Critical Play (Michael Cailen Book 3)

by Mel LeBrun

  “Is that what you think?”

  “Tell me I'm wrong.”

  “Would you believe me if I did?”

  David shook his head in disgust. “We're on the same team, Michael.”

  “Maybe, but we're each playing a different game,” Michael finally admitted.

  “We both want the people responsible for selling the nuke. If Grekov is involved, we want to know same as you.”

  “Yeah but you want to kill him.”

  “Looked to me like the thought crossed your mind in there. Considering he hired mercenaries to find your friends and your family is missing I'm a little surprised you didn't.”

  The look David got from Michael made him feel a little afraid.

  “What the hell do you know about that?” Michael asked. He turned in his seat and faced him with an expression so intense David was afraid to stop the car. “How the hell do you know about that?”

  “Michael, calm down.”

  “Answer me!” Michael shouted angrily.

  “A $300,000 reward for information tends to attract attention, Michael.”

  Michael cursed. He wondered how much David knew already and whether Jeff's identity had been compromised.

  “What do you know about my family?” Michael asked.

  “Less than you I would imagine.”

  “Answer the damn question.”

  “Just that no one has heard from them in over a week and I assume that's why you've been on the verge of becoming homicidal.”

  Michael sat back in his seat and ran his fingers through his hair. “How long have you known?”

  “I made some calls last night. Got my answer this morning.” He looked sympathetically at Michael. “For what it's worth. I'm sorry.”

  “They're fine.”

  “You've spoken with them?”

  “No. Not yet.”

  “But your friends have heard from her?”

  Michael didn't want to answer him but he knew David wouldn't let it go. “No. They haven't.”

  David was silent for a moment as he tried to think of a delicate way to ask his next question. “How do you know they're OK then?”

  Michael shifted trying not to get agitated which was proving impossible. “I don't want to talk about it.”

  “It sounds like maybe someone is lying to you, Michael. Have you considered that?”

  Michael's heel bounced anxiously on the floor. “I have.”

  “And somehow you choose to believe what you're told?”

  “I trust him,” Michael answered though that trust was being severely tried at the moment.

  “Trust … or trusted?”

  “Both.” Michael refused to betray his insecurity to David. “He's always had my back and I have no reason to doubt him now,” Michael said confidently.

  David shook his head, clearly disagreeing with Michael's view. “If you change your mind, I'm willing to help.”

  Michael nodded. “I appreciate that, David, but it won't be necessary.”

  They drove silently for another twenty minutes before meeting up with the other half of their team. David led the way to another apartment building outside Moscow. Michael followed him up three flights of stairs to the apartment where David's team was already waiting. The laptop was set up and they had already recorded two angry phone calls Grekov made after he woke. The first was to his guards reaming them out for not protecting him. An unreasonable demand considering they were made to wait outside. The second call was far more intriguing.

  “I said never to call me,” a man answered.

  “You also said no one would find out!” Grekov shouted.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “A man came to see me. Threatened me. He wants a nuke just like...”

  “Stop talking,” the mystery caller cut him off. “What the hell is wrong with you? Who was this man?”

  “He said his name was Hamza Amer. He wasn't alone.”

  “What else did he say?”

  “He knew the exact amount.”

  “How?”

  “That's why I'm calling you. You said nothing could trace back to me. So how did he know how much you paid me?”

  “I'll look into Hamza Amer. I will call you when I have something. In the meantime, don't breathe a word of this to anyone. And don't call me again.”

  The mystery caller hung up the phone cutting the conversation short.

  “It's pretty clear Grekov is involved,” David said.

  “Next question, who was he talking to?” Michael added.

  David turned to his men for an answer. One shook his head. “Burn phone,” was all he said.

  David looked back at Michael. “I guess we have a little more work to do.”

  Chapter 29

  Jessica's morning sickness was back in full force. She was barely able to keep anything down and riding in the backseat was an impossibility. She rode instead in the front passenger's seat next to Dmitri as they drove down a lonely stretch of road in Ontario. Timur was entertaining Tatiana in the back while Ivan, heavily medicated, was half asleep.

  “Do we have a plan other than driving aimlessly across Canada?” Jessica asked.

  “We need to stay on the move,” Dmitri replied.

  “Yeah, well. Riding around in a moving vehicle isn't doing anything to help my morning sickness,” Jessica pointed out. “Why can't we call Tim Gatti for help? He and Michael are very close. He might be able to help us.”

  “He couldn't help us before, Jess. What makes you think that's changed?”

  “We'll never know if we don't ask.”

  Dmitri shook his head. “It's better this way.”

  “For who?” she looked at him.

  Dmitri remained silent. not wishing to get into an argument over it. Another wave of nausea washed over her and she got a plastic bag ready just in case. A few seconds later, she was expelling everything she had just eaten minutes before.

  “Do you need me to pull over?” Dmitri asked.

  She shook her head and threw up again. When the feeling finally passed and she thought she was in the clear, she opened another bottle of Gatorade and tried to wash the taste of vomit from her mouth. She closed her eyes and tried to remain calm.

  “Maybe we should find someplace to rest,” Timur suggested in Russian. “Ana is restless, Ivan is cramped, and Jessica is sick.”

  “I think that's a great idea,” Jessica replied, letting them know she understood what was said.

  “I'll find someplace to pull over,” Dmitri agreed.

  A few minutes later, Dmitri pulled off the road next to a serene lake. Tatiana ran to the water to look for fish. Timur was just a few steps behind her. Ivan opened his door and gingerly stretched his legs. Jessica sat looking out the window at her daughter with Timur while Dmitri watched her.

  “You should try to eat again,” Dmitri said.

  “I'm so sick of throwing up, Dmitri.”

  “I know. You should still try.”

  “Right now, I just want to relax.”

  Dmitri got out of the truck and walked to her door. He opened it and held out his hand. “Let's go for a walk.”

  “Will this walk include lectures?” she asked.

  Dmitri chuckled. “No. If you wish, I will not say a word.”

  She smiled as she took his hand. “If you promise.”

  He led her down to the water where Timur was showing Tatiana how to skip stones. He told Timur they were going for a short walk. Timur just grinned. Dmitri shook his head.

  “Ana, we're going for a walk. Do you want to come?” Jessica asked her.

  “Timur is showing me how to skip stones!” she excitedly responded.

  “Do you want to stay here then?”

  She nodded and went back to collecting stones from the bank. Timur just shrugged.

  “She really likes you,” Jessica told him. “Thank you for watching her.”

  “It's no problem,” Timur replied. “She's fun.”

  Dmi
tri led the way as they followed the edge of the lake.

  “How far are we going to go?” Jessica asked as they walked deeper and deeper into the woods.

  Dmitri looked back at her and grinned. “You nervous?”

  “With you? No.”

  Dmitri spotted a large rock up ahead. “There. We can sit for a minute.”

  He brought Jessica to the rock and let her sit. The view was beautiful. Across the lake, they could see Tatiana and Timur playing at the water's edge. Ivan was laying down in the backseat of the truck resting his aching leg. Jessica felt at peace. The only thing that would have made that moment complete was if Michael was there. She missed him more and more each day that passed.

  As she sat soaking in the beauty around her, Dmitri held a package of crackers out to her. She looked at the crackers and then up at him. He wouldn't look at her. He just stood there holding the crackers.

  “You promised no lectures,” she said.

  He looked at her with a slight smirk but didn't respond.

  She released an irritated sigh and took the crackers from him. “You haven't said anything.”

  Dmitri didn't say a word as she ate a few crackers. He then held out the Gatorade he had brought with him. She released another sigh as she took it from him and washed down the crackers. He looked at her and smiled, pleased that she ate something.

  She scooted over on the rock and tugged on Dmitri's arm. “Sit with me.”

  Dmitri sat on the small space she created for him.

  “You know, I just realized. You know everything about me, but I don't know anything about you,” Jessica said.

  “What's to know?”

  “Do you have a girlfriend?”

  Dmitri chuckled. “Like I said. What's there to know?”

  “I'm not sure what that's supposed to mean.”

  “I'm never in one place long enough to have any meaningful relationships, Jessica. My life is my job. There's nothing more.”

  “Don't you ever want more than that?”

  Dmitri either didn't want to answer or didn't know the answer. A long silence followed and Jessica regretted asking.

  “I'm sorry. You don't have to answer that,” she said. “I just want you to be happy.”

  Dmitri squeezed her hand and smiled. “It's OK.” He took a deep breath and looked out over the water. “Before all this. Before everything went to hell. I never even thought about what I was sacrificing. I was serving my country. I was making a difference. I felt important,” he admitted. “But now. My country wants to destroy me. All the work I did. The sacrifices I made. They mean nothing. And I have nothing.” He paused as he mourned over his life choices. “What did I do it for?”

  Jessica placed her hand on his back. “You saved me, Dmitri. I'm alive today because of you.”

  He gave her a smile. “I am glad for that.”

  “I'm sure there are others that owe their life to you. You've made a difference. To those people if nothing else.”

  “I suppose that's true.”

  She slid her arm through his. “Don't lose heart yet, Dmitri.” She looked at him and his gaze was fixed at something across the water. She followed his line of sight and saw a police car was parked behind them on the side of the road.

  Dmitri cursed in Russian and turned to her. “Don't move from here.”

  “What about Ana?” she asked starting to panic.

  “Ana will be fine,” he replied before he sprinted away from her.

  IVAN HEARD a car pull up behind them and sat up to see who it was. Seeing a police car, he called out to Timur. If, or rather when, they ran their vehicle's plates they would discover they belonged to another car. Their situation was about to get even more complicated.

  Timur told Tatiana to wait by the water while he talked with the police. She stood nervously as he walked away. She looked around and seeing no one else she began to feel afraid.

  Timur approached the officers with a smile hoping to talk his way out of any trouble.

  “Hello there,” one of the officers addressed him while his partner ran the plates on the truck. “Where are you folks headed?”

  “We're visiting family in Toronto,” Timur answered. “Just stopped to stretch our legs. Are we not supposed to be here?”

  “We just stopped to check on you, that's all. Where you coming from?”

  As the one officer was talking, his partner stepped from the vehicle and by the look on his face Timur knew that he knew. The officer was assessing his surroundings and getting prepared for a confrontation. Timur had decided to make a preemptive strike, when he felt someone grab his leg. He looked down to see Tatiana clinging to him. During that brief distraction, the second officer was able to gesture to the first, alerting him to the situation. When Timur looked back up, they both had their hands on their weapons, the presence of a child was the only reason they didn't draw them.

  “Sir, please put your hands up and get on your knees.”

  Timur pushed Tatiana behind him with one hand and raised the other. “Please don't scare her.”

  “Sir, I'm not going to ask you again.” They called out to Ivan, “You in the truck. Come out with your hands up.”

  Ivan hobbled to the back of the truck. He didn't know if he was in any shape to offer Timur assistance, but he would do what he could. Timur was reluctant to make a move with Tatiana so close. She could get injured if they became embroiled in a struggle or if the officers became trigger happy. If she got hurt, he would never forgive himself.

  “Ana. Come here,” Ivan said to her in Russian, hoping to free up Timur.

  “You! Quiet!” the officer shouted. “Get on the ground!”

  As the officers got more worked up, so did Tatiana. Not wanting things to escalate, Timur put his hands up and got on his knees.

  “It's OK, Ana,” Timur tried to reassure her. “It's OK, stay calm.”

  One of the officers pushed him to the ground and handcuffed him. Ivan tried to tell the officers that his leg was hurt and he couldn't get on the ground, but they wouldn't listen. They kept shouting for him to get on the ground.

  Not understanding what was happening and becoming more afraid, Tatiana took off running in the direction she saw Dmitri and her mom go. Timur and Ivan shouted in vain for her to stop.

  Not knowing where she was going and fearing they would lose her in the woods, the officer standing watch ran after her. She screamed when he lifted her off the ground. He tried to assure her he wasn't going to hurt her, but she was terrified. When he finally turned back to the car, he saw Timur sitting up and in the middle of removing his handcuffs while Ivan stood over his partner on the ground. He dropped Tatiana and drew his gun. A second later, he was on the ground, tackled by Dmitri. There was a brief struggle but Dmitri came out on top. The officer was soon restrained with his own handcuffs.

  Jessica arrived a moment later. Dmitri didn't say anything about her not listening to him. He would have been more surprised if she had. She swept Tatiana up in her arms and tried to calm her down. Dmitri held down one very unhappy cop while Timur handcuffed his half-conscious partner.

  “What are we going to do?” Jessica asked.

  Dmitri shook his head and looked over at the others. “Take her to the truck and wait for me.” Dmitri dragged his captive with him as he went to discuss the situation Ivan and Timur. He pushed the cop on the ground next to his partner.

  “What are you going to do to us?” the officer asked.

  Dmitri ignored him.

  “What are we going to do now?” Ivan asked in Russian. “We can't leave them.”

  “It's hours to the next town and these roads are nearly deserted. If someone finds them or they call for help before we reach the next town, we'll be sitting ducks,” Timur added.

  “We're in trouble,” Dmitri admitted. He ran his hand down his face and looked out over the water. When the officers didn't report back in they were sure to search for them. If the vehicle was found, they were sure to be seen on the
dashboard cam. Dmitri turned to the cops. “Did you call in our plate?”

  “This is only going to get worse for you,” the officer replied. “You need to let us go and turn yourselves in. Think about your little girl.”

  Dmitri turned away. Talking to them would do little good.

  “They probably called it in,” Timur said.

  Dmitri and Ivan agreed.

  “Watch them. I'm going to talk with Jess,” Dmitri said. He walked to the truck where Jessica was sitting with Tatiana. He opened the back door to talk to her.

  “We need help,” he admitted. “Do you know Lance's phone number?”

  “Not off hand. But I can call Jinx. She works with him.”

  Not seeming to like that suggestion, Dmitri scrunched his brow. He rubbed the back of his head and looked around as he thought it over.

  “Or we could call the FBI office he works out of,” she offered.

  “That would be better,” Dmitri agreed. “I'll let you make the call but before you tell him anything, I'll need to talk with him.”

  CORVO WAS getting into his car on his way back to the hospital when his cell phone rang. He saw it was the office.

  “Corvo,” he answered.

  “We have a woman on the phone who is insisting on speaking with you. She won't give her name.”

  “Patch her through to my cell.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  A moment later his cell phone rang again.

  “Special Agent Lance Corvo,” he answered.

  “Lance. It's me.”

  Corvo couldn't believe his ears. “Jessica?!”

  “Yeah, it's me.”

  “Oh my God. Jess, we've been worried sick!” Corvo felt like his heart was going to come out of his chest. “Where are you?”

  “Look, we're all OK. But Dmitri needs to talk to you.”

  “Jess, where are you?!” Corvo asked again.

  Dmitri took the phone. “Lance, it's Dmitri.”

  “Dmitri, what's going on? Where are you?”

  “We need your help. Are you in a position to do that?”

  “Yes. I'll do whatever I can, just tell me what the hell is going on.” Corvo sat in his car trying to calm his nerves.

  “Here is the situation. We're halfway through Ontario. We had a run-in with some Canadian police. We have them subdued but we're out in the middle of nowhere and we can't let them go until we're closer to town.”