Critical Play (Michael Cailen Book 3)

by Mel LeBrun

  “How long before you know more?” Gatti asked.

  “Hopefully we'll know something today.”

  “All right. I'll try to keep Douglas at bay.”

  Josh returned to the kitchen. David was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed watching Michael who still had his head in his arms. Josh looked at Michael and then locked eyes with David. They both seemed to be thinking the same thing.

  “Can I have a moment with him?” David asked Josh.

  “Sure.” Josh placed the phone on the table and stepped out.

  David took the seat next to Michael. He waited another minute before he spoke.

  “Would going home fix what's wrong?” David asked.

  Michael sat up and leaned back in his chair. “I don't know.” He shook his head.

  “Yes you do,” David answered.

  Michael just closed his eyes.

  “Could you fix it if you went home right now?”

  Michael understood what David was attempting to do. He crossed his arms. “Maybe.”

  “Hmm.” David's expression reflected the fact that he clearly didn't agree. “What will happen to your friend?”

  Michael pursed his lips and shook his head. “I don't know.”

  “Michael, we both know what will happen to him.”

  Michael shifted in his seat. He didn't deny it. He knew Dmitri and his friends would be killed sooner or later.

  “This is the life you chose,” David said. “Sometimes it really sucks.”

  “I don't want this life anymore,” Michael said bitterly. “I gave up this life. I have a family. That's the life I want now. I hate this. I should be home with my family.” He nearly shouted resisting the urge to throw something.

  David realized he wasn't going to get anywhere trying to reason with him. He decided maybe he just needed to give him something else to focus on.

  “We've done some digging into Grekov's finances,” David said. “He has money tucked away in multiple offshore accounts, but no recent deposits that would suggest his involvement in the sale of the nuclear weapon.”

  The news only served to further frustrate Michael. “Yeah, not helping.”

  “More than likely he has another account that we can't find,” David continued. “Could your informant perhaps point us in the right direction?”

  The last person Michael wanted to speak to was Jeff. There was no guarantee he would even help them.

  “Unless you have another idea?” David asked.

  “I'll contact him,” Michael finally said. “Without you,” he added.

  “You don't trust me?”

  Michael looked at him. “I know you.”

  David smirked and looked away. “Yeah, I guess you do.”

  IT WAS a challenge figuring a way to contact Jeff without David being able to look over their shoulder. Lending them one of their vehicles, David let Michael and Josh drive into town alone. They purchased a phone and called Gatti hoping he could facilitate their call with Jeff. After holding for nearly twenty minutes, they were finally able to speak with Gatti and he agreed to help them.

  While waiting on the phone Michael saw several people that could have been Mossad sent to watch them. He knew David well enough to know he would do all he could to discover who Michael's informant was. He probably already had people working to trace the phone he just purchased. Using Gatti as the go-between, any trace they did would end with the CIA, thus protecting Jeff's identity. Not that Michael cared at all for Jeff, but because of their familial connection to him, it was important to keep him anonymous. A few minutes later and Jeff was on the line.

  “Hello?” Jeff answered.

  “It's Michael.”

  “Michael? What are you doing calling me?”

  “Have you heard from Jess yet?” Michael asked wondering if she had called him yet.

  “Jessica? No. Is she supposed to call me?”

  “She's on her way to your house,” Michael answered.

  “Here?” Jeff was shocked. “Why is she coming here? What happened?”

  “The Russians came to question her. She's a terrible liar. I'm sure they noticed. They were making plans to kidnap her and Ana so they could question her more forcefully.”

  Jeff was infuriated by the news. He entertained a fleeting irrational thought of calling his contacts in the Russian government to secure his daughter's protection. However, not only would that fail to protect her but Jeff knew it would put her in more danger once it was out that he had a daughter. She would become a target for anyone wanting to control him.

  Jeff sat at his desk fuming. “Is that why you're calling?”

  “No. We can't find anything connecting Grekov to the sale of the nuclear weapon.”

  “Then perhaps he didn't do it.”

  “Or he did but he covered his tracks so well we can't see it.”

  “What do you expect me to do about it?” Jeff asked.

  “Where does he keep his real money?”

  Jeff took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He was on a very short list of people who knew where Grekov hid his ill-gotten gain. Turning over Grekov's account information would be as good as calling him on the phone and telling him he was turning on him.

  “You realize what you're asking from me?” Jeff said.

  “Things are getting out of control. I need to end this quickly.”

  “I can't do what you're asking, Michael. It would put me in considerable jeopardy and in the end he might not even be involved.”

  “Then check for yourself. If you truly believe he wasn't involved, then don't give me the information. But if he was, you need to hand it over. I can't make Jess and Ana live in hiding.”

  “Michael,” Jeff sighed, “Maybe you should have thought of that before you got yourself involved.”

  Michael was running out of options. He needed Jeff's help. There was only one way he knew how to do that.

  “Jess is pregnant,” Michael announced.

  “Pregnant?”

  “Yes. She's pregnant, Jeff. If you want your grandchild to have any sort of a life, you need to help me.”

  “How do I know you're telling me the truth?”

  “You'll see for yourself when she gets there.”

  “I just saw her last week, Michael. She didn't look pregnant.”

  “No. But she's got terrible morning sickness.”

  “How long have you known?” Jeff asked, wondering if they had known when he was there.

  “We knew the night before you came to the house,” Michael answered.

  “You weren't going to tell me, were you?” Jeff asked the obvious.

  “No. We weren't.”

  “I supposed Jessica wasn't going to tell me after she got here either?”

  “Probably not.”

  “But you're telling me now in the hopes of coercing me to do what you want.”

  “Very perceptive,” Michael said mockingly.

  Jeff shook his head. Michael knew how to push his buttons and manipulate him. He had already taken in three Russian operatives which interfered with his ability to conduct business freely in his own home. He stuck his neck out further by giving them Grekov's name. Now Michael was asking him to go even further to the point of turning over Grekov's account information which, if he did, would almost certainly give away the fact that it was Jeff who turned on him.

  “When is Jessica getting here?” Jeff asked.

  “I would imagine she will be there sometime tomorrow evening.”

  “Where is she now?”

  “She was in Ohio when I spoke to her earlier.”

  “Give me her phone number. I will send someone to her. I don't want them traveling alone.”

  “That would only piss her off. Believe me, I don't want her traveling alone either but she is stubborn and extra emotional. As it is she's going to be furious with me for telling you she's pregnant.”

  Jeff was beyond displeased with Michael's decisions. He had put his friends before his fami
ly, leaving Jessica alone and vulnerable.

  “If you had put your family first, she wouldn't be in this position,” Jeff angrily voiced his displeasure.

  “You're the last person who should be giving advice on family. At least I don't beat my kid,” he replied sharply.

  “No, you'll just be dead and unable to protect them from someone else who might,” Jeff shot back.

  At this point Michael just wanted off the phone. “Just look at Grekov's finances. I'll call tomorrow.” He terminated the call.

  Chapter 15

  Since getting off the phone with Josh, Gatti had been working feverishly to create a cover story for Josh and Michael. He tasked a trusted operative with an assignment to make the story that Corvo and Jessica had told about Michael camping in Vermont appear true. The operative obtained a truck identical to Josh's and plates to match. He then drove the truck to a remote area of Vermont and took photos of it. Having acquired Josh and Michael's phones, he turned them on and waited until they had a signal before turning them off again.

  Jinx provided Gatti with some photos taken during a hiking trip the year before. With some slight manipulation, Gatti was able to make the pictures of Josh's truck and their hiking trip appear to have been taken at the same time. The pictures coupled with the cell tower pings from their phones would be enough to at least cast doubt on the Russian's assertion that Michael was helping Dmitri. Not to mention an eyewitness account from a CIA operative who would swear he spoke to them in the woods of Vermont.

  Armed with his fake intel, Gatti called up Douglas to give him his report. Gatti was well aware that by covering for Michael he was, by extension, aligning himself with Dmitri, Ivan, and Timur. If things went sideways it would mean his career, possibly even his freedom. Still, he just couldn't abandon Michael.

  “You seriously expect me to believe Cailen and Lavene are camping in the woods of Vermont?” Douglas asked.

  “It's the truth,” Gatti replied.

  “And what about Jessica's unexpected and mysterious absence?”

  “Well, you can tell Yurkov that his agents should be more careful when they discuss their plans to abduct someone. Tatiana overheard them talking. Jessica left in fear of them. She's safe. I won't disclose her location though because I'm not convinced the Russians will leave her alone.”

  “Did you know all this the last time we spoke?” Douglas asked.

  “Whether I did or not is irrelevant,” Gatti responded.

  “I smell a cover up.”

  Gatti smirked knowing Douglas couldn't prove his suspicion. “I'm sure I don't know what you mean.”

  Though Douglas was certain that Gatti was covering for Michael, he lacked the desire to question it further. He wanted the Russians off his back and if he could plausibly deny that the Cailens’ were involved it would be better for everyone. Besides if it backfired, Gatti would take the hit, not him.

  “All right,” Douglas said finally. “I'll go with it. Can't guarantee the Russians will buy it but we'll see what happens.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “Don't thank me yet,” said Douglas. “If this goes wrong I'm going to hang it around your neck.”

  “I understand.”

  “I admire your loyalty,” Douglas admitted.

  With that he ended the call. Gatti breathed a sigh of relief. Though they weren't out of the woods, he could at least see the tree line.

  DOUGLAS REPORTED back to The White House with the intel supplied by Gatti placing Michael in Vermont. He blamed Yurkov's men for Jessica's abrupt departure. With her husband away and having no way to reach him, she fled in fear of his men who had spoken openly about abducting her and her daughter, who coincidentally spoke fluent Russian.

  The SVR vehemently denied the accusation claiming they had no operatives working on US soil. Yet it became harder to deny after the CIA sent them pictures they took of Osin and Nikonov. They were warned that if their men were caught operating on US soil, they would not be coming home.

  Yurkov was furious when he heard the report. He couldn't believe his men had been so stupid as to talk openly about abducting Jessica and Tatiana.

  JEFF PUT a call in to his “personal finance manager” who was basically a glorified money launderer. Jeff asked him to sniff around Grekov's accounts and get back to him with any unusual recent activity. The report he received was enough to convince Jeff that Grekov was behind the sale.

  Grekov received a transfer of $3.25 million to a numbered account the day before the sale of the nuke and another of $8.75 million the day of. Though Jeff had his own suspicions about Grekov's involvement, he was still surprised by it. Grekov would sell his own children for profit if he were able and Jeff sometimes wondered if he had. But selling a nuclear weapon to a terrorist group was irresponsible even at that level.

  Chapter 16

  Osin and Nikonov had not returned home to Russia. Instead they focused all of their attention on learning who the Cailens really were. Normally there would be a wealth of information to pour through. From financial and phone records, to family and friends. With the increase in social networking, places like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are virtual goldmines for people in their business. And if you can get into someone's email account, well now you can practically take over their life.

  With how easily information could be obtained in this day and age, the Cailens left the Russians perplexed and frustrated. At a quick glance, they seemed like a normal couple with a mortgage, two cars and a joint bank account. But that's where the trail stopped. Michael's employer was some vague entity that was nothing more than a dead end. He had no online presence whatsoever. They couldn't even find his email address, supposing he had one at all.

  Jessica, on the other hand, had a strong Internet persona that she used to recruit new clients for her computer security consulting service and they were hopeful they might gather some useful intel from her website and email accounts. Digging deeper though only left them with more questions than answers.

  Her website was operated by another vague entity that handled all phone calls and emails from those wishing to hire her. Their computer techs back home hacked into the server that managed her email account only to find there was nothing there. It had been wiped clean. They couldn't even discern if it had ever been used. Someone was protecting the Cailens. The likeliest suspect was the CIA. What they just couldn't figure out was why?

  IT HAD been days since Jinx spoke to Josh. Though she and Jessica were best friends, Jinx wasn't as emotionally fragile as Jessica was. Still, not having Josh there was having an effect on her. Especially since she knew that what he and Michael were trying to do had very serious risks attached. They could end up wanted like Dmitri and his friends. They could be captured by a foreign government. Worst of all, they could be killed without her ever knowing what had happened.

  She tried not to let her anxieties about Josh, Michael, and now Jessica and Tatiana get the better of her as she sat down to eat dinner. She quietly ate her meal alone and then retired to bed early hoping to make time pass by quicker. She stared at the empty spot where Josh would lie and tried not to think about how much she missed him. She stretched her hand out as if reaching for him. Closing her eyes she fought back the haunting loneliness caused by his absence. Before long though, she was peacefully slumbering toward a new day.

  Around 3:30 a.m., Jinx was startled awake by the feeling of something pressing down on her. That something, to her horror, was a man. A towel was pushed against her mouth muffling her scream before she could even utter it. Trapped under the blankets by a man nearly twice her size, she was rendered completely helpless. His weight coupled with his superior strength overpowered her so much she couldn't move an inch. It was so terrifying and surreal Jinx had trouble believing it was really happening. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw another dark figure approach. He reached under the blankets and grabbed her arm. The man pinning her to the bed moved so that he could pull her arm from under the covers.<
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  It was in that moment Jinx began to realize what they were going to do to her. She struggled in vain and cried out futilely at the top of her lungs. She felt the needle enter her arm. Her screams turned to sobs when it was clear there was nothing she could do to stop it. In that moment she stopped resisting. Her whole body felt weak and sluggish. At first she couldn't tell if it was exhaustion from having struggled so hard or if it was caused by whatever they just injected her with. But after another minute she knew it was a result of a powerful drug. Her feelings went numb. Nothing felt real. The man who had been holding her down finally released her and stood up. She tried to move her arms but it was as if her whole body was experiencing a delayed reaction to whatever her brain was commanding.

  Without a word, the two men lifted Jinx off the bed and carried her outside to a waiting car. She wanted to resist but her body wouldn't cooperate. They slipped away without anyone even noticing.

  MICHAEL RESISTED the urge to call Jessica again to see how she was doing. As much as he wanted to hear her voice and make sure she was all right, he couldn't risk making the contact. He did manage to get a few more hours of much-needed sleep before he called Jeff back to find out what he learned from Grekov's finances.

  Michael waited until evening to call Jeff back, which for Jeff was late morning. It should have been plenty of time for Jeff to have learned something from Grekov's finances. They drove into town and bought another phone since it was very likely that Mossad was now monitoring the one they used for the first call. Michael had hoped to again use the CIA as a go-between when calling Jeff. Unable to reach anyone, he was forced to leave a message and hope that Gatti got it soon. A grueling hour and twenty minutes passed before their phone rang. It was Corvo.

  “I wasn't expecting to hear from you,” Michael remarked.

  “Tim is tied up. He asked me to help you. What do you need?”

  “I need to place a call to Jeff that Mossad can't trace.”

  “No sweat. Give me an hour and I'll set it up.”

  “Hurry. It won't be long before Mossad gets wind of this phone.”