“Nick!” Gus grabbed Nick’s arm at his own considerable risk as his friend tore the stun-gun away from Gus, angling it for another jolt into Phil. “Don’t do it! What’s wrong?”
Nick kept staring into Phil’s horrified eyes until his clenched fists relaxed. He nodded at Gus who let him go. Nick tossed the stun-gun to the floor. “This bastard has it all. He knows the identities and whereabouts of the five who crossed over the border. Our buddy Phil is planning to blackmail Senator Cameron as well as the groups she’s hooked into. A cool million isn’t enough for Phil and Clarice. They want it all. Isn’t that right, Phil?”
“I…I was getting to that! Honest to God I was! Yes… I have copies of their passport pictures. I know Cameron has been paid millions already with more promised if I can deliver passports occasionally in the same manner. I can be your way in to get Cameron. She’ll deal once she knows we have her dead to rights! Diane will betray the ones she’s working with, but it would be an easier deal if you can offer her the chance to resign.”
“This sounds very good, Nick,” John said. “You can pretend Phil has been working undercover to get the Senator. It would be the perfect cover for him to stay out of prison and keep his job.”
“We can move fast if he turns Cameron,” Gus added. “You know how long these political hacks can pretend innocence until the public simply gives up. They hire lawyers at government expense and stone wall the investigations for years until nobody cares. Phil could turn her quick and we can get the ones she’s working for.”
“Or,” Nick replied, still staring at Phil, “I can shoot Phil in the head, torture that senatorial traitor until she gives me the names and then shoot her in the head too.”
When Phil began to speak, Gus slapped him on the forehead. “Shut up, dummy! C’mon, Nick, Paul can play out this scenario super easy if we give him the players. You gave your word Phil would live.”
“Paul would understand. Besides, my word to Phil doesn’t mean shit.”
“You gave your word to Sonny,” Gus reminded Nick without inflection or emphasis. Nick’s killing demeanor had both John and Gus on edge about whether Phil would ever see the outside of the interrogation room. Gus could tell his reminder about Sonny hit home.
“Phil is very lucky I brought you guys with me. I need to make the call in to Paul, so our operation isn’t blown before we get to start it working. Release Phil and let him get dressed. Then give him the return home syringe.”
“John and I will handle it, Nick. Go make the call.”
Nick walked off with phone in hand. Paul Gilbrech answered as usual on the first ring. Nick wasted no time in explaining the situation and what Phil offered to do in order to rectify the situation. “I’ll have to check over the evidence on his computer. After that, I’ll take Phil in to see Cameron personally if you like our idea, Paul. It’s the only way we could think of for Phil to come out of this with his job and freedom while forcing that traitor Cameron out of office.”
“It certainly works better than a long drawn out FBI investigation coupled with God knows how long before it ever reached a court. Add in the fact we’d never find those five infiltrators and we’d be waiting for cataclysmic events to happen without a clue.”
“Not really, my friend. I would have extracted the info in a different manner. If not for the FBI taking Phil’s coworker’s notification seriously we wouldn’t even have an investigation. Phil’s moral compass blows in any direction at any given time depending on where either the money trail leads or prison time dictates.”
“You must really like this kid, Sonny. I think a year ago you would have done it the deadly way without even confirming the action before it was a done deal.”
“You’re right, Paul, I do like him. He’s a kid with instincts well beyond his age, very much like Jean. I don’t want his life ruined because his luck in the parental draw came up snake eyes.”
“Understood. I realize you’ve thought this through. Do you have a first step you would like to take?”
“The way I see this is if I can find those five passport recipients from whatever info Phil has gathered, I’ll make them disappear. Once that’s done, I’d suggest we let Clyde prep the jet for a visit from Phil and I to Senator Cameron with everything we have at the time, including the disappearance of the five guys she personally smuggled into the country. Also, we’ll have the interrogation session on video with them naming her so Phil won’t be the only evidence. Then we go after the big bads. I have a wedding coming soon too. Senator Diane better be in a cooperative mood or her reluctance to see the light may get very painful.”
“Call me when you’re ready for Clyde. Thank you for this opportunity. It will be big in currying favor. I appreciate the fact you would normally have acted in a more final fashion, but this way, we can go a lot further with the scenario, including how they’re developing this Canadian Network. A Canadian connection means a lot of money and more than a few people bought off.”
“I’ll be in touch when I find where our visitors from the Islamist friends network are, and what it will take to eradicate.”
“Talk at you then,” Paul replied.
* * *
Nick escorted a wobbly Phil into his house where they were met by both Clarice and Sonny. “Phil’s had a rough day. He’s going to show me everything on his computer so I can get an idea of how I need to proceed in bringing the passport recipients to justice. After that he and I will be visiting the queen of traitorous schemes, Diane ‘the enemy collaborator’ Cameron.”
Clarice was smoothing Phil’s sweaty brow with her hand. “What have you done to him? You’re a shithead with your own agenda – a boy scout from hell. Torture is illegal. You’ll-”
“Shut up, Mom!” Sonny watched Nick’s facial features while Clarice talked. “This is serious! Nick isn’t a cop. If you keep treating him like he is, you’ll be disappearing like the bad guys will. I can tell he already has considered making you two a possible project. Please don’t say anything else. Let’s help Dad help Nick.”
“Sonny’s right, Clarice. When they call me in, it’s not to save people’s jobs and lives. After this is all over you and Phil will have to stay put with no other agendas besides raising Sonny. Phil will be an exemplary passport office chief. He will get a substantial raise and recognition for the woman who took action against him. Sonny will try and keep you from egging your husband into these type situations so you can live the country club life. Another absolute matter is you two will never mention my name in reference to anything other than your kid knows my kid. Phil understands all of that, don’t you, my friend?”
Phil nodded his head with commitment. “I understand completely. So will Clarice. There will be no more plotting, favors, or mentions of your name. Say you understand Clarice… and say it like your life depended on it!”
Clarice gazed fixedly into Phil’s terrified eyes and then into Nick’s cold dark ones. Nick grinned at her in a slow upturning at the corner of his mouth. “I…I understand.”
“Outstanding. Let’s get this done. You and Phil lead the way, Clarice. We have miles to go before we sleep.”
Clarice stopped to stare unbelievingly at Nick. “That you would even use a line from any poem by Walt Whitman makes me throw up in my mouth.”
“Then you can stop gagging,” Nick replied. “The line was written by Robert Frost.”
“Whatever!” Clarice helped Phil down the hallway.
Sonny met Nick’s reassuring look with a questioning one as if he were hoping for truth but afraid to receive it. Nick put a hand on his shoulder without breaking eye contact.
“It will be okay, Sonny. I believe your Dad will have enough information for me to prevent a serious incident if we move fast enough.”
“Yeah… but it proves he knew the passports were a dangerous breech, and all he thought about was the money and favor.”
“He thought about you too. In the end that made a difference.”
“Do you really t
hink so, Nick?”
“Absolutely.” Nick lied to Sonny for the first time.
* * *
Nick sat on his balcony writing a scene in his new novel ‘Dark Interlude’ with his assassin Diego working to free the temptress/betrayer/black widow Fatima from a dangerous contact in the underworld of the European Union she sold out for money. Deke lie wrapped around the chair with his head resting on Nick’s foot. So into the Fatima scene, Nick barely glanced out at the ocean panorama outside the window. He took the time to stop for just that reason as he typed past the two thousand word mark for the day, leaving ‘Dark Interlude’ at an exciting spot to rejoin his plot the next morning. He sipped his Bushmill’s Whiskey, well aware of the next jaunt ahead after Paul checked into the basic information Phil’s files had provided. Paul now had real names and pictures to find the five men who crossed over from Canada using the passports provided by Salvatore.
Rachel peeked through the balcony doorway with Jean next to her. “It’s nearly nine. You won’t try to axe us like Jack Nicholson in ‘The Shining’ for interrupting your writing, will you? We brought snacks, and Quinn is sleeping.”
“Come on out. The writer in ‘The Shining’ had writer’s block. I don’t let myself get that particular malady so definitely no violence due to poor writing progress for me, my love.”
Rachel had wine and a soda in her hands while Jean carried a plate of pizza roll snacks. They arranged everything with the napkins brought along, taking seats opposite Nick.
“How do you not get writer’s block, Dad? I thought all writers went through fighting with the dreaded ‘block’.”
“I love pulp fiction, and that’s what I write. I write what I love. Some writers try to write to please what they figure Shakespeare or Hemingway would like. I write what pleases Nick McCarty. I guess I’m easily entertained. Have you talked with Sonny?”
“Yeah… he says his folks are a mess but they like the plan you explained for helping them. Sonny thinks you were close to killing them.”
Nick shrugged. “No comment. Phil is a tool. That Clarice is the one to watch. I warned Sonny to watch for anything she tries to talk Phil into. He’s probably their only chance to stay alive and out of prison.”
“What now?”
“I don’t know yet, Rach. Paul will let me know if any leads pan out to find the five border infiltrators. Until then, we wait and enjoy the wedding we have ahead. I think Paul will be in touch by morning. It remains to be seen if they’re spread all over the country, or all in one spot. I’m hoping for one spot. If they split to five different places, I doubt I’ll have time to stop what they plan on doing. I won’t give up, but I have to be realistic. Anyway, we’ll all go this time wherever we need to be so I can handle these guys. I’m betting the East Coast. Gus thinks it will be another Middle America attack.”
“Do you mean a book selling tour with benefits?”
“Sort of. I have to find the guys first. They’re dangerous as hell. Two of them are Albanian women, light skinned. Paul and I agree they’ll be used as cover. Besides, where ever we do go, the book tour is a great cover. I’m not leaving you and Jean at home with the Kader threat.”
Jean piped in with her own agenda. “Can we take Sonny along?”
“I don’t think that’s a very good idea, although I can’t think of a reason off hand. What do you think, Rach?”
“He already knows nearly as much about us as Jean. She didn’t tell him anything. He’s not the type you can hide things from. I guess today he got a taste of what it’s like being a part of this craziness.”
“Living with Phil and Clarice has equipped him with a distinctive set of skills. I think you can ask permission. If his folks say it’s okay, it will mean he gets indoctrinated into our movements. I trust him to keep it away from his folks, but it will be a different kind of relationship for him. At ten, you two should not be exposed to any of this. In any case you can ask him to come. It would be worth it if only to gauge Phil and Clarice’s reaction. What about the summer camp idea?”
“Are you really going to volunteer as a camp counselor or was that a joke?” Jean leaned toward Nick, with lowered head and furrowed brows.
“I’m probably not going to volunteer as a camp counselor. That was a joke. Is that what’s been preventing an energetic acceptance from you and Sonny?”
“Of course. Payaso made it sound like you already had your application in, and Uncle John didn’t contradict him,” Jean stated. “My only problem with you as a counselor is I won’t get to sneak Sonny into my cabin.”
“Jean!” Rachel didn’t react in time to entrap the giggling Daughter of Darkness who ran for the door with the attentive Deke moving into protect mode covering her retreat. Nick reacted with much amusement rather than shock.
“Relax Rachel. Other girls would be sharing Jean’s cabin. They would be screaming the moment they caught a glimpse of Dagger’s sidekick. What’s Sonny’s sidekick name anyway?”
Jean paused at the balcony door. “Cracker.”
More laughter from Nick.
“That’s not funny, Jean,” Rachel said. “Why would you ever call him Cracker?”
“He annoyed me during our discussion about his sidekick identity. Sonny thought he should be called ‘Ice Cold’. I told him he was more like a Cracker than a Ice Cold. Sonny ordered me not to call him Cracker, so now I call him Cracker.”
“Of course you do,” Nick replied. Nick sipped some more Bushmill’s while watching Jean. “You wouldn’t be contemplating late night ninja attacks at the camp with Cracker are you?”
Silence. Jean shifted uneasily at the door, knowing it an impossible task to tell Nick lies. “Maybe.”
Nick gestured for calmness from Rachel. “You haven’t thought that course of action through. Those kinds of pranks never end well. For one, you could scare a kid into a panic. If you’re caught, you could be sent to juvenile detention.”
Jean returned to the table. “C’mon, Dad. This is an excellent opportunity to hone our skills. We won’t hurt anyone.”
“I didn’t say the Ninja idea was bad, but no targets and no follow through. I want your word or I cancel the camping trip.”
“What Muerto said,” Rachel reiterated.
“What about camp counselors?”
“Camp counselors? Did you have something in mind nonlethal or do you have a mission thought through that won’t land you in juvy?”
“Muerto!”
“C’mon, Mom,” Jean said. “Sonny and I can ninja the counselors, rearrange their stuff or something else harmless.”
“I don’t see anything too out of line in that training exercise. You do know if they catch you at it, they might decide to slap you two around.”
“Those weenies can’t break Dagger and Cracker.”
“Make it something simple, harmless, and barely noticeable.”
“Okay, Dad. Can I call Sonny?”
“Sure.”
Nick smiled at Rachel’s scowl as Jean raced off. “She has skills. Getting caught wouldn’t be a bad thing. She has common sense. Do you think I should stop her from doing it?”
“What if one of the counselors has a weapon when Jean and Sonny get caught? The counselor could react with deadly force thinking they’re being attacked for real.”
“I’ll go over the op with her. I don’t know how to stop her. She excels at all aspects she attempts to learn. I need her to confide in me so I can mold what she does into an exercise for honing her skills, and not for putting her into prison. I can’t get them into summer camp until the end of July anyway. The camp is very close to my place in Carmel Valley. I’ll put John on their tail if I get uneasy.”
Rachel reached over to cover Nick’s hand. “Are you sure about this, Nick? Isn’t there some way we can pull her away from this obsession? She’s only ten, for God’s sake.”
“Honey, I know that. I thought I had her with the writing. That misdirection may still work. She lies in wait for me at night in her
ninja costume. Deke helps her now. It’s an insidious plot by a ten year old nemesis who seems to be eating our lunch. In eight years she will be able to do anything she wants. I don’t want her hurt or killed because I didn’t train her.”
“But she’s not like you, Nick.”
Nick shrugged. “No, she’s not, but I think she’s going to be a killer. It’s weird the way her and Sonny have bonded. He told me today he was going to marry her. I believe if she says yes, then he will marry her. Another thing I have to watch is he’s dedicated to her. She made him dress like a ninja to help her ambush me. I’m hoping Sonny wouldn’t do anything she told him to do, but I’m not sure of it.”
“We’re going to hell.”
“You always say that. If you have an alternative to training her then spit it out. Repeating clichés doesn’t work with me or her.”
“Maybe Sonny in the mix is our salvation and hers.”
Nick chuckled. “That’s a little too optimistic for me.”
His iPhone rang. Nick answered.
“We found them, Nick. Four of them are staying at the Boston Harbor Hotel. I’ve had teams working facial recognition in every major city. We struck pay dirt. It’s as we feared. They’ve registered as couples with money, dressing like oil magnates, and throwing around money as if they were listed in the Forbes fave five. The fifth guy is the key. He established a presence in a little used warehouse on C Street in Boston. This could be so big I’m afraid to send a kill squad in.”
“You want to know what they’re targeting. I get that, but couples are tricky, Paul. It’s best to kill them. Forget about a question and answer session. If you want an idea of what they want, I can go snatch their fifth wheel. He’s probably the planner and boss of the imported cell. Do they have open ended stays booked at the hotel?”
Cold Blooded Assassin Book 5: Nightmare in Red (Nick McCarty Assassin Series) Page 16