head to his room. I’ll warn you if he heads back up.”
Tony headed down the stairs that allowed one to descend without triggering alarms to the lobby level, but not to exit the hotel, nor to enter any other floors. He was standing across the room from the elevators when Graper stepped out a few minutes later. He followed a discrete distance behind, taking his own place in the restaurant when Graper settled in.
Several levels up, Jake made his way down the hall to Graper’s room. The device Tony had given him was supposed to overcome the electronic lock on the rooms. Jake had never tried to defeat the kind of lock that hotels currently used, and wondered how well the device would work. To his surprise, it was quick and effective, and almost as quickly as if he’d had one of the issued cards, he was inside.
The room was identical to his own beyond being a mirror image layout. The bed was rumpled, suggesting that Graper had taken a nap, or at least rested for a while. He had brought very few items, fitting into a single medium sized suitcase. Clearly he planned on returning home soon. He was obviously confident that his fellow agents would be concerned with the aftermath of the terrorist threat, and his little trip would not be noticed.
Hanging in the open closest was a sports coat and pants, presumably so they would shed their wrinkles before the morning meeting. A pair of dress shoes sat on the floor, and Jake briefly considered planting the device under the insert. Then he wondered if Graper would wear the shoes. He’d been wearing running shoes when he’d left the room. Given his wound, the more formal shoes might be uncomfortable. After considering his other options, Jake slipped the tracker through a small slit he made in the lining of the jacket after pressing the small pad that activated the device. The tiny battery would power it for just over a day, and by then it wouldn’t matter any longer.
When Tony returned to the room an hour later where Jake waited, he indicated success as well. He’d been able to plant the second device under the padded armpit rest on one of the crutches when Graper had left it at the table when he visited the men’s room hobbling rather than having to deal with two crutches in the men’s room. The scanner showed both devices functional, and the one with Graper who was still in the dining area was transmitting the background sounds of the restaurant.
With nothing more they could do at the hotel, they left the voice activated recorder running to monitor any conversations Graper might have, and left the hotel to scout the area around Rizzo’s compound to locate where they would set up and launch the drones.
Chapter 45
Jake was annoyed with himself that he hadn’t thought to pin down the time of the meeting between Rizzo and Graper when he’d questioned Brusca back in California. As a result, Tony and he had left the hotel very early so as to be sure to be in place when Graper showed up at the residence. They had a certain amount of setup to do, and they didn’t know how large an operational window they would have once Graper reached Rizzo’s compound. There was the very real possibility that he would scan for hidden bugs and discover the devices they had planted. That would be bad for Graper, but would also make their plan nearly impossible.
Rizzo’s compound was very impressive. The large, two-story stone house was set well back from the street. The grounds were completely surrounded by a ten-foot wall, with a guarded and gated entrance in the front. There were many trees that helped shield the place from view, and the inner courtyard was large enough to easily accommodate a dozen vehicles simultaneously.
The small hill a quarter of a mile from the Rizzo compound provided a clear view of the front gate so they could see if anyone arrived, and an angled view of the second level window that the plans said was the private study of the house. A long balcony and multiple floor to ceiling windows faced outward, and would provide easy access to the room once the first of the drones was triggered to blast through the glass. They would use the exact same scenario that had been planned when the attempt was made on the Senator and Mark LoBue.