“Once they’re wheels up and we check in,” Chavez said. “A little R-and-R is well deserved.”
He opened his tablet to display a set of blueprints Gavin had found for Suparman Games’ head offices. The date stamp on the scanned document was smudged, and though they’d been uploaded two years prior, it was impossible to say whether the plans were original or contained any modifications made after construction began. Online plans were notorious for leaving out walls and showing closets where there was actually a bathroom. Still, they used what they had for a tabletop review of the facility. They munched on energy bars rather than eating a big meal that would slow them down, and took a few moments to rehydrate. All of them had sweated through two sets of clothes from the heat alone. The tension of the mission only made it worse.
Midas sat at the desk in the corner, hunched over one of the Raspberry Pi computer boards, soldering wires, referencing some crib notes he’d taken down from Gavin’s over-the-phone instructions.
Chavez opened the tablet to Google Earth, then used two fingers to zoom out and display the neighborhood around Suparman Games HQ. Most of the houses and businesses were new, white stucco over cinder block with orange tile roofs. Real estate sites advertised the area as having “American construction.” The Blessing Jesus statue loomed in the hills above, just a few blocks away from their target.
“Here’s the deal,” Chavez said. “The folks at State tell us that this country has a very basic but effective system for keeping tabs on strangers. Every neighborhood is run by a head man. Kind of like the old ward bosses in New York or Chicago. Any new faces hanging around get reported to the head man. Family visiting from overseas, homestay guests, burglars, it doesn’t matter. The ward boss knows you’re there, especially the farther you get from the center of the city. If you really don’t belong, then you get reported to the police.”
Midas glanced up from his soldering. “And then we bribe the police and go about our merry way stealing this puppy.”
“If only,” Chavez said. “No. These ward bosses are a little more serious about their turf than that. And with President Ryan coming to town, we have to be extra-careful. One misstep and this all explodes in his face.”
“Manado depends on tourism,” Clark added. “People are used to seeing outsiders loitering around shops, homestays, and the like — up to a point. That gives us some leeway with time, but not much, especially out in the neighborhoods. I don’t know if any of you have noticed, but our man Ding looks like he shares a little DNA with some of the locals on this island. If he wears a traditional batik shirt and keeps his mouth shut, maybe people cut him some slack long enough for him to get in and grab the software.”
“At least long enough to get close to the guards,” Chavez said. He pitched a box of black hair dye to Adara. “There’s a reason another word for coffee is
Adara studied the cardboard box. “This is written in Indonesian.” She traced the instructions with her index finger. “Hey, I’m all for trying something new, but there’s an exclamation point at the end of this line. For all I know, it says,
Chavez shrugged. “To be honest, I wouldn’t have known what to buy even if it had been written in English. I bought the most expensive box, though. So you should be good. I think it was something like forty-two thousand rupiah. That’s like three whole bucks.”
Adara gave a sullen nod and glumly studied the box. “Copy that.”
“Ding and Adara will be the pointy end of the spear,” Clark said. “The rest of us will provide backup from the shadows. Midas and Dom will handle any roving guards to the east of the building. Jack and I will take care of anyone to the west.” He nodded at the Raspberry Pi on the desk in front of Midas. “Go over that thing with Ding in case he needs it.”
