Buenos Aires

Theodor Consultants was founded in 1981 and, thirty-one years on, had established itself as one of the most respected private security companies in Buenos Aires. Its sprawling offices were located in the heart of the city, directly opposite the famed Recoleta Cemetery, arguably the most beautiful burial ground in the world and the resting place of Eva Perón, as well as other prominent Argentinians.

The CEO and founder of the company was Matias Paz. A former mercenary and lifelong fascist, Paz cut a truly intimidating figure. Although he was in his late fifties, he didn’t carry an ounce of fat on his body and his slicked back, dyed jet-black hair, with its Dracula-style widow’s peak, helped create the striking appearance of a much younger man who always looked immaculate in his high-end black Italian suits, American Pima cotton shirts and hand-stitched leather brogues. His employees called him the “Black Scorpion” due to the intimidating contents of a large glass terrarium that sat prominently on his office desk. It housed two glossy black-skinned emperor scorpions, which thrived on a daily diet of live crickets, locusts and mealworms. It was a nickname Paz pretended to be unaware of, but secretly relished.

Paz often spent hours walking through the fourteen-acre grounds of the graveyard, especially when he needed time to think. Recoleta Cemetery contained over six thousand grandiose mausoleums in an eclectic mix of architectural styles, including art deco, neo-Gothic and baroque. He always ended his walk sitting on a stone bench opposite a vault containing the body of one of his country’s greatest ever boxers, Luis Ángel Firpo. After the boxer’s death in 1960, he was buried in a relatively modest mausoleum but a stunning full-sized bronze statue stood outside its entrance. Paz idolised Firpo, who was regarded as one of the greatest punchers of all time and was known by millions of boxing fans across Argentina, affectionately, as “The Wild Bull of the Pampas”.

Today was one of those days when Paz needed some precious thinking time, as he urgently had to find a quick solution to placate the concerns of his most valuable client. Richard Franklin, the CEO of the Franklin Pharmaceutical Corporation, covertly owned seventy-five per cent of Theodor Consultants, having been instrumental in founding it thirty years earlier. Paz knew Franklin had the power to shut his beloved company down at any moment and wouldn’t think twice about it, if he deemed it necessary.

Paz had to use every resource at his disposal to locate the contents of Box 1321 before they were discovered by the thieves. He knew they were potentially worth far more than the jewels, cash and gold contained in the other stolen boxes. He flicked through the contacts on his iPhone and dialled his long-time assistant, Luciano Herrera. The phone answered after just one ring.