Ghost Fall (CIA Ghost Series Book 3)

by Mike Ryan

  “Wakey, wakey,” Cole said, throwing the cup on the floor.

  Castellanos fully awakened and looked at the three intruders in front of him, struggling to escape from the tightly tied rope.

  “Speak English?” Cole asked.

  “You’re in big trouble you know,” Castellanos replied in perfect English.

  “I think that’s a yes,” he said to the rest of the group.

  “I’m a police officer and…”

  “Yeah, yeah, we know all that.”

  “What do you want?”

  “We want Yaroslav Nikishin,” Cole said.

  “Who?”

  “Gonna play the stupid card, are you?”

  “I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

  Cole nailed him with a right cross, almost breaking the seated man’s jaw. Turner was a little taken back by his methods and started moving in, getting a stern look from Cole, who also put his index finger up at him, telling him to step back without having to say a word. Parker grabbed Turner by the arm and pulled him away.

  “Maybe it’s better if you wait downstairs,” she whispered.

  “No, I wanna stay with you,” Turner objected.

  “This could get ugly. Cole, and me, have been doing this a long time. You’re not used to this type of stuff. You might not wanna watch.”

  Turner thought about it for a second, but decided against it. “No. I wanna stay.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah. I’m fine.”

  “OK. You gotta let Cole do his job then,” Parker told him.

  Turner nodded, agreeing not to interfere.

  “You wanna keep doing this?” Cole asked his prisoner. “I mean, it’s fun and all, but I’m kind of on a tight schedule.”

  “I don’t know who it is you’re looking for,” he responded.

  “You’re a police officer making seven hundred dollars a month. Yet here you are in this nice house, a brand new car, nice furniture…you wanna explain that to me?”

  Castellanos shrugged, not having an answer. At least, not one he wanted to share.

  “You’re on the take,” Cole continued. “You know it, we know it, heck, even people in your own government know it. They gave you up to us.”

  Castellanos looked up at his attacker, curious.

  “You’re obviously on the take, you work in Nikishin’s area, he’s on the lamb, you see where I’m going with this?”

  “I still don’t know nothing.”

  Cole hit him with a left cross this time, opening up a small cut over Castellanos’ right eye. Cole shook his hand, a brief, sharp pain coursing through his knuckles.

  “Ready to talk yet?” Cole asked.

  “About what?”

  Cole laughed. “You really wanna take this beating all night?”

  Castellanos shrugged. “Your hands, man.”

  Cole bent over, right in front of Castellanos’ face, and smiled at him. “You know, if you wanna play this game all night, by the time I’m finished, I’ll make your head look like a crushed up cantaloupe.”

  “Do I look like I scare easy?”

  Cole took a step back and rolled up his sleeves, ready to get down to business. Parker put her hand on his arm and stepped in front of him, ready to take a crack at the guy.

  “Why do you wanna go through all this?” Parker asked. “Tell us what we want to know and we’ll be gone. We don’t wanna harm you. We just want Nikishin.”

  Castellanos looked up at her and sighed, still not budging.

  “Why take a beating if you don’t have to?” she asked him.

  “I’ll take a bigger one if I give him up,” he answered, finally revealing that he did know their target.

  “Not if we get to him and eliminate him.”

  Castellanos looked away and shook his head, not willing to reveal anything else. “You’re not getting anything else out of me.”

  Parker looked back toward Cole, who was more than ready to take over again. Fearing their questioning was basically going nowhere, and with the assumption that Castellanos was ready and willing to take a beating, Cole reached into his bag for his next trick. He removed a needle that had some sort of liquid inside.

  “What’s that?” Turner asked, afraid his friend was about to terminate the man.

  “Sodium pentothal,” Cole happily responded.

  “I knew that’s what it was,” Parker said, rightfully assuming what he had.

  “What’s that do?” Turner wondered, watching as Cole stuck the needle into the side of Castellanos’ neck.

  “Should make him talk,” Cole replied.

  Sodium pentothal was commonly known as a truth serum and was often referenced to in books and movies. It was a real drug, and not just a made up plot point to further along the book or movie in question. Scientists have actually administered the drug, giving it to pregnant women, psychiatric patients, spies, and criminals, whether real or suspected. It is a barbituate that acts on the central nervous system. It could calm anxiety, cause drowsiness, eliminate pain, or make someone pass out. Once injected, it quickly reached the brain, causing the subject to lose consciousness within a minute. After that, the drug would redistribute through the rest of the body, and within ten minutes, consciousness would return, though in a reduced capacity.

  The CIA had been using sodium pentothal, as well as other drugs similar in nature, for years. They were not alone in their usage, however, as many governments, and police, in foreign nations also were known to administer the drug. Unlike how it’s usually depicted in movies, though, a confession under the influence of such truth serums was hardly guaranteed, or guaranteed to be accurate. The drug usually was effective in getting it’s recipient to spill information. The trick was to know whether that information was correct, or whether the subject was so under the influence that he was just talking and saying whatever the interrogator wanted to hear.

  As the agents waited for the drug to take its natural affect on Castellanos’ body, Turner had several questions about it.

  “Sodium pentothal. Is that a truth drug?” Turner asked.

  “Yep,” Cole proudly responded. “CIA’s been using it for decades. Most other spy organizations as well.”

  “Isn’t that a form of torture?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. This is a special mixture. Also has traces of scopolamine in it.”

  “What’s that for?”

  “Memory loss.”

  “So he won’t remember any of this?” Turner asked.

  “Nope. It’ll erase his memory of this and directly before it. He’ll wake up in the morning, in his own bed, not remembering a thing.”

  “What about the cuts and bruises on his face?”

  Cole shrugged. “Probably think he fell out of bed or something.”

  “It won’t kill him, will it?”

  “Nah. Shouldn’t, anyway. High dosages could kill him. I didn’t give him a lethal amount though. Just enough to make him chatty.”

  “Is there anything you won’t do or try?” Turner wondered.

  Cole actually thought about the question for a minute before answering. “No. I’ll do whatever I have to do. I’ll do what’s necessary…no more, no less.”

  “All about the mission, right?”

  “That’s all. Have a problem with my methods?”

  “Just talking,” Turner shrugged.

  “You know, we all don’t have the same comfy background that you do. Nice family, stable household, good schools, nice house, never any issues or problems growing up. You grow up and live in this little plastic bubble. And when it pops, you’re as lost as a little puppy dog. We’re all not wired the way you are, we don’t all wear our heart on our sleeve like you do.”

  “I didn’t say you’re wrong.”

  “You don’t have to. I can see it in your eyes, the tone of your voice, the questions you ask. You think I go too far, don’t you?”

  “I think you enjoy what you do,” Turner observed.

&nb
sp; “I do. Wouldn’t do it if I didn’t. But I do what the assignment requires me to do. That’s why I’m highly regarded.”

  “We’ll have to give him a few baseline questions to see if he’s being truthful, or just talking,” Parker stated, interrupting their discussion before it got heated.

  After a few more minutes went by, Castellanos’ body start writhing around, not quite knowing where he was.

  “How you doing there, hotshot?” Cole asked.

  “Huh? Who are you?” Castellanos replied.

  “Let’s start with some basics. Who are you?”

  “Marcos Castellanos.”

  “You’re a police officer, yes?”

  “Yes.”

  “You know Darius Yevenko, right?” Cole asked, trying to trap him.

  “Uhh, no, no. I never met him.”

  “What about Ryan Turner, know him?” Cole smiled, getting a sharp look from Turner.

  “Uhh, no. No.”

  “Yaroslav Nikishin. You know him?”

  “Slava? Sure. I know him. Pays me five hundred a month to make sure problems go away. It’s funny you ask about him, I was just talking to him a couple days ago.”

  The agents looked at each other, knowing they hit pay dirt. Castellanos kept talking without being prompted, which was sometimes one of the effects of the drug. Sometimes, people would just keep going and going, talking about anything and everything, even if they weren’t asked a question. They let him keep talking for a few minutes, hoping he’d stray far enough to tell them where Nikishin was. He went completely past that subject though and started talking about his family and his job. Cole heard enough of that though and sought to get him back on target.

  “Marcos, buddy,” Cole said, putting his arm around him. “We’re friends, right?”

  “Yeah. Yeah.”

  “How long we been friends for? Five, six years now?”

  Castellanos nodded. “Yeah. Something like that.”

  “I mean, you were the best man at my wedding, right?”

  “Yeah,” he agreed.

  “So there’s no secrets between us, right?”

  “Right.”

  “I need to get something to Slava,” Cole mentioned. “I have a package of heroin for him that’s burning a hole in my pocket. I need the money real bad.”

  “He’ll give you a good price for it.”

  “I know. The problem is that someone tried to kill him last week and now I can’t find him. I need this money real bad, buddy. Do you know where I can find him so I can sell him the heroin I got?”

  “Yeah, no problem. I just talked to him yesterday,” Castellanos replied.

  “Really? What’d you talk to him about?”

  “About the other stuff.”

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah. He wanted to know if I’d heard anything about anyone looking for him. It’s not right what those bums tried to do to him last week. Slava’s OK, you know?”

  “I know. He’s a pretty straight up guy,” Cole said.

  “Yeah. I mean, he can be a little rough sometimes, but he’s OK. Always paid me on time and all. Never no problems.”

  “Yeah, a real good guy. So listen, Marcos, can you help me get this heroin I got to him?”

  “Yeah, man, we’re friends, right?”

  Cole smiled. “Yeah, we’re best buddies. So where’s he hanging out these days? I tried him at the café but he wasn’t there.”

  “He hasn’t been there since they took those shots at him,” Castellanos informed him.

  “Where is he?”

  “He’s at the hotel. He’s got that room at the top.”

  Cole looked at Parker, knowing they were close. “What hotel?”

  “The uhh…the Grand Casa Hotel.”

  “Great. Thanks. What floor did you say he was on?”

  “Twelfth. Yeah. Twelfth.”

  “Buddy, you’re a lifesaver. Does he still have some of his guards with him?”

  “Yeah. Two or three I think.”

  “The two big guys on the door, right?”

  “Uhh, yeah, yeah. And the one inside with him,” Castellanos revealed.

  “That’s right. I forgot about the one inside.”

  “That one’s not too nice.”

  “Stinking prick is what he is,” Cole went along, taking another needle out of his bag.

  “Yeah. But Slava puts him in his place.”

  “Good for Slava.”

  Cole laughed along with Castellanos, like they were having a grand old time. Cole then stuck him in the neck with another needle, causing him to go to sleep again.

  “What was that one for?” Turner asked.

  “Put him to sleep again,” Cole answered.

  “Oh.”

  “We got everything we needed out of him. No need to keep this up any longer.”

  “That was good,” Parker stated.

  “That was actually one of the easier subjects I ever had.”

  “Why is that?”

  “What?”

  “Why’d he reveal everything so easy?”

  “I dunno. Probably because he wasn’t the one that was trying to hide something.”

  “You mean if we were trying to pry something out of him that he was hiding, he might not have been so forthcoming?” Turner asked.

  “Maybe,” Cole shrugged. “Tough to say. You never know how these things are going to go. Could go easy and they tell you everything they know, or, they could tell you everything under the sun, except what you’re looking for. In his case, maybe it went down so easy cause he wasn’t trying to hide it.”

  Cole untied Castellanos’ hands, and the man slumped over onto the floor, no doubt giving him another bruise on his face.

  “Oops,” Cole smiled. “Sorry about that, buddy,” he said to the unconscious man.

  Cole had Turner give him a hand picking up the police officer’s body and placed him back onto his bed. They pulled the sheets overtop of him, up to his shoulders, just as if he’d been sleeping the whole time. Like nothing ever happened.

  “And he won’t suspect anything?” Turner asked.

  “Won’t remember a thing,” Cole answered.

  “How can you be sure?”

  “This isn’t my first time, you know. Besides, I know how it works firsthand.”

  “You do?”

  “I’ve had it used on me before.”

  “Really? Where?”

  “Couple times. First time was a test.”

  “Someone gave that to you as a test?” Turner asked.

  “Yeah. The agency. You shouldn’t use something unless you personally know how it works. I know how it works and what it does.”

  “Sounds like a fun time. I’m sure you had a blast.”

  “Ehh. It’s not all it’s cracked up to be,” Cole retorted. “But it does the job.”

  “So what’s our next step?”

  “Now we go to the hotel,” Parker replied.

  “We find Nikishin and finish this thing,” Cole said.

  “But you put Marcos back to sleep before he told us the room number and everything,” Turner said. “Plus, I’m sure he’s not using his real name. I mean, that probably would’ve been helpful.”

  “Relax. Don’t get your panties twisted,” Cole remarked. “Marcos gave us all the information we needed.”

  “I don’t know the Grand Casa personally, but I’m sure it’s not small. If there’s ten floors, I’m sure there’s hundreds of rooms.”

  “Why do you get so uptight all the time?” Cole asked, keeping calm. “We don’t need a room number or a name.”

  “How you figure?”

  “It’s simple. Nikishin’s room will be the one with guards stationed outside.”

  Chapter 12

  Cole and Turner were waiting at the edge of the staircase for their signal, staying completely out of sight from the two guards at the door. Parker was on her way to the tenth floor using the elevator. She was the only one in it at the time. She’d broke
n into the employee area an hour before that and found a locker for one of the cleaning staff, taking one of their outfits. The plan was for her to blend in using the disguise of a hotel employee. Luckily, the outfit was pretty much her size. It was just a plain turquoise dress with a little white apron in the front, along with some white shoes to match.

  “I feel hideous in this thing,” Parker said through her earpiece.

  “You look great,” Turner replied.

  “I do not. You can admit it.”

  “Well, I mean, it’s not the sexiest thing you’ve ever worn.”

  “So you’re saying I don’t look good?”

  “Uhh….no, no. That’s not what I’m saying at all,” he backtracked.

  “Then what are you saying?”

  As he hesitated to come up with a reply, Cole simply laughed and shook his. “You really know how to step in it, don’t you? You walked right into that one.”

  “What I mean to say is,” Turner stumbled. “That while the outfit itself is nothing particularly glamorous, you somehow make it all that much more appealing due to your mesmerizing beauty.”

  Cole barely turned his head, looking at Turner out of the corner of his eye. He didn’t even have words for him, not believing he just said something that sounded so ridiculous.

  Parker laughed at his attempt to recover. “You certainly have a way with words, don’t you?”

  “I try,” Turner replied.

  “All right, Hansel and Gretel, let’s get to work,” Cole interjected.

  “Remember, I’ll give you the word to come to the door,” Parker told them.

  The elevator stopped at the tenth floor and Parker got off, beginning to walk to Nikishin’s room. She had several big, thick bath towels over her hands. Underneath those towels, were two Glock pistols that had silencers on the end of them. She turned the corner to get to Nikishin’s room, immediately seeing the two guards on either side of the door. She put a pleasant smile on her face as she walked toward them, trying to look as innocent and non-dangerous as possible. Since she didn’t look threatening, the guards weren’t on high alert, though they were slightly alarmed at the presence of someone new. It was usually the same cleaning person who’d been to the room since the day Nikishin arrived at the hotel. Parker, her hands still completely wrapped up in the towels, stopped right in front of them.