Black Pawn (Michael Cailen Book 1) (17 page)

“She'll be fine,” Michael assured him.  His expression
didn't change.

Michael and Jessica spent the first ten minutes of their
drive back from Kevin's in silence.  Jessica was waiting for Michael to say
something but he didn't.

“So is this it?” she finally asked.

“Is this what?”

She didn't answer.  She didn't really want to ask if it was
over between them.  She was afraid of what his answer might be, afraid he
wouldn't forgive her for lying to him.  She just looked out the window feeling
sick.

“What are you asking, Jessica?”

“Nothing.”

He sighed.  “No matter what, I will protect you.  That you
can always count on.  As far as what kind of relationship we have while I'm
doing that is going to depend on the conversation we have about what you did.”

She knew she broke his trust and was scared she had ruined
their relationship.  Her hands started to shake.  “I'm sorry.”

“Make me believe it.”

She wiped tears from her eyes. “I don't know how.”

“Why don't you start by telling me why you did it?”  He
didn't look at her, he just stared at the road.  “I want to know why you felt
lying to me was a better option than telling me.  You had to know I would find
out eventually.”

She took a deep breath and nodded.  “If we can hack into the
CIA, we may be able to find out what's going on.  It could solve everything.  I
thought I'd have a better chance convincing you with Kevin than on my own.  I
didn't think you would listen to just me.  I thought if I told you what I
wanted to do, that you would say no and you wouldn't let me see him.”

He shook his head.  “Why don't you trust me?”

“I do trust you.”

“No.  If you did, you wouldn't have lied to me.  You would
have told me what you wanted to do and trusted me to make the right decision. 
I'm not just trying to get to the bottom of this, Jessica.  I'm trying to keep
us alive in the meantime, and make sure no one else dies needlessly.  It doesn't
do us any good to get killed while trying to unearth what's going on.  We can't
afford to be reckless.  You need to start trusting me.  Our lives come first,
Jessica.  Everything else is secondary.”

“I'm sorry.”

“Next time, talk to me about it.”

“I will.” She wiped a stray tear from her cheek.  “Do you
hate me?”

“No Jess.  I don't hate you.  Quite the opposite.”

Her emotions finally boiled over and a steady stream of
tears fell from her eyes and she let out a few quiet sobs.

Michael reached out and squeezed her hand.  “You know I'm
going to develop a complex if you cry when I express my feelings for you.”

She laughed.  “I'm a mess.”

“I kind of like it,” he smiled.

“You're sick,” she teased.

“Maybe.”  He grinned.

MICHAEL PARKED
in front of the deserted garage.  With
a lone street lamp lighting only a small portion of the parking lot, it looked
like a dark mass standing in the middle of a sea of asphalt.  The two-story
building was a medium gray color, though it was impossible to tell in the
dark.  It had two garage doors on the right side.  A glass door on the left
lead into the reception area.

After walking the perimeter, Michael shined a flashlight
through the front door.  A tall counter ran down part way in the middle of the
room.  A couple doors were at the other end of the room.  The access to the
garage must be behind one of those doors.

He unlocked the front door then drew his gun as he opened
it.  The door on the left was a bathroom.  A simple toilet and sink.  The other
door lead into an office that was bare.  A door on the right led to the
garage.  He walked to the other end of the office and found a staircase that
ran behind the bathroom, up to the second floor.  At the top of the stairs was
a large, mostly carpeted, room with two doors on the right.   In the far corner
was a small kitchen area with a counter, sink, and fridge.

The first door was another bathroom, a bit bigger with a
shower.  Behind the second door, he found an empty room with a closet.  It
could be used as another office or perhaps a bedroom.  He turned on lights as
he made his way back down to the garage.  With the building cleared, he opened
one of the garage doors and brought the truck in.  He asked Jessica to help him
unload.  He grabbed a few cases while she picked up a very heavy duffel bag and
followed him upstairs.

“What the heck is in this thing?” she asked as she plopped
it on the floor.

“That would be ammo.”

“Dear God, do you have enough?”

“You can never have enough,” he grinned. “So how did Kevin
make his money?”

“He made some wise investments after hacking into some CEO's
email account,” she replied nonchalantly.  “He was smart about it and invested
in a lot of things that didn't pan out so it wouldn't look terribly suspicious
when he made a windfall off one of his investments.”

“How old were you when that happened?”

“Seventeen.”

They made a couple more trips to the truck.  On the final
trip, Jessica saw some cases she hadn't seen before.  One was very long and
wide, the other was smaller and square.

“Those look new,” she remarked.  “What's in them?”

“I don't know.”  He stared down at the containers.  “If it's
what I think it is, I'm going to be very happy.”

“Where did they come from?”

“They were a gift.”

She gave him a weird look, but decided she wouldn't ask any
more questions.  Michael pulled the long one closer and unlatched it.  He
flipped up the cover revealing a very long rifle, two scopes and a silencer
held in a foam mold.  Michael whistled and looked like he was salivating.

“What is it?” she asked.

“SR-25.  A sniper rifle complete with silencer and a night
vision scope.”  He smiled as he ran his fingers down the gun.  He pushed it off
to the side and slide the other case closer.  He opened it finding a handgun
and another silencer as well as plenty of ammo for the sniper rifle and
handgun.  His gaze fell back to the rifle.

“The way you look at that sniper rifle is disturbingly
similar to how you look at me sometimes,” Jessica remarked playfully.

He looked at her amused.  Giving her a big smile, he slid
his arm around her waist and kissed her neck.  “You're very important to me,
Jessica Nickoli, Bowen, SummerBreeze, and whatever other name you go by that
you haven't told me yet.”  He grinned.

She laughed.  “I think that's all of them.”

He slid his other arm around her and kissed her lips.

“When do you think you'll make a decision about hacking into
the CIA?” she asked.

“I'm leaning towards letting you do it, but I want to talk
to someone first.”

“Who?”

“Don't worry about that.”

There he was being mysterious again.  She was irritated, but
decided she'd better let it go.

“I'll decide in the next few days,” he assured her.

He brought the sniper rifle upstairs and after securing the
building, they were on their way back to Josh's.

Josh could barely keep his eyes open as Michael strode past
him into the kitchen to grab a morning cup of coffee.  He was so tired he
didn't even want to get up to go to bed.  Michael sat next to him with his
coffee.

“You look like crap,” Michael teased.

“How about I beat the crap out of you so we can match?” Josh
retorted.

Michael grinned.  “I need to talk to your cousin.  I'll meet
him wherever he wants as long as it's quiet.  It just has to be today or
tomorrow.”

“What's going on?”

“Just some more surprises from Jessica.”

Josh wasn't really sure he wanted further explanation on
that, but curiosity got the better of him. “What kind of surprises?”  He gave
Michael an odd look.

“She wants to hack into the CIA and dig out info that might
help us.”

“That's crazy!”

“I know.”  Michael took a sip of coffee.  “I might let her
do it.”

“Okay, it's official.  That girl has got you seriously
messed up in the head.”

Michael smirked.  “She's got a plan.  It might work.  I want
to talk to your cousin first before I decide anything though.”

Josh shook his head and looked away. “You're out of your
mind.  Maybe Martin can talk some sense into you.  I'll give him a buzz.”

Josh yawned as he reached for his phone on the coffee
table.  Martin didn't answer, so he left a message asking him to call back. 
“I'll leave my phone with you.  You can answer when he calls back and talk to
him yourself.  I'm going to bed before I pass out and fall in your lap.”

“Thanks, bro.  See ya later.”

Josh peeled himself off the couch and shuffled off to his
room.  Michael was left watching the news alone with his coffee.  Twenty
minutes passed before Josh's phone lit up and the tune “Secret Agent Man”
blared from the speaker.  Michael rolled his eyes and shook his head as he hit
talk.

“Hey it's me, Michael...”  A huge grin formed on his face.
“Oh, I loved the bonus gifts.  You don't know how hard it was for me not to try
them out, especially the SR.  Haven't seen one of those in a long time.”

He was referring to the sniper rifle Martin left in the back
of the truck.  “Yeah, there's something I need to talk to you about in person. 
Can we meet somewhere?”  He nodded while Martin gave him directions to a
meeting place.  “Sounds good.  I'll see you then.”  He hung up the phone and
took another sip of coffee.

A half hour later, Jessica stumbled into the hallway, making
her way towards the source of the coffee aroma.  She smiled at Michael as she
sleepily walked past him into the kitchen.  She returned with a mug of warm
coffee in her hands and sat next to him.

When the news was over and they had each had a couple cups
of coffee, Michael grabbed the laptop and brought it over to the couch.  “I
want you to show me everything you found on that drive.”

Jessica booted up the computer and inserted the flash
drive.  “You've already seen the pictures.  Aside from that, there are also a
few documents and emails.”

She pulled up an email from an Alonso Gomez to an Edward
Morgan.  He started reading.

I just received word that my operation in Yunnan, China,
has been shut down.  I have been working on this operation for six months.  Why
was I not informed?  And what exactly is the reason six months of hard work
have gone down the drain?

“Hmm ...  Okay, what else?” he asked.

She pulled up another email, this one from Morgan to Gomez.

I apologize for not notifying you personally.  Your intel
was found to be faulty so I had to pull the operation.  These things happen. 
Brush yourself off and try again.  I have intel on a new opium trade in south
Colombia.  I will send you the file and you can get to work on that right away.

Gomez replied to Morgan.

How was my intel faulty?  I know for certain it was not. 
In fact, I was only days away from solid confirmation.  I implore you to
reinstate the operation and let me do my job.

Morgan replied to Gomez.

A confidential informant inside the organization notified
us that we were deliberately misinformed in order to divert our attention and
waste resources.  I'm sorry, but we cannot waste any more time or resources
chasing ghosts.  You have your orders.  I sent you the Colombia file.  This
matter is closed.

Jessica pulled up another email where Gomez was once again
replying to Morgan.  Gomez wanted to see the report from the confidential
informant.  Morgan had responded that he would forward the report to Gomez's
office.

“Any more emails?” Michael asked.

“Yes, a few more, but they're dated two weeks after the
others.”

Michael couldn't help but noticed the dates of all the
emails were just weeks before his trip to China.  The last email was from
Morgan once again to Gomez.  It was dated the day before the village massacre
in China.

Did you really think I wouldn't notice?  The operation in
China is closed.  I am ordering you to cease and desist.  Colombia is where
your focus should be.  If I find out that you have spent even one more minute
on China, I will have no qualms about firing you for insubordination.

The next two emails were between two unknown parties using
free email accounts.  They were dated the same day as the last message sent
from Morgan to Gomez, the day before the village attack.  The first email was
short and sweet.

What is the status of our problem?
 Do you need us
to get involved?  I thought the informant's report was supposed to take care of
this?

The second party replied.

Apparently, he doesn't trust the informant.  He has
received a firm warning to cease and desist.  I have taken steps to sweep our
tracks in case he doesn't listen.  Either way, we will be covered.  Your
involvement will not be necessary.  Due to his position, it would bring too
much heat if anything were to happen to him.  That should only be used as an
absolute last resort.  I have everything under control.  There is no need to
worry.

The final email was dated the day after the village attack
in China. It was sent from the second party to the first.

Things in China did not go as planned.  We have a
problem.  We should meet to discuss it.  The usual place today at 6:00 p.m.

Michael was deep in thought.  What did this all mean?  The
dates and the talk about an operation in China couldn't be a coincidence. 
Something was going on there and he and Shaun had stepped right in the middle
of it.

“Okay, what else?” he asked.

“There's this.” She pulled up a picture of a scanned
document.

Confidential Informant #1364212

CI had information on an operation currently underway in
Yunnan, China.  CI claimed we were given a false lead.  CI's statement was
validated by the fact that he knew exactly what information we had been given.

CI relayed information regarding a new opium trade route
and processing plant in southern Colombia.

“Too bad we don't have a name instead of a number,” Michael
lamented.

“We could get a name,” she replied, referring of course to
hacking into the CIA.

Michael knew what she meant but he just pursed his lips and
stared at the informant report.  “Is that everything?”

“Just one last document that has what looks to me like
coordinates and some words that I thought might be code names.”

She pulled up a document with a bunch of numbers and the
words
White Knight
and
Black Pawn
.

“Those definitely look like coordinates.  I have no idea
what those words mean but they could be code names for something.”

Michael retrieved a pad of paper and wrote down the
coordinates.  There were coordinates to four locations.  He could tell by the
numbers that they were somewhere in southeast Asia.  He looked at his watch. 
“I have to go out.  It should go without saying that you stay here.”

“Where are you going?”  She looked concerned.

“I have to meet someone.”

“Who?”

“Don't worry about it.”  He walked to the bedroom to get
dressed.  Jessica followed him.  He rifled through a duffel bag of clothes
looking for some clean pants, finding a pair of black cargo pants.

“Are you going to see Brook?”

He sighed heavily and put his head back staring up at the
ceiling.  His body language screamed he wasn't in the mood for this
conversation.  He put his pants on while seeming to ignore her question.  He
buttoned and zipped them up, then walked over and stood in front of her.

He looked in her eyes.  “I'm not going to see Brook.” A
strong hint of irritation could be heard in his voice.

“Would you even tell me if you were?”

“Do you want me to?”

She thought for a moment.  Maybe it would be better if she
didn't know.  But then again, not knowing and always wondering would be torture. 
“Yeah, I do.”

“I'm not going to see Brook,” he repeated.

“But you won't tell me who.”

“I'm going to see a friend of Josh.  He's been helping us.”

“Who is he?”

“A friend.”

She frowned.  It wasn't worth fighting over.