“That should improve your deal,” Stone said. “I’ll call him tomorrow. And you should probably schedule time, after delivery, at Flight Safety for the Latitude training. Since the Latitude is not a single-pilot airplane, you’re going to need to hire another pilot or two, as well, but Pat Frank can find those people for you.”

“Good.”

“Laurence,” Viv said, “I understand that you can become very English at the drop of a hat.”

“Oh, yes.”

“Then you have another disguise at your disposal—become English in America for a while.”

“Jolly good idea,” Laurence said, in his best, broad Eton/Oxford accent.

8

LAURENCE HAD BREAKFAST with Stone the following morning, then he took a cab to the far West Side, where the automobile dealers lived. He found one that had everything he wanted, since they dealt in both Porsche and Bentley.

He found a beautiful Flying Spur on the showroom floor and had lost himself in the window sticker information when a salesman materialized at his side and introduced himself. “I’m Paul Dumont.”

“I’m Laurence Hayward,” he said.

“Would you like to drive it?”

“Of course, but first, is the equipment list pretty complete?”

“We order our cars loaded,” the man said. “It’s how our customers like them. We also have one in black, with magnolia upholstery.”

“I like these colors. What are they called?”

“Aspen metallic green and the upholstery is saffron.”

“Let’s drive it.”

It took ten minutes to remove the car from the showroom, then Laurence spent ten minutes throwing the car around on the streets.

“Good,” he said, as he parked the car in front of the dealership. “Now let’s look at Porsches.”

“Right this way,” the man said, and led him to the showroom adjacent to the Bentley one. “Turbo, perhaps?”

“No, it’s a little too splashy-looking, what with the spoiler. I like the Carrera 4S.”

“I don’t have one in stock, but I can do a dealer search. Let’s find a computer.” They sat down at a desk. “Color?”

“What’s that color there?” Laurence asked.

“Umber—very nice with cognac and espresso upholstery.”

“Good.”

Dumont typed a few strokes on the keyboard. “No one has that car in stock,” he said, “but I see that we have one incoming. It’s on a ship right now, and it will be here in about three weeks. It has just about all the options, including ceramic brakes.”

“I’m going to need a driver for the Bentley,” Laurence said.

Dumont handed him a card. “This is a service that provides chauffeurs,” he said, “on an hourly basis. If they send you one you like, steal him.”

Laurence laughed. “I like the way you think. How much are we talking about?”

“For the Porsche and the Bentley?”

“For the Porsche and both Bentleys.”

“Ah.”