Night Games Pt. 20

Johannes picked up the stone, releasing the weight trigger underneath. That set off the flashbang grenade that Alice had rigged to it. Tracy, Mander, and Pretorius had been wearing ear plugs that protected them from the sudden loud noise, but the flash got everyone in the room but the two of them. While the guards stumbled forward to meet them, Mander pulled out his Desert Eagle and pointed it at Pretorius' head. Tracy produced the Byrna from her purse and fired it at the two men closest to her. They staggered back, blinded, deafened, and now overcome by gas. The other two recognized that their boss was going to get his head blown off if they tried anything and stood back.

"No guns on a plane is a good idea." Mander told Johannes and any of the men who could still hear him. "Until you meet someone who doesn't care about putting holes in you OR your plane. Now, do your part and click 'send,' or I'll use yer lifeless hand to click the mouse."

In the cabin, the pilots heard the commotion in the back and locked the door. One of them fired up the engines and signaled for someone in the hangar to open the door. They had enough fuel to make it somewhere else to refuel for the trip back and also had Pretorius' instructions to take off again if something went wrong.

"Never!" Pretorius insisted. "Do you know who rules this country? If I'm caught, I'm fucked; go ahead and shoot me!"

Tracy stepped up to him.

"I thought you might have that outlook." She told him. "That's why it's already been taken care of. Take a look."

He looked down at the laptop and saw that the money had been sent. The mouse cursor moved around the screen of its own accord. He also saw that another zero had been added to the amount. More transfers out of the account were being made. Tracy looked around the room admiringly.

"This is a lovely plane, Johannes. I've seen the brochure. All the latest features a man of your status demands. Which, of course, includes excellent wi-fi." She gestured to the USB device from the laptop. "Once that was plugged in, my hacker had complete control."

In the cockpit of the plane, the electrical systems went dead, and the engines powered down. Outside the plane, the mechanics got the door open to find another plane blocking the exit. A supersonic transport twice the size of Pretorius' jet had parked directly in front of the hangar. The door of San Finzione One opened and steps were lowered. Outside the hangar, Ultimados converged as Contessa Helena de San Finzione emerged, her Ruger LC9 drawn, and joined them in storming the building. Mander kept his gun trained on Pretorius until the Ultimados entered the plane and secured his guards.

Mander and Tracy took out their earplugs now that the show was over. They heard the sound of heeled steps ascending the stairs.

"As a matter of fact, Johnny." Mander told him. "I DO know who rules this country."

Helen entered the room, returning her gun to her purse. She pulled out her cigarette case and opened it. With one fluid movement, she pushed up one of the cigarettes so that it was sticking out, caught it between her teeth, and pulled as she closed the case, lighting her smoke with the built-in lighter.

"And I believe Her Countessness would like a word."