The place looked like something out of a James Bond film. Blofeld was probably looking down on us from inside, stroking his cat.
It was maybe sixty or seventy yards long and looked just as if someone had taken an enormous slice out of an apartment building and perched it twenty feet off the ground on two massive concrete supports. Val certainly did things in style.
The driveway took us under the house, where glass panels sealed the area around the pillars to make an internal parking lot. Two large patio type doors opened automatically as we approached, then closed behind us.
It was surprisingly warm as I stepped out of the Mere. The lights shining through the windows and the reflection of the snow made me screw up my face until my eyes adjusted.
Liv hit a key chain and a brown door opened in the left-hand pillar.
Tom and I grabbed our bags and followed her into a hot stairwell. I noticed that light-brown walking boots had replaced the cowboy look.
We entered a vast, high-ceilinged space, maybe thirty yards long and twenty wide, and, just like the London flat, it was clinically white and sparsely furnished. There was a door to my immediate right which led into the kitchen, through which I could see white veneer cupboards and steel countertops.
The living area, where we were standing, was straight out of an Architectural Digest. Two white leather sofas faced each other across a glass-and-chrome coffee table, and that was it. No TV, music center, magazines, flowers, pictures on the wall, nothing. White vertical blinds stretched from floor to ceiling where I expected windows to be.
The lighting was low and supplied by wall lamps white of course. There were no fixtures in the ceiling.
Tom and I stood with our bags in our hands, taking it all in.
'I'll show you your rooms.' Liv was already walking toward the far right-hand door. I wondered if she ever waited for anyone, or if Armani insisted she always went in front.
We followed into a hallway, our shoes squeaking on the polished wooden floor.
My room was through the first door on the left. Again, it was a world of white, with a low, Japanese-style bed, shower, white marble tiling, and stacks of brand-new white towels. There was no wardrobe, just small canvas storage spaces suspended from a chrome rail. Surprisingly, because the view must have been fantastic, there were no windows.
Liv said, 'No need. It's always too dark.'
I put my bag on the floor; there was nowhere else to put it.
She turned away. 'Tom, your room is next door.'
They disappeared, but I could hear the mumble of voices through the wall as I took my jacket off and listened to the constant hum of the heating. Her rubber-soled boots soon came squeaking past and she paused in the doorway. 'Would you like some coffee, Nick, and maybe something to eat? Then we must get to work. We don't have much time.'
'Yeah, thanks.'
She nodded and made her way back toward the living area.
I repositioned my bag in the corner of the room it seemed out of place anywhere else as Tom stuck his head round the door. 'Nice one, mate.
She worth price of admission or what? You coming for a snack?'
A couple of minutes later, Tom and I sat facing each other on the white leather. The sofa made creaking sounds as we got comfortable, and the clink of china came from the kitchen. It seemed I wouldn't get anything out of him while Liv was about, which wasn't a bad thing really. At least it shut him up. We sat and waited with only the low hum of the heating for company.
She reappeared with a full coffepot, milk, and mugs on a tray, and a plate of crackers and sliced cheese. Placing it on the glass table, she sat down next to Tom. I wasn't sure whether he was wriggling with pleasure or embarrassment.
'Let me explain the setup,' she said. 'I will be staying here with you both. My room is over on the other side.' She pointed to the opposite door.
'The room across from your bedrooms is where the laptop is, for you, Tom, to decrypt the firewall. I'll tell you more about that in a moment.' She turned to me. 'Nick, also in there are maps of the house you'll be visiting.'
She started to pour. 'By Tuesday morning you must have discovered the access sequence, entered the house, and copied the files. If not, my instructions are that the deal is off.'
I sat and listened, knowing that even if I had to make a pact with the devil it would all be completed in time. I wanted this money. I needed this money.
Liv and I took a sip of black coffee. Tom didn't touch his, obviously not wanting to be a nuisance and ask for anything herbal. We lapsed back into a strained silence.
She sat and watched our discomfort, almost enjoying it. It made me feel as if she knew more about Tom and me than we did about her.
At length I said, 'It will happen.'
Tom nodded. 'No drama.'
'I'm sure it will. We will discuss the minor details of money, information exchange, and so on later.' She stood up. 'Come, bring your drinks. Let's start work.'
We followed her down the hall. The room on the right was just as white as the rest of the house, and very large and rectangular. There were two pine desks and chairs. One had an aluminum briefcase on it, the other, a small black sleek-looking IBM laptop a bit smaller than a sheet of Xerox paper, together with the box it had come in, with spare wires draped over the top and a thin black nylon carry bag with a shoulder strap.
Liv pointed at the briefcase. 'Tom, that Think Pad is for you. Nick, come.' She continued to the other desk.
As she and Tom started to talk firewall stuff, I undipped the case and lifted the lid. I found several marked maps, all of different scales.
It looked as if we were aiming for a town called Lappeenranta, about seventy-five miles to the east of us and close to the Russian border.
The largest scale map showed that the whole area was a massive system of lakes, maybe more than eighty miles square, with hundreds of small islands and inlets dotted with villages and small towns. The target was just over fifteen miles north of Lappeenranta, along a road linking some of the islands to an area called Kuhala. The house wasn't lakeside, but set back about under a mile from the water and surrounded by forest.
Liv left us to it, and I watched her go. She was unbelievably cool. I realized that I was beginning to like her a lot.
'Hey, Tom?' I turned to face him. He was hunched over the small screen, his back to me.
He turned in his chair and looked up. 'What's the matter, mate?'
'I think it would be better if you didn't mention anything to Liv about the money. It's just that she may be getting less than us and will get a bit pissed off. If she asks, just say you don't know, okay?'
'Isn't this her place, then?'
'I doubt it. She's just working on the job, like us. I think it would be best if we kept our cards close to our chests, okay?'
He turned back to the desk. 'If you say so, mate. Whatever.' The keys started to clink away once more under his dancing fingers. 'Means jack to me.'
I returned to the material spread out in front of me. Maps are useful things, but they only go so far. I needed to get my ass on target and do a proper recce. I listened to Tom messing about behind me as I sat and memorized the maps.
The best way I had learned to do this was by visualizing the route I'd take. It was far easier than trying to remember place names and road numbers. I sat there, staring at the blank wall, making my way from Heinola to the target house, when I noticed a piece of plasterboard missing around a double-pronged plug.
I got on my knees and had a look, pulling back the edge of the board to reveal lead sheeting behind, covered with a plastic, saran wrap-type lining. I glanced back at Tom. He was still hammering on the keyboard like a man possessed.
I pushed the plasterboard back in place and walked around the room, looking for any more holes. Then I
