by L. T. Ryan
“Yeah, come in.” He smiled at Jasmine. Furrowed his brow at Jack.
Jack ignored him. Followed Jasmine inside and waited for the man. He led them through the house. They settled around a table in the man’s kitchen.
“You got some kind of transmitters, right?” Marco said.
“Yeah,” Jack said. “We’ve been communicating with them.”
“Can you still get her?”
“Clarissa?” Jack said.
“Yeah,” she said.
“OK, just making sure you’re there. Stand by.”
Marco motioned to Jack for the device.
Jack reached into his pocket, pulled out the transmitter and set it on the table.
Marco attached a wire to it, connected it to his laptop computer and started hammering away at the keyboard. “Get her on again.”
“Clarissa,” Jack said. “I need you to get on. You don’t have to talk, just keep transmitting. We’re getting your location now.”
“OK,” she said. She left the line open. They heard the sound of shuffling feet. Alik spoke in the background. Clarissa said yes, then no.
“I’m getting it,” Marco said as he pointed at his screen. A map zoomed in. At first showing the southwest section of Moscow, then zooming beyond the outer loop. An area called Desna centered on the screen. The map continued to zoom, finally setting on a house in what looked to be an affluent neighborhood.
“Looks like the kind of house a General might own,” Jack said.
“You got it,” Marco said.
“Can you get the address?” Jasmine said.
Marco struck at his keyboard again and then wrote down the address.
Jasmine studied the screen and memorized the route. “OK. I got it. You coming with us, Marco?”
“I’ll pass. This is your mess. But you can come back for a drink later tonight if you’d like.”
Jasmine ignored the man. “Let’s go, Jack.”
Jack stood. Thanked the man and walked out of the house. Looked up at the dark sky. Gray clouds hovered close. He joined Jasmine in the car.
“Want me to put the address in the GPS?” he said.
“No,” Jasmine said. “Too risky. What if someone’s tracking us? Best to leave it off for now.”
The drive was long and dark and boring. They drove on the highway that served as Moscow’s outer perimeter. They rounded the city to the south and exited the highway.
Streetlights once again lit the road. Snow had been plowed from the asphalt. It was piled up on the shoulder and sidewalk, as high as six feet in some places.
Jasmine turned left, past a few houses, then turned right. They drove by a long two-story warehouse and into another housing area. The homes were larger. The lots were huge.
“Never thought there were people here that had it this good,” Jack said.
Jasmine shrugged. “Just about everywhere, Jack. Someone’s gotta have the money.”
She slowed the car as they passed a two-story sandy colored brick house on a corner lot. Trees blocked the entrance and obscured the views of most windows. “That’s it.”
“Keep going.”
She drove another block, made a U-turn, then parked the car.
They sat in the dark for five minutes. Watching, listening and waiting.
Jack opened his door. Grabbed the submachine gun strapped around his neck and said, “Let’s do this.”
20
Jack and Jasmine cut through a wooded lot toward the driveway of the large sandy colored brick house. The evergreen trees were big and bushy and provided great cover. They stopped at the edge of the lot and watched the house.
A lone man walked past them. He held a leash, and his dog kept perfect pace with him, his large head bumped into the man’s knee every few steps. Perfectly trained.
Jasmine waited until the man had passed and said, “I think we’re in the clear.”
“Stay vigilant. I’m crossing first. Cover me. Wait for my signal before you cross.”
“OK.”
Jack stepped out of the cover of the trees. Onto the street. Crossed through the pool of light cast by the streetlight on the corner. He reached the driveway and turned to face Jasmine. He signaled for her to cross as he backed into the darkness.
Jasmine arrived a few seconds later. They walked to the rear side of the house. The windows in back were all lit up. The back portion of the house was one gigantic room that stretched from the kitchen, through the dining room, and into a large living area. They saw one man. Jack recognized him as Dimitri.
He sat on a white leather couch. He held a glass in one hand. A bottle of vodka sat on the table. He stared at the flat panel TV that hung on the wall above the fireplace. The man’s face was long and drawn and pale.
Jack looked at the TV. “It’s the theater. They’ve got Ivanov and Kostya’s face on there.”
They continued along the back of the house until they reached the kitchen. Jack climbed four wooden steps to the rear door. Placed his hand on the knob. The door was unlocked. He turned the knob and opened the door. Stepped into the kitchen. He heard Jasmine follow. He pointed toward the stairs across the room. She headed for them. Jack walked silently through the kitchen, then the dining room, and finally behind the man.
“Arms where I can see them,” Jack said.
Dimitri stiffened.
“Now,” Jack said.
The man held his arms to the side. Extended them. Placed them behind his head, interlocking his fingers.
“Get up.”
Dimitri stood.
“Turn around.”
The man turned. His pale face drained at the site of Jack. “You? You’re supposed to be dead. What are you doing here?”
Jack nodded toward the TV. “Had to tidy up a bit. Took care of the General.”
“And Kostya.”
“Seems that way.”
“What are you doing here?”
“You know what. Here for my friends.” Jack gestured with the submachine gun. “Lead the way.”
Dimitri sidestepped around the couch, facing Jack the entire time. He turned and walked to the other end of the room.
Jasmine stood by the stairs, her gun drawn and aimed at Dimitri.
He stopped in front of her. Turned. Started up the stairs.
Jack followed, then Jasmine.
They reached the top. Dimitri led them down a wide hallway. He opened the last door on the right. Stepped inside.
Jack went in after him. The room was huge. It looked like they converted the entire end of the house into some kind of prison. He saw four six-by-nine cells in the room. Two were empty. One was occupied by Clarissa. The last by Alik.
“Keys, Dimitri,” Jack demanded.
“Screw you.”
“Jack,” Clarissa said. “He—”
“In a minute, Clarissa.” He stepped toward Dimitri. “Keys. Now.”
“You’ll have to kill me.”
“Fine.” Jack pulled the trigger. A spray of bullets slammed into Dimitri’s chest and head. He twitched and jerked, then fell backward to the floor.
“Jack,” Clarissa said. “He’s not the one that comes up here.”
Jack stopped rifling through the man’s pockets and looked up at Clarissa. “What do you mean?”
“Jack, look out,” Jasmine shouted.
Jack spun and saw a man barreling into the room. Jack dropped to the floor and worked the gun strapped around his chest into his hands.
The man that entered the room yelled and started firing.
Jack pushed back against the cell bars and squeezed the trigger. Bullets sprayed the room and the hallway beyond. They tore through the plaster and sheetrock and wooden studs.
The man was struck by several bullets from mid-thigh up to his head. He fell back against the wall. Slid down it, leaving a crimson trail in his wake.
“Is everyone OK?” Jack said. A cloud of plaster and dust filled the room. He wiped his eyes with his sleeve and looked around.
<
br /> “I’m OK,” Jasmine said.
“Me too,” Clarissa said.
The room went silent except for creaks and crashes where studs collapsed and sections of the wall fell to the floor.
“Alik?” Jack rose to his feet. Turned around. Saw Alik on his back in the middle of the cell, lying in a pool of his own blood.
Jasmine ran to the body of their attacker. Found a set of keys and furiously worked at the locked door leading into Alik’s cell. She opened it and both her and Jack rushed to Alik’s body.
“No pulse,” Jack said.
Jasmine handed him the keys. “Get her out. I’ll work on him.”
Jack unlocked Clarissa’s cell door. “Were there any more?”
“Yes. Two more.”
“Jasmine, we need to get him and get out of here. There’s more.”
Together, they hoisted Alik onto Jack’s shoulder. He carried the man’s lifeless body down the stairs, through the kitchen, and across the backyard.
Jasmine had run ahead of them for the car. By the time Jack and Clarissa reached the driveway, Jasmine was there.
They placed Alik in the back seat. Jasmine got out and slid in next to him. She worked feverishly to resuscitate the lifeless man.
Clarissa got in the passenger seat. Jack sat behind the wheel. Started the car and pulled out of the driveway, heading back the way they came in.
“Where should we go?” he asked.
“Just drive,” Jasmine said.
21
“You ain’t said much,” Bear said.
Pierre shrugged. Stared out the window. His face pale. Expression blank.
“You didn’t know,” Bear said.
Pierre nodded. Turned his head and leaned the seat back. “It’s probably not the worst thing I’ve ever done. I don’t know why I feel like this.”
“Sometimes it just hits the right way.”
“Guess so.”
“It’s been a rough six months for you, Pierre. You’ve been through a lot. Some things have come full circle. You should take a vacation after all this is over.”
“I plan to. Just have to figure out who to bring.”
“There a woman back in France?”
“Aye, there is.” Pierre paused to light a cigarette. Cracked his window. “She wasn’t happy I was leaving.”
“They never are.”
“I don’t think she’s waiting for me to return.”
“We’ll find out soon enough.”
“We?”
“I think we need to finish this. Don’t you?”
“Charles?” Pierre asked.
“Yeah.”
“I’ll do it for you and Jack.”
“We have to get to France soon. Before he comes to New York. I know Charles is going to be in the mix for the old man’s empire.”
“Will Frank cover us?”
“If not, I got a friend who will.”
“Like your friend in New York?”
“Same guy.”
Pierre said nothing else.
Bear kept his eyes on the road. He weaved through the heavy traffic. They drove southwest, into the setting sun. The low angle of the light created a flare on his windshield, making it difficult to see the traffic ahead. They were halfway between Philadelphia and D.C. Frank had told them to come up the next morning, but Bear didn’t like the idea of staying in New York after the hit. Especially not in the apartment that Frank had arranged. They were sitting ducks in there.
“I got another friend outside D.C. who’s gonna put us up for the night, Pierre. Good cook. Usually has a stocked bar.”
Pierre turned his head. Bear looked over and saw the man smiling. “I’m going to need it.”
“Me too.”
“Have you heard anything about the girl?”
“No.” Bear hadn’t been in touch with Mandy since they took her and Larsen. He hated putting his trust in Frank and his associates. In some ways the man was no better than those they fought against. The only saving grace he had in Bear’s eyes was the fact that Jack trusted him. “But I’ll make sure I see her soon.”
22
Snow had begun to fall shortly after midnight. The temperatures continued to plummet. The thick steel railing along the side of the bridge was covered with two inches of ice. Long, sharp icicles hung at irregular intervals. Some were short, others long.
The sound of rushing water rose from below. A river raced by, under the bridge. Jack didn’t need to get near it to know that the water would provide an icy, frozen tomb for anyone who entered.
“I’m sorry, Jack,” Jasmine said. “I think he was gone before he hit the ground. I never got a pulse or—”
“It’s not your fault,” Jack said. “I went in guns blazing. Clarissa tried to tell me there was someone else. I ignored it. Anger got the best of me. I’m just grateful no one else was hurt.”
He felt hands on his shoulder. He leaned over, grabbed his dead friend under the arms and lifted him. Jasmine and Clarissa grabbed Alik’s feet and the three of them held the lifeless body in the air.
“So long, Alik,” Jack said as he let go of Alik. They heard a splash when his body hit the water. Looked over the railing. Saw nothing. Even if they could, the racing current would have carried him fifty feet or so by that point.
The trio sulked back to the car. Clarissa got in back. Jasmine in the driver’s seat. Jack in the passenger’s. They drove in silence, heading southwest, toward Ukraine. Reentering the country should be far easier than leaving it. They were crossing further north than where they entered and they didn’t have to deal with people on the lookout for Jack Noble.
They reached the border crossing close to three-thirty a.m. Three lights lit up the two lane road. An old man stepped out of a worn sun bleached wooden building. He walked to the front of the car, then to the driver’s side. Jasmine rolled down the window. The guard stuck his head in. He smiled and said, “Passports?”
They handed him their fake passports and waited. Thirty seconds later he handed them back. Walked to the front of the car, then waved them through.
Jack held his breath as they passed into the next country.
Fifteen minutes later, Jasmine pulled over. She grabbed her cell phone and placed a call.
“Frank,” she said. “Yeah, we’re safe, but I’ve got bad news. We lost Alik.” There was a long pause then Jasmine said, “Jack, he wants to talk to you.”
Jack grabbed the phone. Placed it to his ear. “Yeah, Frank.”
“Jack, listen. We think we’ve got a lead on who leaked the information and sold it off to begin with.”
“OK. Take them down then.”
“Things have changed a lot since you worked for us. We aren’t equipped for that kind of thing. I need you and Jasmine.”
“What about Clarissa?”
“Well,” Frank paused a beat, “I think she’s in deep enough already that it won’t compromise anything to keep her on board.”
“OK.”
“Don’t tell them about this. I want to brief everyone in person. Where are you guys?”
“Where are we?” Jack asked.
“Near Hlukhiv,” Jasmine said.
“Hlukhiv,” Jack repeated.
“OK, you guys get to Brovary. Call me when you’re close. I’ll get you on a flight to Germany, get you fresh passports, and get you home. You’ll be in my office by noon.”
“Frank, one more thing.”
“Yeah.”
“How’d that situation go with Bear and Pierre.”
“They completed the job successfully.”
Jack hung up the phone. He thought back to his long and rocky relationship with the old man. If it had happened two years ago, he might have had a feeling or two. As it was, he didn’t give a damn.
“What did he say?” Jasmine asked.
“Drive to Brovary. We’re getting on a plane there, then going to Germany. Then home. We meet with him around noon, eastern time.”
“What about me?
” Clarissa asked.
“You’re coming with us.”
Episode 10
1
“When will they be in my possession?” the man said into the cell phone he purchased minutes prior.
“Be patient,” she told him. “As soon as I’ve secured them, they’ll be yours.”
He split the blinds with his index and middle fingers and stared down at crowds hustling along F Street. Tourists who were making their way to the next attraction. Politicians and business people on their way to lunch or a business meeting or perhaps a secret meeting with someone they shouldn’t be seeing.
He pulled his fingers back and the blinds snapped into place with a faint clank. He paced across the office. Stopped and leaned against the door. He glanced around the room. It was bare. No pictures or paintings on the walls. A simple wooden desk and a simple plastic chair. It wasn’t his primary office, so he had no need for the frills and extras that lined his office in the Pentagon. No one knew of this place. The meetings and business he conducted in the room were not the kind of business and meetings that his superiors would condone.
“How will I get in touch with you?” he asked.
“I’ll let you know when the time is right.”
He massaged his eyebrows with his thumb and forefinger, starting in the center and slowly working his way out. “This is a throwaway line. After this conversation the phone is going in the trash. Give me your number.”
She hesitated. Started to speak. Stopped, then began again after he heard the sound of her licking her lips. The only noise that escaped her mouth was a soft, whistling “S” sound.
He quickly interrupted her. “No names! That’s the only condition.”
“I’ll be in touch,” she said.
“Wait—”
The line clicked off and the time display flashed on the cell phone screen. He cursed under his breath and ran his free hand through his thick gray hair.
I’ve got to get those documents back, he thought.
He turned and reached for the doorknob. Stopped. Walked over to his desk and opened the center drawer. He reached in and grabbed the Heckler & Koch USP Compact 9mm pistol.
He drew the gun to his chest and walked back to the door. Slowly he turned the knob and pulled the door open. He leaned over and peered through the opening, listening for any movement. Then he stuck his head into the hall. His right hand was just out of sight, ready to spring forward and shoot if necessary.
