It was the perfect place for a man like Kruger to hide out until the heat died down.

The FBI’s SWAT team had already intercepted the four two-man patrols that had been guarding the building. These men were experienced mercenaries and not mere rent-a-cops, but they also hadn’t been paid to fight law enforcement or die for Kruger, just to make sure that no homeless men or rival forces entered the building. The patrols had surrendered peacefully and had been prevented from making any communications.

Nic was glad to be without resistance, but he questioned whether the removal of the patrols was the wisest decision. He supposed it didn’t really matter what he thought. He was merely a spectator at this show.

The head of the FBI’s SWAT unit was a light-skinned black man who had cut his teeth in Detroit. Nic had met the man a few times over the years, and the team leader had told him, in no uncertain terms, that the son of Tommy Jewels had no business in the FBI or law enforcement in general.

The team leader shot Nic a dirty look as he laid the blueprints of the Jade Dragon atop the hood of their black DDGMC LAV-APC Bison 8x8 light-armored vehicle. The Bison was basically a small tank capable of withstanding 7.62-mm rifle fire. It made his BearCat look like a recreational vehicle.

“We’re fairly certain the subject and the device he stole is on site,” Carter said. “How are we handling the situation, commander?”

The FBI’s team leader said, “We’ve discretely surrounded the building, utilizing FBI and local personnel to block all known points of egress. But the problem comes with rooting out where they could be hiding. This building is a massive structure filled with a warren of underground service tunnels, attraction halls, and over 4,000 unfinished hotel rooms. The only way to tackle this place is to sweep it floor by floor, area by area.”

Nic noticed Carter glance over at Burke, not publicly calling him out but silently asking if there was any way to narrow the search. Burke seemed to understand and said, “Give me a moment, commander.”

He pulled out a laptop computer from his bag along with a small satellite dish that he unfolded and affixed to the top of the Bison. All eyes were on him as his fingers flew over the keys. Apparently feeling their stares, he nervously said, “If our friend is up there, it’s likely that he has computer and communication equipment and is connected to the Internet. We could try to track power consumption, but there are a lot of inherent problems with that. Frequencies, however, are easily detectable. So now, I’m scanning for both incoming and outgoing wireless frequencies, covering both wireless Internet and secure satellite connections.”

Burke started whistling what sounded like Enter Sandman by Metallica as he typed. Then he added, “Okay, I found two signals within the hotel section of the building. Now, I’m overlaying the schematics, since they’re obviously not floating hundreds of feet in the air and now we have … A location for the signals. Far north side of the building on the thirty-third floor.”