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The Hainan Island Double Diamond Resort in Yalong Bay off the South China Sea had opened its doors four weeks ago but was already packed with vacationers, mostly from Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong. This brand-new luxury complex catered to the emerging rich elite who could afford to travel to any one of the fabulous vacation spots around the world but now wanted to experience this new, exciting, and much-talked-about place.
At an outside table, under a large Polynesian umbrella next to one of the many creative swimming-pool configurations in the resort, sat five men. They didn’t care about the surroundings and were impatiently sipping drinks, waiting in silence for their mysterious host to show up. The only sounds heard around the table were the splashing of the many spectacular manmade waterfalls and the loud squawking of tropical birds.
The men had been handpicked from a population of thousands and came from five different continents. Present were an American, a South American, a European, an African, and an Asian. None of them had previously met, and they didn’t even know one another’s names.
One of the men suddenly pointed at a man and woman pushing a cart as they walked out of the hotel, and said in a jaded voice, “About time.”
The other four turned and stared at the man walking slowly toward them. One of the five men laughed and said in heavily accented English, “What a clown.”
“Be careful what you say,” whispered one of the others.
Approaching them was an Asian man with perfect posture, a runway model’s walk, and the body of an Olympic swimmer. However, the most noticeable thing about him was what he was wearing. His beautifully tailored lavender silk suit, pale yellow shirt, and white belt and shoes were striking, but he wore them with such a suave confidence that it seemed completely natural for him to be dressed in such a bold fashion.
On the cart next to the colorful man were five large identical briefcases. They were thicker than the standard size, about ten inches deep, and made of expensive dark gray leather with red stitching. The shiny handles were made of titanium, and each of the five briefcases contained four unusual-looking locks.
The man in the silk suit dismissed the woman after lifting each of the heavy briefcases off the cart. “Good morning, gentlemen. Thank you for coming to this beautiful place. I trust you are enjoying yourselves.”
He paused and looked around at the rich vegetation and the ocean in the distance before continuing. “I know you are curious as to what this is all about, and you will eventually learn, so please be patient. I have brought one briefcase for each of you. Every one has been equipped with four biometric locks, and you are the only person who can open the briefcase you receive.”
He motioned to the only black man in the group and said, “Please come here and I will show you how it works.”
The African stood up and moved over to the man speaking.
“Place your index finger here.”
The man did as he was told, but nothing happened.
“Try again on this briefcase.”
Again nothing happened.
“How about this one?”
This time there was an audible click as the lock opened.
“You found your briefcase.”
He motioned to the other four men. “Please come over and identify your briefcase. You will be able to open only one, as the biometric authentication sensors will respond to only your fingerprint. You will, however, not be able to open the briefcases until seven days from now, at noon. One of the four locks has been fitted with a date-activated device, which will open only at a preset date and time.”
It didn’t take long before the five briefcases were matched with the now clearly intrigued men.
“You have each been wired one million U.S. dollars in the bank account you designated. You can confirm deposit of the funds when we are finished here.”
He pulled out five envelopes and gave one to each of the men. “These envelopes contain directions on how to access your instructions, which in turn will tell you what to do with the briefcases.
“Inside the envelopes you will find a piece of paper with the name of a secure Web site, a password, and a user authentication routine you’ll go through. Once you have logged on, you’ll find detailed instructions of what to do to earn the five million dollars we discussed two weeks ago. The five Web sites will be shut down twenty-one days from today. Any questions?”
The men shook their heads in silence.
“Thank you again. I hope you will take some time to enjoy this beautiful resort before you depart.” He nodded slightly to the men staring at him and buttoned his elegant jacket as he turned and walked away.
Within ten minutes the men were on their way to the airport in five different cars. They had all immediately made calls on their cell phones, and it didn’t take long before their banks had confirmed that the funds had indeed been deposited.
Each of the happy but puzzled men had placed his briefcase on the seat next to him, but had no idea of what was inside and what he was supposed to do next.
At an outside table, under a large Polynesian umbrella next to one of the many creative swimming-pool configurations in the resort, sat five men. They didn’t care about the surroundings and were impatiently sipping drinks, waiting in silence for their mysterious host to show up. The only sounds heard around the table were the splashing of the many spectacular manmade waterfalls and the loud squawking of tropical birds.
The men had been handpicked from a population of thousands and came from five different continents. Present were an American, a South American, a European, an African, and an Asian. None of them had previously met, and they didn’t even know one another’s names.
One of the men suddenly pointed at a man and woman pushing a cart as they walked out of the hotel, and said in a jaded voice, “About time.”
The other four turned and stared at the man walking slowly toward them. One of the five men laughed and said in heavily accented English, “What a clown.”
“Be careful what you say,” whispered one of the others.
Approaching them was an Asian man with perfect posture, a runway model’s walk, and the body of an Olympic swimmer. However, the most noticeable thing about him was what he was wearing. His beautifully tailored lavender silk suit, pale yellow shirt, and white belt and shoes were striking, but he wore them with such a suave confidence that it seemed completely natural for him to be dressed in such a bold fashion.
On the cart next to the colorful man were five large identical briefcases. They were thicker than the standard size, about ten inches deep, and made of expensive dark gray leather with red stitching. The shiny handles were made of titanium, and each of the five briefcases contained four unusual-looking locks.
The man in the silk suit dismissed the woman after lifting each of the heavy briefcases off the cart. “Good morning, gentlemen. Thank you for coming to this beautiful place. I trust you are enjoying yourselves.”
He paused and looked around at the rich vegetation and the ocean in the distance before continuing. “I know you are curious as to what this is all about, and you will eventually learn, so please be patient. I have brought one briefcase for each of you. Every one has been equipped with four biometric locks, and you are the only person who can open the briefcase you receive.”
He motioned to the only black man in the group and said, “Please come here and I will show you how it works.”
The African stood up and moved over to the man speaking.
“Place your index finger here.”
The man did as he was told, but nothing happened.
“Try again on this briefcase.”
Again nothing happened.
“How about this one?”
This time there was an audible click as the lock opened.
“You found your briefcase.”
He motioned to the other four men. “Please come over and identify your briefcase. You will be able to open only one, as the biometric authentication sensors will respond to only your fingerprint. You will, however, not be able to open the briefcases until seven days from now, at noon. One of the four locks has been fitted with a date-activated device, which will open only at a preset date and time.”
It didn’t take long before the five briefcases were matched with the now clearly intrigued men.
“You have each been wired one million U.S. dollars in the bank account you designated. You can confirm deposit of the funds when we are finished here.”
He pulled out five envelopes and gave one to each of the men. “These envelopes contain directions on how to access your instructions, which in turn will tell you what to do with the briefcases.
“Inside the envelopes you will find a piece of paper with the name of a secure Web site, a password, and a user authentication routine you’ll go through. Once you have logged on, you’ll find detailed instructions of what to do to earn the five million dollars we discussed two weeks ago. The five Web sites will be shut down twenty-one days from today. Any questions?”
The men shook their heads in silence.
“Thank you again. I hope you will take some time to enjoy this beautiful resort before you depart.” He nodded slightly to the men staring at him and buttoned his elegant jacket as he turned and walked away.
Within ten minutes the men were on their way to the airport in five different cars. They had all immediately made calls on their cell phones, and it didn’t take long before their banks had confirmed that the funds had indeed been deposited.
Each of the happy but puzzled men had placed his briefcase on the seat next to him, but had no idea of what was inside and what he was supposed to do next.
