The October List

lease for warehouse at 7 Bankers’ Square is effective. Our ‘engineers’ arrive, with appropriate equipment to disable Technology Center’s fiber optic system, directly below warehouse.
6 th of the month: U.S.-based investors exit jurisdiction to safe havens. Recommended: Switzerland, Cayman, St Kitts, St Thomas.
8 th of the month, 11 a.m.: The event occurs at warehouse. NYSE suspends trading.
8 th – 9 th : Completion of short sales transactions made throughout the year, distribution of profits to investors.
     
    ‘The target date’s around Columbus Day, so I’m calling it the October List – the people in the syndicate Prescott put together.’
    ‘Love it,’ Kepler said. He was truly impressed. If he played for the other team, he could easily fall in love with Gabriela.
    She continued, ‘Joseph’s also going to demand back the deposit he paid Prescott. Four hundred thousand dollars, something like that.’
    ‘Whoa, hold on – I can’t come up with buy money like that,’ the captain said quickly.
    ‘No. I won’t need actual cash. It’s enough for Reardon to know the stakes are high. If the deposit’s four hundred K, then the operation’s dealing with serious cash. It’ll seal the deal.’
    Barkley asked, ‘Why use your CI for the part? Why not an undercover detective?’
    ‘Credibility. If Reardon checks around, he’ll find Joseph’s connected with the Seduttos. But, like I said, I will need at least a couple other officers, in addition to Brad and Naresh. I want Elena Rodriguez from Narcotics.’
    ‘I’ll try to swing it,’ Barkley said.
    Gabby said firmly, ‘Make it work out. I need her. She’s good.’
    ‘What’s her role in the set?’ Barkley asked.
    ‘She’ll be a fellow employee of mine at Prescott.’
    Surani: ‘You said threaten you. How’s Joseph going to pressure you into giving him the list?’
    ‘He’ll kidnap my daughter.’
    Kepler blinked at this, surprised. She has a daughter? Gabby was the least maternal person he could think of.
    She continued, ‘Reardon’ll stay close to me while I run around town trying to find the October List and the four hundred K. I’m sure he’ll call in Andrew and Sam – they’ll pretend they’re helping me get my girl back. But what they’ll really do is cut a deal with Joseph to sell him the list or go into business with him.’
    ‘What if Reardon doesn’t bite?’ Kepler asked.
    ‘Then you’ve wasted a day or two when you could be playing golf.’
    ‘He doesn’t play golf,’ Surani said. ‘He watches golf.’
    Kepler gave him the finger. Subtly. And an affectionate glance.
    ‘And I’m out two grand for the set,’ Barkley grumbled.
    She looked at him as if he were a husband making an extremely petty remark about starch in his shirts.
    Only Gabby McNamara, of the thirty thousand cops in the NYPD, could nail brass with a look like that.
    ‘So, Paul, can we go forward?’
    Or use their first names.
    He debated a moment. ‘You got three days tops. We roll it up on Monday, whatever you find, or don’t find.’
    ‘Deal. Thanks.’ Her gratitude extinguished fast. ‘Now, a lot of the work’s going to be convincing Reardon this’s legitimate.’ As if she were saying she had to drop her laundry off, Gabby said, ‘I need to shoot a cop.’
    Did she glance my way when she said that? Kepler wondered.
    Barkley said firmly, ‘No weapons discharges on the set. Can’t happen.’
    ‘I need to,’ she said, and the words were all the more forceful because she was so blasé. ‘If Reardon has any doubts, that’ll put them to rest. We’ll rig a gun with blanks or training rounds.’ She steamrolled ahead. ‘We’ll get some youngster from Patrol. He’ll be jazzed.’
    Kepler said, ‘No.’
    Everyone turned to him, Gabby most piercingly. He said, ‘You can’t have Reardon next to you. The patrolman or witnesses would see him and he’d become a suspect. He’d go to ground or back off.’
    ‘Good point. I hadn’t thought of that. I’ll make sure he’s at a distance.’
    Barkley pointed out, ‘The press, the public, everybody’ll go ape shit, a cop gets shot. Suddenly it’s front-page New York Post . People’re going to ask questions about him.’
    She said, ‘It’ll happen on a deserted street. Upper East Side. That’ll minimize witnesses. And we’ll give the cop a fake name. I’ve checked and there’s nobody on the force named Fred Stanford Chapman. My date to the high school prom. We’ll get a