Harlequin's Shadow

Chapter 21: Takedown

By six o'clock, Peter had his team assembled inside the warehouse. Members of the Violent Crimes unit had been called in to provide backup support. They were stationed outside where they could monitor the streets. Travis and Badillo were coordinating communications from a van parked a block away.

Peter had five agents hidden behind carefully constructed crates in the warehouse with additional forces concealed near the front entrance. Once Ydrus arrived, the suspects would need to be apprehended in the act of threatening the pirates. As soon as the FBI agents emerged from hiding, it would be obvious that Neal, Henry, and Mozzie were part of the scheme. Everyone was wearing bulletproof vests, but even so, the Ydrus operatives would need to be taken down immediately to avoid bloodshed.

A bulletproof crate had been constructed for the three pirates to dive into once the Bureau agents appeared. As an additional precaution, they also had remote switches to kill the lights. The team had built in every safety measure they could think of, but Peter still stewed.

Everyone was confident that Kramer was informing Ydrus via burner phones, but there was no confirmation. At least with Adler, they had the evidence provided by Ruiz's intercepted phone call.

The only known agents for Ydrus, aside from Kramer, were the Mansfeld brothers, Huber, and the husband and wife tech specialists Marta and Jacek Kolar. Joanna Abbott's role was unidentified. She could be Python, the leader of Ydrus, or simply a friend of Klaus's. All they had to go on were a tattoo of a snake and an acquaintanceship with Bianka Kaldy.

The FAA hadn't purchased Win-Win's facial recognition software, but in any case, its value was limited. Disguises could trick the program. Nor was there any effective means to monitor all the bus terminals, railroad stations, and hundreds of thousands of private cars on the metropolitan streets. Peter's team was flying on a wing and a prayer.

And if no one showed? At the bare minimum, they'd still arrest Kramer. Hughes would supervise that personally once he got the signal from Peter. The op Kramer expected to take part in would never happen. He'd be arrested before he had a chance to leave the Federal Building.

Henry arrived on the scene in a rental car at 6:45. Fifteen minutes later Mozzie and Neal appeared in a dilapidated Ford Pinto.

The three pirates kept themselves loose by playing charades. Mozzie had suggested movie titles for the subject. Their antics served to entertain the rest of the team. From their hiding positions, Diana and Jones were calling out apparently random guesses. Peter's entertainment was to check his watch every two minutes. It was now 7:15. If by 8:30 no one showed, he'd have to phone in the bad news to Hughes.

"We could string the con out a little while longer," Jones's voice murmured in his earpiece. "With Kramer no longer supplying intel, we might be able to smoke out other Ydrus operatives."

"Whether or not anyone comes to the warehouse, the sting continues as planned." Peter aimed to project confidence in a scheme that was looking wackier by the moment. Once Kramer was arrested, he'd be unable to send any messages to Ydrus. What would they assume? That he'd been caught? That he'd double-crossed them? Rolf might suspect Peter had tipped Neal off at the last moment.

Henry had just performed a hilarious mime of One Flew Over the Cuckoo Nest when the wait ended.

"Targets arriving!" Travis trumpeted in Peter's earpiece. He reported three cargo vans turned off Flushing Avenue onto the small side street where the warehouse was located.

The pirates moved into position. The concealed agents confirmed their readiness. It was showtime.

* * * * *

Would Klaus walk through the entrance? Neal doubted it, but this was the time to dream. Henry and Mozzie took their positions when Peter gave the signal. Their game plan was to appear to be nailing lids onto crates. Once the confrontation started, they'd dart inside a large crate standing next to them. It was designed to look like it held a Renaissance altarpiece.