Chapter 22

Sam Trenchard looked across the desk at his new boss.

“How many jobs are we talking about?”

“Let’s take them one at a time,” answered Vandenburg. This was a new employee, and no matter the recommendations, he would have to be tested.

He explained the rules to Trenchard. Arthur would assign the targets. Each target would have valuables and/or large amounts of cash. Extensive planning was required to make sure the occupants were away during the break-ins. If anyone appeared, Sam was to drop the goods and escape detection. All items were to be turned in to Vandenburg. Photos and electronic images merited special attention as they could be used for further embarrassment of the robbery victims.

That was a new one to Trenchard. His practice was to hit wealthy targets at random. But the new boss wanted to focus on minorities almost exclusively. And the embarrassment factor seemed to be an unnecessary risk. Why draw attention, wondered Sam? But he was not the boss, and as a new employee trying to impress, he was in no position to argue. He nodded in quiet assent as Vandenburg ended the meeting.

Once home, Trenchard immediately began research on the first target. Ken Brownling ran a regional legal practice. Services offered ranged from auto accident to slip and fall to divorce proceedings. Advertised as a family-owned law firm, it spanned six locations and employed over 100 employees.

With a subconscious smirk, Sam wondered about the choice of a lawyer as his first target. Most people considered lawyers to be the scum of the earth. Could you really embarrass one of them any further?

Putting that aside, he researched the locations. Each branch office operated independently. This was a problem as the goods would be distributed and not easily taken from one central location. Unless Brownling kept the bulk of his profits at this home, thought Trenchard. Would anyone be stupid enough to keep the eggs in one basket? The historical answer was yes. CEOs and other boss-like figures tend to be control freaks. Arrogance and hubris were also factors since some men, flushed with success, consider themselves invulnerable. Robberies happen to someone else, they think.

There was also the employee factor. Many thefts were inside jobs by disgruntled and/or ex-employees. The head men are aware of this and tend to retain tight control of the goods. Sam considered the irony that fear of internal employee thefts leads to centralization of power, which in turn creates tempting targets for external professional thieves. No system was perfect, thought Trenchard. But given this line of reasoning, he would start with the boss man’s home and go from there. If his research found the goods distributed elsewhere, he could always change his strategy later.