by Andrea Kane
Simone was mentally processing what she was hearing, simultaneously integrating it with what she knew about Robert.
Figuring out where he’d met Jia li was easy. It had to have been during one of his speaking engagements at Stanford’s Business School. He would have handpicked her. She fit the mold—young, beautiful, ambitious—the quintessential Robert Maxwell sexual acquisition. And he’d needed her to make his agenda a reality. Not only was she bright enough for the challenge, she had the language skills to cross a cultural barrier that was in the way. So he’d promised her everything she wanted—including himself—in exchange for her help.
But why would he want to steal his own technology and start a new company when his current one was about to make groundbreaking history?
“Okay.” Terri’s voice sounded in Simone’s ears. “Nothing suspect on Robert’s corporate credit card. But I just ran his personal credit card receipts from last summer. July eighteenth, he paid for an extravagant dinner at an out-of-town restaurant. That would be the dinner Jia li is talking about.”
“Are you crosschecking that with the initial press coverage of Nano’s breakthrough?”
“Already done. What I’m finding is inconclusive, because the rumor mill was at it long before legitimate sources started reporting.” Terri was still typing. “But there’s a more interesting connection. The dinner took place two weeks after Nano held its quarterly board meeting.”
“How is that significant?”
“Because the corporate minutes show that that’s when the subject of Robert’s early retirement was finalized.” A pause. “Finalized being the key word here. It indicates that his stepping down was under discussion before that.” Another pause. “Months before that, given the dates I’m reading. And not just under discussion. There was a heated debate over the urgency of his exit.”
Simone’s brows drew together. “So much for our theory that Robert chose to go out with a bang—commercialize the technology and step aside when he was at the pinnacle of his success.”
“So much for our theory that he chose at all.”
“He’s being forced out.”
“Looks that way. Maybe his leadership isn’t as extraordinary as it appears to be.”
“Uh-uh.” Simone’s people-whisperer skills kicked in. “He’s an extraordinary leader. His employees think he walks on water, at least most of them do. Terri, this isn’t about Robert’s abilities. It’s about him. If his retirement was a board decision and not his own, it’s because of sexual misconduct. I picked up on it from the onset, and given the ages of the women he’s discarded, this has been going on for years. Even though none of the women involved has filed an official complaint, it doesn’t mean the board is unaware or that settlements weren’t made wrapped neatly behind ironclad confidentiality agreements.”
“And if they are, they’d politely ask for his resignation with the implied threat of something ugly if he refused.” Terri let out a low whistle. “If we’re right, he sure as hell found a great way to exact his revenge—and to stay rich and relevant. He’d be taking himself out of the equation and taking the technology along with him.”
“What about how he orchestrated the theft of Nano’s IP?” Simone demanded. She felt like throwing up. “He planned out Lauren’s kidnapping to force Vance’s hand so he could get what he needed to start over. My God, he has children and grandchildren of his own. What kind of monster is he?”
Simultaneously, the reality of the situation hit Simone like a ton of bricks. There was no point in adding Robert’s name to the TSA No Fly List. He and his corporate jet would be disappearing along with his girlfriend before the FBI could sort everything out. She and Terri had anticipated everything, except for Robert.
Terri’s mind was clearly on the same wavelength. “We’re screwed,” she said. “Right now, all we have are theories and speculation. Nothing the FBI could go after Robert for and certainly not before he would escape. We need concrete evidence.”
“I’ll get it.”
“Wait,” Terri interrupted her quickly. “Simone, we’re playing by different rules now. If Robert is the brains behind Lauren’s kidnapping, he’s a lot more dangerous than a mole. You can’t just march in there and confront him—not without reinforcements.”
“What are you talking about?” Simone demanded. “We can’t notify law enforcement. Zermatt doesn’t officially exist. Plus, everything we’re doing here is way outside the law.”
“There will be no interaction or visual sightings.” Terri’s tone was factual but adamant. “I’m calling Marc, having him amend the plan he has with SA Albertson. I want the Feds on-site just in case.”
“I can’t meet with an FBI agent.”
“You won’t. I’d never compromise either your or Zermatt’s anonymity. Get Robert’s confession and I’ll record it as planned. I’ll upload it onto a secure drop box so the FBI will have the evidence it needs. And to protect your identity, I’m going to have Donovan alter your female voice into a male voice. ‘Simone’ will become ‘Simon’ on the recording. It doesn’t matter if Robert or Jia li uses your name, because the pronunciations in French sound very much alike. Donovan will also convert all female pronouns to male pronouns. In the meantime, do you have that extra phone I sent you?”
“Yes. You told me to keep it on hand.”
“I’ll call you and pretend I’m SA Albertson. In reality, I’ll be notifying you when Marc tells me that Albertson has left the restaurant. That’ll be your five-minute warning to get out. Albertson will take over from there on.”
“He’ll have no grounds to take over—at least not yet. He won’t have instant access to Robert’s confession, nor will he have the manila envelope I’m getting to him to implicate Xu Wei. He doesn’t have a clue what’s transpiring, and even if he did, his hands would be tied.”
“That will all be fixed.”
“How?”
“Trust me. Do you have your anti-static gloves?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t handle the envelope without them.”
“Also have a pen on hand. We’re going to add a note to Agent Albertson’s delivery, providing him with the location of the drop box.”
“All of which I’m delivering where, if Agent Albertson is leaving the steakhouse? No matter what, he won’t have it in time for him to go in and arrest Robert now—”
“Simone, listen to me because we’re running out of time. You just get that confession. I’ll work with Marc and provide you with an action plan when you and I talk on the burner phone. We’ll make this as seamless as possible, given that Robert is a flight risk. But you’re right—the order of things is backwards and Albertson isn’t about to storm the place without evidence, warrants, and all the other legal crap our team bypasses. So we’ll move as fast as we can to rectify that. In the meantime, we’re already breaking protocol. Aidan will be livid. And we are not jeopardizing your life.”
Before Simone could respond, a muffled oath came from inside the apartment.
“Goddammit, that’s it.” Robert’s tone said he’d reached his limit. “We’ve waited long enough. Text Xu Wei. Find out where he is. Better still, give me your phone. I’ll call him.”
“That’s my cue,” Simone announced. She was already in motion, grabbing her tote bag, which contained her gun, burner phone, gloves, writing essentials, and the manila envelope. She pulled off her headset, placed her current cell phone on the console, and reached for the door handle. “Do what you have to. I’m going in.”
Zermatt jet
2 March
Friday, 5103 nm to SFO
5:30 a.m. CET
Aidan’s voice had a definite edge to it when he answered the phone, as if he knew he wasn’t going to like what he heard. “Yes.”
“It’s me,” Terri said. “Conference Marc in.”
Aidan called out to Marc, then did as Terri asked. “Problem?” Aidan pressed her in that same edgy tone.
“Complication.” Terri filled the tw
o of them in with a few quick sentences.
It was enough.
“Maxwell. Shit. I never saw that coming,” Aidan said, his jaw clenched. “And Simone’s in there with him?”
“She just went in. You can ream us out later. Marc, I need you to contact your FBI buddy. Offer him a rain check for two steak dinners. Just get him to Jia li’s apartment complex now. Once he’s there, ask him to park and wait. I’ll call you the instant Simone has what she needs and is leaving the apartment. At that point, get the make and model of his car and find out where he’s parked. Request that he take a short walk away from his hopefully unlocked vehicle. He’ll understand why when he gets back.”
“That last part will never fly, but I’m on it.” Marc had his cell phone in his hand. “The steakhouse is five minutes from the apartment. I’ll get Jeff there. Call you right back.”
Three minutes later they were back on the phone.
“Jeff is en route,” Marc told Terri. “I lit a fire under his ass by telling him—off the record—that the crime going down falls under his FBI industrial espionage division. He’ll play by our rules that he received an anonymous tip.”
“Which he will.”
“FYI, he’s driving his personal vehicle, a silver Honda Civic. He’ll give me an exact location of where he’s parked once he’s in place. Forget the unlocked car. It’s a no-go given the weaponry carried by a special agent. What I got him to agree to is to leave the passenger window cracked open an inch so that Simone can slide the manila envelope in.”
“That’ll have to be good enough,” Terri replied. “I’ll relay all that to Simone when she calls.”
“Let me know the minute that is,” Aidan told her, his anger barely contained. “I want to hear she’s safe.”
Crescent Woods Garden Apartments
Palo Alto, California
1 March
Thursday, 8:25 p.m. local time
The apartment complex was busier than it had been earlier, with tenants arriving home from work or heading out for a late dinner. It was easy for Simone to slip inside by appending herself to a small group of students who were complaining about their workload while carrying in plastic bags filled with cartons of Chinese takeout.
Once inside, she veered down the hall and made a beeline for Jia li’s unit.
As she raised her hand to knock, she heard Robert’s muffled voice saying, “I don’t know what kind of game Xu is playing, but that voice mail ought to get his butt in gear.”
“I don’t understand it,” Jia li replied. “His text was urgent.”
Simone knocked.
“Finally.” Robert was clearly beyond worrying about staying hidden, because he strode across the room and yanked open the door. “Where the hell have you been…?” His mouth snapped shut and his entire body went into startled red alert when he saw Simone standing there.
“Simone?” He uttered her name inanely as if trying to connect the dots.
“Hello, Robert,” she replied. “Aren’t you going to invite me in?” She didn’t wait for an invitation, just walked around him and made her way into the living room, where Jia li was standing looking totally baffled and equally unnerved.
“Have we met?” she asked, on some level realizing that this woman Robert obviously knew had just invaded her apartment.
“No, but we’re about to.” Simone had angled herself in such a way that she could keep both of them in her sights. Robert was still standing at the open door, staring at her.
“Close it and come in,” Simone instructed, her fingers inching to the closure on her tote bag. She had a feeling she’d be needing her Glock, even if it was just to keep them in line and get them to talk.
Robert complied on autopilot, simultaneously finding his tongue. “What are you doing here? How did you even know how to find me? Is this some Nano emergency?”
“Oh, it’s a Nano emergency all right. But not the kind you’re thinking of.” Simone kept her tone calm and even. What she really wanted was to kick Robert in a very vulnerable part of his anatomy. “As for how I found you and what I’m doing here, why don’t you and Jia li have a seat on the sofa and we’ll talk.”
Despite the fact that Robert was looking a little green around the gills, he planted his feet where he was. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what this is about.”
“Have it your way.” Simone pulled out her pistol and calmly aimed it at Robert, who did a double-take, his gaze moving from the gun to Simone’s face and back. Jia li clapped a hand over her mouth to silence her scream.
“Sit,” Simone commanded.
“Robert, please, do whatever she says.” Jia li had already darted over to the sofa and perched herself at the edge, looking like a terrified mouse about to be devoured by a feral cat.
Robert gave one last glance at the door.
“Xu Wei’s not coming,” Simone said, properly reading his mind. “He never left Shenzhen.”
Now Simone got the reaction she’d been waiting for. Robert literally lurched with shock, his eyebrows shooting up so high they practically disappeared into his hairline. His mouth opened and closed several times, but nothing came out. On stilted legs, he went to the sofa and lowered himself to the cushion beside Jia li.
“Good,” Simone said. “Now here’s how this is going to work. I’ll lay out the scenario. After that, you’ll fill in the blanks.”
“Who are you really?” Robert finally demanded.
“The person who’s running this conversation,” she replied. “A conversation that could take a very ugly turn if you don’t do as I ask. Understood?”
She didn’t wait for them to acknowledge that they did. She just stared Robert down and began laying out the facts.
“You’re using Jítuán’s resources to start up and run a whole new subsidiary company in Shenzhen. You’re colluding with their CEO, Xu Wei, as we speak, to steal Nano’s technology in order to beat out Nano’s rollout of its new manufacturing process. This way, you can introduce it yourself in your new capacity—as CEO of the newly formed company. Anything you want to amend thus far?”
You could have heard a pin drop in the room.
“Very well, then I’ll go on as to why this is happening.” Simone shot Jia li a quick glance. “You might want to cover your ears for this part, you foolish little girl. Otherwise, you’re going to find out exactly who the love of your life really is.”
“Robert?” Jia li murmured, slanting an uneasy look in his direction.
Robert didn’t respond, his gaze locked on Simone.
Simone turned her attention back to him. “You’ve had sexual relationships with far too many of your female employees while promising them career advancements along the way. As far as your board of directors is concerned, your libido supersedes your accomplishments at last. You’re no longer an asset. You’re an unacceptable liability. They’re forcing you out—now.”
At that provocation, Simone got the reaction—and the outpouring of words—that she needed.
Robert jerked forward on the sofa cushion, fury flashing in his eyes. “An asset? I am NanoUSA. I founded it, made it the electronics giant it is today. And the new breakthrough manufacturing technology that will turn the electronics industry upside down? I created it. Me! It’s mine. If I go, it goes with me. Screw the board. Screw the whole damn company.”
“And screw your country in the process,” Simone added icily. “Aren’t you the diehard patriot who was going to revolutionize the industry by bringing tens of thousands of jobs back to the US? Wasn’t that the reason behind all your efforts? Or was that politically correct bullshit and this was always all about your ego?”
“Not my ego,” he corrected. “My relevance. I have more to offer the world than all the thirty-year-old millionaire kids combined. I’m not walking off into the sunset, not by a long shot. As for my country…” A flash of regret crossed his face. “Yes, that was the plan. Unfortunately, that’s not the way it’s going to play out. You can thank th
e narrow-minded board for that.”
“And the women you took advantage of? Are they just collateral damage?”
Tears were trickling down Jia li’s cheeks.
“I’ve never assaulted a woman in my life,” Robert replied. “Whatever decisions they made, they made of their own free will.”
Simone shook her head in utter disbelief. “You take no responsibility for your actions, do you?”
“Only those I’m guilty of.”
At that, Simone’s fingers tightened reflexively on her pistol. “You mean things like putting an innocent girl’s life on the line in the most horrific way possible?”
Robert heard Jia li’s quiet weeping, but he was totally focused on Simone’s accusation. “What are you talking about? Jia li is in no danger. She’s establishing her professional future.”
Simone raised her pistol. “No games, Robert. You know damn well I’m not talking about Jia li.”
He spread his hands wide, shaking his head at the same time. “Then who are you talking about? Whose life is in danger?”
“Lauren Pennington. Or did you think I didn’t know?”
His brow furrowed. “Lauren—Vance’s daughter? What does she have to do with anything?”
Simone studied him for a long moment before realization exploded in her head like fireworks. “You really don’t know, do you?”
“Know what, for God’s sake?”
Simone answered with a question of her own. “What’s your arrangement with Xu Wei? How is he getting your technology, given Nano’s impenetrable security? Clearly not directly from you. And clearly not with the help of anyone at Nano, for the same reason. So who in the US is working with him?”
“I have no idea. Nor do I care. The security measures at Nano apply to everyone, including me. I’m not a spy and I wasn’t about to jeopardize my career at Nano by stealing trade secrets. That was what Xu Wei was for. Our agreement was that he steal the technology. That was his buy-in. Once that was done, we’d move forward. However he accomplished that was his problem, not mine. And you haven’t answered my question—what does Lauren Pennington have to do with this?”
