Chapter 667: Trouble ?

Michael’s call with Silas lasted longer than either of their previous conversations.

Neither man seemed interested in rushing through the discussion. They had already spent enough time reviewing Dayo’s life, his family and the people around him. The information was old in most places, but the purpose behind looking at it had changed.

Michael sat inside the police station with the same folder open on the table. Across the room, an officer passed the doorway without looking inside. Michael waited until the footsteps disappeared before speaking again.

"We know who matters," he said. "The question is how we reach her."

Silas was sitting in the IRS holding area, listening through the phone that had been cleared for his use. "We don’t reach her directly."

Michael looked down at the photographs in front of him. "That’s obvious."

"If we send our own people, we leave a trail. Your people are already being watched. Mine are worse."

Michael leaned back in the chair. "Then we use someone outside."

"Someone who can get close without knowing why."

"That part is easy," Michael said. "Finding the way to reach her is the issue."

Silas was quiet for a moment. "We need to stop thinking about taking her from the family directly."

Michael waited.

"We keep looking at Dayo’s security as if we have to beat it," Silas continued. "We don’t. We create a reason for the security to move."

Michael’s attention sharpened.

Silas continued carefully. "Dayo’s protection is strong because his people know what to expect. They know who he is, who Luna is, where they usually go and what kind of risks to watch for. But the people around them don’t all have the same protection."

"Wayne," Michael said.

"Wayne, Ulrich, Valerie. Anyone Dayo trusts enough to respond to."

Michael considered it.

Silas had a point. Dayo’s own movements were difficult to manipulate. Luna was protected and too visible. Jennifer was the most important person in the equation, but getting close to her directly would mean dealing with whoever was physically with her.

"We still need Luna out of the house," Michael said.

"Yes."

"And we need Dayo away at the same time."

"That’s where we create the opening."

Michael turned one of the photographs over and looked at the information beneath it.

"Luna’s EP."

Silas gave a quiet acknowledgment. "Exactly."

The release had done well. They did not need to invent a reason for people to approach her. The industry was already interested in her again.

"There will be labels asking her to collaborate," Silas said. "Artists will want features. Producers will want sessions. Some of those offers will be legitimate."

"We find one that looks legitimate enough."

"We don’t even need to fake the entire thing. We can pay someone who already has a reason to approach her."

Michael looked toward the door before answering. "One of the major labels."

"Yes."

"We can make it worth their time."

Silas agreed. "And they don’t need to know what comes after."

Michael understood what he meant. They could arrange a collaboration through a third party and keep the real purpose away from everyone involved. The label would believe it was helping secure an artist for a project. The artist involved could believe the same thing.

Only the people at the top would know that the invitation was being used to move Luna somewhere else.

Michael rubbed his thumb across the edge of the folder.

"What kind of location?"

"Somewhere private enough for us to control," Silas said. "But not so strange that Luna questions it."

Michael thought about several possibilities before rejecting them.

"Her team will check."

"They will."

"Her security will check."

"They always check."

"And if Dayo sees anything unusual, she doesn’t go."

Silas leaned closer to the phone. "Then the location has to make sense before she gets there."

Michael understood the problem. They could not simply lure Luna into an empty building and expect everyone around her to ignore it. She was too important, and after everything that had happened around Dayo, the people protecting her had become more careful.

"We don’t need Luna to walk into a trap without knowing it," Silas said. "We need her to believe she’s going somewhere normal."

Michael was silent.

Then he asked, "How do we separate her from Bella?"

That was the real problem.

Bella had become part of Luna’s regular security arrangement. She stayed close enough to react quickly, especially when Luna was with Jennifer.

Silas had already considered it.

"Family emergency."

Michael looked up.

"Explain."

"We don’t touch Bella. We don’t threaten her. We don’t make her suspicious. We give her a reason to leave."

Michael listened.

Silas continued. "We already know enough about her family to know who matters to her. Her mother. Her brother. Whoever we choose, we make the call convincing."

Michael understood the direction immediately.

"we can fake an accident call."

"Yes."

"And Bella leaves because she believes someone she loves has been hurt."

"That’s the idea."

Michael looked at the report again.

"What happens to Luna?"

"Nothing at first. Bella tells her she has to go. Luna won’t stop her if she believes it’s a genuine family emergency."

"And the replacement?"

"We arrange for someone else to take Bella’s place."

Michael frowned slightly. "Luna will notice."

"She may. But by then she will already have her own reason to leave the house or better still we allow Luna to leave first before we make the call and even before the replacement we operate or they might not be any need."

Michael smiled and nodded "That works better."

That brought them back to the collaboration.

Michael sat quietly for several seconds.

"So Bella leaves. Luna receives the collaboration invitation. She calls Dayo. Dayo agrees because he knows she’s going somewhere legitimate."

"Correct."

"Then Dayo heads home."

"Because Jennifer will already be asleep."

Michael could see the sequence now.

There was still a problem.

Dayo.

They needed him to leave the office and then turn around.

Michael said it aloud.

"If Dayo goes home, he will stay there."

"Unless something pulls him back."

"His own people."

Silas paused before answering.

"Wayne is the best option he is closest to Dayo and easiest to get."

Michael gave a slow nod.

"Yes we hack his phone."

"Yes."

They already had enough access to Wayne’s device to know what they could do with it. The message did not need to be complicated. It needed to look like something Wayne would send.

"Urgent enough for Dayo to return," Michael said.

"But not urgent enough to make him call everyone."

Michael thought about it.

"Dayo will call Wayne."

"We can make sure the phone doesn’t answer."

That settled another part of the plan.

Michael opened a clean page in the folder and began writing.

"Once Dayo turns back, the people we hired move."

Silas corrected him. "Not our people."

Michael looked up.

"People we hire through someone else," Silas said. "I don’t want anyone we have used before anywhere near this."

Michael agreed.

Their usual men had become liabilities. Too many had histories. Too many could be connected to either of them. If something went wrong, the first question would be where those men had come from.

They needed strangers.

People who could disappear after the job.

Michael made another note.

"How many?"

"Enough to handle the house and get the child out," Silas replied. "No more than necessary."

"We don’t give them the entire picture."

"They don’t need it."

Michael looked at the plan again.

"They know the target. And know where to take her."

"Yes."

"They don’t know who hired them."

Silas was quiet for a moment.

"That’s the safest way."

Michael closed the folder.

There was no excitement in his voice when he spoke again.

"And then we contact Dayo."

Silas knew what he meant.

Once Jennifer was in their hands, the real pressure would begin.

They would make Dayo understand that they had his daughter. They would give him instructions. They would make demands.

Michael believed Dayo’s influence could be used to help them.

Silas was less certain.

"Don’t assume he’ll simply do what we ask," Silas said.

"I don’t."

"He may try to find us instead."

"Then we make it clear what happens if he does."

Silas looked toward the small window of the holding area.

Neither of them said the obvious part.

If Dayo came after them, they would already have given him another reason to make sure they never left prison.

Michael spoke first.

"The first demand will be legal."

Silas looked back at the phone.

"Reduced sentences?"

"At minimum."

"And if Dayo can get us out?"

"Then we take it."

Silas considered the possibility.

Dayo had connections neither man could easily measure. His public position was only part of it. He had business relationships, political contacts and people who owed him favors. The exact extent of his influence was difficult to know, which was one reason they had studied him for so long.

Michael believed that influence could be turned against the investigations surrounding them and the reason they couldn’t use their so called connection was that majority was formed from either blackmail or doing un speak able favor’s unlike Dayo who was legit.

Silas did not need to believe it completely.

He only needed to believe there was enough possibility to make the risk worthwhile.

"We should have the intermediary arranged before anything else," Silas said.

"I’ll handle the label."

"I’ll handle the people."

Michael gave him a skeptical look despite knowing Silas could not see it.

"You can handle that from an IRS holding cell?"

"I can make calls."

Michael almost smiled.

The privileges Silas had arranged before his arrest had become useful in ways neither of them had expected.

"Fine," Michael said. "But keep your people out of it."

"They won’t know."

"And if they ask?"

"They won’t."

The call ended soon afterward.

Michael remained seated for a while.

The plan was no longer an idea.

Someone would now have to carry it out.

He called one of his remaining contacts and gave him only the first part of the instructions. A collaboration opportunity involving Luna. A credible label. Money available for the arrangement. A private location that needed to look legitimate.

The man listened and asked questions about the artist.

Michael answered only what was necessary.

He did not mention Jennifer.

He did not mention Dayo.

He did not mention the reason behind the request.

By the time the call ended, the first piece of the operation was already moving.

Across the city, Silas made a separate call through another contact. He wanted people who had no connection to his existing organization and no reason to ask where the money came from.

The person on the other end understood the request.

Silas gave him a date range, a location and the kind of job he needed done.

Nothing more.

The people being hired would receive their instructions later.

That was enough.

The next part depended on timing.

Luna had no reason to suspect anything.

Her EP had opened the door to new offers, and Amanda had already been dealing with messages from artists, labels and producers who wanted to work with her. Another collaboration request would not look strange.

The arrangement was made through a respected label with enough standing that nobody would immediately question why they wanted Luna involved.

The proposed project was simple. A feature and writing session for an artist whose team wanted Luna on a new record. The payment was generous, but not so high that it became suspicious. The meeting would happen privately because the artist wanted to discuss the direction of the song before bringing in a larger production team.

Everything looked normal.

That was exactly what they needed.

A few hours later, Luna received the information and went through it with Amanda.

"I don’t know them personally," Luna said while reading the details on her tablet.

Amanda sat across from her and looked through the same message. "The label is real."

"I know."

"The artist has worked with people we know."

Luna scrolled further. "The money is also real."

Amanda gave her a look. "You sound surprised."

"I’m not. I’m just checking."

Amanda took the tablet and read the location again.

"It’s private."

"That’s what they said."

"Who will be with you?"

"Probably Bella."

Amanda considered it.

"Then tell Dayo."

"I will."

Luna put the tablet down and looked toward the room where Jennifer was sleeping.

The baby had been asleep for almost an hour.

Bella was nearby, sitting in the adjoining room and checking something on her phone while staying close enough to hear Luna if she called.

Nothing about the evening felt unusual.

That was the part Michael and Silas had been counting on.

A few minutes later, Bella’s phone rang.

She glanced at the screen.

The number was familiar.

Her mother’s.

Bella answered immediately.

"Hello, Mum?"

The conversation changed within seconds.

Luna looked over when Bella stood up.

Bella listened, asked her mother to repeat something, then moved closer to the doorway.

"What happened?"

Another pause followed.

Bella’s face changed when she heard the answer.

"An accident?"

Luna sat straighter.

Bella listened for several more seconds before ending the call.

She looked toward Luna.

"I have to go home."

Luna stood. "What happened?"

"My brother was in an accident. Mum said they need me there."

Luna did not hesitate.

"Go."

Bella looked uncomfortable about leaving her.

"I’ll call Max."

"You don’t need to explain anything to me," Luna said. "Go and check on your family."

Bella reached for her bag.

Luna picked up her phone. "I’ll tell Dayo you’re leaving."

Bella nodded and stepped toward the door.

She had no reason to question the call.

She had no idea that the person who had called her mother had never spoken to her mother at all.

Outside, the replacement security arrangement was already being prepared.

Luna watched Bella leave before looking back at Jennifer.

The baby was still asleep.

Luna picked up her phone and called Dayo.

He answered after a few rings.

"Hey."

"Where are you?"

"Still at the office. What’s wrong?"

"Nothing’s wrong. I got an offer for a collaboration. It’s for tonight, and Amanda thinks it is worth hearing them out."

Dayo looked away from the report on his desk.

"Tonight?"

"Yeah. They want to discuss the project in person."

He glanced at the time.

"When?"

"Later this evening."

Dayo was quiet for a moment.

"Who’s going with you?"

"Bella was supposed to, but she just got a call. Her brother was apparently in an accident, so she had to leave."

Dayo’s expression changed.

"Is she okay?"

"She’s fine. She’s going home."

"All right."

Luna could hear the concern in his voice.

"I’ll be back before too late. Jennifer is asleep anyway, so you can come home when you’re done."

Dayo looked at the remaining work on his desk.

"I’ll leave soon."

"Okay."

They spoke for another minute before ending the call.

Dayo returned to his work.

He had no reason to think the conversation had been anything other than normal.

The evening continued according to the plan.

Luna prepared to leave later, believing she was going to a legitimate meeting. The people arranged by Michael’s intermediary waited for their instructions. Somewhere else, the men Silas had hired were being given the information they needed.

Michael received confirmation first.

"The meeting is set."

He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again.

"And the other side?"

"They’re ready."

Silas received his own confirmation soon afterward.

Neither man spoke to the other immediately.

When they finally connected again, the conversation was brief.

"Everything is moving," Michael said.

Silas looked down at the notes in front of him. "Then we don’t change anything."

"We follow the plan."

"And if something changes?"

"We stop."

Silas agreed.

They both knew why.

A mistake would not simply cost them the operation. It could give Dayo enough information to connect everything back to them.

Michael ended the call.

For the first time since they had decided to use Jennifer, the next steps no longer depended entirely on them.

The trap had been prepared.

All they needed now was for everyone else to follow the ordinary decisions they had carefully arranged.

Dayo would leave the office.

Luna would leave the house.

Bella would stay away because she believed her family needed her.

And when Dayo thought he was finally going home to his daughter, the message from Wayne’s phone would arrive.

The plan was ready.

Now they only needed the right moment.