Chapter 44

There was one wonderful thing about having this all happening in Monaco. We were never hounded by the media. They arrived, talked to their contact from the National Police Force, did their little sound bite thingy, and left. The gawkers were far more prevalent than the press. Edward was seriously concerned that more of our enemies were mingling among the gawkers.

He had his crew on a hair-trigger, and I worried about collateral damage as much as a traditional frontal assault.

Mr. No Name walked in before I was scheduled to go sign papers. Actually, Mr. No Name arrived via the Judge's helicopter and informed me that I was traveling to the meeting by air. Rather than risk an attack on the way to or back from our signing, we would drop in from the sky, and leave the same way.

The signing ceremony was quite efficient. Bankers in Monaco are every bit as good at their jobs as are the Swiss, and their security was mind boggling. Short of an air assault using very powerful missiles, we were in no danger. Just in case, we had air cover the entire time we were at the bank, courtesy of the National Police of Monaco.

Hussein and Massoud showed up in an armored carrier, and all of our representatives, lawyers, assistants, assistant assistants, and the like arrived just after us. Hussein came immediately to me and expressed shock, and outrage about the double-ended attacks.

"You were very smart to have so much muscle protecting you, Carl," Hussein said seriously, and I think he actually meant it. "Without thinking ahead and anticipating so much trouble, you might not be here to make this deal and take home a half-billion dollar profit." He was laying it pretty thick about profit, but then he had no idea we were walking away with it all, and he was walking into an elaborate trap.

We talked in very general terms about the attempted 'robbery' and how seriously 'people like us, ' had to take our personal security, these days. Hussein and Massoud seemed extremely uptight. Far more than I was, which made me think they were terrified, not knowing who was trying to come between us and this deal.

Winnie showed Massoud a spectacular amount of leg, enough to get him sweating and drooling all over again. Hussein seemed unaffected by Winnie's womanly charms, but he did sneak his share of peeks.

The lawyers and bankers made short work of the signing, and once everyone on both sides of the table was satisfied, our lawyer made a call and announced that our portion of the money had been transferred to the control of the bank we chose in the Caymans. Hussein broke into a smile that more resembled a snarl, and Massoud just stared at the place where Winnie's skin ended and her short skirt began. We all shook hands, and Edward hustled us aboard the chopper to get us to the seven-thirty-seven and home to Branson.

Our jet was surrounded by more members of the Monaco National Police Force, and we departed without incident. I called Colleen and Jim, as prearranged, and we discussed the damage to the yacht, the likelihood of a successful restoration by our insurance carrier, and everybody's joy at knowing we were heading home.

Forty-five minutes after hanging up, Colleen called back and said, "We just got a call from Lloyds of London. They received a "significant suggestion," from a "very official governmental agency," and were pleased to announce that they would be totaling the ATLANTIC MOON, at the full offering price of one hundred fifty nine million dollars, not the one-oh-nine that we paid.

Our yacht was going to be cut apart and salvaged, rather than repaired. Colleen asked me if we left anything aboard that I needed removed and stored until we decided on a new boat, and I said, "Let's let it all go, and have some fun deciding about the next steps." Colleen was happy to know I wasn't leaping into spending another hundred million dollars, plus, and seemed pleased to know we would all decide together on a replacement.

Not ten minutes later the Judge called to tell us that all the money was transferred to the Defense Contractor, and our preferred stock was in a bank vault, that he had chosen in Texas, for safekeeping.

Like it, or not, I owned a big share of a huge war machine – at least for a little while.

"We have no idea what, if anything, your Muslim attackers are thinking. To tell you the truth, we know an enormous amount of things about them, their missions, their methods, and their reasons for trying to queer your deal, but the one thing we can't find out, is their intentions beyond the obvious.

"Until we do, we're going under the assumption that they will continue to try and get to you, so enjoy the blanket protection. It's sticking around, at least until this is all put to bed." He sounded pleased, worried, anxious, and mad as hell at the same time.