Black Pawn (Michael Cailen Book 1) (18 page)

Michael drove to the address Martin had given him.  It was a
deli.  Martin said to park in the back and knock on the door that said
“Deliveries.”  He did as instructed.  He was greeted by a teenage girl who
looked like she worked there.  She invited him in and led him down a hallway
directing him to a door on the right.  The girl disappeared as Michael opened
the door and stepped in.

Martin was sitting at a desk punching numbers on a large
calculator.  The line of paper coming out of the machine must have been a mile
long.  A large ledger was opened in front of him.  He stopped and looked up at
Michael.  “You made it,” he smiled.

“You working?” Michael asked remembering Martin's cover had
been as an accountant.

“Yeah, unfortunately.  A friend of mine owns this deli, but
is terrible at keeping his books in order.  He asked me to help him out.”  He
shook his head and rolled his eyes. “I wish I'd never agreed to it.”  He stood
up to shake Michael's hand.  He was dressed in a light blue button-up shirt and
khakis.   The last few buttons were left undone and the sleeves were rolled
partway up.  “Nice seeing you again.”

“Likewise.”

Martin closed the door and gestured to one of the chairs in
front of the desk. “Have a seat.”

Michael sat in the chair facing the door.  Martin took the
other one.

“What did you want to talk to me about?” Martin asked.

Michael glanced around the room.  He felt funny talking in
this office.  He worried it could be bugged or maybe had cameras.  He didn't
know if he was just being careful or if perhaps he was becoming somewhat
paranoid.

Martin picked up on his uneasiness.  “Don't worry.  I check
for bugs and cams regularly.  It's completely unnecessary, but old habits die
hard don't they?”

Michael smiled.  “I have some leads that could break this
whole thing wide open, but there's a catch.  To get the information, I need
I'll have to get into the CIA's records.”

“I can't help you with that.  I don't work there any more,
and at this point, I wouldn't know who to trust.”

“No, I know.  I wouldn't even ask you to if you could. 
That's not why I came.”

“You wanted to kill me with curiosity then?” Martin joked.

Michael laughed.   He stared down at the floor and pursed
his lips.  “What do you think about hacking into the CIA?”  He looked up to
catch Martin's reaction.  There was none.  He was good.

“I'm going to venture a guess that hacking isn't really in
your skill set,” Martin said.  “You would need help and since you're asking me
about it I'm going to also venture a guess that you have someone who thinks
they can do it?”

“Can it be done?”  He tried to avoid answering the question.

“To be honest, I don't know.  About six years ago I heard
rumors that someone had hacked into the mainframe but I have no idea if it
really happened or not.  It was just rumors and whispers.”

“Was there anything more to those rumors?”

Martin looked at him curious.  “Supposedly the perp was in
for twelve seconds and they couldn't trace it.  No one knew who did it.”

That seemed to validate Jessica's story even though Michael
had believed her anyway.

“It was just a rumor, Michael,”  Martin reiterated.

Michael nodded.  Both men were struggling to read the other
but because of their past lives as covert operatives it was proving
challenging.  Martin had been watching Michael closely trying to read his
reactions but Michael was just as stoic as Martin.

“Do the names Alonso Gomez and Edward Morgan mean anything
to you?” Michael asked.

“No. Why?”

“Just names I came across.”

“How did you come across them?”

Michael got the feeling Martin knew much more than he was
telling.  With his background in the CIA he wouldn't be quick to tip his hand. 
He would first try to draw information out of Michael before divulging what he
knew.  Michael knew this because it's what he himself would do.  He decided he
didn't want to wait to see who would break first.

“I have some emails sent between the two men.  They
reference an operation in Yunnan, China, and the dates of the emails correspond
to my trip there.  It's a little too coincidental.”

“What did the emails say?”

Martin was quiet while Michael gave him a rundown of all the
email correspondence including the anonymous ones as well as the confidential
informant's report.  Micheal hoped his divulging of intel would pay off.  It
did.

“Alonso Gomez and Edward Morgan both work for the CIA,”
Martin informed him.  “Edward Morgan heads up the division that handles illegal
drug trafficking and production.  Alonso Gomez covers opium specifically. 
Gomez works directly under Morgan.”

“What do you think of the informant?”

“It sounds like he's got someone inside the CIA feeding him
information and telling him what to say.  He sounds like a pawn.”

“A pawn?” Michael perked up. “Do the words
White Knight
or
Black Pawn
mean anything to you?”

“No.  Where they on the drive too?”

“Yeah, along with these coordinates.”  Michael handed him
the paper with the coordinates on it.  “Do you think you could find out what's
in those locations?”

Martin looked at the numbers.  “Piece of cake.”  He stuffed
the paper in his shirt pocket.  “So back to this hacking.  You didn't answer my
question.”

“I know.”

“Hacking into the CIA is no joke.  It's more than likely
this person is going to get caught trying if he is even able to hack in. 
Perhaps you should look for another way to get the information you need.”

“I don't see any other way.  Last time, I asked someone on
the inside to help, he ended up dead.  I won't do that again.”

“So who is this guy who thinks he can hack into the CIA?”

A grin crept across Michael's face.  “It's not a guy.”

“A woman?”  His eyebrows raised.  “She wouldn't happen to be
your current traveling companion would she?”

“Could be.”

“What makes her think she can do it?”

Michael tilted his head from side to side. “She's done it
before.”

“So it wasn't a rumor.”

Michael shook his head no.

“Wow.  Now I want to meet her.  You know if the CIA finds
out she hacked into their system they might just offer her a job ...  In
exchange for not having her put to death as a terrorist.”

Michael took a deep breath and let it out.  “Well, it
wouldn't be much different from the situation we're in now.”

“True,” Martin agreed.

“Got any advice?”

“Well if I were going to try and hack into the CIA I would
do it from a remote location in case they trace it.  Once you're done, pack up
and get out immediately leaving nothing behind that could lead them to you.”

Michael nodded.  “My thoughts exactly.  Thanks for seeing me
and for all your help.”

“Sure.  I'll get back to you with what's at those
locations.”

Martin walked Michael to the door.  They shook hands and
Michael left the same way he came in.   He dialed Jessica's phone after he got
in the truck.

Jessica had just finished putting a load of laundry in the
dryer when she heard a cell phone ringing.  It sounded like it was coming from
her room.  She realized it was the phone Michael had given her.  She got to it
right before it went to voicemail.  “Hello?”

“Hey Jess. What's Kevin's number?”

“Is everything okay?”

“It's fine, I just need his number.”

“I thought we weren't supposed to call him?”

“That's on our cell phones.  I'm going to use a pay phone. 
I'm not an idiot.”  He was irritated that she was questioning him about it.

“Sorry.”  She rattled off Kevin's cell phone number.

“Alright. Thanks.  You need anything while I'm out?”

“I don't think Josh has any wine here.”

“Is that all?”

“Why do you need Kevin's number?”

“I want to talk to him.”

“About what?”

“About what you want to do.”

“I'm sure I could answer any questions you have.”

“No.  You're not objective.”

“Well, that's harsh.”

“It's true.”

Jessica was suddenly quiet.

“I'll be back soon.”

“Okay.”

Michael could hear sadness in her voice.  He hung up the
phone and sighed.  He thought back on the conversation and figured it would
have been better if he had kept his mouth shut about not trusting her to be
objective.  He probably hurt her feelings.  He would have to worry about it
later.  He had work to do.

He found a gas station with a pay phone in the parking lot. 
Pulling some change from his pocket he dialed the number Jessica gave him.  It
rang a few times and Kevin answered.

“Hey it's Michael.  You got a minute?”

“Michael.  Yeah, sure.  Is everything okay?  Is Jess
alright?”

“She's fine.  I'm calling to talk to you about that thing
Jess wanted to do.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“Do you really think she can pull it off?  Can we do it
without being caught?”

“Uhhh ....  Well.  I'm sure they've enhanced their security
measures since six years ago, but Jessica is better than me, though she doesn't
believe it.  She's got a good plan too.  I think it could work.  As long as
we're smart about it.  It will take some planning to do it right.”

“Can we do it without getting caught though?  It doesn't
matter if we succeed if we all end up dead after.”

“That's where the planning comes in.  We'll need a
contingency plan in case they trace the attack.”

“I want to meet and get a rough plan in the works.”

“We should meet with the others who will be helping.  The
more heads we have in planning this the better.  Less likely for something to
be overlooked.”

“Who are we talking about?”

“A few people I know I can trust. We all go way back.”

“Do you mean like Suki, Jinx, Sun, Snipe and Phuzz?”

“Yeah, actually.  Jessica told you about them?”

“We met.”

“Well that's who I'd like to bring in on this.  There are
more we'll have to bring in to help, but for starters I think the eight of us
should get together.”

“All right.  Set it up.  I'll call you in two days and you
can tell me when and where.”

“Why don't I just call you back after I set it up?  Is this
your number on the caller ID?”

“No.  I'm at a pay phone.  It's better if I call you.   I'll
call around this time.”

“Okay.  I'll get working on it.”

Jessica was sitting on the couch watching TV.  She wasn't
really watching the TV, rather just staring at it while her mind was
elsewhere.  She was feeling down since her conversation with Michael.  She was
soon joined by a sleepy Josh.

“Are you watching this?”  He sounded surprised.

“Huh? Oh. No. Not really.”  She finally looked at what was
on the TV and saw she had been watching a horror flick.  “Oh God, no.”  She
quickly changed the channel.

Josh laughed.  “What's on your mind?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well you didn't even realize you were watching a horror
movie.  What has you so distracted?”

“Michael doesn't trust me.”  She sounded like she wanted to
slit her wrists.

“What? Why do you think that?”

“He said I wasn't objective.”

Josh roared with laughter.  “Well if that isn't the pot
calling the kettle black.”

“What? What's so funny?”

“Don't take it to heart.  I tell him that all the time.” 
Josh was still laughing.

“You don't think he's objective?”

Josh shook his head.  “Not when it comes to you.”  He turned
to her.  A smile replaced the frown that was on her face. “He trusts you, he's
just doing his due diligence.   Which he should.  Sloppy gets people killed.”

Jessica was now feeling much better.  “Does he talk about
me?”

Josh grinned. “Maybe.

“Come on.  What does he say?”  She turned sideways on the
couch to face him, grinning from ear to ear.”

“Uhhh...”  Josh was searching for a way out of answering her
question.  He didn't have to search long because just then Michael returned. 
“Saved,” he grinned as Michael opened the door to the apartment.  Jessica
rolled her eyes.

“Am I interrupting something?” Michael asked when he caught
sight of them on the couch.  He was holding a brown paper bag that held the
couple of bottles of wine he brought back.

“Yes.  Thank you,” Josh replied.  Jessica slapped his arm.

Michael grinned as he dropped the wine off in the kitchen. 
“So which one of you is going to tell me what you were talking about?”

“Not it!” Josh quickly yelled, leaving Jessica to fend for
herself.

Michael leaned on the doorway to the kitchen, sizing up the
two of them.  Jessica looked shy and embarrassed while Josh looked like he just
heard the joke of the century.  Michael sat next to Jessica, figuring she was
the weaker link.  He rested his hand on her leg and squeezed her thigh.

“So... what were you talking about?”  He smiled at her.

“Umm...”  She looked to Josh for help.

There was an uncomfortable moment of silence before Josh
decided to rescue her.  “We were just having a nice conversation about
objectivity.”

“Were you now?  I can only imagine how that conversation
went.”  He directed his next question at Jessica again. “And what did he tell
you?”

“That you're not objective when it comes to me.”  She
watched to see his reaction.

He turned his attention from her to Josh who was
purposefully looking away to avoid eye contact.  He looked back at Jessica. 
“He's right.”  He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of
her head.  “Good thing Josh is here to keep reminding me.”

Michael's pocket started vibrating just then.  He knew who
it was without even looking.  There was only one person who had his number that
wasn't already in the room.  It was Brook.  He pulled his arm from around
Jessica and leaned forward as he answered the phone.

“Hey ...  Yeah, I'm doin' good ...  I can probably do that ... 
Alright see you then.”  He hung up the phone and stared at the floor.  He
didn't look happy.

“Everything okay?” asked Josh.

Michael put the phone on the coffee table and ran his
fingers through his hair.  He took a deep breath and let it out.  “That was
Brook.  She's having a party at her house tonight and wants me to come.”

“Guess we won't be able to search her place,” Josh observed.

“Nope.”

“Was that all?” Josh asked.  There seemed to be more that
Michael wasn't telling.

“She wants me to spend the night.”  He looked away, not
wanting to see Jessica's reaction.

Jessica crossed her arms and stared at the floor.  Her heart
raced and she felt lightheaded.

Michael stood up without saying anything, walked into the
bedroom and closed the door.  Josh and Jessica sat in silence.  Josh had no
clue what to say and Jessica didn't feel like talking.

“Are you hungry?” he asked.

“I don't feel like eating.”

Josh nodded. “Well I'm starving.  If you change your mind,
just let me know.  I'm gonna raid my fridge.”

As Josh sauntered off to the kitchen, Jessica looked at
Michael's cell on the table.  Once Josh was out of sight, she reached forward
and grabbed it.  She checked the call list then moved on to text messages,
expecting it to be empty since he had gotten this phone recently.  To her
dismay, it wasn't.  There were multiple text messages.  Most took place late at
night after she was usually asleep and when she thought Michael was too.   She
started to read a few.

Hey stud. Guess what kind of panties I got on?

Hmm ... Thong?
Michael replied.

None,
she answered.

My favorite kind.

As she was trying to open another message, the phone was
suddenly ripped from her hands.  It was Michael.  She didn't even hear him walk
up behind her.  She bolted off the couch and turned around.

“Are you incapable of following simple requests?” he asked
angrily.

“You were sending her messages while I was asleep next to
you?” she shot back.

“I am not in the mood for this Jessica.”

“Of course you're not.”

She turned and started storming off towards the bedroom. 
Michael grabbed her arm and yanked her back towards him.  He pulled her so hard
she almost lost her footing and fell.  She suddenly felt afraid of him.

“Do you really think this is what I want to be doing?!” he
yelled.

She had never seen him so angry. 

“You're hurting me.”  Tears welled up in her eyes.

“Every step of the way. you've been bucking me.  You don't
listen, you overreact, you do the exact opposite of what I ask!” he screamed.

Josh came running from the kitchen and stepped between them,
trying to gently separate the two. “Calm down, bro.”

“Stay out of this Josh!”  Michael pushed him away.

Josh stepped back between them.  “Michael.  You're hurting
her,” he stated calmly.

Michael glanced at Jessica who looked terrified.  Tears
streamed down her face and she was wincing in pain.  He let go of her arm and
she ran off to the bedroom crying.  He closed his eyes and stood there
contemplating what a jerk he just was.  Josh squeezed his shoulder.  “I'm sorry
Michael.”

Josh went back to the kitchen and Michael decided he needed
some fresh air and left.  He didn't bother telling anyone.

Josh heard the door open and shut and figured that Michael
had gone for a walk to clear his head.  He finished a sandwich and then knocked
on Jessica's door.

“It's Josh.  Can I come in?”

The door opened.  Tissue in hand, her eyes and nose bright
red, Jessica walked back to the bed and sat on the edge.  Josh took a seat next
to her.

“Look, that's not normal for him,” he said in Michael's
defense.

“Where is he?”

“He left to clear his head.  What happened?”

Jessica explained the situation with the phone and Brook and
explained what she was doing when Michael caught her.

“I should have just minded my own business.  It's all my
fault.”  She sniffled and wiped her eyes with the tissue.

“Well, I'm not gonna argue with you.  I understand why
you're doing it, but you really need to stop.  He truly can't stand her.  You
have no reason to be jealous.  He's stressed enough with everything that's
going on.  You should be trying to alleviate his stress, not add to it.”

“I know.” Tears fell from her eyes faster than she could
wipe them away.  “How long do you think he'll be gone?”

“I don't know.  Why don't you call him?”

She shook her head.  “He's mad at me.”

“Yeah, but he probably also feels bad about the way he
acted.  Call him.”

Josh got up and left the room.  She looked at her phone on
the nightstand.

MICHAEL WAS
three blocks away and had just started to
calm when his phone vibrated again.  He was immediately anxious and irritated
until he saw it was Jessica.  He stared at the ID for a minute and then picked
up.  He didn't say anything.

“Michael?”

“Yeah.”

“I'm sorry.”  Her voice broke.

He sighed deeply.  “Me too.”

He could hear her trying to cry quietly.  “Listen, do you
want to do something together before I have to go out?  We could see a movie,
sit at the park, go for a walk.  Whatever you feel like.  Just spend some time
together.”

“I'd like that.”  She sniffled.

“I'll be back in a few minutes.  Try to think of what you'd
like to do.”

“Okay.”

He hung up the phone and took a deep breath, feeling
relieved and more relaxed.

Jessica sat in her room trying to stop crying.  She heard
the apartment door open and a few seconds later Michael came in the room.  She
took one look at him and burst into tears again.

He took her into his arms, kissing the top of her head. 
“Have you thought about what you'd like to do?”

“A movie sounds good,” she answered, regaining control of
herself.

He brushed her hair from her face and smiled at her.  “We
should get going then.”

She smiled back. “Okay.”

He kissed her tenderly then left her to get ready while he
informed Josh of their plans.  He agreed it was a good idea for them to take a
break.

ARRIVING AT
a small theater on the other side of
town, they decided on a comedy that was about to begin in ten minutes and took
seats in the very last row.   Michael wrapped his arm around Jessica and took
her hand in his.  She rested her head on his shoulder.  They both felt relaxed
and content to be together.

When the movie ended, Jessica started to feel sad.  She knew
Michael would be leaving to go to Brook's soon.  She wished he could just stay
with her.  He picked up on the change in her mood.

“You know those text messages are just part of the act?” he
said.

“I know.”  She looked down at her lap.

“It will be over soon.  One way or another.”

She looked up into his eyes and smiled.  She hoped it was
true.

“We should go,” he said as the last of the credits rolled
off the screen.

When they arrived at Josh's, Jessica made a dash for the
bathroom.  Michael sat next to Josh on the couch, noticing he had changed
clothes.  Josh dug something out of his pocket and handed it to Michael.   It
was a tiny baggie with a pill inside.

“What's this?” he asked.

“Rohypnol,” Josh answered.

“Should I even ask what you're doing with a date rape drug?”
Michael raised his eyebrows.

Josh laughed. “I don't use them, if that's what you're
implying.  I picked it up while you were out.  I figure you can use it to knock
Brook out so you don't have to have sex with her.”

“So I'm going to use a date rape drug in order to not have
sex?  That's different,” he chuckled.  “It's a good idea.  I can search her
place while she's out as well.  Maybe you could bring Jess over to hack her
computer.  Take care of everything in one night.”

“That's a thought.  Call me if you want to do it.”

“All right.” Michael stuffed the pill in his pocket. “Don't
say anything to Jess though, unless I call.  I don't know how the night is
going to play out and I don't want to give her false hope.”

“No problem.”

“Do me a favor and try to keep her occupied.  Don't let her
drink too much.”

“Will do,” he nodded.

Jessica emerged from the bathroom and Michael met her
halfway in the living room.  He took her hand and pulled her close to him.  “I
have to go.”

She sighed.  “What time does it start?”

“A half hour ago.”