Calling the Threats

This is a short story from my series titled Family Trials. The series is long and one I hope to publish one day. Until then, I write these short stories. Enjoy!

NaNae


Nikolai Miroslav walked into his office and closed the door, locking it behind him. The lunch he'd had with his son had been disturbing to begin with and the new girlfriend's arrival had only made it worse. Caelan Stone. It was a name he hadn't heard in years even though he had thought about her every day. He was told of her death by her own family, people Nikolai had once through he could trust. Sharp, Stone, Diogenes. They were all the same with the same lies even if for different, nobler reasons than the others.

         The fact remained that Caelan had changed and not for the better. The woman he saw now was cold, almost heartless at times, though she tried to hide it. The girl he remembered had been loving, caring, precocious, and curious. Together she and Andrei had caused no end to trouble and now they were together again. They didn't remember each other, but Nikolai could remember. Even Caelan's father had said he wouldn't have been surprised if the two married.

         Together again. The mere thought filled Nikolai with joy. He had heard the rumors of Caelan's death in a boating accident off the coast of the Diogenes Island in Greece. He had seen the pictures of the body that was supposedly his goddaughter's mangled corpse and he had mourned. They had sworn to protect her and they had failed. Even before James staged his death they had failed in keeping her safe. She had not known the dangers of her family until the wars had begun. No one had known was Silas was truly capable of until he had gone too far. Nikolai would never forgive himself for not paying attention. He had known. He had seen the test results of Silas' earliest victims and Caelan had been his victim later, after he'd had the chance to better his techniques.

         The number was familiar enough. Nikolai had thought he would never have to dial it again but he had also thought he would never again see his goddaughter alive. Now that she was under his protection she would be kept safe and he would make sure she never became a victim of her family again and that family included Sharp and Section even if Caelan didn't know who Ted Sharp really was.

"My name is Nikolai Miroslav. I'm calling to speak to Ted Sharp."

         "One moment," the woman said and Nikolai relaxed in his chair. He had thought a call from him would prompt Sharp into disappearing again like the coward he was, but maybe this time he'd finally get some answers from his former partner. Maybe Sharp would take responsibility for what he had done. Not only what he had done to Caelan, but to the rest of his family as well.

         "Nikolai." Sharp's voice came on the line and all the anger Nikolai had felt for the past two days rose to the surface, but he stayed in control. It was his talent and the gift that had kept him alive through the years as a defector in the KGB.
         
        "Ted," Nikolai answered coldly. He would not be kind to this man. Not now, never again. The lies Ted told had gone too far and did too much damage.

         Ted laughed. "I see you've met Caelan."

         "The shell of what my goddaughter once was? Yes, I've met her."

         "She's hardly a shell, comrade; but you have not seen her in thirteen years. What else do you expect?"

         "I expected her to be saved from your wife and son, Sharp. I see that was too much to expect from you or Stone."

         "We believed she was dead."
         "I doubt that."

         "Do you not trust me, Nikolai?"

         "You know my answer to that. What did Silas do to Caelan?"

         "Ask her."

         "I'm asking you. I know damn well she told you or you extracted the information from her somehow. I know your methods; I brought many over from the Soviets, but not all."

         "Are you trying to threaten me, Nikolai?"

         "You would know it if I was threatening you, Sharp. What do you know?"

         "Why should I tell you anything?"

         "I could simply go tell her that her beloved father and grandfather are alive. I know that won't get you the results you want from her presence here. If anything, I think she might just leave your organization when she learns the truth."

         "I doubt she would believe you."

         "Do you want to test me?"

         Sharp sighed and Nikolai allowed himself a grin of satisfaction. He had always been able to manipulate Sharp and it had come in handy when they had created Section. Four men. Three spies and one civilian. Bringing Silas Macario into Section had been a mistake on their part; they had inadvertently given him access to everything he needed to destroy each of them. For his part, Nikolai had been waiting for the attack he knew would one day come. He hoped it wouldn't be in the form of his goddaughter. She seemed to have been through so much already and he didn't want to do anything else that might possibly hurt her.

         "Silas put her through hell, Nikolai. We didn't think his techniques were so advanced, but he succeeded with her."

         "Brainwashing?"

         "On a new level. These techniques shouldn't even exist yet, Nik. No one has ever seen anything like this. Three months of solid work gave us what you just saw. Silas went beyond any documented method and created his own."

         Nikolai didn't want to think about the implications of that statement. If Silas had advanced his methods so far as to turn a once loving, bright, and intelligent child into the almost heartless young woman Caelan now was, what did that mean for the world? A method of mental erasure so complete could be a vital asset to some governments. Most governments, he corrected himself. The Americans would want it and the British. French, German, Iraqi, Israeli; they all would want that power.

The power to give life and the power to take it away. It was only supposed to be a holy power but Silas had made it man's. It wasn't natural and it needed to be stopped. Silas needed to be stopped.

"How did it affect her?"

"We're not entirely sure. No one really knows what she was like before and we don't know how long Silas was using her."

"What else did he do?"

"You should remember what he likes."

"Where the hell is he?" Nikolai remembered very well what Silas liked. He had been the one to find the first child raped, tortured, and strangled in Silas' London flat. It had been because of his obsession with children that they had expelled him from Section One. Bitter, Silas had vowed to destroy them.

"I can't tell you that, Nikolai. We need Silas alive."

"He tortured your granddaughter, Sharp. How the hell can you sit there and tell me that you don't want him dead. You've gone soft. He's your kid, but you have to recognize that he isn't salvageable. If you don't kill him, I will."

"And you'll be charged."

"I'm going to protect Caelan. It's something you should have been doing. Or Heaven forbid her own father take responsibility for his children."

"Don't bring James into this, Nik."

"He is a factor as much as your damn son is. Neither, hell, none of you deserve to live. You and James left Caelan in that place with Macario when you knew what he was capable of. Do you not feel anything about that?"

"What I feel or don't is none of your business."

Nikolai wanted to throw the phone across the room. Sharp had always grated on his nerves. The man was the most power hungry person he'd ever met and was willing to sacrifice everyone to achieve his goals and it sickened Nikolai. Sacrificing a child to a lunatic was unacceptable. Letting everyone who cared about that child believe she was dead for five years was unforgivable. No evidence, no trial, nothing should have been more important to them than Caelan's safety. Did Sharp not realize that only Caelan could build the case against the Diogenes family? As the sole heir she was the only person alive with that power. Her mother would never attempt it. Caelan was the only chance they had but she had to be kept sane to do such a thing.

"Here is what will happen, Sharp," Nikolai began once more. Controlled. This was not the mafia lord or the protective godfather. This was the mind of the former KGB officer and master interrogator. "You will not contact Caelan again. For all purposes you will forget that she ever came to you. You are not able to protect her and leaving her on that island with your lunatic son was not protecting her."

"Don't get righteous with me, Miroslav."

"Righteous? This is your family, Sharp. Caelan is my goddaughter but she is your blood. If you don't stay away and keep her out of this intelligence war, I will take Section from you and Stone. I brought in your financiers and I can take them away."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Try me."

"I won't give her over to you."

"You will lose Section."

"You can't get away with this."

"Try me. I will protect my family, Sharp. Protecting Caelan should have been your job. You couldn't handle it then and you can't handle it now. So I will. She is hereby one of my charges and will be protected from my enemies and you made a direct move against me by sending her here; you made yourself my enemy, Sharp and I think you remember what that means. If any of your people come here to extract her, I will have them shot on sight."

"You threats are meaningless. This does nothing to prove your power to me."

"Perhaps you should think about what this says about you to your subordinates. Out maneuvered by the Mafioso you tried to take down; that doesn't look good even for someone with your reputation. It might look worse. Few people know that I was once the primary financier of Section One."

"No negotiations?" Sharp was getting angry. It was in his voice and terse language he was using. They were clear indications that Sharp knew he was being backed into a corner and to be manipulated by a Mafioso was the ultimate insult. Even without them both being former intelligence officers. Or maybe because of it. Always enemies, sometimes comrades, never friends. There would never be trust.

"Is there something you think you can get out of this?"

"I need Caelan."

"You need to die," Nikolai said. "That is all you need."

"Caelan knows the family. She knows the current politics of the Diogenes family and who Vanessa is dealing with at the moment. We need that information if we ever plan on dealing with them in the near future."

"Get someone in the house than. I will not let you use Caelan for your games."

"These are not games."

"Marital discord," Nikolai said with a cold, humorless laugh. "How quaint."

"Your tricks are not going to work, Nikolai. I know you well. Nothing changes so much in so short a time."

"Psychological games are not your forte, Sharp. They never were for someone in our line of work."

"You always were good with the insults."

Nikolai smirked. "It's not and insult when it's the truth, Sharp. Remember well enough that you would not be alive if I hadn't been working against the government. I risked everything to create Section and by allowing you to take charge, I created the most dangerous enemies of the KGB by training our agents in Soviet tactics. I imagine that most of your agents would be dead or worse if not for my training."
"You're sure full of yourself aren't you?"

"I know what I'm capable of and I know what you're not capable of. You're a fool, Sharp, if you think you can take on my organization and my power and keep Section intact. I will destroy you and everything I helped build. You know I can do it and I won't hesitate if it will protect my goddaughter."

"Try it. I will not let you take Caelan and turn her against me."

"You've done that yourself. I know she doesn't like to trust you and what reason does she have? If she ever finds out the truth it will drive her crazy or worse."

"You know nothing."

"I'm going to do your job, Sharp. Caelan is under my protection and will remain so until she no longer needs it. I will make sure she gets help to deal with the residual problems she may have from Silas and his techniques as well as the emotional and physical abuse she suffered from Vanessa. I will never tell her of your involvement, or lack of, in her life nor will I mention that you are actually her beloved grandfather, Henri Macario. I will not tell her that her father is alive and that he willingly and openly staged his death with help from you and the assistance of her mother. I won't tell her these things because I love her and I will only help her. If she and Andrei decide to pursue their relationship further you will do nothing about it or I will tell her why you really sent her here."

"You think you know that reason?"

"I know you think I'm the biggest threat Section has and you would probably be right. If you cross me I will destroy you."

"Big talk."

"And you know I won't hesitate to carry out my threats. I was never a coward like you and Stone. I faced my problems. I made a mistake in trusting you, Stone, and Cassandra to keep Caelan safe and now I will rectify that. Send anyone here and I will kill them. Come here yourself, and I will dismantle Section. Contact Caelan again and I will dismantle Section. As of this moment, Sharp, we are enemies and I will not hesitate to do everything in my power to make you pay for the crimes you have committed."

"I suppose we are done here."

"Yes, we are."

"This is not the end, Nikolai."

"I never said it was," Nikolai answered. He was making plans. They both were, really. Nikolai knew from experience that Sharp would try to make contact with Caelan, probably the second their call ended. That one he would allow, but no subsequent calls. This would end. Sharp had manipulated his family long enough and it was time to face the monsters he had created. In his mind, however, Nikolai knew Sharp would never take responsibility. They had all helped create the monster that was now Silas Macario and there was nothing they could do to stop him short of murdering him. Nikolai knew this. He had watched what Silas had become and he knew it had only become worse over the years. If Caelan was any indication.

"This is war," Sharp replied after the long silence.

"Perhaps. Or it's your funeral."

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Miroslav."

Nikolai laughed. "I assure you, Ted, I will keep these. Good day, comrade."

Nikolai hung up without waiting for a response and he knew Sharp would get the message of that as a supreme insult. He wanted Sharp to make a move. In the world they had once lived in it was to be expected after such a call but he knew Sharp would wait. The man was a coward and wouldn't make a move that could jeopardize his power in any way or form.

Nikolai stood. There were preparations to make. The security Andrei had placed around Caelan needed to be tightened with the most loyal of the Miroslav guards assigned to her. He would brief them on what to look for; some of them were former intelligence officers and agents themselves. They would be the best able to protect Caelan without her knowing she was being protected. He wouldn't give her the chance to disappear. He couldn't lose his goddaughter again. For years he had been led to believe she was dead by her father and grandfather. Now he would make it so that they would not have access to her again. Perhaps it was vengeance. Perhaps it was something else, but he would keep her safe from anyone who tried to harm her. He would not lose her again.

~~~

         Ted Sharp glared at the phone he had just slammed into the receiver. He had not heard from Nikolai Miroslav since Caelan's supposed death on the Diogenes Island. Miroslav had been angry at Section for not ensuring Caelan's safety from her family. Caelan had been too valuable to remove from the Diogenes family or they might have done so. Leaving her there had been the best for all involved no matter what the final outcome had been.

         Now Nikolai knew what was going on and that was dangerous. Nikolai Miroslav had been one of the best Soviet interrogators of their time. Sharp knew what kind of dangers Nikolai could bring to play if provoked. With the former Soviet, it really was a life or death game and Nikolai had never been one to play by the rules.

         Sharp picked up the phone and dialed for a secure line before calling out. The number was mechanical to him but this time he was dialing it for an actual purpose.

         "Stone."

         "James. We have a problem."

         "And what would it be today?" James Stone asked. Sharp know he had interrupted something but he didn't care. If Section was going to war with Nikolai, James needed to be back in London to help. He knew Nikolai best. James would be able to know what Nikolai would do.

         "Nikolai Pyotrsovich Miroslav."

         "Ah. And what has our old comrade done this time that you find so bloody offensive?"

         "He wants to go to war for Caelan."

         "No." Sharp smirked. "Caelan is a free agent. You swore that, Sharp. You said she would not be forced into this life. She's free."

         "Free, yes, but she works for me, as do you."

         "Don't push me."

         "I'll simply call Silas then. I am sure he would love to know that Caelan is now under Nikolai's protection. He has wanted to kill Nikolai for years. This would give him the perfect reason. He never wanted to let Caelan go. I still don't understand how she escaped. Escaping from the Diogenes family is said to be impossible. I wonder if her controls are still in place. It should be easy enough to determine-"

         "What do you want?" James interrupted and Sharp allowed himself a grin of satisfaction. The only way to get James active was to mention the horrors of Caelan's childhood. The things they had both allowed Silas to put her through. The beatings, the brainwashing, the rapes, and the education. It was a dangerous and dirty job, but if it accomplished what Sharp wanted to accomplish then he would do it. He had needed the perfect subject to combine all of his son's research in to make the perfect Section agent. When Caelan had been allowed to escape the island, Sharp had brought Silas to Section to finalize the controls on her and turn her mind over to the Section doctors. James, of course, didn't know how far Sharp had gone to control her and Ted would never tell him those truths. No one would. He'd made sure no one but he and his son knew just how deep Caelan's programming was and how much remained.

         "I want you, here. I will not let Caelan go to Nikolai without a fight."

         "He can protect her."

         "Do you really want your daughter to become his enforcer? I'll admit she is not the typical type, but she could get much accomplished. Certainly much more than her current paramour. No emotions, no feelings. She is the perfect killer."

         "There is still a chance."

         "Why don't you go see her and determine that for yourself? I'm sure you'll discover just how much the past years with Silas and Vanessa have affected her. She is not the little girl you left behind."

         "You have no room to talk, Sharp. I do recall that your own daughters believe you died even though the rest of us know differently."

         Sharp laughed. "Yes, you did get your method from me. I wonder what your dear wife would say. Never mind. There are more important items to discuss. Nikolai will be going to war with Section and you knew him best. I want you here, tomorrow."

         "And what will you do if I don't?"

         "Need you ask, Stone? I don't really care what happens to your family, you know that. If you don't come here, I will send Joshua to kill Caelan. Maybe in a few weeks I'll tell him who he killed."

         Stone was silent for several minutes but Sharp didn't fear that he'd hang up. "What do you want this time?"

         "Nikolai thinks he has the upper hand. He is just where I want him."

         "Is it really going to be so easy to manipulate him, Sharp? He has had years to change."

         "He's the same criminal he has always been."

         "He was KGB. That is not something to forget at any time."

         "And that lot was nothing but criminals."

         "In your mind and perhaps in the minds of a few others. I was around at that time. I know what I saw."

         "Just do your job and get here. You are going to St. Petersburg. I want Nikolai to know how serious we are. He will not get away with threatening our operation."

         "Do you really think he's going to care if one of his soldiers dies?"

         "You're not going for any of his army. You're going for his son. Do you understand now?"

         "You're going for more than a war. Killing Andrei at this point is worse than even suggesting a threat on Caelan. Nikolai will kill both of us."

         "Yes, probably. Publicly, with Caelan as a witness. Her anger at us both, of course, will be short lived compared to the anger she will hold for the one who really killed us."

         "I can't believe this. You want her to go to war and destroy the Miroslav operation. This is insanity."

         "Not quite. Allowing you to live was insanity. Do as I say and spark this war or I will send Joshua to do it for you and I know no greater torment than to kill one's own brother."

         "And you would know."

         "You have two choices, James. Kill Andrei and allow Caelan to kill Nikolai, or I will send Joshua to St. Petersburg in your stead. He's good, but he has much to learn. With her advanced training, I'm sure Caelan would be able to catch and kill him not long after the first shots were fired."

         This was the game. It had once been compared to a game of chess but that was an inaccurate comparison. This was much more complicated. Precision, strategy, consideration of risk versus potential gain were just a few factors left to consider. Who would die, who would live, who would disappear. They were all parts of the game. This was the intelligence world. Sacrifices had to be made for the well being of all involved in the process. Caelan was a sad, but necessary, sacrifice. Nikolai Miroslav needed to be neutralized before he had the chance to make a move against Section One and Sharp would make sure he would never be able to make a move again. If it was by his hand or that of his precious goddaughter, Nikolai would die. In the recesses of his mind, Sharp knew he would very likely have to program Caelan to kill the man if things did not go as planned and it meant he would have to keep her from killing Silas any time soon. They would just have to keep her otherwise distracted. A possible marriage to the young Miroslav. Yes, that would keep her focused on him and her façade when he was killed. If they needed anything else to keep her distracted, Sharp would send James in with his usual story. It was all coming together. Crisis averted for the time being. Now all he needed was Stone to kill Andrei Miroslav and all would be well.

         "I'll go," James said.

         "Good. All is settled then. I expect a full report in three days."

         "If I'm not dead in three days."

         "So be it."

         Stone hung up and Sharp chuckled lightly as he replaced the receiver in its cradle. Yes, this was the game. This was how they played and Ted Sharp always played to win, no matter the costs.

~~~

         James Stone was not a foolish man. He knew what Sharp's threats meant before they had even been made. It was a game. Only the intelligent survived long enough to get out. For several long hours after the call with Ted Sharp had ended, James stared at his cell phone. He knew the risks of the call. He knew what could happen if the wrong person answered. It had been more than a decade since he had sought help in dealing with Sharp. The last bout involving his staged death had given him no time to seek outside options although he had known there was aid to be found. It might have been better to have gone to Russia, though. One mention of Nikolai's name would have garnered an almost safe passage to St. Petersburg. Things would have been different then. Caelan and Jordan might have been safe with Nikolai's unyielding protection. Now, James hoped it was enough to protect Caelan from Sharp and Macario. No one else would. If Nikolai could not protect her, she would become their victim again and James would not allow her to become their slave. He would kill them if they tried.

         It was almost midnight in St. Petersburg, but James knew Nikolai would be awake for business. He picked up the phone and dialed the number, hoping that he was doing the right thing. This was his last chance to do right by his eldest daughter and it was Nikolai who would be protecting her this time. James had not been able to protect his daughter from her mother's family, but he could make sure she was protected from him and from Section.