“Put the box and the piece of wood on the ground,” Edgar ordered bureaucratically. Eric moved closer. He put his hand on his gun menacingly. Orlov shrugged and complied. Edgar flipped open the box top exposing a black rock. He picked it up and examined it.
“Satisfied?” Orlov said sarcastically.
“Why are you bringing these useless items into the Banyon Arcades?” Edgar asked with concern.
“I’m a scientist, you idiot. These are not useless things,” Orlov blustered. “I’m delivering them.”
“Frisk him,” Edgar ordered as his reaction. Eric didn’t understand Polish, but he watched as Edgar nodded his head. He grabbed Orlov.
“Arms out and turn around,” Eric ordered. Suddenly he realized he had spoken in English. He had made a mistake.
Orlov was clearly concerned, but he complied and turned around. “That’s English,” he croaked over his shoulder.
“Oh, sorry, he thinks you are an American.” Edgar thought fast and explained.
“I can speak English,” Orlov said. “I am a scientist you know.”
As soon as he was turned around, Eric began to pat him down. Heather and Steve now passed by the turned Orlov. They handed off the fake talismans to Edgar with the deftness of an NFL quarterback. Orlov was facing the wrong way to notice. They then proceeded through the doorway into the Arcades with the items Edgar thrust into their hands.
“Hey,” Orlov complained. “You didn’t frisk them.”
“That’s because we know them,” Edgar explained. “They are not staying. They are just picking up their daughter who is training for the Olympics. She runs in the Arcades,” Edgar explained.
On cue, Heather and Steve came out the door with their arms wrapped around a smiling Mandy. They proceeded up the sidewalk towards the parking lot.
When Eric finished his search, he stepped back and Orlov turned around. He saw Edgar still held the rock in his hand, and the wooden club was still on the ground. “Can I go now?” he said with irritation in his voice.
“You are free to enter the Arcades,” Edgar responded and opened the door for him.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Heather, Steve and Mandy came running around the corner of the building carrying their loot. Banyon peeked into the bag and saw the rock. He accepted the club from Steve. Mandy pulled the Insight talisman from inside the top of her warm up suit.
“Piece of cake,” she said as she handed it to Banyon.
“Yeah, I think Edgar did a great job of switching the talismans,” Steve gushed. “He was right on cue.”
“And he did a fine job of covering Eric’s mistake,” Heather acknowledged.
The Banyon team now had all of the Orion weapons. The rest of the real weapons along with the plunder they had found were securely tucked away in the safe back at the hotel. The trunk contained the fake talismans from the box taken from Wilk’s underground vault. Banyon didn’t want to take any chances.
“Mandy, you are in charge of these three items,” Banyon said as he turned to her and presented the bag. “Never let them leave your sight. If someone comes your way run,” Banyon said. “You need to stay at least twenty feet away from anyone.”
“I’ll protect them,” she muttered sincerely.
“Good.” he replied.
Pramilla quickly pushed into the crowd. “Our first guest is here,” she announced. “He just called me. He said he would be by the entrance in a few minutes.”
“Okay, you know the plan,” Banyon reminded her. “Wait until I tell you to come in. I’ll keep the phone line open,” he said. “We will have enough evidence recorded by then.”
“I know what to do,” she said smugly.
“Loni it’s time for us to head in.” Loni grabbed one handle on the trunk, Banyon grabbed the other. They walked up to the entrance. Eric opened the door for them. He winked at Loni as she went by.
As they waited for their eyes to adjust to the darker interior of the building they heard Wilk speak out.
“Ah, Colt, I see you have made it,” Albin Wilk said cheerfully in English. Banyon saw Wilk and the professor stationed directly across from the entrance along the back wall. They were about forty feet away. Halfway between them, Michael Orlov stood. He had taken the rock out of the box. The wooden club and the rock were now placed on the floor.
“Who are these people?” Orlov croaked, also in English, as he turned to look at the intruders.
“We are making a delivery of the rest of the talismans. They are here in this trunk,” Banyon replied as they walked across the marble floor. Their steps echoed in the large empty structure.
“I don’t care,” Orlov answered. “I just want my money. Give it to me and I’ll leave.”
“We need to examine the talismans first,” Wilk’s voice echoed.
“I’ve done many things to get them here, Wilk,” Michael Orlov said with an implied threat. “Hurry up, unless you want to die too. I need my money so I can leave town.”
Wilk flicked his arm and the professor nervously moved to the items to examine each one. After a few minutes he spoke. “They fit all the parameters,” he called out to Wilk.
“Give me my money now,” Orlov demanded.
“Well, you’ll just have to wait until the buyer gets here,” Wilk explained as he looked at his finger nails with disinterest. “He has your money.”
“I have killed many people to get these weapons, some of the people I killed were even my friends,” he continued with a larger threat.
“But you don’t have any weapons with you right now,” Banyon spoke reasonably.
“Ha,” Orlov laughed. “I know the chants to activate these weapons,” he said as he pointed to the items in front of him. “Are you people prepared to die?”
“Let’s put a stop to this idiot,” Banyon said. He brought his cell phone up to his ear. “Send him in,” he said before anyone knew what was going on.
The door opened. In walked a rough-looking man in a uniform. With him were two armed military men. He went straight for Michael Orlov while the two soldiers flanked the scientist.
“Do you know who I am?” the man roared at Orlov in English, just as Pramilla had arranged.
Orlov nervously glanced at the man before he replied. “Yes,” he hesitated. “You’re General Anton Bodrov, head of Internal Security for Russia.”
“You are correct,” the general stated. “And I am here to arrest you for crimes against the state.” The two soldiers roughly grabbed him by the shoulders. “You will pay for your crimes in Russia.”
“You can’t arrest me, I am in a foreign country,” Orlov protested.
“Who’s going to stop me?” No one else in the big hall said anything. They were all completely intimidated. “Take him and let’s get out of here,” he ordered. “Take the items on the floor too.”
“Not so fast, General” Pramilla yelled as she stood in the doorway. “The items are not part of the deal I struck with your boss,” she explained.
The general looked at her in surprise. He knew he couldn’t go against the orders of his mentor in Moscow, but thought everyone was so frightened he could get away with it. “Leave them,” he said in disgust.
They dragged Orlov, kicking and screaming out the door. He knew what his fate would be once he returned to Russia.
“Sorry for interrupting your meeting,” Pramilla apologized. “But you can never trust a Russian.”
“Who are you?” Wilk asked.
“Why, I’m part of Colt’s team,” she explained. “I have to go now.” She backed out the door before Wilk could ask another question.
“How did you arrange that?” Wilk asked Banyon.
“Pramilla is a diplomat. It was easy for her. Besides, now you don’t have to pay him. You have more money to pay us,” Banyon said greedily. He knew Wilk would buy the greed part as it was his motivation.
“Professor, why don’t you gather up the talismans on the floor? Put them in the trunk. I’ll hold your book,�
� Banyon said charmingly. The man hesitated.
“What’s so important in the book?” Loni quickly asked.
“Oh,” he replied, “just some history.” He thrust the book into Loni’s hands and went to retrieve the talismans.
“Hurry up,” Wilk implored him. “The North Korean is due here any second. I want everything just right for the transfer.
“And then you’ll pay us,” Banyon noted.
“Of course, Colt — I wouldn’t double-cross you,” he said smoothly.
“North Koreans are approaching,” Banyon heard in his earplug. Banyon glanced at his watch and saw it read 10:00 a.m. “I think our buyer will be right on schedule,” he announced.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The four sellers, Loni, Banyon, Professor Orlich, and Wilk, stood calmly behind the trunk on the far wall as the entrance door opened. The three North Koreans walked in like they were coming for dinner. The two bodyguards who flanked the minister unbuttoned their jackets, but did not take off their sunglasses. They proceeded across the floor and stopped about twenty-five feet from the trunk. Eric and Edgar came inside, and took up positions on both sides of the entrance, just as they had been instructed.
“I am here to collect the weapons,” Oh Sok announced in Korean. The bodyguard on the left translated his message to English efficiently.
“We have them right here,” Albin Wilk replied. He pointed to the trunk.
“We will need a demonstration before we transfer the money,” Sok said through the translator.
“Show him the Insight talisman,” Banyon quickly spoke.
“Good idea,” Albin Wilk said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the metallic orb. He held it out so the minister could see it. He waved his hand over it while saying a chant. Nothing happened. The minister suddenly became suspicious.
“It has to be on a flat surface, you idiot,” Banyon roared. He quickly grabbed the item from Wilk, and deftly hit the on button on the bottom while placing it on the trunk. A hologram quickly appeared. The North Koreans moved closer to examine it. The hologram was the same picture of The Magic Belt which they had all seen before. It showed Barbara Behl dressed up like a goddess. Loni had uploaded the picture earlier.
“This talisman shows a picture of the last person to activate any of the other talismans,” Wilk explained. “You’ll need it to keep track of them. This talisman does that.”
Minister Sok moved closer so he could see clearly. “Impressive,” he said. “And all the others are in the trunk.”
Banyon picked up the Insight talisman and handed to Loni. He then kicked the trunk causing it to flip on its side. All the talismans spilled out. “You can count them if you like,” he said amiably.
The minister began to move towards the talisman, but was stopped when the professor yelled out. “No closer than twenty feet,” he ordered.
“Why is that?” the Minister asked.
“We know you have read the journal and know the chants to activate the weapons,” he said nervously. “You can’t activate them if you are more than twenty feet away.”
Minister Sok and Wilk were surprised by this information, but Banyon and Loni already knew it.
“Well, professor, why don’t you count them for us?” the North Korean quickly said. The professor was a spy for the North Koreans. Sok knew he could trust him.
The professor nodded and began counting the items. “They are all here,” he soon informed everyone.
“Send me the account number and password for the money,” Wilk greedily demanded. “I want to see that the money is there before we give you the talismans.”
“And what is to stop us from just taking them from you,” the minister threatened. His bodyguards began to tense.
“They will,” Wilk pointed to the two guards at the back. The guards already had their guns out. The North Koreans turned. He realized the guards could shoot them well before they could get close enough to strike. They didn’t have any weapons.
“Very well,” Sok admitted as he realized he had been out-maneuvered. He took out his phone and began punching buttons. Soon, Wilks cell phone pinged.
Wilk quickly pulled up the message and navigated to the account. He saw the money and smiled. “Now the password, please,” he said.
“I have it right here,” Minister Sok replied. He showed them the front of the phone. “But I’m not sending it until we have the talismans.”
“I could just have the guards shoot you,” Wilk threatened.
“Then you would not get your money,” he replied with a sinister grin.
“Oh for god sakes, will you boys quit showing off your testosterone,” Loni complained. She began scoping the talismans into the trunk. She picked up the trunk herself and moved towards the North Koreans before anybody could say anything. As soon as she was in striking distance, she dropped the trunk. She grabbed the cell phone from the minister’s outstretched hand. He didn’t have time to erase the number. She ran back to Wilk and Banyon.
The two bodyguards reacted, they went after her, but skidded to a stop when Banyon produced a gun and yelled. “Stop.”
The minister was unfazed. “Then we’ll just take our treasure and leave,” he announced. He began to pick up the trunk.
Banyon suddenly had his phone to his ear. He turned away from the group. As soon as Wilk had punched in the code numbers, he said, “Jam it.” Timmy was on the other end of the phone line.
Wilk went to move the money to a private account, but his phone went dead. “What the hell,” he roared and looked at Banyon. He quickly realized he had been double-crossed. He yelled to the guards, “Shoot him.” But they didn’t budge.
“They work for me you know,” Banyon explained.
Shock registered on everyone’s face. “So, what happens now?” Wilk screamed.
“We wait,” Banyon replied.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“Drop the box,” Eric ordered and pointed his gun at Minister Sok. He obeyed, but gave an indignant look.
“Do you know who I am?” the minister exclaimed. “How dare you challenge me? I am part of the ruling society in Korea.”
“My gun makes me the ruler here,” Eric responded. “Now, move away from the box. You and your two goons need to sit down on the floor,” he ordered. After the bodyguard translated, they complied, but had an angry look on their faces.
Wilk was cursing and swearing as he pounded on his phone. He knew he was close to getting the money, but his damn phone wouldn’t work. Banyon stepped over and grabbed it from him. He handed it to Loni. He also gave her his phone.
“Tell Timmy to unjam it and take out our finder fee,” he said.
“What the hell are you doing?” Wilk roared at him, but moved no closer as Banyon still had a gun. “I thought you worked for me? I’m the one paying you.”
“Well, you were wrong,” Banyon replied.
“So, what are you going to do? Are you going to kill us all now?” Wilk cried out.
“Worse,” Banyon said. “I’m going to set everything right.”
“You won’t get away with this. We will stop you.” Wilk continued with a threat as he glanced at his watch.
“Are you are referring to your Aunt Josephine? She is due here right now, but she’ll be a little late,” he answered smugly. Previne had whispered in his earplug that Josephine was coming down the walkway with her men. Eric heard it too. He immediately left to help. Loni charged after him. Only Banyon and Edgar were left to watch over the five men.
“What do you know about my aunt?” Wilk bluffed.
“I know she is the mastermind behind this whole plot. You agreed to help her over two years ago. You even had her committed to a hospital to keep her drugged, so I wouldn’t uncover your plan. What you don’t know is we raided the hospital last night to free her. But you made the mistake of taking her off her medication too early. When we discovered it, it made me suspicious. We have been shadowing her since.”
Banyon noticed th
e professor had wandered away from the conversation. He was near the trunk. Suddenly, he lunged into the box and brought out a talisman. He began to chant while waving his hand as he held it up.
“Oh, professor, the talisman won’t work,” Banyon said cheerfully. “They are the fake talismans you hid in the vault at the Wilk home.” A look of horror crossed the professor’s face. He dropped the talisman back in the box.
“You switched them,” he cried out as he dropped to the floor in despair.
“That is correct. The real talismans are safe from you. We kind of spoiled your plan didn’t we? I don’t think Albin here knows you have been working with the North Koreans, does he?”
“What?” Wilk screamed. “You double-crossed me too?”
“Well, actually, he wanted the North Koreans to obtain the weapons so he could eventually stop them and become a world hero. So, he actually wanted to double-cross both of you. Isn’t that right professor?” Banyon gestured to Edgar. He produced the journal Loni had gotten earlier from the professor. She had passed it to him on the way out the door.
“The chants to stop each talisman are here in this book,” Edgar explained. He pointed to it like he was a model on a game show.
The North Koreans fidgeted uncomfortable on the floor. “You double-crossed us?” Minister Sok screamed out when his man translated what Banyon had said.
“Oh, come now, minister,” Banyon spoke like he was talking to a small boy. “Your plan was to steal the money back, wasn’t it?” The North Korean said nothing.
“Why are you telling me this?” Wilk said with concern.
“Because, in the end, you will never be able to tell anyone else,” Banyon replied. “You are directly responsible for the murders of several people, including some friends of mine. Your actions can not go unpunished,” Banyon said in a sinister voice.
Wilk responded just the way Banyon thought he would. He gave up his aunt to save his own skin. “You’re right she is the one who developed the plan. She made me help her. She made me hire the mercenaries. I’m just a pawn. You must protect me from her.”
The Polish Discovery: The Society of Orion 1-3 (Colton Banyon Mystery Book 17) Page 30
