Black Pawn (Michael Cailen Book 1)

by Mel LeBrun

  Heather had unsuccessfully hit on both Josh and Michael. Frustrated that she wasn't getting her way she had decided to ditch them, which was proving much harder than she had thought. Michael and Josh were getting increasingly irritated and decided that they would allow the girls to think they had lost them. The girls were driving them nuts and the distance might do everyone some good.

  “Stay close to me and follow my lead,” Heather whispered to Kasey.

  “It's not going to work. We've tried everything," Kasey whispered back. "We can't lose them.”

  “They're not perfect.” Heather abruptly stopped and turned to the guys. “Did we pass Dooney & Bourke?”

  “No,” Michael answered without hesitation.

  Heather gave him a look.

  “I'm sure we passed it. I remember it being back there somewhere.”

  “It's not.” Josh smiled insincerely.

  Josh got the same look of veiled irritation that Michael did.

  “I know it was back there. Can you see it?” Heather pretended to strain herself looking back at the stores they passed.

  They were standing in front of a multi-service spa and salon that Heather frequented. She was familiar with the labyrinth of service rooms that led to a window with a fire escape. She just needed to get a head start.

  Michael and Josh looked at each other, knowing she was about to make her move. They looked back at the stores behind them and as soon as they did, the girls were off. Josh turned back around and saw them just as they entered the salon. He sighed loudly and tapped Michael's arm, getting his attention. They just looked at each other and shook their heads.

  Heather and Kasey laughed and giggled as they celebrated their newfound freedom. They looked all around as they walked quickly down the back alley behind the salon. They didn't see the guys anywhere.

  “What are we going to do?" Kasey asked. "Won't your dad be mad?”

  “I'm not afraid of my dad. What's he going to do, ground me?” Heather rolled her eyes. “We're going to get a cab and then we're going to see this guy I know. He has some pretty good stuff.”

  “What do you mean stuff?”

  “Ecstasy, pot, whatever you want.”

  “Heather!” Kasey slapped her arm. “We can't do drugs!”

  “Why not?” Heather stopped and looked at her like she didn't know what she was talking about.

  “Your dad will kill you.”

  “My dad doesn't know everything I do.” She brushed it off and started walking again.

  The pair turned down Exeter Street. They were lost in conversation when a large black van came to a screeching halt beside them and the door was flung open. Startled, they jumped back as two men leaped from the van. They were wearing pantyhose over their heads to disguise their identities. Kasey screamed and tried to run, but was in the clutches of one of the men before she managed to get more than a few steps away. Heather was frozen in total shock as she was forced into the van. Kasey fought and kicked to get away. She bit her captor's hand and started shrieking again when he pulled it away.

  The driver of the van screamed, “Leave her!”

  Two shots rang out and suddenly the van was sloping to the side. Both tires on the driver's side had been shot out. The driver turned to look just as his window shattered and his face met the back end of a gun. He was stunned as his door opened and he was pulled from the vehicle. He wouldn't remember anything after that as he was quickly rendered unconscious.

  The two remaining men, realizing their vehicle and driver had been taken out, decided the next best course of action was to flee. The man holding Kasey let go and tried to run but something stopped him. Michael had grabbed hold of the back of his shirt and flung him into the side of the van. He wrestled the man to the ground and subdued him quickly. The man in the back with Heather promptly abandoned her and jumped from the van only to be met by Josh, who put him on the ground just as quickly. The girls were in hysterics. Kasey was screaming and wailing while Heather was crying numbly, as if in a fog.

  “Heather, call 9-1-1.” Michael tried to get her attention while he and Josh were pinning the kidnappers to the ground. Someone else needed to call the police, as he and Josh were a bit occupied. He could tell she wasn't registering anything. “Heather!” Michael shouted. She finally looked at him. “Call 9-1-1. Tell them what happened.”

  Coming to her senses, she nodded rapidly, pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed. She frantically relayed what happened to the operator and was assured that police were on their way. The operator stayed on the phone with her until they arrived, much to Michael and Josh's relief. An ambulance was called for the driver while the other two men were arrested. Michael collected the traumatized girls while Josh called Heather's dad to apprise him of the situation. He glanced over at Michael as it was ringing. It was days like this that made them wonder which was worse, being a bodyguard for teenage girls or their old black-ops days fending off enemies who wanted to kill them.

  Chapter 2

  Michael pulled into the driveway of his peaceful suburban home in Newton, Massachusetts, just west of Boston. He was perplexed to see an extra car in the driveway. He stepped out of his black Chevy Tahoe and walked over to the strange car, a silver BMW M5. He glanced in the windows then walked to the house wondering who the owner was.

  He opened the front door and could hear Jessica, his wife, talking to someone. That someone was a man. He followed their voices into the living room where he found Jessica sitting on the couch next to a man he'd never seen before. Two laptops were set up in front of them. Jessica looked up and saw him standing in the archway.

  “You're home early,” she remarked. Eight years his junior, Jessica was stunningly beautiful with long dark brown hair and amber eyes. Five feet seven inches tall with an hourglass figure and gorgeous skin, any man would want her and many did.

  The man seated next to her looked about Michael's age. Not as physically fit but attractive. His medium brown hair, cut on the long side, hung down above his hazel eyes.

  “Am I interrupting something?” Michael asked, somewhat unnerved by the presence of a strange man in his home seated next to his wife.

  “Not at all,” Jessica said as she got up to greet him. “Are you hungry?” She gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

  “No,” Michael answered and looked over at the man sitting on his couch.

  “Hi,” the man said nervously.

  “This is Ben. He works for Gen Tech,” Jessica introduced him. “This is my husband Michael.” She hung on his side and patted his chest as she said it.

  “Didn't you just do a job for them?” Michael asked.

  “Yeah,” Ben answered as he stood up to shake Michael's hand. “I'm the head of cyber security.”

  Michael reluctantly shook his hand. “So, she wiped the floor with you.”

  “Again, you are correct.” Ben laughed.

  Jessica grinned. She worked as a computer security consultant. Companies hired her to try and hack into their systems and tell them where they needed to improve. She was extremely good at what she did and fetched good pay for her skills. It was a rare occasion when she wasn't able to hack a system.

  “So, what happened?” she asked Michael. “I thought you weren't going to be back until late tonight.”

  Michael said, “Well, after the attempted kidnapping, the girls decided to call it a day.”

  “Oh my,” Jessica remarked.

  “Kidnapping?!” Ben exclaimed.

  “Michael does private security,” Jessica replied.

  “Like a bodyguard?”

  “In a nutshell,” Michael answered.

  “What happened?” Jessica asked again.

  “Three guys pulled up in a van and tried to take the girls we were watching. They were pretty shook up and went home after giving their statements to police,” Michael said.

  “What happened to the kidnappers?” Ben asked.

  “One is in the hospital, the other two are in jail,” Micha
el replied.

  “Wow.” Ben was stunned. “You must have had some kind of special training for that?”

  “Sixteen years in the military just about does it,” Michael said.

  “Oh, right,” replied Ben. “Jessica said you were in special forces. Remind me not to piss you off.” Ben laughed, a bit nervously.

  Michael smiled. He didn't like Ben and didn't understand why he was in his house. He was waiting for Jessica to explain herself. Why did she invite this guy over when she knew he wouldn't be home?

  “Well, thanks for coming over. I need to talk to my wife about something privately,” Michael said.

  Ben's smile vanished and his blissful expression was replaced with a confused one. “Oh ... alright.” He looked at Jessica who seemed just as bewildered and then at Michael who was still smiling politely. He started to feel uneasy and decided maybe leaving was for the best. “I'll just get my laptop.”

  Jessica stepped over towards Ben and glanced back at Michael with an unhappy expression. She looked back at Ben as he zipped up his laptop bag and then turned to her.

  “Thanks for all your help.” Ben reached out to shake her hand. “I appreciate it.”

  She smiled and shook his hand. “Call me if you have any questions.”

  He nodded then turned to Michael who hadn't moved from the spot he'd been standing. He was still smiling politely, but Ben could tell he wasn't happy. He said goodbye and left.

  Jessica closed the door after him and turned to Michael. “What was that about?”

  “Why would you bring a strange man here?”

  “He's hardly a strange man,” Jessica replied indignantly.

  Michael raised his eyebrows and cocked his head. “Oh? Is he a friend?”

  She frowned, but didn't say anything.

  “I thought I knew all your friends.”

  “Michael.” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “What is your problem?”

  “My problem is my wife is inviting men to the house when she knows I'm not going to be around.”

  Jessica was exasperated. “He was here to talk about hacking. I said I would help him learn about some of the newer threats out there. You being gone was exactly why I invited him to come over. Why would I take time away from being with you to talk about hacking?”

  He sighed and looked down at the floor.

  She walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him. He put his arms around her and looked down into her eyes. She smiled and he leaned down and kissed her.

  “Are you hungry?” she asked again.

  “Yes.”

  She grinned. “I wish you wouldn't get so insecure.”

  “We'll see how secure you feel when I start bringing girls home from work.”

  “Fair enough,” she laughed. “I think you know how well that would go over.”

  “I know exactly how well it would go over,” he said, knowing she wouldn't stand for it.

  “You're right. It's not fair. I won't do it again.”

  He squeezed her tight and kissed the top of her head. She broke away from his arms and started heading into the kitchen to get him something to eat when the phone rang. Michael answered it.

  “Hi Michael. It's Martin.”

  “Oh, hi Martin," Michael responded cheerfully. “How's it going?”

  “Not good. I'm calling in my favor.”

  The words wiped the smile off Michael's face.

  “What happened?”

  “Can you come over?”

  “I'll be right there.” Michael hung up the phone.

  Jessica stood in the doorway to the kitchen looking at him. “What's going on?”

  He looked up at her with a very grave expression. “Martin is calling in his favor. I have to go to his house.”

  “Oh.” She looked surprised and concerned.

  Martin Lavene was ex-CIA and Josh's cousin. Two years ago, he had been instrumental in helping Michael not only get his life back, but also in keeping he, Jessica and Josh alive when they had run afoul of a rogue CIA agent and the Russian mob. Michael owed him big time and they always joked about the favors he would have to do to repay him. As of yet, Martin had never cashed in on any of them, and Michael was beginning to think he never would. The fact that he was calling one in now meant that something really serious must have happened.

  “I'm going with you,” Jessica announced as she stepped towards the door.

  “Maybe it's better if you don't.” He wasn't sure he wanted Jessica knowing what he was going to have to do. She tended to worry a lot and get really emotional over things - not the best mind frame in a crisis situation.

  “Whatever he wants you to do, it's probably going to affect me somehow. I want to know.”

  “Okay, fine. But if he doesn't want you to know, then you're going to have to back down. We both owe him.” He looked at her sternly.

  She sighed and looked around the room avoiding eye contact. She didn't want to agree to his demand.

  “I'm serious. Agree or stay here,” he said firmly.

  She sighed again. “Fine.”

  UPON ARRIVING at Martin's house, Jessica and Michael noticed Josh's car in the driveway. Martin was waiting at the door as they stepped out of the car. He looked so much like Josh, with the exception of being a little taller, that they could have been brothers.

  “Thanks for coming.” Martin said as he walked up the porch steps.

  “What's going on?” he asked.

  He glanced at Jessica then back at Michael. “Come inside.”

  They passed through the entry and kitchen on the way to the family room in the back of the house. Once there, they saw Martin's wife, Helen, sitting on the couch fighting back tears. Josh was sitting in the recliner next to the couch looking troubled and anxious. The mood was tense to say the least.

  Michael didn't want to ask again what had happened. He just looked at Martin and waited for an explanation.

  Martin glanced at his wife and then back at Michael. “It's Katie.”

  “Your niece?” Michael asked.

  Katie's father was Martin's brother. He died unexpectedly of a heart complication when she was very young. Both Martin and Josh sort of took over the roll of father for her. The Lavenes were a close knit family to begin with but because of Katie's tragic loss they were even closer with her. They loved her like she was their own daughter.

  “Yeah.” Martin sighed. “A few weeks ago some guy claiming to be a modeling scout offered her a job.”

  Michael stiffened knowing what was coming next. “Not a modeling scout.”

  Martin shook his head no. “He told her the job was in Sweden. Her mom said no, but she decided to go anyway behind her back. He paid for her ticket.”

  “How could she leave the country? Isn't she just seventeen?” Michael asked.

  “She just turned eighteen,” Martin explained.

  Michael frowned.

  “Her flight had a stopover in Amsterdam. She never boarded the plane to Sweden.”

  “Do we know anything about this guy?” Michael asked.

  Martin was silent for a minute, Helen started crying harder and Josh fidgeted in his seat. Michael had a bad feeling about what was coming next.

  “I reached out to everyone I know.” He paused again. “His name is Raymond Pierce. He's a recruiter for human trafficking.”

  Helen began sobbing uncontrollably. Jessica quickly sat next to her and tried to comfort her. Josh leaned forward, holding his head in his hands.

  “Where is her mother now?” Michael asked, wondering why she wasn't there.

  “Heavily sedated in the other room,” Martin answered. Josh hadn't said two words since they arrived.

  “Do we have any idea where Katie is?” Michael asked.

  “I have four possible locations. They're all in Germany, but the clock is ticking. They're only holding locations before the girls are sold or shipped off to somewhere else.”

  “How much time do we have?”

  “Less
than thirty-six hours.”

  “When do we leave?” Michael asked.

  “Not soon enough,” Josh finally spoke even though he wouldn't look at anyone. Everyone shared that sentiment.

  “Our flight leaves in three hours,” Martin answered.

  Michael nodded. “I'll get packed.” He looked over at Jessica who was sitting with Helen. She had one arm wrapped around her shoulders and the other squeezing her hand. “You can stay here if you want. I won't be long.” Jessica nodded and rubbed Helen's back.

  Michael returned in a little less than a half hour with his bag packed, ready to go. Jessica prepared something for them to eat while he was out so they wouldn't have to leave on an empty stomach. No one really felt like eating but they downed what they could.

  After the light dinner, Martin and Josh began loading their bags into the car. Jessica approached Michael, looking concerned.

  “I'll be fine,” Michael assured her.

  “Will I hear from you when you land?” she asked. “Or when it's over, so I'll know you're safe?”

  “You're going to worry the whole time if I don't get in touch, am I right?”

  She shrugged. “I could lie and say no.”

  Michael smiled then reached out and caressed her cheek. “You're a terrible liar.”

  “I know.”

  He wrapped his arms around her and tenderly kissed her lips. “As soon as I get a phone, I'll message you with the number.”

  She kissed him back. “Thank you. Please be careful.”

  He grinned. “I'm always careful.”

  “Now who's the liar?” she retorted.

  He kissed her again and squeezed her tightly before tearing himself away. The men left for the airport while Jessica stayed with Helen and spent the night to make sure she would be okay.

  Chapter 3

  Their flight landed in Dusseldorf, Germany after a brief stop in Amsterdam. Martin, Josh, and Michael wasted no time getting to work. They got plenty of sleep during the ten and a half hour flight and were ready to go once they landed. Martin rented a car with the help of Michael, who spoke fluent German, and the three were soon on their way.