Between HeVan and Hell

by Lucy Kelly

  “How do you plan to deal with the Contadina brothers and take Grace?” asked Mr. Kadyrov.

  “My plans are going well. I have decided to use subterfuge. My current lover is quite enamored with me; she will bring Grace to me if I ask. As to her men, as much as I’d like to play with them, a simple bullet to the brain would be the best solution. I’ve also considered a car bomb. Unfortunately, to avoid police notice, I’m going to have to make them disappear without a trace. So I’ll snatch Grace, use her as bait and kill them when they come for her,” he said.

  “I agree. They are the type of men who will attempt to handle the situation themselves. They won’t go to the police. My only suggestion is to wait until she has been gone from the casino for a little while longer. You should be seen flirting with other suitable women so they can’t say you are still interested in this one woman,” said Mr. Kadyrov.

  “Yes, Grandfather.”

  “Good, now let’s go in to dinner.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Once again, Grace had slept through the data download. After the long hike back to the Escalade and then the long drive back to the city, it was nearly dawn when they pulled into the underground parking garage for her condo. Justyn carried her while Jalen and Jett grabbed any essential items. They would worry about unpacking the car later.

  After securing the doors and windows, and checking to see if there had been any intruders while they were gone, they went to bed. They would sleep for six hours and then get up.

  At little before noon, Jalen awoke. Looking around, he saw that he was the last one up and actually wondered why he had not slept until noon. His body clock had always awakened him precisely when he asked it to. Sounds from the bathroom snagged his attention and he arose from the bed. Opening the door, he saw where the sounds emanated from.

  Justyn was in the shower taking Grace against the wall. Jett was standing at the shower door fisting his cock. He turned to Jalen, “She asked to take us one at a time this morning. She said seeing the Joining marks on our shoulders was a real turn on.”

  They both turned back at a long, low groan by Justyn. Grace was pressing her fingers into the healed cavities in Justyn’s back where his wings had resided before emergence. So long as she kept massaging them, they would remain sensitive. They both slumped against each other and Jett groaned through an orgasm from just watching. He had greater control over his body this morning and so he was still erect.

  Jalen still had his morning erection so he stepped out to visit the half- bath in the hallway as Jett changed places with Justyn. He drank some water and brushed his teeth, then headed back to the bathroom where Jett was now in the shower with Grace. He felt his own arousal increase as he watched them making love. The look on Grace’s face, the pleasure she was feeling, increased his own. Justyn peeked in and whispered, “She will be hungry. I’m going to start breakfast.”

  “You’d better make it a big one. I can feel my own appetite building,” answered Jalen. He picked up a towel when he heard Jett shout out his release and Grace moaned through her own. He reached in and turned off the cooling water, then opened the large bath towel and took Grace from Jett’s arms. Jalen stepped from the shower in the bathroom and then went into the bedroom. Standing Grace on her feet, he saw that she was a little dazed but still aware.

  “Are you ready for me, Kasharra, or do you need to rest?” he asked.

  In response, she lifted her head and with clear, alert eyes, she jumped up and wrapped herself around him. Pressing in on the slight depressions on his back, she took him from zero to sixty, in one second flat. They fell back on the bed. He rolled so that she was underneath him.

  “I hear you like our Joining marks?” he asked as he entered her.

  “Yesss. Now everyone knows you’re mine! Ohhh,” she moaned, as he positioned himself to thrust at a different angle. He lowered himself closer to her and began giving her drugging kisses. She wrapped her hands around him and rubbed his back up and down, once in a while pressing in on his two 'happy spots', as she privately called them. His control shattered and he began thrusting wildly and soon they were both climaxing.

  They lay there in the bed, getting their breath back. Jalen rolled over to the side.

  “This is a pleasant way to wake up in the morning,” she said.

  “We will happily use this method of greeting each new day for the rest of our lives,” said Jalen.

  “Deal,” said Grace.

  Twenty minutes later, they were enjoying a large pancake breakfast, along with bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, whole-wheat toast, melon and a gallon of orange juice. She quickly saw that she’d need to put in a larger refrigerator.

  “Grace, I checked the keyword list and there is a large grouping on Friday, late in the afternoon. I think it is the meeting you were speaking of,” said Jett.

  “We want to listen to that meeting, but since we now have all the data, I think we should hunker down and get through it all. We can then separate out the inflammatory pieces from the mundane. Divide it into date-time stamped pieces of evidence that can be logged separately. Each one will count as a separate charge against them. The more separate charges we can pile on, the better chance we have of them staying longer in prison.

  “And we shouldn’t discount the mundane. We want to catch them logging into their computers and opening safes; doing things when they are most likely alone and not speaking. If we can get their passwords, know where their stashes are, the warrants will be easier to get and execute. Will you help?” she asked.

  “Of course, we will,” said Jalen. “Jett, will you show Grace what you’ve come up with?”

  “I found a store online that specializes in security and surveillance equipment. I had some items delivered. I went down and picked up the packages from the security desk this morning while you were finishing your second shower,” he said with a wink and smiled when she blushed.

  He brought a package over to the table and took out four pairs of glasses. “These are made to show a video stream of what’s happening behind you, onto the corners of the front lenses. I can easily alter them to connect to the MP3 players. Wearing the glasses and earplugs, you can step into the shoes of the man you’re investigating. The Bluetooth I re-engineered will allow you to simply think about stopping, starting, fast-forwarding, or reversing and it will happen. I have attached the date/time stamps to run concurrently side by side with the data, but separately so you can use it as a guide without corrupting the data. If we each keep paper and pen handy, we can scan and mark as we go along,” he said.

  “Jett, that’s perfect. Do you think we can get through everything by Monday morning?” Grace asked. “And then we can put it into a summarized report for the Captain and State’s Attorney,” she said.

  “With all of us working on it, yes, I think so.”

  “Okay. Justyn, would you be willing to be in charge of all our meals? I promise to make you a special meal for dinner Monday night,” she asked.

  “I enjoy cooking. It would be my pleasure, Grace,” answered Justyn.

  “After this is all over, remind me to show you the Food Channel on television; I think you’ll like it a lot,” she said.

  Work proceeded as planned for the remainder of Saturday and into Sunday. There were times when she was sick to her stomach from what she was seeing and hearing. She did her job, though, pushed her feelings to the side and took excellent notes. She found comfort in knowing that they would soon be taking down the entire operation. She was glad, however, that she wasn’t doing the Anton tapes. Jalen had insisted she stick with Mr. Kadyrov and she agreed. On Sunday afternoon, taking a break, she found Justyn sitting in the kitchen; he seemed upset.

  She tried to get him to tell her what was wrong, but he would only say that Anton Kadyrov should be put to death. She started to swing her leg over his; when he realized what she was trying to do; he helped her until they were chest to chest. She leaned forward, took his head in both hands and pulled it down on
her shoulder. She felt him bring his arms around her and hold on tight. They stayed like that for fifteen or twenty minutes until Jalen came in looking for lunch, he said. She suspected he was checking on them. She noticed he looked after everyone else. She would need to work on that and make sure he understood that sometimes others could take care of him.

  Early Monday morning, she called Captain Udaka at home.

  “Captain, we have it all!” she crowed, “We have more than enough to get warrants. We know where all Kadyrov’s stashes are and have all the combinations and passwords we need for all of their computers, notebooks, etc. They have self-destruct codes built into their cell phones so we need to arrest them simultaneously before they can send out erase commands. Jett has a device that will temporarily jam any signals so I’d like to have my guys close-by when we make the arrests,” she said.

  “My main concern is that we catch all the rats in the net. We’ll need to coordinate a large group and that means leaks. We still haven’t plugged the one we know about,” said the Captain.

  “As to that, I think we may have nailed your leak. They never met personally but had several phone conversations. Jett says he recognized a voice and ran a comparison test. It was positive. Then he contacted authorities in Grozny and we found the link. Vasily Kadyrov had a brother. That brother is dead, as are his children. However, there was one grandchild sent to school in the States and fostered with an American family. Her real name is Olga Kadyrov. It’s Assistant State’s Attorney Sheila Carson, Captain. She’s your leak.”

  “Damn it! Are you sure? Okay. Well, that explains a few things. I’m going to call the State’s Attorney at home directly and tell her she’s got a viper in her nest. Then we’ll meet you at your place and work out a plan of action. There have been a lot of people working this case, Grace, more than you know. You aren’t the only one undercover. With the help of those Interpol agents, you’ve busted this case wide open. There will be a commendation in this for you.”

  “Thank you, Captain. We’ll expect you in an hour and a half, then.” She hung up the phone and turned to the guys.

  “The Captain and the State’s Attorney will be here in an hour and a half. We need to get everything together to present to them. I’m going back to my desk and put the information packets together. This is a larger operation than even I knew,” she said before leaving the room.

  She was ready for the Captain when he arrived. When she heard the doorbell, Jalen insisted on answering it. Standing in the doorway was the Captain and the diminutive State’s Attorney.

  “Kevin said you were tall. He didn’t say you were this tall,” she said, looking up at Jalen.

  He smiled down at her. “You should have seen our grandfather,” he said, as he gestured them in through the door.

  Grace stepped forward and made the introductions as the Captain had yet to meet either Jalen or Justyn. They all settled around the dining room table since it was the only space with enough chairs for them all. Justyn brought out refreshments as Grace handed out the evidence summaries. She pointed to three boxes taped shut and marked as evidence.

  “The first box has the original downloads from the surveillance system. You need a special prototype device to record the data, but it’s equipped with a USB port. Jett downloaded the data on to four separate MP3 players; there was a great deal of it. All four of us spent the last forty-eight hours combing through the data and isolating evidentiary points. We then isolated those onto separate flash drives and DVD’s. The second two boxes contain true copies,” Grace said.

  She turned to Ms. Herrera. “I’d like you to listen to one particular conversation Mr. Kadyrov made. I know the Captain told you our suspicions. I think you’ll recognize the voice.”

  Grace had her laptop up and ready to go with the DVD-ROM paused at the correct spot. She pressed the play button and played the recordings of several conversations between Mr. Kadyrov and his niece, Olga.

  “That’s some very damning evidence, and seeing the room he was sitting in and watching him make notes about which people he wants to have killed while they’re speaking will be very powerful evidence in front of a jury. I can tell you now, Mr. Contadina, that every law enforcement agency on the planet is going to want access to this technology,” said Ms. Herrera

  Grace then handed over a file that ostensibly Jett had put together; in fact, Becky had pulled it together for them Saturday night and Sunday. It proved that Olga Kadyrov and Sheila Carson were one and the same.

  “Damn, I would swear that she’s been a damn good prosecutor. Her success rate is almost unmatched in the office,” Ms. Herrera said.

  “We thought about that. Our theory was that with her cousin’s and uncle’s help, she was able to convict their competition, so to speak. If you look closely at her record, her few failures were always cases connected to the Kadyrov organization. Over half of them were for technical oversights,” said Grace.

  “This is going to open the floodgates. Many of her convictions could be overturned. That’s for later. Right now, I need you to quickly summarize what charges you think you have here and what evidence you have to back it up. Give me a little DVD of the highlights. I have a pre-arranged lunch date with Judge Forrest. I’ll take him a Panini and we can have lunch in,” said Ms. Herrera, already planning her afternoon.

  After a minute of making notes in her organizer, she turned to Captain Udaka. “Kevin, get your team in place and I’ll bring you the warrants personally by four o’clock this afternoon. We can’t arrest Ms. Carson until we arrest the others. We have a major drug case that’s not connected to the Kadyrov organization. I’ll send her out to interview the cops and observe interrogations. She knows her stuff so even while we’re preparing for her arrest, she’ll actually be helping us out. Even while she’s out of the way, I’ll be getting one last piece of good work out of her. She won’t be so involved that she’ll taint the evidence; I’ll make sure of that.

  “Detective Perez, this is good work. To preserve chain of custody, I’d like you to turn over those boxes of evidence to the Captain now. Captain, don’t let all this hard work go to waste. I suggest you mark and stash those boxes in three separate property rooms under different names that only you know. I suspect that before this day is done, we’ll have ourselves a nice mountain of evidence. Let’s make sure every item is carefully catalogued and properly handled. It was very nice to meet you gentlemen,” she said, as she rose from the chair.

  “The City will sleep a little easier tonight and the jails will be full,” she said as she left. “Just the way I like it.”

  Captain Udaka, with Jett’s help, carried the three boxes down to his car and put them in the trunk. Then he and the State’s Attorney left the building through the garage. Ms. Herrera was seated in the back and the windows were tinted; he kept the visors down and pulled his brim low. He didn’t get out of the office much and hoped that if there were any watchers, he wouldn’t be recognized. He didn’t feel any eyes on him as they left.

  Captain Udaka planned his operation carefully, pulling his operatives in individually and giving them their orders. He covered his actions as quarterly performance reviews, some of which he actually completed in between meetings. He made a few phone calls to other district senior officers, as this operation would be crossing multiple districts. He gained immediate cooperation by telling them that they would get the credit for closing down the criminal activities within their own district boundaries.

  Luckily, he’d made a point of being on good terms with all the Captains of the other districts throughout his career. He asked them to stand by their fax machines for the warrants. He didn’t tell them who their men would be arresting until just before he faxed them over. He could feel the excitement building and that energy was telegraphing itself to the men. Hopefully, they would be able to keep a lid on it until they sprang the trap.

  He had his team arresting the Kadyrovs as he sent the faxes. If there were leaks, he didn’t want to lose the bi
g fish. If a few little ones escaped, they’d scoop them up later. A part of him wanted to be there as the cuffs were slapped on, but he knew he was more valuable here at the office, overseeing the operation. He especially liked faxing over the warrant to have Sheila Carson arrested. He wasn’t surprised when he got the phone call on that one. His counterpart in that district was so angry that he vowed to cuff her himself.

  Grace was there; she took great pleasure in cuffing Anton Kadyrov. What really pleased her was when he resisted and she was able to put him down in the middle of his precious casino in front of all his patrons. She made sure to Mirandize him in front of multiple witnesses. It had taken nearly five full minutes to read off the list of charges. She had her badge around her neck on a chain and a gun at her hip. The look on his face when he saw her was priceless. She instantly pushed the button on the jamming device Jett had given her and then dropped it in her pocket. Then she led the officers into the office and showed them where to find the second set of books and other pieces of evidence from the recorded information.

  His grandfather was at the club having a late meeting with Anton and they were arrested together. The look of hate in his eyes sent a chill through her. Good thing they’d be in prison for the rest of their natural lives.

  After leaving the casino, Grace called Captain Udaka and met him at Mr. Kadyrov’s mansion. There were already officers there who had secured the premises; now they would pick up the remainder of the evidence. The Captain had made the decision to bring in the FBI, as the surveillance record from the Friday meeting had revealed links to terrorist groups and arms smuggling. There was also information about a load of human trafficking victims who would be arriving in the City tonight at a warehouse; she wanted to pull the file and make sure she knew the warehouse address. They were already planning the raid.