Black Pawn (Michael Cailen Book 1) (22 page)

“Wouldn't it have been easier to just blow up my car?”
Michael asked.

“I was fresh out of car bombs,” he retorted.

“So you are here for me.”

“Actually, I got lost.  I thought this was the SWAT training
facility.”

Michael smiled.  “You have quite a sense of humor for
someone in your position.”

“Well you have to admit, I do look a little silly like
this.  What will the neighbors think?”

Michael chuckled.  “Who are you working for?”  His smile
vanished and his mood turned serious.

Evan frowned and shrugged his shoulders.  “I think you
already know I'm not going to tell you that.”

“I did get that impression.” Michael knew Evan wouldn't give
up the information easily and without knowing if more were coming, he didn't
want to spend much more time there.  “So give me a reason not to kill you right
now.”

“Hmm ... I'm unarmed?”

“Right,” Michael smirked.  “Well you're no amateur, so I'm
going to take a wild guess you weren't hired by the Russian Mafia.  You were
hired by someone a little more connected.  Edward Morgan, perhaps?”

Evan looked at something behind Michael. “Looks like my back-up
has arrived.” He looked back at Michael and grinned.

Michael thought it might be a trick, but was compelled to
check.  He glanced back quickly, scanning the immediate vicinity.  As soon as
Michael turned his head, Evan reached for a handgun hidden in an ankle
holster.  Michael turned back around just as Evan managed to aim it at him.  On
reflex, Michael put a bullet in his head and he fell backwards.

He cursed under his breath.  He would have preferred to only
have wounded him so he could question him.

Not surprisingly, Evan's pockets were empty. Cautiously
walking to the road, he spotted a black BMW parked in the street.  Figuring it
for Evan's he opened the driver door and sat down.  He found Evan's ID and cell
phone in the glove box.  Knowing it would be fake, he didn't bother with the
ID.  A brief search of the rest of his vehicle turned up nothing of interest. 
He pocketed the phone and headed back to the truck.  After a thorough check to
make sure there weren't any explosives attached, he started on his way back.

While waiting at the light in the center of town he scrolled
through the recent calls on Evan's phone.  He pressed redial on the last call
and listened to see who answered.

“Yeah,” a man's voice came over the phone.

Michael was hoping whoever answered would say more than
that.

“Hello?” the man said.

“Edward Morgan?” Michael asked.

“Who is this?” the man responded.

“I need to speak with Edward Morgan.”

“Speaking, who is this?”

Michael grinned and hung up the phone.  Things were coming
together.

As he drove down the highway, a thought suddenly occurred to
him.  They could connect Josh through Brook's phone.  He had only considered
the consequences of himself being caught.  He never stopped to contemplate what
would happen if they found Brook first.  Everything happened so fast, it didn't
even occur to him until now.

A pit grew in his stomach and he stepped on the gas.  He
needed to get off the highway and get to a pay phone to call Josh.  He didn't
want to use Evan's phone just in case it was being monitored and perhaps they
hadn't yet made the connection.

After getting a few hours of sleep, Josh left to find a pay phone
to call Kevin.  He explained that Michael was tracking down a lead and would
have to get in touch with him later.

Kevin asked to borrow the flash drive in order to create a
search program using the information on it.  They could cover more ground in
less time if a program conducted the search rather than a person doing it
manually.

Josh thought about it for a moment, not sure if Michael
would want to let the drive out of his sight.  He decided Kevin's plan made
sense and, being in charge, he said to meet him at a strip mall in an hour.

When he returned from delivering the drive to Kevin, Jessica
was out of her room and watching TV.  She said hi, but didn't pay him much
attention.  She was still upset about not being able to talk to Michael.

“I'm going to get some sleep,” he said to her.  He had only
gotten four hours of sleep earlier.

“Okay,” she replied without looking at him.

“He's going to be fine, Jessica.  Michael can take care of
himself probably better than anyone else on earth.”

Jessica took a deep breath and then looked up.  “Thanks,
Josh.”  She gave him a weak smile.

He returned her faint smile with a big goofy grin.  Her
smile grew and she rolled her eyes and turned back towards the TV.  Josh kept
grinning as he walked to his room and shut the door.

He didn't even bother undressing before throwing himself on
the bed.  His pillow had never felt so good.  It didn't take long to drift off
to sleep.  His slumber, however, was short-lived.  Awoken by Jessica screaming,
he bolted up in bed just as his door burst open and he was confronted by a very
mean-looking intruder.  In a split second, he grabbed his gun off the
nightstand and buried three bullets in the man's chest.  He ran to the living
room and saw another fearsome man holding a gun to Jessica's head.

“Where is the flash drive?!” the man yelled.  He had a
distinct Russian accent.

Josh didn't answer.  He simply fired a shot into the man's
skull and he fell to the floor.   He ran to Jessica and grabbed her arm. 
“Let's go!”

She ran with him to the front door, crying and terrified. 
Three more men were running towards the apartment.

“My room!” Josh shouted.

They retreated into Josh's room.  He opened his window and
told her to crawl out while he covered the doorway.

“We just want the flash drive!” one of the men said from
just beyond the doorway.  He also had a Russian accent.

Josh didn't reply, he just kept his gun trained on the
doorway until Jessica was out, and then he too crawled through the window. 
Jessica was nearly hysterical.  He grabbed her arm again and ran with her
towards the street.

A woman had just finished putting some bags in the backseat
of her Nissan Maxima when she was accosted by Josh, who pushed her away from
her car while tearing the keys from her hand.  She started screaming for help. 
Josh caught sight of some men down the street racing to get into a tan Mercedes-Benz.

“Get in!” he shouted at Jessica, who promptly obeyed.

Josh buckled himself and within seconds they were speeding
away.  He yelled at Jessica to put her seat belt on.  Her hands shook so bad
she had a hard time latching it.  Despite the terror she was feeling, she was
impressed with Josh's driving skill.  He maneuvered through traffic like a pro,
speeding through red lights, making last-minute turns.  It looked like they
were about to get away when a teenage girl wearing headphones and texting on
her phone stepped into the street ahead of them, totally oblivious to her
surroundings.

“Oh my God, Josh!” Jessica screamed.

He slammed on the brakes and laid on the horn.  The teen
turned and saw them skidding towards her, but was frozen with fear and shock
and didn't move.  The car wasn't stopping fast enough.  They both feared the
worst when at the last second a bystander grabbed the girl, pulling her to
safety.

Josh hit the gas again, but they had slowed just enough to
let the Mercedes catch up to them.  Josh was nervous about going too fast,
especially after nearly killing someone, but when a bullet shattered the back
window he stomped on the accelerator.

“Get down!” he yelled.

Jessica put her head between her knees and wrapped her hands
around the back of her head, fearing they were about to die.

Bullets sprayed the back of the car as they started to pull
away.  Josh was afraid they would hit the gas tank.  Instead, a bullet hit the
back driver's side tire and the car started to fishtail.  A second lucky bullet
took out the front driver's side tire and Josh lost control of the vehicle.  He
hit the curb and the car flipped on its side and continued to slide down the
street into an intersection.  Josh was in a daze.  He heard Jessica scream
followed by screeching tires.

A pickup truck slammed into the hood of the Maxima, sending
them spinning as the car rolled over upside down and then collided with another
car that had stopped in the intersection.  Jessica was knocked out and Josh was
barely conscious.  He heard voices as people came over to help.  He could hear
someone calling 911.  He looked over at Jessica and didn't know if she was even
alive.

“Jessica.”  He could barely speak.  He closed his eyes.  He
opened them again to see someone unbuckling her.

“Hey, don't move her.  Let the paramedics do it.  You might
hurt her,” he heard someone outside the car say.

“The car might explode,” the man removing Jessica from the
car replied with a Russian accent.

“No,” Josh tried to protest, but his voice was too weak.  He
looked around for his gun, but couldn't find it.  He saw Jessica being dragged
from the car.  He unbuckled himself and started crawling from the vehicle. 
Something ran in his eyes and he had trouble seeing.  He tried to wipe it away,
but more came.  He was bleeding badly from a head wound.  He crawled out of the
car just in time to see Jessica being driven off in the tan Mercedes with a
crowd of confused onlookers trying to figure out what was going on.

Someone was suddenly pressing something to his head, telling
him to sit down.  Sirens screamed in the distance.  He pushed away the person
who was trying to help him and started to walk.  He needed to get as far away
from there as possible.  Others tried to stop him, but he shook them off.  He
knew the police would be looking for him and he needed to find someplace to
hide.  He was in bad shape and needed help.

He made a collect call to Martin from a gas station pay phone. 
He then made himself at home behind the dumpster and waited for Martin to show.

Michael had stopped twice already, attempting to call Josh,
but no answer.  It didn't bode well.  Worried sick and anxious to get back, he
drove with total disregard of the speed limit, praying he wouldn't encounter
any cops.

Just after midnight, he exited the highway near Josh's
house.  He parked the truck and stole a motorcycle outside a bar down the road.

If needed, the bike would make for an easier getaway than
the big SUV.   He hoped the helmet would help him slip into the building
quickly without having to worry about being identified.  In agony, wondering if
Josh and Jessica were okay, he tried not to think the worst.

He stopped the bike outside Josh's apartment.  The police
cruiser parked out front wasn't a good sign.  He entered the apartment
building.  Seeing Josh's door sealed with crime scene tape, his heart pounded. 
He slid off the helmet and quietly placed it by the door as he pulled a
flashlight from his pocket.  He unlocked the door and opened it, breaking the
seal.

The apartment was a mess.  Stepping into the living room, he
quickly noticed a pool of blood on the floor.  His heart sank and he felt
lightheaded.  He walked further into the apartment and spotted another pool of
blood at the end of the hall.  His hands shook and he closed his eyes.  In the
guest room, he noticed the corner of Jessica's journal sticking out in a pile
on the floor.  He grabbed it and stepped back into the hallway.  He moved
towards Josh's bedroom and stood in the doorway, feeling sick.  He tried to
tell himself they could still be okay, but horrible thoughts were taking over
his mind.

“Hold it right there!”  Someone intruded on his thoughts.

Pulled back to his senses, the hallway light came on
eliminating any cover the darkness had offered.  He turned slowly, coming face
to face with a uniformed police officer aiming a gun at him.

He was ordered to turn back around and put his hands on his
head.  He complied.  He heard another officer around the corner calling it in. 
Michael was instructed to walk backwards toward the officers, which he did. 
Once the officer grabbed his wrist to cuff him, he started to resist, causing
his partner to jump in to assist.  It was what Michael was hoping for.  He
wanted them close together so he could take them both out quickly and hopefully
not get shot in the process.  In a flash, one officer lay unconscious on the
ground while the other lay stunned staring at his gun, now in Michael's hands
and aimed at him.

Michael heard sirens in the distance and knew his time was
short.  “Where is Josh Lavene?”  The officer didn't answer him.  “Getting shot
with your own gun isn't just unpleasant, it's a career ender.”

“I don't know,” the officer fearfully responded.  “He wasn't
here.”

“And the woman?”

“Just two men.”

The officer watched his gun being dismantled, gaping at the
pieces as they fell next to him.  Michael then stepped over him and quickly
headed for the door.  Ditching the bike, he returned to the Tahoe.  He hoped to
find Josh and Jessica at the hideout now that he knew they got out of the
apartment.

MICHAEL ARRIVED
at the hideout.  To his surprise,
Martin greeted him at the door.

“Where are they?” he asked as he brushed past Martin, barely
acknowledging him.

He was too anxious to see that Josh and Jessica were okay to
care about pleasantries.  He walked into the back room, calling out to Jessica
and Josh.

“Michael ...”  Martin tried to get his attention, but he was
so intent on seeing Jessica that he didn't pay attention.  Martin ran ahead of
him and stood in his way.

Michael looked at him.  “Where are they?”

Martin didn't want to be the one to tell him that Jessica had
been taken by the Russians, but he knew Josh was having a bad enough day
already.  He thought he might spare him this one thing.  Michael started to
walk around him to go upstairs. 

“Michael, they have her.”

“What do you mean they have her?  Who's they?” Michael
raised his voice.  His heart raced and he started to feel lightheaded again.

“The Russians.”

“They have Jessica?”  Michael repeated in disbelief.

“I'm sorry, Michael.”

His mind flooded with thoughts.  He had to get her back. 
How would he find her?  He should have taken her with him.  Clenching his jaw,
he looked at Martin.  “Where's Josh?”

“Upstairs resting.”

“Resting?”

Michael ran up the stairs.  Josh was sitting on the floor
leaning against the wall.  His eyes were closed and he looked pretty banged
up.  A couple of stitches ran across his forehead just under his hairline.

Michael knelt down in front of him.  “You look like hell.” 
He was trying to quell his anger at Jessica being taken.  “What happened?”

Josh opened his eyes and looked at him.  It was then that Michael
could see that Josh had been crying.  His eyes were bright red.

Michael always thought Josh was too sensitive for black
ops.  He was surprised he had lasted as long as he did.  When there was a job
to be done, he performed like any other elite soldier, but if a mission went
bad, he had a hard time shaking it off.

“It all happened so fast.”  He looked down and closed his
eyes.  He ran his fingers through his hair and took a deep breath, gathering
himself.  He cleared his throat and began to recount what happened.  Michael's
fists and jaw clenched as he listened to the details of the attack that nearly
killed two people he cared for deeply.

Josh's eyes watered and he looked directly at Michael.  “I
don't even know if she was still alive.”  He looked away and shook his head
like he still couldn't believe it happened.

Michael sat next to him.  He couldn't believe it either.  He
felt numb.  “They wouldn't have taken her if she was dead,” Michael reasoned.

Josh nodded.

“Did they get the flash drive?”

Josh shook his head. 

“Kevin wanted it to make some kind of search program.  I
gave it to him.”

Michael was enormously grateful for that.  Probably the only
thing keeping Jessica alive was the fact that they still didn't have the
drive.  They wouldn't kill her until they had it.

“What are we gonna do?” Josh turned to Michael.

“We have to find out where they're keeping her.”

“How are we going to do that?  She could be anywhere, they
might even take her out of the country.”

“I know where we can start.”  Michael stood and helped Josh
to his feet.  “Start loading what you can into the truck.  I need to speak with
Martin.”

Michael talked things over with Martin while Josh starting
carrying things down to the truck.  As he walked back inside, the garage door
opened and Martin drove out.

“What's going on?” Josh asked.

“Martin's going to get a few things for me.”

“You got a plan?”

“Just one kink to work out.  From what I've learned so far,
Edward Morgan is the guy at the CIA pulling all the strings.  He has an
assistant named Rick Hamilton.  I think Rick is the weaker link.  I'm going to
get to him and turn him.”

“So what's the kink?”

“I don't know who the hell Rick is or how to find him.  Your
cousin can't get that information without some explaining and he's not sure who
he could trust.”

“What about Kevin?” Josh asked.  “You think maybe he could
find him?”

“I suppose I'd have to ask him.”  Michael shrugged.  “It's
worth a shot.  Let's finish loading the truck.  Martin said he'd only be a
couple hours.”

IT WAS
almost 4:00 a.m. when Martin returned.  He
parked next to the truck and stepped out with a duffel bag.  “I got everything
you asked for.”

“Great.  I really appreciate this.”

Michael waited for Martin to hand him the bag, but he just
stood there holding it.  He looked around and then back at Michael.  “I'm going
with you.”

“No.  You've done enough already.”

Martin shook his head.  “You need me.  And I can't just sit
around and watch something like this happen.”

Michael took a deep breath and looked at Josh.  He could
tell by the look on his face that Josh agreed with Martin.  He wasn't exactly
running at a hundred percent and they could use the help.

“Fine.  You should park in the garage though.”

BEING ANXIOUS
about Jessica made driving the speed limit
a challenge for Michael.  Josh had to keep reminding him to slow down.  Getting
pulled over with a truckload of guns and ammunition would have been a bad
thing.

It was ten minutes till five when they arrived at Kevin's. 
Remembering the code to the gate, Michael let himself in.  He pulled onto the
circular drive and parked by the front door.

Michael walked to the door alone and rang the bell.  After a
minute, he rang it again.  He was about to ring a third time when Kevin's voice
came over the intercom.

“I'll be right there, Michael.”  Kevin was soon at the door
in his bathrobe and slippers, looking worried.  “What's going on?”

“I need your help.”  Michael didn't smile and his serious
tone elevated Kevin's concern.

“Where's Jessica?”

Michael looked him right in the eyes but didn't answer.  He
didn't want to say it.  He still had a hard time coping with it himself.  His
gaze fell to the ground.

“Michael, where is she?” Kevin's tone was a mix of anger and
distress.

Michael took a deep breath and looked up at him.  “They have
her.”

Kevin felt his legs get weak and he had to steady himself on
the doorway.  “The CIA?”

“I wish it was the CIA.  She's being held by the Russian
Mafia.  Somehow they're involved in this.”

Everything felt surreal.  Kevin didn't want to believe it.

“I have some friends in the truck who are going to help me
get her back,” Michael continued.  “Josh, who I believe you met already, and
his cousin Martin.  Can we come in?”

Kevin nodded, then started walking numbly towards the
kitchen.  Michael waved the guys inside.

Kevin sat in a fog on one of the stools, staring at the
granite counter.  Martin set the duffel bag on the floor and the three men
stood around looking at Kevin.

“How are you going to get her back?” Kevin decided to forgo
formal introductions and got right to the point.  His trembling hands betrayed
the calm demeanor he was trying to present.

“Right now, we don't even know where she is so rescue is
impossible,” Michael replied.  “They want the drive.”  He paused.  “I'm going
to give it to them.”

Kevin looked up at Michael as though he were mad.  “Are you
crazy?  They'll just kill her when they have it!”

“I'm not giving them the real drive.”  He looked over at
Martin who pulled a flash drive from his duffel bag and tossed it to him.  He
handed it to Kevin. “I'm giving them this one.  It's fitted with a tracking
device.”

“How will that lead you to Jessica?  Won't they just destroy
it and kill her once they have it?  You don't even know if they'll bring it to
the same place they're holding her.”

“They won't kill her until they're sure it's the right one. 
They won't want anyone at the CIA looking at it so I'm banking on them trying
to force her to decrypt it.  When they do, we'll have her location.”

Kevin felt a glimmer of hope.  “What do you need me to do?”

“I need you to fill it with something, anything.  Just make
it look like there's a lot of information on it, and then I need you to encrypt
the hell out of it.”

“I'll get started.”  He stood up and headed towards his
office.

Once he was out of sight, Martin spoke up.  “Michael, I
didn't get a chance to talk to you before, but I found out what's at those
coordinates.”

“What did you find?

“Two of them are poppy fields in Myanmar close to the
Chinese border.  Another was the location of a tiny village in Yunnan, China
that, for reasons unknown, is abandoned.  The last was also in Yunnan not far
from the village, but as far as I could find there is nothing there.”

“There's something there,”  Michael remarked.  “Something
someone doesn't want found.”

“Everything about this stinks of heroin,” Josh chimed in.

Michael and Martin nodded in agreement.

“It's no coincidence that the drive contained coordinates to
two poppy fields, emails from the head of the drug trafficking division of the
CIA, Edward Morgan, and Alonso Gomez, who specifically covers heroin.  Along
with all this talk of a mission in China,” Michael added.  “It's all related. 
I just don't know how the Russian Mafia fits into all this or what role Edward
Morgan plays.”

The three men were pondering possibilities when Kevin
emerged with the flash drive in hand.  He handed it to Michael.

“Thanks.  There's something else I need.  I don't know if
you can do it,”  Michael said as he passed it off to Martin.

“What is it?”

“I need to speak with a man named Rick Hamilton.  Only, I
don't know where to find him.  I was hoping you could help me with that.”

“Umm.   You got anything more I can go on besides just a
name?”    

“He works for the CIA and must live close to their
headquarters in Langley.”

“Ah, well.  That narrows it down a little at least.”  A hint
of sarcasm could be detected in his voice.

“Do what you can.”  Michael patted him on the shoulder then
turned and started to leave.  “You've got eight hours,”  he said loudly as he
headed towards the front door.  Josh and Martin followed.

“What happens in eight hours?” Kevin asked somewhat
concerned.

“I'll be in Washington,”  Michael replied as he opened the
front door.

“Washington, right,”  Kevin mumbled to himself.