Ratio: A Leopold Blake Thriller (A Private Investigator Series of Crime and Suspense Thrillers) (17 page)

“Ha! Yeah, I suppose so.”

“You’re making yourself attractive in front of millions of people. But for you, it’s less about getting money from them.”

“Damn right,” he said. “It’s about getting their votes.”

She reached under the covers and found what she was looking for. “Well, you’ve definitely got mine, Mr. President.” 

With a flurry of bedclothes he was upon her once again, a mischievous grin plastered on his face.

Chapter 25

LEOPOLD LEFT JOHNSON at the bar after making his excuses and headed back upstairs. Jerome and the two Secret Service agents were where he left them, silently prowling the corridors. Leopold drifted down the hall to Jerome.

“We need to talk,” Leopold said. “Get rid of Bozo and Giggles for me.”

Jerome looked over at the agents. “You mean Chuckles and Fizzbo? I was starting to enjoy their company.” 

“Just get them out of here.” 

“You don’t want the extra eyes?” 

“We don’t need them. Not tonight, anyway.” 

“What’s going on?”

Leopold jerked his head at the two suits. “Not with them here.” 

“Fine.” He called them over. 

“What’s the problem?” said Chuckles. Or Fizzbo. Leopold wasn’t sure. 

Jerome looked at them both in turn. “You’re off the clock, gentlemen. You can go back next door.” 

“We only just got here.”

“There’s been a mistake,” Jerome said. “We don’t need you tonight.”

The two agents looked at each other and shrugged. “You got it,” the one on the left said. “You got our radio frequency if you need any more hand-holding.” They turned and left. 

“So, what’s the issue?” Jerome said, taking up position by Melendez’s door. He sniffed the air. “Did you have a drink?” 

“Never mind that,” Leopold said. “Nothing’s going down tonight.”

“How can you be sure?”

“I ran into Officer Johnson.” 

Jerome raised an eyebrow. “Now’s not the time for socializing.”  

Leopold ignored him. “The President gets here tomorrow. If anything’s going to happen, it’ll be then. When all eyes are on him. Until then, we keep alert.” 

“Johnson’s got concerns,” Jerome said. 

“Let’s call it a hunch.” 

“I hate hunches.”

“Maybe you need to have a little talk with Harper.”

Leopold grinned. “Especially since the last one went so well.” He looked up and down the corridor. “This place is locked down for the night. I’ll track her down tomorrow.” 

Jerome changed the subject. “I have my own concerns about Doctor Kato.”

“She seems harmless enough. A little uncomfortable with all the security, maybe, but nothing to worry about. No risk.”

“That’s not what I meant. I still think we should’ve looked into the past a little more closely and not relied on what the primary’s team gave us.”

Leopold nodded. “Her history with the Yakuza.” 

“And using an alias in the past,” Jerome added “I already told her that if the shit hits the fan, she’s on her own. Melendez is our primary client, and our focus. We’re getting paid to protect him, not her.” He paused a moment. “Her frisk was something else. She’s definitely someone I wouldn’t want pissed at me.”

“Why?” 

“She’s built solid. And the injuries; I could feel the thick scars on her body under her clothes.”

“That’s something best kept to yourself,” said Leopold. “We know the facts. We know Jack trusts her and we’ve done our due diligence. That’s enough digging.” He yawned. “I want to check on that operations manager. What was his name?”

“Rick Gustafson.”

“There’s something about him that doesn’t add up.” He started pacing, a force of habit. “He’s inexperienced, pulled in too many directions. He might have missed something.”

“Like what?”

“Think of it this way: how many major red flags have you seen here so far?”

Jerome thought for a moment. “Other than the usual high-risk zones, nothing out of the ordinary. Why?”

“Is that usual? For nothing to be out of place, no concerns at all? Especially just before a major national event?”

“I get your point,” Jerome said. “He mentioned he’d let two teams into the basement. I’ll run another check.”

“I can go down tonight,” said Leopold. “You need to stay here.”

“Just try not to break anything.”

***

Leopold’s pass granted him access to the basement. He was glad to avoid finding Gustafson, eager to inspect the ventilation systems alone. A tote bag stuffed with monitoring equipment was slung over his shoulder, a little heavier than it looked. Once inside the basement, he got to his knees and pulled out a flashlight. The room was dark, emergency lighting only. The deep rumble of the generator sets loud enough to block out any other sounds.

There were two large units, filling most of the space. Starting with the system feeding the hotel, he took a chemical sampling of the outside, and tried to get a reading of gasses. Nothing registered. Next, he checked out the much larger ventilation system serving the convention center. Nothing there, either. There were Secret Service seals on access panels and doors, most of which had either secondary locks or were tack-welded secure. 

The only area that concerned him was the filtration system, which had no security seals or inspection tags. The screws had unique heads that required special tools, something he didn’t have with him.

Leopold figured the Secret Service must have missed something. He resigned himself to bringing it up with Harper in the morning. He took one last look around in the mechanical room before going back upstairs, a nagging feeling in the back of his mind.

Chapter 26

THE KOREAN BAR just off 8
^th
Avenue was full of people, hot and sweaty. The heating had apparently been cranked up all day against the wet and cold. Seong-min sat in a corner booth watching the evening revelers suck down cold beer and shots of
soju.
The younger drinkers took their shot glasses in both hands, tipping the clear liquid down in one go. Seong-min drummed his fingers against the table and took another gulp from his club soda. 

Jun-yeong found his way back to the booth and took a seat next to him, a large glass of beer in his hand, his fourth of the evening. Seong-min checked his watch. Nearly eleven p.m. 

“Take it easy,” Seong-min said. “We move out in less than seven hours. You’re no good to me with a hangover.” 

“I can take my drink. More than I can say for you.” He eyed the club soda. “Try living a little. This might be your last chance.”

“We’re not here to get sucked into Western hedonism. Remember why we took this job.”

Jun-yeong grinned. “Money, fame, women?” 

“For the good of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and our Great Leader.” Seong-min bowed his head as he spoke. “This is not a ‘Girls Gone Wild’ vacation.” 

“Lighten up. No reason we can’t do both.” 

“Just make sure you’re ready.” 

Jun-yeong took a swig of his beer. “I’ll be ready. Tomorrow, we plant the decoys at the park. We detonate early, to keep the emergency services busy while we take out the real target.” 

“At least you were listening at some point.” 

“You shouldn’t underestimate me.” 

“And you shouldn’t underestimate the American police. If they find those bombs, they’ll call off the President’s visit. We can’t afford to be seen.” 

“So why not go later?” 

“Public demonstration in the park early on. We need to get in and out while it’s crowded, get lost in the people.”

“More chance of getting spotted.” 

“Less chance. Everybody will be focused on other things. Safety in numbers,” Seong-min said. “And maximum impact once the devices go off.” 

“It’s risky.”

“We have our orders.” 

Jun-yeong took another drink and studied his companion. “Tell me again, who gave these orders?” 

Seong-min glared back. “You questioning them,
choding
?” 

“I’m just doing my patriotic duty.”

“That doesn’t include questioning your superiors. You either do as you’re told, or I’ll have you on the first freight liner back home.” He gripped his glass a little tighter. “You think that will go down well?”

Jun-yeong grunted but didn’t reply. 

“Good.” He sucked down the last of his club soda. “Now, it’s time to get out of this hellhole and get some sleep. We’re going to need it.” 

The two men left the bar. Jun-yeong sulked while Seong-min walked up ahead, keeping his head down. The kid had skills, no doubt about that, but his respect for leadership left a lot to be desired. He would have to mention as much in the final report when they got home. 

Still, something about their orders didn’t sit well with Seong-min either. Planting the decoys was a risk, and, ultimately, an unnecessary one. The Sarin compound was deadly enough to kill in minutes, no elaborate distractions needed. Orders were orders though, and Seong-min knew from experience not to question them. 

The call had come through several weeks before. Seong-min had been in the office, completing paperwork. His secure line had flashed. The voice had told him to attend a meeting. The meeting went ahead, presided over by someone from
Gukga Anjeon Bowibu
, the State Security Department. Papers were prepared, identify documents forged. On paper at least, Seong-min had officially become a life-long citizen of the Republic of Korea, or South Korea to the rest of the World. A visa was stuffed into his hand, along with an airplane ticket to Seattle. The State Security Department officer hadn’t told him what his objectives were, only that he’d receive another phone call in a few days’ time. Seong-min had gone home to his wife and children. Said nothing, as ordered. 

Three days had gone by. The second phone call had come through as promised. This time, a new voice. It sounded Western. Decent Korean, but a heavy accent. He had all the right codes and security clearances. Told Seong-min he was a counterintelligence asset, recruited by the State Security Department. Seong-min had believed him. No reason not to. Orders were clear: plant the toxins at the hotel and convention center. Get the decoys in place. Detonate at the right time. Get out. Simple. 

The kid had met up with him at the North-South border. They had crossed through to the South together, spent a few days in Seoul going over the plan. They had flown out together, then holed up in Seattle for a few weeks while they prepared. 

Jun-yeong had grown bolder as he had become used to the Western environment, and Seong-min was beginning to worry he was getting out of control. Thankfully, in less than twenty-four hours, the mission would be over. 

If they made it out alive, Seong-min vowed to teach the kid some manners. But for now, sleep beckoned.

Chapter 27

JUNE LISTENED TO Jack breathing in his sleep. He was quiet, calm even. The top sheet was partly wound around her legs, and not as a result of their passionate love making during the night. For her, even in spite of the energetic passion during the night, she was lying awake yet again. With the blackout curtains drawn across the windows, only dim light seeped through. June couldn’t tell if it was daylight already, or if it was the ambient light of downtown sneaking into the room. Either way, she knew she was done with sleeping.