Page 127 of Roberto

But no one approached me. No one commented on how odd it was that a man in a $20,000 suit was carrying a cheap Styrofoam container secured with rubber bands.

I made it back to my room without incident and heaved a sigh of relief.

Now – what to do with my new toys?

I went to the closet by the bathroom where I stored my suitcase. It was sitting on top of an expandable luggage rack, the kind that folds up when not in use.

I opened the top of my suitcase, placed the Styrofoam container on my folded socks and underwear, and felt in the bottom corner of the suitcase’s silk lining.

Ah – there.

I found the plastic seal, similar to one on a Ziploc bag, and forced it apart with one finger.

In order to pass through x-ray machines undetected, the fastener couldn’t be Velcro, buttons, or a zipper.

Even plastic could be detected if an x-ray tech was looking for it, but plastic was far better than the other options.

The silk lining was attached to the suitcase with elastic, which was stretchy enough for me to pull the lining up and expose the lead smuggling compartments.

I pried the tightly wedged tops off of both, then placed the block of C4 in one container. I had to cram the putty in to make it fit.

I wrapped the detonator in a sock so it wouldn’t rattle and wedged it into the other compartment.

There was no room for the gun; it would have to stay out in the open.

I wrapped it in my hoodie and used the rubber bands from the Styrofoam container to keep everything in place.

Bundled up like that, the gun wouldn’t make a noise if it shifted inside my suitcase.

I put the tops back on the smuggling compartments and resealed the silk lining.

To a casual observer, no one would know there was enough plastic explosive inside my suitcase to take out the entire penthouse suite.

After securing my new ‘toys,’ I called Lau.

His secretary informed me he wasn’t available and put me through to his voicemail.

“Mr. Lau, it’s Roberto Rosolini. I’m checking on the status of the meeting. Please call me.”

Then I hung up.

I knew what I should do next… but I was dreading it.

I had only texted Niccolo terse replies over the last week. Now it was time to face the music.

I thoughthe would be furious with me…

But I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Niccolo picked up on the first ring.

“Are you alright?”he asked in a panicked voice.

“Yes – why?” I asked in alarm.

“I was worried Fausto might have gotten to you.”

“No, I’m fine – what’s going on?”

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