Black Pawn (Michael Cailen Book 1) (41 page)

“We'll have to approach from the
tree line,” Michael explained.  “We can use the few trees between the barn and
house for cover as we close in.  It won't be easy.”

“Do we have any weapons?” Josh
directed his question mostly at Luca since they hadn't brought any weapons with
them.

Luca sighed.  “This is another
problem.  Meier has some of the local police on his payroll.  You can get the
girl out.  They can't exactly file a missing person report on a woman they
kidnapped, but you cannot kill anyone.  If there are dead bodies, it will get
very complicated very quickly.”

“I'll try my best,” Michael said
insincerely.

He knew Luca was right though.  It
wouldn't take corrupt police long to focus on them.  Martin and Josh being
related to Katie and just arriving in the country would be a dead giveaway. 
Leaving the country would be nearly impossible if they were wanted for murder.

“I think only two of us should
go.  Any more than that will be easier to spot.  Martin and I will go scout the
house and see what we can find,” Michael finally announced.

“Like hell,” Josh protested.  “I'm
going.”

“No.  Your head's not in the game.”

“Michael, you know I can do this.  Martin
may have had training and can handle himself, but there are only two soldiers
in this car and you know who they are.  I'm better equipped, and you know it.”

Michael looked back at him and
grinned.  “That's what I was hoping you'd say.”

Josh let out a sigh of relief.

“Let's go.”  Michael opened his
door and stepped out, strapping on his small backpack.

The air felt cool and there was a
slight breeze.  Josh joined him and they started snaking their way to the tree
line using anything they could find as cover.  Once in the woods, they
stealthily moved towards the barn.   As they got closer, they could hear the
two guards stationed by the door talking.  They crept up to the back wall of
the barn and took a moment to prepare themselves mentally for what they were
about to do.  Once they attacked the guards, they were committed.  There would
be no going back.  If things got ugly, they would have to deal with it.

Michael gestured for Josh to go
around the side of the barn while he went around the opposite way.  They snuck
up to the guards, and took them both out at the same moment.  They dragged the
unconscious men off to the side of the barn and out of sight.  They were about
to advance on the house when they heard someone cough from inside the barn. 
They looked at each other and then back at the barn.  They stepped over to the
door.

“Are you sick?”  Michael spoke
through the door in German, hoping to get some kind of response from inside
telling him who or how many were there.  He was expecting another guard to
answer but instead heard a woman speaking English.

“What did he say?” the woman
asked.

“I think he asked if she was
sick?” another woman answered.

Josh and Michael looked at each
other, promptly opened the door and entered, closing it back behind them.  The
women quickly huddled together in fear, not knowing what to expect.  Michael
handed Josh a flashlight from his bag then grabbed one for himself.  He shined
his around the room while Josh shined light on the women.  They turned away,
shielding their eyes from the bright light.  Josh panned the room until the
light stopped on one girl.  She was petite with the trademark Lavene blond hair
and blue eyes, just like Martin and Josh.  The family resemblance was uncanny.

“Katie!” he exclaimed.

“Who are you?” she asked, blinded
by the sharp lights as he rushed towards her.

“It's me, Josh,”  he answered,
taking her in his arms.

“Josh?”  It couldn't possibly be
him, she thought.

Michael shined his flashlight on
Josh so she could see his face.  She was overjoyed when she finally realized it
was really him.

“Josh!”  She wrapped her arms
around his neck and squeezed him in a death grip as she gave way to tears.  She
couldn't believe he was there.

He squeezed her back just as
tightly.  “We're going to get you out of here.”

“How did you find me? What's going
on?” Questions were rushing through her head faster than she could vocalize
them.

“Easy,”  Michael stepped in. 
“Let's get out of here first, then we'll talk.”

“Your voice is familiar.”  She
wiped some tears away.  He shined the light on his face.  “You work with Josh. 
You're Michael.”

“Good memory.”  Michael smiled. 
“Martin is waiting for us in the car, so why don't we get going?”

Josh grabbed her hand and started
pulling her towards the barn door.  She stopped dead in her tracks and wouldn't
go any further.  He looked back at her.

“Aren't they coming with us?” she
asked, referring to the other women.

Michael and Josh looked around at
them.  There were at least a dozen other young women huddled together in the
back of the barn looking intently at them.

“There are too many.”  Michael
frowned.  “We'll be too easy to spot.  We can't risk it.”

“We can't leave them!”  Katie
protested.  “You don't know what happens here.”   Her voice broke and tears
fell from her eyes.

Josh closed his eyes and hung his
head.

Michael looked away and then back
at her with a look of deep sorrow.  “We know.”

She stared at him in disbelief. 
“Then how can you leave them?”  She was greatly distressed at the thought of
leaving those women behind to face that horrible fate.

Michael just watched her and Josh
didn't say anything.

“Please.  Help us,” one of the
women spoke.

“Once we're clear, we'll call the
authorities and they will take care of it.”  Michael tried to appease her.

“Some of the men who come here are
police,” another woman spoke up.

Michael sighed and looked down at
the ground.

“Josh,”  Katie pleaded.

Josh was caving quickly. 

“Michael,” he said strongly,
turning to face his partner. 

Michael knew what Josh was
thinking and he didn't like it.  The risks went up exponentially if they
brought all those girls out with them.  Trying to sneak away from armed guards
with a small crowd behind you was generally not a wise course of action.  He
didn't relish the thought of leaving them either, but was trying to weigh
getting away safely against getting away with everyone.

“If anyone can get them out, we
can.”  Josh spoke to Michael in Arabic, hoping the women couldn't understand.

“It's too dangerous.  We could get
everyone killed.”  Michael spoke back in Arabic.

“The men have let their guard
down.  We can get by them easily.  They may not even notice the women missing
until we're long gone,” Josh reasoned.

“And if we're spotted?”

Josh looked down and kicked his
foot on the ground.  He didn't say anything.  The answer was obvious; there
would be many casualties. 

“We will do whatever you say and
we will not say a word,” a woman spoke to them in Arabic, surprising both men. 
“Please help us.”

So much for having a private
conversation.  Michael sighed loudly.  “Does everyone here speak English?”

“She doesn't.”  One woman pointed
to a young Asian woman who then became very afraid because of the attention.

Michael spoke to her in Mandarin,
but she shook her head.  She spoke, but it wasn't Chinese.  It sounded like
maybe Korean.  Neither he nor Josh spoke it.  He turned to the woman next to
her.  “Take her hand.  Keep her close to you.”  The woman nodded and grabbed the
Asian girl's hand tightly, offering her a reassuring smile. 

Josh walked to the door and opened
it a crack to look out.  He spotted a man walking towards the barn.  “Someone's
coming.”

Michael and Josh stood on opposite
sides of the door waiting to see what the man did.  When he arrived at the barn,
he called out to the two guards who were supposed to be keeping watch.  When
they didn't respond, he drew his gun and approached the barn door.  He called
out again then slowly opened the door.  He shined a flashlight inside.  He took
another step while shining the light around.  Josh and Michael took him down in
a heartbeat, and he was out before he knew what hit him.

“It's time to go,”  Josh said.

“Agreed.”  Michael turned to the
women.  “No one says anything and you do what we say.  One by one, I want you
all to get to the woods behind the barn.”  He turned to the woman who was to
help the Asian girl.  “With the exception of you.  You don't leave her side.” 
She nodded, squeezing the young girl's hand.

They ushered the women out one by
one when the coast was clear.  Katie was among the first to go.  Once everyone
was out, Josh and Michael joined them in the woods.  Michael instructed the
women to hold hands and form a line so no one would get separated or lost in
the dark woods.  They slowly began heading away from the farmhouse.

Once they were a safe distance
away, Josh called Martin and informed him of the situation.  Martin was a
little overwhelmed, unsure how they would transport that many people.  Luca
offered the use of a van, they would just have to go and get it.  They told
Josh to wait in the woods until they returned.

While they were waiting for the
van, they noticed a lot of commotion coming from the farmhouse.  Michael pulled
out his night vision binoculars and surveyed what was happening.  Men were
streaming from the house and into the surrounding field with flashlights.  A
few headed toward the street, but the majority headed toward the woods.

“We need to move,” Michael
whispered.  “Call Martin and tell him we'll have to meet him someplace farther
away.  If they see him with a van, it's all over.”

While Josh called Martin, Michael
told the girls they had to keep moving and instructed them to hold hands again
while they walked farther through the woods and away from the farmhouse.

As they walked, they saw a few
vehicles stop on the street nearby.  Armed men emerged with flashlights,
joining in the search.

“Perfect.  They called in more
help,”  Michael lamented.  “This could get ugly.”

“If Martin doesn't get back soon
with that van, we'll never get out of here,” Josh added.

“We're going to need a
distraction,” Michael thought out loud.

“What are you thinking?” Josh
asked.

“I'm thinking the house is
unguarded,” Michael replied.

“What do you want to do?”

“Call Martin and get his ETA.”
Michael returned the binoculars to his bag.

Josh did as requested.  “He's
still ten minutes out.”

“All right,” said Michael.  “I'm
going back to the house to create a distraction in nine minutes.  Take the
girls and get as far away from here as possible.  I'll meet up with you later. 
Don't wait for me.”

“Michael, are you sure?  Maybe
there's another way.”

“Someone needs to create a
diversion and the girls can't be left on their own.”  Michael looked at him. 
“I'll be fine.”

Josh held his hand up.  Michael
grabbed it and pulled him into a guy hug, then turned and left.  He made his
way back to the house, dodging patrols along the way.  The closer he got to the
house, the fewer guards he encountered.  He easily slipped in the backdoor. 
The house was empty.  He grinned to himself.

His first stop was the kitchen.  He
was hoping for a gas stove, and he was in luck.  Now all he needed was a
trigger.  He rummaged around for a few minutes and came across a locked
drawer.  He broke it open and was delightfully surprised to find the women's
passports.  There were more passports than people, but he took them all.  He
kept searching and soon gathered an assault rifle and some rope.  He tied one
end of the rope around the trigger and then jammed the gun in the oven door. 
He disconnected the gas line on the stove and quickly closed the open windows
before leaving with the rope.

He got as far away as the rope
would allow and then looked at his watch.  One minute to spare.  He counted to
sixty and, hoping Martin was close, tugged on the rope as he lay flat on the
ground.  The house exploded, sending debris everywhere.  He looked up to see
guards running towards the house to see what had happened.  He got to one of
the trees by the barn just as some of the men came out from the woods.  He
pressed himself against the tree as the men ran by.  So distracted by the
burning house, they didn't even notice him.  He ran to the woods and
disappeared.

JOSH SAW
headlights approaching in the distance.  He hoped it was
Martin with the van and not more reinforcements.  He looked at his watch, wondering
what Michael would do for a diversion.  He didn't have to wait long.  A loud
explosion rocked the neighborhood.  Lights came on in houses in the distance. 
He saw guards running back towards the house.  He took the girls and started
walking again towards the headlights, which were now much closer.  The
silhouette of a van could be seen.