Black Pawn (Michael Cailen Book 1) (28 page)

The sun had just started to set by the time Michael, Josh,
Martin and Jessica arrived at a suitable motel.

Jessica sat on one of the beds.  Michael stood next to her
as Josh and Martin brought in the duffel bags filled with ammo and weapons.

“So, who's the new guy?” she asked.  She had been wondering
that since the warehouse.  The resemblance to Josh was striking and she assumed
they were related, but she hadn't yet been introduced.  Everyone had been so
focused on getting away from the warehouse safely and then on finding a motel
that introductions took a backseat.

“Oh, right.  I'm sorry.  That's Martin, Josh's cousin,” 
Michael replied as Martin set a duffel bag down on the floor by the dresser.

Martin stepped forward and held out his hand to her.  “Nice
to meet you.”

“Likewise.”  She smiled and shook his hand. “You and Josh
look so much alike I would have thought you were brothers.”

“We get that all the time,” Josh chimed in with a grin on
his face.

Josh's smile was infectious and Jessica couldn't help but
break into a huge grin herself.  She was so relieved to be back with Michael
and Josh.  She had been hoping and praying for it, but in the back of her mind
she really thought she would die.  She almost felt like she was dreaming.

“Can I take a shower?” she looked up at Michael as if
seeking his permission.

“You don't have to ask Jessica.  You're not a prisoner.”

“Can I go for a walk then?” she asked sarcastically.

As if perfectly choreographed all three men replied, “No” in
unison.

She rolled her eyes. “Right.”

“Don't be a smartass,”  Michael playfully responded.  He
grabbed her hand, helping her off the bed.  He pulled her close to him wrapping
his arms around her waist.  “I have to do a few things.  I'm going to pick you
up some clothes and get everyone some food.”  He gently brushed a strand of
hair away from her face. “Just take it easy and relax until I get back.”

She nodded then rested her head on his chest.  He squeezed
her tighter and kissed the top of her head.  As he held her in his arms, his
heart felt as though it wanted to leap out of his chest.  It scared him how
much she meant to him, but he couldn't help it.  He had lost control of his
feelings for her a long time ago.  He whispered something to her in Russian.

“What does that mean?” she asked, her head still resting on
his chest.

He gently touched her chin, lifting her head and tenderly
kissed her lips.  He gazed down at her with a soft smile.  “I'll be back in a
little while,” he assured her as he pried himself away.

Jessica watched him leave, then eagerly headed to the
shower.  She felt gross from the disgusting cot and being manhandled by the
guards.  She couldn't wait to wash away everything that happened in the last
twenty-four hours.  Slipping off her dirty, blood-stained clothes, she looked
at herself in the mirror.  Her face was cut, bruised and still swollen.  A
large purple stripe ran across her torso where her seat belt had been.  No
doubt it saved her life, but left a nasty bruise in doing so.  Bruises covered
her arms and legs from being held down during the druggings.  There were a
couple others, but she couldn't think of where they came from.

She stepped in the shower and as the warm water washed over
her face and hair, she let out a huge sigh of relief.  She began to feel more
and more relaxed until suddenly a well of emotions sprung up in her.  She burst
into tears and began sobbing.  She dropped to her knees as she lost all
control.  The full impact of all the events that had transpired came crashing
down on her.  She could no longer repress all of the anger, fear, distress and
despair brewing inside her.  As she curled up in a ball on the shower floor,
her emotions spilled out.

MICHAEL'S FIRST
stop was to find a pay phone to call Kevin
and tell him they had Jessica.  Kevin was immensely relieved to hear that
Jessica was safe.  Michael told him it would be a few more days before they
were back.  He still had unfinished business.  Kevin said he would use the time
to continue planning for the hack.

After picking up some clothes and other basic necessities,
he stopped at a pizza place and ordered two large pizzas.  His phone rang while
he was waiting in his truck for them.  He didn't recognize the number, so he
answered but didn't speak.

“Michael?”  It was Dmitri.

“Dmitri.  What's up?”

“I got that address you wanted.”

“That was quick.”

“I figured it was urgent.”  Dmitri recited Alonso Gomez's
address.

“I owe you, Dmitri.  More than once now.”

“Be careful, Michael.  They will not hesitate to kill him if
they think he is a threat.”

“Yeah.  I got that,” he agreed.  “Where are you calling
from?”

“Pay phone.”

“Good.  I'd hate for them to know you were talking to me.”

“I didn't start doing this yesterday, Michael.  In fact,
I've been doing it longer than you.”

Michael chuckled.  “You never let me forget it either.”

“I have to have at least one thing over you.”

Michael never knew if Dmitri was just humble of if he
purposefully tried to downplay his abilities so people would underestimate
him.  Michael knew not to underestimate him.  Dmitri was as good, if not
better, than him.  He served on just two missions with Dmitri, but in that time
learned things from him that later saved his life.

“Thanks again, Dmitri.  It was good to see you.”

“You too Michael.”

JOSH AND
Martin were watching TV when Michael
returned holding the pizzas on one arm and the shopping bags on the other. 
They circled him like hungry vultures as he put the boxes on the table.

“Where's Jessica?” he asked when he didn't see her in the
room.

“In the bathroom,”  Martin answered.

“Again?” he seemed surprised.

“She never left,”  Josh replied as he opened one of the
pizza boxes.

“I was gone two hours!”  Michael's temper flared at Josh and
Martin as he walked quickly to the bathroom door.  “Did anyone even bother to
check on her?” 

He looked at them, disgusted.

“I knocked and she said she was fine.  I didn't want to
push,” Josh tried to explain and calm him down.

Michael just turned away and knocked on the door.  She
didn't answer.  He tried to open it, but it was locked.  “Jess. Open the door.”

A few seconds later, the knob turned, releasing the lock,
but the door didn't open.  He opened it himself and stepped in slowly.

She was sitting on the toilet wrapped only in a towel, her
hair still wet and eyes and nose bright red.  She had one elbow up on the
counter, resting her head on her knuckles with a tissue clenched in her fist. 
She stared down at the floor and didn't look at him.

He could see the bruise on her shoulder from the seat belt
and it was the first time he saw the bruising on her arms and legs.  He closed
the door behind him and stood looking down at her, wishing he hadn't left.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked.

“No.”  She wiped a few tears away and returned to staring at
the floor.

Michael placed the bag of clothes on the floor and stepped
towards her.  He knelt in front of her and placed his arms around her legs
resting his hands on her hips.  He looked up at her and smiled softly.  “You're
a terrible liar.”

She squeezed her eyes shut as more tears streamed down her
cheeks.

“What bothers you the most?”

She took a deep breath. 

“That I couldn't stop it,” she replied tearfully.

He was silent for a minute, not wanting to say the wrong
thing and make it worse.  He finally reached up, wiped a tear away and then
cradled her face. 

“Sometimes things happen that you don't have any control
over.  It's not your fault.”

“Yeah.”  She pulled his hand away.  “Coming from the man
who's always in control.”

“Not always, Jess.”  He spoke softly and tried to keep his
tone calm and disarming.  He placed his hand back on her hip.  “I had no
control when they took you.  I couldn't stop it.  I didn't know where you
were.  I didn't know if I would even be able to find you.”

She finally looked at him.  She saw the warm, concerned
expression on his face.  The anger she was feeling started to subside.

“I know what you went through was terrible.  You don't even
have to tell me that.  It wasn't exactly a picnic for me, either.  Talk about
feeling helpless.”  He shook his head.  “You just don't know how much you mean
to me.”

She reached up, caressing his face as she looked in his
eyes.  He moved his hand up to her neck and pulled her towards him, tenderly
kissing her lips.  She placed her other hand on his shoulder and pressed her
forehead to his.  He gently caressed her cheek as he whispered the same Russian
phrase he said to her before.

“What does that mean?” she asked again.

He grinned.  “You must be starving.”  He stood up, avoiding
her question, and gazed down at her.  “Get dressed and come out.  The pizza is
going to get cold.”  He stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head then
left the bathroom.

Jessica muttered the Russian phrase a few times after he
left.  She guessed it must be some sort of affectionate saying, but didn't
understand why he wouldn't tell her.  She turned her attention to the bag of
clothes on the floor.

After learning that Michael had rescued Jessica and all his
men except Dmitri were dead, Milovich called for a meeting.  He and his
bodyguard arrived at Niko's shortly before Dmitri.  He was pacing in the main
office when Dmitri stepped in quietly.  He stood silently near the door and
waited to be addressed.  Also in the room was the older man Michael had talked to
earlier in the club and one other man Dmitri had never seen before.  He
appeared to be in his mid-to-late twenties, in good shape, tall, and looked
like he could handle himself.  His medium brown hair was cut short in military
fashion.

“You didn't see anything?!”  Milovich turned to him
suddenly.

“No, boss.  They were gone.”

Milovich shook his head in disbelief.  “Where's my phone?” 
He turned to his bodyguard who produced a cell phone from his pocket and handed
it to him.

RICK WAS
sitting on his couch watching TV, trying
hard to relax.  After chuckling a few times at the sitcom he was watching he
was almost there.  That is, until his cell phone rang.

He looked at the caller ID and could almost feel his face
turning white.  He didn't want to answer but he knew there would be hell to pay
if he didn't. 

“Hello.”

“I want you to do two things for me and I want it done right
now!”  Milovich demanded.

Rick's hands were shaking already and he felt sick. 

“What do you want?”

“I want you to tell me where this pest Cailen is.  I will
give you the number he's using.  And I want to know where I can find Alonso
Gomez.”  He recited Michael's cell phone number.  Rick quickly ran to the
kitchen and scribbled it onto a piece of paper.

“Umm.  I have to be at work to do that.”  Rick sat in a
kitchen chair, afraid his legs would give out.

“Then do it!” Milovich shouted.

“That will raise suspicion.  They'll wonder why I'm there so
late.”  Rick was petrified Milovich wouldn't accept that.  It was true, but he
didn't seem like he was in a very reasonable mood.  He heard him shouting in
Russian.  He guessed he was cursing.

“You have until nine o'clock tomorrow morning.  You don't
have what I want, you're dead!”

MILOVICH SLAMMED
his phone down on the table and
allowed a few more obscenities to pass through his lips before he ended his
tirade.

“I thought Gomez was already taken care of,” Dmitri spoke
up.

“He's not taken care of until he's dead!” Milovich shouted. 
“I should have never listened to that man.  I should have killed him a long
time ago.”  He was referring of course to Morgan who insisted that Gomez's
death would bring too much heat.

“I don't understand how Gomez is a threat.  He no longer
works for the CIA.  What can he do?”

Milovich gave Dmitri a look that would've made any other man
back down in fear.  Not Dmitri.  It was a quality he both admired and hated in
him.

Regaining his calm, he gave a disingenuous smile to Dmitri. 

“Okay, I will spell it out for you then, Dmitri.”  He
continued smiling.

“The hacker tried to contact Gomez specifically for a
reason.  That reason is no doubt contained on the drive.  If Cailen has seen
the information on the drive, he may very well also try to contact Gomez.  Tell
me Dmitri, do you think Gomez knows anyone who still works for the CIA?” 

His smile vanished.

Dmitri didn't respond to the question.  He didn't have to. 
Milovich didn't expect an answer.  “Let me do it,” he suggested instead.

“No.  I want you on Cailen.”

“But it will be a piece of cake.”

“Exactly.  Which is why any monkey can do it.  Your target
is Cailen.  Nothing else.”  Milovich was firm.

Dmitri clenched his jaw, not liking the direction things
were heading.

“Since we've had so much trouble with this Cailen,  I've
called in Andrei here to help out.”  Milovich gestured to the young man who had
been quietly watching the conversation play out.  “Andrei is from the Russian
Army Special Forces.”

“Spetsnaz GRU?” Dmitri seemed intrigued.

Milovich turned to him. “Yes.”

“How do we know we can trust him?”  Dmitri looked straight at
Andrei.

“Andrei has done work for me in the past.”  Milovich
smiled.  “He's one of ours.”

“I'll take your word for it.”  Dmitri stared unflinchingly
at Andrei.

“Good, because he is your new partner.”

“I don't want a partner,”  Dmitri protested.

“I don't care.  From now on, you will be working together to
stop Cailen.  You don't leave each others side.”

“Boss, how is having this man glued to my side going to help
us find Cailen?  We should split up.  We would have a better chance.”  Dmitri
really didn't want to get stuck with him.  He wanted to make sure Michael
wasn't still using his phone and he needed to warn Gomez.  Accomplishing either
of those things with a GRU sidekick would be impossible.

“Those are my orders.”  Milovich stood his ground.  “I think
you have a better chance working together than on your own.  You
will
do
it my way.”

“There is nothing special about this Cailen,” Andrei finally
spoke, his tone arrogant and condescending. “You people talk like he is a god. 
He is just a man.”  He stepped towards Dmitri.  “And he will die like every
other man I've killed.”

Dmitri smirked. 

“You have not killed a man like Cailen.”

Andrei scoffed and turned away, clearly underestimating what
he was up against.

Dmitri turned to Milovich.  “Can I go now?”

“Yes. You may go.  Andrei goes with you.” 

He gestured for Andrei to leave.

Dmitri gritted his teeth and stepped out with Andrei right
behind him.