The threesome were still standing at the end of the aisle, bullshitting and smoking as they awaited Michael Boden’s departure. Two-and-a-half hours passed before they eventually departed. Gage couldn’t risk leaving at the same time. He waited ten minutes before exiting the parking deck. He drove about a kilometer before pulling into one of the large lots near the Tower 185 skyscraper. There, he thumbed on his phone and opened the map app associated with the tracking bug hidden in the business card. Within seconds, Gage zoomed in on the flashing red dot located just north of the Main River, southwest of the Mainbahnhof.
Gage hoped the men gave the card to Boden. If not, Gage would have to follow him visually and thereby risk spooking the Ministerpräsident.
When Gage drove by the location of the flashing dot five minutes later, in the distance and on the lawn of what appeared to be a new boutique hotel, he saw Michael Boden speaking to an assembled group of perhaps 100. There were rows of seating and a banner behind, along with a large gold ribbon fluttering in the breeze. On both sides of the group were television cameras and several reporters. In the parking lot beside the hotel, Gage saw the three vehicles from Boden’s convoy.
Gage temporarily pulled to the side of the road, putting his wheels up on the curb. He zoomed in as far as the Google Maps-based app would allow, satisfied when he noted the flashing red dot was right where Boden stood, and not where the cars were parked.
Making an educated guess, Gage bet Boden had put his business card into his jacket pocket.
Gage was correct.
While he doubted Boden took the verbal offer all that seriously, every man has his price—even a greedy crook like Michael Boden. Perhaps Boden would call, but more likely would have an assistant do his bidding. Regardless, the tracker was on the Ministerpräsident’s person, and hopefully would lead Gage someplace a bit more secluded where he and Boden might have a private chat.
* * *
Following no less than fifty handshakes and a few photo opportunities, Boden left the ribbon cutting shortly before 3 P.M. He once again departed in his processional, continuing east by the river where the three vehicles again parked on the side of the street. Gage watched as Boden exited and greeted three well-fed, suit-wearing men outside of the Kabuki Frankfurt Japanese steakhouse. The group was inside for nearly 90 minutes. As the afternoon waned, Gage watched each of the men as they departed. Boden carried a briefcase he hadn’t carried before. All three had separate cars with drivers, and Gage managed to get the license plates for each of the vehicles. Following his meeting, the convoy carried Boden back into the heart of the banking city. He and two of his men exited the vehicles at the front of the Credit Suisse building on Taunustor.
Boden carried the briefcase inside.
Gage circled the block twice before he was able to park in a suitable location. He waited approximately 20 minutes before Boden and his men exited the bank. This time, the Ministerpräsident walked to his Porsche and spoke to his men. Judging by the way his men bade him farewell, the Ministerpräsident appeared to be heading his own way.
Darkness encroached.
Because the tracking bug was doing its job, Gage remained several cars behind Boden, hoping he wasn’t heading back to the Hessen capitol of Wiesbaden. Boden drove the Porsche slowly through the city, seeming to take his time despite the power of the car. This was a source of irritation to Gage, who wished the asshole would press the accelerator and get on with it.
Eventually, at the busy highway intersection of the Frankfurter Kreuz, Gage was rewarded when the cherry red Porsche peeled off to the north, and at this point he forgot all about wishing Boden would hurry up. Despite the relatively powerful engine of Boris’ Opel, the Ministerpräsident pulled away with ease, roaring out of Frankfurt in the left lane. Within two kilometers, Gage was doing 220 kilometers per hour. Despite his speed, he’d lost complete visual sight of the Porsche. Rather than kill himself trying to keep up, Gage eased to the middle lane and glanced at the blip on the app.
The Porsche was traveling so fast it was outpacing the app’s updating feature, making the blip jump spasmodically on Autobahn 661. Within ten minutes, the Porsche exited the Autobahn and headed in the general direction of Schmitten. Before Gage had gotten off the wide Autobahn, several kilometers behind, Boden had already passed through the town of Schmitten and was headed north on Weilstrasse. After exiting onto the rural road, Gage pulled to the side and recorded the blip’s progress.
Boden had slowed considerably, eventually coming to a stop off Weilstrasse nearly equidistant between Schmitten and the tiny community of Dorfweil. The blip remained still for a few moments before moving off the road. Gage watched. After about a minute, it continued for nearly a kilometer before coming to a halt due west of Weilstrasse. The map displayed the blip in the woods. From that point, the blip hardly moved.
The Ministerpräsident was probably on foot.
Gage drove through Schmitten, following the same route as before, noting the home to the west of Weilstrasse. It was stately but subdued, located well off the main road and surrounded by a wall made of rough stone. The substantial black gate appeared to be manned due to a small guardhouse. Gage took notice of the nearly invisible razor wire above both the gate and the wall. He continued past and parked in the shadow of the small Kirche in Dorfweil.
There, Gage dragged the red pointer over the approximate location, noting Google’s estimate that the estate’s address was Weilstrasse 308.
Ministerpräsident Michael Boden was at his unpublished estate. Gage, who was supposed to be
