The Cain Conspiracy (9 page)

“What’s the FBI’s take on it, Tim?” Sanders asked.

“He was on their top ten for two years but they have no leads on him and he’s seemingly falling off their radar. They have other fish to fry.”

“Makes him a good target for us,” Sanders mused.

“I was thinking it might make a good first assignment for Cain,” Wells stated.

Sanders stared at the screen, only taking his eyes off it to look at Wells momentarily, his fingers stroking his chin, deep in thought.

“I agree,” Sanders finally said. “Hand the file over to Shelly and have her work out the details with Cain.”

“Right.”

“What else you got?”

Wells spent the next half hour going over various forms of information he’d received, not all of it deemed reliable or anything that could be acted upon soon. Anything that was agreed on to be relevant was saved for future use so they could acquire more information or scheduled to be handed out to a handler. Once the meeting ended, Wells went back to his office and emailed the entire contents of the Contreras file to Shelly Lawson. All handlers got automatic text messages when they received emails so any new information or cases were handled promptly.

Lawson was in a small coffee shop when she got the text alerting her to a new email. She was going over logistics of a mission of another agent when she logged onto her tablet to check the email’s contents. As an agency, Contreras was usually not the kind of target that they went after. He was not a threat to the safety and security of the United States, which was their primary goal. But he was the perpetrator of a major crime that escaped punishment, which they sometimes decided worthy of pursuing if time allowed and it could be done quickly. They also usually picked these cases for new agents to get them acclimated to the agency and how things were done. Lawson began working immediately on the file and quickly engulfed herself on the contents. While working on it she decided to give Cain a heads up to let him know a mission was coming his way so he could start mentally preparing for it. She took her phone out of her purse and dialed his number.

“How you feeling?” Lawson asked.

“OK I guess.”

“Getting tired and bored of sitting there?”

“A little bit,” he replied.

“Well, looks like that’ll be ending soon.”

“Why’s that?”

“You’re being given a mission.”

“Where?”

“Honduras,” she said.

“What’s the target?”

“I’ll go over everything with you tomorrow. Come into the Center at ten o’clock and I’ll give you the details. I’m still working things out right now.”

“I’ll be there.”

Cain walked into the Center at 9:55, greeting the receptionist, before swiping his card to go through the door located in the back. He was greeted by Lawson.

“Anxious or excited?” she asked.

“Neither really,” Cain solemnly said.

They took the elevator up to the fourth floor to go to Lawson’s office. Almost all offices in the building were surrounded by glass except for the Director, Deputy Directors, and offices used for special purposes such as interviewing or interrogation. They sat down at her desk and she handed him copies of all the information she had about the case. Cain opened the folder and started reading the file.

“When do I leave?” Cain wondered.

“Tomorrow. Your plane ticket’s in there.”

Cain looked in the back of the folder and took the ticket out, holding it up, looking at both sides of it. He looked somewhat confused.

“There’s no return ticket?” Cain asked.

“It’s up to you to purchase one to get back once the mission’s been completed. We don’t like to rush our agents into making decisions that aren’t in their best interests just so they can catch a plane. Take your time to do it right and come back when you’re done. You’ll fly down to Miami from JFK here in New York and take a connecting flight to Honduras from there on American Airlines. Your flight from JFK is 2:00pm on Monday. Should take a little over six hours to get there. With the two hour time difference you should be there around seven.”

“What do you want me to do when I get him?”

“Eliminate him. He’s not to be taken, captured, or transported. We only work one way.”

“Dead,” Cain said.

“Other agencies worry about capturing and all that stuff.”

“Too much red tape?”

“Take him out and it’s done. That simple.”

“How will I know where to find Contreras?”

“You’ll be flying in to the Ramon Villeda Morales International Airport, which is about seven miles outside of San Pedro Sula. Once you arrive you’ll be greeted by a man named Javier Ruiz. He’ll update you on the situation when you arrive.”

“Why not just have this Ruiz take care of it then if he’s already there?” Cain wondered.

“Because he’s not trained to eliminate targets. He lives and works there and feeds us information. We can’t have locals doing the jobs themselves and risk compromising them,” Lawson informed.

“Is this Ruiz trustworthy?”

“Very. We’ve worked with him before. He’s very reliable. There are absolutely no issues with that. Once you arrive, Ruiz will supply you with whatever weapons you need.”

“I’m going unarmed?”

“While it is possible to get a gun through security there’s no need to take risks when you can be supplied with one as soon as you touch ground. But I do suggest obtaining a weapon be your first priority once you arrive.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because Honduras has the highest murder rate in the world and is one of the poorest countries in Latin America. Crime is widespread and foreigners are deemed to be wealthy and frequently targeted. In the last 17 years there have been 113 U.S. citizens murdered there with only 29 resolved cases. There are roughly three murders in that city alone every day. Be aware of driving at night as carjacking is prevalent, as well as crimes of opportunity.”

“Great. I’m excited already,” Cain deadpanned.

“Contreras has been seen in the tourist city of San Pedro Sula which has seen armed robberies against cars traveling from the airport, most likely on tips received from someone working at the airport. Several citizens have been murdered shortly after arriving so it’s quite possible you’ll be targeted as soon as you arrive.”

“And I’m not going armed?” Cain sarcastically asked.

“You’ll be fine. Don’t worry,” Lawson replied.

“Oh, yeah, can’t see any reason why I wouldn’t be.”

“Also, don’t drink the water.”

“And I thought that was just a bad punch line.”

“They lack the substantial infrastructure to maintain water purity so only buy bottled water,” she continued. “I also wouldn’t eat any raw fish, fruit, or vegetables.”

“Right.”

“Hot foods, fresh bread, coffee, tea, beer, and dry food like crackers are usually fine to eat.”

“Well that’s encouraging.”

“Assuming you don’t get them from street vendors,” she said smiling.

“Wow, this is a regular vacation destination.”

“Remember, the sooner you get it done, the sooner you get home.”

“These are the photos of Contreras that were taken of him last week,” Lawson said, putting them down on the desk. “And just in case you have second thoughts about killing him, this is the photo of the little girl he raped and killed.”

Cain stared at Lawson for a few seconds before putting his eyes on the picture of the little girl. He picked the photo up, and focused on it, her image being burned into his mind.

“It’ll be done,” Cain plainly stated.

After leaving the Center, Cain went back to his apartment. Heather was already in the kitchen preparing lunch for them.

“You know I was thinking about getting tickets for the Rangers game on Tuesday. What do you think?” Heather asked.

“Umm…I’m gonna have to take a rain check on it,” he regretfully replied. “I’m going out of town for a few days.”

“Oh,” she said, a hint of disappointment showing in her voice. “For your work?”

“Yeah.”

“Where are you going?”

“I can’t really say. It shouldn’t take long though. I should be back in a couple days.”

“OK. Well, I hope you have a good trip.”

Cain sat down at the table as Heather continued making their lunch. She brought over a couple of turkey sandwiches, chips, and sodas for the both of them.

“So when are you leaving?” Heather wondered.

“Monday.”

They ate in silence for a few minutes, neither able to figure out the right words to say. Cain could tell she seemed uneasy about something though he wasn’t sure what it was.

“Are you gonna be OK here by yourself for a few days?” Cain asked.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure? Cause I could try to get someone to come stay with you while I’m gone.”

“Really? You’re acting like I’m in witness protection or something. I’ve been living on my own for a few years now. I think I’ll be fine a few days without you.”

“Sorry. I guess I’ve got that whole protecting thing going on,” he said.

“It’s OK. It’s cute. Besides, you leaving will help me out anyway.”

“How’s that?”

“I won’t have to look after you,” she kidded. “I’ll be able to spend a lot of time job hunting. I’ll just check out Monster and some other job sites. Hopefully I’ll find a few things.”

“I’m sure you will. At least you have a degree. That’ll help.”

“Yeah, but the gap on my resume won’t help too much.”

“What gap?” Cain asked.

“Well, I don’t think that putting down stripping and other extracurricular activities on my resume will do much for my job chances.”

“I see your point.”

“I thought you might.”

“Then don’t put that down,” Cain told her.

“I have to put down something. If I don’t they’re gonna ask what I’ve been doing the last few years.”

“How bout you just put down you had your own business?”

“My own business?” Heather asked.

“Well it kinda is, isn’t it?”

“And just what kind of business have I been running?”

“Entertainment,” he smiled.

They spent a couple of days polishing up Heather’s resume. It’d been several years since she sent a resume out to anyone so she was grateful for his help. Cain enjoyed helping her even if he wasn’t sure he was doing much good. He’d been in the army since graduating high school so he was fairly certain he’d never written one himself. The rest of the weekend they spent just trying to get to know each other. Cain was intrigued by the life of the beautiful woman he was now sharing an apartment with. Another place and time he might’ve made a move on her but he didn’t think it was the appropriate time to do that. At least not until he was more certain of how his life as an agent would be. He knew there was going to be a good amount of travel involved and wasn’t sure it’d be fair to make someone wait for him, not knowing when he’d be coming home.

Heather tried grilling Cain on his past to get a better idea of his life but he didn’t divulge much. Not because he didn’t want to but because he had no idea on a lot of the questions she was asking. He really didn’t know what he liked or things he tried before. He tried to deflect most of her questions to avoid making it seem like he was trying to hide something from her.

The morning that Cain was supposed to leave on his trip he got up early, not able to sleep. He tossed and turned most of the night thinking about what it might be like. A lot of thoughts crossed through his mind, knowing full well that it probably wouldn’t be like anything he had envisioned. He tried to eat breakfast but only had a few bites as his stomach was too nervous to put any food into it. Cain was trying not to make too much noise so he wouldn’t wake Heather up but she eventually walked out from the bedroom anyway.

“I’m sorry,” Cain said, noticing her standing in the door.

“For what?”

“Waking you up. I was trying to be quiet.”

“No, it wasn’t you. I just had to go to the bathroom and noticed that you were up,” she told him.

“Oh.”

“I guess you’re leaving soon?”

“Yeah, in a few minutes,” Cain answered.

“I figured so. I’ll make sure everything’s good here.”

“Oh, I know you will. I don’t have any worries about it.”

“Good,” she said.

“Well, I should be going.”

“You take care of yourself.”

“I will.”

Heather walked closer to him, trying to get a read on the situation. She really wanted to give him a hug but wasn’t sure if he would push her away. She decided to go for it and awkwardly put her arms around him, barely touching each other. She wasn’t sure what it was about Cain that made her so careful about both of their feelings as she’d never acted so gingerly around a man before. Maybe it was because of her past that she wanted to become a different person. Part of that transformation would include being more sensitive to her feelings. Heather assumed that when Cain looked at her he still saw a stripper and she’d have to work at changing that perception. She knew that wouldn’t happen overnight and that it’d take time. It would also take her being patient and not trying to force him into wanting her. She realized that if she tried to force herself onto him that it might make him think twice about her and back away. If she was ever able to get him to look past her background it’d have to be a realization that came to him on his own.

Chapter 5

Cain was walking through the Ramon Villeda Morales International Airport looking for the rendezvous point. He was instructed to meet his contact at a table in front of the Wendy’s. Ruiz would be wearing a black New York Yankees baseball hat. It only took a few minutes before Cain located him. Ruiz was eating a Baconator as Cain approached. Cain sat down across from him as Ruiz grabbed a napkin to get the grease off his hand, shaking Cain’s as they introduced themselves.

“Ruiz?”

“Mr. Cain, pleasure to meet you,” Ruiz replied.