Critical Play (Michael Cailen Book 3)

by Mel LeBrun

  “Suit yourself.”

  He filled the syringe once more and she braced herself for what she knew was coming. Her body began to shake from the adrenaline before she even began to feel the pain. He left the room again, giving her some time alone to think about her choice.

  When he returned the second time, he placed the vial on a table in front of her.

  “Shall we do this again? Or do you want to answer my questions?”

  Jinx looked like she was at death’s door. Her clothes and hair were drenched with sweat. She continued to shake even though the pain was dwindling again. She didn't think she could survive another round. She wished she could have passed out, but it didn't happen. Regardless of his tactics, she had determined in her heart that she would rather die than tell them anything.

  “I don't know where they are,” she answered with what little strength she had left.

  He sighed as he picked the vile back up off the table. He plunged in the syringe and filled it with more of the liquid agony. He brought it to her and paused just before sticking it in her arm again.

  “Last chance,” he said with a smile.

  Knowing there was nothing she could do, she looked up into his face and spit what little saliva she had into it.

  He wasn't surprised by her reaction. Perhaps only disappointed in himself for allowing the opportunity.

  “Have it your way,” he said as he wiped the spit off his face. He stuck the needle in her arm and she felt another rush of adrenaline as a wave of pain flowed through her body. He had doubled the dosage, inflicting far worse pain than before. She cried out as it became intolerable. It felt like her skin was on fire and someone was stabbing her all over with knives. She couldn't speak even if she wanted to. She could only whimper pitifully until the pain subsided.

  He asked her the round of questions a few more times before loading up the syringe yet again. As he was about to pierce her skin for the fourth time, she pleaded with him for mercy.

  “Please. Please, I don't know,” she cried.

  “We both know that's not true,” he replied. “Your friends are hiding terrorists and I need to find them.”

  He positioned the needle against her skin and paused, giving her one more chance to talk.

  Jinx was at her breaking point. She would rather die than experience that pain again. “Please,” she begged hysterically. “Please, they're not terrorists.”

  As the needled went in she screamed at the top of her lungs, imploring him not to hurt her anymore.

  “I'm sorry but the evidence says otherwise,” he replied as he was about to inject her again.

  “They were framed,” she sobbed. “They didn't do it.” She was utterly hysterical. “Please no more. Please.”

  He pulled the needle from her arm. “Why do you think they were framed?”

  “They were given a mission. It wasn't supposed to be a real bomb. It was supposed to be fake. They didn't know. Someone set them up.” She cried so hard she could barely breathe. “Please don't hurt me anymore.”

  “Where are they?”

  Jinx closed her eyes and shook her head as she sobbed. She had already said too much.

  “Where are they?!” he shouted.

  She didn't say another word despite his many efforts to get her to respond. In retaliation for her silence he gave her another double dose of the drug as a parting gift before he left the room.

  Chapter 19

  Gatti and Corvo had a long argument about who would tell Josh what happened to Jinx. Eventually Gatti pulled rank and made Corvo do it. Corvo procrastinated, hoping he would have something to report before making the call. They managed to pick up video of the truck used to kidnap Jinx and tracked it as it moved through the city after her abduction. They lost it after it entered an area of town with little-to-no video surveillance. They found the truck abandoned in the same area. They then began poring through surveillance footage from surrounding areas to try and determine if they had switched vehicles. After tracking the handful of cars that were on the road in that area at that time of night, they hypothesized that Jinx was likely being held in a house somewhere along the route the truck took. Corvo knew they would not have ditched the truck near where they were staying. Hence, they likely dropped her somewhere along the way. The possibilities were overwhelming. A multitude of homes and apartments lay between Jinx's home and the street where they found the truck. They would need more than luck to find her.

  Corvo called Kevin before tracking down Josh with the bad news.

  “Have you found her?” Kevin answered, forgoing all formalities of phone etiquette.

  “No. That's why I'm calling. I want to put a bounty on the men responsible. With a big enough reward, someone will talk.”

  “How much do you think you need?”

  “The larger it is, the quicker the response,” Corvo replied.

  “Just give me a number.”

  “At least $200,000.”

  “Make it three. I'll start gathering the cash right away.”

  “I'll put the word out.”

  “Good. I'll call you when I have it.”

  “Thanks.”

  Corvo hung up the phone and took a deep breath. He closed his eyes and seemed to drift off for a minute before opening them again and placing the call to Mossad headquarters.

  Michael and Josh were sitting in an airport in Turkey, along with David and three of his men, waiting for a flight to Moscow with the fake travel documents Mossad had provided for them when David approached.

  “Someone would like to speak to you,” David said to Michael.

  “Who?” Michael asked.

  “A friend of yours, I'm assuming,” David replied as he handed the phone to him.

  Michael stepped away as he answered.

  “Michael, it's Lance.” Corvo decided to tell Michael first about what happened instead of Josh. Perhaps Michael would be able to soften the blow, he thought.

  “Is everything all right? Is Jess OK?” Michael asked concerned over why he was calling.

  “As far as I know Jessica is just fine. But I have some bad news.”

  “What is it?”

  “Jinx has been kidnapped.”

  Michael instinctively looked at Josh who was looking back at him. Josh saw the look on Michael's face and knew something terrible happened. Michael quickly looked away realizing he had just alerted Josh.

  “What happened? What do you know so far?” Michael asked.

  “Professional team. If it weren't for the fact that her purse, phone, and keys were all still at the apartment it would be hard to prove she didn't just walk away.”

  “Any idea who did it?”

  “Could be the Russians who wanted to speak to Jessica or the mercenaries Grekov hired. We tracked down the truck they used.”

  “Abandoned?”

  “Yeah.”

  Michael cursed and ran his hand down his face as he tried to stay calm. Josh was soon standing next to him wanting to know what happened. Michael avoided looking at him.

  “Is that all you have?” Michael asked, fearing the answer would be yes.

  “I'm putting a $300,000 reward, courtesy of Kevin, out to the underworld for information. I'm hoping to have something useful in the next forty-eight hours.”

  As the reality of what happened sunk in, Michael felt increasing despair. He cursed again. Josh loved her more than anything else in life. He didn't know how Josh would handle the news. Not good would be a tremendous understatement.

  “What is it?” Josh asked.

  Michael looked Josh in the eye as he tried to prepare himself for Josh's reaction. Having known Michael for so many years, Josh could read the look on Michael's face clear as day. He didn't want to believe the conversation was about Jinx, but it was the only explanation for Michael's expression.

  “Michael, what happened?” Josh asked, desperately hoping it was something other than Jinx.

  Instead of answering Michael put his ear back to the phone
. “You have to get us back to the States.”

  “It will take time. I can't use conventional resources. He's going to want to be here sooner than I can get you here.”

  “Find Martin. When you do, call me back.”

  Michael hung up the phone. Josh looked like he was about to be sick.

  “It's Jinx, isn't it?” Josh said.

  “She's missing,” Michael answered.

  Josh clutched his head in his hands, not wanting to believe it was real. “No,” he said calmly. “No.” He took a few steps away. “It's a mistake.” He turned back to Michael and held out his hand. “Give me the phone,” he demanded.

  “What for?” Michael pulled it away.

  “I'm going to call her.” He grabbed Michael's arm to try and force the phone from his grip.

  “Don't you think Lance would have tried that?” Michael tried to reason.

  “Maybe she just didn't answer. Maybe she got spooked and went into hiding like Jessica.”

  “Josh.”

  “Give me the phone, Michael!” Josh said louder and more forcefully while also grappling for it.

  “Josh, stop!” Michael held the phone away. “This is happening whether you want it to or not.”

  Tears welled in Josh's eyes. “Michael, please. Let me talk to her. Please just let me call her.”

  Michael didn't want to believe it himself but Josh was in serious denial.

  “Her phone was still in the apartment along with her purse and keys,” Michael informed him.

  Josh shook his head and looked away. “No. No this isn't happening.”

  Dazed, he began walking away in no particular direction. Michael stayed a few steps behind not knowing how to comfort him.

  Josh walked to a window looking out at the runway. He stood for a minute watching the planes before he completely broke down sobbing like a child. Michael quickly moved to his side and put his arm around his shoulder.

  “With Kevin's money, Lance is putting out a $300,000 bounty on whoever took her. You know what that kind of money can do,” Michael said reassuringly. “He's going to find her.”

  “I need to be there.” Josh tried to regain his composure but was having a difficult time doing it.

  “I know. Lance is going to find Martin. You look enough alike to use his passport to get back into the States.”

  Josh nodded while trying desperately to dry his eyes.

  “It might take me a few days but I'll be right behind you.”

  “No.” Josh shook his head. “You stick to the plan. I wouldn't have been much use anyway.”

  “Josh, I'm going to help you get Jinx back. And that's final.”

  Josh shook his head. “No. Stick to the plan. Dmitri is counting on you.”

  “Dmitri would never sacrifice an innocent person to save himself. He will understand. I'm going with you,” Michael insisted.

  “One way or another, Grekov is behind this.” Josh looked him in the eyes. “Make him pay.”

  Michael was clearly torn. It didn't feel right leaving Josh in his time of need, but Josh was insistent and Michael finally acquiesced. “If it's the last thing I do, I will make sure he pays for all he's done.”

  “Good.” Josh looked back out the window at the planes on the tarmac. “I should have made her leave when Jessica did.”

  “I didn't think they would go after her either, Josh. None of us did.”

  “Yeah. Well ...” Josh paused. He knew what he wanted to say but the words just didn't want to come out. He ran his hand down his face and took a deep breath. “Now she's gonna pay for our negligence.”

  The words cut Michael deep. A remnant left over from his days in the military when he was accountable for the men under him, Michael felt personally responsible for the calamities that befell his friends if there was some way he could have prevented it. As much as he tried not to dwell on what he could have done differently, it was near impossible to shake the feeling that he was in some way to blame.

  “I'm sorry,” said Michael.

  “I'd like to be alone for a while,” was all Josh replied.

  At this point Michael felt like being alone himself. He patted Josh's shoulder and walked away. His solitude though was brief as David approached wondering what was going on.

  “Josh's wife has been taken captive,” Michael explained. “Could be the Russian operatives who approached my wife, or it could be hired mercenaries.”

  “My man has been watching the Russian operatives since they left your house. It's possible they arranged it, but they did not do it themselves,” David informed him.

  “You know where they are?” Michael asked somewhat surprised that David hadn't shared that earlier.

  “Like I said, we've been watching them since they left your house.”

  “We need to talk to them. If they're involved, we need to know.” Michael sounded almost frantic, unable to quell his feelings of anxiety.

  “I can put my man in touch with yours.”

  Michael was not pleased by the suggestion. “Nice try. I'm not outing my friend in the CIA by giving you his name and contact information,” he said gruffly.

  David smiled. “It was worth a try.”

  “My patience is wearing thin and I don't appreciate the mind games. You don't take advantage of friends in their moment of weakness. Makes me question just why I should trust you,” Michael angrily responded.

  Michael's words wiped the smile right off David's face. “I'm sorry, Michael. I've been doing this too long. I didn't even think about it.”

  Michael turned away still fuming.

  “I'm sorry,” David repeated.

  “Save it.”

  “Are you going back home?” David asked.

  “Josh is, I'm not,” he replied curtly.

  “Hopefully then I will be able to win back your trust. In the meantime, I will find out where the Russians are and perhaps my man will send an anonymous tip to your CIA regarding their whereabouts.”

  Michael's mood had turned so foul he could hardly spit out the words, “Thank you.” Somehow he managed it.

  Chapter 20

  When Martin heard about what happened to Jinx, he was more than willing to part with his passport so that Josh could get home. In fact he asked that Corvo begin arrangements so that he could get home as well to help Josh find her. He could hardly continue with his vacation knowing a member of his family had been kidnapped.

  Not having proper travel documents, it would have been too risky for Josh to go to Martin so Martin went to him. Josh stayed behind in Turkey while Michael continued on to Russia with David's team.

  Josh was both relieved and anxious to see Martin exiting the plane. One look at Josh and Martin knew he was in bad shape. His eyes were red, his hair was a mess and his expression clearly showed the pain he was in.

  “I don't know what to say, Josh,” Martin said feeling helpless.

  Josh nodded. “Thank you for coming.”

  “You can always count on me. You know that.” Martin handed him his passport.

  Josh took it. “I know. I'm sorry I ruined your vacation.”

  “We can take another one, Josh. Don't even think about that. Helen is fine. She's worried sick about Jinx. We both are.”

  “Where is she?”

  Martin looked at his watch. “Halfway over the Atlantic. She booked a flight home from Italy.”

  “I'm sorry.”

  “Josh, forget about it.”

  “When does my flight leave?” Josh asked.

  “Little over an hour.”

  Josh sighed heavily. He wished he could teleport home.

  “Do they know anything yet?” Martin asked.

  Josh shook his head. “The vehicle that took her was abandoned. Lance has a team pouring through surveillance footage but last I heard they had nothing more. It's not exactly easy to talk to him. I won't know anything until I get home.”

  “Lance said he will be able to get me home in a day or so. Hopefully you'll find her by
then but if not, I'll be there to help.”

  “Kevin put up some money for Lance to put out a reward.”

  “How much?”

  “Three hundred.”

  Martin whistled. “That kind of money should turn up something in no time.”

  Josh nodded. “That's what we're hoping.”

  A moment of strained silence followed. Neither of them knew what to say to the other.

  “Have you eaten?” Martin finally spoke.

  “I can't eat.”

  Martin put his arm around Josh's shoulders. “You’re going to.” He began walking Josh towards the cafeteria. “Your brain needs food to function. Jinx needs you at the top of your game.”

  Josh knew he was right though it did nothing to help his appetite. He was somewhat afraid that whatever he ate might come back up. Martin wouldn't take no for an answer though and ordered him some food.

  Josh literally forced it down. Not even having the slightest desire for food he chewed each bite into oblivion before forcibly swallowing it. He finished half his meal and pushed back from the table.

  “I'm just not hungry,” he said.

  Martin frowned. “I understand. That's how I felt when Katie was missing.”

  “What if I can't find her?” Josh asked as tears welled in his eyes.

  “Don't think like that. A $300,000 reward will produce results. Might take a few days but you know as well as I that for that kind of money, someone will talk.”

  Josh nodded. “Yeah. You're right. I guess I just have to hope they keep her alive that long.” He ran his hand down his face and looked away. Tears fell, which he quickly wiped away. Suppressing his feelings about what was happening was as impossible as trying to hold a beach ball under water. He wasn't having much success.

  Martin didn't know what he could say to comfort Josh. The situation was bleak and Martin knew all too well that Jinx's chance of survival was extremely low. Though he hoped for the best, the reality of the situation left him feeling the same despair that Josh felt.

  “How are you going to deal with the height issue?” Martin asked.

  Josh was shorter than Martin. Not by much but enough to make an alert customs agent suspicious. Martin wondered how Josh would compensate for the discrepancy.