The sleek Ferrari Portofino hugged the winding coast road from Beirut to Tyre. Jay stayed a safe distance behind the six hundred horsepower beast. Antonio insisted on driving with the top down to enjoy the ‘driving experience.’ He could tell Renee enjoyed the wind in her long, straightened hair. They did make an attractive couple.
Halfway down the Lebanese coast, they stopped for lunch at a beachside resort. The cool ocean air provided slight relief to the blazing middle east sun. Jay joined Antonio and Renee for lunch. CJ and Madman ate in the Land Rover while Benoit and Moses patrolled the resort grounds. To an outsider, Antonio appeared to be a well-known celebrity with a team of bodyguards. Not too far from the truth.
Jay sipped sparkling water with Antonio while Renee freshened up in the ladies’ room.
“Your Israeli friend seems to be enjoying her new job,” Antonio said. “She seems to relish the role as my female companion.”
“She’s supposed to be your Marketing Director, not your escort,” Jay said with a smirk. “But yes, she does look amazing. A true transformation from the Wall Street look she exhibited in her interview.”
“That’s why she makes a good spy,” Antonio said. “She can transform herself to play any role we need her to play. And considering she speaks seven languages, I do agree she’ll be a valuable team member.”
“Now you’re admitting I was right to hire her?”
“No, I’m saying you got lucky. We better change the subject. Here she comes.”
Renee strolled across the patio turning the heads of male guests at the other tables. Her short, skin-tight silver dress displayed her toned, attractive legs. Black high-heels and designer Versaci sunglasses completed the look.
“Look, those two young guys are pointing at you and taking photos with their phone,” Antonio said as she sat down. “They think you’re a celebrity.”
Renee smiled. “I should provide a nice distraction for you when we meet with the Nasharif brothers. I hope I’ll have enough time to break away and search the house.”
“With six bedrooms and three floors, you’ll have to move fast,” Jay said. “If they catch you in a private area, you’ll be in danger.”
“I don’t plan to get caught. Are my microphone and camera working?”
“Let’s do a test,” Jay said. “CJ, time for a sound and video check.”
“Roger boss. I hear you loud and clear. But all I see is your ugly mug in the camera. Renee, can you move around so I can get a better view?”
“How’s this?” she said as she turned toward the beach and ocean. A pair of bikini-clad women walked through the screen.
“Ah, much better. Thank you.”
“Great,” Jay said. “Let’s review the plan again before the waiter brings our lunch, then hit the road.”
Two hours later, Jay pulled the Land Rover to the side of a narrow road overlooking the city of Tyre. In front of him, a sprawling stucco mansion surrounded by iron gates and security cameras. Antonio followed the Ferrari to the front entrance. Benoit and Moses pulled behind the red Ferrari in their black BMW sedan. Their job was to guard Antonio and smash the gate down to make a speedy escape if needed.
The gate opened, and the two cars rolled through.
“Here we go, everybody,” Jay said. “Madman, launch the microbots. Let’s try to get some eyes inside the mansion.”
“Roger,” Kyle said on the headset. “I’ll control the bots.”
Madman rolled down the backseat window and held his hand out. The mother bot flew out the window, followed by the two children bots. Kyle used voice commands to navigate the bots over the wall. He landed them behind a thick green hedgerow.
Two men stepped out of the front door. Dressed in dark designer suits, they looked like a pair of European businessmen. Then, Jay noticed several burly security guards standing inside the front door.
Antonio stepped out of the car as one of the men approached. He had a receding hairline of thick black hair. Specks of gray scattered through his well-groomed beard. “Welcome, Mr. Borracci. I’m Sammi Nasharif. It’s an honor to see you again.”
Antonio greeted him with a handshake and a hug. “The pleasure is all mine. Driving this gem down here from Beirut was a true pleasure.”
The second man opened the door for Renee. She swung her legs, catching Rajji’s attention. The two bodyguards in the front door stepped out to grab a glimpse. Jay thought he heard Arianna Grande’s name mentioned. Renee did strike a remarkable resemblance to the petite pop star.
Renee played the part, flipping her long brown hair away from her face. She held her hand out for Rajji to help her out of the car.
“Who is your lovely companion?” Sammi said to Antonio. “You must introduce her.”
“This is Renee Giovanni. She’s the Director of Partnerships for Ferrari. She flew here from Italy to join me and meet our next dealer in Lebanon.”
“Ciao,” Renee said, extending her hand to Sammi.
He held her hand with both of his. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said in Italian. “You traveled here from Italy?”
“Sì, naturalmente,” Renee replied. “Sei famoso in fabbrica.”
CJ looked at Jay, “What did she say?”
“You are famous back at the factory.”
“Before we let you test drive the new Portofino,” Antonio said. “We would like to show you a special video Renee produced. Is it possible to go inside the house? Unfortunately, the sun is too bright to view our iPad screen.”
“Yes, of course,” Sammi said. “Ladies first.”
Renee turned to walk up the stone steps but stubbed her toe, falling forward onto the stairs. She scraped her knee in the process and let out a loud swear in Italian. The two bodyguards rushed down to assist her.
“Go, Kyle,” Jay said.
Kyle maneuvered the bots through the front door of the villa. He flew them into a stark foyer with marble floors and stucco walls. He took a sharp right into a large parlor and parked the microbots behind a plush, leather couch.
“Is the wifi hotspot activated on the bots?” Jay said.
“Yes, Chief, we have access to the internet.”
“Perfect.”
Renee and Antonio followed the two bodyguards into the parlor.
“I will get my first aid kit,” one of the bodyguards said.
“That will not be necessary,” Renee said. “Can you show me a ladies’ room? Then, I’ll be able to clean myself up.”
“Follow me, please.” The bodyguard led her through the foyer and down a staircase to a lower level. “You may use the bath in our guest suite. Take your time and come up the stairs when you’re ready.”
“Thank you so much,” Renee said. “You were so sweet to help me.” She stepped on her tippy toes and kissed the large man on the cheek. His skin turned a bright red.
Renee shut the door to the guest suite and locked the door behind her.
“Okay, I’m in,” she said to Jay in her microphone. “Are the bots inside?”
“Yes,” Jay said. “I’m sending them upstairs to see if there are any more guards.”
“Good. I’ll activate my electronic device scanner. But, first, I want to make sure there aren’t any cameras or listening devices in here.”
Renee pulled out her cell phone and started talking in rapid-fire Italian. As she walked around the room, her phone sent a signal to Jay’s laptop.
“There’s a hidden camera above the closet door,” Jay told her.
She pulled a small travel-size can of hairspray from her purse. Then, she stood with her back in front of the camera and sprayed her hairspray towards the camera port.
“Perfect shot,” Jay said. “Now, see if you have access to the wifi system.”
Renee grabbed her pocketbook and went into the bathroom. She pulled out an iPad Mini and clicked on an icon for a gaming app.
“Okay, I can see he has several laptops, a desktop, and a dozen iPads connected to the wifi,” Kyle said. “He also has a Dropbox online storage account. I can insert a file into the online cloud accounts and copy the data onto Renee’s iPad. But, unfortunately, there are too many files to upload them all to our server.”
“Hurry,” Jay said. “We don’t want the guards getting suspicious.”
As if on cue, someone banged on the door to the guest suite.
“I’ll be right out,” Renee yelled. “Just a minute, please.”
“Kyle, is the download done yet?” Jay asked. “She needs to get out of there.”
“I know, Jay. It’s almost done.”
“Ms. Giovanni, our housekeeper, has bandages for your knee,” the guard said. “Please let her in.”
Before Renee could reply, she heard the door open. She stuffed the iPad into her pocketbook, then opened the door, took the towels, and said, “Grazie.”
Renee pulled the iPad out of her pocketbook. The files included hundreds of documents and image files. Everything related to Sammi’s car dealerships. She was ready to put the iPad away when she noticed an unmarked folder. She clicked on the icon and found dozens of links to a private YouTube directory dating back to 2006. A knot grew in Renee’s stomach. She clicked on one of the links and found it was password protected. Renee tried the TyreBT06 account name as a password. It worked.
The file appeared to be a security video of an apartment building in Tyre. One second the building was peaceful and quiet. Then a loud explosion, and the screen filled with smoke and debris. The loud sound startled Renee, and she almost dropped the iPad. When the smoke cleared, the building was a pile of rubble.
The second video featured an Al Jazeera news reporter. Dozens of people sifted through the rubble, looking for survivors. Renee heard the sounds of women crying in the background. Workers struggled to pull concrete and cement blocks off the pile. Then, in the background, Renee listened to another sound. Dozens of young Lebanese men chanting ‘Death to America’ in Arabic. The reporter explained they were Hezbollah soldiers vowing revenge.
Renee struggled to hold back tears. As a soldier, she passed by dozens of similar bombed-out buildings during the war. But to see the tragic impact on the innocent victims was heart-wrenching.
A pair of young men carried what looked to be a teenage girl out of the rubble. Her face was bloody, but she appeared to be alive. The reporter stopped the men and asked who the girl was.
A familiar but younger face appeared in the camera. It was Rajji. He was crying.
“The bomb struck our family’s apartment. We were preparing for my daughter’s wedding tomorrow morning. The women were together with the bride, but this girl is the only survivor we have found so far.”
“Was she the bride?”
“No. She’s the daughter of my cousin visiting from Beirut.”
“What’s your niece’s name?”
“Kathleen,” The man said. “Kathleen Amejian. The Americans did this. They sell the bombs to the Zionists who use them to kill our women and children. They must pay.”
Renee almost fainted. Sammi and Rajji were Kathleen Amejian’s uncles. They had the motive to want to kill more Americans. Renee sent the link to Jay and put her iPad away when she saw another document.
The file name said Tyre Blind Trust, and it benefited the survivors of the bombing. It listed a local attorney as executor and four trustees: Sammi, Rajji, Kathleen, and Mohammed al-Mujadin.