Page 47 of No Time Off

“Freeze,” I breathed.

While Manny and I froze, I could see a text ping in from Lexi.

“Got it. Network #2. If you can wait a few minutes longer, it will help me get a head start on hacking in tomorrow.”

I didn’t respond for several minutes until the camera swiveled back to its original position and the operator determined it was a false alarm.

“You can move now,” I said to Manny, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

“That was way too bloody close,” he said.

I texted Lexi to see if she’d gotten what she needed. When she answered in the affirmative, I closed my laptop and stuffed it into my backpack.

“Let’s go,” I said to Manny.

We carefully made our way back to the beach and headed toward the farmhouse. Manny, who had been relatively quiet since we left the compound, finally spoke up.

“So, what’s the plan for tomorrow?”

“If Lexi agrees—and apparently it’s critical I get her input—we head back to the farmhouse and get some food, sleep, and the recording devices,” I replied. “We return with everything before dawn. After that, it’s simple: Lexi hacks the network and takes the security cameras down. Once she does that, I’ll go in and plant those recording devices and get out.”

“How long will it take her to hack into the network?”

“We’ll get here early so she has at least an hour before the preferred time to enter, but I doubt it will take her that long.”

“She can do that all that in such a short time?” Manny said, looking stunned.

“She can.”

“Damn, that’s bloody impressive.”

“She’s very, very good at her work,” I said.

“Apparently. Let’s just hope she agrees with your plan. It’s a whole different world today than when I was in the New Zealand intelligence service. The technology is crazy.” He shook his head in disbelief. “Okay, then, where do you intend to place the recorders once your brilliant wife helps you get into the compound by compromising the security cameras?”

“Right now, I’m leaning toward putting one in the conference room where you saw Maivia speaking with some Chinese officials. Where do you think the other one should go?”

Manny thought it over. “I’d say the chief of staff’s office. Locally, he’s the top Chinese guy. His boss is here occasionally, but not often, as he comes and goes as he pleases. Everything runs through the chief of staff, so that seems like the best spot to get our evidence. Speaking of the boss, given what’s going on, my bet is we’ll see him soon, too, if he’s not already here.”

“You don’t know if he’s here or not?” I asked, puzzled.

“I don’t,” Manny said. “The Chinese police handle all his travels, not the local island custom officers.”

I stopped in my tracks, staring at him in surprise. “Are you kidding me? Is that true of all Chinese nationals or just him?”

“All Chinese nationals,” he confirmed. “And yeah, the Chinese could, and probably have, set up quite a smuggling operation through our islands to avoid sanctions and scrutiny. That’s initially what the prime minister wanted me to investigate when I started my surveillance here six months ago. Obviously, it’s now a lot more than that.”

That was a pretty big chunk of information, so I took a moment to digest it.

“Slash, you understand this operation is not going to be easy,” Manny said. “These recording devices are old and aren’t like the fancy bugs you are probably used to working with. They’re just mini recording devices with no transmission capability. That means not only will you have to break in to plant them, but you’ll also have to break in a second time to retrieve them. And, by the way, those devices are Chinese-made, too.”

“Well, that’s about as far from an ideal situation as we can get,” I admitted. “But you intended at some point to plant those recorders yourself, didn’t you? What was your plan?”

“My cousin Ari,” Manny said. “He owns the grocery store that delivers food to the compound every Tuesday and Friday,” he said. “At some point I was going to go along on a delivery and see what I could get planted. We could have potentially used that to get you into the compound, but tomorrow is Monday, and I have a feeling we don’t have a full day to wait.”

“We don’t,” I agreed. “But we could use the delivery option to retrieve the devices. Either way, we’ll have to work with what we’ve got and keep things as simple as possible.”

“Simple?” Manny echoed. “There’s nothing simple about any of this. This isn’t some locked office door in New York City. Breaking into the compound is just the first step. Then you need to avoid detection while you find your way to the locations where you want to plant the recorders. Doors may be locked, and while the guards might be sloppy, they do have guns. Furthermore, it would only take one bit of bad luck, a person in the wrong spot at the wrong time, and you’re caught.”

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