“He’s from a place called Cleveland. I don’t know where it is. Over the years through go-betweens, we sent black tar heroin to him. He paid top dollar, a good client. Then the orders stopped. I hadn’t heard from him for more than a year. A few weeks ago, I get a call from him. He asks a lot of questions about a group called Teton Security. I tell him he’s crazy—how does he know I work with these guys? He tells me to get some new IDs together, mail them to this place in Canada. Tells me there’s big dollars. I tell myself, what the fuck, why not? So, I get him all new IDs. Then he calls again, two days ago. Says he’s here in Ho Chi Minh City and needs help in a personal matter, something about a woman. I know her from TSD—good looking, Alex something. He wants to know everything she does. Earlier today the family she’s looking out for called, said they wanted to go to the mall. I tell the American, then call my cousin to drive them. You killed my cousin?”
“Who knows, maybe yes, maybe no. This white guy got a name?”
“Ralph Cierzinski.”
“Where’s he staying? You must have found him somewhere safe, someplace to hide and stash the kid he took.”
“He take some kid?”
Lin pushed the muzzle harder against the man’s head. The girl started to moan and move. “Address!”
“On the docks, in Tan Thuan Dong, District 7. I have a warehouse; it’s on Third Street, number thirteen. Now get the fuck out of here.”
Lin picked up the pillow next to Quan and in one move placed the muzzle against the fabric and fired. Quan jerked, then collapsed.
Lin was out the window and crossing the roof of the house next door when the screaming began.
CHAPTER 42
After leaving the mall in the late afternoon, Alex walked down the hallway to the Luccheses’ apartment from the elevator with Javier. On the drive over, Javier had talked to Langley and the embassy in Vietnam. Alex had talked to Chris and tried to sort through the chaos and bring him up to speed. Alex knew that Javier wanted to talk about Ralph, but that was the last thing she wanted to do.
Alex used her key and entered the apartment. The sun was low, and a strange, gauzy gray sky with a burnt sienna horizon cast its light into the apartment. Javier went to Chris, who was standing alone on the terrace. Alex went down the hallway to find Ilaria and the child.
Two minutes later she walked onto the terrace and said, “They’re as good as can be expected. Did you find Nevio?”
“Yes,” Chris said. “He and Karns were in a meeting with no cell access. They’ll be here shortly.”
Alex placed her back against the top rail, and Javier took the opposite corner. Chris closed the sliding doors, crossed his arms over his chest, and said, “So, now what? We wait?”
“Yes, it won’t take long,” Alex said. “Javier called his people. They’re doing what they can to find out how Ralph got into the country. He had to have left a trail: fake passport, papers, something. They could try facial recognition. My bigger concern is why Lin was at the mall waiting in the parking lot. I assume he was following the Luccheses and me. Detective Phan will be here later, along with a team to set up monitoring the ransom drop, assuming there is one.” She saw Chris’s glare. “There is no way that Ralph and Lin could possibly be connected. Ralph’s doing this to get to me, screw me over—somehow. I know we’ll hear from him. He loves to play games.”
“Asshole,” Chris added, then turned to Javier. “Why did you come to the mall? It could have blown your cover. We’re handling it.”
“There’s too much at stake, and Phan knows who I am,” Javier said. “I need to make sure that everything stays on track and goes as planned.”
“What goes as planned?” Alex said, standing straight. “I get the distinct impression that there’s a lot of shit going on that I’m not read into. And it’s putting this family and me in a very difficult position. I’m not happy about it. Chris, what gives?”
Alex looked through the slider and watched the front door fly open. Nevio stormed into the room. Karns followed in his wake. Nevio looked straight at Alex, went to the sliding door, and yanked it open.
His voice quivering, Nevio said, “It’s all your fault. They took him from right under your nose. Campbell, I don’t want that woman anywhere near my wife and children. Get her out of here.”
Behind Nevio, Ilaria, Maria, and Gianna appeared. It was obvious that the child had been crying.
“Nevio,” Chris said, walking between the two. “We’ll deal with that later; right now we need to get Paolo back. And Alex is good at that, and besides, she’s our best way to get to the kidnapper.”
“Why, for God’s sake?” Ilaria said.
“I know who did it,” Alex said. “I will get Paolo back.”
The phone in her pocket began to vibrate, so she removed it and looked. “It’s him, a text message.” She read it, then showed it to Chris.
Sandy Girl,
Tomorrow morning, at ten, be at the ferry boat pier at Me Linh Square. Walk to the south end. The ferry will arrive at 10:15. Do not be late. You’ll be sent instructions when you arrive. The two hundred thousand dollars can be in euros and American money—old bills only, your choice, and only fifties and hundreds. Place the money in a clear, waterproof bag. Make sure it’s well secured with clear tape. No transmitters or other devices—I will see them. The money must be visible. You are to be the only one on the pier. If I see another person connected to you, the boy will suffer. If you fail to follow any of these instructions, the boy will suffer. Attached is his picture. The same news broadcast, on channel HTV4, is on in the background of the photo.
Danny Z.
“Turn the TV to channel HTV4,” Alex said.
Maria picked up the remote and clicked it to channel four. The TV’s image matched the photo that Ralph had posted; the same news anchor, a pretty, young Vietnamese woman, was on the screen. The phone picture showed Paolo in front of the TV, duct tape across his mouth and a wide, scared look in his eyes, and a newspaper sat on his lap, the time “7:30 p.m.” written in marker on its front.
“Is that Paolo?” Nevio demanded. “Show it to me.”
Alex looked at Chris—he nodded. She handed Nevio her phone.
“Oh my God. What have they done to him?”
“Right now, he’s okay,” Alex said. “We need to talk, Nevio, and you too, Ilaria. Let’s go into your office.”
“My office?”
“Now! Chris, Javier?”
“Coming.” Chris turned and looked at Karns. “You, stay.”
“What the hell’s going on, Chris?” Karns asked.
“Watch the family.”
The five walked through the apartment to Nevio’s office. Nevio led the way. Javier closed the door behind them after they entered.
“I want to know everything,” Nevio said.
“I’m not sure you do,” Alex said. “This game you’re playing just got out of hand.”
“Game? What game?” Ilaria shouted. “What do you mean?”
“Your husband has been dealing with some very unsavory people, people who want information he has, high-tech information. And I assume that you know all about it?”
Alex looked at Chris and Javier; they both nodded.
Ilaria turned to Nevio. “How did they find out?”
Nevio, stunned, just glared at Ilaria.
“Now, to add to this mess,” Alex said, “my ex-husband has decided to screw with me. He took Paolo. He has no idea what’s going on here between you two, Karns, this assassin, and the Chinese. But this Con Ma, this killer you’ve been dealing with”—she pointed at Nevio and Ilaria—“is afraid that it will upset everything he’s been negotiating with you. And I believe he knows now who took your son.”
“How would this ex-husband of yours be involved in any of this?” Ilaria demanded.
“He’s a resourceful man. I don’t know, but I’m going to find out. Unfortunately, Con Ma—whose real name is Lin Van Phan—knows about the kidnapping. He was there, at the mall.
He saw everything. How do you think he’ll react, Nevio? I’m sure he thinks he’s been duped, by you.”
“My God, Campbell,” Nevio said. “How can you let an employee talk to me like this?”
“I think she’s doing just great.” Chris smiled and looked at Alex. “Go on.”
“You’ve been passing top-secret software and plans to this Con Ma, an agent working for a dangerous and murderous syndicate out of China. And before you object, I have pictures of you in Dubai with him, and I saw you at the market a few days ago handing over a thumb drive to this man. Is there more? When is the next transfer?”
“My son was kidnapped because of you!” Nevio yelled. “These are all fabrications. I’ve done nothing wrong.” He turned to Ilaria. “None of this should have happened—I had your promise. You said they would never find out.” Alex suddenly realized the truth behind the whole sordid mess. It was Ilaria and her family who had involved the Chinese and masterminded the exchanges.
“You and your damn father,” Nevio continued. “You said if I passed on the information, all our problems would go away. Now, you’ve made them worse.”
“Shut up, you fool,” Ilaria said. “It was what had to be done. Without the Chinese paying the Mafia for our debts, we would all be dead by now.”
Alex looked at Javier. He nodded.
“It’s her fault,” Ilaria said, pointing at Alex, grasping at a straw. “Paolo is our concern right now, nothing else. She knows the kidnapper. She must be involved.”
“We will do everything—” Alex started to say.
“Campbell, if anything happens to my boy, I will destroy you!” Nevio yelled. “And I’ll make sure the world will know about it. I will have you dead!”
“It’s a little late for you to be making threats,” Javier said. “You’re right, Alex; there is more to all of this.”
“Ilaria and Nevio, I get that you have financial problems,” Alex said as she glanced at Javier. “Your difficulties led to stupid decisions, and those decisions have led you to where you are now.”
“How do you know?” Ilaria said, her eyes sharply focused on Alex.
“Little things, like the missing automobiles and tapestries in Milan. These are the easy things to liquidate for money. And I’m sure Mr. Castillo can add to this list as well.”
“And who is this man?” Nevio asked Chris while pointing to Javier.
“I’m with the Central Intelligence Agency,” Javier said. “And yes, Alex, you are correct. Ilaria’s father, Enzo Giordano, is broke. The family’s fortune has disappeared during the last twenty years: bad investments, high living, and some very questionable loans from the Mafia to both their family and their business. These came to light during the vetting process of his company and the contracts with NATO. And I’m the man behind this charade.”
“Those are all lies,” Nevio said. “Where is your proof?” He looked at his wife.
Ignoring her husband, Ilaria turned to Javier. “It’s all a game to you, isn’t it? Now my family is in danger, my son kidnapped. The money—it’s always about the money.”
“What did you do, Ilaria?” Alex asked.
“This American agent is right, but it was my father,” Ilaria continued. “He told me that some Chinese men, ‘investors’ they called themselves, came to his office. Somehow, they knew about Como’s prototypes and the software. They said they would pay off our debts to the Mafia—all we had to do was get them what they wanted. Father talked with Nevio and me, told us what needed to be done. Harry Karns would be our contact. In a previous trip, Nevio met with Karns, things were done. I don’t know what. In Dubai they met again.”
“Shut up, Ilaria,” Nevio said. “You’ve said too much.”
She glared at her husband. “Father had already given them one of the five pieces before involving us. That was what was in the technology facility here in Saigon. Those men weren’t supposed to die, Chris. Karns told Enzo that no one would be there.”
“You put your family in the middle of all this?” Chris asked, his anger growing. “I can’t believe you would do that.”
“We had to look normal. They said everything had to look normal,” Nevio said, finally admitting that he knew more than he was protesting about. “No one would find out. That’s why that woman is here”—he pointed at Alex—“to protect the children.”
“But they did find out,” Alex said. She turned to Chris. “You suspected Karns, didn’t you?”
Chris stared at the Luccheses. Alex could see rage.
“Because of you two, good men have died, friends,” Chris said. “And your father? Damn it, Ilaria, did you honestly think you could get away with all this?”
Nevio pulled open a drawer and yanked out a pistol. When he raised it, all he saw was Chris’s pistol pointing at him.
“Don’t even think it, Nevio,” Chris said. “This has gone too far; there’s no need to make your kids orphans. Set it down, and take a few steps back.”
Nevio, his hand shaking, looked at Ilaria.
“Please, Nevio,” Ilaria pleaded. “The children.”
He set the pistol on the table.
“Back away,” Chris said.
Nevio took two steps back. Alex saw the man was dying inside, crushed by what his family had been going through.
Chris never lowered the pistol.
“Karns wanted to hand over the software part by part,” Nevio said. “He appreciated how our development team said the software needed to be in five segments. So, we worked out a plan, the first part would be left at the tech facility—Karns said they would then realize the value of the software. After that, we would hand over each of the additional pieces, one at a time. Money would be transferred each time. Ilaria’s father would be told when the Mafia got the money, and we would prepare the next part. I gave the Chinese the next part in Dubai, then passed on the third part of the software at the market.”
“You’re committing treason,” Alex said. “And you, Ilaria. You put the children in the middle of this!”
“If we didn’t do this,” Ilaria said, “our family would lose everything, and we would be destroyed.”
Alex looked at Chris, her eyes wide. She was shocked and astonished. She started to say something.
Chris shook his head no, then said, “Right now, we need to get the boy back.”
“I knew it was bad,” Nevio said, ignoring Chris. He was talking to Ilaria. “Enzo told us no one would find out.”
“We’re bankrupt,” Ilaria said. “There is no money. The house and everything else is gone—mortgaged against loans we needed to live. Alex was right. Father sold the cars and the tapestries. We spend money we don’t have, the children’s schools are a fortune, and the house costs millions to keep up. All the family money is gone. Father speculated, hoped for a turnaround—he lost it all. It was the Mafia that made the contact with the Chinese, arranging for the Chinese to pay them. Now, it’s all blown up.” She looked at Chris. “These people will pay us ten million euros and take care of the Mafia after we pass on the last of the data and the prototype. Don’t you see this is the only way? Nevio, we had to do this. We did this for our family.”
“Me? You did this for us?” Nevio said. “Now our boy is gone. Is that the price? And that woman says that she knows who did this. I don’t believe her. I don’t believe any of them.”
The door crashed open. Karns stood in the doorway with a pistol. He saw Chris and his weapon. He turned his pistol toward Ilaria. “Drop it, Campbell. Now, or she’s dead.”
Chris took a deep breath and pitched the pistol to the couch behind him.
“Smart.” Karns looked at Nevio, his weapon never moving. “Nevio, I told you to keep your mouth shut. You’re a weak little shit and have sold your family for money. I told them I would handle it—I told you I would handle it.” He turned his weapon toward Chris and Alex. “You move over next to them,” he said to Javier. “Now this is a situation, isn’t it, Campbell? My Chinese associates want the rest of
the data and the prototype. I know it was sent here. It’s on Nevio’s computer.” He reached into his pocket and extracted a small black device. Alex guessed what it was. It looked like an unmelted version of the drive and transmitter she saw in Texas.
“You won’t get away with this,” Chris said.
“So trite, so buttoned up. Can’t you see that I’ve already gotten away with it? I’ve been working on this deal for two years. I’m the one who suggested to Beijing the opportunity. They made the contact with the Mafia. The bonus was the financial problems that the Luccheses have. Sometimes you just get lucky. My cut is a nice, what you might call, finder’s fee. And you, boss, couldn’t see what was going on right under your nose.” His eyes never left the three of them. “Ilaria, slowly walk to me. Give this device to Nevio; he knows what to do with it. Nevio, you will download the last two plug-ins. If you don’t, I will first shoot your wife, then everyone in this apartment. You will watch them die; then you will still download the data. So, dammit, put in the device—it knows what to do.”
Ilaria took the device from Karns and gave it to Nevio. Without saying anything, Nevio walked to his computer and inserted the device. A minute later after the lights turned solid green, he removed it.
“Good boy, now press the red button, please,” Karns said. “And give it to Ilaria.”
He did as ordered. The lights on the device began to blink. He handed it to his wife.
“Mama,” a voice yelled from behind Karns. Gianna ran into the room.
“No, Gianna, stay there,” Ilaria yelled.
Karns grabbed the child by the shoulder, stopping her. He gripped her tight. Gianna screamed.
“No,” Ilaria shouted. She threw the device at Karns; it hit him in the face. He let go of the girl and tried to catch the falling transmitter. He fumbled it, and it flew up into the air.
Alex bolted to the child and gently tackled her. She rolled her over and protected Gianna from Karns. At the same instant, Ilaria grabbed the pistol on the desk and swung the weapon up at Karns.
“What the hell?” Karns roared.
Ilaria’s first shot hit Karns midchest, knocking him back into the door; the second shot spun him around. Karns stared at the woman for a moment, not understanding what happened. The pistol fell from his hand. He then ripped at the blood on his shirt, tearing away the buttons, and collapsed to the floor. The device skidded across the hardwood floor. Ilaria aimed the pistol at the man on the floor and fired again.
Saigon Red Page 23
