Chapter Three
Thanksgiving, 12:00 Noon—Atlanta
As the Devlyn jet touched down at the small commuter airport south of Atlanta, Sean looked out the window and spotted Joe Callahan waiting by the black limo for his arrival. He took several deep cleansing breaths as the plane taxied to its hangar, trying to calm down and find center, a place where he could look for Cassie without losing control. He only hoped such a state was possible.
Sean was out the door as soon as the plane stopped. Outside the sun shone thin through the gray clouds, with wind straight out of the north, cold and unfamiliar in the Deep South. A light snow was forecast for the coming weekend, a rare treat for southerners especially this early in the season. He shivered both from the cold and dread of the upcoming meeting.
“Hey man.” Joe disregarded Sean’s outstretched hand and threw his arms around his partner’s neck. One thing about Joe, he was always happy to see him, no matter what the circumstances. A mountain of a man who never seemed to be fazed by the line of work they were in, he was the Zen-like calm to Sean’s permanent internal storm; many times Sean wished he could look at life with Joe’s sense of serenity.
No sooner were they leaving the airfield than Sean’s phone rang. The caller ID said ‘Kevin Devlyn’. Well, thought Sean, that was fast.
He clicked on. “I just landed and we’re on the way to your house.”
“We’re all here,” Kevin replied. “And Sean, no barbs today, all right? Dad’s taking this really hard. No one’s ever attacked Cassie before, well that is, no one outside the family. It’s really shaken his guts.”
“I won’t start anything, but rest assured if you guys start…” Sean let the threat hang unspoken between them. Kevin would know what that meant. He’d seen the business end of Sean’s wrath more than once over the years and had the scars to show for it.
“See you in a few.”
The driver took them around I-285 instead of through downtown Atlanta due to the annual marathon race, which gave Sean a few extra minutes to gather his wits before facing his in-laws. It was the first time in eighteen months they had seen each other, by mutual silent agreement. It was still too soon, in his opinion. A small flare of hangover kicked the back of his eyeballs. Damn.
“Tell me why Cassie was alone last night? Don’t I have a standing order for security on her 24/7, especially when I’m out of town?” Sean wanted to be angry with Joe, but the real target was himself. They should have been together but pride had kept him in England.
“I’m sorry boss. It was a last minute decision apparently. When she went home early from the lab, no one realized those friends of her were coming by to pick her up.” Joe leaned back into the seat and glanced at his boss. “By the time we all realized she was with the Gallaghers, she was gone.”
The Gallaghers, Moira and Ioan were their closest friends in Atlanta. Second in line to inherit the vast Gallagher fortune, which included a large textile conglomerate and a rare, small batch Irish whiskey, they divided their time between Atlanta and Shannon. Both were the type of moneyed gentry Sean normally despised, but Ioan loved to play rugby and Sean was more than happy to beat the shit out of him on a regular basis.
In fine Irish tradition, they also were relentless party animals, spending most nights making the rounds at all the places to be seen in Atlanta and the surrounding hot spots. When Sean and Ioan were together, the limits were gone and they always drank themselves into oblivion, another state which Cassie found less than attractive.
Silence then reigned in the limo as Sean stared at the scenery flying past, remembering the first time he’d made this particular drive. When Cassie at last relented and took him to meet her father and brothers, they’d been together almost a year. The trip ended up being a nightmare. The only plus side was the stronger bond he and Cassie built when everything was said and done. It was the trip which created the foundation point of their agreements.
The Devlyn men were whacked, especially when it came to Cassie.
Kevin was eldest, the only brother with whom Cassie maintained a cordial relationship. He was also the most straight laced of the three brothers. After leaving the service, Kevin got his law degree and worked for the family business as chief counsel. Just like Cassie, his relationship with their father was complicated; typical oldest son. Kevin had cleaned up more than one mess left behind by Martin or Greg and was badly scarred himself from the process.
Middle son Matthew was a high functioning Autistic and frequently became a pawn, easily swayed by youngest brother Greg. It was Greg whose neck Sean wanted to wring, along with Martin himself. It was they who ruined relationships between the siblings.
Greg was an evil, vile, sorry excuse for a human, and those were Martin’s words not Sean’s. Ever since childhood, Greg’s vendetta against his only sister brought havoc into their lives more than once. Doctors said he was a borderline psychotic, but Sean knew he’d crossed the border long ago. Martin eventually dismissed him to West Coast operations to keep distance between Cassie and her chief tormentor, but family and business still brought him to Atlanta more than Sean would like.
One part of that first meeting fiasco kept replaying in his ears, the speech her father gave about why Ferguson wasn’t good enough for his only daughter. He still could hear the derision in the man’s voice as he’d sneered, “The only son of a mid-level bureaucrat thinks because he talks a privileged, naïve, innocent girl into falling onto her back for him, we intend to accept this nobody into our family? I would sooner wallow in the mud with animals than know my grandchildren will be fathered by a damn Irishman!”
That was the only meeting he’d had with all the male members of Cassie’s family at one time. They left shortly thereafter and hadn’t returned since, or at least Sean hadn’t. Cassie occasionally stopped by to see her father, but at their Atlantic Station headquarters never the house. Though eventually Kevin did make amends, the other two brothers, Greg and Matthew, still didn’t speak to them. It bothered him that they were taking out their disapproval of him on Cassie. She didn’t deserve it. But what aggravated him the most was the damn hold they had on her that kept one finger always in her business; she didn’t know how to say no to the group of them.
The limo slowed as they took the Vinings exit off the freeway. Winding past the quaint Village center, they turned right, over the Chattahoochee River and into the exclusive, hidden neighborhoods on the northwest outskirts of Atlanta. At last they pulled up to a large stone entrance with an exquisite wrought iron gate overlooking the Chattahoochee River. The driver keyed a number into the key pad and the gates swung open.
“Welcome home,” Joe quipped.
“Shut the hell up,” Sean muttered. Joe smiled in return.
Up the winding, tree shadowed driveway they went, Sean trying his best to keep his emotions under control. At the front door, Kevin waited for them.
Sean was again struck by the differences between Cassie and her brothers. All three boys possessed variations on the same shade of dirty blond hair as their father, with Martin’s deep brown eyes. Only Cassie’s eyes were a different shade, cornflower blue and almond shaped. Everyone assumed her jet black hair came from Katheryn’s father, the Japanese businessman Tano Nishamora. These differences made for an interesting family photo.
Kevin held out his hand. “I’m sorry to see you again under these circumstances Sean. How are you holding up?”
“I’d be lying if I said this hasn’t thrown me off stride,” Sean confessed. “Is everyone here?”
“Yeah,” Kevin paused, his hand on his brother-in-law’s arm. “Listen Sean, we’re all hurting over this in our own ways. Go easy on Dad okay? You know how he feels about Cassie.”
“Trust me, Kev, the last thing I want is to waste time on unproductive activities,” Sean acknowledged. “He doesn’t like me, I don’t like him; there we just killed the first thirty minutes of arguing.”
They entered the house, moving through the silent corridors to the library. Sean felt the oppressive weight of the Devlyn empire inside the gilded halls of the dim mansion. Ghosts seemed to flit from every darkened room, memories of children long since grown and gone. Over everything lay the pall and specter of decay and power, two organisms grown together through cause and effect. Once Katheryn’s touch around there began to fade, Martin let the house go. While the housekeeper kept everything neat and tidy, there was no life in the mansion.
Kevin opened the heavy mahogany library doors. “Here’s Sean, now we can get down to business.”
Sean’s skin tingled, exposed as three pairs of eyes turn in his direction. “Good day, gentlemen, have we heard anything new from our kidnappers?” The niceties were sour in his mouth. It was all he could do to keep from balling his fists inside his coat pocket. To give his anger an outlet he slowly removed the garment and placed it on the back of one of the leather couches
Matthew spoke first, “Hey Sean, good to see you. No, nothing new since the email. Is that good or bad?” There was no guile in the middle boy, his Autism made it impossible to hold a grudge. If only Greg didn’t use Matt’s simple, honest nature to disguise his personal agenda. But separating the two wasn’t easy. Matthew was Greg’s mouthpiece, unaware of the chaos his words caused others around him.
Shaking his head, Sean answered to the room at large. “I’m not sure, it might go either way. We need to find out what they want. Has anyone gone to our apartment to check for clues? If they were following her, they might have left something.”
Greg nodded. “The Atlanta police went there after watching the security video of the transit station. Cassie was at the Arts Center Station waiting for a train to Midtown when three men grabbed her, held a cloth over her nose and carried her out. Apparently she was at a fundraiser in one of the hotels in the area and was headed home. They left a note in spray paint on the station wall. If they went to her office, no one let us know.”
“That means they were probably following her. Any of the neighbors see or hear anything unusual? What did the note say?” Sean’s professional mode kicked in as he signaled Joe to start keeping notes. The headache knocked again on the back of his forehead.
“We don’t know. The police turned everything over to the F.B.I. but Dad thinks that might have been the wrong move. Now we’re completely out of the loop and feeling pretty damn helpless,” Greg conceded. “The police seem to feel they need to run everything by their frakkin’ playbook, not understanding we have resources they don’t, and could have solved the problem by now.”
“It all depends on who and what they’re after. As to being in the loop, I’ll see what we can arrange. I’m hoping they will extend me a little professional courtesy, but I can’t promise anything.” Sean pulled his cell phone out of his pocket.
“Any ideas as to what they might be after, Mr. Ferguson?” The raspy, deep, baritone of Martin Devlyn challenged from his seat beside the large stone fireplace. “I know you run into people in your line of work. Anyone holding a grudge against you who would take it out on Cassandra? Who is this gentleman? Who is ‘the guy from Istanbul’?”
Sean took a deep breath before answering. “It’s a long, classified story Mr. Devlyn. Basically we were sent into Turkey to pull out an associate who was coming in from northern Iraq. Things went wrong and our mission was compromised. It took some work but we finally managed to get out of Turkey and into Greece where we met up with a ride back to London. This guy is the person who double-crossed us and sold us out to the Islamic radicals.”
“So we can assume he has no morals?” Martin snorted in his contempt for the situation. “Wonderful, my daughter is in the hands of madmen.”
“Let me call and leave another voice mail.” Sean closed his eyes against the growing migraine. “Maybe I can keep them on the line long enough for a trace?”
Sean pressed the speed dial button for Cassie’s phone. One ring, two rings, then to his immense surprise a voice came on the line. “Well, well, well, obviously patience is not one of your strong points Mr. Ferguson.”
“Never mind that Tsichevna, you son of a bitch, where is my wife?” Sean’s fingers itched to wrap themselves around the throat of Cassie’s kidnapper.
Tsichevna chuckled. “Now Ferguson, you know that’s not how it’s going to happen. I’m going to give you my demands, then you’re going to argue you need more time, which I won’t give. Then you’ll ask for proof which I might give you but in the end you’re going to bring me the money. However, the money only settles my score with the Devlyns. You and I have our own score to settle. Are all the brothers there with old man Martin?”
“Yeah, you’re on speaker. That a problem?”
“I don’t mind if you don’t.” Tsichevna sounded full of self-assurance. “Greetings Devlyn family, my name is Pieter Tsichevna and while we haven’t met personally, I’ve used your services many times through my various employers. I have your beloved Cassandra and the price to you is twenty million euros, deposited into a Swiss account number I supply. I also want three million U.S. dollars brought to me by our dear friend Mr. Ferguson. Once he leaves your compound, I will text an address to his phone. Your loved one will be there.”
Martin spoke up. “I want to speak to my daughter. I won’t pay a dime until I know she is safe.”
“Smart man, despite your other failings I knew you wouldn’t spend your own money unless she was safe,” the kidnapper shot back. “Your lovely daughter is right here. I’m surprised she wants to speak to any of you, given how easy it was to snatch her from the train station. Poor planning on someone’s part, if you were to ask my professional opinion.”
There was a momentary pause. Then Sean’s heart skipped a beat as Cassie’s lyric alto came on the phone. “Hey everyone. Is Sean there?”
“I’m here love,” he responded gently, his arms aching to hold her. “Are you all right?”
“I’m not physically harmed if that’s what you mean. My new friend here seems to delight in telling me all sorts of wild stories.” She sounded tired, stressed, but there was no edge to her tone, which might indicate injuries.
He took a deep breath. “I’m here with your father and brothers. We’re all ready for you to be home.”
She laughed. “That’s a lively gathering I’m sure.”
Martin piped up. “I’m willing to put things aside for you, my dear. I think we all feel that way. You are more important than our petty disagreements.”
There came the sounds of a scuffle and suddenly she was gone, replaced by Tsichevna. “That proves she’s all right. I want my money. The EFT needs to be in my Swiss account by eight tonight. That’s eight hours to get the funds together. But the three million I want in two hours. Wait for further instructions.”
The phone went silent. The room echoed with the lack of her voice. The brothers were all quiet, obviously wondering what to do next. Martin Devlyn stared into the fire, his face cold as stone.
Sean turned and faced the room. “All right, now we call the F.B.I.”
****
Soon the Bureau in Atlanta dispatched a team to work with the family on the kidnapping. Joe worked with Kevin and the agent assigned to the case, Tim Brown. Sean began setting himself up for Tsichevna’s next move. As he sat in the little-used family room to gather his equipment, he grew aware of Greg waiting in the doorway to catch his attention. For a moment he debated on ignoring his useless brother-in-law, but for Cassie’s sake he’d try.
Greg Devlyn was a first class psycho, who always managed to ride Martin’s wallet to safety. Memories of the stories Cassie told him about Greg and his interesting forms of torture slammed into his headache and it was an effort to not put his fist through the younger man’s banal smile.
“What’s up Greg?” Sean kept his face neutral against the rage building in his guts. He hated Greg more than any other human, and for good reason. Greg was a monster, and it was only because Cassie was missing he allowed this sorry excuse of a human to approach without flattening the man’s nose.
“I wanted you to know I’m sorry Cassie is…” Greg faltered as he ran out of nerve. The youngest of the three brothers, he’d always claimed his torment of Cassie came solely as an attempt to impress the older boys. Whatever. That malice now stood between him and his brother-in-law, as Sean recalled some of Greg’s torture of Cassie. He was the one who caused Cassie the most harm. This was the brother Sean wanted to kill. “I’ve never wanted anything ill for my sister, regardless of how others think I might feel. I’ve often wondered if she’s ever thought about the two of us reconciling.”
“She doesn’t think about you at all, but I appreciate what you’re trying to say.” Sean tried to keep the snarl off his face. After all, Greg was ‘family’ and presumably upset as well as the others. Sean doubted it. Monsters have no compassion. “I just hope when she gets back you let her know that.”
“Maybe,” Greg agreed, “but somehow I think we’ll never be as close as her and Kevin.”
“What can I say? Kevin made the overture and paid the penance for his crimes. I’m sure Cassie would do the same for you.”
Greg laughed once in derision. “Yeah, somehow I don’t think so. After what I did to Cassie, I’ll be glad if she doesn’t blow up my car one night. By the way, sorry about the whole divorce papers thing last year. Dad insisted on trying again, you know? He still thinks you only want Cassie for her money.”
Sean smiled stiffly and slapped Greg on the back, though not as hard as he would have liked. “No problems. She’s not that mad anymore. But if you find a stuffed horse’s ass in your bed, don’t wonder who it’s from.”
“Thanks. For a damned Irishman you’re not a bad human being.”
“Same to you,” Sean hoped Greg was done. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could pretend to care about him.
When Greg left the room, Sean’s smile disappeared quickly. “Bastard,” Sean muttered. He remembered who led the charge against Cassie both as a child and after with Sean. It was great the guy missed her now, but he doubted that enthusiasm would continue when she returned. He didn’t trust Greg or his motives for seeking him out but at least now his suspicions were confirmed as to whose hand was behind the try. Once Cassie was safe, he would dig into Greg’s connections.
At last he was ready. Joe brought him a briefcase with the three million dollars Tsichevna demanded he deliver. Agent Brown slapped him on the shoulder. “Are you sure you’re up for this Ferguson? Most husbands getting ready to deliver their wife’s ransom sweat like a hooker during Mass, but you act like this is a daily occurrence.”
Martin Devlyn spoke up from his chair. “Sean was Special Forces for the British, among other things. That’s probably where this shit all came from.”
Kevin quickly jumped in to defend his brother-in-law from Martin’s acerbic tone. “Dad, we said no barbs. There’s enough drama in this room without purposely digging at one another.”
“That’s all right Kevin,” Agent Brown jumped in. “We already know about Mr. Ferguson’s interesting choice of professions. However, since he’s worked for our country as well as others, we are extending professional courtesy to him for this emergency. Even so, it’s hard when family is involved. The lines tend to get blurred.”
Blood pounded through Sean’s veins until it felt he would explode. “I’m fine. Listen up Martin. I’ve had enough of those snide innuendoes. Pieter obviously has a bone to pick with both of us. That tells me your hands aren’t as lily white as you would like everyone to believe. One of these days the reckoning will arrive, and I’ll see you pay for every one of your crimes. Now, excuse me, I’m going to rescue my wife.”
Sean stalked from the library and out to the front porch, Agent Brown on his heels. Brown looked around. “Listen don’t let anyone know this, but you’re right about the family not being as clean as they would like the world to believe. MM Air is under investigation, highly classified and known only to a select few. We don’t know who’s on which payroll, so public acknowledgment is avoided.”
“What are they looking for?” Sean tried to probe further, wondering if he and Joe needed to worry.
“That’s above my pay grade, but I know they’ve been on the hit list of a task force which is investigating companies who work with known terrorist organizations for more than three years. And before you go nuts, let me say, yes—your name has come up more than once in discussions. But, your record stands in testament to your personal character and that’s why I have no problems with letting you make this exchange.”
Sean looked down at his shoes, then back at the agent. “I don’t know why I let them get to me this way.”
“I do. The real question is why let them bother you? These people are the ones we’re out there trying to put away.”
“I must be insane for even speaking to them. But this is about Cassie, not them. Once she’s safe, I have no reason for further interaction with Martin or Greg Devlyn.”
Agent Brown glanced at his watch. “It’s time to go. Do you have the briefcase?”
“Right here.” Sean patted the case in his left hand. “I guess I’ll see you in a little while.”
“We’ll be here waiting.” Brown smiled and clapped Sean on the back, then he headed back into the house to rejoin his squad.
Sean seated himself behind the wheel in the Mercedes sedan and started the engine. No sooner was the car out of the driveway than the Bluetooth in the car sync’d with his cell phone. “Call from Pieter Tsichevna. Call from Pieter Tsichevna.” Sean pushed the talk button on the steering wheel.
“Ferguson.”
Tsichevna’s obsequious voice filled the car. “All right Ferguson, here’s the deal. I’m sending an address to your email. Meet us there in thirty minutes.” Then the line went dead.
Sean pulled into a dead end road and checked his phone. The address was in South Fulton County, miles from populated areas. Once he fed the address into the onboard navigation system, he forwarded the email to Joe Callahan. Rule number one in his book when it came to meeting suspects in the field: never go somewhere without letting people know where you are. As he drove, he said a silent prayer to the saints Cassie was still all right. He didn’t want to slay Tsichevna in front of her. Murder always made for a bad reunion.