“Let’s get this party started,” the one who was dressed in blue said. She began to dance, doing the twist. The other two women quickly joined in.
“Let’s get our meeting over first. Everyone, gather around the table,” Banyon quickly said.
Chapter Twenty
“We only have a few minutes before Dr. Kamienski arrives, so let’s make them count,” Banyon opened the meeting. “Josephine Wilk is going to join us for the dinner, so make sure you don’t divulge our real plan around her.”
“What if she asks?” Mandy spoke.
“Send her to me,” Banyon replied.
“Okay,” Mandy said.
“I want all of you to know there will be some risk of violence tomorrow. You can back out if you want.” No one said a word.
“Will we be armed?” Heather asked.
“Yes,” Banyon replied. “The Patel’s have brought enough weapons for all of us to be armed.”
“Plus earplugs too,” Eric jumped in.
“Now here is a list of things we will need for the plan. Banyon waved a piece of paper with a list of items that needed to be bought. “I want someone to go with Edgar early tomorrow morning to make the buys.”
“I’ll go with him,” Eric volunteered.
“Okay, but you must be back here by 9:00 a.m. We need to be at the Arcades by 9:30 a.m.”
“No problem,” Eric replied.
“What about our badges? The ones we need to get in the Arcades before it is open?” Mandy asked,
“We don’t need badges. We should be in and out before the Arcades officially opens tomorrow. It will be closed until 11:00 a.m. for the North Korean minister’s private viewing, so we must be gone by then.”
“Short window,” Steve noted.
“We’ll make due,” Banyon replied confidently. “Mandy you will be the first up again tomorrow.”
“Okay,” she replied.
“The rest of the plan goes like this…”
***
When Banyon finished the meeting he walked over to the media center in the suite. He turned on the stereo system. Classic rock and roll music soon filled the room.
“The bar is open,” he yelled out. “Heather, will you tell Loni that it okay to bring out Josephine now?” She left immediately just as there was a knock at the door. The Patel sisters all ran to answer it. They knew it was Doctor Kevin Kamienski. They threw open the suite door and greeted the good doctor. He was dressed in a brown suit with no tie. They each grabbed him in non-brotherly hugs. Each hug took about a half a minute.
“I’m Previne,” the Patel in blue gushed. “We wore different colors so that you wouldn’t get confused,” she added and winked. “Pramilla is in the lemon colored dress and Maya is wearing the green dress.”
“You girls look just marvelous,” he said charmingly as he strolled into the room. He stopped when he saw the other women. “Wow,” was all he could muster.
The party was in full swing with people dancing and eating when Banyon slid up to Maya. He wanted to talk to Previne, but she and the doctor had disappeared.
“Don’t forget to make Edgar forget later,” he reminded her.
“Oh, we already did that,” Maya explained with a wave of her hand. “I hope it wasn’t too early?”
“What?” Banyon managed to utter.
“Yeah, well, Previne wanted the suite to herself right now. She was worried that Edgar might wander over there while she was entertaining,” Maya said with a throaty laugh. “So, we decided to make him forget a little early. Pramilla and I have agreed to occupy his time during the party.” She nodded to Edgar who was dancing up a storm with Pramilla. She was dancing very close to him. “I’ll relieve her after this song.”
“But I thought you were going to have to fool him,” Banyon said.
“Oh — but we did,” Maya smiled. “While he was taking a shower, the three of us came into the bathroom without any clothes on. We make some noise and when he poked his head out of the shower we were able to get his attention.” She paused as she looked into Banyon’s eyes without embarrassment. “He was so embarrassed that when Previne told him to look into her eyes, and not anywhere else, he did.”
“You three are devious little sluts,” Banyon said with a laugh.
“Thank you,” she said with a smile.
***
The party was in full swing when Mandy suddenly appeared by Banyon’s side.
“Did I set up the party okay?” She asked.
“You did a great job,” Banyon replied.
“The caterers were so nice,” she exclaimed. After we set up the food, one of them offered to clean up the suite. He took your suit that you left on the bathroom floor. He said he would have it cleaned.”
“Oh!” Banyon responded.
“Yeah, he thought that I was the hostess for the party and you were my husband. But he flirted with me anyway.”
“Oh!” Banyon managed to utter again.
Chapter Twenty-One
The sun had been up for an hour before Colton Banyon rolled out of bed. Loni was still asleep next to him. He went to the bathroom and made himself presentable. He then wandered into the main room of the suite. It had already been cleaned up. Eric and Pramilla were sitting there on the couch.
“Anything happen while I was asleep?” Banyon asked them.
“She came out of the room and went to the phone about two hours ago, but when she saw us, she went back to her room without making a call,” Pramilla replied. “She looked a little frustrated to me.”
“What time did you guys come on duty?” Banyon wondered.
“We’ve been here for three hours,” Eric replied. “We cleaned up the suite while we were waiting. We sent Mandy and Maya to sleep in our bed when we relieved them. Don’t worry, someone was watching all night.”
“Have you seen Edgar yet? You guys need to go shopping don’t you?” Banyon quickly glanced at his watch.
“Relax, Colt. It is only seven-thirty in the morning.” Eric told him.
“Want me to order some breakfast?” Banyon asked as he rubbed his belly. “Don’t know when we will be able to eat again.”
“I already did, Colt. It should be here any minute,” Pramilla explained.
“Oh,” Banyon replied. “I’d better talk to Wolf then before it gets here.” He walked back into the bedroom.
“That was a nice party last night,” Pramilla said to her partner.
“Yeah,” Eric laughed. “Previne wasn’t here to boss everyone around. Also, Mandy wasn’t chasing Colt like a little puppy dog.”
“Do you think Previne is enjoying the doctor?” Pramilla inquired with a giggle.
“When we left this morning they were still going at it,” Eric explained.
“I hope she will have enough energy for today.” Pramilla worried.
“I think the question should be; can she even walk?” Eric said with a grin.
There was a knock at the suite door. It was the food they had ordered. Suddenly, Loni and Banyon came out of their bedroom. The rest of the team came through the door a moment later.
Chapter Twenty-Two
By 9:30 a.m., the entire team with all their equipment and disguises were clustered along the North side of the red-bricked Banyon Arcades. The sidewalks leading to the Arcades entrance came in from the South where the parking area was located. The North side of the structure didn’t have an entrance, or even a window. Open lawn spread all the way to a bend in the river. The escarpment loomed behind them. Banyon was pretty sure they were hidden from view.
He peeked around the corner of the building and observed the two guards situated on either side of the front entrance to the Arcades. He knew they were the only ones on duty. They represented the first obstacle to their plan. No one else was in sight. Suddenly, the door to the arcades opened and two additional guards appeared. The man and the woman were very young and vaguely familiar. They chatted with the guards on duty and then headed up the walkway and out of sig
ht.
“Okay, girls, do your stuff,” he said as waved them forward. Two teams slipped around the corner. The Patel sisters were one team, and Loni and Heather were the other team. They quickly moved to the row of creepy metal statues facing the front before the guards noticed them.
As soon as the guards saw them, the women moved to the men while pointing and gesturing like a tourist would do. The women all were dressed in shorts with halter tops so the guards were looking at them, not their hands. As soon as they were very close, Previne and Loni thrust a white cloth into the faces of the guards.
“Let’s go,” Banyon yelled. Everyone but Mandy sprinted to the entrance. The men on the team held the struggling guards until they went unconscious. Edgar and Eric, both dressed in guard uniforms, quickly took up the guard positions. Edgar picked up the clipboard which one of the guards had dropped. It contained the list of people to be allowed into the Arcades that day. Banyon found the keys in one of the unconscious men’s pockets. He opened the door to the Arcades. They dragged the guards to Wilk’s office, gagged them, and tied them up. They would be asleep for two hours, Banyon hoped to be long gone by then.
Everybody then sprinted back outside and around the corner of the building. They knew Wilk along with the Professor were due any minute. They needed to hide. After they were all safely hidden, Banyon went to the trunk. It had been bought earlier in the morning. He took out one of the talismans and handed it to Mandy. She was dressed in a silver warm up suit with the Polish Olympic symbol embossed on the front.
“Okay, Mandy, you know what to do, right?” Banyon said sincerely.
“I won’t let you down, Colt. I promise,” she replied confidently. She scampered off to enter the building.
***
Banyon moved away from everyone as they took turns peeking around the corner. He addressed Wolf.
“Are you there?” he asked.
“It is in his left jacket pocket,” the spirit replied. Banyon immediately pressed his earplug. “Mandy,” he said. “I forgot to tell you that he keeps it in his left jacket pocket, got that?”
“Roger,” she replied. Mandy was many things, but Banyon knew she was a world class pickpocket. She was vital to their plan.
“Wolf, what is Josephine Wilk doing?” Banyon had told her to just wait in the suite for them to return.
“Just as you thought,” Wolf answered. “She left the suite about ten minutes after you guys left. She is meeting with six men as we speak.”
“Make sure you don’t lose them. The timing is critical, Okay?”
“I have never lost anyone yet,” the spirit replied cheerfully.
They continued to talk for a few minutes longer before Banyon broke it off. He had heard in his earplug that Wilk was sighted.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Professor Izaak Orlich aimed his car into the huge parking lot by the Royal Castle. He picked a place near the Arcades to stop. He and Albin Wilk got out of the car and began to walk to the entrance of the Arcades. The professor held his book containing the chants to stop the talismans close to his chest. He never let it out of his sight. Both men were dressed in suits and ties. They wanted to make a good impression. After all they expected to collect three billion dollars from the North Koreans.
“I’m a little worried about Michael Orlov,” the professor noted. “He is loose cannon. What if he doesn’t show up?”
“Oh, he’ll show. He wants the money we promised him,” Wilk replied.
“But maybe he won’t be alone. Then what do we do?”
“I talked to him last night,” Wilk responded casually. “He told me his crew had met with a series of accidents. He will be coming alone,” Wilk replied. “He is greedy and wants all the money for himself, but he’ll never get to spend any of it.”
Suddenly suspicious the professor asked. “What do you mean?”
“You’ll see,” Wilk said evilly. They walked up to the entrance and acknowledged the guards.
“Where are the regular guards?” Professor Orlich asked suspiciously. He knew all the guards, but the two men in front of him were new.
The ferret answered in Polish. “This is a special assignment. We’ve been assigned the task by the head curator. The door is open professor.”
“Do you have the list of people to let inside the building?” Albin Wilk asked as he eyed the clipboard in Edgar’s hand.
“Yes, sir,” the ferret replied.
“Let me see it.”
Edgar handed him the list. He looked it over and handed it back. “Make a notation to search everyone for weapons,” Wilk said. “We don’t want any problems during the tour,” he gave as a reason.
“They will all be searched,” Edgar responded. He took out a pen to write on the clipboard.
“Oh, and another thing,” Wilk said. “Once all the people on the list have entered the Arcades, I want the two of you to station yourselves in front of the door inside. I don’t trust the dignitaries who are coming today. Be prepared to protect me if they try anything. Any questions?” Wilk asked.
“No, sir,” Edgar answered. The ferret went to the door and pulled it open. The two men turned to enter.
At the same time, Eric pressed his earplug and spoke. “Coming in.”
“Roger,” he heard back.
As soon as Wilk came through the door, a young woman in an Olympic track suit whizzed past him, slightly bumping his left side. She continued to jog down the long Arcade.
“Watch where you are going,” Wilk shouted at her, but continued on his path.
“The transfer is complete,” Mandy said into her earplug.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Meanwhile, the arrogant Minister of Agriculture and Weapons for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was preparing to leave the hotel. His two bodyguards were in the room with him. They had finally arrived in the late afternoon the day before and had gone out to dinner. He was dismayed to find there were no Korean restaurants in the big city, but finally settled on Polish food, something he had never tasted before. As a result, his stomach had spent a tumultuous evening reminding him why Korean food was the best in the world. He had never heard of antacid pills.
Despite his discomfort he was in a jovial mood. His knew his dream of possessing the ultimate weapons and becoming the Supreme Leader of his country, was now in sight. He would not fail.
“After we leave with the weapons, you two hide outside,” he told his men as he pointed at them. “When Wilk comes out the door you need to capture him. Make him give you the code numbers for his private account.”
“Why?” one man asked.
“I’m sure he will move the money to another bank account while we are still in the building.”
“But we have no weapons,” one of the bodyguards whined.
“What do you need weapons for,” Minister Sok screamed at him.
“To capture him,” the man explained like the minister was weak minded.
“You are the highest-trained elite operatives in the whole world. I want no excuses,” he roared.
“What if we are seen and someone calls the police? We do stand out in this city, you know,” the man replied.
“I order you to get our money back,” Minister Sok said as he pounded the table in a tantrum.
“It may not be possible,” the man continued.
“In North Korean, no one argues with the ruling society,” Minister Sok exclaimed. “Just one day away from our glorious country and you men are already acting like decadent westerners.
“We will find a way,” his man backed off and conceded.
“Good, you’d better, or when we get back, I’ll make sure both of you spend the rest of your miserable lives in a labor camp,” Sok threatened.
“And where do you think you will be if we can’t recover the money?” one of his men replied sarcastically.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Someone is coming. He is carrying a box and a wooden club,” Eric told everyone through
his earplug.
“That would be Michael Orlov,” Banyon explained.
“That’s him alright,” Loni exclaimed as she peeked around the corner. She had looked him up on the internet.
“Be careful with him,” Banyon spoke into his earplug. “He has killed many people to get this far.”
“Roger,” Eric replied.
“Heather and Steve, it’s your turn,” Banyon announced. The couple came around the corner laughing while heading for the entrance to the Arcades. Heather carried a cloth bag and Steve walked with a straight-leg limp. They looked like typical tourists out for a day of sightseeing.
The bag contained the replica of the rock Wilk had purchased. Banyon had put it in the cloth sack moments earlier. He had taken the item from the trunk. Steve had the copy of the club stuffed down his pants. It caused him to walk with a slight limp. They timed their arrival at the entrance so they would get there shortly after Michael Orlov. Timing was critical for their part of the plan.
When Orlov reached the doors, Eric moved to block his entrance. He put up his hand. The ferret talked to Orlov in Polish. “I’m sorry sir, the Arcades are closed until eleven o’clock today. Come back later.”
“Albin Wilk and Professor Orlich are expecting me,” he smoothly responded. Edgar looked at his list.
“What is your name?” Edgar demanded without looking up.
“It’s Michael Orlov.”
“We are going to have to do a body search and check out what is in the box,” Edgar said in an official tone. He pointed to the items Orlov carried.
“Why?” Orlov protested.
“It’s written right here, see,” Edgar explained as he tilted the clipboard for Orlov to read where he had written the words.
“I don’t have time,” an exasperated Orlov whined.
“It’s just a precaution, sir. There will be some foreign dignitaries coming for a tour today. Everyone gets searched.”
“There is only a rock in the box,” Orlov said with frustration. “And you can clearly see the other item is just piece of wood.”
The Polish Discovery: The Society of Orion 1-3 (Colton Banyon Mystery Book 17) Page 29