Black Pawn (Michael Cailen Book 1) (40 page)

“I know exactly how well it would
go over,” he said, knowing she wouldn't stand for it.

“You're right.  It's not fair.  I
won't do it again.”

He squeezed her tight and kissed
the top of her head.  She broke away from his arms and started heading into the
kitchen to get him something to eat when the phone rang.  Michael answered it.

“Hi Michael.  It's Martin.”

“Oh, hi Martin," Michael
responded cheerfully. “How's it going?”

“Not good.  I'm calling in my
favor.” 

The words wiped the smile off
Michael's face.

 “What happened?”

“Can you come over?”

“I'll be right there.”  Michael
hung up the phone.

Jessica stood in the doorway to
the kitchen looking at him.  “What's going on?”

He looked up at her with a very
grave expression.  “Martin is calling in his favor.  I have to go to his
house.”

“Oh.”  She looked surprised and
concerned.

Martin Lavene was ex-CIA and
Josh's cousin.  Two years ago, he had been instrumental in helping Michael not
only get his life back, but also in keeping he, Jessica and Josh alive when
they had run afoul of a rogue CIA agent and the Russian mob.  Michael owed him
big time and they always joked about the favors he would have to do to repay
him.  As of yet, Martin had never cashed in on any of them, and Michael was
beginning to think he never would.  The fact that he was calling one in now
meant that something really serious must have happened.

“I'm going with you,” Jessica
announced as she stepped towards the door.

“Maybe it's better if you don't.” 
He wasn't sure he wanted Jessica knowing what he was going to have to do.  She
tended to worry a lot and get really emotional over things - not the best mind
frame in a crisis situation.

“Whatever he wants you to do, it's
probably going to affect me somehow.  I want to know.”

“Okay, fine.  But if he doesn't
want you to know, then you're going to have to back down.  We both owe him.” 
He looked at her sternly.

She sighed and looked around the
room avoiding eye contact.  She didn't want to agree to his demand.

“I'm serious.  Agree or stay
here,” he said firmly.

She sighed again.  “Fine.”

UPON ARRIVING
at Martin's house, Jessica and Michael noticed Josh's car
in the driveway.  Martin was waiting at the door as they stepped out of the
car.  He looked so much like Josh, with the exception of being a little taller,
that they could have been brothers.

“Thanks for coming.”  Martin said
as he walked up the porch steps.

“What's going on?” he asked.

He glanced at Jessica then back at
Michael.  “Come inside.”

They passed through the entry and
kitchen on the way to the family room in the back of the house.  Once there,
they saw Martin's wife, Helen, sitting on the couch fighting back tears.  Josh
was sitting in the recliner next to the couch looking troubled and anxious. 
The mood was tense to say the least.

Michael didn't want to ask again
what had happened.  He just looked at Martin and waited for an explanation.

Martin glanced at his wife and
then back at Michael. “It's Katie.”

“Your niece?”  Michael asked.

Katie's father was Martin's
brother.   He died unexpectedly of a heart complication when she was very
young.  Both Martin and Josh sort of took over the roll of father for her.  The
Lavenes were a close knit family to begin with but because of Katie's tragic
loss they were even closer with her.  They loved her like she was their own
daughter.

“Yeah.”  Martin sighed.  “A few
weeks ago some guy claiming to be a modeling scout offered her a job.”

Michael stiffened knowing what was
coming next.  “Not a modeling scout.”

Martin shook his head no.  “He
told her the job was in Sweden.  Her mom said no, but she decided to go anyway
behind her back.  He paid for her ticket.”

“How could she leave the country? 
Isn't she just seventeen?” Michael asked.

“She just turned eighteen,” Martin
explained.

Michael frowned.

“Her flight had a stopover in
Amsterdam.  She never boarded the plane to Sweden.”

“Do we know anything about this
guy?” Michael asked.

Martin was silent for a minute,
Helen started crying harder and Josh fidgeted in his seat.  Michael had a bad
feeling about what was coming next.

“I reached out to everyone I
know.”  He paused again.  “His name is Raymond Pierce.  He's a recruiter for
human trafficking.”

Helen began sobbing
uncontrollably.  Jessica quickly sat next to her and tried to comfort her. 
Josh leaned forward, holding his head in his hands.

“Where is her mother now?” Michael
asked, wondering why she wasn't there.

“Heavily sedated in the other
room,” Martin answered.  Josh hadn't said two words since they arrived.

“Do we have any idea where Katie
is?” Michael asked.

“I have four possible locations. 
They're all in Germany, but the clock is ticking.  They're only holding
locations before the girls are sold or shipped off to somewhere else.”

“How much time do we have?”

“Less than thirty-six hours.”

“When do we leave?” Michael asked.

“Not soon enough,” Josh finally
spoke even though he wouldn't look at anyone.  Everyone shared that sentiment.

“Our flight leaves in three
hours,” Martin answered.

Michael nodded.  “I'll get
packed.”  He looked over at Jessica who was sitting with Helen.  She had one
arm wrapped around her shoulders and the other squeezing her hand.  “You can
stay here if you want.  I won't be long.”  Jessica nodded and rubbed Helen's
back.

Michael returned in a little less
than a half hour with his bag packed, ready to go.  Jessica prepared something
for them to eat while he was out so they wouldn't have to leave on an empty
stomach.  No one really felt like eating but they downed what they could. 

After the light dinner, Martin and
Josh began loading their bags into the car.  Jessica approached Michael,
looking concerned.

“I'll be fine,” Michael assured
her.

“Will I hear from you when you
land?” she asked.  “Or when it's over, so I'll know you're safe?”

“You're going to worry the whole
time if I don't get in touch, am I right?”

She shrugged.  “I could lie and
say no.”

Michael smiled then reached out
and caressed her cheek.  “You're a terrible liar.”

“I know.”

He wrapped his arms around her and
tenderly kissed her lips.  “As soon as I get a phone, I'll message you with the
number.”

She kissed him back.  “Thank you. 
Please be careful.”

He grinned.  “I'm always careful.”

“Now who's the liar?” she
retorted.

He kissed her again and squeezed
her tightly before tearing himself away.  The men left for the airport while
Jessica stayed with Helen and spent the night to make sure she would be okay.

Chapter 3

Their flight landed in Dusseldorf,
Germany after a brief stop in Amsterdam.  Martin, Josh, and Michael wasted no
time getting to work.  They got plenty of sleep during the ten and a half hour
flight and were ready to go once they landed.  Martin rented a car with the
help of Michael, who spoke fluent German, and the three were soon on their way.

“Where's the first location?” 
Michael asked.

“Not far, but we're meeting
someone first,” Martin said.  “I have a contact here who is going to go with
us.  He knows the area and agreed to help.  His name is Luca Weber.”

“What does he do?” was Michael's
next question.

“He's kind of like an arms
dealer,” Martin answered.  “Deals mostly with very specialized and specific
weaponry and technology.”

“Like sniper rifles with night vision
scopes?”  Michael asked, thinking back on the rifle Martin had given him two
years ago when he needed his help.

Martin chuckled, realizing Michael
made the connection.  “Yeah.”

Josh had hardly spoken since they
left Martin's house.  He sat quietly in the backseat.  Martin and Michael knew
he was having a difficult time with the situation.  It was just as trying for
Martin, but he was better able to distance himself from his emotions.  Josh was
more sensitive and it was harder for him to do that.

After a brief stop to buy
disposable cell phones, they soon pulled up to a small bookstore.  Martin
entered the store alone.  A few minutes later he emerged.  On his heels was a
short man with thinning blond hair and deep blue eyes.  Martin got back in the
driver's seat and the man following him sat in back with Josh.

“Guys, this is Luca.”  Martin
introduced him.  “Luca, this is Michael and my cousin Josh.”

Once the pleasantries were out of
the way, Luca spoke to Martin with a pleasant German accent.  “I found out some
more information on your niece.  At least I'm pretty sure it is her.”

“What is it?” Josh asked
anxiously.

“An American girl was smuggled
in.  She is being held at this location.”  He handed Martin a piece of paper.

“How exactly did you get this
information?”  Michael asked.

“I called in some favors.”  He
paused.  “And maybe threatened a few others.”

“So you owe Martin, too?”  Michael
turned to him with a grin.

“Doesn't everyone?” Luca joked.

“I appreciate this, Luca.”  Martin
thanked him as he put the car in reverse.

“Can we just get going?”  Josh's
patience was wearing thin.

“Take it easy, Josh,”  Michael
admonished him.

“I'd like to see how easy-going
you'd be if it was Jessica in there,” Josh snapped.

Michael shut his mouth.  Josh was
ready to blow and he didn't want to send him over the edge. 

A minute passed and Josh calmed
himself down.  “I'm sorry.”

“No need to apologize,” Michael
consoled him. 

“I just can't stand the thought
of...”  He couldn't say it.  He was in agony over what might be happening to
Katie.

“Don't think about it,” Martin
urged him.  It was what he himself was desperately trying to do.   

Josh ran his fingers through his
hair and stared out the window.  Michael glanced back at him and then exchanged
a look with Martin.  They drove in silence until they finally came upon the
location where Katie was supposedly being held.  It was a large farmhouse.  A
giant barn sat in the back of the property line along some woods.  The house
was settled in the middle of a sizable field.  Approaching it without being
spotted would be very difficult.  There was hardly any cover, only a couple
large trees scattered between the barn and the house.

They parked down the street.  Luca
pulled two pairs of night vision binoculars from his bag.  He handed one to
Michael and the other to Josh.  They looked around the buildings.  There were
two guards circling the house, one standing guard in the driveway and two more
by the barn.

“Heavily guarded.”  Michael handed
the binoculars to Martin.

“I say we just kill everyone and
search the property,” Josh spoke out from the back.

“Not gonna happen.”  Michael shot
him down.  “I'm willing to bet there is a small army in that house and we don't
know where the girls are being held.  They could get hurt.”

“What do you have in mind?” Martin
asked.

“Still working on that.”  Michael
turned to Luca.  “What is this place?  It's too elaborate to be just a holding
facility.”

Luca took a deep breath, nervous
about how Josh might react.  “This is an auction house.”

Josh didn't react at all.  He just
stared out the window.  Michael looked back at him.  He knew Josh was not
coping well.

“Josh.”  Michael addressed him,
but he just kept looking out the window.  “Get your head in the game.  We can't
do this without you.”

Josh sighed and ran his fingers
through his hair.  “We could pretend to be a buyer.  Find out where the girls
are and if Katie is there.”

“That might work.”  Martin seemed
optimistic.

“I'm afraid it won't,” Luca
interrupted.  “At least not fast enough to save your niece.  The man who runs
this place is Felix Meier.  He runs operations in Germany, Belgium, and the
Netherlands.  He is very careful about his buyers.  It takes weeks to get a
meeting and he probably already has buyers in line for the girls here.”

“The tree line,” Josh blurted.

“That's what I was just thinking,”
Michael agreed.

“I'm sorry?” Luca didn't
understand.