room, but nobody would be expecting an intruder from above, much less a black-clad female ninja.
Without wasting a second, she made for the nightstand and scooped up the Rolex before moving soundlessly to the corner of the room and dropping into a crouch.
She pulled a tool out of her pants pocket, affixed it to the case back, and turned. The waterproof casing gave with a jolt. After placing the watch on the polished granite floor, she retrieved a small plastic bag containing the micro-transmitter, which could be tracked by satellite as well as with a handheld device — much like the one she’d been implanted with.
The chip fitted perfectly, the dot of super glue holding it firmly in place on the inside of the case back. A tiny battery with six months’ life was incorporated into the circuitry.
Jet’s ears strained for any suspicious sounds as she reassembled the watch, locking the back into place with a snick. She looked at her own watch and saw that she had been in the condo for ninety seconds.
She rose and replaced the Rolex on the nightstand, listening as the old sex lord finished his shower, and inched to the door again. She stepped out onto the terrace, and just as she was closing the door, she heard the water shut off.
When Jet reached the railing’s edge, she snapped herself back into the hanging harness and began winching herself up, but the damned contraption caught with a lurch and stopped winding.
A flicker of motion caught the corner of Pu’s eye from the terrace as he emerged from the bathroom with a plush green towel wrapped around his slight frame.
A moth fluttered against the glass and then flew off into the sky in pursuit of more hospitable surroundings. Pu watched its unsteady flight for a few seconds and then turned, scooped up his watch and put it back onto his wrist before returning to brush his hair and shave.
Jet clambered over the roof edge, panting from the exertion of pulling herself up the two stories using only her arms, having given up on the winch after a few frustrating seconds. She lay in place for several moments, gazing up into the night sky at the glowing tapestry of stars, and then willed herself to her feet, carefully coiling the line.
Holding a micro cell to her ear, she dialed Rob.
“Mission accomplished.”
“I’ll alert Edgar. He’ll have it tracked from headquarters and follow it via a remote link in his office. When should I pick you up?”
“Give me five minutes. I’ll duck out the service entrance. Anyone in sight?”
“Negative. All quiet.”
“I’ll be down in a few.”
“Roger that,” Rob finished, and then the line went dead.
Chapter 15
Rob and Jet entered the club again, after a different smarmy hawker had pulled them in from the street. They followed the same gladiator girl to the same booth as the prior night.
The festivities were in full roar, with cries of drunken delight from a contingent of mid-thirty-year-old men, all wearing the same red T-shirts.
Rob edged closer to her. “Bachelor party.”
“Lucky bride. I wonder if the groom is going to tell her how he spent his time? My guess is he’ll leave out the sex tourism part.”
“It’s an imperfect world.”
“I’ll say.”
Pu entered a few minutes later, which they were expecting, based on the signal from his car. They’d pulled into a parking spot only minutes ahead of him.
It was the same routine as the night before, his entourage of hired muscle leading the way back to his offices, trailed by several Thai men who had business with him. Jet noted the way his eyes roved over everyone in the club, lingering on her for a fraction of a second before continuing. Did he remember her from the prior night? She felt a momentary chill and took a sip of her beer. Their cover was to be seen in the club, a debauched couple out for wild times, so it didn’t really matter if he recalled her or not. But it still gave her the willies, for some reason.
The grand finale onstage was greeted by a cheer from the bachelor party. A slim female performer bowed theatrically and winked at the groom, his friends cheering him on as she gave him a salacious smirk and gestured at the rooms in the rear with her head. He stood with a shrug to much back slapping and took her hand, following her into the shadows as the music blared back to full roar — a twenty-year-old Snoop Dog rap groove with an ominous beat.
“I want to talk to the
Alarm flashed across Rob’s face. “Why?”
“I just do. Do you think she speaks English?”
“It’s a bad idea. A really bad idea.”
“I’ve been thinking about it all day. It’s not such a bad idea. It would actually be in keeping with our cover as a rich, spoiled couple.”
“What are you going to do?”
“You don’t want to know.”
“You’re going to blow our cover.”
“No, I won’t. Trust me on this.”
Before he could argue any more, she stood and made for the back of the club. The
“What you want? Anything you want,” she began, then recognized Jet from the night before. “Ah. You back. You want more?”
“I want to talk to you.”
“Talk? What about?” she inquired suspiciously.
“The little girl.”
“Oh, sure. You want I send her to you? Finest kind. Cutie…”
“No. I want to make you a proposal.”
“Proposal? I no understand.”
“I want to buy her.”
“You know the price. Same as last night.”
“No. Not for an hour. I want to buy her.”
The woman’s eyes widened for a nano-second and then narrowed.
“Buy?”
Jet nodded. “That’s right.”
“I no can sell her. Not mine.”
“Then let me talk to whoever can.”
“Impossible. He busy-busy.”
“I think he’d be interested in making a lot of money, don’t you?”
She eyed Jet shrewdly. “You give me tip, I ask. Okay? Good tip, I ask harder.”
Jet pulled a wad of cash from her front jean pocket and peeled off a fifty-dollar bill.
“Go ask real hard, and there’s another one if you come back with a yes.”
She snatched the bill, and it disappeared into the folds of her dress, and then the woman trundled down the long hall to the far door, a pair of armed bodyguards framing it. After a brief discussion, she ducked inside, and then two minutes later emerged with a big smile.
“I ask very hard. Told him you nice lady. He see you now.”
Jet slipped her another fifty and moved past her, taking her time to walk down the hall. The bodyguards stopped her and did a fast search, lingering a little longer than necessary on her breasts and bottom, but she didn’t
