by Mel LeBrun
All at once, the men began spilling their guts. They were all talking at the same time and trying to talk louder than the others so it was difficult to understand half of what they were saying. It was an interrogator's dream.
“Stop!” Michael silenced them. “We'll do this another way. I will interrogate each of you separately. If your stories match, then you all can live. If they don't, then you all take a dirt nap. Fair?”
The men readily nodded in agreement. One by one, Michael interrogated each of them. Their stories matched. It just went to show, you can't buy loyalty. The men were hired by Raymond Pierce to kidnap Jessica and smuggle her to Canada. What would happen to her from there, they didn't know. They were told that her husband was in special forces, but that Pierce would make sure he was out of their way. They were put in touch with Eric Loukas who Pierce had hired to find Jessica. When they called Eric to get details of her location and routine, he offered to deliver her for a small fee. The men were lazy and agreed; a decision they were now regretting.
Michael asked them how to find Pierce. The man who had been shouting on the phone informed him that Pierce always initiated contact and always called from a private number.
“So you have no way of contacting him?” Michael asked.
“No.”
“What phone did he call?”
“I threw it into the woods.”
Michael didn't even have to ask, he just looked at Corvo who immediately left to search for it. While Corvo scoured the woods, Michael dragged the, still duct taped, men into a cramped bathroom leaving them to wonder if he was going to keep his word.
“You all have been very cooperative. Thank you.” He began to shut the door.
“You said you would let us live!” one of the men pleaded.
Michael turned to him. “I said I would let you live. I never said I would let you go free.” He looked at the sink and then the toilet. “I think you're all set.”
“Wait! No! You can't leave us here!” they shouted as he shut the door with a grin.
He pushed a chair up against the door. It wouldn't hold them forever, but long enough for them to contemplate their life choices. He found Corvo by the woods holding pieces of a cell phone.
“What happened?” Michael asked.
“Didn't survive impact with a tree,” Corvo answered. “It's unusable but I can have it analyzed and pull the phone records. If Pierce hasn't ditched his phone, we'll get him.”
“He probably doesn't think he has to since he always hid his number when he called.”
“That's what I'm hoping for.”
Chapter 10
Michael dropped Corvo off at his car. Corvo needed to check on his partner as well as get the phone analyzed and pull the call records. Michael returned to the hideout without him. He found Martin, Josh and Jessica talking upstairs in the kitchen.
“You want to go first? Or should I?” Martin asked.
“Go ahead,” Michael replied.
“His real name is Eric ...” Martin started.
“Loukas,” Michael finished his sentence.
Martin paused and took a breath. “He was hired by ...”
“Raymond Pierce.” Michael smirked as he said it.
Martin gave him a look. “Maybe you could just tell me what I found out?”
Michael laughed. “Sorry, continue.”
Martin spoke quickly so Michael couldn't interrupt again. “Eric was told that someone high up in Meier's organization discovered his computer had been hacked and some very stealthy spyware was installed. He hired Eric to track down who was responsible.”
Michael got a very bad feeling about what was coming next. He glanced at Jessica, who was now avoiding eye contact. Martin hadn't told her what he learned and this was the first she was hearing it.
Martin went on.
“The best he could do is track the source to the Boston area. Then he looked for hackers capable of such an attack living in the area and eventually set his sights on Jess.”
“Dammit, Jess!” Michael couldn't contain the anger he was feeling over her not listening to him about working for the CIA. She didn't respond.
“She was harder to find than he expected,” Martin continued. “Without so much as a photo or name to go by, he turned to finding her through her work. He killed the man whose position he eventually took at Gen Tech. You know the rest.”
A long, uncomfortable silence followed. Michael was so frustrated with Jessica he couldn't even speak. He stood with his hands on his hips gritting his teeth and staring at the floor.
“Michael, we don't even know it was Jessica,” Josh tried to ease the tension.
“I don't know Jess,” Michael said angrily. “What do you think?” He looked at her. She didn't respond or even look at him. Michael turned to Josh. “I think that's your answer.”
Josh sighed and looked over at her. Her hands shaking, she looked greatly distressed. He felt sorry for her.
“So what did you learn?” Martin changed the subject.
Michael sighed. “The men at the cabin were also hired by Raymond Pierce. They were supposed to smuggle her into Canada. Beyond that, they didn't know what would happen to her.” He ran his hand through his hair. “Corvo is tracking down a lead. We might soon know where to find Pierce.”
He watched Jessica wipe a tear away from her cheek and couldn't stay angry with her. He stepped over to her and took her in his arms. She buried her face in his chest and wept.
The idea that this was her fault was hard to bear. She knew Michael hadn't wanted her to work for the CIA and she should have listened to him. The man they sent to recruit her though was an expert manipulator. He knew just what buttons to press with her to get her to agree. He preyed on her desire to help people who were being hurt and prevent atrocities. For someone inexperienced with those kind of tactics, she was an easy mark. Michael knew this and had to keep reminding himself of it.
He pulled away from her and cradled her face in his hands. “I love you Jess. We'll get through this.”
“You're not mad at me?”
“I'll get over it.”
“I'm sorry.”
He wiped away the tears that streamed down her cheeks. “I know. You can stop beating yourself up over it. It's done. We'll deal with it.”
She sniffled and nodded her head.
“I have to call Tim now. I'll be right back.” He kissed her forehead and walked to another room to phone him in private. He paced the room as the phone rang.
“Hi Michael,” Gatti greeted him.
“Tim, I thought you looked into everything Jessica worked on for the CIA?” said Michael.
“I did. Why?”
“When I told you about Felix Meier, why didn't you tell me she hacked someone in his organization?” Michael made no attempt to hide his irritation.
“That would be news to me.”
“What do you mean? She didn't do that?”
“Not for us,” Gatti answered.
“Could she still be working for the agency, behind my back?” Michael spoke softly.
“Not that I'm aware of,” said Gatti. “But you know how this place is.”
Michael sighed heavily. “Did Lance learn anything from the tracker?”
“It was made in Germany, but aside from that, we couldn't learn anything from the device itself. They're common on the black market. So he set an ambush for whoever else might come knocking.”
“And?”
“No one yet. Whoever planted it must either be neutralized or they know it's no longer with her,” Gatti replied.
“Hmm. Alright, thanks Tim.”
“Anything you need, Michael. I'm here.”
Michael hung up the phone and tried to decide how to handle Jessica. Was she still secretly working for the CIA or did Eric just go after the wrong hacker? Michael decided to talk to Eric first and see why he suspected Jessica. He asked everyone to wait upstairs while he talked to Eric.
“What made you think Jessi
ca was the hacker?” Michael asked.
Eric didn't answer. A light punch in the gut was just the motivation he needed. “She's the only one who could have done it,” he answered.
“Why?”
“The guy who was hacked takes his computer security very seriously. He doesn't use it for anything but work. That thing is locked down tighter than a submarine. He only uses the Internet for banking and checking his work email. He doesn't even browse on that computer. There's no way he got a virus. He scans it excessively. The spyware was so well hidden, it wasn't found for months. It had built-in self protections, excluding itself from scans. It really was a thing of beauty,” Eric spoke with admiration. “He was specifically targeted. Whoever did it, had some serious skills. More than any two-bit criminal hacker.”
“So you focused on Jessica because you thought she's the only person in the area with the skill to do it?” Michael asked.
“She is the only one.” Eric seemed pretty confident.
Michael left him and went back upstairs to talk to Jessica. He didn't want to presume she was still working for the CIA, but the possibility made him very agitated. He pulled her aside into one of the bedrooms so they could talk in private.
He looked away from her as he began to speak. “I'm only going to ask you this once. You lie to me now, and I'm done. This is your chance to come clean. If you don't and I find out later you lied to me, it's over.”
Jessica's heart pounded in her chest. The intensity of his words scared her. He was dead serious and she knew it. She started to feel lightheaded.
He finally looked at her. She appeared anxious and scared, but also bewildered. She didn't know what he was talking about.
“Have you done any other work for the CIA since you told me you stopped?” Michael asked.
“What?” She didn't understand why he even suspected that.
“Answer the question.”
“No, Michael.”
“Are you sure? If you did, now is the time to tell me. If I find out you're lying ...”
“Michael, I'm not lying to you,” she resolutely declared as tears filled her eyes. “Why do you think I am?”
Michael pursed his lips and sighed. “Tim looked through all the work you did for the agency after he learned you were working for them. They never assigned you to do anything with Meier's organization.” He watched her reaction. She was paying rapt attention. She really didn't know. “Either you did more work that Tim doesn't know about, or it wasn't you.”
“It wasn't me?” She seemed surprised by that.
“How could that be a surprise? Don't you know what you've done?”
“I didn't know everything about what they had me do. Sometimes I was only given an IP address and told to find a way in. I didn't even know what I was doing half the time.”
Michael shook his head. “Why the hell did you agree to work for them?”
“Can we please not do this again?” Her voice broke along with a flood of tears.
He looked away. Her naivety was, at times endearing, but other times, frustrating and hard for him to comprehend. He reminded himself that she didn't stand much chance against the experienced recruiter they sent to enlist her. He took a deep breath.
“I made a promise to you, Michael. I take that very seriously. It hurts that you think I would lie to you.”
“Wouldn't be the first time,” he remarked coldly.
She burst out crying and he immediately regretted opening his mouth. He reached out to hug her, but she pushed him off and left the room. The sound of Jessica's crying echoed through the empty house. Michael returned to the kitchen. Martin looked uncomfortable while Josh looked angry.
“It's unlikely Jess was the hacker,” Michael stated, ignoring the weeping in the background.
“Then why is she crying?” Josh snapped.
Michael shot daggers at him. “Stay out of it, Josh.”
Like a defensive brother, Josh often took Jessica's side in arguments and Michael wasn't in the mood for it. Josh shook his head and looked away disgusted. “You're a piece of work.”
An icy stare was the only response Michael gave. Martin nervously stepped away, not wanting to get in the middle.
Josh looked back at him. “You gonna do something about her? Or should I?”
“You want to handle it? Be my guest!” Michael shouted and gestured towards the bedroom.
Josh shook his head and stepped around him, heading for the bedroom. Michael walked to a window and looked out while he tried to calm his nerves. After a few minutes, he realized he was acting like a jerk and started to feel bad. He walked to the bedroom where Josh was trying to comfort Jessica.
Even though he knew there was nothing more to it, the sight of Josh holding his wife sparked a pang of jealousy that he would never admit to feeling. Josh's arms were wrapped around her while she held onto him and cried into his chest. Michael resisted the primal urge to separate them.
“I'm sorry,” he said.
Jessica lifted her head off Josh and looked at him.
“Please forgive me,” he added.
Quickly abandoning Josh, Jessica rushed into Michael's arms. “I feel so bad, Michael. I'm so sorry for all I've done.”
Michael squeezed her so tightly she had difficulty breathing.
“I love you so much, Jessica. Whatever this is, we'll get through it.” He relaxed his grip and pulled away so he could look in her eyes.
She nodded her head as she looked back at him. “Okay.”
He tenderly kissed her lips and then turned to Josh. “I'm sorry I yelled at you.”
“I liked her apology better,” Josh teased.
Michael rolled his eyes. “You want a kiss too?”
“Yes, please,” Josh said with a big grin.
Michael just cursed at him and walked away with Jessica by his side.
Martin was awkwardly waiting for them as the three returned to the kitchen. Michael's phone rang; it was Corvo. Michael listened for a minute then looked up at them. “He found Pierce. Or his phone at least.” He listened for another minute, then thanked Corvo and hung up. He looked at Martin and Josh.
“Thanks for your help. You don't need to go any further if you don't want to. I can lean on Corvo and Gatti.”
“I'm with you,” Josh replied without hesitation.
“Someone has to pay for what happened to Katie.” Martin clearly wasn't going anywhere.
Michael smiled. “Nice to have the team back together.”
Chapter 11
Corvo looked at his watch then back at the entrance to the parking lot where he was waiting for Jessica and Michael. He stepped out of his black Yukon as they approached. He greeted Martin and Josh in the backseat, not entirely surprised they had come along.
“I've got eyes on Pierce. He's still in Boston, staying at the Four Seasons in one of the executive suites.”
Michael whistled. “I left Eric back at the house. Not sure what you want to do with him.”
“I'll take care of it,” Corvo assured him. “Since Jessica did work for the CIA, they've kinda taken over the investigation. Not in an official capacity, of course. You know how that works.”
“So he'll end up in a deep dark hole?” Jessica asked.
“Pretty much,” said Corvo.
THEY WERE soon outside a bar in downtown Boston watching Raymond Pierce through a large picture window, flirting with an attractive young brunette.
“What are we waiting for?” Josh asked. “Let's grab him and beat the information out of him.”
“That's going to be easier said than done,” Corvo lamented. “Take a look at the end of the bar.”
Their gaze fell on a well-built man sipping what looked like a soda. He was alert and carefully observing everyone who entered.
“Who is that?” Michael asked what everyone was thinking.
“Pierce isn't as low on the totem pole as we had thought,” Corvo explained. “His handler at the FBI actually worked for him, not the oth
er way around. We found an offshore bank account in his handler's name that received monthly transfers from a numbered account. We're trying to track down the owner, but we're going on the assumption it was Meier.”
“So he bought someone inside the FBI. Why pretend to be a confidential informant then?” Jessica asked.
“Gives him unfettered access to the agent,” Martin answered. “No questions about why they're talking to each other and also it keeps the FBI off his back. It's the perfect set-up.”
“Is it just the one bodyguard?” Josh asked.
“No,” Corvo answered. “There are two more. One is sitting in that black Mercedes parked out front. The other is in a booth by the door.” They all turned to look at the car and then the booth. “I ran checks on them,” he continued. “They're all ex-special forces. Not going to be easy to get close to him.”
“We outnumber them,” Michael remarked.
Corvo looked at him. “I think you know what our chances are, even with that.”
Michael frowned knowing Corvo was right. They only outnumbered his guard detail by one and that didn't offer much of an advantage. Especially when going up against expertly trained soldiers.
“There is a way to get close to him that doesn't involve combat,” Corvo offered.
“How's that?” Michael asked.
Martin knew what was coming next and didn't think Corvo was prepared for it. “Lance, maybe we should go someplace to talk about it in private,” Martin suggested.
Corvo glanced back at Martin, who was looking sternly at him and shaking his head no, warning him not to continue with what he was about to say.
Michael was losing patience. “You want to tell me what you're both so nervous about?”
Martin was now avoiding eye contact and Corvo realized he was on his own. “We could use Jessica to get him alone,” he nervously answered.
Josh whistled in amazement of Corvo's bravery for making such a suggestion while Michael simply stared at him stone faced.
“It's not like she's going to actually do anything with him,” Corvo tried to defend his proposition. “I did some light intelligence gathering and Pierce hangs out in the hotel lounge a lot. Has spent the last few nights there. Good chance he'll be there again tonight. She just has to get him alone.”