Black Pawn (Michael Cailen Book 1) (9 page)

“So what are you doing here?” Snipe finally asked.  “We
haven't seen you in ages.  Maddy keeps us up to date, but it's been some six
years.”

“I know guys.  I've missed you too.  It's unreal being here
again.  Maddy has kept me in the loop about you as well.  I'm sorry I haven't
kept in touch.”

“Ignore Snipe,” said Sun. “We're all so proud of you and
happy that you've made a good life.  You sure deserve it.”

“Yeah well, Maddy didn't exactly give me a choice,” she
chuckled.

One thought kept going through Michael's mind. 
Who the
hell is Maddy?

“So, what brings you here?” asked Suki.

“I need a Russian translation program.  I need to decrypt
something right away.  I didn't know where else to go.  Maddy is in the Bahamas
for another couple weeks.  I really hope you have one.”

“Girl,” Suki laughed.  “We got everything.  You're gonna die
when you see our set-up.  Come on,” he said as they all started walking towards
the back of the club.

Michael put his hand on  Jessica's shoulder and held her
back. “Who's Maddy?”

“The man who saved me,” she whispered.  “He goes by
MadHatter, but we call him Maddy.”

They followed Jessica's friends into an office.  There was a
desk, not surprisingly a computer and some filing cabinets.  They walked to
another door at the other side of the office that had a keypad on the wall next
to it.  Suki punched in a code with lightning speed and the door unlocked.

Jessica was breathless as she looked around.  There were ten
overclocked computers set up on tables.  Some were nitrogen-cooled.  Wires were
neatly bound and wrapped around the room.  She could make out fiber optic cable
and there was a server in the corner.  They had come a long way from when she
had been there.  They had only four computers that were top of the line but
nothing like what they had now.

“My God,” Jessica was in awe. “This is like a hacker's wet
dream.”

Everyone chuckled.

Michael didn't know what he was looking at, but it looked
expensive.  “Business is good I take it.”

“Not this good,” replied Snipe. “Most everything you see is
courtesy of Maddy.”

“Who's this Maddy everyone keeps talking about?” Michael
asked.

“Only the best hacker of all time.  The man is a legend,”
Suki chimed in.

“Looks like he's loaded,” Michael said looking around the
room.

“If you had his skills, you'd be loaded too,” said Snipe.

Michael smirked.  He had skills. Just a different set of
skills, he mused.  This Maddy guy really had him curious.  He had saved Jessica
and now he knew the guy was a hacker and apparently also was rich.  It seemed
everyone Jessica knew was a hacker.

“Here you go, love.” Suki handed her a CD.

“Awesome.  Thanks so much.”

The door opened and a pretty brunette entered.  She looked
exotic and Michael couldn't place what nationality she was.  She had medium
brown hair with blonde highlights and chocolate brown eyes.  She was wearing
black Capri pants and a bright green v-neck snug fitting shirt.

“Jinx!” Jessica cried out.

“Oh my God, Summer!” Jinx exclaimed in as much surprise as
Jessica. They hugged like long-lost sisters and even teared up.

Michael cleared his throat and looked at Jessica.  He was
getting impatient.  They needed to decrypt that message.  She took the cue.

“Oh, guys there's kind of a clock ticking on this message I
have to decrypt.  Can I just get this done real quick?”

“Okay, but then you have to stay and have a drink with us,”
replied Jinx.

Jessica looked to Michael for approval.

“We could probably stay for a little while.”  He didn't know
if that was true or not.  It would all depend on what was in that message.  But
he figured he'd appease everyone for now.

Jessica grinned and gave Jinx another big hug. Everyone
piled out of the room while she set up her laptop on one of the tables.

Michael walked the room while she got to work.  He looked
down at one of the monitors and saw the security feed from the cameras.  There
was feed coming from the front door.  He hadn't seen a camera there, it must
have been hidden.  There were also a few cameras inside the club.  He could see
Jessica's friends standing around talking.  They all looked pretty excited. 
Guess they were happy to see Jessica.

“Got it,” she said.  “I don't know what this is.”

Michael walked over and took a look.

“Maybe I used the wrong code,” she pondered out loud.

“No,” he said. “I think you did it right.”

“You know what that is?”

“Yeah.”  He didn't seem too thrilled.  “Those look like CIA
mission files.”  He looked downright unhappy.

“How do you know?”

“I did some work for them, remember?  That's the way they
code their mission files.  I could be wrong, but I don't think I am.  I don't
know how these are going to help us.  It's not like we have access to their
mission files.”

“I need to talk to Kevin,” she blurted out.

“Who's Kevin?” he asked as she dropped the name from out of
nowhere.

She looked at him.

“Maddy.”

He looked at her like she had just lost her mind.  Did she
not understand the danger they were in?  This wasn't the time to reunite with
old friends. 

“You're gonna get everyone killed.”

She took a deep breath. “Look, Jessica Nickoli has nothing
to do with any of these people.”   She took another breath.  “Jessica Nickoli
didn't even exist until six years ago.  My real name is Jessica Bowen.”  She
didn't look up.  She was afraid of what his reaction would be.  He didn't say
anything for what seemed like an eternity.

Michael was trying not to be angry.  He was having a hard
time with that. 

“You don't seem to understand the situation we're in.”  She
could hear the anger in his voice.

“It doesn't get more connected than the CIA.  They faked
your death for God's sake.”  Jessica felt a pit growing in her stomach and she
gulped hard.  She couldn't look at him. “You act like none of this is
relevant.  Your Russian friend who's into God knows what and is most likely now
dead because of it.  The envelope he sent you, which you conveniently forgot
about.  And now you tell me about your other identity!”  His voice raised. 

“How am I supposed to protect you if you keep hiding things
from me?!  This is the CIA, Jessica!  You think they can't see through a fake
identity?!”  

He waited for a response.  She looked like she was going to
be sick but she didn't say anything. “We have to get out of here, if they found
out who you really are, then we could be totally screwed and your friends could
be dead.  Pack it up.” 

Michael checked the security feed.  Everything was still
quiet.  Her friends were sitting at the bar.  They were waiting for that drink.

“They can't connect the two identities,” she said softly.

“I think you're wrong.”

“I never used my real name after I ran away.  I never used
it for anything.  As far as I was concerned Jessica Bowen died in that alley. 
I never even told Kevin my real name.  He never asked.”

“How did he set up your new identity?”

“I don't really know.  You'd have to ask him.  All I know is
he hacked into quite a few databases and changed some data.  There was a refugee
couple from Romania who died in a car accident the first week they were here. 
They supposedly didn't have any other family but Kevin changed it so that they
had a daughter, me.  He fudged some records and I was born, so to speak,” she
explained.  “He made me cut all ties with everyone I knew.  He wanted me to
have a real job and a real life.  Knowing him or any of my old friends could
jeopardize that.  Can't exactly do what I do and get caught hanging out with
criminals.”

“But you still talk to him?  You said he was in the Bahamas,
so you do talk?”

“Yeah, but only on prepaid cell phones and I pay cash for
them.  He's adamant about not having any traceable contact,” she explained.

“Was that the cell you lost in the cafe?”

“No, that was my regular cell.  I had planned on buying a
new prepaid when he got back from the Bahamas.”

Michael was feeling a little better about the situation.  It
seemed unlikely they would be able to tie “Summer” with Jessica.  He was still
upset she hadn't told him all of this earlier and he still felt uneasy. 

“Are there any other revelations you'd like to tell me now
while we're at it?”  She shook her head no.  Michael was still peeved, but had
calmed down. “Do you still want that drink with your friends?”

“More than ever.”

“I'm sorry I yelled at you.”

“It's okay.”  Her hand visibly shook as she brushed her hair
behind her ears.

“They're going to wonder what I did to you,” he smiled at
her.

She smiled. “I'll just tell them you slapped me around.”

“You do that,” he laughed.  She laughed with him.

He wasn't in such a hurry to leave any more.  “We should
probably try to see what's on that flash drive from your friend.”

“If I know Alex, it's heavily encrypted.  Will likely take a
while to crack.”

“Alright, let's have that drink with your friends then and
get going.”

Jessica packed up her laptop and they headed for the bar
where everyone was waiting.

“What are you drinking, Summer?” asked Jinx. “And you,
Jake?”

Michael took a seat at the end of the bar.  “I'll just have
a beer.”

“I'll take a margarita.” Jessica wanted something strong.

Jinx got the drinks while everyone else started peppering
Jessica with questions.  They all wanted to know what legal hacking was like. 
Michael just listened.

Finally, Jinx asked the question everyone was thinking. “So
are you going to tell us who this mystery man is?  Is he your boyfriend?”  She
had a big smile on her face.

Jessica looked at Michael as if he would answer that.  He
just looked at her with an inquisitive expression and said, “Am I?” 

No help from him
, Jessica thought.

“Yes, he's my boyfriend.”  She didn't know what else to
say.  Would be more questions if he was just a “friend.”  Michael just had a
big grin on his face.  Then the usual questions followed.

“Where did you guys meet?” asked Sun.

Jessica wasn't sure how to answer that one, and thankfully
didn't have to because Michael stepped in. “I picked her up in a coffee shop.”

Everyone seemed shocked. “Really?  A complete stranger?  And
she actually talked to you?” everyone asked.

He laughed. “I was very persuasive.”

Ain't that the truth
, thought Jessica.  They were all
amazed.

“You must have a golden tongue, bro,” said Suki.  “Cuz this
is one tough chick to crack.”

Michael grinned. “Oh, I know.”  Then he pulled his phone out
of his pocket, texted something and put it back.  Jessica was watching him.  He
just looked at her and smiled.  She wondered what that was all about.

Snipe asked how long they had been together.  Michael lied
and said four months.  One week might have seemed a little strange.  The
conversation wound down and Michael said they should get going.  It was almost
4:00 p.m. and he didn't want to be there when they opened.  Plus, he really
wanted to find out what was on that flash drive.  He hoped it was something
better than the mission files that right now seemed worthless.

They said their goodbyes and Jessica hugged everyone. 
Michael wanted to ask to check the security cams before leaving, but he thought
it might look too strange.  Instead he let one of her friends open the door and
quickly scanned the street before leaving the building.  He managed to pull it
off without looking suspicious.  He was on edge as soon as they stepped
outside.  Everything seemed fine though.  They got in the truck and waved at
Jessica's friends standing in the doorway of the club.

“What do you want to talk to Kevin about?” he asked as they
started to drive away.

“I think he can help us.”

“Help us how?”

“I don't know yet, but he might have an idea.”

“I take it you learned computers from him?”

“You would be correct.  He's probably ten times better than
me.”

“I find that hard to imagine.”

“What was with that text message?” she asked.

“Just a lead.”

“You wanna tell me about it?”

“No.  I'll tell you if it pans out to anything.”

“Wait, so you can keep things from me, but I can't keep
things from you?” she asked, irritated at the double standard she was seeing.

“Yep.”

“How is that fair?”

“It's not.”

“So you agree it's not fair, but you're still going to do
it?”  Now she was really irritated.

“Lots of things in life aren't fair,” he stated coldly. 
“You have to understand I will keep things from you.  You don't need to know
everything and you're better off not knowing everything.”

“Shouldn't I be the judge of what I need to know?”

“You're not going to change my mind, so let's not fight
about it,” he said firmly.

Jessica clenched her jaw and looked out the window.  She was
angry.  Michael knew it, but he wasn't going to give in to her.  There were
things she was better off not knowing, and that was that.

They drove to the hideout in silence.  Jessica was seething
by the time they got there.  The truck hadn't even come to a complete stop
before she was out of it, heading towards the street.  Michael quickly put the
truck in park and hopped out.

“Jessica!  Quit acting like a spoiled brat!” he yelled out
to her.  Probably wasn't the best thing to say because she only walked faster. 
“Jessica!”  He jogged to catch up with her.

“Leave me alone,” she angrily replied.

“You know I can't do that.”

She kept walking.  He grabbed her arm and she shook him
off.  Michael was getting agitated.  He grabbed her arm again, but this time
she couldn't shake him off.  She struggled but he was much stronger than her.