VECTOR IN DC

Tom spoke to Leo about the detailed plan he had made and was ready to put it into motion, but he needed a few more things which the client would need to provide for the success of this operation. 

After feeding him the details, Leo asked Tom to meet him at one of he's safe houses so he could explain with the blueprints and give him a better understanding about Tom's plan. That evening Tom met up with him at an inconspicuous building which amused Tom, because it seemed like Leo was hiding in plain sight. 

He wondered how many of he's safe houses were in plain sight but out of reach from the police because they would never suspect a criminal to hide out in the open, especially not one with as many felonies as Leo must have committed already. He guessed that was how he was able to keep moving around with ease, without the fear of being caught. A police officer would not expect a criminal to move in a public place where officers are on the streets keeping watch of things. 

He had explained the way they needed to move according to timing and building layouts. Leo called the client and told him about a plan being completed and ready to be executed but they were missing a vital something which would be needed to infiltrate the estate without detection or raising an alarm.

The client did not believe what Leo was saying because it was almost impossible to cook up a plan for an operation like that within that short period of time, so he asked to speak with the mastermind who was behind it all. 

At first Leo resisted but the client said otherwise, so he asked the client to wait a few minutes so he inform the mastermind about him wanting to speak with him directly. 

"So what does he call himself or how do I refer to him?" Asked the client. 

"We call him Ghost." 

"Ghost?" He asked in a mildly surprised tone. "Is he some kind of meta freak? Looks like every itty-bitty thug is getting a code name nowadays."

"That is because no one knows his face and he walks In plain sight and without having any criminal records." Leo remarked before hanging up the call so he could talk with Tom. 

"The client wants to speak with you directly. He want you to explain the plan yourself and to assure him that you actually know what you are doing." Leo tried explaining to him why the client wanted to speak with him when he already had everything and the negotiations under control. 

"Okay then, what do I call this client?" Tom asked, wondering how to refer to a Mafia boss. 

" He's name is Mr. Santiago, but I would warn you not to call that name so carelessly and especially not in a public place." He warned Tom so he does not step out of line or get himself into trouble. 

Tom knew better than to step out of line with a Mafia boss who basically controls a criminal network. 

Leo's phone rang once again and he knew it was the client calling to speak with the so called mastermind, so he handed it over to Tom. 

He picked up the call and listened carefully in anticipation of knowing what a Mafia boss actually sounded like. 

"Hello Ghost."

A low deep voice gruffed out from the mouthpiece of the phone.

"Mr. Santiago, I just finished analyzing the information provided to me." Tom said, fiddling with the pen he used in scribbling down some notes during his intensive calculation session and preview with Leo. 

"That was way faster than I anticipated." The Mafia boss said with a hint of surprise in his tone. It was understandable as what he gave the man named Ghost was something that needed hours from an expert strategist to uncover, and yet he received his feedback call a few minutes shy of five hours. He was impressed. 

"Normally I don't go perversing anything or suddenly changing the terms of my contracts after a deal had been made, but due to my recent findings while studying the information sent to me as regarding the job at hand, I realized that the risk involved in this operation isn't worth the amount I'm being paid for it." Tom exclaimed. 

"Umm, do you mind enlightening me?" he asked Tom. 

"I don't mind, it's what I am being paid for. The mansion located at the middle of the estate is surrounded with armed guards who are ordered to shoot any intruder on sight. The guards are located at designated spots where it'll be basically impossible to sneak into the mansion without getting caught and killed on sight, so I came to a more suitable solution which is to get into the mansion through the minefields. It's a location that's supposed to be a trap hidden within a trap for intruders, so the only security there are two cameras which are just used to check on the field once a while. In order for us to successfully infiltrate the estate and achieve our objective without raising an alarm, we'll have to use an approach that they'll never expect in a million years." Tom continued with his explanation. 

"And what might that be?" Asked Mr. Santiago as he clocked up a brow in curiosity. 

"We'll infiltrate the estate through the minefields, using their own traps to our advantage and providing us with an unsupervised road which we'll use to get in and out of the estate without being detected."

"That's a feat that'll be impossible to perpetrate, how will you handle the mines?" Asked Mr. Santiago in a quiescent state. 

"A land mine can be triggered by a number of things including pressure, movement, sound, magnetism and vibration. The mines that are planted in the mansion's yard could be detonated remotely, meaning all we need is a device that can shut down technology at a very small range or controlled scale."

"Is shutting down the mines actually as easy as that?"

"Yes it is, but there is a time limit."

"Seriously?" Asked Mr. Santiago as Tom kept giving him information that are completely outside the box but had him at the edge of his seat. 

"Yes it is." 

"Whatever you need in order to increase the success rate of this mission, all you need to do is ask." Said  Mr. Santiago. 

"But if you dare go back on your word or betray me, I promise you will regret it dearly and your death would not be quick or painless." He said to Tom, threatening him to assure his full cooperation. 

"I totally understand. All I need is an EMP that operates within a small range or controlled scale, not anything military so you should be able to get a small enough one in the black market, so I can shut down the mines temporarily and infiltrate the mansion without any complications." Tom shrugging off the threat because he knew better than to fuck with the motherfucking mafia. 

"Consider it done, I will make the necessary arrangements and get you that EMP and any other equipment you might need on the day of the operation." Replied Mr. Santiago. "And I just made a payment of $150,000 to your crypto account."

"Why? The job hasn't even been accomplished yet." Tom asked, surprised that the man would actually pay in full before he even gave him the entire info, and the job wasn't even done yet. 

"That's just a way of showing you that the Santiago family takes care of their own and appreciates talents like yours.

The analysis you did accompanied with the detailed feedback, would take experts days to achieve but you accomplished such feat within 2 hours and did so with an impressive level of accuracy."

"I appreciate the compliments but it's me doing my job, which I am very good at and way more skilled than most experts. So it's like you stating the obvious."

He gave his reply to Mr. Santiago with a tone of confidence in his voice. 

"The Santiago family will be really lucky to have you with us. How would you like to be a member of the Santiago family and work for us and only us, you'll be paid and well compensated for your valuable skills. 

As you have seen, money isn't an issue to us, whatever might be your price, we are willing to pay."

Mr. Santiago had a mischievous smirk on his face as he thought Tom would be enticed by money and agree to work only for Santiago.

"No thanks, I enjoy being a free agent. I don't care if a person is good or evil. I'll take a job from anybody, providing the job is worth my while. After all, I'm a contractor but I wouldn't want to be indebted to the Santiago family. So if I get a job that targets the Santiago family, I'll give you an heads up but it's a one time thing and then we are even."

His reply leaves Mr. Santiago shocked. He wasn't expecting Tom to refuse such a rare and enticing offer, it'll be a shame to not have such talent by his side and under his control only.

A beeping sound came from the phone as the call came to an end. 

… 

'Well that was quite nerve-wracking.' Tom mused as he put down the phone, exhaling deep breaths of air that he held throughout the duration of the call. He sure as hell did sound confident, but that was just it, he sounded confident but his heart was running a marathon.

 This was progressing too fast for him to sit down and process everything that had been happening since he left the hospital a few months back, as Leo just sat there staring at him and amused with the way Tom had spoken to their client.