The Checkpoint, Berlin Detective Series Box Set

by Michele E. Gwynn

  Dutch recovered, yanking her down and back into the chair where he smacked her hard across the face. “You bitch!”

  Ivan laughed as Vitaly slowly rose back to his knees still covering his groin protectively. The look he gave the larger man silenced him quickly.

  “Trust me when I say you’ll pay for that, and what you did to Vitaly, many times over...very soon.” Dutch tied her hands, and Vitaly made short work of her legs before she could strike again.

  When they finished the task of securing her, they left, locking the door behind them. Mahler sat there, her face still stinging from the slap. She opened her mouth and worked her jaw, making sure all her teeth were still intact. Then she unclenched her hand and began the task of pulling the switchblade forward that she’d swiped while the big Russian spanked her. Silently, she thanked him for carrying the damn thing in his back pocket. She hoped it would be enough to get her free and save her life.

  YURI IVCHENCKO WALKED onto the bridge, and the men immediately stood at attention. Captain Andrei Oberin saluted, not dropping his hand until Ivchencko acknowledged the gesture. “Captain, is all in readiness?”

  “Aye, Gospodin Ivchencko. The ship has already been inspected and cleared to leave port prior to your arrival as directed. If you are ready to give the order, we’re set to cast off for St. Petersburg.”

  “Koslov is on his way. He will be at least two hours behind us, but we will wait for him.” Yuri stared out the window at the now dark and massive port in Hamburg. Containers and cargo were being loaded and unloaded from other commercial vessels all around, even at this late hour. His own ship had been cleared by port authority to depart when ready. No one would know he was on board not having been here when inspected. Even if they noted the helicopter among all the activity, no one would give it a second thought since it was too small for any significant contraband, which was all they worried about.

  Captain Oberin objected. “Sir, we should be on our way. If the authority decides to double check after your arrival, we could have a problem.”

  Ivchencko turned cold, gray eyes on him. “Who is in charge here?”

  Oberin was immediately contrite. “You are, Gospodin Ivchencko. Of course.”

  “Gregor has been loyal. He’s also key to our collaboration with the Order, and we need them. So, for now, he has value. We wait, captain.”

  “Vasha volya, moi ruki.” Your will, my hands, he muttered.

  Dutch entered, approaching his boss and rubbing his face as he walked. He stopped, waiting. “Well? Did you secure our guest?” Ivchencko turned and looked down at his henchman, noting the fresh redness around his already broken nose. He answered his own question before Dutch could reply. “I see she got you again. You’re getting slow, old friend,” he chuckled.

  “She’s got one hell of a kick.” Dutch sniffed, then grimaced.

  Ivchencko raised a dark eyebrow. “That’s almost a compliment coming from you.”

  “Maybe I just have a soft spot for small, feisty brunettes.”

  “Ha! If you have a soft spot, I’ve yet to see it. But if she impresses you, even a little, then I’m happy to make a gift of her to you, old friend...after she outlives her usefulness to me.”

  Dutch smiled, but it wasn’t a smile any woman would welcome. “Might be a bit of fun.” He offered a slight bow of his head in thanks. “I do admire her spirit. Breaking it will be exhilarating.”

  “Call Koslov and find out where he is. Get an ETA. As soon as he arrives, we pull anchor.”

  “On it, boss.” Dutch pulled out his mobile and dialed. After five rings, the voicemail came on. “Fuck sakes.” The irritation in his voice was obvious as he waited for the beep. “Gregor, it’s Dutch. Call me back ASAP.” He hit END and waited.

  “Let me know when he does. I’ll be downstairs checking on the cargo.” Ivchencko left the bridge, a purposeful gleam in his eyes.

  “HIS PHONE IS RINGING.” Trommler stated the obvious as Heinz stared at the gadget in his hand. It took them an hour to track the last recorded ping off Mahler’s phone, which turned out to be within a mile of a heliport. From there, it was easy to gather the intel that Ivchencko kept a flight service on call, and a warrant was issued for them to hand over the flight plan. The helicopter was headed to Hamburg, and now, so were they.

  Lukas called in a favor with his old unit, and two of the men joined him, Heinz, and Beimer (who refused to stay behind) on a military flight via the Bell UH 1D transport helicopter. StabsKapitanLeutnant Kristof Jager piloted the craft, and Korvettankapitan Dieter Kelner rode shotgun. Lukas, Heinz, and Beimer sat in the back. Faust stayed behind, calling in to his LKA contact in Hamburg to notify them of the situation and gain their assistance.

  Heinz hit the button for voicemail and struggled to listen over the noise from the engine. He looked at Trommler. “It was the butler. He wants Koslov to call him back.”

  “Well, we can’t do that without giving ourselves away now can we?” Lukas raised an eyebrow. “Here.” He grabbed the phone from Heinz and began typing on the keypad.

  “What are you doing?” Heinz asked, peering over Beimer who sat between them.

  “I’m sending a text. I just wrote unable to call. Text me.”

  “Smart thinking,” said Beimer.

  Heinz harrumphed, and they waited. The phone buzzed.

  The boss wants your ETA.

  Lukas tapped Jager on the shoulder and spoke into his headset. “How far out are we?”

  “About an hour and a half.”

  Trommler looked at Heinz. “If Koslov was to have left at about the same time, he’d still be at least an hour behind us depending on traffic. So he’d still be two to two and half hours out on the road. It’s nearly 2100 hours now so that would make his estimated time of arrival approximately 2300 to 2330 hours.”

  “That sounds right. And we’ll be there a good hour before which gives us time to strategize with the local police.” Heinz’s mind was going a mile a minute. Every second would count to get Birgitta back safely.

  Lukas texted back and hit SEND. A minute later, the phone buzzed again. Don’t be late!

  “We better not be. Please, God, not this time,” Heinz muttered the silent prayer to himself.

  ELSA LAY IN HER HOSPITAL bed with her knee bandaged in a tight splint. The patella was only fractured, amazing considering the force of the strike against it. She was ordered to stay off of it for six weeks. As for the whip welts all over her body, they were treated with a topical steroid cream for the inflammation, and oral painkillers to manage the pain. The doctor stated she was lucky Ivchencko did not actually break the skin lest she be worse off and possibly fighting infections from the wounds. Feeling a bit groggy, she slowly woke from a short nap searching out her water glass. She sipped a little trying to refresh herself. Faust walked in as she was mentally going over all that had happened in so short a time.

  “Officer Kreiss, how are you feeling?”

  Elsa liked Faust. She’d met him once before, back when Heinz first made the push to get her into the academy. He’d cajoled the man into writing a letter of recommendation afterwards saying “You’re a fine judge of character, Herman. Tell me you don’t see what a fantastic cadet she’ll make?” Heinz played off his friend’s ego, and it worked. Faust had written a glowing recommendation, and between the two of them, got her admitted the following month to begin training.

  “Drugged.” She smiled.

  Faust chuckled. “Well, considering what you endured, I’d think that’s a good thing.”

  “I’m not complaining.” She struggled to sit up.

  Faust immediately rushed forward, hand up. “No need to stress yourself. Just relax.” She eased back down. “I came by to let you know that Liliya Avilova has been reunited with her parents.”

  “That’s wonderful!”

  Faust looked at her, then away. “I’m happy for her, too. It’s rare to recover a girl alive once she’s been abducted. But I’m not sure how wonderful her life
will be after all of this. What that man did to her...”

  “I know. But I think Liliya is strong. She proved herself in that basement. I wouldn’t have gotten free without her.”

  “Funny. She said the exact same thing about you.” He turned and paced. “I’ll be questioning Koslov soon upstairs. We know he had the third girl, Natasha Kirolova, by Liliya’s testimony, but she doesn’t know what happened to the girl after he took her out of the basement. My gut tells me she’s dead, but I’ve been wrong before.”

  “She said something about Ivchencko telling him to deliver the cargo. Do you think maybe she could be on one of his ships in Hamburg?” Elsa thought about Heinz and Lukas. Heinz was more distraught than she’d ever seen him. He blamed himself for Mahler being taken, and she feared he might get himself killed in the attempt to rescue her. Finding out about Lukas’s military service was a surprise, but a good one in this case. The fact that he readily volunteered to lead a rescue mission, that he was capable of such a thing, was still stunning to her. Even more startling was the bond that had developed between him and Hugo. Those two couldn’t stand each other, and now they were behaving like brothers in arms. The three of them collaborating with Lukas’s old unit was like something out of an action movie. But Elsa didn’t focus on that. They had to get Birgitta back. Losing her was not an option. And she wanted them to capture Ivchencko—she hadn’t forgotten her promise to kill him. When she’d first issued that promise, she wasn’t sure if she would be able to keep it, never having killed anyone before. But after learning he’d kidnapped Mahler, and was, by her best guess based on bits of information, involved in the routine abduction and trafficking of young girls, knew she could, and would not regret it. Especially after the torture he’d put her through.

  “It’s entirely possible. The more we dig, the more we find, and the more evidence mounts against him.” He stuck his hands in his pockets, his face serious. “So, if you’re finished with laying around like a pampered princess for now, I thought you’d like to join me in interrogating this piece of shit.”

  The invitation surprised her. Elsa knew she was being granted a privilege. She looked down at her hospital gown and bandaged leg. “I’d be happy to, sir, but ...” She glanced up.

  “Yes. Clothing would be a good idea. So, I brought you something to wear, and a little help.” A female officer walked in carrying a bag. “Kreiss, this is Officer Imler. She’ll be assisting you. I’ll go round up a wheelchair while you dress.” Faust walked out leaving Elsa alone with Imler.

  “It’s Hannah, by the way,” she said.

  “Nice to meet you, Hannah. I’m Elsa.”

  Hannah Imler pulled out a pair of dark sweatpants and matching police sweatshirt. “It was the best I could find at this hour. Sorry.”

  “No, no. That’s fine.” She noted that Imler did add a sports bra, socks, and slippers.

  “They’re mine. Hope you don’t mind.” She smiled and helped Elsa change.

  “I’m grateful, really. Good thing we’re close in size.”

  The pants took a bit of work, but she was finally dressed by the time Faust returned with a wheelchair, and a concerned nurse.

  “She really shouldn’t be getting out of bed, Herr Faust.” The nurse, who rushed in behind him, was top-heavy with a bosom that threatened to burst the buttons on her white uniform. The forbidding expression on her rugged face emphasized the hard angles of her cheekbones and jaw. She looked like a professional body builder on steroids stuffed into a dress. And the boobs had to be fake by Elsa’s calculation because she possessed zero body fat. Women without body fat didn’t boast big boobs. The nurse stood her ground facing Faust over the wheelchair. Officer Imler and Elsa watched the battle of wills waiting to see who would come out on top.

  “Now, nurse...” he looked at her name tag, “Eichmann. My officer is more than capable of a short ride, for fresh air, of course. Plus, her brother doesn’t need to see her looking as she did. He’s young and it might traumatize him. You know who she is, yes?” He raised an eyebrow and glanced at Elsa.

  Nurse Eichmann looked down her nose at Faust. “Of course I do. She is my patient,” she huffed.

  “Nein. You do not. Think back nearly three years and place her name. This is Elsa Kreiss. Her brother is Johann Martin Kreiss. Anno.” He waited for the name to sink in, and saw understanding slowly dawn on her swarthy features.

  She looked at Elsa. “Entschuldigung! I did not realize.” She turned back to Faust. “Still, she should not be out of bed. She needs her rest.” She placed her hands on her hips and stood, feet apart, daring the Direktor to defy her.

  “She needs to reassure her brother so he can go home and come back tomorrow. She also needs to be with me to question a piece of shit upstairs in the psych ward no later than now. We do not have time to debate with you Nurse Eichmann because the life of a kidnapped girl and one abducted female detective hang in the balance, so unless you want to be the reason we do not get the information we need to rescue these women before they are sold into the sex trade or outright killed, never to be found again, I suggest you stand down and move aside!” Faust’s voice rose steadily as he spoke and ended on a sharp note. The vein in his temple throbbed, indicating he’d lost his patience. The nurse stepped aside.

  Hannah lifted the foot pedals on the wheelchair and turned to help Elsa stand. The two struggled with coordinating this on her one good leg. Nurse Eichmann pushed Imler aside stepping in to scoop Elsa up as if she weighed nothing and sat her gently on the seat. She fixed the pedals raising the left one to extend out and allow her injured leg to remain supported. “I’ll be here when you come back with some nice painkillers for you, officer.” Her voice was gentle, yet a bit manly. It was all Elsa could do not to laugh at the spectacle they all made.

  “Thank you, Nurse Eichmann. I appreciate all your help.”

  “Adelein, please.” The nurse stepped back pinning Faust with a dubious stare. “Do not keep her too long. She, too, is injured.”

  Faust nodded and pulled Elsa’s chair away from the bed, backing out of the room carefully. He wasn’t so much worried about accidentally hurting Kreiss by banging the chair against a wall or door so much as what the manly nurse might do to him if he did. Officer Imler followed them as they made their way down to a lounge where Anno sat half asleep in a chair.

  His eyes were closed, and his head lolled over onto his hand. Blond lashes lay like fans on his cheeks. Elsa’s heart constricted in her chest. She knew that he must have been worried sick. Faust wheeled her closer and she reached out to shake his knee. “Hey, sleepy boy,” she said, her voice gentle.

  Anno sat up, alarmed, then saw his sister and grinned. “Elsa! You’re okay!” He leaned over to hug her, and she swallowed a gasp at the pain not wanting to frighten him any more than he’d already been.

  “Yes. I’m okay. You’re squeezing too tight, though. I can’t breathe.” She eased him back, and then saw tears in his blue eyes.

  “I was so worried! When you didn’t come home or answer your phone, I didn’t know what else to do so I called Joseph. Elsa, what in the hell happened? No one will tell me anything except you were injured in the line of duty.” His voice, so deep now normally, rose an octave, and she could see the young boy he’d been, still was deep inside beneath the surface of the young man he was now. So like their father the older he grew.

  “I wish I could tell you more, Anno, but I can’t. It’s just my knee, really. I have to stay off of it for six weeks, but then I’ll be all right. But you did the right thing. Calling Joseph got me the help I needed.” Her own voice contained the beginning of a sob and she swallowed. No need to get weepy.

  He sat back and looked at her. “I don’t like it! I don’t like that you got hurt.”

  “I don’t like it, either. It was quite painful. But I’m okay now. Listen, I want you to go home and get some sleep. That’s what I’m going to do. Come back tomorrow and bring some of my clothes. I’m in good hands here as you can se
e.” She gestured to Faust and Imler.

  Anno gave Faust a quick look, and then glanced at Officer Imler. His inspection of her took a bit longer, but the worry in his eyes dimmed, to be replaced by a smidge of flirtation. He returned to Elsa. “Okay. For now I won’t give you a hard time.” He sighed. “What do you want me to bring?”

  Elsa rattled off a short list of clothing items. “They might discharge me tomorrow so be prepared. Drive my car. The keys are on my dresser.”

  He stood and leaned over, giving her another hug, but not quite as tight as before, then looked at Imler. “Take care of my sister, please.” Imler nodded and smiled. Anno began to leave, then turned back around and said, “By the way, Jan called. He was looking for Joseph. Said his mother hadn’t come home, and he’s worried. She’s not answering her phone. Was she with you? Is something going on?” The tired look on his face said he already knew the answer but was not looking forward to hearing it.

  Faust responded before Elsa could. “She’s on an assignment. It’s undercover so she can’t answer. Let him know if you can. It was last minute so there was no way she could give him a heads up.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his card, handing it over to the young man. “Give him my number. If he has any questions, he can call me anytime.”

  “Thank you, Herr Direktor. I will.” Anno waved at Elsa and walked out.

  “Thank you for that. I don’t like to lie to him.” Elsa chewed her lip, her anxiety ignited all over again at the reminder of Mahler’s abduction.

  “I figured. After what you two went through.” He wheeled her back out into the hall. “Now, let’s get upstairs and rattle Koslov’s cage. He only just woke up before you. Young Liliya may have given him a concussion. Good girl.” The glee in his words was not lost on Elsa and Imler.