MEET “RAMOS”
The Man Who Doesn’t Like To Lose
Ramos didn’t become one of the most powerful criminals on the East Coast by thinking small.
Smart, ambitious and ruthless, he built his empire by watching what worked for other people, learning from it — and then finding a way to use it for himself.
So when a group of kids and retired veterans manages to outsmart him with model airplanes, Ramos doesn’t simply get angry.
He gets interested.
If their aircraft can cause that much trouble for him, he wants aircraft of his own.
And Ramos has the money, manpower and determination to make that happen.
Underestimating the Model Citizens was his first mistake.
Trying to beat them at their own game may be his second.
MEET “DIEGO”
The Muscle
Every criminal mastermind needs someone who handles the details.
For Ramos, that’s Diego.
Manpower. Construction. Schedules. People who owe favors. Whatever Ramos needs, Diego is the man expected to make it happen — quickly, quietly and without too many questions.
He’s Ramos’s right-hand man, loyal accomplice and constant presence as their plans become bigger, bolder and considerably more complicated.
But Diego is about to discover something neither man planned for:
Five kids, a group of old pilots and a fleet of model airplanes can create an astonishing amount of trouble.
MEET “BENNIE THE SQUIRREL”
The Underworld’s “Fixer”
Benny is a rotund, wire-rimmed-glasses-wearing technical expert with thinning hair, a slow Southern drawl, and a nickname that apparently needs no explanation.
He’s Benny the Squirrel.
That’s just what they call him.
When Ramos hands Benny a battered P-38 model and tells him to recreate what the Model Citizens have built, Benny immediately recognizes two things: the craftsmanship is impressive and Ramos has no idea how long this is going to take.
Benny says three or four months.
Ramos gives him three weeks.
A trunk filled with cash helps move things along.
Soon Benny and some very questionable associates are working on a way to turn the Model Citizens’ own technology against them – with a few new tricks of their own.
Benny may work for the bad guys, but you have to admire a man who knows when three months of work suddenly needs to become three weeks.