Vermeer Interrupted

Chapter 6: Blast Off

Space Horizons. Friday, September 21, 2007.

The news that Rolf, along with several other major investors, could be currently meeting with Prestini supercharged the musketeers. Neal was as excited as the others. "Our first challenge is to discover if Rolf's really here," he told the group. "He used two names to invest funds—E.R. Bowen and Amos Tuttle."

"Prestini's receptionist will be the best resource," Mozzie said. "Her name is Paola. She's a delightful conversationalist." His words trailed off for a moment. "You'll need to sneak into Prestini's office. The lock won't present any difficulties, but accessing his computer will."

"Trying to deduce his password would take too long," Travis cautioned. "The simplest solution is to remove his hard drive and access the data from there. I doubt strongly it's encrypted." He shrugged. "If it is, the likelihood of Prestini working hand in glove with Rolf is a much stronger possibility."

Sara frowned. "I don't like breaking in, but we don't have any other good options. Crashing a meeting with his investors to arrest someone who may not be there would not only damage our reputations but Prestini's as well."

Neal was glad Sara brought up the legal aspects. The amateurs in their group needed to know that what they were contemplating could land them in jail if it wasn't handled correctly. Fortunately, they had the experience of the amber music box con to build on. That time they participated in a Phoebe Cates scam. For today, a Wally Burns was more appropriate. He, Travis, and Aidan would sneak into Prestini's office while Sara and Mozzie guided the others.

They arrived as a group at Prestini's office and built on Mozzie's cultivated friendship with Paola. Their ostensible purpose was to see if Prestini had any time on his schedule to meet with them. While Sara and Mozzie distracted Paola by leading a lively discussion of Red Sands and how it might be adapted for television, Neal picked the lock to his office and snuck Travis and Aidan inside. Travis claimed to always carry an emergency set of tools around, noting they were his equivalent of Neal's lock picks. The comparison was apt for the electronic breaking and entering he excelled at it. While Neal monitored the reception area through the glass panel of the door, Travis and Aidan worked as a team, attaching the hard drive to a reader and hooking it up to Aidan's laptop for processing.

Within a few minutes, they'd acquired a copy of the day's schedule and the list of donors. Tuttle wasn't on the list but E.R. Bowen was. They regrouped in Mozzie's room to plot their next move.

"Prestini is currently meeting with seven investors in a conference room," Sara said. "No chance of spying on them there."

"What's their next event?" Keiko asked.

Aidan scanned a page on his laptop. "They'll go directly to an instrument testing lab."

"I'm familiar with it," Mozzie said, his eyes glinting behind his glasses. "It's a clean room. They'll need to wear sterile suits."

"I'm sure Rolf brought a laptop with him," Travis said. "Others may have them as well. Are there lockers to store personal items?"

Mozzie nodded, a smile forming. "And they're marked with names rather than numbers. I heard the change was made after several absent-minded scientists forgot which number belonged to them. The locks are electronic, but I'm sure we'll have no problem breaking in."

"Do you have something in mind?" Neal asked.

"The Dalek Maneuver should serve us well."

Keiko's brow furrowed. "Dalek?"

Richard grinned. "They're an extraterrestrial race of cyborgs in Doctor Who. They look a bit like salt shakers turned into tanks. Their motto is 'Exterminate!' I gather we'll get to play them?"