy brought me a pair of shoes. They were my size. The right one had a cavity carved into the heel. She gave me a wireless e-mail device that fit snugly into the space.
"That's why I'm glad you've got big feet," she said. "Made it easier to fit."
"Is it reliable?"
"It better be. It's new government issue. All departments are doing their concealed communications with it now."
"Great," I said. In my career more foul-ups had been caused by faulty technology than any other single cause.
"It's the best we can do," she said. "They'd find anything else. They're bound to search you. And the theory is if they're scanning for radio transmissions all they'll hear is a brief burst of modem screech. They'll probably think it's static." They had three blood effects from a New York theatrical costumier. They were big and bulky. Each was a foot-wide square of Kevlar that was to be taped to the victim's chest.
They had rubber gore reservoirs and radio receivers and firing charges and batteries.
"Wear loose shirts, guys," Eliot said.
The radio triggers were separate buttons I would have to tape to my right forearm. They were wired to batteries I would have to carry in my inside pocket. The buttons were big enough to feel through my coat and my jacket and my shirt, and I figured I would look OK supporting the Colt's weight with my left hand. We rehearsed the sequence. First, the pickup driver. That button would be nearest my wrist. I would trigger it with my index finger. Second, the pickup passenger. That button would be in the middle. Middle finger.
Third, the old guy playing the cop. That button would be nearest my
"It's a gamble."
"They'll go south," I said.
"Anything else?" Eliot asked.
"I'd be nuts to stick with the van," I said. "Old man Beck will figure if I was doing this for real I'd ditch it and steal a car."
"Where?" Duffy asked.
"The map shows a mall next to the highway."
"OK, we'll stash one there."
"Spare keys under the bumper?" Eliot asked.
Duffy shook her head. "Too phony. We need this whole thing to be absolutely convincing. He'll have to steal it for real."
"I don't know how," I said. "I've never stolen a car." The room went quiet.
"All I know is what I learned in the army," I said. "Military vehicles are never locked.
And they don't have ignition keys. They start off a button."
"OK," Eliot said. "No problem is insuperable. We'll leave it unlocked. But you'll act like it is locked. You'll pretend to jimmy the door. We'll leave a load of wire and a bunch of coat hangers nearby. Maybe you could ask the kid to find something for you. Make him feel involved. It'll help the illusion. Then you screw around with it and, hey, the door pops open. We'll loosen the shroud on the steering column. We'll strip the right wires and only the right wires. You find them and touch them together and you're an instant bad guy."
"Brilliant," Duffy said.
Eliot smiled. "I do my best."
"Let's take a break," Duffy said. "Start again after dinner." The final pieces fell into place after dinner. Two of the guys got back with the last of the equipment. They had a matched pair of Colt Anacondas for me. They were big brutal weapons. They looked expensive. I didn't ask where they got them from. They came with a box of real .44 Magnums and a box of .44 blanks. The blanks came from a hardware store. They were designed for a heavy-duty nail gun. The sort of thing that punches nails straight into concrete. I opened each Anaconda cylinder and scratched an X against one of the chambers with the tip of a nail scissor. A Colt revolver's cylinder steps around clockwise, which is different from a Smith & Wesson, which rotates counterclockwise.
The X would represent the first chamber to be fired. I would line it up at the ten o'clock position where I could see it and it would step around and fall under the hammer with the first pull of the trigger.
Duffy brought me a pair of shoes. They were my size. The right one had a cavity carved into the heel. She gave me a wireless e-mail device that fit snugly into the space.
"That's why I'm glad you've got big feet," she said. "Made it easier to fit."
"Is it reliable?"
"It better be. It's new government issue. All departments are doing their concealed communications with it now."
"Great," I said. In my career more foul-ups had been caused by faulty technology than any other single cause.
"It's the best we can do," she said. "They'd find anything else. They're bound to search you. And the theory is if they're scanning for radio transmissions all they'll hear is a brief burst of modem screech. They'll probably think it's static." They had three blood effects from a New York theatrical costumier. They were big and bulky. Each was a foot-wide square of Kevlar that was to be taped to the victim's chest.
They had rubber gore reservoirs and radio receivers and firing charges and batteries.
"Wear loose shirts, guys," Eliot said.
The radio triggers were separate buttons I would have to tape to my right forearm. They were wired to batteries I would have to carry in my inside pocket. The buttons were big enough to feel through my coat and my jacket and my shirt, and I figured I would look OK supporting the Colt's weight with my left hand. We rehearsed the sequence. First, the pickup driver. That button would be nearest my wrist. I would trigger it with my index finger. Second, the pickup passenger. That button would be in the middle. Middle finger.
Third, the old guy playing the cop. That button would be nearest my
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