“This starts when the forty million begins moving towards the North Korean’s account. Our program will divert it to our account instead of letting it move onward. At the same time, the money in the other accounts will also be pulled in.”
“Won’t the bad guys, as well as the North Koreans, detect their money being diverted?” I asked.
Wilbur shook his head. “Nope. If it works like it’s supposed to, a red herring program will mask the fact we just stole all their money. It’ll take twenty-four hours before they learn otherwise. Anyway, within minutes of being snatched and put in the account at this bank, the funds will be split up and sent to ten other banks around the world. This’ll be done a few more times, then concentrate in two accounts. One in the states for nine million, forty mil in an overseas account.”
The waitress arrived and refreshed our coffees, giving me a chance to take a mental breath. “And then what?”
“The largest account will be in the St. Francis School Reserve Account,” Wilbur said. “Since it’s for a church, it isn’t taxed. Only you and Alice c’n do transactions. We’ll take our share from the smaller account, and have the rest of it put in your personal account by Alice.”
“Ten percent,” I said.
Charlie’s mouth dropped open. “Huh?”
“I think ten percent is a good figure to pay you guys for all the work you’re doing. That’s, let’s see, four point nine million. Okay with you?”
By now, both were vigorously nodding their heads. “You bet, Sir,” Wilbur said.
I took another sip of now-tepid coffee and made a face. “So what’s our cover story for being here today?”
Charlie took a large gulp of coffee. “We’re auditing the accounts, and responding to a request by the bank on letting them use the money. To which we’ll say no, of course.”
“Ah. And you can plant your bugs while auditing. I see. But how…”
“Later, man,” interrupted Wilbur. “We gotta get over there.” He stood, hefting his briefcase. “Everyone knock on wood, and let’s go get rich!”
Our grand entrance into the bank was punctuated by the guard holding the door open as we approached. Damn, we must really look the part. I nodded at him as we passed through.
Charlie was in the lead, and veered towards a gentleman headed towards us. “Mister Smith is here for his meeting with your chief accountant,” he said.
The man gave a half-bow. “Certainly, Sir. This way, if you please.”
I struggled manfully to keep from giggling. Jeez, I was nervous as a virgin in a whorehouse. We paraded into a small conference room where an older guy was just standing, a fake smile plastered on his face. Time for act one to begin.
* * *
The bumping of plane wheels on tarmac woke me from a deep sleep. I looked around, gathering my bearings as the plane slowed and headed for the terminal. Shoot, I never slept on planes. More fatigued than I thought. I stretched, and unbuckled my seat belt when the plane pulled up to its gate. Couple errands in Asheville, and I’d head back to Wildacres. I gave a half-smile, remembering how flawlessly Wilbur and Charlie had handled the accountant. You would’ve thought they were the real deal. Even when we’d left the bank they kept up their personas until in a taxi on the way to the airport.
Both had repeated “We did it!” at least twenty times, which must’ve driven the poor cabby crazy. Getting them to their plane on time was also a chore, almost as much as dragging my sorry ass to mine. God, I’d been exhausted.
I checked the time when I entered the Holiday Inn parking lot, not far from the Asheville airport. Even though it was close to eight at night, I’d better call Hilyard. Once settled in my room, I punched in his home number.
“H’lo?”
“Hey, Mike, sorry to call you at home. Something’s come up, and it involves the FBI.”
“What’s up, Francis?”
I sat on the edge of the bed, enjoying the fact I’d awakened him. “I got up here to Wildacres Retreat and was washing some clothes. Found a flash drive that Lenny slipped in my pocket without my knowing. She might be in the wrong profession, guy.”
“Flash drive?”
“Yeah, it’s pink. Not my favorite color. Plus I scanned the files and it most definitely is hers. Has some information that you guys should really see. She had a file that kept a log of what she’d done, plus some interesting files about money in an offshore account.”
“I’ll be there in the morning. What’s the closest airport to you?”
“Asheville. Just let me know your flight number and I’ll be there.”
“I’ll get on the first flight that’s available. See you then.” The line went dead.
A quarter to eight the next morning, I watched Mike walk towards me. I’d gotten a couple of large coffees, and gestured towards a waiting area with several tables. “Coffee’s on. C’mon over and sit down. You look beat.”
He accepted the coffee with a grateful nod. “Yeh, didn’t get much sleep after you called. And before you ask, Lenny came through surgery just fine. They plan on waking her up this afternoon. The rest of the world thinks she’s still in a coma, and not expected to live.”
Relief flooded through me. “That’s good news. Damn, the way she looked after those guys beat on her…”
Mike seated himself at the first table we came to with a grunt. “We all felt the same way. Now what’ve you got? My return flight leaves in an hour.”
I handed over the flash drive. “Besides her log, It’s got three files on it that deal with funds that what’s-his-name, Franks, has in a bank in Belize. There’s
