The Code Within: A Thriller (Trent Turner Series) (12 page)

Kozlov Bratva compound, Chicago, Illinois

“YES, MY OLD friend, there is nothing to be concerned about,” Pavel Kozlov said. “Everything is under control. The only change may be with the schedule. We may have to move things up.” The Bratva boss anxiously clenched his fist as he considered the silence on the other end of the line. Kozlov looked at the steel door to his office, and then down at the calendar pad on his desk. He picked up a pen and traced a circle over and over before he started talking again. “It is not a problem if we do. We have already planned for such a circumstance.”

There was another long pause before Yuri Khrushchev spoke. “We only have one chance at this, Pavel.”

Khrushchev was an old-school spy, once the head of Russia’s Sixteenth Directorate, responsible for the KGB’s signals intelligence and communications interception, or SIGINT for those who ran in his circles. Kozlov’s mentor was a deliberate man and would respond only after careful consideration.

“This operation has cost us far too much,” he continued. “The organization has risked everything to make this happen. Failure is not an option.”

Kozlov shifted in his chair and said, “Yes, I understand. We will not fail. The operation will be our greatest success, and we will soon rise to power once again.”

Khrushchev didn’t respond immediately. “What about our loose end?”

“I just received word that it will be taken care of within the hour.”

“That is something I have heard before, Pavel,” Khrushchev said.

Kozlov knew the hardline communist on the other end of the line wasn’t a man who gave second chances, but the Bratva leader was still confident their underground organization hadn’t been compromised. Before he could respond, Khrushchev continued.

“This Turner. The American. Whatever you call him. This is a matter that we cannot afford to leave unresolved.”

“Yes, I agree.”

“Now that he knows we’re after him, the job will be considerably more difficult. Nobody can know we are in control before the operation is complete.”

“He will be dealt with. I have men putting the squeeze on him in Washington, DC as we speak. He won’t know what hit him.” There was another lengthy pause, so he continued. “I have another angle,” he said simply, not wanting to elaborate.

“Keep me informed. And what of the senator’s son?”

“The matter is being taken care of.”

“He’s dead. Don’t you think it’s a little late to take care of it?”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “What I meant is that we will make an example of the one who chose him. It will keep the hackers quiet until this is over. Then we will get rid of them all.”

“I want results, not promises,” Khrushchev replied, far from satisfied. “I need to know when we will be moving forward with the operation so I can make sure everything is ready here. The Group is meeting on Sunday. Let me know if Andrei should move forward.”

“Of course.”

“I will need to know as soon as possible. Our man cannot be in the United States when this happens.”

Kozlov knew exactly whom he was talking about. It would be a complicated situation if the Russian President was trapped in America at the G8 summit when all hell broke loose. He recognized the displeasure in Khrushchev’s voice before he heard the line disconnect.

He headed out of his office and down the dank hallway of the compound to The Dungeon. The Russian pounded his already-clenched fist on the metal door and glared at the camera above until the door opened. He stomped into the room.

“Mikhail, where is Dimitri?” Kozlov said in an angry tone.

Fear filled the room as the hackers diverted their eyes from his direction.

Mikhail stood quickly. “Please follow me this way. He is inside the server room.”

Mikhail led him across to the server room door and affixed his eye to the retinal scanning device until he heard the lock disengage. He opened the door to the sound of a swooshing noise as the server room depressurized. Dimitri Sokov stood over a workstation built into one of the large computer racks.

“What have you found, Dimitri?” Kozlov asked.

Sokov was visibly frustrated. “Nothing yet, but I’m getting close.”

“Are all of your hackers present?”

“No, not all of them,” Mikhail said.

Kozlov’s face began to redden as he digested the news. “What did you say?”

“There are two that are not present right now. Sofia has returned to Russia to help work on the operation there, and Dennis, one of the Americans, had a dentist’s visit.”

Kozlov’s eyes flashed with anger.

“It’s something he had planned several days ago,” Mikhail added. “He has a problem with his tooth.”

Kozlov looked to Sokov and said, “Is this Dennis capable of clearing his tracks, Dimitri?”

“They are all capable of such a thing,” he said intensely. “We only bring highly skilled people into an operation such as this.”

“Then find him,” Kozlov barked, his head cocked angrily to the side. “Yuri thinks very highly of you, Dimitri, but a problem with this operation will not be tolerated, no matter how long you have been friends.”

“I have already sent our best man to bring him back. His computer skills will be of no use in this situation.”

Apartment complex, Gaithersburg, Maryland

THEY HAD BEEN driving for less than fifteen minutes when they reached Melody Millar’s apartment complex. Maria Soller was considering the trouble her brother and boyfriend had gotten themselves into when she snapped, “No, no, turn right here, Mom.”

Her mother jumped at the sudden sound of her voice.

“Are you sure, honey?” Matilde Soller asked.

“Yeah, it’s one of those crazy apartment complexes,” she said, not wanting her mother to follow the instructions given by the car’s built-in GPS. “It’s like a maze. We can go this way and won’t have to hunt for a parking spot. It’s the way Etzy and I went there.”

Mentioning his name increased the sense of urgency. Maria directed her mother through a few short zigzags until they came to a dead end flanked by two empty parking spots.

“See.” Maria pointed across a short grassy field. “That’s where she’s staying. Their parking lot is always full. This way is much easier.”

The narrow clearing offered a perfect view of the bottom-floor apartment. Its sliding glass door opened up into the connecting field.

“Is that her sitting on the couch?” Matilde asked.

A sense of relief began to run through Maria as she exhaled. “Yeah, I think so.”

“Honey, it looks like she’s fine. Let me go and check on her to make sure. She should come with us until we get this all sorted out.”

“Are you crazy?” Maria said nervously. “She’ll freak out if some random old lady comes knocking on her door. I’ll go. Just keep a lookout, okay? It’s really dark and this is kind of creepy.”

Matilde Soller shook her head as if to wipe away the comment. “Maybe we should both—”

“No, Mom,” Maria said. “I don’t want you to scare her.”

“Okay, honey, whatever you say.” Matilde raised an insistent eyebrow and said, “But I want you to turn around immediately if anything doesn’t look right. Okay?”

“Sure thing, Mom.”

Maria made her way out the door and jogged across the field. She wrapped her knuckle softly on the glass door, but the television was on too loud for Melody Millar to hear her. The second time was louder, and the young woman looked up in surprise before hopping to her feet and walking to the door.

Melody slid the door open, the regret in her eyes apparent. “Hey, I’m sorry about Max,” she said.

Maria fought back tears, and the two embraced for a moment.

“What are you doing here? I mean, with all that’s going on…”

She pulled out her iPhone and showed her the message from Etzy without saying a word.

Melody looked up at Maria with tears welling in her eyes.

“I’m fine, but…” Maria started, and then breathed in deep. “Come with me, Melody. My mom is waiting for us in the car.” She pointed to the other side of the field.

“I can’t,” she said starting to panic. “What if he tries to call me? I don’t have a cell phone.”

Bright lights from the parking lot forced Maria to shade her eyes with her hand. She wasn’t sure what she should do. “Let me go talk to my mom. I’ll be right back.”

She turned and ran out into the dark field. Her eyes hadn’t yet adjusted from the bright lights when she found herself sprawled out on the ground.

“Shh,” she heard as she tried to see through the remnant spots of light to get her bearings.

“What are you doing, Mom?” Maria said, realizing they had just run into each other.

“Shh. Turn around and look,” she said quietly.

Maria was scared. She’d never seen her mother like this. She turned around and saw five men exit three black SUVs and converge on Melody’s apartment. “Holy shit…”

Maria got up and remained crouched down next to her mother watching in disbelief. The men quickly slid the glass door open and flashed some sort of identification as they surrounded the teenager. Two men had entered through the front door and were searching the rest of the apartment. They watched in horror as the men directed the young woman out the glass door and marched her to the waiting SUVs.

“That was too close, honey,” her mother said. “Why didn’t you bring her with you?”

“She didn’t want to leave, in case Etzy tried to call. She doesn’t have a cell phone, so…” she said with a disappointed look on her face.

“Poor thing.”

“Oh my God, what do we do now, Mom? We’ve got to do something.”

Adams Morgan, Washington, DC

ETZY MILLAR WAS still reeling as he sat in the cab next to the assassin who had killed his friend. His mood had descended to beyond grim. His sister was the most important person in his life, although his girlfriend, Maria Soller, was becoming a close second. He couldn’t believe the online account he used to try to get help was some sort of a setup. He couldn’t think of any other way the man would have been able to find him. These were desperate times for the hacker.

Millar flinched when the killer’s arm moved. He watched closely as the man wrapped his knuckles on the Plexiglas that separated them from the driver’s compartment and said, “Take a right up here on Columbia and let us out in front of the park. It’s three blocks up on the right.”

The cabbie followed his instruction and pulled over. Millar read the sign: “Kalorama Recreational Center.” There was a small building with a driveway.

The cabdriver turned his head toward the back of the cab and said, “That’ll be eight dollars and ninety-three cents.”

The killer flipped a ten-dollar bill through the hole in the divider. He glanced out the back window and clamped his hand firmly around Millar’s arm. The hacker opened the passenger door and felt himself being ushered out.

“Remember, if you do anything stupid, your sister is dead,” the killer scoffed as he guided him slowly down the narrow driveway.

Millar was scared and confused. The physical threat bearing down on him was minimized by the concern he had for his sister. He could feel a weapon violating the small of his back and had already resigned himself to expect the worst. He’d soon be joining his friend.

He could sense that the assassin was on edge. The cab had stopped three times on the short drive to this place, and he was certain something was about to happen. He felt like he was walking the plank in the dark trying to anticipate the moment he would fall.

His only consolation was that the killer hadn’t searched him. His cell phone was still tucked into his back pocket, and it gave him a tiny glimmer of hope. He guessed he had sent the text message to Maria about fifteen minutes ago, thirty at the most, and he had no idea how she would react. He forced himself to consider the reality of what was happening. How Maria took the news didn’t really matter. This was the man who killed Max, which to him meant he’d never see her again.

Their pace slowed as a small building appeared on the right. He noticed the killer’s steps forward seemed more deliberate. He struggled to see into the dark of night, knowing they had reached their destination.

HE WAS ON full alert. Trent Turner now knew the man who had hit his car was somehow connected to his brother’s death, but the thing he couldn’t work out was why the man had taken a cab. The vehicle moved slowly and had stopped a couple of times along the way. He was certain there was something more to this as he watched the cab pull over once again, this time to let the two passengers out. He had the feeling he had been invited to an impromptu meeting that he wasn’t expected to leave.

Turner exited the cab and silently darted through a playground toward Etzy Millar and the man who had grabbed him as they entered the park. The operative zeroed in on the man who was manhandling the hacker. Despite his doubts about the situation, Turner knew this was his only chance to pick up Etzy Millar alive. He thought about why the suspect might leave himself so vulnerable and understood the killer’s thinking. The assassin knew Turner would want to extract information.

The operative hopped a low fence and landed onto the narrow road. He changed gears to a full sprint and, as he approached his target, he could see the assassin holding a weapon against the hacker’s waist. It was dark, and things were moving too fast to get a clear view, so he’d have to take a chance and go for it.

Turner lined up his shots, first knocking the weapon loose and then delivering a stabbing blow to the captor’s rib cage. The assassin crumpled to the ground.

Etzy Millar clutched his laptop and ran toward the small building. The hacker fumbled with the doorknob, and when he found it was locked, his face turned to a mask of fear.

Turner looked down at the man on the ground as he struggled to straighten himself from the ball of pain he’d curled into. The operative smiled. This would be his first chance to use a new toy.

He took a step toward Millar and then saw someone emerge from the shadows of the building. He immediately recognized the man with the thin frame and Washington Nationals cap cocked to the side. It confirmed what he already knew. This was a setup.