The Watchman of Ephraim (Book Club Edition) (8 page)

“
Belay that order Ms …”

Lynch offered her hand, “Debbie Lynch, sir, I was Executive Assistant to Mr. Gerolitis.”

“
Pleased to meet you Ms. Lynch, Ricci said, shaking her hand.

“
Excuse me!” Pastak raised his voice.

“
Please Captain, call me Debbie.”

“
EXCUSE ME!” repeated Pastak even louder.

“
Okay. Debbie, belay that order.”

“
EXCUSE ME!!! Pastak repeated one more time, this time banging his palms against the desk as he did.

Ricci finally turned to face the enraged man.

“
Les, may I call you Les?” Before Pastak could say no, Ricci went on.

“
Les, my name is Captain Ricci. I’m here on behalf of Cris De Niro to inform you that, effective immediately, I’ve been appointed by him to take the helm of this firm as President and CEO.”

Ricci handed Pastak a sealed envelope.

“
This is the letter of authority signed by Mr. De Niro, stating such.”

Ricci could have continued but he decided that it would be more fun to pause and give the utterly beside-himself Pastak the opportunity to read the letter. After reading it, Pastak looked up at Santappia with the look of someone who just realized he didn’t win the lottery after all and Santappia countered with a mock shrug of his shoulders. Apparently he was enjoying this as much as Ricci was.

Pastak blinked a few times then tossed the letter onto the desk and picked up the phone.

“
This is outrageous! I’ve been acting in the capacity of president since my brother-in-law left!”

“
In fact … I’m calling my brother-in-law now and I’m going to get this straightened out.”

Ricci stepped close to the desk and put his index finger on the button to disconnect the call then took the phone out of the shaking man’s hand and hung it up.

“
Les, I want to point out the errors in judgment you just made. First, your brother-in-law no longer owns this firm. MY brother-in-law Cris De Niro does. Second, I think you were trying to intimidate me by picking up the phone, my phone, by the way …and as long as I’m pointing errors out, moving yourself into this office ... my office … without authorization from me … BIG error in judgment!”

Pastak’s face turned white as snow as he looked around at both Lynch and Santappia. Both stood behind Ricci staring at him with blank expressions.

“
I …I want to speak to De Niro. I want—“

“
MISTER De Niro, Les!” Ricci cut him off. “From now on, you refer to him as MISTER De Niro and you refer to me as Captain Ricci. Are we clear?!”

There was silence until it occurred to Pastak that Ricci was expecting him to answer.

“
Yes … sir, Captain Ricci, but I still want—“

“
You can speak to Mr. De Niro tomorrow, when he arrives here,” Ricci cut him off again. “For now, I want you out of my office.”

A look of abject fear appeared on Pastak’s face.

“…
Out … out of your office, yes sir. You mean, just leave your office now? … Where should I go?”

“
Les, for now, just leave the room. After I speak to Major Santappia and Ms. Lynch, you can come back, retrieve your things and move them back into your office while Major Santappia and Ms. Lynch join me for a late lunch. I would invite you, but I want my office ready for me to move into when I return.”

Pastak’s relief when he realized he wasn’t being fired covered up some of his embarrassment.

“
Yes sir, Captain.”

Just as he was about to walk out the door, Debbie Lynch called out to him.

“
Mr. Pastak, you forgot your latte!”

Chapter 6

In a limo parked in front of the proposed site of the “Ground Zero” mosque

45-51 Park Place, New York, New York

2:30p.m., Monday, May 16, 2011

“
It’s not exactly being built on top of ground zero, is it,” De Niro remarked. Sitting in a limo with him was Keith Tompkins and Joe Carbone, a former advisor to Mayor Giuliani.

“
That’s not the point or the perception it will make Cris and you know it!” exclaimed Tompkins.

“
What do you think, Joe?” asked De Niro.

“
Your friend is correct, Cris. Two blocks is just too close to build a mosque. That is, if your intent was to create peace and harmony between Muslims and non-Muslims.”

“
I see,” replied De Niro, “so, playing devil’s advocate, just how far away would be acceptable to most people, for them to build their mosque?”

“
Most people I know say that if the street had debris blown onto it from the collapse of the towers, no mosque should be built on it!” replied Tompkins.

De Niro nodded then exited the limo with Tompkins. He told the driver to take the former mayor’s advisor wherever he wanted to go then to meet the two men down by Ground Zero. Before pulling away, Carbone lowered the window in the back of the limo.

“
Cris, I didn’t have to tell you that they have the legal right to build here. As far as this Mayor is concerned, he supports their right. I can also tell you that I’ve heard from reliable sources inside the White House that the President still supports their right to build here.”

“
This isn’t a question of legal rights though, Joe. It’s a question of wisdom, is it wise to build here …and motives …what are they trying to accomplish by building here?”

“
Well, I told you Rudi’s feelings on the matter. He believes it’s insensitive to build it here. Do you want me to set up a meeting between you and him?”

“
No, there’s no reason. Thanks Joe, for taking time out of your busy schedule to meet with me on such short notice.”

“
Never a problem Cris, tell the boys I was asking about them.”

“
Will do. Say hi to your wife from me.”

De Niro patted on the hood of the limo as Carbone raised the heavily tinted window, signaling that the driver could pull out.

De Niro and Tompkins started walking up to West Broadway on their way to Ground Zero as a man sitting in a van parked across the street punched an auto-dial button on his cell phone.

(In Farsi) “This is Payam. You wanted to know of anything unusual. There was a limo here with three men in it. We’ve taken pictures of each and are running them through the facial recognition software now. The limo is rented.”

The reply was in English with a slight British accent.

“
How long will it take you to identify the men?”

Payam replied in American English, “It could take some time. We had the limo followed but two of the three men are on foot now. Should we follow them?”

“
Yes, follow them and send me the photos now of the three men.”

Payam spoke in Farsi to the two men in the back of the van.

“
The photos are being sent to you now.”

“
Good, I want to know where all three men go.”

As the photos appeared on his iPhone, the man on the other end of the phone immediately identified one of the three men.

“
Payam, which two men are walking?”

“
The tall black man and the man in the blue suit are walking, they turned south on West Broadway. The older man remained in the limo.”

The man on the other end of the phone thought for a moment; then replied.

“
I think I know where they are heading. Follow them anyway but keep your distance. Call me on my cell phone when they arrive at their destination.”

The man ended the call by simply hitting the disconnect button. Then he hit an intercom button.

“
Have my car brought around.”

Aref Sami Zamani stood up from his desk in his lower-midtown office and headed for his private elevator, followed by his aide, Bahman Fard who used a keycard to open the doors to the elevator. Fard was curious.

“
Sir, our plane is being readied for takeoff in less than two hours. Shall I notify the flight crew that we will be delayed?”

Zamani smiled at the tact his aide used. He knew that Fard was curious as to where they were going but knew better than to boldly ask.
Bahman is even cunning with me. He looks like an accountant but he will kill on my command without a hint of remorse.

“
That’s not necessary, this won’t take long.”

Zamani saw the look of frustration on Fard’s face and decided not to keep him in suspense.

“
You are wondering what I saw in those photos, Fard, and where we are going now?”

“
Sir, I—“

Zamani held his hand up to quiet his aide, then he handed him his iPhone.

“
Do you recognize any of those men?”

Fard looked closely at the small screen and used his finger to move between each photo.

“
This one looks like … that hedge fund manager …De—“

“
De Niro, you are correct Fard. It is Cris De Niro and we are going downtown so that I may meet him before we leave.”

The doors opened to the elevator and both men walked out of the building and straight into their waiting limo. Fard was still confused.

“
But sir, do we not have to wait for Payam to call back to tell us where he is?”

Just then Zamani’s phone rang, Fard handed it back to him.

“
Yes … I figured he would be there, what about the other? And the one who remained in the car? You are sure? Very well, return to Park51 and resume your watch.”

Zamani placed his phone in his suit pocket, then answered Fard’s question.

“
I know where he is. He is at the Ground Zero site paying respects to his deceased wife. What I do not know is why he was parked in a limousine outside of Park51 with an activist fireman and an advisor to the former mayor.”

Fard’s curiosity turned to concern.

“
Sir, is it wise to meet him in this way, just showing up unannounced and in of all places, at Ground Zero? Did you not want to keep your … interest … in Park51 unknown to everyone?”

Zamani ignored Fard’s questions, instead he shared his thoughts.

“
If a man like Cris De Niro joins the opposition to the Mosque, he could bankroll them himself. They have not had any real financial backing to this point. With this man’s wealth, he could broaden and deepen the investigation into the financing of Park51.”

Fard knew better than to repeat the questions to which he had not received answers, but he was still curious about one thing.

“
Sir, with respect, why would we care if this man bankroll’s those infidels? There is no question, we have the legal right to build there and that money can be raised from other Muslims to build it.”

Zamani marveled at how his aide could be both so intelligent and so short-sided.

“
Fard, with enough money and a financial master like this man De Niro investigating, it’s possible that he could discover our financing of our other operations in the west.”

Zamani looked out the window as they approached the site where the World Trade Center once was. He felt great pride in seeing the sky where the towers once stood.

“
I will admit that Park51 would be another triumph for us. Some in our cause believe that it is a great decoy, away from our more … important activities in the United States. Others, like me believe it is an unnecessary distraction away from our more militant actions.”

“
Then why did you agree to back it financially?”

Zamani’s face turned red with anger.

“
Fard, just as our President does, I heed the bidding of the clerics in Tehran … not to do so would be … unwise.”