The Cain Deception

by Mike Ryan

  “I guess that’s possible,” Cain responded.

  “Interesting predicament you’ve gotten yourself into.”

  “I need to find Dmitri soon and put an end to this now. If he wants a piece of me that’s fine, but I can’t risk Heather’s life any more than I already have.”

  “I understand your concern. Would you mind if I kept these for a bit?” Raines asked of the pictures.

  “Sure.”

  “I would like to run them by a few people I know. Perhaps I can shed some light on your situation for you.”

  “I would appreciate it.”

  “Well, I need to go,” Raines said, putting the pictures in an envelope. “You two stay and enjoy the rest of your meal. Don’t worry about the bill, it’s already paid for. I have a driver waiting outside for you when you’re finished. He’ll take you wherever you want to go.”

  “How will I get in touch with you, or you me, if you find anything out?” Cain wondered.

  Raines reached into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone, sliding it across the table. Cain picked it up and wondered what it was for.

  “What’s this?” Cain asked.

  “My number is pre-listed in there under Wentworth. If you ever need to contact me for anything you may do so through that. Or if I need to contact you I will call you on that phone. Don’t worry, it’s completely untraceable and could never come back to me. I prefer you to use that than to use your phone and call my contacts. Just in case the agency traces your phone calls,” Raines told him. “I don’t want them to get burned or have it get back to me.”

  “Understood,” Cain replied. “I really appreciate you checking into this. Thanks. I‘ll owe you one.”

  “No need to thank me. That’s what friends are for.”

  Raines stood up and nodded at his guests before he left. Cain and Heather looked at each other once he left the room.

  “OK, I just have to say that that guy borders on the edge between creepy professor and psycho dangerous,” Heather stated.

  Cain just nodded his head in agreement, raising his eyebrows, agreeing with the assessment.

  “So what do we do now?” Heather asked.

  “I guess go back home. Nothing really else to do here,” Cain replied.

  Chapter 9

  New York--Cain and Heather had just gotten back from their trip to London when Cain’s phone started going off.

  “Yeah Shelly?” Cain answered.

  “Where are you?”

  “Just got home an hour ago.”

  “Good.”

  “Why? What’s up?”

  “We found Ackers,” she informed him.

  “Where?”

  “Through an informant we’ve set up a trade. We’re supposed to meet him in a warehouse to complete a drug transaction. He’s bringing a large supply of drugs and we’re supposed to bring a very large supply of money.”

  “I’m going.”

  “I knew you’d want in. That’s why I called. Each side can bring one backup person,” Lawson said.

  “What time?”

  “I’ll come pick you up now.”

  “I’ll be ready.”

  Cain told Heather they found Ackers and that he was going to leave for a while. While she was initially scared about being left alone he assured her that he’d be back within a couple of hours. He went to the kitchen drawer and took out one of his guns, placing it on the counter.

  “Don’t answer the door for anyone,” Cain told her. “Not for anyone.”

  “I won’t.”

  “Remember, I work alone. If someone comes through that door you put two in their chest and one in their head.”

  “I’ll try.”

  “It’ll be fine,” Cain said, kissing her forehead. “Just don’t shoot yourself in the foot.”

  “That’s comforting.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said, kissing her again.

  “I’ll be OK. Just hurry back.”

  Lawson drove over to pick Cain up to hurry over to the meeting place with Ackers. They were about twenty minutes early and waited outside the building. It was a small warehouse that hadn’t been used in several years. It’d previously been used for a small factory until a fire destroyed most of the building. The company then decided to move to a new location, leaving the partially torn building behind.

  “So how’d you find him?” Cain wondered.

  “We put the word out to some of our low level informants, showed his picture around, eventually someone recognized him.”

  “And?”

  “One of the informants said he occasionally dabbled in drug sales so we contacted him to set something up,” Lawson replied.

  “So what are we buying?”

  “Heroin.”

  After waiting for ten minutes the two of them got out of the car and went inside to pass the rest of the time away. Cain grabbed a briefcase from the backseat that contained the money they were supposed to be trading with. The roof wasn’t totally in tact and some of the windows were missing or broken, causing all of nature’s elements to create a very displeasing odor inside. It smelled like a mixture of rain, sewage, and animal waste. There were small pockets of puddles throughout the warehouse. The broken windows allowed beams of light to shine in.

  “This has gotta be one of the more unpleasant smells I’ve ever come across,” Cain stated.

  “I would say so.”

  A few minutes later they noticed a Grand Marquis pull in front of the building. Two men got out, one of them carrying a duffel bag. They entered the warehouse and removed their sunglasses. The man in front was Ackers. The picture they had of him was dead on. There was no mistaking him.

  “Do you have the merchandise?” Lawson asked, not wanting to waste time.

  “Of course,” Ackers replied, pointing to the duffel bag.

  “Let’s see it.”

  Ackers nodded to his associate, who put the bag on the ground and unzipped it. Lawson walked over to it and kneeled down, putting her hand inside to look it over.

  “It’s good,” she stated.

  “And now I believe you have something for me?” Ackers asked.

  “Oh, we do,” Lawson replied, standing up and motioning for Cain.

  Cain walked forward and set the briefcase down, allowing Lawson to open it for them. Their eyes widened and could hardly contain the smiles on their faces, excited to be receiving all that money.

  “Shame you’re not going to collect any of it,” Lawson told them.

  “What?” Ackers asked, not sure what she meant.

  “I mean this transaction’s over.”

  Cain quickly drew his gun and fired, hitting Ackers associate in the chest three times, killing him instantly. Ackers drew a gun from the back of his pants but was too slow for the lightning fast Cain. Cain shot Ackers in the shin, dropping the criminal to the ground, screaming in agony. Lawson and Cain walked over to him as he laid there, writhing in pain. Cain stood over him and pointed the gun at his head, making Ackers think his life was about to come to an end.

  “It doesn’t have to end the way you think it’s about to,” Cain told him.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Give us the right information and we’ll call you an ambulance and get you fixed up in no time.”

  “What kind of information?” Ackers asked, barely able to get the words out.

  “You don’t remember me?” Cain asked.

  Ackers squinted his eyes to make him out better but was unable to remember him. “No. Am I supposed to?”

  Cain took out a picture and held it up for Ackers to see.

  “Remember now?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Thought you might,” Cain said.

  “I thought you looked familiar. Just couldn’t place you.”

  “Where’s Kurylenko?”

  “Who?”

  “Dmitri Kurylenko. The man that hired you,” Cain shouted.

  “Never heard of him.”

  Cain kicked Acke
rs in the shin, causing him to yell out in excruciating pain.

  “I can put you through a whole lot more,” Cain said.

  “I don’t know him.”

  “Who hired you?”

  “I don’t know his name. He just told me he wanted some pictures taken. I took them and gave it to him and he gave me the money,” Ackers said.

  “You gave it to him? In person?”

  “Yeah.”

  “That means he was here,” Cain said to Lawson.

  “There’s still no record or proof of it,” she replied.

  “What’d he look like?” Cain asked.

  “Black hair, brown eyes, no facial hair, tough looking.”

  “Fits Kurylenko’s description.”

  “If the guy you’re looking for is Russian it wasn’t him. This guy was American. No accent,” Ackers said.

  “Is this him?” Cain asked, holding a picture of Kurylenko up.

  “Yeah. That’s him. That’s the guy.”

  “What name did he give you?”

  “Stevens I think,” Ackers answered.

  “Where’d you deliver the photos?” Cain asked.

  “Was told to put them in a drop box and an envelope with money would be waiting for me.”

  “What else?”

  “That’s it. I don’t know anything else.”

  “How’d he pick you for the job?”

  “Don’t know. Never said. Just said someone recommended me for it,” Ackers replied.

  “Know where we can find this guy or how to contact him?”

  “No idea. He contacted me. Don’t have a name, address, or nothing.”

  Cain looked at Lawson and put his hands up, exasperated, thinking they weren’t going to get any more information that was useful out of Ackers. He seemed like a perfect patsy. Someone who’d do anything for money and didn’t ask too many questions and wasn’t wise enough to cover his own tracks. He was too dumb to be in charge of anything or have much knowledge of it.

  “I think that’s about all we’re gonna get from him,” Lawson said.

  “Probably.”

  “Hey, wait, you guys gonna call an ambulance?” Ackers asked, worried he’d get left behind.

  “How bout a Hertz?” Cain asked, raising his gun at Ackers head.

  “Cain! He’s not who we’re after,” Lawson yelled, hoping to get Cain to stand down.

  Cain looked at her and nodded, pulling the gun down. “I know.”

  Cain then suddenly brought the gun back up and fired, hitting Ackers in the thigh on his other leg. Lawson jumped, shocked that Cain actually fired, though somewhat relieved that he didn’t kill the man.

  “Now it seems you’re shot in both legs. Looks like you ain’t going anywhere for a while,” Cain stated.

  “You gotta call an ambulance,” Ackers painfully shouted.

  “Well, here’s the deal,” Cain started. “There’s a dead man there who’s been shot. You can’t move cause you’ve been shot. Looks like you two turned on each other.”

  “You’re crazy!”

  “Could be. I’m gonna take that bag of heroin. Except for one pack. I’m gonna leave that here between the two of you. Between the drugs, the guns, and the dead body, I wouldn’t put too much stock in your future.”

  “You can’t get away with that.”

  “If you mention a word about us being here I will find the hospital they take you to and I’ll put a bullet in your head,” Cain warned. “And since I’m calling the ambulance I’ll know where that is.”

  “My legs feel like they’re on fire!” Ackers yelled.

  “Good. Well, you take care.”

  Cain and Lawson gathered up the bag of drugs and the money and left the warehouse, Ackers still rolling around in agony. As they drove away, Cain called 911 and let them know there was a big drug deal going down at the warehouse.

  “So what do we have now?” Lawson asked.

  “A whole lot of nothing.”

  “Well, we now know Kurylenko was the man who hired him. He identified his picture.”

  “But we’re not any closer to finding him than we were before. Not one bit closer,” Cain responded. “He could be anywhere.”

  “That reminds me, how was your trip?”

  “It was OK.”

  “Productive?” Lawson wondered.

  “We’ll find out.”

  Lawson dropped Cain off at his apartment and went back to the office. Cain went up to his apartment, concern hitting his face as he got to the door. There was a white envelope taped to the door with Cain’s name written on it. He ripped it off the door and hurried inside; worried that something happened to Heather. He barged in and didn’t see her anywhere. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing at attention.

  “Heather!” he yelled out.

  Cain rushed into the bedroom, half expecting to see her lifeless body draped over the bed. To his relief, his fears were unfounded. He double checked the closets and under the bed but there was still no sign of her. Partly easing his fears was there were no signs of a struggle and no blood either. He thought maybe she’d taken a shower but he didn’t hear the water running. He went into the bathroom and stumbled back against the wall, seeing Heather’s body in the bathtub.

  “Heather!” he shouted.

  Heather opened her eyes and jumped, startled by Cain’s shouting.

  “You’re OK?” Cain asked, kneeling down beside her.

  “Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be? I figured since you were gone I’d take a bath. I guess I fell asleep,” she casually replied.

  Cain looked up at the ceiling and sighed, thankful that she was OK.

  “What’s the matter with you? Why do you seem so jumpy?” Heather wondered.

  “Well I saw this envelope taped to the door, then I come in and can’t find you anywhere and you don’t respond to me calling you, then I guess I just feared the worst.”

  “Aww, I’m sorry baby,” she said, kissing his lips to make him feel better.

  Cain helped Heather get out of the tub as she put a towel on. They kissed a little longer, helping Cain to calm down as his heart was still racing from worrying.

  “So what’s in the envelope?” Heather asked out of curiosity.

  “I don’t know. I didn’t look inside yet.”

  “I guess I’ll get dressed,” she whispered. “Unless you have some other plans?”

  “Maybe later,” Cain smiled.

  Cain went into the living room to check the contents of the envelope as Heather got dressed in the bedroom. He opened it and took out a piece of paper. It was typewritten with just a single sentence on it.

  “I know who the girl in the picture is,” Cain read aloud.

  Cain turned the paper over to make sure nothing was written on the back side and double checked the envelope in case something else was in there but he came up empty. Just that single sentence was all there was. Heather came out a minute later brushing her hair dressed in shorts and a tank top.

  “Anything good?” she asked.

  “You mean besides you?”

  “In the envelope, silly.”

  “How am I supposed to concentrate when you come out looking like that?” Cain asked.

  “Like what?”

  “Sexy and beautiful.”

  “Oh stop,” Heather said. “I’m just wearing shorts and a tank top.”

  “That’s what I mean. Something so simple and you still look like a runway model.”

  “Well I don’t really agree with you but I’m not gonna stop you from saying it,” she smiled. “So what was in the envelope?”

  Cain handed her the letter so she could see it for herself. She read it and also looked on the back to see if something else was written.

  “Is this it?” she asked.

  “Seems like it.”

  “That’s weird.”

  “Did someone knock on the door?” Cain wondered.

  “No. I didn’t hear anything.”

  “A noise or anything?�
��

  “No. Nothing. Who do you think it came from?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Well how many people know about that picture?” Heather asked.

  “It’s a small list. Us, the guy that took it, Lawson, Sanders, and the analyst that crosschecked it,” Cain replied.

  “Could there be more?”

  “I don’t know. Sanders kept it and said he was gonna keep checking on it. Maybe he showed it around and somebody knows something.”

  “Maybe you should tell him about this. He might know who it was,” Heather said.

  Cain listened to Heather’s advice and grabbed his phone. He called Sanders to ask him about the photo.

  “Yes, Mr. Cain?” Sanders answered.

  “I was just out chasing down a lead,” Cain started before being interrupted.

  “Yes. I know all about what happened with Ackers. Shelly turned a report in already.”

  “Well when I got back I found an envelope attached to my door.”

  “What was in it?”

  “It just said they knew who the girl in the picture was,” Cain informed him. “Only a small group of people know about that picture. I thought maybe you had showed it around and someone recognized it or something.”

  “Hmm. Well I guess that’s possible.”

  “You don’t know who it might’ve been?” Cain wondered.

  “Not off hand I don’t. I’ll keep checking on it for you though,” Sanders replied.

  Cain hung up and put the phone down then faced Heather.