The Heist

trip, arriving in Bali at midday.”
    “Perfect,” he said. “Sam, your loyal butler and chef, will be there to greet you. Make sure you look the part.”
    That had Kate smiling. She knew he’d eventually assume the persona of the
Cheers
womanizing bartender Sam Malone.
    “I’d
better
look the part after what we spent on clothes,” Kate said.
    “What are you wearing now?”
    It was a playful, provocative question and she was tempted to tell him “Nothing at all,” but big brave Special Agent O’Hare chickened out. “A bathrobe and pink fluffy slippers,” she said.
    “Victoria’s Secret?”
    “Costco.”
    “And your gun?”
    “Loaded.”
    “Leave everything but the slippers at home,” he said.
    “I can wear pink fluffy slippers and still be a honey trap?”
    “Sure,” he said. “If that’s all you’re wearing.”
    “This trip to Hong Kong is a first for me,” Willie said to Kate as they left the Sheraton. “My Big Adventure never took me out of the country before. I never had money to fly legally. What do people do on a big airplane trip?”
    “It’s simple,” Kate told her. “All you have to do is sit in yourchair, look out the window, watch a movie, read a magazine, listen to some music, eat some food, or sleep through the whole trip.”
    Kate, on the other hand, was used to long international flights, mostly buckled into a hard bench seat mounted along the windowless interior bulkhead of a Lockheed C-130 military transport plane. An armrest would have been a frill. She’d also flown plenty of times, all across the country, in economy class on commercial airliners and sometimes in stripped-down government jets. This was the first time she was going to fly in a featherweight cashmere tank top, skinny pants, and leather flip-flops, and carry a genuine designer handbag. And it was the first time she was going to fly first-class with the promise of a cocktail and hot, salted nuts being offered before takeoff. She thought this was pretty darn exciting because nobody had ever offered her hot nuts before. At least none that came in a dish.
    Hours later, after flying halfway around the world, Willie clomped through the Hong Kong airport in her five-inch wedges. She had her arm looped through Kate’s, and she was gesturing with her free hand.
    “This is just like being on
The Amazing Race
,” Willie said. “I could practically hear the theme song playing. I feel like I should be running through the terminal.”
    “Not necessary,” Kate said. “Our next gate isn’t that far away. We have plenty of time.”
    “Yeah, but it would be fun to run. They run through terminals on
The Amazing Race
all the time.”
    “That’s because they’re late.”
    “No, it’s because it’s television, and it’s fun. What do you do forfun, anyway? I never see you having any fun. You didn’t lie out at the pool or go bowling or anything.”
    “I was working.”
    “Honey, from what I can see you’re always working. I understand what it’s like to love your job because nothing gets me off like driving a big-ass Caterpillar excavator. I drove a C15 once and I gotta tell you my panties were wet. But a girl needs to have some variety to her fun. What do you do for fun besides shoot blanks at people?”
    Kate searched her memory bank for fun. “Sometimes I drink beer with my dad,” Kate said.
    Willie nodded. “That’s a start. I had fun on the plane from L.A. I watched movies, and played videogames, and I sat next to a guy who knew how to fly a Boeing 777-300. What did you do in first class?”
    “I had hot nuts.”
    “No shit.”
    “Yep. Hot, salty nuts,” Kate said. “Just like it said on the airline website.”
    “Damn, there’s not much better than hot, salty nuts.”
    “They were fun,” Kate said, not sure they were talking about the same kind of hot nuts.
    “Freakin’ A,” Willie said. “And now look at us. We’re in China. I read that two islands had to be completely flattened to build the airport. The main terminal alone is three quarters of a mile of vaulted glass and has virtually all the same stores that are on Rodeo Drive. And they have a Popeyes Chicken here!”
    The five-hour connecting flight to Denpasar cut southwest over the Strait of Malacca and the Java Sea, flying over countless islandsand coral reefs. The plane began its descent over Bali, and an archipelago of puffy clouds blunted some of the sunlight and cast blotches of shadow over Ngurah Rai International