Black Pawn (Michael Cailen Book 1) (8 page)

He turned on the light and stood over her on the futon. 
“Jessica, this is ridiculous. Why are you so upset? I told you I didn't read
it.”

She sat up from under the covers. “You lied to me!”  She
started sobbing.  “You told me you didn't search my apartment.  You said you
just glanced around.  My journal wasn't lying on the table!” she said angrily.
“You lied to me!”

Michael hung his head.  He took a deep breath and looked
back up at her.  “Okay, I did a little more than glance around.  When I found
your journal, I didn't know anything about you and I thought maybe it would
help me get to know you better.  I never thought we would be back there or that
you would ever discover it was missing.  I'm sorry, I should have told you.  I
didn't do it to hurt you.”

“What else have you lied to me about?”

“Nothing Jessica.  I've told you everything.”

“How am I supposed to believe that?”

He sighed. “I don't know.” He sat on the edge of the futon
and buried his face in his hands.  This was exactly what he was afraid of.  She
was angry and now she didn't trust him.

“Jessica, I would die protecting you.” He turned to her. “If
you can't trust me, I don't know what else I could say.”

After a few minutes, she realized he was right.  It was just
a journal and he had saved her life more than once now.  He could have left her
to die in the cafe or just dumped her on the street afterward.  It was silly to
get so upset over a journal, she told herself.

She dried her eyes.  “I'm sorry I'm so emotional.  I know
I've been a total basket case.  You must think I'm crazy.”

“I don't think you're crazy.  You cry a lot.  But you're not
crazy.”  He smiled at her.

She let out a light laugh and smiled. “Yeah, I do cry a lot
I guess.”

“I'm getting used to it,” he grinned.  “Let's just go to
bed.”

Two days of planning and prepping.  Only one thing remained
to be done.  Evan carried the woman inside.  The smell of alcohol was so strong
one might think she had showered in it.  That is, if it weren't for the stench
of urine that followed since she had lost control of her bladder hours ago. 
She should have been in a hospital being treated for alcohol poisoning.  But
Evan gently carried the incapacitated and unconscious woman into the bedroom,
laying her on the bed.

He pulled a candlestick and holder out of his pocket.  He
had broken the candle so that it was a mere nub and stuck it in the holder.  He
lit the candle and placed it on the nightstand, then walked into the office
where he grabbed a stack of mail.  Walking back into the bedroom, he laid the
mail dangerously close to the burning candle.  He looked around the room while
he waited.  There was a small bookshelf in the corner of the room and one of
the books looked strange.  He walked over and picked it up.  It wasn't a book,
but rather a box made to look like a book.  He opened it, but it was empty.  He
put it back and looked at the candle again.  He groaned.  He hated waiting.  He
agonized as the minutes passed and then a smile crept across his face when he
saw the flames dance across the paper on the nightstand.  He watched and waited
until the flames grew and one of the flaming pieces of mail fell on the bed. 
Then he left the apartment.

Jessica was the first to wake.  The clock said 7:16 a.m. 
She looked over at Michael.  He was sleeping on his back with his head turned
to the side.  She reached her hand out and slowly ran it down his chest soaking
in the feel of his muscular form.  He grabbed it as it passed his belly button
and a huge smile formed on his face.

“You're awake,” she said.

“Yes,” he said, still smiling. “And you're bad.”  He turned
his head and looked at her.

She grinned playfully at him, unaware of the strong effect
it was having on him.

“What do you need to do with your laptop?”  He tried to
shift his focus and redirect the thoughts he was having about her.

“We need an Internet connection.  Then I need to download
the pictures from that email,” she answered.

“We should get going then.  I'll make some coffee.”  He
allowed himself to kiss her before reluctantly climbing out of bed.  He got the
coffee started and hopped in the shower first.

Jessica's shower took considerably longer.  Michael poured
her a cup of coffee as she came out of the bathroom.  She grabbed it and
started on her way to the bedroom as he flipped on the TV.

We'll have more on the Carter Road fire coming up at 9
o'clock on Channel 10 Eyewitness News.

Jessica's head shot back towards the TV and Michael sat
there in shock.  They only saw it for a second before it broke to commercials,
but there was no mistaking it.  It was Jessica's apartment building.  Jessica
stood frozen staring at the TV.

“Get dressed,” Michael said.

“That was my apartment building.”

“I know, get dressed,” he said calmly.

She was visibly disturbed and he wanted to keep her focused.
They needed to find out what was in those pictures Alex sent her.  He was
thinking what a stroke of luck it was that they got to the laptop before the
fire.  Jessica still hadn't moved.

“Jessica,” he said firmly as he turned to her.  “Get dressed
now.”

She nearly spilled her coffee, placing it on the dresser. 
She was trembling so bad she had a hard time getting dressed.  When she
finished, she sat next to Michael on the futon.  He had folded it back to a
couch position and was sitting and staring at the TV.  Michael looked at his
watch.  It was 8:37.  The wait was agonizing.

Welcome back to Chanel 10 Eyewitness News at 9, I'm Sherrie
Moore.  We have more on the breaking story we brought to you earlier this
morning.  An early morning fire has left one apartment destroyed and others
unlivable.  Reporter Carla Freed has more on the story.

Thank you, Sherrie.  Firefighters were called to 92
Carter Road around 3:30 a.m. to respond to a fire in this apartment building. 
This comes just days after suspects in the Coffee Bytes cafe shooting were
arrested on this same street.  Police have confirmed that there was one
fatality.  A body was found in a bedroom where the fire is believed to have
started.  Neighbors tell us a woman lived in that apartment, a Jessica Nickoli,
but police are not releasing any information on the victim until a positive ID
can be made.  Police haven't ruled out foul play, but say all reports so far
indicate this appears to be an accident.

“Who the hell died in my apartment?” Jessica stood up
staring at the TV.  Then she turned to Michael.

“Don't look at me.  You were there with me.  I didn't do
it.  There wasn't anyone else there.”

“So what happened?  Someone showed up at my apartment after
we left, lit a fire and died?”

“Looks like.”

“Who the hell died in my apartment?” she asked again, her
voice louder this time.

“My guess would be you,”  Michael said.

“What are you talking about?”

“They don't want people looking for you, Jessica.  If you're
dead, no one will be looking for you.”

“But, that's not me.  The police will see it's not me when
they compare DNA or dental records.”

“If they've gone through all this trouble, they have
probably already switched your dental records and planted the victim's DNA all
over your house.”

“I have to tell my friends, I have to let them know I'm
okay.”

“You can't.  You'll be killing them if you do.  You're going
to have to let them think you're dead.”

Jessica started pacing and crying.  She was shaking her head
and saying “No.” She couldn't believe this was happening.  Michael stood up and
grabbed her.  She tried to push him away; she didn't want to be touched but he
wouldn't let go.   He held her as she struggled to break free and kept crying

“No ...”

He held her firmly until she finally gave up and broke down
in his arms sobbing.

“I'm sorry,” he whispered as he held onto her.

“Why is this happening?” she sobbed.

“I don't know, Jessica, but we're going to find out,” he
assured her.  “

We have to find out what's in those pictures and what's on
that flash drive.” 

He kissed the top of her head and stroked her hair.

She looked up at him.  “You think that has something to do
with all this?”

“Oh, I do.  But first, let's see what your friend was trying
to tell you.”

THEY PARKED
on the side of the road in a residential
neighborhood.  Jessica hacked into a nearby wireless network and logged into
her email account.  She quickly downloaded the pictures to a file on her
desktop.  She closed the web browser and started up another program.  She was
moving so fast Michael could barely keep up.  The program came up and she
started entering the file directories of the pictures she just downloaded.

“What are you doing now?” he asked.

“This is a program Alex wrote so that only we could see the
messages we sent each other.  Without it, I probably wouldn't be able to read
the message.  I'm entering the pictures and the program will decipher the message. 
It will just take a few minutes.”

The program seemed to be doing a lot of stuff.  Then some
text started to appear on the screen.  It was all garbled.

“That doesn't look like anything,” he remarked.

“He encrypted the message before he put it in the pictures. 
He really didn't want anyone else seeing this.” She furrowed her brow as she
stared at the screen.

“What do we do now?” he asked.

“I have to figure out the key.  Why wouldn't he just tell
me?  Why go through all the trouble of encrypting and hiding his message?”

“Maybe he knew someone was watching him or that they were
reading his emails,” Michael suggested. “Maybe he was afraid a direct message
would've been intercepted and deleted before it got to you.”

The thought was chilling. 
What did he get himself into?
 
she wondered.

The program finished and a long page of text appeared on the
screen.  It was all garbled except the last four words. 
You're in danger.
Run. 
Her heart sunk and she felt sick.  Michael stared at the words.

“We should go.”  He put the truck in gear and took off.

To Michael's surprise, she held it together.  She was shaken,
but she was thinking about what she needed to do next.  She had to determine
the cipher Alex used.  As they drove away, Jessica got to work, her fingers a blur
on the keyboard.

“Crap!” she exclaimed.

“What is it?”

“I think he encrypted it in Russian.”

“So, what does that mean?”

“I need a translation program if I'm going to decrypt it.”

“I take it you don't have that?”

“No, but I know where I can get one.”

“Where?”

“A club I used to hang out at when I was a teenager.”

“No way.”

“No one knows about it.  No one there even knew my real
name.  We all went by code names.”

“Code names?” he asked warily.

“It's a hacker club,” she explained.

“A hacker club?  I don't think so.  We'll find another way.”

“There isn't another option.  It's not something we can just
buy in a store.  I'm not connected with that club in any way.  At least not on
paper.”

“How long has it been since you were there last?”

“Maybe six years.”

“Is anyone going to know you?”

“A few probably will.”

Michael didn't like it.  If they could tie Jessica to that
club in any way, they were sure to be all over it.  “How sure are you that you
can't be connected to this place?”

“Ninety-nine percent,” she replied.

“It's the one percent that worries me.”  He rubbed his
forehead. “We'll check it out.  But I don't like it.”

They arrived at a non-descript brick building.  There was a
single recessed door for an entrance and no windows.  A sign next to the door
said Hydr0, with a zero instead of an “o”.

“This is it,” she said.

Michael gave her a look.  He didn't like the building.  It
looked like a death trap.  No way out if they got jammed up.  He took a deep
breath and sighed as he looked back at the building.  He reached down around
his ankle and pulled a gun from his ankle holster.  He cocked it and stuck it
in his waistband and pulled his shirt over it.  Then he retrieved another gun
from the glove box, storing that one in his ankle holster.

“Please don't kill anyone here.”

She looked worried.

“I will only kill people that try to kill us,” he assured
her.  “I'm going to check out the building.  Wait here.”

He walked past the main door and down the alley beside the
building.  It was barely big enough for one vehicle.  There was a camera on the
corner of the building facing down the alley.  Another camera covered the back door.
There were no windows to the club and that made him nervous.  Once inside, he
wouldn't be able to see what was going on outside.  He'd have to use the video
feed if he wanted to see outside the building.  He scoped out the street on the
other end of the alley then made his way back to the truck.

Jessica was starting to get nervous when she saw Michael
round the corner of the building.  He was walking towards the truck when he
stopped, reached in his pocket and pulled out a cell phone.  She didn't even
know he had a cell phone; she never saw him using it.  He put the phone up to
his ear and turned away from her.  He stood there talking to someone, but she
had no idea who it could be.  He hung up the phone, returned it to his pocket
and started back towards the truck.  He opened her door to let her out.

“Who was that?” she asked as she stepped out.

“Just a contact.  Don't worry about it.”

She wasn't thrilled with his vague answer, but decided not
to press him on it.

The front door was locked.  Jessica knocked, but no one
came.  They walked to the back door and tried again with the same result.  She
looked at her watch.  11:34 a.m.  She sighed loudly.  “No one will be here for
another couple of hours.  They usually start arriving around 2:00 p.m. to set
up.  Sometimes someone is here earlier if there is something they need to do. 
I was hoping that would be the case.”

“We can grab a bite to eat and come back,” he suggested.

“Alright, but no biker bars.”

“You don't have to tell me twice.”

They found a quaint little pizzeria and took a booth in the
back.  Michael sat facing the door.  They were both quiet after the waitress
left with their order.  Neither could think of anything to say.

“Did you have a girlfriend before you had to go on the run?”
Jessica finally broke the silence.

“No.”  He looked down. “We broke up months before when I
caught her in bed with my best friend.”

“Oh.  I'm sorry.  How long were you together?”

“Five years.”  He looked back at her.  “Most of it, I spent
overseas.  I guess I can't really blame her for wanting some company.  But I
never cheated on her and I just couldn't stay with her after that.  I never
forgave my friend either.”

“I'm sorry,” she said again.

“It all worked out.  I would have had to leave her anyway
after China.  It made it easier to disappear.  I can be thankful for that at
least.”

“You have any girlfriends since then?” she asked while she
twirled the straw in her glass of soda, avoiding eye contact.

He grinned, knowing the implication of her question.  “No, I
haven't.”

She looked up and he was smiling at her.  She gave him a
timid smile in return and looked down at the table again.  She was embarrassed. 
He watched her.  She was so innocent and shy.  He thought it was adorable.  He
reached forward and held her hand.  She felt butterflies in her stomach.  She
still couldn't believe that this Greek god in front of her was attracted to
her.

“What are you thinking?” he asked her.

“I just can't believe this is happening.”

“Which part?”

“What do you mean?”

“You can't believe you're running for your life or you can't
believe that I'm attracted to you?”

She gulped hard.  She wasn't expecting him to be so direct. 

“Both,” she replied.

“Why is it so hard to believe that I would find you
attractive?”  Without giving her a chance to reply he continued, “Because as a
matter of fact, I find you irresistible.”

She didn't know what to say.  She was blushing and a huge smile
formed on her face.  She looked up at him and he was just smiling, watching
her.  The waitress arrived just then with their pizza and Michael relinquished
his grip on her hand.

“So you haven't really told me much about you,” Jessica said
before taking a bite.  “Do you have any family?”

“No,” he answered.  “Both my parents were only children. 
They were killed by a drunk driver when I was seventeen.  My grandparents died
when I was young so that pretty much left with no one.”

“That's awful.  I'm so sorry.”

“It's why I ended up joining the military.  I didn't feel
like I had much to live for.  I'm not saying I had a death wish or anything,
but dying didn't really scare me.  Which is probably why I did so well.”

“Do you still feel that way?  Like you don't have anything
to live for?”

“No.”  He looked up at her and smiled.  “I have plenty to
live for.”

She smiled back and they turned their attention to their
food.  While they ate, the door opened and three men walked in.  Michael
tensed.  They were laughing and joking and took a booth near the door.  They
didn't pay any attention to Jessica and Michael and didn't appear to be a
threat, but Michael remained on edge anyway.  He continued eating but he had
stopped talking and was keeping an eye on the three men, watching for any
suspicious behavior.  Jessica could see he was tense and it made her uneasy. 
Michael noticed she was getting nervous.

“It's okay,” he said.  “I'm watching them.  They haven't
done anything that would make me think they're a threat.  I'm just being
careful.  Let me worry about it.”  He gave her a reassuring smile.  She smiled
back and tried to relax.

Jessica finished eating and sat quietly watching Michael as
he ate.  “I have to go to the bathroom,” she said.

“Okay,” he said, as she continued to sit there.  “Do you
want me to go with you?” he asked facetiously.

“No.”  She looked around nervously.

“Jessica, it's fine. Nothing is going to happen.”

She nodded and slowly got up.  She couldn't help but think
of the last time she went to a public restroom.  She knew her fear was
irrational, but she couldn't help it.  She walked slowly to the bathroom,
flashes of the biker bar going through her head as she walked down the
hallway.  The bathroom was empty. When she came out of the stall, she felt her
heart beating faster and her hands were shaking.  She nervously washed  and
dried them, then walked quickly to the door.  She wanted to get out of there. 
She swung the door open and there was Michael leaning against the wall.

She smiled and stepped towards him.  He put his arm around
her and they walked out of the pizzeria.  He had paid for their meal right
after she left for the bathroom.  He kept a close eye on the three men as they
passed, but they were too busy talking and eating; they barely even looked up
as they walked by.

MICHAEL PARKED
on the street in front of the club and
made another quick check of the building.  He knocked on the back door, but no
one answered.  He got back in the truck.

“We still have almost an hour to kill,” he said.

“What are we going to do?”

“Wait.”

He moved the truck to a parking lot across the street and
parked facing the club.  They sat in silence watching for signs of life.

“Is this what it's like on a stakeout?” she asked.

“Pretty much.  Long boring hours of nothing.”

“Got any stories from your soldier days?”

“Hmm.”  He thought for a moment. “I'm not sure I have any
that I could tell you about.  Most are classified.  But also, the nature of my
work is not pretty.  The people I hunted were terrible people and it often required
me going in some of the worst places on earth and seeing some of the worst
things on earth.”

“How do you do it?”

“You just don't think about it.  You gotta turn it off. 
Sometimes you can't though. Some things stay with you no matter how hard you try
to shut it off.”

His demeanor changed.  He became somber and distant.  He was
flashing back to the worst mission he was ever on.  The nine-year-old daughter
of a DEA agent had been kidnapped by a Colombian drug lord as retaliation.  A
week had passed by the time their boots hit the ground where they believed she
was being held.   They went in slow, afraid the Colombians would kill the girl
if their presence became known. 

Using silencers and knives, they took out the men one by
one, hiding their bodies in the shadows.  They worked their way slowly through
the compound until they got to the building they believed the girl was kept
in.  She was there, naked and beaten, barely breathing with a weak pulse.  One
of the men scooped her up and they worked their way back out of the compound
towards the extraction point where a helicopter was going to pick them up.

She didn't make a sound, not even a whimper or cry.  They
wrapped her in a blanket as soon as they were in the helicopter and the medic
started checking her vitals and inserting an IV.  The soldier who was carrying
her never let go of her.  He held her in his arms telling her she was safe now
and she was going to see her parents.  She died in the helicopter in the arms
of that soldier. 

Her parents found some comfort in the fact that she died in
the arms of someone who cared for her rather than alone in that building, but
it was only a little comfort.  They lost their little girl in the worst way. 

Michael was that soldier.  Her death haunted him. 

“Some things I wish I could forget.”

Jessica reached out and took his hand.  He squeezed it and
forced a smile.  She could only imagine the demons he had to battle with.

“Bingo.”  He nodded towards the club.

She looked up and saw a few people in the alley moving
towards the back door.  They disappeared around the corner of the building.

“I guess it's showtime,” she said. “Let me do the talking.”

“This will be a first,” he remarked. “I'm used to taking the
lead.”

“These are my people.”

“How did you ever get into this?” he asked.

“It's a long story, I'll have to tell you later.”

“I look forward to it.  You take the laptop.  I want to keep
my hands free.”

“Please, don't kill anyone,” she said again.

“I don't plan on killing anyone.”

“Do you ever?”

“Yes.”

Okay, she thought, she shouldn't have asked.

THEY WALKED
down the alley to the back door.  Michael
knocked loudly.  It opened and they were greeted by a short Asian man with
spiked hair, dyed red at the tips.  He dressed like he was in Hawaii with
piercings on his nose and ears.

“Oh. My. God!” the small Asian man's jaw dropped and he
looked like he was in shock.  “Oh my God, Summer!” He leaped forward, wrapping
his arms around Jessica.

“Hi, Suki.”  She hugged back with a huge smile on her face.

“My God, Summer!  How have you been?!  We've missed you.” 
He turned back and yelled into the club. “Guys, you'll never guess who's here!”

“It's not that dog again, is it?” a voice yelled back.

“Come in,” he insisted as he dragged her inside.  “Who's
your friend?”

“Jake,” Michael answered as he held out his hand.

Suki shook his hand. “Nice to meet you, Jake.  Wait here,
lemme get the guys.”  He ran off to somewhere in the back.

She turned to Michael.  “Jake?”

“It's my cover name.  Summer?”

“It's my cover name,” she smiled. “My screen name was
SummerBreeze.  Everyone called me Summer.”

Michael glanced around the club.  The outer walls were brick
and along one wall were sections of what looked like living room sets.  Couches
and lounge chairs complete with coffee tables and end tables.  Along another
wall were a few high tables and chairs.  The bar was made of black granite. 
The place had a techno and grunge kind of look.  It wasn't a dive, and
everything appeared well maintained and clean.

Suki came back with the guys, and girl, trailing behind
him.  One looked like he still lived in his parents' basement.  He was heavyset
but tall with medium brown hair and glasses.  He was a bit nerdy.  There was a
tall blonde girl who looked borderline anorexic with bleached hair and a lot of
tattoos and piercings.  The last guy was a well-built blonde who dressed like a
surfer.

When they laid eyes on Jessica, huge smiles grew on their
faces.  They all began hugging and excitedly greeting her.  They asked how she
was doing and told her how much they missed her.  Then all eyes moved to
Michael, the giant Adonis standing behind her.

“Hi,” he said nervously, feeling like an outsider in this
little reunion.  He wasn't sure what to make of how much everyone seemed to
love Jessica.  Why hadn't she been back there in six years?

“Guys, this is Jake,” Jessica said.  “Jake, you've met
Suki.  This is SunBurn,” she said gesturing to the blonde anorexic.  “Everyone
calls her Sun.” Pointing to the heavyset basement dweller, “This is Phuzz.  And
finally, here is OneShotSniper,” referring to the blonde surfer, “everyone
calls him Snipe.”

Michael found the last one amusing.  He was sure that kid
had never even seen a real sniper rifle, let alone fired one.  Michael, on the
other hand, was one of the best snipers the army had at one time.