Starholder

The Last Network - Chapter 55

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Accelerator

Unlike their prior meetups, today was all about practicalities. Kendra’s ouster from NAM and its impending sale had thrown their whole enterprise into doubt. There was a window open, but it would shut fast. Paolo still had not developed the process to his liking. He wanted them to be a layer removed from the jobs. Inception was his ideal and he thought he could get there with enough time and testing. Trying that now would be a recipe for disaster.

He’d done Nigeria because it was half a world away and because he wanted to get to Monica. Now that they were together, his appetite for risk was considerably decreased. This felt too high profile, and he didn’t like working on US soil. Law enforcement operated on an entirely different level here. They had the sophistication and intelligence to comprehend how a man like Paolo could execute this operation. Catching him would make someone’s career and put him in jail for life.

Cyber terrorism was not something to take lightly.

Of the four conspirators, he was the only one hesitant to go for it. After another turn around the room failed to persuade him, Kendra pulled him out to the deck.

“Paolo, I really need this.”

“Why, Kendra?”

“I’m running out of money. I thought I’d get a golden parachute from NAM and it didn’t happen. No one will give me another loan. I need the money, or my contractors will walk off the job.”

“Jesus, why didn’t you tell me?”

“Pride I suppose, but I’m telling you now. This is a lot of money, and you already know how you are going to do it. I can see it in your eyes. You have a solution.”

“It’s not that hard. You find people who look like they could be working together, but they all act alone. None of them will realize something bigger is happening until they are all in the middle of it and it’s too late to back out. Once it’s over, they’ll be scared shitless and go to ground. I know the type that can bury getting played. Even better, they look the part too. Finding them won’t be hard. The only hard part is putting the physical assets in place.”

“Which Malcolm and Monica said would be taken care of. You won’t be working alone here. There’s a lot of institutional support for this job. People will protect us. We are doing the department a big solid.”

“The money sounds too good to be true.”

“Stakes are high. The money is small when you take a long enough view. Please Paolo, I’ve never asked you for anything.”

“No, you never asked, you forced. I wouldn’t be here now had you asked.”

“I’m sorry for that. This time is different, I’m asking as a friend. Do me this for me. Besides, you need to look at it from your point of view. Two million can make you. We have no idea how Rabbit will move forward.”

“I don’t want to talk about Rabbit right now. One thing at a time. If I do this, Monica is in the room with me as the other operator. I want insurance. They need to be in as deep as we are.”

“That sounds smart. Thank you, Paolo.”

“You’re welcome.”

He looked through the glass doors at Malcolm and Monica. He had to remind himself that they had not escalated things. Kendra pushed them to find a big job. She was getting desperate and that was making her dangerous. He had to set limits now before she fucked this all up. With her out at NAM, she had nothing to offer them. Keeping her involved was a liability. At the very least, her greed couldn’t drive this forward. He’d have to speak with the other two after this job.

“Kendra, I’m never working in the US again. I’ll bail you out this time, but your money issues are yours alone. Find a partner, short sell, or get another job. Don’t make this your salvation, because it will be gone before you know it. Rabbit is not someone we can bring into this. If he manages to move Peared’s operations in house, we are done. There’s no way I’m running jobs on his network.”

“Construction is almost complete. I won’t ask again. You are a life saver.”

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Scene 55


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