Mr. Rabinowitz sat across the table from Carla. “Tom works for a car sales firm, HiEndCars and a local gang are forcing him to steal at least four of the firm’s most expensive models, for shipment to Arab buyers.
“You have seen first-hand how violent the gangs are around here. If Tom refuses to help them, they have threatened to kill him and us.
“If we go to the police, we have nothing with which to identify the gang. Obviously, we don’t want to die. Also we don’t have the money to move to a different address. We can see no way out.”
Carla thought for a moment, boredom and disappointment had set in with the current mission; all she wanted was to find Max and her heart ached to be with him. She knew The Organization would tell her as soon as they had news of him, but the wait was tearing her apart. This diversion would get the adrenalin flowing again and put criminals behind bars.
“OK, Mr. Rabinowitz. Give your son a call and let’s see if we can come up with a good plan.”
Minutes later, Tom walked in. He sat at the table, next to his father, explaining that he did basic administration work at the showroom and was learning to be a car salesperson. The gang chose him because they thought he had access to the special car keys, which was only partly true. If a salesperson needed a key, the boss would get it from the safe.
The safe combination changed every night, and was known only by the boss. The cars were not drivable without their keys.
At night, the cars were locked within a secure warehouse. The boss was the only person with a key to open it up.
Carla saw the problem. She needed to see the setup for herself and work out how to steal the cars.
The gang had told Tom to provide the car keys and unlock the warehouse, none of which he could do. They would steal the cars and deliver them to their buyer.
Tom had no idea who that would be and how far the cars had to be driven. They would have only about a gallon of fuel in the tank, so after approximately twelve miles, they would need refueling. Maybe the plan was to put them on a transporter - Tom just did not know.
“Tom, I need to visit the showroom and have a look around. When I arrive, pretend you have never seen me before and let me do what’s necessary in order to help you.”
“Thank you Carla, but I don’t know how you are going to see anything; you cannot just walk in and poke around.
“Even if you do, you will never beat the security system. It’s the best there is. The boss will never be taken in by some confidence trick – he is no fool.”
“Don’t be negative Tom; I am depending on the security being good. If it were easy, there would be no need for me.”
Carla could see that Mr. Rabinowitz had every faith in her - blind faith, the sort that parts water to allow you to walk across to the far side.
Later that day, dressed for the occasion, Carla looked through the showroom window at the beautiful cars.
It was not long before a bored salesman invited her in to look around. The young man knew she was not a buyer, but she looked like a gorgeous bimbo and perhaps he could impress her with the cars, all the way to the bedroom.
The other older, married salesman went for a tea break and left them to it.
She introduced herself as Angela. She had recently moved into the area and was staying with family friends. Jerry, the salesperson was imagining his day would just keep get better. Carla had come into his life and they were getting on like soul mates. She laughed at his jokes, held eye contact as she smiled at him; it was making his heart pound.
She stood pressed against him – she smelled so fragrant. The sunlight shone on her fine, blond hair. She tossed her head and her cute ponytail flicked provocatively. She was intelligent he thought, and seemed to know a lot about expensive cars, for a girl.
Now she was overtly flirting with Jerry.
If he could get her alone, he felt sure he could kiss her, cop a feel, perhaps.
“I suppose there is a risk someone will ram-raid the glass to the showroom and steal the cars on a trailer?” Carla questioned, leading his thoughts in the direction she had intended.
“No point, the cars are put in the warehouse at night and it’s locked up. Want to see?” Great place to draw her into, he thought. No one else in there.
“Oooh, yes please Jerry!” Carla replied, as though he had offered to take her somewhere exotic.
Jerry showed her to the door into the warehouse. “Just go in Angela and I will get my colleague to mind the showroom.”
She giggled and went in.
Her sharp eyes picked out the make and model of the security system, Holstein 450, not a brand she knew. The detectors for movement, temperature rise, sound monitoring and fixed cameras were noted. A well-installed system, she decided.
There was a sliding door between warehouse and showroom and a roller door from the empty warehouse to the rear yard. She went over and looked out, through the open door. There were external cameras and lights at the corners of the building, at eaves level.
The open space around the building prevented any approach without detection. She anticipated the cameras were linked to movement detection software, and tampering with any part of the system would activate the silent alarm.
Even though she realized it was impossible to move inside or outside the building, make a noise that differed from ambient, or create hot spot temperature changes from body heat, Carla was still far from discouraged.
The special car keys were kept in the owner’s office safe, within the showroom. Carla needed to see it. She saw Jerry was on his way back and the other salesman was talking to a potential customer. She typed in HiEndCars’ phone number, remembering it from the sign outside. Jerry turned on his heel and ran back to the office to answer the call.
He heard a woman’s voice, with a clipped English accent. “Hello, sorry to trouble you, but is my daughter, Angela Day in your showroom. I have been trying to call her mobile, but she is not answering.”
Jerry was surprised at the question, but confirmed she was there and would get her to the phone. He ran to Carla and said her mother was on the office phone.
“Oh dear, I am in big trouble, Jerry! I had better see what she wants.”
Jerry took her to the office and watched her conversing, from the door. She knew where to look for the safe. From Tom’s description, it was a quality product and beyond her skill to crack it. A thrill passed through her. The challenges appeared insurmountable, but the solution was so simple.