Verdi and TOM

 282.

"Offer him the keys to the Kingdom, set him up as the future ruler of, well, almost everything," I share with Davis and Julie as we outline the next phase of the operation. By 'the next phase' it is brutally apparent to everyone that this is the final scene in a dramatic prime-time operatic tragedy. I remind them that in this closing sequence all the components of a year of undercover work, the vigilance and violence we participated in, the loss of innocent lives and the eradication of a crime family, a terrorist cell and the restoration of (however fleeting) law and order, we remain one small battle away from a colossal victory. Victory as vindication? Perhaps, but our fierce commitment to the oath we took, especially the part specific to "defending the Constitution from all enemies, foreign AND DOMESTIC", and coupled with our deep respect for the work and sacrifice of our fallen leader, this moment on the time-line of our assignment stands as pivotal.

"Frame your pitch as the last big score with the purse large enough to provide all the power, money and ego satisfying autonomy to buy islands in Paradise and rule over them furthermore like a King. Just one score, executed by third-party professionals, with minimal risk and the payout of a lifetime," Julie adds convincingly.

"OK, I get it. We want Goldson to invite Hartaugh to a secret clandestine huddle-up to lay out the plan and get his OK," Davis affirms.

"We have a pair of examples of our clout and capabilities," I continue, "The first and probably most important one is that Goldson's boss had already signed on for the ride prior to his untimely death, and the second our, your, recent demonstration of our computer hacking acumen. A solid one-two punch."

"True," chips-in Saunders, "and I am sure they are watching with great interest the recent action on Wall Street and the RobinHood/GameStop play. Maybe we can leverage that and take responsibility for hacking the program that allowed it to happen."

"Excellent, sure, the only down side being that Security Exchange is going to be on red-alert as a response, but the optic is running on every outlet like a pandemic, ah sorry, bad comparison, but you know what I mean."

"I really don't see much resistance from either party, they are both greedy sons-of-bitches and consider themselves above the law when it comes to accumulation of cash, legally earned or otherwise," Davis adds.

"Let's strike while the iron is hot, claim responsibility for the Wall St chaos and get the wheels in motion. We'll set up a meeting location that should inspire a successful response, St Croix maybe, somewhere safe and controllable. You make the sale to Goldson and ask him to do likewise with Hartaugh. We'll have the location to you by 1500 today," I add as a closing call to action.

"We all on-board?

A chorus of all-ins ring out like a Verdi crescendo, something TOM would appreciate on many levels.