Black Pawn (Michael Cailen Book 1) (38 page)

Gatti and Price returned to D.C.  Gatti's family had been
whisked away into protective custody after it was discovered that his file had
been compromised.  Gatti fought his superiors to continue working instead of
joining them.  They eventually conceded and assigned a security detail to watch
over him at a hotel downtown.  Viewing it all as completely unnecessary since
he was convinced Michael was behind the hack, he insisted on having his own
room.  Reluctantly, the agents guarding him set themselves up in the adjoining
room.

It was almost midnight and Gatti had finally dozed off when
his cell phone woke him.  He looked at the number.  It was from out of the
country and he knew immediately who it was.

“Hello, Michael,” he answered as he sat up in bed, rubbing
his tired eyes.

“Hi, Tim.  How's everything?”

Gatti cleared his throat.  “Well, aside from being woken up,
my family is in protective custody thanks to you and  it was all I could do to
keep myself out of it.”

“I'm sorry to hear that, Tim.  I'm sure it will work out. 
In the meantime, I need to talk to you.  Won't be much use tracing the call, so
I'd like your full attention, if you don't mind.”

“I'm not tracing the call.  I'm sitting in bed with the
lights out and my security detail in the other room.  It's just you and me. 
You want to tell me what's going on?  Like where that mission file came from
and who the mole is?”

“Later.  First I need you to do something for me.”

“Which would be?”

“I need immunity.”

“From what?”

“The measles.  What do you think?”

Gatti sighed.  “No, I mean what have you done?”

“Isn't that the point of immunity?  So that I can talk about
it without fear of prosecution?  Why would I tell you everything first?”

“Because I'd like to know what kind of crimes I'm giving a
free pass to.  Did you butcher a girl scout troop or plant a bomb in a subway
tunnel?  You don't have to give me specifics, just generalize.”

Michael was silent, not quite sure how much he wanted to
tell Gatti.

“Michael?”

“Yeah.”

“Is it that bad?  Worse than hacking into the CIA?”

Michael breathed deeply.  “I've been on the run for almost
four years.  Up until recently, I didn't know why.  During that time and in my
efforts to get to the truth about what's going on, I've committed some crimes. 
Mostly acting in self defense.”

“So you've killed a few people?”

“If I have?”

“As long as they were a genuine threat to you and you're not
trying to get away with killing innocent civilians, I don't have a problem
giving you immunity for that.  Is there anything else?”

“Just out of curiosity, what if I was involved with hacking
into the CIA?”

“I'd say, 'Thank you for admitting it finally.'”

Michael was quiet again as he tried to decide how much to
say.

Gatti decided to make it easier for him.  “Look, Michael.  I
know you were involved in hacking the CIA.  I assume the shootout in the Coffee
Bytes cafe had something to do with you and you obviously were acting in self-defense. 
I've seen what little footage there is of the hospital shooting and it's clear
there too you were acting in self-defense.  If we have a mole and you help us
to uncover him, I will gladly arrange immunity for you.  Just tell me what's
going on.”

“I'm going to need immunity for a few others as well.”

“Like who?”

“Some people who've been helping me.”

“Jessica Nickoli and Josh Lavene?”  The silence on the phone
was his answer.  “I'll give immunity to Jessica Nickoli under the condition
that she agrees to do work for us.”

“Absolutely not.”

“She hacked into a government facility.  You know what that
means.  She might as well have walked in here and stolen the files in person. 
It's treason.  There is no way we can let that go.”

“You can and you will.”

It was Gatti's turn to be silent.  He sat up straight and
ran his hand through his hair.

“You're forgetting who you're talking to,”  Michael
continued.  “I know you can let it go.  The only reason you're claiming you
can't is because you want to capitalize on her skills.  She would be a huge
asset and that's all you see her as.  You will not compel her to work for you. 
Are we clear?”

“You have to bring something to the table, Michael.”

“I am.  You have a traitor in the CIA.  What's it worth to
you?”

Gatti sighed heavily.  “Fine.  I will get immunity for you,
Jessica, and Josh.”

“I also want a written guarantee that anyone who helped with
the hacking will not be touched and that we will not be obligated to divulge
their identities.”

Gatti stood up.  “How many people are we talking here?” he
asked clearly perturbed.

“Again, that's not something I'm going to talk about.”

“I don't know, Michael.  That's a tall order.”

“You have twenty-four hours to make it happen.”

“Then what?”

There was no answer.  Gatti looked at his phone, the call
had ended.

Gatti left a message for the Director before even getting
himself a cup of coffee.  Twenty-four hours wasn't a lot of time to arrange
immunity for three people, especially when they're suspected of hacking into
the CIA.  He tried to express the urgency of his call and hoped he would get a
response early in the morning.  He then called Price, giving him an update.

An hour after Gatti arrived at headquarters, the Director
returned his call.  He spent the next fifteen minutes bringing him up to speed
on their investigation and requesting immunity for Michael, Jessica, and Josh. 
When he finally finished the line was silent.

“Sir?”

Another moment of silence passed and he thought maybe they
lost connection.

“Let me get this straight,” the Director finally broke his
silence.  “You want me to give immunity to the people who hacked into our
network and compromised over seventy current operations, as well as hundreds of
closed ones?”

Gatti swallowed.  “I know it's unorthodox.”

“Unorthodox?!  Just why would I even dream of offering them
immunity?”

“Sir, we have a mole.  There is no doubt about that.  We
checked the authorizations for Black Pawn.  They were forged.  No one ordered
that mission.  And we know for certain Cailen was not a terrorist drug lord. 
Someone inside our organization wanted him dead and they tried to use us to do
it.”

“We'll find the mole ourselves.  Cailen should have come
forward with what he knew four years ago and we could have settled this.”

“Frankly sir, he didn't know who to trust.  How was he to
know whether or not it was a sanctioned operation?  Look, I know it's upsetting,
but you know as well as I do that if we start looking for a mole, he's only
going to cover his tracks.  It's what we're all trained to do.  Cailen has
enough evidence to prove who the mole is.  He's willing to return everything he
took and I think we both know that none of those missions are compromised by
Cailen.  If anything, they're compromised by the presence of the mole.”

The Director sighed.  He knew Gatti was right, but the
embarrassment of being hacked was making it a hard thing to let go.  “Nickoli
has to agree to work for us.”

“They won't agree to that.  I already tried.”

The Director sighed again.  He wanted to find some way to
save face.  He finally conceded it wasn't going to happen.  The sooner they
stopped the mole the better.  “I'll have the papers drawn up today.  Tell them
they'll have immunity.”

Gatti had been anxiously holding his breath.  When the words
came through the phone, he closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat as he
quietly exhaled in relief.  “Thank you sir.”

“I'll call you when they're ready.”  He hung up.

MICHAEL CALLED
shortly after lunch to inquire on the
status of their immunity.  Gatti was pleased to report that it had been secured
for them and the signed papers would be delivered that day.  Michael expressed
his appreciation and assured him he would be in touch with him in two days to
arrange the meet and suggested that Gatti be in New York City at that time. 
Gatti tried to inquire why New York, but Michael had already hung up.

Michael had already determined that the next day he would
head off alone to New York City to prepare for his meeting with Gatti.  He held
off from telling Jessica until the last minute.  As he anticipated, she wasn't
happy about it.

“Michael, at least let Josh go with you,” she pleaded.

“Josh needs to stay here with you.  I'm not leaving you all
here defenseless.”

“Then let us go with you.”

Michael shook his head.  “There is no reason to move you. 
You're safer here.  I'll be fine.  I'm just going to get the papers and hand
over the evidence.  It's a simple trade, Jessica.  You don't need to worry.”

Jessica looked to Josh for backup.  “Josh, you can't let him
go alone.”

Josh put his hands up and bowed his head.  “This is his
gig.”

She huffed in frustration and crossed her arms.  Michael
stepped close to her and touched her arm.  She moved away.  He wasn't
dissuaded.  He pulled her towards him, wrapping his arms around her.  “I love
you,” he whispered as he squeezed her tight.

Finally giving in, she put her arms around him and squeezed
him back.  “I love you too, Michael.  Please be careful.”

Jessica gathered all the evidence onto one disc.  Michael also
had her remove the hard drive with all the information they gathered from
hacking the CIA.  Once he had everything, he left alone for New York.

His first stop was to check out the arrival location of
Morgan's shipment from China, located just outside New York City - a small
industrial complex with a strip of offices separated by large garage doors that
could be used to house vehicles or supplies.  He parked at a distance and used
binoculars to check out the offices.  The companies varied from graphic design
to cleaning supplies.  The office that the package would be delivered to looked
like an unassuming shipping company.  Nothing about it stood out, which was to
be expected.  Meant to be bland and unnoticeable, CIA fronts usually didn't
look like anything spectacular.  There was no visible security though Michael
knew there must be.  He only saw one person in the office, but no doubt there
was at least one other in the garage.

He climbed into the backseat of the Mercedes and waited for
the shift to change after dark.  One person arrived and two left.  He waited
another couple hours in case someone else arrived.  When no one showed he left
to get some food and use the bathroom, relieved there was only one night
guard.  His next stop was a rest area to catch a few hours of sleep.

The following morning Michael began scouting locations for
the meet.  He settled on a large construction site where a building was
partially constructed.  It offered lots of cover and many exits to slip out if
things got hairy.

With the meeting place determined, Michael headed back to
the shipping company to keep watch and wait for the delivery to arrive.  He
didn't have to wait long.  Only a few hours in, a van arrived.  The driver
entered the office carrying a medium-sized package.  One minute later he exited
and drove away.  That had to be it.  Michael remained in position, keeping an
eye on the building to make sure the package didn't leave.

The day was remarkably boring.  Two people came and left. 
Most likely agents checking in or dropping off intel.  The sun set and before
long the lone night guard arrived, relieving the day shift.  Michael waited
until the employees drove away before moving his vehicle closer.  He parked it
just barely in sight of the office.

He used a nearby dumpster to get to the flat roof of the
building and then walked quietly down to the shipping company office,
positioning himself right above the door.  He knew they must have hidden
cameras watching the doors, so he didn't approach from the ground.

He waited several minutes, allowing the guard to settle in
and then pulled out the car remote.  He triggered the alarm and hoped his plan
would work.  After ten seconds of his car alarm blaring, the guard came to the
glass door and looked out.  He shrugged it off and receded back into the room. 
The alarm finished its course and shut itself off.  Michael triggered it again
and again.  The guard came to the door this time and strained himself to see
the car, clearly getting agitated.  After checking the security cameras and
looking both ways out the door, he shut off the security system and opened the
door so he could stick his head out and get a better view of the car causing
all the racket.

It was just the move Michael was hoping for.  He jumped down
from the roof, taking the man by surprise.  Michael dragged the unconscious
guard into the garage and then started hunting for the package.  There were
large crates scattered around and shelving along the back wall filled with
boxes.  It took a bit of searching before he finally found what he was looking
for.  He grabbed the box and took the guard's keys as he walked past.  He
locked the office and threw the keys onto the roof.

He called Gatti from a pay phone near the construction site.

Gatti answered, sounding groggy.

“Tim, I hope you're in New York.”

“I'm here.”

“You have the papers?”

“They're right here.”

“Good.  Let's meet.”

Michael told him to come to the construction site with
explicit orders that he come alone.  Gatti agreed, in spite of Price's
objection, and told him he'd be right there.  Michael parked in a parking lot
next to the construction site, blending in with some other cars.  He didn't
want to stand out.

Large lights lit up most of the site to help with security. 
One security guard sat in a vehicle keeping watch.  Michael put him out of
commission, then settled into a spot with a good vantage point of the area and
waited.

A dark colored SUV approached and parked in front of the
building.  He saw Agent Gatti emerge and look around.  He reached back in the
truck and pulled out an envelope.  As he made his way towards the partially
constructed building, Michael took a quick look around and noticed another car
pulling up.  It parked at a distance but with a view of the site.  Michael stealthily
made his way closer to the car.  Gatti stood outside the building calling to
Michael, seeming hesitant to go inside.  As Michael snuck up behind the car,
Gatti went in the building and the driver of the car stepped out.  Michael
rushed forward and pressed his silenced gun into the back of the man's head.

“You have five seconds to explain yourself before you get a
bullet in the head.”

“I couldn't let him go alone,” the man fearfully replied.

“And you are?”

“We work together.”

“Yeah, we'll see.  Walk.”

Michael nudged his head with the gun and they started
walking toward the building.  Gatti was getting nervous and was about to leave
when he saw Agent Price round the corner with his hands up.

“Allen?”  He couldn't hide his surprise.

Just then Michael came in view behind him holding a gun to
him.

“Michael, what gives?”  Gatti asked as he instinctively
raised his arms as well.

“Put your arms down,” Michael said as he lowered his gun and
slipped it into his back waistband.  He looked at Price.  “Allen Price, is it?”

“How did you know that?” Price asked surprised.

“Doesn't matter.  I said to come alone.”  Michael looked at
Gatti

Price came to his defense.  “He didn't know I followed him. 
I didn't think he should go alone.”

“You of all people should know I'd have been fine.”  Gatti
was clearly irritated.

“I'm sorry.”  Price tried to brush it off.

“Don't worry about it,” Michael said.  “Let's just get this
going before the security guard wakes up.”

Gatti opened the envelope he was holding and presented Michael
with the immunity papers.  Michael carefully looked them over to make sure the
wording was how he asked for it and that everyone would be covered.  Satisfied,
he left the room to retrieve the evidence he hid in an unfinished wall.

He returned with a box covered in stamps and stickers
declaring it contained diplomatic documents and the disk Jessica made, as well
as the flash drive from Alex.  He placed them on the floor in front of Gatti
and Price.

“Where did you get that?”  Price asked referring to the box.

“Picked it up this evening.”

Gatti looked at him.  “Now do you care to tell me what's
going on?  Who's the mole?”

“Edward Morgan,”  Michael answered.  He then gave them a
summarized narrative of what happened to him and everything he'd learned
recently.

Gatti and Price stood there in stunned silence once he
finished.

“So you think there is heroin in this box?”  Gatti asked.

“See for yourself,”  Michael offered.

Gatti shook his head.  “I'd need a warrant to open it and I
doubt very much I'd get it.  I can't use it as evidence.”

Michael looked down at the box and scrunched his brow.  He
pulled the gun from his waistband and shot two bullets into the box.  White
powder puffed out.

“There,” he said.  “Now you don't need a warrant.”

Gatti gave Michael a look, then ran his fingers through his
hair.  “Well I think we have enough now to pick Morgan up and even close down
that production facility.  That's some good work, Cailen.  And you say Rick
Hamilton is willing to testify?”

“Yeah, in exchange for protection for him and his family.”

“I can arrange that.  Is this everything?  Including
everything you took from our mainframe?”  Gatti asked.

Michael was about to answer when his phone rang.  His first
thought was that something happened back at the hideout, but when he looked at
the caller ID it was a different number.  He excused himself and stepped away
while remaining within view of Gatti and Price.

He answered the phone but didn't speak.

“It's me.”  He recognized the voice as Dmitri.

“What's going on?”

“I needed to call you right away.  Where are you?”

“Little busy right now.  Is everything okay?”

“No.  We've been interrogating Andrei.  I have some very
disturbing news.  It has not been verified, but because of its nature I needed
to inform you right away.”

Michael was trying to keep calm.  He wished Dmitri would
just spit it out.  He didn't want to let on to Gatti and Price that something
was wrong, so he was trying to act casual.

“Okay,” Michael said without emotion.

“There is another mole in the CIA.  Besides Morgan.”

Michael's heart stopped.  He glanced at Gatti and Price. 
His expression was cool and calm in spite of the anxiousness he was now
feeling.

“Andrei will not reveal the identity of the mole.  He is
trying to make a deal for the information.  We will keep working him until we
get it but Michael, I do not think you should meet with the CIA until we know
who it is.”

“It's a little late for that.  Is that all?”

Now it was Dmitri's turn to be anxious.  “The only thing he
will reveal to us is that this other mole has been greatly involved in the CIA
investigation into recent events.  Even Morgan does not know about him. 
Michael, are you with them now?”

“Yeah.”  Michael was trying desperately to remain
emotionless.

“Michael, get out of there.”

“All right.  Thanks for calling.”  Michael hung up the
phone.  He gave Gatti and Price a reassuring smile.  “Where were we?” he asked,
keeping his distance from the two men, now unsure if he could trust them.

“Is this everything?” Price repeated the question.

Michael was examining both men trying to search out any hint
of deception.  They were CIA operatives so the fact that he couldn't pick up on
it didn't mean it wasn't there.

The question was perplexing.  He left the hard drive with
everything they took from the CIA hidden in the wall.  As long as the meeting
went well, he was going to turn it over.  So while all the evidence wasn't
there, if one of these men was the mole, how would he react to knowing all the
evidence that could sink Milovich's organization was right there in front of
him?

Michael took a few steps towards a doorway.  “Yeah.  That's
all of it,” he declared.

Gatti nodded and looked down.  “Good.”

Price smiled, not taking his eyes off Michael.

Michael was intently watching them, waiting for one or both
to react.

“Well Michael, we'll take care of this.”  Gatti stepped
towards the evidence to pick it up.

When Gatti moved forward, he put himself between Michael and
Price.  That's when Price made his move, pulling his gun and quickly aiming it
at Michael.  With his back turned, Gatti's didn't even see what was happening. 
Not wanting to risk hitting Gatti who was oblivious and in the way, Michael was
forced to retreat into the other room, ducking behind the walls.

Everything happened in a split second.  Gatti saw Michael
dart from the room and didn't understand what was going on.  He turned to look
at Price just as he pulled the trigger.  A sharp pain ripped through his
chest.  He looked at the gun in Price's hand and then down at the blood on his
shirt.  He dropped to his knees in shock.  Price moved past him in pursuit of
Michael.  He fired blindly into the walls where Michael had run.  The chase was
on.

Michael heard the dull tap of Price's silenced gun.   He
hadn't bothered trying to search him for weapons outside.  When alone and up
against an unknown enemy, it's best not to lay your hands on them and give them
an opportunity to overtake you.  Even if you manage to keep the gun pointed at
them with one hand, you're still distracted by searching for weapons and you
make yourself vulnerable.  When he learned he was Agent Price, he dismissed him
as a threat.  It was a mistake he now greatly regretted.  Bullets flew through
the sheetrock next to him as he tried to get away.  One grazed his side as he
turned to go through a hallway.