The Watchman of Ephraim (Book Club Edition) by Gerard de Marigny

several minutes watching Francis use his hands to frame certain areas of the facility, like a Hollywood director would to shoot a scene in a movie. The whole time he mumbled to himself until finally, he stopped mumbling and took a deep breath and let it out.
    “ Okay—”
    De Niro flashed his widest smile.
    “ Cris wait, first let me explain. The only way to tackle a project this size is in phases … and we’re talking beaucoup dollars and time.”
    De Niro was more perturbed about the time element than the money.
    “ How much time do you think you’ll need?”
    Francis laughed as he turned to Ricci and Santappia.
    “ He’s a piece of work, isn’t he? I tell him it’s gonna cost a bundle and take time and he asks me how long instead of how much?”
    De Niro repeated his question.
    “ John … how long?”
    Francis stared at his old friend for a long minute then finally shook his head in mock-defeat.
    “ If you give me the keys to your vault, I could probably expedite phase-one and get a functional system up in 90 days, but for a system with the size and scope of what you’re talking about, we could be talking 6-months to a year, depending on the availability of the toys and the boys that play nice with them.”
    De Niro nodded his understanding as he turned to lead the men back to the horses.
    “ Fair enough, consider this the green-light to get started.”
    Francis jogged to catch up to him.
    “ But Cris, what about The Watchman and the Big Brother install and ramp-up with the staff there – which gets priority?”
    De Niro winked at Ricci and Santappia as the three of them watched Francis struggle to mount his horse. Once the computer genius steadied himself, he simply answered.
    “ Both!”
     

 
     
     
    Chapter 11
    The Offices of Zamani Import-Export Corporation
    Lower Midtown Manhattan
    New York, New York
    6:00p.m., Monday, June 27, 2011
     
    Aref Sami Zamani sat behind his large ebony and Carpathian elm desk when his Skype® 5 phone rang.
    (In Farsi) “Yes?”
    “ This is Payam. I am sending you the intel on the man De Niro now.”
    On cue, Zamani heard the soft ringing tone of an email entering his Inbox – Subject: De Niro. There was nothing written in the body of the email just an Adobe Acrobat® file attached. Zamani opened the attachment and started reading a full dossier on De Niro as he spoke.
    “ I have it. Things went well in Tehran. Our leaders have given us permission to move ahead with the wedding. As the infidels concentrate on Cordoba 6 , the celebration will be great in Antioch .”
    “ Understood, what are your orders?”
    “ You see where this man De Niro lives?”
    “ Yes.”
    “ Go there with your men and perform reconnaissance. I want to know all there is about the level of security at …Estancia De Niro, as it is named. I hope to be able to provide you with details about De Niro’s movements and the movements of his children. I want you and your men to remain there and ready an infiltration plan. I may need you to interrogate him before eliminating him. Placing a gun to his children’s heads may inspire him to be more forthright with you. Have the plan ready by the time of the wedding. I don’t want to take the chance that he survives the bomb and our men. He and his agency are too much of a potential threat. I don’t want Cris De Niro around after Antioch ”
    “ Understood”
    Zamani’s Executive Assistant, Bahman Fard had been standing at the other end of Zamani’s desk.
    “ Sir, our leaders have allowed you to name our holy actions in the west, but why did you choose Antioch ?”
    Zamani smiled and leaned back in his chair, pleased with his subordinate’s question.
    “ Fard, how knowledgeable are you of history, of the holy battles fought by those of our faith during the Crusades?”
    Fard hesitated then replied with meekness.
    “ I am ashamed to say, not as knowledgeable as I should be sir.”
    Zamani blinked his eyes as a sign of condescension.
    “ You