Cardinal Rule: A James Kendrick Thriller

by James Kendrick

  “Great. Just great,” he muttered under his breath.

  24

  DIMITRI YUMASHEV WAITED patiently for the passengers to disembark from the plane. When the last of them had stepped out, Dimitri stood up from his seat, opened the overhead compartment and fished out a small duffle bag. Then closed the compartment, and headed into the restroom. He took out his black jacket, hung it on the door and locked it shut. Then rummaged around in his bag and pulled out a neatly pressed navy blue shirt. Then a dark tie and a matching black pants from the little bag. He undressed himself, donned the uniform and buckled himself up. Then collected his old clothes and shoved them into the bag and zipped it up. He took the jacket, wrapped it over the uniform, and zipped it up to the neck. Then slung the green duffle bag over his shoulders.

  He unlocked the door, stepped out onto the aisle and headed directly for the exit door. The blond Russian stewardess was there. The one who had served his carnal urges earlier. She flashed him a smile, wavered and then ushered him out the aircraft as if he was like another passenger.

  “Thank you for flying with Belavia Airlines, sir,” she crooned.

  He stepped out onto the gangway and staggered down towards the end of the walkway. Then stepped into the terminal. Felt the cold breeze from the air-conditioning system hit him. Heard the hustling of passengers strolling their luggage’s here and there. The terminal was busy. Bustling with people from all walks of lives. But he didn’t care about them. He walked a few feet, unzipped his jacket and then shoved it into his duffle bag. He eyed around and found a denser crowd packed around the east terminal gate. Then casually sneaked up to one of them from behind and left his duffle bag beside one of his luggage. Then walked away without thinking twice.

  * * *

  When he was a safe distance away, he rummaged his pocket, and fished out his IPhone. He entered the passcode, clicked an app and swiped left a couple of time before a portrait of a youthful looking man appeared on the screen. He tapped it and the screen immediately turned black. Except for a yellow dot that hung in solitary silence against a thin backdrop of white concentric circles. Then, in the upper right end of the screen, another dot, colored red, moved left horizontally towards the other end of the screen.

  Dimitri lips crumpled into a thin smile. He placed the IPhone back into his pocket. The target was close. Should be a quick easy in and out scenario. But something told him that wasn’t going to be the case. His contact had not checked in yet. And in his world, that could only mean two things; either he was caught or he was dead. Still, he didn’t care. There was an old adage he adhered to. That, if you want something done right, you got to do it by yourself. The contact was just a backup plan. To speed things up. A bait to fish out potential dangers to the mission. And now, he knew, someone had taken the bait. Someone else was going after the target as well. Just like he’d been forewarned. But there was no opponent he couldn’t handle. And no target who’d succeeded escaping him.

  He peeked at the screen again, and this time the target was moving in the opposite direction.

  “You can run. But you can’t hide,” he chuckled to himself.

  25

  CAROLINE WINTERS PRESSED the phone to her ear tightly. She could not believe what the man on the other end of the line had just told her.

  “John, are you sure about this?” she asked. There was sense of fear and trepidation evident in her voice.

  “Yes,” the man answered.

  “You do realize that you’re asking me to keep the CDC in the dark about this.”

  “I know. But you’re the only one I can trust. And I need you trust me right now.”

  Caroline fell silent hearing his remarks.

  She looked away from her desk and stared out the window panels that lined her office space. Weighed in on her options solemnly and heaved a heavy sigh. On one side was the husband of an old friend whom she’d known since her high school days. A dear friend who had died in the line of duty. Then there was that family of three. Father, daughter and son. They could stay together if they were not officially brought in for questioning. But on the other hand, there was the CDC. The one agency who could verify the effectiveness of the antidote that John proclaims he could get his hands on. Keeping the CDC in the loop meant keeping the Feds in the circle as well. Keeping them in the dark meant losing her job. But what use was the CDC if they’d had no vaccine to work on if the virus ever got out. Better to deal with this under the table, then to have no deal at all, she reasoned. There were going to be a hell lot of questioning from the director. About where she got the formula from. About why she’d kept the CDC and the Feds in the dark. But that’s where she knew she could count on John to cover her ass.

  She sighed again. The man on the other end of the line waited patiently for her reply.

  “OK. But we’re going to have to move quickly.”

  “Good. How soon can you get to the airport?”

  “Within the hour. With the company chopper.”

  “OK. Get there as soon as you can. Oh and one more thing.”

  “What?”

  “You’re going to need a ticket. To get into the international terminal. Look for Gate B12.”

  26

  JAMES KENDRICK FELT guilty about leaving the kids behind. But he knew he’d no choice. He could only hope that they would be okay. He’d left them at a Mexican outlet. The Burrito Palace. He’d ordered a hefty meal for the two and paid for them in advance. Left a big tip for the waiter that made him smile from ear to ear. Asked him to watch over of the kids until he could get back for them.

  Inwardly, he cursed Lee for abandoning his kids.

  “What was he thinking?” he thought.

  But then remembered that the situation was unprecedented. Lee wasn’t thinking straight anymore. Probably lost it. And James knew how he felt. He'd been there. Right there in that kind of situation. Where you thought you were losing your sanity. Where you didn’t think about things anymore. Where you just reacted. And sometimes reacted badly. Making bad decisions with dire outcomes. Especially when it compelled you to choose. To choose between friends and enemies. To choose between a dear one and a precious few. Where you had to play God and decide who gets to live or who gets to die. To carry the burden of life and death on your shoulders.

  His thoughts rallied on. Then deep down, he realized, that this wasn’t just about Lee. It about Afghanistan. It was about Rome.

  But, there was another factor that at least James knew wasn’t about him. That this one was about Lee. One that was driving him to run. The trust factor. Who could have blamed him for not trusting James? At first James had appeared like a no body to him. A total stranger. A washed-up war vet whom Lee taught could help him out until he figured a way out of the mess he was in. Then it turns out, that this old washed-up vet, a total stranger, and a total no body, has inner connections to the Feds? And the next thing he knows he’s asking him to handover the only vaccine ever known to work against a deadly virus? That he was going to hand it over to the very people he was trying to run away from in the first place?

  Probably it all hit him at one go, James thought. Panic. Fear. Shock. Doubt. A cocktail of deadly emotions that subjugated his mind and spirit all at once. Anyone could have broken down in that situation. Anyone could have lost their nerves. And make stupid mistakes or bad decisions like forgetting to think about his kids. And now James had to deal with his mistake. He’d to leave the kids behind. Taking them along would have been a bad idea. Leaving them behind wasn’t good idea either. It went against all that he was trained to do. But it was the only option he had.

  James shoved the all thoughts aside.

  Guilt wasn’t going to help him. Doubt wasn’t going to help him. Worrying wasn’t going to help anyone. There was only one thing he could do. Find Lee. As fast as he could. The tracking device on the pad was a dead giveaway to his location. Whoever’s looking for that tablet was going to find him soon. And Lee wouldn’t stand a chance in hell if they fo
und him first.

  He raced haphazardly across the vast expanse of the terminal. Eyes flicking wildly from left to right; scanning each departure gate, scrutinizing each able body, looking desperately for the bare semblance of a man that could even remotely look like Lee. But it was useless. The crowd that day was thick. It was impossible. Searching for him would be like searching for a needle in a hay stack. He could be anywhere, James thought. And he’d no way of tracking him.

  But that wasn’t the case for Lee’s tracker. They could locate him with pin point accuracy. So long as he’d the tablet on him. And, he knew, Lee wasn’t going to ditch it either. It was far too valuable.

  James continued running for a while. Then stopped. It was pointless. It was a wild goose chase. He calmed down. Took a deep breath. Then traced his steps back to the restaurant where he’d left Tim and Nancy.

  He took stock of the situation. First, he realized, he couldn’t let his emotions get the better of him. He was a trained Combat Rescue Officer. Trained to survive. Trained to use all his senses. Trained to improvise. And the one thing he’d learnt from all his years in the battle field, is that, the greater the need, the greater the difficulty.

  Second, size up the situation. It was pointless running through a thick jungle of people searching for one man who could be hiding anywhere. It was dangerous to leave the kids unattended for a long period of time. Someone would get suspicious. Someone would start asking questions. There was only so much the waiter could do. Sooner or later someone would alert the authorities. And that could spell trouble for Lee. Plus even if he did find Lee, there was no guarantee that the wild goose chase wouldn’t start all over again.

  Third. Improvise. A thought struck his head and then he felt a wave of hope wash over his spirit.

  “If you can’t bring the horse to the water, you bring the water to horse,” he thought, smiling to himself.

  27

  THE BUTCHER PULLED his IPhone from his jacket again. Then checked the screen. The red dot was closing in to the center of the screen. The target was now within walking distance. He deposited the device back into his pocket and quickened his pace further. Time was of essence, he realized. And he was almost running out of it. The package needed to be retrieved as soon as possible. And he needed to get the hell out of there. Otherwise, he realized, it would cost him dearly. One million dollars to be precise. And that was his retirement money. That was the last mission. And he wasn’t going to let anyone get in the way of that. The crowd was dense. But he snaked and shoved his way through them with a focused determination. His mind so caught up in catching up with his target that he barely heard the speaker overhead blaring.

  “Attention please. Attention please, Lee Dawson. Please come to information counter B12 immediately. We have two little children waiting for you here,” it bellowed.

  Dimitri froze.

  “Lee Dawson?” he asked himself.

  The speaker crackled and sputtered and then blared again.

  “Attention please. We have a Tim and Nancy looking for their father, Lee Dawson. Please come to information counter B12 immediately,” it said.

  Dimitri whipped out his IPhone. Checked the screen hastily. The red dot was moving rapidly. Pacing itself steadily to the top of the screen. Away from the place of where he stood. His target was getting away from him. And so was his plans for retirement. Dimitri grimaced in anger. Felt his blood boiling. Sensed the twitch of anxiety in his face. His jaws locked and tightened. He wasn’t going to let his target get away. No. Not today. Not ever.

  He plowed his way through the dense horde. Shoved bodies left and right. Trampled on their feet mercilessly and screamed at them to get the hell out of his way. His sheer size made it easy to toss them aside almost effortlessly. His booming form intimidated them. But it was the blue and black uniform that gave him the authority. No one dared to say a word. No one dared to question him. And quite frankly, Dimitri didn’t care less if they did.

  No one was going to get away in his way.

  28

  LEE DAWSON DASHED hastily towards the remote end of the terminal. He felt utterly guilty for leaving his kids behind. He’d forgotten about them. So focused on protecting the package that he’d blotted them out from every inch of his mind.

  He hop onto a moving walkway and sped across it. Then reached the end of it, leapt off and quickly jumped onto another moving walkway that headed east. When it reached the end, jumped off and found himself in a section of the terminal that was cut-off from the general population. No one lounged about it. Only a solitary janitor that mopped the floor. The guards were nowhere in sight. No eateries and no shops. Just a couple of empty seats that lined the glass panels. He headed towards the janitor and asked him if he knew where the information counter was. He pointed east and Lee wasted no time in heading in the direction he alluded to. He found the booth a few minutes later and approached a smartly dressed woman sitting behind it. Then introduced himself as Dawson. The lady nodded her head in acknowledgement, smiled and then pointed her index finger past his shoulder. To a sturdily built man who stood a few feet away. Directly opposite the booth. By the restrooms. It was James. And at his sides were the kids: Tim and Nancy.

  Lee instantly recognized the frightened and confused expressions on their faces. A wave of intense guilt and deep shame washed over him. He felt the tears trickling down the side of his cheeks. He’d made a mistake, he realized. He shouldn’t have left them behind. He shouldn’t have left the kids behind.

  He broke into a stride towards them but bumped abruptly into a Herculean figure. Built like an ox. Almost twice his size in length. Three times his breadth. Dressed smartly in a blue and black outfit. Airport security.

  “Hey,” the huge man cried. Then pushed Lee back forcefully with his one arm and stared him down. His massive form and threatening gait intimidated Lee immensely. Made him feel like he was about to eat him out alive.

  “I'm sorry officer. Didn't mean to bump into you,” he cried. But Lee’s words didn’t sway him. The officer held his icy gaze at him. Eyes transfixed on him like a lion staring down his throat. He didn’t utter a single word but his demeanor spoke volumes. Anger. Frustration. Wrath. Lee felt uncomfortable. Then slowly sidestepped him and tried to walk away. But the man grabbed his arm and pulled him back forcefully.

  “Hey officer…let go of my arm,” Lee projected.

  “Not if you ever want to see your kids again,” the man said.

  Lee’s eyes shot wide.

  “What?”

  “I said…not…if you ever…want to…see…your kids…again,” he said with adagio: enunciating each word in the sentence with a terrifying and tyrannical timbre.

  Lee froze in fear and panic.

  He swung his head to face James and the kids, but they were gone. Vanished into thin air.

  The hulking man followed his gaze. But couldn’t find what Lee was looking at.

  “Your kids. Where are they?”

  Lee shook his head from side to side.

  “I don’t know.”

  The man fixed his eyes sharply on Lee. Felt his icy stare probing the very depths of his soul. As if searching for the truth in his statement. Then he suddenly burst cackling.

  “If you don’t give me what I want, I’ll find them and…,” his cackle quickly dissipated. Replaced by a solemn expression that accentuated his grisly features.

  “Skin them from their head to toe.”

  Lee felt terrified.

  “Where is it?” he growled.

  Lee swallowed his spit. Then nervously palmed the bag by his side.

  “Give it to me. Now!” the brutish man howled frighteningly.

  Lee nodded his head helplessly. Then flipped his bag open and reached into it. Touched the tablet with his fingers. Felt clammy. Pulled it out. Then caught something moving rapidly in the corner of his eyes. It was lightning fast. Swift. Bulky. And instantly rammed itself into the man’s chest with a powerful blow. Like a massive out of control d
iesel truck ramming head on into a hard piece of concrete marble slab. The force so strong that it threw the herculean beast crashing hard onto the marbled floor on the ground.

  * * *

  The clout struck him hard in the solar plexus. At the pit of the lungs. Just right above the diaphragm. The one area where no muscle tissue could form well enough to protect the complex system of sympathetic nerves that radiated under it. Where a carefully orchestrated blow, like the one Dimitri had just received, could literally knock the wind out of you.

  He fell to the floor. Choked and gagged and panted desperately for a breath of fresh air. The pain throbbed through his ribs and lungs. Felt his heart pounding in his ears. Then tried to pull a breath but he couldn’t. It caused him to gag and cough. He wheezed violently. Then he tried to raise to his feet but he couldn’t. He collapsed to the ground. His body still reeled from the massive shock to his respiratory track.

  He clutched his chest tightly and waited for his breathing to stabilize. Then saw the man who struck him in the chest struggle to his feet. Swaying from left to right, palms wrapped around his crown. Punch-drunk from the bare head-butt to his chest. He swung around haphazardly, grabbed Lee by the arm and whisked him away hastily.