The Korean Gambit

by Charles DeMaris

  “Can you drop me at my house? I’ll come back for the car when I’m able.”

  “Sure, but we need to get going. Just sit here and I’ll bring the car.”

  “Hand me my phone, will you? I need to call Vladimir.”

  “Do I know Vladimir?”

  “Probably not. He can get Rachel on a ship to Stockholm. Can you get her to St. Petersburg?”

  “If Jelena can stay at your house until I get back. She doesn’t need a car ride at this point.”

  “I’m sure that would be fine. Get the car.”

  Two houses down, a man backed away from the window, put away his binoculars, and typed a brief message on his phone.

  Yuriy Kazakov woke up to the buzzing of the phone on his nightstand, read the message, sent a reply, and rolled over and went back to sleep.

  Harrison, OH

  Jefferson looked at the flashing alert on his computer screen, clicked the icon, and read the message, then went straight to Ahmed’s desk.

  “Hey buddy, got something on that account you wanted me to keep an eye on,” he said.

  “The draft folder? What’s it say?”

  “I’m not sure. You wanna have a look?”

  Ahmed walked over and looked at Jefferson’s screen, reading the message twice before a big grin lit up his face.

  Hey bro. Need a ride home from school tomorrow. Dr. Nobel’s oceanography class lets out at 3:00. See you then.

  “Hey everyone, Rachel’s alive,” he announced to the entire room.

  “How do you get that?” Jefferson asked.

  “Only people who have access to that account are Rachel and Casey. Leaving a message in the draft folder should be secure, but she’s not taking any chances. The Nobel prize ceremonies are in Stockholm. She’s telling us she’s arriving on a ship in Stockholm at 3:00 tomorrow afternoon. Stockholm is what, six hours ahead of us? That should give us enough time to get someone over there to fetch her.”

  “Can’t we just book her a flight?”

  “Think about what you just said. She disappeared from the safe house in Paris. She was probably captured by Yuriy, and if she’s now heading to Stockholm on a ship, it makes sense she escaped from Russia, probably St. Petersburg. You think her captors let her keep her identification?”

  “Good point. I’m still new to all this.”

  “You’ll catch on fast. You’ll need to around here.”

  “Did I just hear that you found Rachel?” Jenny said as she walked over.

  “Yes. She’s going to be in Stockholm tomorrow and needs extraction.”

  “We’d better call Casey. And get Avi to knock up some documentation for her. If she still had hers, she wouldn’t be asking to be picked up.”

  “I’m already on it,” Avi said from behind them.

  “Dude,” Jefferson said, “You’re too good at sneaking up on people.”

  “I’ve had a lot of practice. I don’t have to knock up anything. I’ve extra passports for everyone here, just in case, and I have a couple for you as well.”

  “What do I need that for?”

  “We can’t send Casey by himself. An extra set of eyes might be good.”

  “Do you think he’s ready for field work?” Jenny asked.

  “Is anyone ever ready? We sent Casey out with less training.”

  “That was an emergency.”

  “And this isn’t?”

  “You sending me with him?” Jefferson asked.

  “Well, Dr. Zielinski seems to think it’s a good idea, and I trust his judgment. Just be careful.”

  “So, should I start looking for flights to Stockholm?” Ahmed asked.

  “By all means, but check with me before you book anything. I’ll need to give you the names they’ll be traveling under,” Avi said.

  “And while I’m looking, I’d better call Casey and give him a heads up.”

  “Man, he’s not gonna like that,” Jefferson said.

  “He’s not going to like what?” Jenny asked.

  “He might not want to be interrupted tonight.”

  “That’s part of the job. Does he have something going on I need to know about?”

  “You know that interview he had with Fox Sports? Might be more than an interview. He couldn’t stop talking about that reporter.”

  “That interview was a week ago. You telling me he asked her out?”

  “Looks like it. They’re going to some steakhouse downtown.”

  “At least he has good tastes. She’s an attractive girl.”

  “That's quite an understatement,” Ahmed said.

  “Well, date or no date, he’s heading to Stockholm and he needs to know ASAP. Give him a call.”

  “So, Mr. Reddick, are you always this nervous on a date?” Kathy Reynolds asked.

  Casey looked down at his steak and back at the woman across the table from him. “Been a while since I’ve been on one. Is it that obvious?”

  “Like a cat in a room full of rocking chairs.”

  “My mom says that.”

  “You were never like that on the football field.”

  “The opponent didn’t look like you.”

  “You weren’t nervous during our interview.”

  “That was different.”

  “Really? How different? That’s going to air to a nationwide audience.”

  “No pressure there. This…this is different.”

  “If you weren’t black, I’d say you’re blushing.”

  “Just doesn’t show up like it does with you.”

  “That must be nice.”

  “It comes in handy when you’re around beautiful women.”

  Kathy nervously took another bite of her steak.

  “Got you, and you can’t hide it like I can,” Casey said, in response to the flush in her cheeks.

  “You’re getting better at this. You just needed to warm up a bit,” she replied.

  “So, how’s your meal?”

  “Absolutely fabulous, best I’ve had in ages. You sure this place is in your budget?”

  “I do well enough.”

  “At a cyber security firm? I know those guys aren’t loaded.”

  “There aren’t that many of us working there. Jenny pays us well.”

  “Is that your phone vibrating?”

  “Uh…yeah…looks like it.”

  “That’s the third time. Someone really wants to reach you. You going to check it?”

  “Well…I—”

  “That’s okay, go ahead and see who it is.”

  He took one look at the caller ID on the missed calls.

  “It’s the office.”

  “Who would be there at this hour?”

  “Ahmed’s working late probably, maybe finishing something up for a big client.”

  “Go ahead and return the call. I don’t mind.”

  “I’ll just step outside for a sec. Don’t want to be that guy.”

  Kathy took a long appreciative look as he walked outside. What was up with him? Something didn’t quite add up. He was a sure first round draft pick before the injury, and looking at him now it was clear that he was recovered. He could probably walk on with any NFL team he chose, but instead he was still working at a cyber security firm?

  Whatever his reasons were, he was quite the gentleman, first date awkwardness aside. How exactly did they end up on a date anyway? It wasn’t like her to go out with interview subjects, and she had interviewed quite a few young eligible athletes in her short career, but Casey was different. How she couldn’t quite put a finger on, but he was. There was none of the cockiness she had grown to expect in athletes of his caliber, and he had plenty reason to be cocky, Heisman trophy winner and the owner of numerous passing records in his four- year career. He certainly didn’t lack in confidence She could see that from a mile away. He was confident without being cocky, sure of himself in a way she hadn’t seen in anyone else she had known.

  And not bad looking either, she thought to herself as he walked back in th
e door and approached the table, giving her a shy smile as he sat down.

  “So, was that work? What did they want?” she asked.

  “Gotta go out of town. Ahmed has a flight booked for me in the morning.”

  “You travel with this job?”

  “Sometimes a client wants someone on site to evaluate their systems.”

  “Where is this client?”

  “Stockholm.”

  “They’re flying you all the way to Stockholm to look at a client’s system?”

  “Potential client. I have to see what we can do for them. Probably won’t be gone but a day or two.”

  “So, you’re leaving in the morning?”

  “Flight’s at 7:00. Going to go to the office at 5:00 and Ahmed will drop me at the airport.”

  “So…you need to be getting home soon?” a hint of disappointment in her voice.

  “Oh no, we’re fine. We can take our time. I can get all the sleep I need on the plane.”

  22

  4:30 a.m.

  Jefferson put his bag in the back seat of Casey’s car and got in front.

  “Man, never been out of the country before.”

  “Let’s hope it goes easier than my first time,” Casey said as he pulled out of the driveway.

  “What happened?”

  “That one was more complicated. Got the mission done, but there were…complications. A government guy from Pakistan sold a nuke to an Islamic terrorist, guy who tried to blow up the All- Star Game. The Pakistani changed his name and took off to Mombasa—”

  “Mombasa?”

  “In Kenya, real nice port city on the Indian Ocean. Anyway, it was supposed to be a straight forward kidnapping. We were gonna nab the guy when he was sleeping and slip out of town, but some white guys showed up to try to kill him and we had to kill a few of them. We got away, but it was pretty hairy.”

  “So, a Pakistani sells a nuke to a Muslim, and white dudes show up to whack him? What’s up with that?”

  “The white dudes were sent by Yuriy, the Russian who kidnapped Rachel. He was the one behind the whole thing. He manipulated everything. The Muslim thought he was doing his own thing, but everything was put into place by Yuriy. Now Yuriy’s after Rachel because he killed her parents and she got away. Loose end, or he thinks she knows more than she knows.”

  “So, she got away somehow and we have to go fetch her. Should be simple.”

  “It should be, but things are never as simple as they seem. We should get to Stockholm before she does, so our first order of business is going to be thorough surveillance of the ship yard. We’ll need to find out what berth her ship is going to dock at, what time it’s due in, and all the best escape routes in case things go south. Then when the ship arrives, we’ll need to be on the lookout for any suspicious operators. We can’t underestimate Yuriy, and we’ll be in his backyard.”

  “Why is he so interested in Rachel? Do you think it’s just because she’s, what did you call it…a loose end?”

  “Well, her dad was the CIA director, and he was digging into things. Yuriy suspected he was getting close to unraveling his operation, and maybe he was. He had a lot of intel on his computer. So Yuriy has him taken out to keep him from getting closer, but he doesn’t get Rachel. He doesn’t know how much she knows, if Dad told her anything, so she’s a loose end. We stopped his last operation, but we didn’t get him, Rachel decides to take some R & R in Paris, and she’s got Russian goons following her, she gets nabbed, she gets away, and here we are.”

  “How did she get away the first time, when her dad was killed?”

  “Her dad knew his life was in danger and he contacted us. I got the next flight I could and went straight to the house, but I was too late. Walked in after he was killed, but the killers were still in the house. I surprised one of them and we traded a couple shots, then Rachel came up behind him and killed him. She shot the other guy when we were leaving the house, just as cold as ice, dropped him with two rounds right in the head. Girl just lost her parents and she never lost it. I’m not sure I could have handled it that well. So, I told her who I work for and we drove straight back to Ohio. She insisted on joining, kind of like you did.”

  “You know, I’m a bit nervous about all this. How did you handle it?”

  “I was nervous as hell. Just remember your training, everything Avi and Brock taught you, and remember I’ve got your back.”

  “That gun case…you sure it’ll get past security?”

  “Positive. Avi is a genius with those things. It looks like a shaving kit on the scanners. I saw it myself when the TSA scanned my bag the last time. And even if they try to go through your bag, it won’t open anyway, not without your fingerprint.”

  “Yeah, I opened and closed it a few times yesterday.”

  “Well, you should be fine. Just don’t act nervous, and remember the name on your passport. You got the story down?”

  “Yeah. I’m still from Alabama, so not as much to get wrong.”

  “You probably won’t need it. Just show the passport when you need to and act like you’ve flown before. You have flown before?”

  “Few times, mostly with the team.”

  “You’ll do fine. It’s the return trip I’m worried about. I have documentation for Rachel in my bag and we’ll have to get her on the plane without being detected by any of Yuriy’s thugs. We might have to improvise quite a bit, but we’ll have Ahmed here to help us. He’s pretty good.”

  “I like him. He’s a cool dude.”

  “He’s going to drive us to the airport, so he’ll probably have more instructions for us, depending on what he’s been able to dig up. Then I would advise sleeping on the plane. Any time—”

  “Any time you can get some sleep on an op, you take advantage of it.”

  “You’ve been listening to Avi.”

  “Who wouldn’t? I love that old dude.”

  “You’re just feeling the love today. Anybody you don’t like?”

  “That Yuriy guy, for starters.”

  “That’s a good start.”

  Nikita drove Rachel to St. Petersburg and dropped her off outside the Avtovo station. She was to meet her contact at a small bar not far from there and he would see that she got on the ship. Walking was still painful, but she had a couple hours to kill and she wasn’t about to sit in one place all that time. She needed to get the lay of the land in case things didn’t go as planned. She walked through the station, marveling at the ornate columns and chandeliers. She didn’t think she had seen a more beautiful train station anywhere.

  She walked back above ground and took her time surveying the neighborhood, marking the location of the bar she needed to be at in two hours. After an hour she had memorized the immediate neighborhood and had several escape routes in mind just in case. She hoped it wouldn’t come to that, since she had few resources. Nikita had given her some cash, so she could use the trains if she needed to, but she didn’t know how much that would take and how much of that money she might need for other purposes.

  She studied everyone she saw and to the best of her knowledge she wasn’t being followed, so with ten minutes until her appointed time, she entered the pub. The interior was dimly lit and the clientele was a mix of locals and sailors from the merchant and cruise ships moored at the dock. She heard at least six different languages being spoken at other tables as she walked toward a table in the back corner. She sat down and ordered a Baikal, a Russian soft drink she had heard about with a flavor unlike anything she had ever tasted before.

  She watched the front door while she sipped the drink, mostly more sailors coming and going, and she was on her second drink when she recognized the man she was looking for. He looked her way and his eyes kept going without even a pause. She thought he hadn’t seen her, but within a minute he was sitting down across from her.

  “Rachel?”

  “Yes, and you are?”

  “You can call me Leonid.”

  “Just Leonid?”

&nb
sp; He took a look at her glass.

  “Only Baikal? Nothing stronger?”

  “Not today. I need to stay sharp.”

  “Good thinking. Many aren’t that smart in this country.”

  “I’m not much of a Vodka girl…and this stuff isn’t that bad.”

  “Not like your American soft drinks, is it?”

  “No, but I don’t drink many of those either. Perhaps I’d better finish this one so we can get going.”

  “Take your time. We have company.”

  “I was sure I wasn’t followed.”

  “Second table to the left of the front door.”

  “The sailor? He came in not long after I did.”

  “That man is no sailor. His hands are too smooth.”

  “How did you—”

  “I’m observant. That was the first thing I noticed when I came in.”

  “I was careful. How did—”

  “That doesn’t matter now. We have to lose him.”

  “How many other ways are there out of here?”

  “There’s the back door from the kitchen, but there’s no way we’d get through there unnoticed.”

  “How about the restrooms?”

  “The windows are small, only good for ventilation.”

  “We could start a fight and slip away.”

  “You’ve seen too many American TV shows. You do that in this place people will end up dead.”

  “Excuse me,” Leonid said in Russian to a server.

  “Yes,” the server asked, coming closer to the table, “What can I get you?”

  He went to order a drink, but grimaced in pain, clutched his chest with one hand, and fell to the floor.

  The commotion was instant. The server let out a gasp and ran behind the bar for the telephone. Several people got up from their seats to see what was going on and one man was trying to muscle his way through the growing crowd of onlookers.

  “Let me through,” the man was saying in Russian, “I’m a doctor.”

  By the time the man got through the crowd to perform CPR, Rachel had slipped unnoticed out the door. The man near the door only took his eyes off her for a moment when Leonid collapsed, and when he looked back, she was nowhere to be seen. He looked back toward the table, but he could only see Leonid on the floor with the doctor over him. The other man was of no consequence, so he went out the front of the bar to locate Rachel.