“Do you have the money?” She wanted to make sure he thought the money was her primary motivation.
“Right here.” He patted a hard sided briefcase next to him.
“Let me see it.”
Richardson drew the case onto his lap, flipped the latches open and pulled the lid up. Lily did a quick calculation of the amounts she saw on the top, though the money wasn’t relevant.
She made sure to look appropriately wide eyed and hungry.
“Considering your father’s vast wealth, I’m surprised the money is so important to you,” Richardson said.
Lily arched a brow. “How did you know?”
He closed the briefcase with a smug smile. “I make it my business to know who I’m dealing with, Miss West. I know everything about you, from where you went to high school and college, to your service record with the Dallas PD and your current position with the private investigation firm in Chicago.”
This guy was good.
“So answer my question. Your father is a very rich man. I’m sure you could have everything you want. Why are you doing this?”
She shrugged and leaned back against the seat, stretching out her legs. “My father isn’t happy with my choice of career. He wanted me to go into business with him. We’ve been…at odds ever since I entered the police academy.”
Richardson nodded. “He cut you off financially.”
“Yes. Several years ago.”
“You didn’t like that.”
She snorted. “I hated it. I might have wanted to take my career in my own direction at first, but I started to miss the finer things, the lifestyle I’d grown accustomed to.”
His lips lifted in a faint hint of a smile. “I can appreciate a woman who enjoys luxuries.”
“That money will go a long way to insuring I can once again live the kind of life I was used to. And no one will ever know how I got it, since I am related to a very rich man. It wouldn’t be at all unusual for me to live an opulent lifestyle, knowing who my father is.”
“You have this all planned out, don’t you?”
“I didn’t at first, but after I got involved in all this, after I found out what was really stolen from the museum, I developed a plan. I just had to find the right moment to get the vial and run off with it, then I put the pieces together and figured out it was you who wanted it back.”
“You’re very good at your job.”
She smiled, thinking of the ultimate satisfaction she was going to get when Richardson was behind bars. “Thank you.”
“Let me have the vial, please.”
She handed over the bag. Richardson pulled the plexiglass container out, inspected the vial within it, and nodded. He handed the briefcase over to her.
“So, what are you planning to do with that stuff?” she asked.
He frowned. “Do you have any idea what this is?”
“No. The guy I was with didn’t tell me. He said he didn’t know, only that it was worth a lot of money, so I pretended to throw in with him for a piece of the action. It was only a matter of time before he started to trust me, then I gave him the slip and contacted you.”
Richardson seemed to consider that for a moment. “I can only imagine how you did that.”
“I have my ways,” she said, batting her lashes so he had no doubt of her meaning.
“I’m certain you do.”
The way he looked at her—God, this guy was a creep.
She couldn’t wait to get away from him. “So are you going to tell me what that stuff is?”
Richardson slid his finger under her chin and tipped it up. “It’s best you remain ignorant of some things, Miss West.”
She shrugged, wanting to slap his hand away, but maintaining her calm. “Makes no difference to me, as long as I have this.” She patted the case and held out her hand to shake his. “Nice doing business with you, Mr. Richardson. Hopefully we’ll cross paths again. If you ever need my services…”
“Does it bother you that you’ve given up your good ways and turned to a life of…crime?”
She snorted. “A girl’s gotta do what’s necessary to survive.”
Richardson smiled and nodded. “You’re a very resourceful young woman, Miss West. I’ll be sure to contact you should I ever have need of someone with your unique…talents.”
“You do that. I like money.” She stepped out of the car and moved back to her own, making sure she didn’t look back as Richardson drove away. She didn’t want to give the impression she was watching him, though she knew the others were. It wasn’t more than a minute before she heard the revving engine of a vehicle pulling up next to hers.
It was Mac, in a sweet looking Trans Am, circa midseventies or so.
She tossed the briefcase in the back seat and slipped into the passenger seat, relieved to see him. “Sorry. I didn’t know what else to do. He insisted on the change in location because of the security cameras.”
“Yeah, we heard you on the mic. Tricky, but it worked out fine. The restaurant recently installed the security cameras out front. We didn’t know about them either, or that Richardson would freak out about them. Major fuckup. Sorry.”
She shrugged. “Like you said, it worked out. We still have to link him to Delor or Belanfield.”
“We’ll figure that out at his next stop.”
“What about my car?” she asked.
“Someone’s gonna pick it up and take it back to headquarters. Don’t worry.”
Mac gunned the engine and Lily’s head shot back against the headrest. She grabbed for her seatbelt as he pulled out onto the street. “The others already picked up his tail and are following. We’ll lag behind and join in, taking over a few blocks down the road. That way if his driver is watching out the rear view mirror for cars, he’ll keep seeing different ones and won’t think he’s being followed.”
The Wild Riders all kept in touch via a communication system that the government supplied them. It was pretty slick, just a clip on earpiece with internal voice mic in one selfcontained unit. It was hands free, so even the guys on bikes could stay in touch. In this way, when one veered off, the others knew exactly where the others were. And whoever was following Richardson could let the others know.
Right now it was Rick in charge of tailing Richardson.
“He’s going north on Fifth Street,” Rick said, the sound of his bike revving clear as a bell on their communication system.
Mac had handed her an earpiece to wear so she could stay abreast of the action. Every mile or so the cars would switch out. Soon it was their turn, and Mac made a smooth transition, sliding onto the street as Pax pulled off. Mac pulled within three cars of Richardson, leaving him in the left hand lane while they stayed in the right.
“Isn’t that a little risky? What if he turns left?”
Mac grinned. “This car handles great. I can zip into the left lane and make a turn if I need to. Besides, AJ is running parallel one street over. He’ll pick him up on the next block if we miss a turn.”
“You all have it covered, don’t you?”
Mac laughed. “We hope so.”
They followed Richardson only a short distance, as the car pulled into a condominium complex. Mac went on ahead and Spence took over.
“Where’s he going?” Lily asked.
“No clue.”
“He’s picking up someone,” Spence said. “Tall, beefy guy. Bald. Dressed all in black.”
Lily wrinkled her nose. “That sounds like Belanfield.”
“He’s getting into the front passenger seat and they’re taking off now,” Spence said. “I’ll follow for the next leg.”
Within ten miles it was Mac and Lily’s turn again. They were on the interstate now, and it was easier to keep an eye on Richardson’s vehicle as well as stay far enough back and hidden within the flow of traffic to blend in.
He exited the interstate and they followed, discreetly of course. Traffic was pretty heavy so they were about four cars behind. Richardson’s car pulled onto a side street almost immediately. Diaz picked them up on his bike, weaving in and out of traffic while Mac drove off.
“They’re stopping at a convenience store,” Diaz said.
“Delor Pharmaceuticals is within that complex of buildings,” Lily said, pointing off to their right.
“Okay, this is all going according to plan,” Grange said.
“We’re going to assume they’re heading to Delor. Everyone roll. Diaz, stay on them.”
Mac pushed it, hard, careening around the corner and gunning the engine. The side street he took was deserted, so he cranked up the speed. Mac parked on the east side of the building, where it was dark, but well hidden and out of the view of the security cameras. The rest of them were already there.
Mac and Lily were going inside. Mac with a camera to record what they could, Lily because she might recognize some of the higher ups at Delor.
Mac had hated that part, but Lily insisted. Besides, it wasn’t as if she was untrained. She could handle it and she was excited to be a part of taking down Richardson and Belanfield.
Rick would go with them since he was their breaking and entering expert. The rest of them would stay outside and monitor.
Mac and Lily put on white coats with ID’s denoting them as Delor research personnel. Grange didn’t think they’d need them, but just in case they ran into security, they’d need covers and a plausible reason for wandering the hallways.
Everyone would be armed.
“Okay,” Rick said. “Their codes are simple, nothing as complex as government codes. A simple keypad structure at the side doors. Code was like child’s play to break. Front door is trickier, with armed security and card pass required, but we won’t be going in that way.”
“AJ is masquerading as the local delivery guy,” Grange reminded them, going over each step again. “He’ll be making a rush delivery when Belanfield and Richardson come in through the front door. While AJ’s getting his late delivery package signed for by night security, he’ll be able to tell us what direction our guys go. By then, we’ll already be through the side door, ready to pick up two men on infrared.”
“Infrared is already set up so we can track body count,”
Spence said. “I’ll monitor from out here and let you know who’s in there and where they are. At this late hour, the place is a ghost town. Mainly security.”
“Which is exactly what Richardson wants,” Lily said.
“Fewer curious eyes when he drops off the virus.”
“And exactly what we want. Easier to follow them. Get going,” Grange said.
“We’ve set up interference for their monitoring systems so when we open the door it won’t show on security’s detail,”
Rick said. He punched in the seven digit security code and pulled the heavy door. Lily held her breath as it clicked, expecting to hear alarms sound. But when Rick turned the handle, the door opened and she exhaled in relief. They stepped inside the semi dark hallway and started moving toward the front of the building. Austere white walls and nondescript grey carpet. Their feet made no noise at all on the floor. They advanced down the hall as if they had a purpose.
“Your earsets are tuned into voices,” Spence said.
“You’ll have to get close to them to pick theirs up.”
“Try to look like you belong there,” Grange reminded them.
By the time they got to the end of the corridor, there was no one at the front desk. They pulled into a nearby hallway and waited.
“Belanfield and Richardson headed straight for the elevators,” Diaz said into their earsets. “I was there long enough to watch the elevator stop at the second floor.”
“Let’s go,” Mac said, leading the way toward the stairway door. Though there were open stairs in the center lobby, they were located directly behind the reception desk, and Mac didn’t want to risk the guards’ scrutiny.
He pushed open the door at the top of the second floor.
“Clear.”
“Infrared is picking up two people in a room just to the left of the stairwell,” Spence said. “Otherwise the floor is empty.”
“That’s got to be them.” Mac opened the door and they stepped out of the stairwell and into the corridor, moving to the right instead of the left. He peered around the corner. “The conference room is all glass. Belanfield and Richardson are the only ones in there.” He lifted his tiny video camera and started filming Lily peered over his shoulder, getting a perfect view of the Delor Pharmaceutical sign in the back of the conference room, with Belanfield and Richardson standing directly to the left of the sign. It was absolutely perfect.
“I’m getting their voices,” she said.
“Camera is sensitive enough to pick it up, too,” Mac whispered over his shoulder.
Lily turned around, making sure Rick was right behind her and in position, watching their backs. She and Rick had their guns drawn, prepared in case of…anything. Mac was in charge of videotaping the exchange in the conference room.
Belanfield looked at his watch. “Where is he? I don’t have all night.”
“He’ll be arriving shortly,” Richardson said.
So, they were meeting someone. Who?
“Someone’s coming in,” Diaz signaled. “One man just pulled up in front and parked in the executive spot.”
Lily hoped this was who and what they were waiting for. She wanted this over with.
“You’ve got company,” Spence said. “He’s coming up in the elevator.”