Klaussen tried to keep Le Roux primed with a flow of informa- tion about the deal, anticipating his boss's need to weigh in on the smallest details. "You have to constantly feed his brain with posi- tive information that you are on the right track, that everything is going smoothly," Klaussen said. "With evidence of course, be- cause otherwise he wouldn't believe it. That was the hard part: To keep him out of control. Because he's a control freak, and he's got the brain to do it." The Colombians, Klaussen told Le Roux, were setting up operations in West Africa, centered in Liberia. The car- tels, their story went, was interested in making their own meth there. They hoped that Le Roux could provide the precursor chemicals and clean rooms to make the stuff, and maybe even meth cooks to train the Colombians on how to make it themselves. In the meantime, they were also interested in buying some finished prod- uct from Le Roux, for distribution in New York. The destination was crucial: to fall under provision 959, the sting needed to make it absolutely clear that the drugs were destined for the United States.

Each detail was perfectly primed to cohere with Le Roux's psy- chology and worldview. The Colombians were the kind of South American partner Le Roux coveted—he'd once been rumored to have sent Shai Reuven into the country to make contact with one of its biggest cartels, without success. The idea that the Colombi- ans now respected his knowledge appealed perfectly to his ego. "You have to get in his head," Klaussen said. But still, he worried that Le Roux could somehow be several moves beyond them. "With a guy like Le Roux, it's almost impossible. He thinks of a million things in one day. You need a whole team to get around what he's thinking about, what his next move is. He's so unpre- dictable, it's crazy."

Therein lay the problem: It was difficult to tell whether Le Roux was truly taking the bait or just playing along. For the first month, Klaussen was able to conduct all his business with Le Roux via encrypted email and occasional phone calls. But he and the agents knew that at some point, Klaussen would need to meet the boss in