Ratio(48)

Seong-min pointed off to one side. “You go to the doors on the left and around the other side. If there’s a garbage can, put the thing in there with some trash over it. Needs to be well enough hidden that nobody stumbles across it.”

“But not so well hidden the emergency services can’t find them after the first two go off. Yeah, yeah, I get it.” He paused. “And if someone sees me?”

“Chances are, they’ll think we’re the garbage men.”

“And if they don’t?”

Seong-min frowned. “Run like hell.”

Jun-yeong went off to the left. Seong-min stalled for a moment, waiting for the perfect moment. Couples strolled past, oblivious. A small group of protesters marched by, placards held high, staring straight ahead. Seong-min marched forward, not too fast, not too slow. He set the rucksack on the floor and pulled out a shoebox-shaped parcel. He stuffed it into the trashcan.

Looking around, he went off to the other side of the building, to the right. That door was a utility and service entrance, something employees and vendors would use. No trashcans, but a row of dumpsters up against a wall. He tried them each in turn, but couldn’t get the lids open wide enough.

He checked inside the second shoebox. Inside lay a large black plastic pipe. It was capped at both ends, with a pair of wires leading out directly into the back of an old cell phone, nestled in a bed of metal nails and screws. The payload was small, but enough to make a hell of a noise, and throw up enough smoke and debris to get people panicked.

Seong-min doubled checked the contents. No way to unbox it without compromising the setup. He improvised, reaching into the dumpster and fishing out handfuls of trash. He lay the box down on the asphalt, covered it old soda cans and wrappers and torn-up paper bags. Not perfect, a strong wind would blow away the camouflage, but it should hopefully be good enough for a few hours. The wall kept most of the breeze away.

He picked up the phone, saw the time, and checked his watch. In a few hours, Seong-min would call in the bomb tip. When the emergency services arrived, he would detonate two of the devices remotely. Keep all eyes away from the convention center.

He took a deep breath, looked around for any signs he was being watched, and headed back to join Jun-yeong, keen to get as much distance between him and the park as humanly possible.





Chapter 30





JOANNE HARPER WAS already elbow-deep in paperwork when Leopold arrived. He knocked on the door and let himself in as she looked up, closing her laptop. She didn’t looked pleased to see him.

“You’ve got a problem,” Leopold said.

“It’s standing right in front of me.”

“When’s the last time you checked the hotel and convention center ventilation systems?”

Harper sighed. “We’ve done our due diligence.”

“Gustafson said he had two teams down there checking the units. After the Secret Service teams had finished. Did you check their work?”

“Listen carefully, Blake. I run a team of professionals, we don’t miss things like that. My team checks the systems each morning, then they’re due to check again before the President arrives. The seals are in place, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

“The filtration system doesn’t have a seal.”

“Of course not,” Harper said, getting up. “Otherwise the air flow would be compromised. It’s been checked for foreign bodies, and a chemical residue test as well. We’ve covered the whole basement.” She glared at him. “This is none of your concern.”

“Not all payload delivery systems can be detected with chemical residue test or other monitoring equipment. You need to do a full visual.”

“That would put the whole infrastructure out for the full day. We don’t need that sort of disruption.”

“What kind of disruption do you think there would be if the President had to be rushed out halfway through his speech?”

“An acceptable risk, considering the likelihood of something getting past us. We can’t tear apart every inch of the venue, and we can’t cancel appearances just because of one civilian’s opinion.” She walked to the door. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’ve got work to do.”

“I assume you won’t mind me running a sweep of my own?”

“Do what you like. But if you put my people out for even a second, I’ll have you thrown out. Are we clear?” She held the door open.

Leopold left her office. “Crystal.”





Chapter 31





JUNE HAD NO clothes of her own in Jack’s room, except those she had worn the night before. Getting dressed, she knocked on the door to the hallway and then opened it. No one was there.