Fishtown: A Jack Regan/Izzy Ichowitz Novel

by Neal Goldstein

  He turned to her, “You tell me.”

  “From the mess they left at the butcher shop, whoever they are, they have no discipline. They’re probably poorly trained and have little if any actual field experience.”

  “So?”

  “Do you know how many men they have?”

  “Four or five, maybe a couple more.”

  “OK. Let’s assume there may be as many as six. With Flynn and whoever comes with him, we should be able to handle them.”

  For the remainder of the ride they plotted their strategy.

  When Flynn arrived Shona told him how Levy came to know who had killed Nooris and Rabinowitz and taken Liam.

  She could tell from his reaction that Flynn wasn’t completely satisfied with the explanation of how Levy happened to come back into her life. When Levy and Quinn left them to check out the area he asked, “Do ya really believe his story?”

  She looked away for a moment before responding. “I don’t know what to believe anymore.”

  He nodded, “Alright then, let’s keep an eye on him, just in case he’s not on the square.”

  When they were within twenty-five paces of the stable door a man walked out and began to check the perimeter. Shona silently approached him from behind and struck the back of the sentry’s head with the butt of her weapon knocking him unconscious. She dragged him back to the tree line. Levy recognized him and told them he was Malik Ben-Ali’s chief of security.

  “Why the hell is Ben-Ali involved in this?” Shona asked.

  “I don’t know. The last thing I heard the CIA had them in custody.”

  Flynn listened to the exchange and pointed his gun at Levy, “I think it’s time ya tell us what the fuck is really goin on here. And ya better make it quick before they go lookin for him.”

  Levy told them the facility was a safe house the CIA used to stash assets. When he found out Nooris and Rabinowitz had been taken out, he assumed that it was one of their wet operations.

  “So ya think they brought my boy here?”

  He nodded.

  Flynn looked over to Shona. She locked eyes with him. He still held Levy at gunpoint, “We’re in this too deep to go back now, but I’m warning you if anything gets fooked up I’ll put a bullet in ya faster than ya can pass wind.”

  They bound and gagged the man and tied him to a tree. They entered the stable without making a sound. As she suspected, the kidnappers had not been well trained. They had failed to post a guard at the door. The four of them moved silently past the empty stalls. A van was parked halfway down the aisle. She remembered seeing it parked across the street from the butcher shop when she left to get Flynn. They stood behind it and watched three of the men who were sitting in the tack room cleaning their weapons. They never heard Shona and Flynn approach; in seconds all three had been subdued.

  Flynn held his gun to the head of the youngest man and whispered, “Where are the others?”

  His eyes betrayed his fear.

  “Tell me.”

  He pointed to the far end of the stables.

  “Is the boy there?”

  He nodded. Levy and Quinn watched them while Shona and Flynn moved towards the back of the stables.

  Ben-Ali and another man were in deep conversation. Shona understood Arabic and smiled when she heard Ben-Ali explain how he would use the boy as a bargaining chip with the CIA to get safe passage to Yemen. In seconds both men were bound and lying on the ground.

  It had taken them less than 10 minutes to secure the building. Just as they had planned, not a single shot had been fired. Flynn opened the door at the back of the room. There was no one there.

  “What the bloody hell!” He went over to Ben-Ali and slapped his face. “Where’s my son!”

  Shona pulled him away. “You can’t beat it out of him. Let me find out what he wants.”

  Flynn could barely contain his fury. “Make it clear to him that if he’s hurt my boy I’ll kill him.”

  Chapter 39

  Flynn left Shona to deal with Ben-Ali. He went back to the tack room where Levy and Quinn were watching the others. He motioned for Levy to follow him. Flynn turned his back on him and walked towards one of the stalls. When he was two paces from the stall he turned as the younger man approached and punched him in his diaphragm, causing him to double over. As Levy’s head was coming down Flynn smashed his elbow in his face, breaking the cartilage in his nose and knocking him to the ground.

  Flynn straddled him, pinning him to the ground with his knees. He held his gun to Levy’s head. “Who the fuck are you working for?”

  Levy’s eyes slowly focused on the Glock and then on Flynn.

  “I told ya what I would do if you fooked up. Didn’t ya believe me?”

  Levy nodded.

  “So are ya gonna tell me?”

  “I work for the CIA.”

  “So was that a load of shite ya told Shona about your bein with the Mossad, and seein her in the orphanage and all?”

  He spit out the blood that had filled his mouth from his broken nose. “No. It was true, all of it.”

  Flynn gave him a hard look.

  “Did you tell the CIA where Nooris and Rabinowitz were?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did ya know they were going to kidnap my son?”

  He shook his head, “Ben-Ali was supposed to leave your son alone.”

  Flynn stuck the barrel of the gun in his mouth, “Jaysus Christ man, ya let lunatics with machine guns loose where my boy could have been killed.”

  Levy’s eyes widened with terror.

  “Flynn stop,” Shona said. “We need him.”

  He turned and saw Shona standing behind him holding Ben-Ali at gunpoint.

  “Let him up.

  He turned back to Levy and said, “This isn’t over yet.”

  Shona told him Ben-Ali had planned to use Liam as a bargaining chip with the CIA for safe passage to Yemen. He refused to tell her where he was holding the boy, but assured her Liam was safe.

  “And you believe him?” Flynn asked barely controlling his urge to strangle their captive.

  She placed a restraining hand on his arm. “I do.”

  “So what are ya suggestin we do?”

  “I think we go ahead with his plan.”

  “Did you know your friend is with the CIA?” Flynn said nodding in the direction of Levy who was still on the ground.

  She turned to the prone man. “I suspected as much,” she said, walked over to Levy and helped him to his feet.

  “We need you to make contact and tell them we have Ben-Ali but the boy is gone. Let them know Ben-Ali won’t release the boy unless they agree to take him and his men to Yemen.”

  “Shona, I…”

  “I need you to do this now!” she said. “Make it clear to your handler that there are to be no games. Ben-Ali gets to his destination safely.”

  Levy nodded. She handed him Ben-Ali’s cell phone.

  “Quinn go with him, make sure he doesn’t try anything. If he does, put a bullet in his head,” Flynn directed his man.

  While Levy was making contact with his controller they locked their captives in the room where Liam had been held.

  “I don’t trust any of these bastards. We need to come up with a plan that keeps the Agency in check so that Ben-Ali releases Liam.”

  “I think I may have something,” Shona replied.

  She took a miniature recorder out of her pocket and played the recording. It was a series of conversations between Ben-Ali and a CIA operative that documented the assignments, including the directive to murder Nooris and Rabinowitz.

  “Where did you get that?”

  “Ben-Ali gave it to me. It was his insurance policy, and now it’s ours. Can you imagine what would happen if this got out? It could bring down the whole administration.
”

  “What about your friend?” Flynn asked.

  He waited as she contemplated her answer.

  “I haven’t decided.”

  They waited for Levy in silence.

  When he returned he told them his controller needed approval from his superior.

  “They’re stallin,” Flynn said. “Quinn does Duffy have some place we can stash Ben-Ali and his people?”

  He nodded.

  “OK. We’d better get the fuck out of here before they send their cleaners.”

  “Quinn and me will take Ben-Ali and his crew. You take Levy to my apartment in Northern Liberties and wait for me there.”

  They herded the six men into the truck Ben-Ali had used to kidnap Liam. Quinn drove the truck and Flynn followed in his car. They drove to a warehouse on the Delaware River waterfront. Some of the men Flynn recognized as Duffy’s disciples were there waiting for them.

  Liam could see the trees outside the window of the room in the light of the moon. He was on the second floor of the building. He listened and could hear the sound of traffic from a nearby highway. He wondered if he could escape; if he could get to the road, he could find the police and they would take him home. He still had the watch Jack had given him. If he could figure out where they had taken him, maybe he could use the compass to find a way to safety.

  Someone knocked on the door before they entered. It was a girl a few years older than him. She wore a scarf that covered her head. She was carrying a tray on which there was fruit and water. She smiled at him and said, “Little boy don’t worry. No one will hurt you. My mother will not allow that. Here’s something for you to eat.”

  “I want my Mum,” he said.

  “I know. You will be with her soon.” She set down the tray and left the room.

  Liam returned to the window and tried to find a way to escape.

  Chapter 40

  Heilman knew Kastanski had helped the whores escape. He drove to the apartment in West Kensington where they lived to see if they had returned. One of the other whores told him they had been gone for weeks. He decided to follow Kastanski. Maybe he had taken them for himself. He cursed himself for letting Kastanski watch him. He should have known better than to trust that pansy ass.

  Kastanski still lived with his mother. From what little Heilman knew about the woman, he doubted that she would allow her son to bring two whores into her house. He waited on the sidewalk across the street for Kastanski and followed him as he made his rounds collecting the rent for his rich uncle who owned half the properties in Fishtown.

  That night Kastanski went shopping at the Thriftway. Instead of returning to his mother’s house, he drove to an apartment building on Nooris Street. He watched him carrying a bag of groceries into the building. Heilman entered the lobby after Kastanski got on the elevator. It stopped on the third floor. He checked the directory. There were six apartments on the third floor. All but one had the names of the tenants. If Kastanski had stashed the whores there, they must be in apartment 301. He decided to come back later that night to find out.

  “Put this on your nose,” she handed him a towel filled with ice she had taken from the freezer in Flynn’s apartment. “How long have you been working for the CIA?”

  Levy hesitated trying to decide exactly how best to answer her question.

  “If you’re smart you’ll tell me everything I want to know before Flynn gets here.”

  “They recruited me a couple years ago.”

  She waited for him to continue.

  He let out a deep breath, “It’s like I told you, I was sick of all the crap. I thought this was my way out. They promised me if I gave them intell on the Service’s activities, they would take care of me.”

  “And you trusted them?”

  He gave her a knowing look, “Of course not.”

  “Do they know about me?”

  He nodded, “That’s why I’m here.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “They want you to work for them.”

  Her eyes narrowed as she thought over his response.

  “And if I refuse?”

  He shook his head.

  They sat in silence contemplating their respective circumstances.

  She broke the silence and asked “What now?”

  “A truce?”

  “Do you really expect me to trust you?”

  “No more than I can trust you. But if we both want to get out of this alive what other choice do we have?”

  He waited.

  She thought over his proposition. If he had been in the Mossad since he was a teenager he could be telling her the truth about wanting out. Ultimately this existence sucked the life out of you one way or another. Could they both get out alive? If they worked together would that improve her chances? And if they did, what then?

  “First things first. We have to save Flynn’s son. Can you get your handlers to back off until we find him?”

  “I think so.”

  “Alright. I’ll trust you to take care of that.”

  “Thank you.”

  “How’s your nose?”

  He removed the ice from his face, “Broken,”

  She looked at him and laughed, “Yes I can see that, but you’re still rather dashing.”

  He blushed.

  She studied his features. Even with his swollen nose he was a handsome man. He had soft curly hair and deep brown eyes and a boyish innocent appearance that she found alluring. What the hell was wrong with her? He was a double agent. Was she crazy? Was she just stringing him along, or was she fooling herself? “Were you telling me the truth when you told me about the orphanage?”

  He nodded.

  “Did you really follow me when I ran away?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did you really think I was the most beautiful girl you ever saw?”

  “I still do. What?”

  “I don’t know if I believe you.”

  “And I don’t know if I believe you either. But ask yourself this, what do you want to do with the rest of your life?”

  “I don’t know. I only know the life I’ve led. I’m not sure if I can change and ever be free of this life.”

  “You can try.”

  When Flynn returned he could immediately sense that something was different between them. It was a subtle change in their body language. The way they looked at one another. Something.

  “Alright. What the fuck have the two of you been up to?”

  “Flynn, we need him to help us, if we’re going to save your son.”

  “Are ya telling me you trust him then?”

  She smirked, “Yes just about as much as we trust each other.”

  “Touché.”

  Flynn would make a deal with the devil himself to save his boy. Finally he asked, “So do ya have a plan?”

  “What do you mean they’re all gone?” Kasdan asked his adjutant.

  “The cleaners said the place was empty when they got there.”

  “Jesus F. Christ!”

  He accepted the obvious that he had lost control of the situation. Even though he wasn’t accustomed to being in this position shit happens in a war. If Ben-Ali had followed his orders and left Flynn’s son alone, none of this would have happened. He had seriously underestimated Flynn and Cohen and he understood that Flynn would not stop until his boy was safe.

  “Have you been able to get in contact with Levy?”

  “Not since he told me they had taken Ben-Ali.”

  “Do you think he’s been compromised?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Keep trying.”

  Kasdan thought through the possibilities. If Flynn had taken Ben-Ali, why hadn’t he turned him and his men over to the police? The only way any of this added up was if the boy was still missing
as they claimed. Where was the boy? If Kasdan could find him, he would have the leverage he needed to resume control. He still had a card to play. It was only a question of when to play it.

  She could tell from the look on his face that they hadn’t rescued Liam.

  “Kate…”

  “No. I need you to leave me be,” she said and put on her jacket.

  “Where are you going?”

  “I’m going to O’Malley’s. I need some space to think this through.”

  “Kate, please…”

  “You’ll let me know if there’s any news.”

  “Of course.”

  Chapter 41

  That morning Ichowitz and McElroy discussed the latest developments in Liam’s abduction and the murders of Nooris and Rabinowitz. It had been 15 hours since Liam had been taken.

  “And there’s still no sign of the killers and the boy?” McElroy asked.

  Ichowitz shook his head.

  “How’s the mother doing?”

  “Not good.”

  “Izz, if you want to be with your godson Jack, we can handle things here.”

  He forced a smile, “Thanks, but half the force and the FBI are on the case, I’d only be in the way.”

  McElroy told him the laboratory results on the DNA confirmed the remains found at the construction site matched the items they had taken from the Blutarski residence. It was time to question the Kastanskis. They decided to start with the patriarch Paul Junior.

  The administrator of the assisted living facility took them to his apartment. She told them that despite his appearance Kastanski had dementia. She cautioned them that they might not be able to communicate with him, however, he was usually at his best in the mornings.

  “Mr. Kastanski, these gentlemen are detectives, they would like to speak with you. Is that alright?”

  He was sitting in a rocking chair facing a picture window that looked out at the woods behind the facility. A walker was standing next to his chair. Although he was 95 years old, his appearance was that of a much younger man. His skin was unwrinkled, his eyes were bright; he sat erect in his chair and looked alert. He smiled at the detectives apparently happy to have visitors to break the monotony of his morning routine.