Bare Nerve (2 page)

Ivan Kirch was a man who had everything, and he knew it. He looked at the picture on his desk of his beautiful redheaded wife and their two sons. The boys had inherited his blond hair and his wife’s good looks. They would never have to go to bed hungry or fear their father’s hands the way he had.

He had been a rough-looking man until the plastic surgery almost ten years ago. When his boss, Maksim, had been captured by authorities, Ivan had seen his opportunity to take over the business. He promised himself he’d make none of Maksim’s mistakes.

The first thing he did was change everything about himself so there would be no connection between his new identity and Demetri Andreev. He’d kept his contacts in the arms-dealing world and continued to act as the middleman in deals. But he’d started small, as he’d known he’d have to.

And he’d needed money.

His journey to America had made sense. It was where Maksim was being held. At first he’d hoped to bribe a jailer to free his friend, but that hadn’t been easy. And breaking Maksim out of prison wasn’t an option. So he’d walked away from his boss and brother and never looked back.

Sometimes, though, late at night, he did read the articles on the Internet about Maksim…the so-called Merchant of Death.

Ivan knew he himself hadn’t led a life that was blameless, but today, sitting, in his Seattle office and looking out his window on Puget Sound, he felt a sense of well-being at how far he’d come. And at the fact that his life was exactly as he’d made it.

It was hard to let go of the boy he’d been, and he had clawed his way out of the poverty and violence that had been the Moscow of his youth. He’d been born and raised during the Cold War and had been trained to fight for the Soviet regime against the allied countries. He would have been a good spy if he’d been better at taking orders.

He wasn’t a big man. Fighting wasn’t something he was good at unless he could level the playing field with a knife or handgun. He liked that about weapons.

Ivan had made it his life’s work to make sure wars were fought with weapons—that the poor and downtrodden of the world had the guns and ammo they needed to fight back against their oppressors.

He laughed to himself. He sounded like a saint, which he wasn’t. He did it for the money these days. Frieda required a lot of cash to make sure the boys lived their lifestyle. And Ivan didn’t mind. Making money was something he was good at.

He had become something of an actor over the years. He was forty-five and had lived longer than he’d ever expected. Most days he was amazed at the life he lived now. Amazed at the softness of this world in Seattle. Most of the computer people were workaholics who thought the business world was cutthroat, but Ivan knew what real cutthroat was. It was knowing that if you screwed up a deal, you were dead. Really dead—not just fired with no hopes of a recommendation.

His intercom buzzed, and he answered it. “This is Ivan.”

“Marcus wants to see you in his office.”

Ivan glanced at his printed calendar. He wasn’t much of a computer man. As much as he liked being able to check information on the Internet, he didn’t use his computer for much more than that. Paper could be burned, but computer hard drives were always traceable.

“We have a one-on-one scheduled for this afternoon, can’t he wait for that?”

“I will ask him. Also, your wife called to say that Nica has soccer practice this afternoon at four.”

“Make sure that’s on my calendar.”

“I have.”

Less than five minutes later, Tiffany buzzed back. “He’d like to meet with you now.”

“Let his office know I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Ivan said.

“I told him you had a meeting with your staff in fifteen minutes, and he asked that we push it back.”

“Very well. Thank you, Tiffany.”

“You’re welcome, Ivan. I also rescheduled the rest of your day. I’ll reprint your calendar and leave it on your desk.”

“Thank you.”

Ivan hung up the phone and sat back in his chair. He wasn’t worried about a meeting with the CEO of the company. Though he had been embezzling money for the last five years, he’d been careful to cover his tracks. And even
he
had an exit strategy.

He did a quick check of his accounts online and saw no red flags, such as holds or pending amounts. He used the money from AlberTron to do initial buys for rebels. Some of the groups he sold weapons to couldn’t afford to pay up front, so he covered them at a nice interest rate.

He closed his browser and walked down the hall to his boss’s office. He wished sometimes that Maksim could see this. Could see the way Ivan had taken the legacy of all that Maksim had left behind and carved this life out of it.

His brother had been the only one Demetri had ever really cared about. He had his boys now, though, and he hoped they grew up to be as close as he and his brother had been.

But Demetri knew no matter how close the bonds of family, at the end of the day the only one you could count on was yourself.

He’d made his life by taking care of himself, and that was why he was sitting in this plush office and Maksim was rotting in jail.

And as much as he loved his brother and had always looked up to him, Demetri knew there was no way he was going to end up the way Maksim had.

A
nna walked into the conference room and found Charity and Justine already seated in their chairs. Because Sam only communicated with them through the Internet and a one-way video feed, they sat in large, executive-style leather chairs with small laptop desks in front of them.

The far end of the room was equipped with a large flat-screen TV they used to monitor several news feeds. Each of them could upload information from their own laptops to the TV, and Sam often sent them information on the screen when they were all in a meeting like this one.

“Now that you are all here, let’s begin,” Sam said.

Anna related everything she could find on Ivan Kirch. “I’ve asked for a search on everyone who’s disappeared within a five-year age range of Ivan. I want to see if he has any other connections. On the surface he looks like a family guy who likes a wealthy lifestyle. But to be honest, he isn’t spending beyond his salary. I would feel a hell of a lot better about this arrest if we knew what he was using the money he’s taken for.”

“It may be hookers or gambling,” Justine said. “In the initial report we got on him it showed frequent trips to Las Vegas and European gambling hot spots.”

“I checked that,” Anna said a bit snappishly. “His gambling checks out. He’s done a really good job of making it seem as if he’s nothing more than an executive.”

“I think surveillance would be the best idea. Do we have anyone in Seattle who can do it for us?” Charity asked.

“I’ll take care of that,” Sam said. “We’ll see what we find. I’ve already contacted Marcus and told him only that we found the leak and asked him to schedule a meeting first thing tomorrow morning so we can talk to him and his executive staff.”

“Good. I should find out more about Ivan while we’re on the plane,” Anna said.

“Law enforcement will meet you all at the airport tonight so you can get the arrest warrants. They will facilitate the arrest,” Sam said.

“What time are we leaving?”

“The corporate jet is fueled and ready to go. It’s up to you ladies. Just keep me posted.”

“We will,” Charity said. “Anna, when do you think you’ll have what you need?”

“We can leave in an hour or so. I want to make a few calls, but I can get information in the air just as easily as I can here.”

“Sounds good,” Sam said. “Justine, are you okay to leave that soon?”

“Yes, Nigel is picking up Piper in twenty minutes, so I’m good to go. And no offense, but I’m ready for some action after sitting in the office for the last week.”

Sam laughed, and Anna smiled. Justine wasn’t really cut out for desk work. Maybe their team wouldn’t be breaking up any time soon. Anna would have to see what the next case was and how it affected everyone.

“Anna, I need a word with you,” Sam said.

Charity and Justine got up to leave, and Anna relaxed back against her chair. Though they couldn’t see Sam, he could see them, and she wanted to at least give the appearance of everything being normal.

“What did you need?” Anna asked.

“I’m here if you need to talk about anything,” Sam said.

“Case related? I think this is pretty straightforward.”

“No, not case related…life related. I know there have been a lot of changes with Charity and Justine lately, and I wanted to be sure you knew that whatever they decide, I’m not closing this office.”

“That is good to know, Sam. I’m not ready to retire yet.”

“I suspected as much. Are you still happy working here?”

“Yes, of course. Why?”

“I have another team I can move you to if this isn’t working for you.”

Anna knew Sam had teams working all over the world. She’d done extensive research trying to find his identity when he’d first offered her this job, but all trails led nowhere. Sam Liberty was a man who didn’t want to be found.

There were things in her past even Sam didn’t know. Things she’d managed to hide from the world but never from herself. And she freely acknowledged that as long as someone wasn’t breaking the law, they were entitled to their secrets.

“Thank you for the offer. I was feeling a bit lost with all the changes that have been going on.”

“I can understand that.”

“It’s not a job thing,” Anna said. “I really enjoyed this case for AlberTron.”

“Marcus has a lot of questions for us. He was convinced it was a competitor and not an inside man. He’d be ecstatic if you could tie Kirch to a competitor.”

“I’ll try, but so far I can’t find any answers I really need. Kirch shows no signs of spending any of the money. I’m still digging.”

“That
is
a bit odd, isn’t it? We usually see a pattern of spending. Why do you thing we haven’t?”

“I think he’s hiding another identity, and I have to connect the two. I’m pretty close to unraveling it. I can feel the answer waiting right around the corner.”

“You have good instincts for that kind of thing.”

Sam rarely complimented any of them. “Thank you.”

“You already knew that,” Sam said with a wry tone that made her smile.

“Very true. I am the best at this.” There was no use being shy about her skills. She was one of the top computer experts in this field, and she knew it.

“I know, Anna.”

Her computer beeped as it finished a search, and she glanced down at the screen. She was shocked at what she saw there. Oh. My. God. This wasn’t what she’d expected to find. “Sam, we have a problem.”

“What is it?”

“Ivan Kirch is also known as Demetri Andreev—the younger brother of Maksim Andreev. Demetri is now the top dog in gun running and black-market weapons sales.”

Sam said nothing, but Anna knew it was because he was reading the files she was sending him. She couldn’t believe the connection at first. But the information was accurate, and the photos were detailed.

“Several governments have been looking for Demetri….” Sam said. “I need to make a few calls, Anna. Alert the rest of the team to this new development and gather them here in the conference room. We need to hold off on arresting him.”

“Why? We know where he is. This is a prime opportunity.”

“We don’t have clearance to go after him for anything other than embezzling.”

“I know that, but why should that matter to whoever is tracking him?”

“Because they were paid to do a job. We can’t step on anyone’s toes.”

“Sam, this is not like you. What are you hiding?” Anna asked.

“Nothing. This isn’t the type of suspect we can simply move on without approval. There are implications down the line that need to be considered.”

“Money and government games,” Anna said. “I thought we didn’t play political games.”

“We don’t. But Demetri Andreev is a big fish. Give me ten minutes. Liberty out.”

Sam disconnected the call. Anna sat at her computer reading the information scrolling rapidly across the screen. No wonder Ivan Kirch seemed too good to be true.

If she hadn’t followed her hunch and had run his photo through an international database, her team would have gone to try to arrest a man known for killing his enemies.

She sent an IM to Justine and Charity so she wouldn’t have to track them down in the office.

Less than a minute later, Justine and Charity entered the room.

“Holy hell. I can’t believe this. I know I said embezzlers were boring, but you had to dig
this
up,” Justine said.

Anna was streaming information from her computer to the flat screen at the end of the conference room.

“Demetri Andreev…are you sure?” Justine asked.

“Yes. I’ve sent you the same files. The connection isn’t as hazy as you’d think it would be. Once I found this link, everything kind of unfolded.”

“It always does,” Charity said. “So why is he working as a CFO in the US?”

“I don’t know,” Anna said. “And why is he taking the money from AlberTron?”

“Once a criminal, always a criminal,” Justine said. “He probably thought it would be easy and no one would notice.”

“I think there’s more to it than that. He doesn’t need the money. He makes an insane amount from his legitimate work,” Charity said.

“I know,” Anna said. She wasn’t a good profiler, because of her own sense of justice. She had always believed someone was innately good or bad. Good followed the rules and kept the world safe, and the bad did things in that gray area. She didn’t like the gray area and had never believed that one person could walk freely in that area outside the law and still be good.

Charity tapped Ivan/Demetri’s picture on the screen. “When did you say Ivan first showed up in the databases?”

“Eleven years ago, why?”

“That was when his brother went to jail,” Charity said. “He must have changed his identity when he realized his family wouldn’t be protected if he didn’t.”

“What family?” Justine asked.

“His wife and kids,” Anna said. It really made her mad to realize Ivan/Demetri hadn’t kept his new persona clean for his family. She might have respected him a little bit if he’d created this new life and kept it legal, but instead he’d left himself vulnerable to their investigation. “Do his kids mean nothing to him?”

Justine shrugged. “I think men like him don’t worry about getting caught.”

“Why wouldn’t he? He saw what could happen when his brother was arrested,” Anna said.

“He probably thinks he’s smarter or something,” Charity said.

“What did Sam say?”

“That we are in a holding pattern. He needs to get clearance for us to move.”

“Wow,” Justine said. “If that’s the case, you must have cracked someone else’s mission, Anna.”

Anna shrugged. She didn’t think that was the entire reason Sam wanted them to wait. Her father had been an ambassador for most of his life, and Anna had learned early on that governments always had an agenda, even when dealing with criminals. There was always someone else they wanted to find. Some bigger fish they were willing to negotiate with a criminal to get to.

No matter how vile the crimes.

“Damn, girl, you look pissed off,” Justine said.

Anna forced her normal, serene expression back on her face. “I’m not pissed.”

“Yes, you are.”

“No, I’m not. When a British woman’s pissed, she’s drunk, and I’m clearly not.”

“Well, you’re mad as hell. What’s up?”

“I just don’t like seeing someone like Kirch get off with a lighter sentence because we think we need information from him. I can find the same information.”

“Yes, you can. But governments are looking for bigger arrests.”

“Bigger than Kirch? He’s a merchant of death. There isn’t an uprising in the world that Demetri Andreev hasn’t supplied the weapons for—sometimes on both sides of the war.”

“Sam will let us get him,” Charity said. “We need to make sure we’re ready to go. This isn’t going to be the cakewalk I thought it would be.”

“Things are never as easy as I expect them to be,” Anna said. And that was the truth. She’d spent her entire life trying to make the world a better place.

“That’s always been my experience, but I keep hoping life is easier for my friends,” Justine said.

“Me, too,” Anna said. Ivan Kirch wasn’t going to know what hit him by the time she got finished with him. She couldn’t tolerate men who thought they were free to act above the law. And if Sam let Ivan Kirch aka Demetri Andreev get a plea deal, she was going to be very disappointed. Oh, hell, who was she kidding? She’d be pissed—American style.

Jack Savage wasn’t the kind of man who cared what anyone else thought of him. So when he got the summons to DC, his first instinct was to ignore it. The last time he was summoned to the Pentagon, he found out his superior—the man he’d given his loyalty to—had betrayed his team. Jack had had to plug the leak and clean up the mess. And Jack wasn’t anyone’s butler.

It had been a long day—hell, it had been a long year, and it was only February. Snow blew by the window in sideways gusts. Jack wanted nothing more than to enjoy a few days’ R & R at his home on Florida’s gulf coast. It was nothing more than a three-room cottage his great-grandfather had built years ago, but it was his place, more home than his fancy Arlington condo or this office had ever been.

He no longer worked for the US government. Being betrayed by his superior officer had taught him that both loyalty and justice were hard to come by. When he’d built his own team, he’d looked for other men who’d been similarly disillusioned.

They were the Savage Seven, and in most circles they were referred to as mercenaries. And Jack didn’t give a shit about that. Mercenaries had been around as long as mankind had been warring…in other words, forever.

And he wasn’t suited for any other kind of work except fighting and killing.

His team met him at the airport. They looked out of place among the tourists and business people waiting around for their flights. All his men were weapons, with instincts honed to a razor’s edge.