Trust Me

to pick up ARCANE.”
    Tony’s brows came together in a thoughtful frown. “He won’t show when he learns that McCallum’s been arrested.”
    “He doesn’t know about that,” Stark said. “The Feds took charge of the case this afternoon, and they’ve arranged to keep everything hushed up until tomorrow.”
    “They can do that?” Henry asked.
    “Yes,” Stark said. “The case is in their territory because it involves an attempt to steal restricted technology and take it out of the country.”
    “So what happens now?” Tony asked curiously.
    “We’re going to set another trap,” Stark said.
    Tony straightened in his chair. “Yeah?”
    Jason bounced up and down. “What kind of trap?”
    “The Feds would very much like to catch Kilburn in the act of buying ARCANE.” Stark looked at Tony. “To do that they need an actor. Someone who can impersonate Dane McCallum long enough to trick Kilburn into going through with the deal.”
    Tony grinned slowly. “Well, what do you know. It just so happens that I’m between engagements at the moment.”
    Alarmed, Celia glanced from Tony to Stark. “Will it be dangerous?”
    “Of course not,” Tony said swiftly. “There’s nothing to worry about, is there, Stark?”
    “No guarantees,” Stark said carefully, “but it should be as safe as these things get. According to McCallum, the exchange is scheduled to be made at SeaTac Airport tonight. Kilburn is supposed to arrive, pick up ARCANE, and leave within an hour on an international flight. The Feds will be there, ready to move in as soon as Kilburn accepts ARCANE.”
    “Piece of cake,” Tony said.
    Desdemona smiled. “You’ve always been very good in the role of hero, Tony.”
    Tony grinned. For the first time in a long while the bitterness was gone from his eyes.

21

    Although he was prepared for the transformation, Stark did a double take when Tony walked into the international terminal shortly after midnight.
    Outfitted in a blond wig, mustache, glasses, and a stylish silver-gray suit, Tony was a disturbingly familiar figure.
    “I’ll be damned,” Stark said quietly to Benedick, who was seated next to him in the airport lounge. “He’s a dead ringer for McCallum.”
    “Always said the boy had talent.” Benedick beamed proudly from behind the newspaper he was ostensibly reading.
    “He’s even got the walk down right. He moves the way McCallum moves.”
    “A good actor does more with movement than he does with makeup.” Benedick made a show of turning the page. “You said this Kilburn fellow has met McCallum face-to-face?”
    “We all worked at the Rosetta Institute, but Kilburn hasn’t seen McCallum in person for over three years, and they weren’t exactly close then. They saw each other occasionally in the hall, but that was it. The deal for ARCANE was done through the computers. With any luck, the mustache and dark glasses will distract Kilburn long enough for the exchange to be made.”
    “No one expects someone to look exactly as he did after three years.” Benedick shrugged. “Like Tony said, piece of cake.”
    Tony, laptop clutched in his hand, hovered near the newsstand. Stark thought that he displayed just the right degree of edginess for the occasion.
    Ten minutes later, the gate opened to disgorge the passengers of an incoming flight. Kilburn, carrying a large briefcase, was among the first half-dozen people to get off the plane. Stark noted that he was apparently traveling first-class these days.
    Kilburn had grown plumper over the years. Even the cut of his expensive suit could not contain his large belly. It strained the buttons of his shirt. His benign, cheerfully rounded face sagged around the jaw and spilled over his collar.
    Kilburn swept the waiting area with a nervous, impatient glance. Then he paused to study the blond man in the silver-gray suit. Tony’s back was deliberately turned toward the gate.
    “He’s spotted Tony,” Benedick murmured. “Looks like the fish is going to take your bait.”
    Stark watched with satisfaction as Kilburn started toward the newsstand.
    Tony did not turn around when Kilburn tapped him on the shoulder. He simply nodded and led the way toward a corner near the rest rooms. Kilburn followed, glancing uneasily over his shoulder.
    There was no mistaking the exchange of the laptop computer for the briefcase. It was hurriedly done in the shadows. Kilburn opened the lid of the computer, bent over it, and tapped out some commands on