The Cain Conspiracy (19 page)

“So where were you?” Heather asked.

“Umm, we had something important come up at the office. I just couldn’t get away,” he lied.

“All night? And you never checked your phone?” she wondered, not quite believing his story.

“I just forgot.”

A confused look came over Heather’s face as she watched Cain finish packing. She wondered where he was going after rushing in from being gone all night.

“Are you going somewhere?” she asked.

“I have to go back to Indonesia,” he sighed.

“Again?”

“Yeah. Looks like some unfinished business. Hopefully it won’t take too long but I’m not sure.”

“Oh.”

“When’s your flight?”

“A few hours,” Cain answered.

“You were with someone, weren’t you?” Heather finally asked, trying not to sound jealous.

“Uhh,” Cain mumbled, not sure what to say, and definitely not wanting to tell the truth.

“The perfume gives it away,” she told him.

“Oh.”

“So who’s the lucky girl? Do I know her?”

Cain looked down at the floor, ashamed to look at Heather in her face. She could tell by his avoidance that it was somebody that she knew, which cut down the list of suspects dramatically.

She thought for a second, then a look came over her face like she just solved a riddle. She remembered smelling that perfume before, not too long ago.

“It was Michelle, huh?” she asked.

Cain hesitated before answering, still not wanting to say. “Yeah.”

“I remember that perfume. She was wearing it that night she came over here. The night we first met.”

“Oh. Good memory.”

“I usually don’t forget things.”

“I see that.”

“So, are you two an item now?” she asked.

“No,” Cain emphatically answered. “It just kind of happened. Nothing more than that.”

They stood there in silence, both waiting for the other to continue, though neither one did. Heather knew she didn’t have the right to be mad since they weren’t a couple, but she couldn’t help but be a little huffy. Lawson got what Heather wanted. Him. She couldn’t figure out what Lawson had that she didn’t. She figured she should stop peppering him with questions about it since they weren’t together. He had the right to do what he wanted even though it made her heart ache. Cain could tell that Heather was a little annoyed, though he wasn’t sure if it was more the fact he didn’t come home or whether it was his little rendezvous with Lawson.

“Well, I should probably get going,” Cain finally stated.

“OK.”

“Umm, I’ll see you when I get back.”

“Yeah,” she replied, faking a smile.

“I’ll let you know when I’m on my way.”

Cain walked toward the door, turning around to see Heather once he reached it. He only saw her back as she was already walking into the bedroom. She had her head down and he could tell she was disappointed. Cain felt some remorse that he was the reason for her unhappiness and thought maybe he could make it up to her once he got back.

Once Cain arrived at the airport he met with Lawson, who was already waiting for him. She got there a half hour earlier and was on her computer working.

“Looks like we got some more news,” Lawson said.

“About?”

“Gutawa replied to Raines’ e-mail,” she revealed.

“What’d he say?”

“He agreed to meet with him. Ten o’clock at the Makam Perang Jakarta.”

“Say that again?” Cain asked, not understanding what she just told him.

“The Jakarta War Cemetery.”

“Convenient. He won’t have to go far when we’re done.”

“I’ve downloaded a map of the cemetery so we can plan it out.”

They looked over the plans during their long plane ride. The Jakarta War Cemetery contained the graves of almost 1,000 people, many of which died defending Java and Sumatra during the Japanese advance in 1942. Others died later in prisoner of war camps. The cemetery was in the suburb of Menteng Poeloe, almost seven miles from the center of city. It was next to the Netherlands Field of Honour in South Jakarta. It was only open between the hours of eight and five, Monday through Friday, so Raines obviously picked the location for its seclusion. The entrance faces the cemetery where people from the local market often blocked the access, trying to sell their wares. The cemetery was entered from the north side by a short flight of steps which led into a memorial building. Two main grass areas go through the site, one which ran north and south, the other running east to west. The Cross of Sacrifice stands in the middle of where the grass areas meet. In the southern part of the cemetery lies the graves from members of India’s forces. A monument was set up in this part, with sculptured wreaths bearing the words “India” and “Pakistan” beneath them. The caretakers quarters along with a garage were also in this part of the cemetery. All graves were marked by bronze plaques and concrete pedestals. There were many sub-tropical plants, trees, and shrubs that adorned the property.

“We’re gonna be met by another agent once we get there,” Lawson informed Cain.

“Why?”

“To have more parts of the cemetery covered. He was doing some work in Australia so he was fairly close to bring over.”

“What’s the plan?” Cain wondered. “Doesn’t really seem like a lot of good places to take cover here.”

“The meeting’s scheduled to take place at the Cross of Sacrifice. Agent Stanton will be stationed by the garage where he can see the side entrance and the Indian Forces Monument if he should go that way.”

“And us?”

“We’re gonna have to be at the edge of the property. There are some shrubs at the back that we can take cover in,” she explained.

“I’m not really liking this.”

“Why?”

“Seems too exposed.”

“It’ll be fine.”

“We’ll see.”

Jakarta, Indonesia—It was just about ten o’clock and everyone was in position. Stanton was by the garage guarding the side entrance. Lawson and Cain were taking cover behind some shrubs near the back of the cemetery. They were laying on their stomachs as the shrubs were small and they’d be exposed if the stood up. Cain had his sniper rifle out, targeting the area by the Cross of Sacrifice. A few minutes later they saw a figure emerge, walking in the main entrance through the memorial shelter. He reached the Cross of Sacrifice and sat there, waiting for his partner.

“It’s Gutawa,” Cain said, seeing him clearly through the scope of his rifle.

Gutawa looked very anxious and kept looking around as he waited for Raines to arrive. He got up a few times and walked around the monument, continuing to look for him. As the minutes ticked by, Gutawa seemed like he was contemplating leaving as he walked toward the entrance a few times before circling back to his location, looking at his watch. A half hour elapsed with no sign of Raines.

“Something must be wrong,” Lawson whispered.

“Maybe.”

“He should’ve been here by now.”

“Maybe he’s just being extra cautious,” Cain replied.

“How long should we stay here if he doesn’t show?”

“We’ll stay here as long as Gutawa’s here. As long as he’s expecting him to show then we’re not bailing either.”

The time slowly ticked away, Lawson repeatedly looking at her watch, anxious for her former lover to arrive. It was just about eleven o’clock when Gutawa seemed to have had enough. He started walking toward the exit when Lawson stood up. Everyone seemed to believe that Raines was blowing the meeting off.

“What’re you doing?” Cain asked, trying to grab her leg.

“Let’s see if he knows more,” she replied as she started walking.

“No,” Cain said, flailing at her leg, just touching her heel.

Cain quickly regained his position, putting the entire area within the sights of his scope. He didn’t think it was a good idea for Lawson to expose herself but there wasn’t much else he could do. He figured they could’ve tailed Gutawa to see where he went after that. Gutawa could’ve lead them to more information that would’ve lead to Raines in some capacity. Lawson though figured Gutawa knew what the meeting was about and wanted to question him about it. Gutawa stopped as he noticed a dark figure moving closer to him. He closely watched the person moving in, eagerly waiting to see who it was. He squinted his eyes trying to make out who it was. His eyes opened wider, surprised to see Lawson emerge from the darkness.

“You look surprised,” Lawson stated. “Expecting someone else?”

“Why are you here?”

“Same reason you are.”

Gutawa shrugged his shoulders as if to say he didn’t know why he was there.

“It’s late, it’s dark, and the cemetery closed over five hours ago. I know you’re not here to just walk around,” Lawson told him.

“I have nothing to say to you.”

“I know you were here to meet Raines.”

“I still have nothing to say,” Gutawa said.

“You don’t have to say it. I already know,” Lawson said. “Raines sent you an e-mail asking you to meet him. You agreed and set up the time and place. So here we are.”

Gutawa seemed stunned that she knew the exact details. “How you know all that?”

“We have our ways. You’re not leaving here though until you tell us what we want to know,” she told him.

“I don’t know what he wanted. He said he wanted to meet so I agreed. The purpose of this meeting was unclear to me as well.”

Just as Gutawa let the words out a shot rifled through the crisp night air. He stumbled forward onto Lawson, who struggled to keep him upright, the pair eventually falling to the ground, Gutawa on top of her. Lawson pushed his lifeless body off her and looked down at her blood soaked shirt. She then looked over at Gutawa, who wasn’t moving and appeared to be dead. Cain frantically waved his gun around, desperately trying to find his target. He was unable to do so and turned his focus to Lawson. He looked at her through his scope and noticed she was moving.

“Just stay still,” Cain said through his earpiece.

“I think Gutawa’s dead,” Lawson replied.

“Are you hit?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Just hold on till I get you. I don’t know where the shooter is so I don’t know if he’s got sights on you or not.”

Agent Stanton left his position and came rushing up the steps to get to Lawson. Once he got there he bent down on one knee to check her condition. As he was doing so, another shot rang out, this one ripping through Stanton’s chest. The force of the bullet knocked him back, killing him almost instantly. Cain noticed the flash of the man’s rifle and saw it was coming from just beyond the fence. He took off running, hoping to catch the killer before he had a chance to escape. Once Lawson saw Cain running she quickly got up and ran after him. She wasn’t going to let Cain get too far ahead of her. They heard the sound of a car door shutting, then quickly squealed away, indicating Gutawa’s killer had gotten away. Cain ran to their car, refusing to let their man get away. Lawson was right on his heels and got in the passenger side.

“What about Stanton?” Cain asked.

“I think he’s dead.”

Cain pushed the pedal to the floor to gain speed on the fleeing suspect. He could hear the squealing of the brakes so he could tell which direction the car was traveling. The two cars zoomed through the Jakarta streets in a short pursuit that felt like it lasted a while, but actually only took about five minutes. The car Cain and Lawson was following ended the chase prematurely as once they reached a bridge that overlooked the Ciliwung River. The car just stopped and turned completely around to face the oncoming car. Cain stopped the car about forty feet in front of the other car as they waited for the occupant to make a move.

“What’s he doing?” Lawson asked.

“I don’t know. You stay down,” Cain said as he pulled out his Glock, turning off the safety.

The pair sat there staring at the other car, struggling to see who was inside. A few seconds later the other car door opened, though the occupant still sat in his seat. Cain opened his door also, mimicking the other driver.

“You have your gun on you?” Cain asked.

“Yeah.”

“Get it out.”

Lawson took out her gun, wondering what Cain had in mind. She usually carried a gun but seldom had any use for it. The only things she ever shot at were targets on the firing range.

“If something happens to me do whatever it takes,” Cain told her.

“What?” Lawson asked, surprised to hear him talking in that manner.

“I don’t know what this guy’s plans are, but if I don’t make it, protect yourself.”

Lawson checked her gun and got it ready, anxious and nervous about what was about to happen. Suddenly the other driver got out, revealing himself.

“Raines,” Lawson exclaimed.

“Yep.”

“You knew it all the time?”

“I assumed so. Who else would it be?”

“Why would he shoot his own contact? He helped him disappear.”

“Maybe because he found out that he talked to us. Besides, now that we know he’s alive he’s got no more use for Gutawa,” Cain stated.

“What’s he doing?” Lawson asked.

Raines emerged from the car and just stood in front of it, gun in his hand, relaxed at his side. Cain and Lawson also got out, though Cain gave his partner a disapproving look, not wanting her to exit the vehicle. It was too late to argue as Cain wasn’t about to take his eyes off of Raines and give him an advantage.

“It seemed as though I wasn’t going to outrun you,” Raines shouted. “So stopping to face you seemed to be the proper course of action.”

“You know this has to end,” Cain replied.

“Does it? Why?”

“You just know it does.”

“Yes, as Sanders has ordered,” Raines said. “I’ve got no quarrel with you Cain. We can both go our separate ways now.”