Golden Buddha

“I just checked again and the 737 is parked here,” Cabrillo said, making an X on the board. “They won’t be moving until they taxi out to leave. Adams will drive Spenser in the SUV to the ramp, then park.”

Adams nodded in agreement.

“Once you’ve stopped, climb out and erect the portable awning over the rear of the truck,” Cabrillo said. “Then you can open the crate displaying the Buddha.”

“What if the buyer wants us to bring the Buddha aboard?” Spenser asked.

“Tell him no,” Cabrillo said. “He needs to do his inspection on the ground and take ownership on Macau soil.”

Spenser nodded, but he didn’t look convinced.

“Max,” Cabrillo continued, “you are going to leave in a few minutes and make your way around to the front terminal, where a cab will bring you back to the 737.”

“Got it,” Hanley said.

Cabrillo paused and stared at the team. “This should go nice and easy,” he said quietly. “Hanley will verify the authenticity, the payment will be made, and then the billionaire can haul the Buddha aboard. Any questions?”

No one spoke.

“All right then,” Cabrillo said. “Good luck, Max.”

Hanley nodded and walked toward a rear door to the hangar.

“George,” Cabrillo said, “you and Spenser can climb in the SUV. We’ll want to give Hanley a few minutes to make contact and some small talk, then we need to make the approach.”

Adams nodded and motioned to Spenser to climb in the passenger seat of the Chevrolet.

THE software billionaire was drinking tea with coconut milk and smoking a thin cheroot. The intrigue of the event had caught up to him and, a few minutes before, he had retired to the rear compartment of the 737 to change into all black clothing. His success in the software industry, a condition of luck and timing more than skill and ability, had over the years allowed his ego to swell into dangerous proportions. He was begi

HANLEY walked over to the Macau taxi and climbed into the backseat. The taxi rolled around the edge of the main terminal, then back down toward the 737. Once it was close to the ramp, Hanley ordered the driver to slow, then sound the horn.

The billionaire heard the sound and glanced out a window of the jet. Seeing Talbot in the rear of the taxi, he walked forward toward the open cabin door, then stood at the top of the ramp. Hanley climbed from the rear of the taxi. The billionaire motioned for him to climb the ramp.

Hanley started up the steps.

At that exact instant, Juan Cabrillo picked up a portable radio and pushed Talk.

“Flyswatter,” he said, “how you holding up?”

Larry King was perched inside the scooped intake of the hangar’s air-conditioning system. The rain was occasionally blowing inside the shaft, but at least he had something over his head. “I stopped by the Oregonafter the party,” King said, “and picked up a thermos of tomato soup, a waterproof cover for the nightscope and some depleted uranium rounds. I’m in tall cotton.”

Cabrillo was always appreciative of King’s professionalism. The Corporation could parachute him into a barren wasteland with a few packaged meals and his rifle, and within hours he would have found a nest and lined up his shots. Then he would patiently wait until his special services were needed or not, without complaint. Since Cabrillo had access to the operatives’ personal records, he knew that King was also the owner of a piano bar in Sedona, Arizona. It had been odd the single time Cabrillo had traveled through the area and caught King at work—not only had the sniper been dressed in a black tuxedo instead of camouflaged sniper clothes, but he’d sung mainly love songs and ballads in a sweet melodious voice.

“How’s the reception, Larry?” Cabrillo asked.

“The parabolic is distorted some by the droplets on the glass,” King admitted. “But I can make out some of what’s being said.”

“You know to call if something big happens.”

“Yes, sir,” King said, staring through the nightscope and touching the earpiece to the microphone. “Hanley just made his greetings.”

Monica Crabtree was on the far end of the hangar, staring out a crack in the door. “Mr. Hanley just walked inside,” she said across the space of the hangar.

“Come on in out of the rain, Michael,” King heard the billionaire say.

Hanley passed Gunderson in the aisle as he followed the billionaire. He touched the middle finger of his left hand to his eyebrow, as if to wipe away a droplet. Gunderson brushed his chin in reply.

“Have a seat,” the billionaire said as they reached a conference table in a compartment in the front section of the 737.

Hanley slid into a seat and stared at the man.

“I couldn’t tell you what was happening over the telephone,” the billionaire said. “But the Buddha that you bid on for me has come up for sale once again.”

“That’s quick,” Hanley said.

The billionaire nodded but offered nothing more. “Your voice sounds rough. Can I offer you something?”

“The rain and the air on the commercial flights I’ve been taking,” Hanley said. “I think I’m coming down with something.”

The billionaire pushed a button and Gunderson appeared.

“Could you bring Mr. Talbot some tea with lemon and honey?”

“And for you, sir?”

“I’ll have a snifter of warmed Ouzo, please.”

“Right away, sir,” Gunderson said.

On the roof of the hangar, King heard the exchange. “They are ordering drinks, sir.”

“Open the door, Monica,” Cabrillo ordered.

Crabtree hit a button and raised the hangar door far enough for the SUV to exit.

“Time to go, men,” Cabrillo shouted to Adams and Spenser.

Adams placed the Chevrolet in gear and drove slowly to the door. Then he exited the hangar into the pouring rain.

Gunderson returned with the drinks to find the billionaire staring silently at Hanley. “The pilot asked me to tell you that a truck is approaching,” said Gunderson.

The billionaire turned from Hanley and stared out the window. A white Chevrolet SUV pulled near the ramp, and a man he didn’t recognize climbed from the driver’s seat and walked to the rear. Once there, he removed a folded, portable, aluminum-legged awning from the rear and erected it. Then the billionaire watched as Spenser climbed from the passenger seat.

“Come on,” the billionaire said to Hanley. “Our prize has arrived.”

At the same time Hanley and the billionaire were walking toward the ramp, Adams pulled the crate containing the Buddha forward and opened the top. Then he walked back to the driver’s seat and climbed inside out of the rain.

The billionaire appeared at the top of the stairs and Spenser, under the awning, motioned for him to descend. The two men walked down the ramp.

“Let’s do this out of the rain,” the billionaire said when he reached the tarmac. “Inside my plane.”

Spenser shook his head in the negative. “I don’t know you, and you don’t know me,” he said, “so until I receive payment and you take delivery, the Golden Buddha remains on the ground.”

The billionaire turned to Hanley. “Is this the dealer that made the wi

“Yes,” Hanley said.

“You’re Mike Talbot,” Spenser said.

“Michael,” Hanley corrected.

“Did you bring cash like we agreed?” Spenser asked.

“Bearer bonds,” the billionaire answered. “If everything checks out.”

Hanley stood quietly, with the gusts of wind blowing sprinkles of rain onto his mask.

“Check it out,” the billionaire said to Hanley.