“Yes, tonight.”
The servant dipped his head.
“Cigarette,” Lev said.
The servant walked around the bed and opened a drawer from a side table and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He handed one to Lev and then lit the cigarette with an old-fashioned lighter. Lev took in a deep breath and let the smoke rest in his mouth before allowing it to seep into his lungs.
“Anything else, sir?”
“We leave in an hour,” Lev said.
“Yes, sir.”
The old servant dipped his head and then turned and left the room. Lev took another drag from his cigarette and stared at the blank television as if it were on. There was nothing else for him to do. He’d bribed and paid off government officials. He’d sent two of his best men, and neither had acquired what he’d been searching for. What could he have done differently? He thought about his son, Mikel, and wondered what kind of a man he’d be today had he lived. Would he be married? Have kids? A tear rolled down Lev’s cheek as he thought about what it would have been like to be a grandfather.
“I’m an old man,” he said to himself in his native tongue. “With nothing to show.”
He took another drag from his cigarette and then blew the smoke into the air as it came out of his mouth. All he wanted was justice for Mikel, but even his money couldn’t buy that. Maybe the videotape was truly gone, and with it the evidence of what happened that day.
A knock at the door caused Lev to move his eyes away from the television.
“Yes.”
“Telephone, sir.”
“Come in.”
The servant came in holding a cordless phone. He took the cigarette out of Lev’s hand and handed him the phone.
“Yes.”
“Mr. Oborski?”
Lev recognized the voice immediately. “Yes.”
“I can still get you what you want.”
“It’s too late. I’m going back home.”
“That’s fine. You can go home. It’ll probably be safer for you there.”
Lev hesitated. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that I can still get you the tape.”
“You already tried.”
“We have a saying here in America, Mr. Oborski: keep trying.”
“You had your chance. I paid you a lot of money and you failed.”
“You paid me to find out if Dennis still had the tape. He does.”
“How do you know?”
“Call it CIA intuition. Now do you want it or not?”
Lev took in a deep breath. “How much?”
“Two million dollars.”
“You bring me the tape. You get your money.”
Lev hung up the phone and handed it to the servant. The servant raised the cigarette to hand back to Lev, but he declined.
“The plane will be ready in thirty-five minutes, sir.”
“Make it thirty.”
The servant dipped his head and walked out of the room.
Lev made his way slowly to the bathroom with a little glimmer of hope still left.
Eighty-three
I was sitting at my desk back at the station looking over the crime scene photos that were taken at my house. I’d just left my house to come to the station, yet looking at the scene through the pictures made it feel like this had happened to someone else. We were able to determine that the Russian came through the back door and then gave Henry some kind of tranquilizer that put him down. Hal told me that when he came to the house, the Russian was holding two handguns pointed toward him and simply told him to come inside. He hogtied Hal and then knocked him unconscious. I didn’t want to tell Hal how lucky he was to be alive because something told me that he already knew.
Prints of the three dead men from my house were sent to Interpol for identification. They weren’t in our database, so hopefully Interpol would have luck identifying them.
Rule wanted to stay at the house when I told him that I needed to go to the station. I understood that he needed time to himself. This was the first time that we’d been separated since I told him that his family was murdered at the airport. We didn’t think that my house would be having any more unexpected visitors, however just in case I told him where I kept my spare 9mm Glock.
There wasn’t too much foot traffic at the station tonight. It was relatively quiet while I looked at the photos. I thought about the Russian, saying that Mr. Oborski wanted to talk to us. Uncle Happy said that his name was Lev Oborski. I ran an online search of the name Lev Oborski and received several different hits. Some talked of a prominent businessman from Russia, while other hits were of different Lev Oborski’s on the Internet. I clicked on two websites that talked about the prominent businessman.
Lev Oborski, from Russia, was an oil tycoon who appeared to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Could this be the same man who wanted to see us? Would a man of his status risk all that he had for a videotape? I didn’t think so, but to pull off what the Russians were trying to do would take money, and this man had plenty of it.
I picked up the phone and called Jadyn. She called me earlier after the news reports hit the airwaves, but I didn’t pick up. I texted her saying that I’d call later once things calmed down. Through her FBI connections, I was hoping that she could check on something for me.
Her phone rang one time before she picked up. It was late, but she didn’t sound like she’d been sleeping. “I hope you don’t think that I was waiting by the phone for you to call?” Her voice was full of sarcasm.
“Nope. I didn’t think that you were that kind of person.”
We both laughed. “How are you?” she asked.
“I’m okay. Rule’s the one who I’m worried about. He’s been through so much the past couple of days.”
“I can’t even imagine.”
“Yeah … listen, would you be able to track down if someone came into the country?”
“Sure. I have connections with TSA. Who are you looking for?”
“A Lev Oborski. His name came up twice, and I think he might be the guy behind all of this.”
“I can surely check.”
“Thanks.”
Hearing her voice made me feel a little warm inside. Before I’d gotten the news that the Rules had been murdered, Jadyn had asked if I’d be interested in going on a date with her. I was a little torn inside because it’d been less than a year since my wife had been killed, however I’d been feeling a strong attraction toward her. I ended up telling her yes, but then I’d gotten the call from my captain that threw the past couple of days into a whirlwind.
I wanted to say something clever about seeing her again, but the only clever thing that I could think of was, “So, Jadyn, I haven’t forgotten about our date.”
“Oh, Jacob, that can wait until you figure this out.”
“I know. I just wanted you to know that I was still thinking about it.”
She paused and then said softly, “Me too.”
Suddenly, my body began to warm up and I fumbled my words when I spoke again, “O … o … okay. Listen, I should let you go so you can check on that name.”
She chuckled and then said, “Okay, I’ll call you back as soon as I hear something.”
We hung up, and I actually wiped my forehead with the back of my hand and felt perspiration. Be careful, Jacob.
I went back to looking at the pictures of the crime scene. I picked up the picture of the car that was driven by the men who shot at me. I looked at it for a few seconds until my brain started turning over thoughts and questions. So far that we’d been able to confirm, all of the men involved in this case were Russian. I’d be willing to bet that the men in the car were Russian as well. What did that mean? It meant that they weren’t from around here. And if they weren’t from around here, they would have needed to use some kind of map or GPS system to find my house. Chances were that they used the GPS in the car.
I picked up my desk phone and called the tow company that picked up t
he car. The phone rang three times, and then a burly voice answered, “D.C. Towing.”
“Yeah, this is Detective Jacob Hayden. You guys picked up a white Mercedes about an hour ago. Did you take it to the police impound?”
“Yeah, Detective. That’s where we take all of the cars.”
“Thanks, just wanted to check.”
I hung up the phone and stood up from my desk. Normally I’d call Pat, but she’d gone on her date and was probably at home by now. I guess it didn’t go bad because she didn’t call. Nevertheless, I decided to let her rest and not call. I rushed out of the station and to my car. Police impound was just ten minutes away, and at this time of night I could make it there in seven. Logic would have it that, if the men used the GPS to find my house, they probably started from Mr. Oborski’s location since they were his men. Therefore, we could use the GPS’s hard drive to figure out where they started from.
I felt a little giddy as I drove to the impound because this was the first solid lead that could potentially put an end to this whole thing.
Eighty-four
Getting the address was easier than I thought. When I sat in the car, I turned on the engine, and the GPS quickly lit up. I touched the screen for recent addresses, and only two came up: mine and another one. It didn’t take deductive reasoning to figure out that the other address was their home address. I guessed that they probably hit that address whenever they took the car out so they could know how to get home.
I called Captain Hellsworth because I didn’t want to get chewed out again, and told him of the lead. He understood the urgency and said that he’d get a search warrant ready. I put in a call to SWAT so they could get a team ready. I felt like beating my chest because we were finally getting somewhere.
I flew back to the station with the address in hand. I pulled up Google Maps on the computer and punched in the address. I knew the area well and recognized the residence as soon as it popped up. I clicked on street view, and the house came up as if I were looking at it in real time. With the cursor, I moved the image around to get a look at the surrounding area to see where we’d be most vulnerable. I printed out a few different views to bring to SWAT.
They had a team fully dressed and ready. I put on a Kevlar vest and followed them to a spot a few blocks away from the residence. Given what had happened over the past couple of days, we were going in this with the mindset that whoever was in the house was fully armed and willing to shoot at cops.
The alpha team was going to breach the front, while the B team was going to secure the back. I, unfortunately, was told that I had to wait until the house was secured. I understood, as this was not my first go around, but I wanted to burst into the house with them.
So I waited outside and watched as the first team broke down the door with the battering ram. They let off a flash bang and then yelled “police” over and over again. Three minutes later, I heard through the radio that the house was secured. I rushed in, not sure what I was going to find.
The house looked as though it had been recently vacated. It was an old Victorian brownstone with three levels, covered with rich mahogany wood floors that looked as though they were recently redone. We checked each room, and in one we found two semiautomatic weapons sitting fully loaded on a table. In the master bedroom was an unmade bed with a chair next to it. In the kitchen, dishes were in the sink and the oven was still warm.
“Damn it. We just missed whoever was here.” I said.
I thought that maybe I should stake out the house for a while to see who came back home, but my cell phone started ringing and I saw that it was Jadyn.
“Hey, Jadyn.”
“Well, I’ve got some good news and bad.”
“Not sure which one I want to hear right now.”
“You sound a little out of breath.”
“Yeah, we just raided a house, but no one’s here. So whatcha got?”
“Lev Oborski came through customs five days ago.”
“Okay, that’s good news. So what’s the bad?”
“He also just went through customs. He left on a private plane forty minutes ago.”
I sat at the kitchen table and put my head down.
“Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack.”
“Okay. I’ll call you back.”
I hung up the phone a little depressed. An hour ago I’d been ready to start beating my chest. Now I wanted to sulk. My biggest lead just flew away into the clouds, possibly with the answers to all of my questions.
Eighty-five
When I returned home, I found Rule sitting on my front porch with Henry next to him. It was past one in the morning, and I was beat. Henry was enjoying Rule’s hand rubbing his coat up and down. When I walked to them, Henry’s tale wagged, but he didn’t get up. He was probably still feeling the effects of the tranquilizer. I bent down and gave him a little hug and then rubbed the top of his head. Henry was my friend, and I was happy that he was okay.
I then sat next to Rule on the steps. I leaned back and placed my elbows on the concrete slab and exhaled.
“What happened?” Rule asked. “You don’t sound like it went so well.”
I’d texted him earlier that we had a promising lead.
“We were too late. The house was empty, and Lev Oborski is somewhere on a private jet in the sky.”
“Who’s that?”
“I think he’s the mastermind.”
I looked at Rule and saw him dip his head.
“So, where do we go from here?” he asked.
“I do more digging. Find out more about Lev Oborski.”
“You do that.”
I leaned forward and looked at Rule. “You’re the closest friend that I have. Your family was like my family. You and me are like brothers.” I felt a tear start to form in my right eye. “I won’t let this go until we catch whoever’s behind this.”
Rule didn’t look at me when he spoke. “I know you won’t, Jacob. That’s what’s special about you. And I believe that you’ll end up finding this Lev guy.” He paused a beat. “But I’ve also got to do what I’ve got to do.”
My eyebrows frowned, as I was caught off guard by Rule’s comment. “What do you mean?”
“Uncle Happy. I’ve got to find him.”
“Let’s get Jadyn involved and let the Feds find him.”
Rule shook his head, “Uh-uh. It’s gotta be me.”
“Why?”
He finally turned his head and looked me straight in the eyes.
“It’s what I do, Jacob.”
Looking into Rule’s eyes was like looking into a mirror a year ago. I suddenly became afraid for my friend because I knew that there was nothing I could say that would sway his mind. I knew because it was the same look I had when I went searching for my wife’s killers. I lost a part of myself after I killed them. I liked to think that I lost some of my innocence, but I think it went deeper than that. I think I lost a part of my soul.
“Rule—”
Rule raised his hand to stop me in mid-sentence, “My mind’s already made up, Jacob.”
“I wasn’t trying to stop you. I just wanted you to know that I’ll be here for you when you come back.”
“I know you will.”
Rule looked down at Henry and then rubbed his head a little firmer. “Take care of this guy while I’m gone, okay.”
Henry looked up and wagged his tail.
We both stood up, slapped five, and gave each other man hugs.
“I’m just a phone call away,” I said.
“So am I.”
“Where are you going to start?”
“With the videotape. I’ve got to find it first.”
“What else could be on it that caused this much tragedy?”
Rule shook his head. “I’ll let you know when I find it.”
With that, he turned and started walking away from my house.
“Rule, let me at least give you a ride home.”
“No bother. I need
to clear my head. The walk will do me some good.”
I wasn’t going to argue because I knew that Rule’s mind was made up. Plus, not too many people would try to bother a man of his size walking alone in the middle of the night.
“Keep it real, Jacob.”
He then turned and walked into the night. I watched him for as long as I could but, after a while, the darkness overtook him and he was no longer visible. I knelt down and petted Henry’s back.
“Come on, big boy, let’s get inside.”
Henry slowly stood up and followed me in. I remember telling my mother-in-law one time that I was so tired that I’d be dead to the world in five minutes. Turned out that I was asleep in less than two. I figured the same thing would be happening again tonight. Funny thing was, I don’t even remember my head hitting the pillow.
Eighty-six
Supposedly every time we sleep, we dream anywhere from four to six dreams a night. Most of the time, we don’t remember them. I’m sure I’ve dreamt of my wife more than the one time that I can remember, and I’ve been waiting to dream about her again so that we could talk. I’ve missed the conversations we used to have. Most of the time we talked about nothing important, but it was just being able to hear her voice and talk about the little things that made our bond so special. The last memory I had before closing my eyes to go to sleep was wishing that Theresa would visit me tonight.
To my excitement, she did.
We were on our living room couch, and she was lying on top of me with her back snuggled into my chest and my arms wrapped around her shoulders. Her hair smelled of the shampoo she used to use, and her skin was as soft as I remembered it. The TV was on and we were watching, The Matrix, one of our favorite movies. Neo had just been pulled out of the slime of human liquidation by the Nebuchadnezzar, and when he opened his eyes Morpheus said to him, “Welcome to the real world.”
Theresa turned her head and said, “Do you think we’d know if we weren’t in a real world?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “How would we be able to tell?”
The Game of Life or Death: A Detective Series of Crime and Suspense Thrillers (The Jacob Hayden Series Book 3) Page 20
