Black Pawn (Michael Cailen Book 1) (26 page)

Milovich was sitting on the patio of his penthouse suite
sipping wine.  A platter of cheese and fruit sat next to him on a glass table. 
He was relaxing and enjoying the view when his giant bodyguard and constant
companion stepped beside him.

“They have it,” he announced.

“Good.”  Milovich turned to him.  “Get our friend on the
phone.  Let's see if he can get someone to decrypt it.  I do not want to do
anything until I know it's the real thing.  I do not trust Cailen.”

Milovich's bodyguard stepped forward while dialing.  He
handed the phone to Milovich as someone picked up on the other end.

RICK HAD
just sat in his car in the parking garage to
head home when his phone rang.  He put his briefcase on the seat next to him
and nervously answered.

“Hello, my friend,” Milovich said cheerfully.

“Uhh. Hi,” Rick replied anxiously. “What can I do for you?”

“I need help decrypting something.”

“Um, I'm not sure I can help you there.  I don't think you
want to use anyone here at the CIA.”

“Find me someone who doesn't work at the CIA,”  Milovich
replied, somewhat irritated.

“I ... I don't know anyone who can do that.”  Rick was
desperately trying to come up with a reason he couldn't help.  He was panicking
and his brain was struggling just to function. 

“What about the girl?” he blurted.

“What girl?” Milovich asked suspiciously.

“Jessica Nickoli.  You have her, don't you?”

“How do you know this?”

“The police report.  They said a woman was taken away by two
men with Russian accents.  I assumed you had her.”  Rick's hands were shaking
violently and he was sweating so much the phone kept slipping.  He kept wiping
his palms on his pants attempting to dry them off.

It was silent for a minute and Rick became fearful of what
Milovich's reaction would be.

“Not a bad idea.  In the meantime, I want you to find
someone who can do it in case the girl doesn't cooperate.  Understand?”

“Yes sir.  I'll get working on that right away, sir.”  Rick
was eager to end the call.  Milovich hung up and Rick went limp in his seat as
he let out a huge sigh of relief.  His heart was pounding in his chest and he
felt like any moment it would burst through his ribcage.

DMITRI WAS
standing in the upstairs office of the
warehouse looking down at the guards playing poker when a melodic tone filled
the air.  He turned towards his cell phone on the desk.

“Hello?” he answered.

“Dmitri.  How is everything going?”  Milovich greeted him.

“Same.  I do not think she knows where the drive is.”

“Ah.  I have it.”

“You do?”

“Well, I have what Cailen wants me to believe is the drive. 
I'd like to make sure.”

“How are you going to do that?”

“I'm not going to do it.  You are.  Convince the girl to
decrypt it so we can make sure it's the real thing.”

“What if she refuses?”

“Get creative.  Make it a group effort if you want.”  An
evil grin crossed Milovich's lips.

Dmitri frowned and ran his fingers through his hair.  “You
got it, boss.”

“I'll send someone over with the drive.”

“Send a few.  If this man is as good as you say he is, there
could be trouble.”

“You worry too much.”

“Maybe.”

“I'll send three men.  That should be more than enough to
make you feel safe Dmitri.”

“Thank you sir.”

“How did she like our merchandise?  Have you given her any
more?”

“She was not too happy.  I was about to give her another
shot in a few minutes.”

“Very good.  I'll check in with you later.”

“Yes sir.” Dmitri looked down at the floor as he lowered the
phone and pressed end.  He closed his eyes and sighed.

JESSICA WAS
resting with the mostly melted ice pack
on her face when Dmitri walked in and made her talk on the phone to Michael. 
She couldn't relax afterward.

Having given up on the ice pack, which at this point only
felt a little cool rather than cold, she was pacing when Dmitri came back in
the room.  She stopped when he entered.  He didn't say anything, but he didn't
look happy.  Her heart beat fiercely when she noticed the syringe in his hand.

She backed away as the other guards filed in. 

“Don't do this,” she pleaded.

They wrestled her onto the bed and held her down.  She
screamed while struggling in vain.  Pleading with Dmitri not to do it.  In a
minute, it was over.  Her whole body relaxed and she just lay there.

Dmitri told the guards to leave and close the door.  He
stood over Jessica on the bed.  Once the door was shut, he knelt down beside
her.  She refused to look at him.  She hated him for what he was doing to her.

“Listen to me,” he said.  “This is very important.  We have
the drive.”

She turned her head towards him and tried to focus her eyes
on him.

 “I don't believe you.”

“You will believe it soon enough.  Vlad is sending it here
with a few of his men.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“I am to get you to decrypt it so we can verify it is the
real one.”

“I won't do it.”  She turned her head away from him.

“I know.”  He paused, waiting for her to look at him again. 

She didn't. 

“If you do not agree, they will kill you.”

“They'll kill me … once I decrypt it, … so what's the
difference?” 

She spoke slowly, as she was in a fog from the drug.

“Time.”

“What?” She looked at him.

“It will buy you some time.”

“For what?”

Dmitri shook his head and looked down. “I don't know.”

Jessica didn't say anything.  She wasn't in a hurry to die,
but she also couldn't bring herself to help them knowing they would just kill
her anyway.

“You don't actually have to do it.  Just agree and then
stall them.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Think about it.” 

He stood up. 

“But don't agree too readily or they will get suspicious.” 

He walked to the door and looked back at her before opening
it and stepping out.

Jessica wondered why Dmitri was helping her.  Could it be he
had a conscience?  How could he, after what he had just done to her?  She
couldn't reconcile his behavior.  He had a point though.  If she could delay
being killed, she should do it.  She couldn't be rescued if she was dead.  She
tried to decide what to do.

Outside Niko's, the guys had been waiting for more than twenty
minutes for any sign of movement on the tracker.

“It's on the move,” Josh called out.

Martin started the truck and Michael sat up in his seat. 
Three men exited the club and got into a dark blue BMW parked on the street
outside the club.   The car pulled out into traffic and Martin pulled out a few
cars behind them, determined not to lose the signal this time.

They followed the car out of the city.  As traffic thinned,
they backed off, relying mostly on the tracker.  Michael kept his eye on the
map while Josh called out direction and distance.

“Looks like they're heading for an industrial area,” 
Michael observed.

The car stopped and Martin pulled the truck off the road and
parked.  “Go the rest of the way on foot?” he asked.

“Josh and I will go.  You stay with the truck in case they
go on the move again.”

Martin nodded.  Michael grabbed a backpack from the back,
threw it over his shoulder and started walking.  Josh was right behind him.

Dmitri waited at the door as the BMW parked in front.  He
greeted the men as they walked inside.           “Are you sure you weren't
followed?”

“There was no one behind us.  We made sure,” the driver
responded confidently.  He smiled and handed the flash drive to Dmitri.

“The boss told us to tell you that if there should be any
trouble, the girl is to die before being allowed to escape.”

Dmitri looked up at him, but didn't say anything.

The driver grinned.  “He also said we could have a little
fun.”

The other men started smirking.  The man Jessica had beaten
up earlier leered back at the door.

Dmitri looked around.  “Not until the drive is decrypted,”
he said loudly and forcefully.  He looked at all the men to make sure they took
him seriously.  “I want three men guarding the perimeter.”

“We can do it,” the driver offered.

“No.  These fools have done nothing but play poker all
day.”  He turned to the four other guards.  “Three of you get outside now.  And
don't stray too far.  I want you close in case something happens.”

One of the men spoke up.  “Is this really necessary? They
said no one followed them.”

Dmitri promptly pulled his gun, cocked it and stuck it in
the man's face.  “Are you questioning me?”

Everyone else backed away. 

The man immediately regretted opening his mouth. 

“No, sir.”

“Do as I say. Now!” Dmitri shouted.

All four guards rushed for the door.  The last one there
reluctantly had to stay behind.

Dmitri wasn't one to tolerate insubordination.  His demand
for obedience propelled him to his trusted position in Milovich's
organization.  He ordered the remaining man to fetch Jessica from her room.

AS MICHAEL
and Josh got closer to the signal, they
became more cautious.  The roof of a warehouse was visible just over the top of
a grassy hill.  They crawled the last of the way to the top of the hill
overlooking the warehouse.  The BMW was parked outside along with a van.

The warehouse was huge.  On the front side were two extra
large garage doors, big enough to drive a large truck or trailer through, and
then a regular door near the corner of the building.  There were large windows
on two sides of the warehouse, but a couple were boarded up and the rest were
purposefully made cloudy so no one could see inside.

Michael grabbed a pair of binoculars from his bag and scoped
out the building.  He couldn't see anyone outside.  He handed the binoculars to
Josh.

“Can't see in the windows,” Josh pointed out.

“Yeah.”

“You think this is it?”

“It's a warehouse.  I'd say there is a good chance she's
here.”

“Someone's coming out.  Three men.”  Josh passed Michael the
binoculars.  “Same ones from the BMW?”

Michael looked at the men as they started to spread out in
different directions.  “No, it's not.”  He lowered the binoculars.

“So it's safe to say there are at least six men,” Josh
concluded.

“Yeah, at least that many.”

“I don't think we're going to get visual confirmation that
Jessica is here.”

Michael sighed. 

“If we're wrong,  I don't know how we could recover.”

Josh frowned.  “Why don't we check around the building. 
Maybe there's a window that's not cloudy or boarded.”

They were in luck.  One of the windows on the other side had
a corner broken out.  It was a small opening, but it gave them a glimpse
inside.  Michael pulled out the binoculars again.  He had a great view of the
floor and the edge of some crates.

“Well,”  Michael looked at Josh. “I'm willing to bet this is
where she's being held.  I'd like to watch for a little longer to see if we can
get a visual.”

“Sounds good to me,” Josh agreed.

“Why don't you go back and get Martin.  Should probably
bring some weapons and ammo with you.  I have a sniper and assault rifle in the
truck.”

“Oh, there's no way I'm leaving you here alone to try and
get a visual.”

Michael glared at him. “Excuse me?”

“I know you.  You see her and God forbid she's being
mistreated, you're gonna want to go running in there like some crazy cowboy and
end up getting yourself killed.”

“I'm not going to do that.”  Michael brushed it off.

“Well, I'm not going back.  So either you can go or we can
just sit here.”

Michael was ticked off, but didn't want to waste time
arguing.  “Call me if you see her.”  He shoved the binoculars at Josh and left.

Josh had the same great view of the floor and crates.  He
panned around the outside of the building making sure he could see the guards. 
He looked back through the broken window and almost couldn't believe what he
saw.  A man was pinning Jessica up against the crates, his hand on her throat
and his face very close to hers.  Suddenly, Josh felt like running in like a
crazy cowboy to rescue her.  He dialed Michael on his phone.

JESSICA WAS
pulled from her cell into the warehouse. 
Still feeling the effects of the drug, she didn't resist much.  She saw her
laptop set up on a table.  She also noticed the guards were different.

“What's going on?” she asked, even though she already knew
the answer.

Dmitri stepped towards her.  His expression and demeanor were
intense, threatening even.  He seemed like a different man than the one who
just talked to her in her cell.

He pulled a flash drive from his pocket and showed it to
her.  Noticing the subtle changes in her expression when she saw it, he knew
immediately it wasn't the real one.  Still, he held it up.  “Decrypt this and
you will be set free.”  His eyes were fixed on her.

She swallowed and looked around at the other guards and then
back at Dmitri.  His gaze never wandered from her.  She looked into his eyes
and he stared right back.  She remembered what he said about not agreeing too
readily.

“No.  I don't believe you and I won't help you.”

“Do it, or you will die.”

He seemed so serious and believable she started to wonder if
she dreamed the conversation they had earlier.  She searched his face for some
hint, some give away that he was on her side.  There was none.  It was as if he
had never talked to her.

“I won't help you,” she repeated.  Her confidence was waning
and it could be heard in her voice.

Dmitri placed the flash drive on the table and then suddenly
came at her, slamming her up against some nearby crates.  His hand moved to her
throat and squeezed.  She was filled with terror.  He moved his head close to hers
and whispered into her ear.

“Agree and say you need to rest first.”

He squeezed her neck harder and she couldn't breath.  She
clutched his wrist in vain, trying to pull it away from her neck.  She kicked
and struggled to break free.  She started to feel lightheaded.  He released her
and she dropped to her knees coughing and gasping for air.

He stood over her.  “What will it be, Miss Nickoli?”

She was on her knees using one hand on the floor to hold
herself up while she held her neck with the other still coughing and trying to
breathe.  When she regained control of her breathing, she glared up at him with
intense hatred in her eyes.

“I need to rest,” she said through gritted teeth.

“Will you do it?”

She looked away without answering.

He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her head up.

“Will you do it?” he shouted.

“Yes!” she cried.  “Yes, I'll do it.”

He released her and looked to one of the guards.

“Take her back to the room!” he ordered in Russian.

The guard grabbed her arm and forced her up.  Angrily, she
tried to shake off his grip but he only squeezed harder.  He pushed her into
the room and shut the door.  She rubbed her neck and looked back at the door. 
Dmitri was a ruthless man, she told herself.  She shouldn't fool herself into
thinking anything else.

She sat on the edge of the bed trying to relax.  A very loud
explosion and the sound of shouting and gunfire ruined any hope of that
happening.  She backed away from the door in fear.

Suddenly, her door was flung open, and Dmitri rushed inside,
shutting it behind him.  He grabbed her and pushed her against the wall next to
the door.

“Get down,” he ordered.

“What's going on?” she asked trembling.

He looked at her. 

“Your boyfriend has arrived.”

It was almost too good to believe.  Michael had found her. 
She wanted to let him know where she was. 

She started to shout, “Michael I'm in here!”

Dmitri pushed her against the wall, covering her mouth with
his hand.  “Be quiet!” he growled.  “My men are under strict orders to kill you
before letting you be rescued.  I told them I would do it.  Now shut up, you're
supposed to be dead.”

He released her and took a step back.  He was extremely
anxious and breathing heavy.  He swallowed and looked at the door and then back
at Jessica.  “Stay down and be quiet.” 

He pulled the gun from his waistband and moved against the
wall between Jessica and the door.

Jessica didn't know what to think.  “Why are you doing
this?”

He didn't answer.  There was silence for a minute, one more
gunshot, then silence again.

“I think it's over,” he said quietly.

He walked to the middle of the room and got down on his
knees.  He emptied the clip from his gun and set them both on the floor in
front of him.  He crossed his ankles and put his hands behind his head.  He
looked one more time at Jessica and then down at the floor and waited.  Jessica
just looked at him confused.

JOSH SET
up on the hill with the silenced sniper
rifle.  He took out two of the men guarding the perimeter while Michael took
out the third who was on the other side of the building.  Leaving the sniper
rifle on the hill,  Josh met up with Martin and Michael at the door.  Martin
had the assault rifle while Josh and Michael were using handguns.

Martin opened the door as Josh tossed in a flashbang. 
Michael took the lead, picking off two guys right away.  The other two took
cover behind some crates and fired back.  Martin and Josh kept them distracted
while Michael flanked one of them.  The last guy lost his cool.  He began
firing wildly until his gun ran out of ammo.  Michael quickly ran to him and
put a bullet in his shoulder before he could reload.  He dropped the gun,
screaming in pain.  Michael kicked it away.

“Where is she?” he demanded.

The man looked at him and started laughing.  Michael punched
him.

“Where is she?”  His tone even more forceful than before.

A disturbing grin crossed the man's face as he pointed to
the door on the other side of the room.  Michael feared he was too late.  He
ordered Josh to guard the man then sprinted to the door.

He nodded at Martin, who swung the door open while he held
his gun aimed inside.  He saw a man in a position of surrender but not Jessica.

“Don't move!” he shouted in Russian.

Keeping his gun trained on the man, he slowly stepped
inside.  He spotted a woman curled up in the corner.  Her face was swollen, cut
and badly bruised.  He recognized it was Jessica from her hair and clothes.

“Jessica?”

 Michael was horrified by her appearance.  He knew from
experience that captives often were treated badly, but he wasn't prepared for
the reality of seeing her like that.

“Michael!” 

She ran to him.

He put one arm around her while he kept his eyes and gun
trained on the man on the floor.

“Get behind me,” he said as he pushed her behind him and out
of the room.

Dmitri slowly raised his head and looked up at Michael.  He
was smiling.  Michael looked shocked and bewildered after seeing the man's
face.

“It's been a long time Michael,” Dmitri said to him.

Michael lowered his gun.

 “Dmitri?”

“You know him?!”  Jessica was more shocked than Michael.

“What are you doing here?” Michael asked, in a stupor.

“It is a long story.  May I get up now?”

“Michael, you know this man?” Jessica thought she was going
to lose her mind.  “He shot me up with heroin!”

“What?!”  Michael turned to Dmitri for an explanation.

“It wasn't heroin.”

“Bull!  I saw you make it!”  Jessica shot back, becoming
more agitated.

“I switched the syringe.  It wasn't heroin.”

“What was it?” Michael asked.

“Diazepam.”

“What? What is that?” Jessica asked getting more worked up
by the second.

Michael relaxed and turned to her.  “Valium.”

She looked at Dmitri.  “You shot me up with Valium?”

He shrugged.  “I couldn't have you telling Vlad where the
drive was.  I also wasn't sure if he wanted to torture you.  You can't torture
someone who's unconscious,” he explained.