Page 101 of Stuart Woods' Golden Hour

Hans’s face screwed up as if the question was ridiculous. “Iwon’t be doing it personally.”

He picked up a hard-plastic box, undid the latch, openedthe top, and removed a palm-sized drone. “This will do it for me.”

“How does it carry the bug and put it in place?”

“The droneisthe bug,” Hans said. “I fly it under the car and attach it somewhere it won’t be seen.”

“Huh. I wouldn’t mind getting ahold of a few of those. Who makes them?”

“I do.”

“Do you take orders?”

“I have an online catalog. I’ll send you the link.”

“Please do.”

“Have you been able to get the blueprints for the building?” Vesna asked.

Hans brought up pdfs of the blueprints. There was a page for each floor, plus several detailed drawings of specific areas.

“Can you show us the BLS floors?” Teddy said.

Hans did so, starting with the tenth floor.

On the top floor was a large office labeledPresident/Ceo. That would be Braun’s office.

“Forward that to me, please,” Vesna said.

Hans clicked several buttons, then Vesna’s phone vibrated. She checked her screen, then forwarded a copy to Teddy.

They spent several minutes studying the camera feeds to familiarize themselves with the building.

“I’ve seen enough for now,” Teddy said. “Why don’t we get out of Hans’s hair.”

Vesna nodded, then said to Hans, “Keep us updated on Braun’s movements.”

“Sure, sure.”

“And let us know if Dieter shows up,” Teddy threw in.

Hans waved a hand in the air, dismissing them.

Teddy and Vesna left the apartment and took a stroll around the BLS building, wanting to get a firsthand look at it.

When they finished, Vesna took Teddy to a quiet café, where they studied the blueprints and talked through options as they ate dinner. By the time their plates had been removed, they had a plan for how to sneak into BLS’s office, where they hoped to find out which client had ordered the vendetta on the Golden Hour team.

“Still one big question, though,” Vesna said.

“Security system,” Teddy said.

She nodded.

The blueprints contained a notation that BLS had its own system installed, followed by a fourteen-character alphanumeric sequence and nothing else.

Teddy pointed at the characters. “You’re sure this doesn’t ring any bells?”

She studied it for a moment, then shook her head. “Sorry. Maybe your friends at the Agency will know.”

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