need to know more,” Charles said. “Assuming this concerns the millions of dollars that wash through each and every casino every day, we still need to know what specific thing triggered whatever it was that put Bert on this path. Is it a sudden happening, or is it something that has been going on that he just became aware of? How privy are we going to be to the accounting firm? Or are we depending on Abner to get us that information, or is Bert going to provide it? Maggie’s suggestion that the four of them go as a team carries weight. I think it’s plausible, as well as credible. What happens in Vegas doesn’t have to stay in Vegas, not when there are five-star investigative reporters milling about.”
“Anyone else have any questions or comments?” Jack asked.
Harry raised his hand. Startled, Jack just stared at him. Harry never asked questions. “What?” Jack asked.
“If you recall, Jack, my pictures were plastered all over Vegas when we were on that Chinese caper with Wing Ping. I’ve attended martial arts trials and participated in the ones held in Vegas. Customers won’t recognize me, but the heavies will, and the security will for sure. Right now, I’m the number one in the whole country. That carries some publicity. How do you want to play that? Dude me up with a disguise? You know how I hate that crap. Let me go in as a shill? I’m all for going. I just don’t want to compromise the mission by being so exposed.”
“Harry’s right,” Dennis said boldly.
“You’re right, kid. Charles will figure something out. He always does. We are not going anywhere until we have a foolproof plan of action,” Jack said.
“Should we perhaps give some thought to alerting Lizzie Fox and Cosmo Cricket?” Maggie asked. “They’re Nevada residents, and Cosmo is the lead attorney for the Nevada Gaming Control Board.”
“Not just yet, Maggie. If Bert wanted to involve Cosmo and Lizzie, he wouldn’t have contacted me . . . us. He would have contacted them. That tells me we need to keep a lid on this, even from Cosmo,” Charles said.
“I can assign some extra agents to our Vegas field office,” Jack Sparrow volunteered. “I have to tell you all that Vegas security is ten times better than the security they have for the White House, what with those Secret Service guys who keep getting into one sort of trouble or other. To say it’s top-notch would be an understatement. As much as I hate to admit it—and Bert and I have been around and around the bush on this—his people are better than my best-trained agents. So if Bert has some bad apples in his crew, those bad apples know what they’re doing. If any of you are thinking this is going to be a walk in the park, adjust your thinking right now.”
The table went silent when Sparrow had finished speaking. It was Dennis who finally broke the ice by saying, “I think we’re up to the challenge!”
“Well said, kid, well said,” Ted announced, clapping the young multimillionaire reporter on the back.
Jack reached for the encrypted phone. “Anything else before I place the call?” No one said a word.
“No? Okay. Here we go, then! The next voice you will hear will be that of Bert Navarro, coming to you all the way from Macau, China.”
Chapter 2
“If we’re sure we’re all okay with this, then here we go,” Jack said, hitting the number two on his encrypted phone. He turned up the volume and hit the SPEAKER mode. The short burst of sound was as loud as a buzz saw on a still morning in the quiet room.
Bert clicked on after two rings. “I’m listening,” he said curtly.
“Jack here, Bert. We ran it up the flagpole and everyone saluted. That means we’re all here. We’re good to go. Abner is going to drive cross-country, because he can’t fly. Dennis will allow us to use his Gulfstream, so we can fly out at a moment’s notice. Charles is working on a plan. That’s our end of things. Oh, there is one thing, before I forget. Notify Dixson Kelly that I’ll be bringing Cyrus, and we’ll say he’s a service dog. I don’t want to have to jump through hoops when I get there. It’s a game changer, Bert. If Cyrus doesn’t go, we don’t go.”
“Not a problem. I’ll take care of it. When do you think the rest of you can get under way?”
Jack looked