Three Very Unique Pawns in a Chess Game

Chapter 5:What'd you say you do again?

 Chapter 5(What'd you say you do again?)

"Hank,Neal?" He whispers. Michael wakes up to a completely different setting. He was lying on a small cot, now upright focusing on finding his assets. Had Chechik got to them? If they were gone he was on his own. A story the burned spy had lived through once too many times before.

The room was small about thirty by thirty. Like the room before he searches for anything that could be of use, he raids the small pantry in search of supplies. More specifically a weapon. He had no idea what was on the other side of the door.

He slowly creaks the door open, not wanting to give any attention on himself.

"Micheal!" Neal comes into full view, and Michael has his hands up threatenly, ready to attack.

Neal defenselessly, holds his arms up, not wanting to make any sudden moves.

" Neal where's Hank?" Neal's surprised by the call of his real name, when had he let that get out.

He points over to the bed, where a sleeping Hank is resting, his chest moves up and down with each breath, his hand tightly clutched around his medical bag.

"How long has he been asleep?"

"For about an hour now, should we wake him?"

"In a little while." Michael stops to look at the man who was once passed out earlier. He seemed fine now other than fact the michael almost broke his arm a minute ago.

"Listen Neal I'm sorry about what happened back there, you just caught me off guard".

"It's okay, I have to ask though, Special forces?"

"Something like that." Michael avoids the question still not wanting to let on too much information about himself.

Neal is ecstatic. Just because Michael had read him didn't mean he couldn't do the same.

"Where are we?"

"Laundry room. Most hotel laundry rooms lock at a certain time if they have one and there's always a key to lock the door from the inside. Some even have an exit to the parking lot."

"Robbed a couple hotel's?"

"You could say that."

Michael follows the yellow tiles back to the other side of the room.

"I've already tried it's boarded up. This guy Chechik, he's come prepared."

"He always does."

Michael pulls on the boarded up planks as, Neal tries to come up with a way to ask another question. It was obvious Michael knew the guy that kidnapped them. Now it was Neal's turn for answers.

"So who's the Chechik guy? Is he like you? You know special forces?"

"That's exactly what I'd like to know". Hank stretches and yawns.

"Sort of, I met him a long time ago.All you need to know is that he's dangerous."

"Michael that's not good enough."

And it wasn't. Neal and Hank didn't like the way Michael brushed them off. Their lives were just as important as his. Any information he withheld from the group didn't help the situation any better. Even worst, it made them feel like they couldn't trust him.

Michael walks away from the two men and out towards the hallway. He slowly opens the door, looking from left to right, scanning the quiet area.

"Are you guys ready to move?'

"Yeah." They both agree in unison, they had no other choice but to trust Michae at the moment, they had to get out of here.

"Okay let's move."

They walk down the hallway, backs pressed against the wall, looking every which way for new threats.

Michael peeks around the corner, where there were two of Chechik's goons guarding the door.

"Ah, employee break room". Neal says.

"Michaell, you think Chechik's in there?"

"Could be, or it could be a trap".

"One thing I've learned is you don't guard a room if there's nothing to guard." Neal says

"We can't think like that, Chechik is a chess player."

Everyman needed rest, he probably had his other man prowling other parts of the hotel for them while he slept. These ones in particular we're armed. The ak47, strapped across their back and a small pistol on the hip.

"That looks like a lot of firepower". Neal says.

"Just for you? What did you say you do again?" Hank ask.

"Okay here's the plan, we go back into the janitor's closet, I'll change into the uniform we got of the last guy and address the guys by the door. I'll give you guys the signal when it's okay to come out, after I take them out".

"Michael don't go out there by yourself we can find another way out, hotel's have to have thousands of exits".

"Listen Hank, I appreciate the heroism but these guys are trained Ukrainian military. Like you said earlier it's your job to keep me alive."

"That includes stopping you from doing something like this ,those guys are heavily armed you wouldn't make it a second out there, at least let me or Neal come as back up".

Neal waves his hands " Hank is right there has to be another way. You can't take on all these guys alone, we have no idea what's on the other side of that door.

"Got any other plans, I'm listening?"

"I may have one, but can you promise me they won't be dead?". Hank ask.

" Sure Hank". Michael replies, if anything he was a good liar he had to be he was a spy. His eyes were sincere, no hit of drop in his voice, and unfortunately for Hank he believed him.

"Okay here's what we do".