“Did you just insult us, Denny,” Lynn asked, which made for an amusing moment. No one in the room, including Denny, thought an army of Syrian refugees could overwhelm the force sailing on the Ranger.
“I believe Denny is referring to armed combat on Canadian soil between a paramilitary bunch like ours, and those poor refugees, imported to hasten what the idiot Prime Minister wants: one world order.”
“Precisely,” Denny agreed. “This will be a delicate operation. Only you bunch would sail off on board a ship with dependents, partying on the way to nab a known terrorist, surrounded by who knows how many Sharia Law Mutants.”
“We’re not taking this lightly,” Nick said. “Robyn’s renting us a house near the mistress. We’ll recon the operation from the house. Amir will not have heard from his two trusted bodyguards in over a week by the time we dock. He will talk with his son tomorrow which should relax him a bit. I believe Amir will do as I told his bodyguard to recommend: stay with the mistress. I doubt he’ll have an army staying in the mistress’s neighborhood.”
“Nick’s right,” I added. “Amir would draw more attention to himself housing a bunch of refugees at his house. I think we have everything covered we can until we dock the Ranger. Let’s enjoy the rest of the evening. Nick’s caught the bug of entertaining. He’s hooked us so we may as well dance the night away.”
Nick moved back to the piano. “I would ask for requests. Unfortunately, there are people with a twisted sense of humor in this room, so I’ll be picking my own tunes.”
“What? You mean you won’t be doing ‘Tiptoe Through the Tulips’?”
“Sit down or get on the dance floor, Dr. Deville. I will never… ever… sing the ‘Tulip’ song.” Nick didn’t wait for a reply. He launched into ‘California Dreaming’.
Clint took Lynn into his arms. “Don’t bait the maestro, babe. We have a voyage of singing and dancing ahead.”
“I second that, Sis,” I mentioned with Lora in my arms. “I hope Gus and Lucas can make the voyage as smooth as possible. We’ll be bucking the California currents going North this time of year. Vancouver will be cold, probably in the low fifties and upper forties.”
“The Ranger employs the latest stabilizer technology,” Gus added, while dancing with Tina. “We’ll make it a smooth voyage, even heading into the currents. As John said though, it will be cold.”
“I was listening.” Laredo moved with Sybil nearer. “With the range of the UH-60, I can fly anyone inland if things are not working out on the ocean for anyone. It’s only a two-night voyage anyway, right Gus?”
“Yes, and that’s at smooth steaming speeds. I wouldn’t have minded going with Lucas to Seattle and steaming Ranger down here to port ourselves. We could have done it with a skeleton crew like when we ported her in the North at Monster Island.”
“You guys can still do that after the mission cruise,” I told him. “We’ll have plenty of guys to put together a skeleton crew and steam Ranger to home port at Monster Island. After we check things out on the island, we can fly back home from Seattle.”
Many murmurings of agreement sounded from the other dancers as Nick ended the song.
“That’s enough steamboat talk,” Tina said. “I want to dance without you guys drowning out the entertainment.”
“That reminds me. Hey, Nick, do ‘Brandy’ for Lucas and Sarah.”
Nick put a fist up. “Good one, John. Lucas has Sarah with him tonight.”
“You told them about ‘Brandy’.” Sarah held on tight to Lucas. “You old romantic.”
Lucas kissed her. “At least you’re here with me this time.”
Nick sang ‘Brandy’ with first class piano accompaniment, giving Lucas and Sarah an extended version the rest of us could tell moved them. That particular song moved Deke too. He comically head swayed with his front paws on Nick’s piano bench. Nick noticed, shifting to sway with Deke while playing and singing. It was hilarious.
* * *
Nick stood with Jean, Sonny, and Al. They all wore rain gear as the Ranger plunged along into a very cold squall. The blackened sky seemed to stretch on into eternity with only the white capped waves reflecting the lights from Ranger. Nick grinned down at his two adventurous charges. They asked to see the storm and seas at the third deck railing after going with Nick to batten down the hatches. They helped him check everything that could not be stowed inside. Deke insisted on joining them, although his canine brothers, Tonto and Naji, elected to stay dry inside. Deke leaned into Nick at each deck movement while he too watched the sky.
“This is incredible, Dad! Have you ever seen it like this before?”
“I’ve been in typhoons at sea with Gus on past missions. We were in a much smaller craft. At times, we would disappear under the waves, even with Gus steering her into the storm’s calmest channels. If you’re on a boat at sea, you want guys like Gus and Lucas handling the piloting duties.”
“Are we in danger?” Nick could see the excited anticipation on Jean’s face.
“On the ocean, human beings are always in danger, much like in an aircraft. Anything mechanical or weather-wise changes everything. The larger a ship is, the less the danger, but only if piloted correctly. Gus and Lucas need to change course instantly in shifting stormy seas. The ocean changes its face in a storm from lapping gentle waves into crushing monstrous walls of water, capable of capsizing anything.”
“Do you get scared out at sea, Sir,” Sonny asked, glancing at Nick’s face.
“When I’m with you kids in unknown circumstances, I’m always wary of what might happen. A parent’s nightmare involves only one recurring theme, a child perishing before their eyes.”
“Are you still glad you traded for life with Mom, me, and Deke?”
“Every moment,” Nick admitted. “I had only death then.”
* * *
Nick walked Deke, nearing the mistress’s house. He practiced Deke’s movements, drilling his beer buddy through a series of commands, while complimenting him effusively with every followed command. Two men, obviously of Middle Eastern origin, strode out to the sidewalk in barely suppressed rage.
“Take that unclean animal away from here!”
“Relax. I have a dog waste bag,” Nick reasoned, holding up his leash with attached doggy bag pouch. “If Deke does anything in your yard, I’ll pick it right up.”
The second man poked Nick to emphasize something he wanted to say. Deke tore him to the ground by his wrist, maneuvering to his throat. The first man reached for a weapon. Nick pistol whipped him to the sidewalk.
“So much for recon,” Nick said, dragging the first man toward the house, releasing Deke’s leash. “Hold, Deke!”
A van drove to the curb with Cala driving. Johnny ran to join Nick while Gus and Jian stuffed Deke’s quarry inside, restraining and gagging him. Deke draped over the man with a rolling growl. The door the two men had exited from stood partially open. Nick streaked through the door, firing .45 caliber rounds center mass into the two remaining shocked bodyguards. The mistress appeared with a machine pistol in hand. Nick shot her through the head. Nick ran down the hall with Johnny at his back after securing the first bodyguard. The bedroom door at the end of the hallway slammed shut. Nick and Johnny then professionally cleared the rest of the house while always having eyes on the bedroom. Ascertaining the house was clear of other assailants, Nick and Johnny positioned themselves on either side of the bedroom door. Nick knocked.
“Hello, Amir. This can go a couple of ways. Surrender, and I won’t throw this grenade I have in my hand into your bedroom. Play hard to get and I pull the pin for your last moments on earth.”
“You are bluffing, kafir! I would be a fool to surrender. Let me talk with my woman.”
“Sorry, Amir… you’d need that kid who talks to dead people for that to happen. I’ll count to three and then kick the door open. An ET-MP grenade will be thrown into the room. There won’t be a single place in there safe from its blast. Ready or not, here we go. On
e… two… three!”
Nick started pulling the pin on the ET-MP grenade with Johnny gesturing wildly for him not to do it. With a big disappointed sigh, Nick kicked free the door and tossed the grenade inside. Amir screamed like a three-year-old child with a tarantula on its arm. He ran out the doorway, only to be clotheslined by Johnny and restrained. Nick walked in, picked up his grenade with another sigh, and pocketed it.
“Sorry, John. We have Amir, but we’ll need four body-bags and an empty equipment bag.”
“On our way, Muerto.”
“The first one is still alive, Muerto,” Johnny told him as they dragged Amir to the front room.
Nick knelt next to the only surviving bodyguard. He gripped his neck for a few minutes, shutting off air and life. “Not anymore, Kabong. Damn… I thought the walking the dog recon was a real gem. Now… I have another mess to clean. Such is life, Kabong.”
Johnny had been chuckling away while restraining Amir, along with the rest of the network. “On mission with you, Muerto, there is very little life anyway.”
“I will help you clean, Muerto,” Cala volunteered.
“Nope. Stay in the van, Reaper. You drive. We’ll load. Keep an eye on the neighbors. Let me know if anyone investigates.”
“Understood,” Cala agreed. “Tommy drove behind me with the body detail.”
“The good news is they have the new laminated flooring,” Nick announced.
“Yeah… that’s the good news,” Gus said. “What happened to situational control, Muerto?”
“Don’t be a hater, Payaso. This is an inexact science.”
“He was going to pull the pin on the grenade, Payaso.”
“Shut up, Kabong.”
Cala chuckled and drove away.
* * *
Casey, Jess, Dev, and I carried the body-bags in from our second van. We all pitched in to get our new room temperature traveling companions into bags for their cruise transport. Johnny gave Amir a shot to keep him unconscious. We put him in a bag anyway. While we loaded, Nick worked at the cleaning. He retrieved cleaning supplies from the mistress’s cupboard, working hard to remove most, if not all, of our visit.
“We’ll be in the van, watching for attention, Nick.”
“Don’t stay, John. All of Amir’s belongings are in the suitcases by the door. I threw his minions stuff in there I found too. I don’t think they were staying at the house. I advise you to take the bodies and surviving Crue toys to the Ranger. I’ll keep cleaning and then walk to the house Robyn rented for us. I’ll call you when I need a ride. I don’t want the locals stopping the vans loaded with killers and bodies.”
“That’ll work, brother. You weren’t really going to pull the pin on a grenade, right?”
“I figure if I can make Kabong think I am, then the ploy will work on the target. I would never do such a horrible thing.”
Oh boy… we enjoyed that lie all the way through the loading, including Kabong.
* * *
Nick methodically went over the house with nitrile gloves on after cleaning the major mess and depositing everything in a plastic garbage bag. His break in through the bedroom door only chipped the doorjamb, rather than damaged it. He made all the beds neatly, picking up and either hanging clothes or folding them into drawers, belonging to the mistress. Nick used the laminated floor polish to cover his floor cleaning. One last look around, and Nick deposited his cleaning rags into the empty equipment bag, after putting away the supplies where he found them. He locked the door from the inside, making sure the knob on the outside was in the locked position. When he walked to the rented house, Nick found his crew and Deke waiting for him inside.
“We dropped off the people and came back for you,” Gus said. “How did the cleaning go?”
“Great. Only a professional CSI team could find trace we ever were there. No one was supposed to know about Amir’s mistress in Canada. They will be listed when someone checks as missing, at least the girlfriend will. If Evelyn hadn’t come out of the bedroom with a weapon, she’d be detained by my contact for questioning. The Canadian authorities would have been involved as to her fate.”
“What are you going to tell Robyn when she asks about Evelyn Scott,” Johnny asked.
“She sleeps with the fishes.”
After a moment of hilarity, Gus said, “she’ll love that.”
“She’ll understand. We had our video cams on. I’ll show her Evelyn charging from the hallway, weapon in hand, which is illegal to own in Canada.”
“So was the Colt you shot her with.”
“Shut up, Kabong. Let’s check over the house and then head for the ship. I think we need to head for the high seas.”
“Dr. Deville told us to only save Amir for interrogation,” Jian said. “Gus and I gave them their one-way ticket to eternity on the way to the Ranger. Robyn cleared our way to the ship. Apparently, she has some very good contacts at the ports too.”
“She works with the Canada Border Services,” Nick mentioned. “I’m certain there are a lot of Canadian citizens and law enforcement that are fed up with this terrorist coddling.”
“Lucas started the checkoff sheet for leaving port. I’m glad our families were able to go ashore for at least a day in Vancouver.”
“Except for the storm, the scenery made them all happy,” Nick replied. “The kids even loved the storm.”
“Speaking of storms. The Cruella Deville podiatry clinic is already in operation.” Cala took over the driver’s seat.
“John told us Jared already talked with his father. At first, Amir proclaimed great happiness,” Johnny said, as they entered the van. “When he mentioned dedicating himself to establishing his own medical wing at the City of Hope, Amir threatened to have his two bodyguards torture him to death if he did not return. Jared kept his composure, resisting the urge to tell his father what actually happened to the bodyguards. He ended the call with Amir still screaming at him.”
“Once Crue gets Amir to pay us for this very expensive excursion, I’m certain we will be able to give Jared the money to establish the best hospital in the Middle East,” Nick replied. “Such an endeavor will also brighten the already bright future of our pet city.”
“I’m certain once Dr. Deville explains what wonderful advances Amir’s contributions will make to the City of Hope’s health care system, he will be ecstatic with his donation.”
“Exactly, Cala,” Nick agreed. “I’ll bet Amir jumps on board with Jared right after his introduction to Dr. Deville.”
Chapter Seven
Senator Trouble
Amir screamed behind his gag, issuing a muted blurt of noise, as Lynn initiated his first podiatry exam. Because we planned to confiscate every fortune we could, Lynn provided her patient with the utmost care so he wouldn’t quit breathing during her exam. She varied voltage and heat with the expertise learned through many applications of her fabulous learning tool. Amir passed out as Lynn shut down our interrogation equipment.
“Are you ready, Jafar. I doubt we’ll be able to slow him down once he starts talking again?”
“I am ready, Crue. I will record it too.”
“Wake him, Cheese. We’ll be leaving port soon, thanks to Muerto’s adlib with Deke the dog. Reception for Jafar to transfer funds may get interrupted.”
I grinned at Clint and the minions in various positions while restraining Amir. Our facilities aboard the Ranger adequately supplied us with everything for the cruise except restraints. I forgot to mention transferring one of our gurneys from Pain Central. No one else thought to do it either, but the Cheeseburger gets barbequed for it. Silvio created a workable table for the interrogation. It required extra help though during Crue’s longer educational moments. I slapped Amir lightly to get him into full groaning consciousness.
“Listen closely, Amir,” Lynn warned him. “If you don’t, it will mean a lot more pain. We don’t want that, do we?”
A virulent negative headshake, accompanied by a mewling muffled please,
convinced Lynn he understood the consequences.
“Good. When we remove your gag, you will tell us the account numbers for all your wealth. We will use it to build Jared a hospital with all the trimmings in our new City of Hope. Won’t that be wonderful? If you do not start helping in the transfer, I will need to reeducate you with another ten minutes of unbelievable pain.”
Once I removed his gag, Amir rattled off everything but the account numbers. I gestured for Lynn to halt the second procedure for a moment. I slapped Amir hard enough to jolt his brain back into place. “Account numbers first, Amir. We’ll get to the other questions later.”
We finished with the accounts a half hour later when Jafar signaled completion. “Definitely enough to build and stock a hospital, John. You already signed the construction firm we need to start the project. Would you like me to transfer the funds?”
“Yep. The sooner the better. Tell them we want a small quickie medical office with all the things on the list Jared gave us when we didn’t know how soon the hospital could be built.”
“On it.”
“Okay, my very helpful friend, we need to delve into your need to end my life. What or who put you in the mood to see me and my crew dead?”
“I did it… out of revenge. I thought you could be lured to Abu Dhabi. When… you refused, I settled for your friend.”
“You thought I would try and rescue him in the Emirates?”
“Yes. All the kafirs who seek to destroy Islam with this kafir city. I…I would kill my own son rather than see him there working, even in his own hospital.”
“Wow, that’s very modern age of you,” Lynn said. “We will now build the hospital for your son. He will run the entire operation, including recruitment of other likeminded doctors willing to work in the new city medical center. It will be the chance of a lifetime for him. It’s too bad you’re so small minded you can’t even be proud of him.”
“He is helping to destroy my religion! Islam must be preserved at all cost. People in the Middle East are all talking about this new city. We nearly assimilated all of Europe and the UK before the action by your…” Amir shut up, remembering what would happen if he trekked down that trail. “Jared was meant to be with me in the Emirates. The only thing he will accomplish in that blasphemous place you are sending him is turning people against the Prophet and Islam. That is a death sentence in our faith!”
Rule of Nightmare Page 14