Tomorrow, Jax and Brenda will leave the Catacombs, bound for Alaska, to spend a few days before going back to Port Charles and their everyday lives. Brenda spoke with Lucy who is very anxious for her to complete the Jacks For Men tour that was interrupted several weeks ago. Lucy was told to expect herself and Jax back in town four days from now. She confirmed that she and Jax are having a good time, they will fly in from Alaska on Thursday afternoon. Brenda promised to call Lucy the following day at the latest.
"So, here we are," Robert exclaimed, as they cleared away after their lunch break, headed for their final afternoon together. Let's review what we've done, and double-check the plans for the days ahead. Once you two are safely away from here, Anna and I will stay for a while, keep track of what we've set in motion and get everything ready for your return to Port Charles."
Brenda picked up the coffee tray and, as they moved to sit by the fire, she asked "How long will you two stay here?"
"As long as we can, weather and other conditions permitting," Anna told her.
"We've acquired a small craft, one of the flat-bottom boats that ferry goods around the docks. It looks like any other craft on the water but it's well fitted and it has a powerful concealed motor. We'll use it as long as the weather holds, as long as there are other boats on the water. Then, we'll decide if we will hole up here or go to ground in Port Charles," Robert added.
"You could be stuck here for maybe two months, couldn't you?"
"Yes, that's why we will more than likely head for Port Charles sometime in December or January. In the meantime..."
"You had a report come in before lunch," Jax said. "Anything for our side in it?"
"Yes," Robert confirmed.
"Following a week-long round the clock watch, we moved on the local "MONSTER GYM" which belongs to Corinthos. It's sheltered under a numbered company. We've pulled in the entire staff, including the manager, on charges of drug trafficking, possession, and sale of stolen merchandise. They're all still in detention. One woman was released for lack of evidence. She's actually an undercover WSB agent. The place is padlocked, subject to seizure, and she will apply for a job at all the health clubs in Port Charles. Her choice will appear random if it ever comes up, but she knows her target. She's very good at her job. No move has ben made on Corinthos personally, and there is nothing to suggest that we've connected him with the company. Still, he must be on the edge of his seat by now. It will be interesting to see what way he moves. We've also hit two of Corinthos's franchises in Port Charles, four in New York, two in Chicago and two in Buffalo."
"What about the people who were arrested?" Jax enquired.
"Their lawyers have moved in as if by magic. We've had little opportunity to question any of them. Because we're treating the arrests as local busts with no reference to the bigger picture. the local authorities must be seen as having no choice but to grant bail. Anything else could be construed as violating the rights of the accused. They'll get bail and they'll be followed."
"Do you think they'll try to escape?" Brenda wanted to know.
"No," Robert told her. "I believe they will head for sanctuary at another health club, lay low, wait for their court date and trust that they will be taken care of."
"But, does that get you anywhere?" Brenda was puzzled.
"It gets us everywhere! As long as they behave as we've just predicted, we have the last thing we need to show probable cause and get a global warrant for surveillance on Corinthos, all his known locations, operations, and all future discoveries. Everything we've done up to now has been more or less unofficial. For the Bureau, the IRS, Interpol, the FBI, the Canadians, we all need an airtight warrant that works in every jurisdiction and gives a free hand. Once we've got that, the gloves are off, no holds barred!"
"I thought you had it already?"
"We've got enough to get a warrant, yes, but if these thugs take the step we expect and go to ground in any of the health clubs or beauty salons on our list, especially if they move outside the jurisdictions covered by the terms of their bail, we will have linked the operation once again. We just want to be sure."
"Do you have enough people to cover them all?" Jax asked.
"Yes. We've got reinforcements just for this. And we've arranged not to release the current suspects all at once. Paperwork takes time and they've got to get in line at the local stations. Don't worry. We're close to the real action now."
Robert had other news. In Canada, the Quebec Police cleaned out drug operations at two major Montreal hotels and at the upscale Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City. One thing we've confirmed for sure, they are part of the same empire, which makes this an international investigation. Canada is not the only country involved. "These places cater to tourists, and conventioneers, a very select crowd. They come into these Canadian cities with their connections already in place, their preferred "stuff" ordered in advance and waiting for them. We expect reports from Ontario and the West at any moment. They are making headway too, based on the leads we sent them. All the police forces concerned see what's happening in their territories as exclusive to them. Technically, they are right of course. We gave them the leads, but they did their own work, and that's good!"
"Good?" Jax enquired.
"Right," Robert explained. "When we send them information and leads again, they'll take us seriously, hopefully, and move on the subjects faster, without wasting valuable time."
Anna continued, "Nothing's been done or said to indicate these local efforts are in any way connected. No local police forces are aware their efforts are part of a much larger operation. We want to keep it that way for as long as possible.
Robert then told them that all the Beauty Salons on their list are now under surveillance as well, and it's been established that drug trafficking and more is blatant in all of them. "We'll move against six selected locations within the next two days," he said. The locations will be different from the health clubs operations. We'll get them all in the end. Our strategy is to keep the level of our involvement as low-key as possible for as long as we can. We don't want any part of the operation going under ground before we're ready for them. As soon as the next series of raids is over, we will pull back on that aspect and focus our attention elsewhere."
"That sounds like a serious cash-flow problem for Corinthos in the very near future," Jax offered.
"That's the idea," Anna said. "When we add that to the Beauty Salon operations that will be cut off in the next two days, it will begin to build up. We are including one of his personally owned places in every sweep we make."
"Don't forget," Robert reminded, "we do not know if Corinthos is actually directly involved in the drug trafficking or the stolen merchandise, but by closing down the businesses due to drugs and contraband, we cut off the so-called legitimate income he normally gets from these places, as well as the money laundering profits from each of them. The existence of drugs and illicit trafficking on the premises means that all assets are seized. If he hopes to recover anything, he will have to come out in the open to try for it. If he is involved in the drugs, then that income is cut as well. For the purposes of the seizure, proof of his involvement is not needed. Possession, trafficking and selling stolen merchandise on the premises is enough."
"What about the loans we discussed, where he financed the scams regarding the sale of merchandise?" Jax wanted to know.
"All five targeted loans have defaulted as planned," Robert confirmed. "All five con artists are in jail facing a variety of similar charges and their assets have been seized. Corinthos will have to write them off. He cannot get blood from a stone!"
"Don't you think he will begin to suspect?"
"Maybe, but I don't think he will right away. We've been careful not to target health clubs in an area where the targeted loans were being used and the targeted beauty salons are not in those same areas either. He's spread so widely across the country that he's made it easy for us to be selective about our own targets. There are other loan scams in the works. They are being monitored and none of them is due to come to a head for at least a week."
"What about the money laundering?"
"Well, every outlet we close down means another place that he cannot use. The haul in Miami will certainly have affected him. His cut on that would surely have been at least 10%, over one million. The new drug pipeline is under way and, and if we do as well with this one as we did with the last, then Mr. Corinthos will probably begin to look for sources of income."
"What sort of sources can he use?"
"Hard to say," Robert surmised. "I imagine he will try to do something across the northern or the southern borders, Canada or Mexico. My guess is Canada. That's a long border and hard to police. There is a lot of traffic that crosses there every day without hardly a blink. Generally speaking, you don't even need a passport at the Canadian border, just proof of identity. He will probably consider it safer to launder American money in Canada and vice versa, since he's had success there already."
"How so?"
"Many Canadian businesses with US operations have US dollar accounts in the major Canadian banks. Sources of these funds, as long as they are under $10,000 per deposit, are rarely questioned. Depositors of US dollars into regular Canadian accounts have to declare the source. Up there, all sources of deposits of $10,000 and more in any currency, to any account, have to be explained."
"We have similar laws here, don't we?"
"Yes, but our banking system is different. Most of our banks are private institutions - and we have a lot of them, while the Canadian banks are national, there are only a few of them and they are highly regulated, subject to a raft of federal laws. They are public companies, strictly controlled with a common set of regulations applicable to all of them. Even so, there are loopholes even in their rules and regulations. You can be sure our suspect knows what they are."
"Will he begin to suspect that the raids are connected?"
"Maybe, eventually, and he will certainly speculate. Now there is nothing to connect anything. Even if he has someone inside every local police force involved with all the operations, so far they all seem to be the result of local police legwork. The longer that holds, the better for us."
Speaking thoughtfully, Anna said, "If we can only close down a few a week, then it could take us a year and, by that time, the first locations we busted could well be back in business again. That's why it's vital to get the global warrant that covers every possible method of surveillance within the next few days."
"Right," Robert observed. "Once these guys are out on bail and, hopefully, move as we expect them to, that, and the successes we've had so far should get us the authority we need and some more manpower."
"What about the Transport in Miami? Any final word on that?"
Robert grinned a happy grin. "Yes indeed!" he said.
"Two trucks loaded with stolen electronics and kitchen appliances were hijacked by local gangs. Local police were on the scene in a flash, arrested the drivers and the hijackers, recovered the merchandise, and seized the trucks. There were seven minor, but effective, accidents and two mechanical breakdowns on the highway. They all attracted the Highway Patrol who got them towing service, escorted them off the highway and checked manifests against contents of the trucks. In every case, they are being held for highway code infractions, manifest discrepancies and the ownership of the goods is being verified. At worst, they face criminal charges as we expect, at best, only costly delays. Either way, we are reaching the target - Corinthos."
"Where does that get us?" Jax asked Robert.
"Just another thing for Corinthos to worry about. We'll leave Florida alone for now, let things fall back to normal for a bit. As we speak, Frisco and RJ, our truck driver agent, should be in Chicago. They will turn their attention to Mr. C.'s transport network in Ohio and Illinois. Similar activity as the Florida caper is planned, and it's far enough away that he is hardly likely to suspect a connection, at least not immediately."
"Harry Silver will probably get the credit," Anna remarked. "At least, it will seem so for the time being."
Brenda was taking all this in with wonder. "He has to start suspecting something is going on," she said.
"Maybe," Robert agreed. "But it could also be seen as a run of bad luck. The WSB has decided to give the bad luck theory a boost."
"How?" Brenda asked, while Jax, smiling, looked at him with a questioning eyebrow.
Anna took delight in explaining.
"As we speak," she said, "a recent Port Charles phenomenon is headed into town. Madame Maia, Lucy's one-time psychic pal, is on her way to town. Katherine Bell has been approached already to sell Luke Spencer on the idea of a psychic evening featuring some top name blues singers and Madame Maia in a booth during intervals. There will be morning or afternoon psychic sessions too. Maybe they'll have to rent Luke's Club for the event! The details are up to Katherine. Madame Maia has instructed her to plan for a very successful series of lectures for her and we're counting on Katherine to deliver. It will be quite a high-profile, distracting event, you can be sure."
"Luke will jump at the possibility of new business and, besides, he could never resist something that crazy." Robert conceded. "That will put her in Sonny's face with every opportunity to do her job."
"Crazy!" was Brenda's comment.
"Right! Isn't it though?" Anna responded with a huge grin.
"Will you involve Lucy in this?" Brenda asked them.
Robert and Anna both reacted in wide-eyed denial. "Good God, NO!" Anna exclaimed.
"Lucy will be in the middle of Madame Maia's activities all by herself. She will hardly be able to resist it! And Lucy is much better when she's being her spontaneous self! Madame Maia will encourage her, don't worry!"
"Who is Madame Maia?" Jax asked.
"Jax, you don't really want to know. Ask Brenda to tell you about Lucy and the Madame Maia experience in Port Charles another time. My recommendation is that you wait to experience her for yourself. Then, no explanation will be necessary!" Robert advised him.
"No kidding!" Brenda exclaimed, with a delighted smile. "I can just see it now! Sonny scoffing at Madame Maia and Lucy insisting that she heed the warnings, reminding him of her very own psychic experiences, about finding Damian Smith, everything!"
Seeing Jax's puzzlement and the questions ready to tumble from his lips, "Wait for it Jax," Robert said. "Believe me, you will enjoy the show more. My only recommendation is, don't miss it!"
"You mustn't!" Anna told him.
"As the event coordinator, Ms. Bell has been asked to arrange for Madame Maia to hold a "psychic tea" event at the Port Charles hotel, open to the public. This will continue daily for at least one week with the possibility of being held over, there or somewhere else in town. Even Kelley's has been suggested as an additional venue and a possible fund-raiser for the hospital."
"Event coordinator! Katherine!" Brenda commented and looked at Jax with a smile. Memories of a recent event coordination that affected them both intimately flashed through their minds.
"Katherine takes her event coordination duties very seriously," Jax remarked, still sharing that smile with Brenda.
"She does," Anna agreed. "There's no need to encourage Madame Maia, however. She is very effective at self-promotion and she is being well paid to read Sonny's fortune and lay the groundwork for the bad luck theory. That will be best done at Luke's."
"You're kidding!" Jax remarked, grinning from ear to ear. "He'll never buy such a load of poppycock!"
"I wouldn't bet on that," Robert told him and Anna agreed.
"People in Corinthos's business rely heavily on luck. There is a sort of basic belief that all criminals seem to share. They see luck as something that doesn't last and when they suspect that the tables might be about to turn on them, they can get very fatalistic. I've seen it happen often."
"They believe in their own superiority too," Anna added. "They believe they can control their own destiny. Because of that basic superstition, somebody like Madame Maia, especially if she cuts close to the bone, and delivers enough accurate detail to be scary, will get his attention in spite of himself. At the very least, it should throw him a little, distract him, get him to think about his luck running out. Every edge we get will count."
"You really think he'll buy that?"
"Probably not seriously, and not for long," Robert said, "but I believe he will be shaken enough to consider taking some defensive action. All we want to do is get him genuinely worried, thinking that maybe he is running an unlucky streak. If WE are lucky, he'll do something reckless!"
"Even if he suspects something, I believe the bad luck idea will get under his skin," Anna surmised, "Any action he may take has the potential of sparking mistakes."
"Where are you going with all this?" Brenda was still puzzled.
Robert paused for a moment, apparently considering something. He was looking thoughtfully at both Jax and Brenda. Anna watched with a small smile, then reached to refill the coffee cups from the thermos jug on the tray.
"Well, Brenda, I suppose this is as good a time as any to fill you in on what to expect in the immediate future. I realize, as well, that you two are a package. It's clear to see that you are one. To have Jax's help and cooperation in the future, we must have yours too, so I see no help for it!"
"No help for what," she wanted to know, with jut a touch of apprehension.
"You've got to be sworn in!"
"What do you mean, 'sworn in',"
"Brenda, you know too much. You've been here now, working alongside Jax, Anna and me for nearly two weeks. We have a long way to go yet before this caper is over, so you have to be sworn in - as a WSB agent!"
"Oh my God!" Brenda was really shocked.
"Brenda, I need you to take an oath of allegiance to your country, to the WSB, and to the cause of law and order."
"And if I don't?"
"Then, you present a problem love! We'd have to arrange to hold you somewhere until this caper is over and that could be months. That would earn us the serious displeasure of your husband, Lucy would be very upset at you for failing in your duties as the Face of Jacks Cosmetics, L&B Records would certainly miss its vice-president, and Anna and I would be very unhappy. Do you need any more?"
Jax was enjoying the exchange and the range of emotions passing over Brenda's face, as she realized when she looked at him. She paused for a little while, thought for a bit, looked at Jax, grinned and said, "Robert, you are so persuasive! How can I not swear allegiance to my country, but the WSB, that's something else again. What is this WSB thing anyway?"
Anna took up the explanation. "The WSB is an organization that belongs to the intermediate world of private intelligence and security. It was set up nearly fifty years ago by an international group of law enforcement specialists who were constantly being frustrated by the growing international nature of crime, even in those days. It became a sort of companion to Interpol, but with a much broader mandate, with wide ranging authority, reporting only to its own Bureau Chief. It has its own rules and regulations and operates in total secrecy. At one time, Sean Donelly was the Bureau Chief, back in the days when Robert and I were very young! The intent of the WSB founders, then and now, is that it should complement the work of local police on an international level. In most cases, because of the international implications the idea was to short-circuit investigations, pursue to the end a whole class of villains who, without the Bureau, would escape the reach of national police forces. The WSB is a sort of private Interpol, but without many of the restrictions that apply to the regular law enforcement agencies. Of course, in the early days, things were a little slower. International criminals moved around the world on the great ocean liners, or, for example, on the Orient Express. Today, jets can span continents in hours and the criminals all have home computers, accountants and lawyers waiting in the wings! Does that explain things, Brenda?"
"Yeah, sort of! But what would I be getting into?"
"Not a lot, as long as you stay close to Jax, Anna or myself, and do as we ask. We actually need your help and we will feel better if you are an official member of the team, so how about it?"
"Jax, should I do this?"
"Your choice, Brenda. I want to keep you with me sweetheart. You know I need you, and it will be easier if you are officially part of the team as we stand now. But, it's your choice."
"This can be temporary, Brenda, if you want it to be. We would prefer not to lose Jax, but he can be free to withdraw also as soon as this caper is over, if that's what you both want."
"When you out it like that... OK! What do I have to do?"
"Do we have a Bible, Anna?"
"Right here!"
"OK, then, let's do it!"
And that's how Brenda became a bona fide member of the WSB. She was officially sworn into service in the comfortable surroundings of their temporary home in the Catacombs, and her new status was toasted with the last of the coffee in the thermos.
Meantime, over in Port Charles,
It's early afternoon and Luke's Club is not yet open for business. Luke and the barmaid are setting things up, Luke has gone back to the office to work and Sonny and Jason have taken a drink to a table at the back. They have a full view of the door and of the entire room.
"You know what's been happening?" Sonny asked Jason.
"Yeah!"
"Any idea who's behind it?"
"No! Nobody on the street seems to know anything. There's a major push on drugs though. Everyone on the street is nervous. The attention this is getting is not welcome."
"You're telling me!" Sonny commented. "It will be expensive for us. We're going to have to lie low for a while."
"There's still work to be done," Jason objects.
"Jason, I've told you before, I don't want you to expose yourself. If there's any 'work' to be done, let one of the gofers do it. Keep yourself invisible, like I keep telling you. I need you to stick around."
"Yeah, I hear you. I'm cool!"
"Right, I want you to stay cool! Just keep your ear to the ground. I need to know if this is anything more than just an all out effort on the drugs. It doesn't surprise me though, with so much of it on the streets.
"Two kids dead and several in the hospital was sure to get the cops moving. We've other things to worry about as well."
"What?"
"There have been raids in several other places, almost a copy of what went on here, places closed down, seizures, the works! I haven't been able to make any connection between them and it's bugging me."
"You think there's an all out effort against our operations?"
"Can't say! I've put the word out. Other families have had problems, but we seem to be hit the hardest. It will take a few days before I can be sure if there's any connection between what's going on here and the other places."
"Is there anything I can do?" Jason asked him.
"Nada! Just keep alert and try to figure out where it's coming from. I may have to go to Florida."
"Florida? What for?"
"We've had a real rash of problems there with the transportation business. We're losing money. Looks like a run of bad luck, pure coincidence, but I can't be sure. I don't believe in coincidence, and bad luck is too simple an explanation. We've got to find out if it's part of an attack or what."
"What will you do?"
"I've made enquiries. If anything looks suspicious, I'll go down there myself. Nothing's happened for a couple of days now, so maybe it's over. It's cost us a bundle, I can tell you! With everything that's going on, we've been hit hard."
"So, we do nothing?"
"For now!"
~~~~~~~~
At the Port Charles hotel, the elevator opened and a priest stepped out. Wearing a black clerical suit with white dog collar, sporting a close-cropped red wig and rimless glasses, and carrying a small portfolio containing his priestly regalia, Police Commissioner Mac Scorpio, in one of his many disguises, headed toward the docks.
His destination, on his mission of mercy, was the Salvation Army Mission on the Docks. A
drifter named Punchy Moran had taken shelter there and expressed a wish for his priestly
services.
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