Red Horizon

by Bernard Lee DeLeo

  “We’re fucked, Ray!”

  “This is… some kind of new scare tactic,” Ray answered. “No one can do this to us! Keep it together! Hey! Anyone here? Okay… you’ve made your point. Let’s talk money.”

  “This ain’t about money, bro,” Biff said. “We’re dead. They didn’t strap us on these gurneys in a room like this for the hell of it. They knew Fernando and who we are. We’re fucked.”

  Although they had to be careful, the Unholy Trio donned their costumes with Cala recording the interrogation. They approached the gurneys with rehearsed ease. Nick patted Biff’s cheek before speaking through the voice altering mask. “Hi there, Biff. You’ve been given to the Unholy Trio. We want to know everything you know about Fernando Carone and his Mother Ship, ‘The Tempest’. You are right. You and Ray are in a nightmare of pain. I sense you understand the importance of telling us everything you know. Otherwise you’ll be experiencing this.”

  Nick moved over to Ray’s body. He sliced down from his sternum to his groin with the scalpel. Ray screamed as his intestines bulged. “Apply the magic ingredient, El Kabong.”

  Johnny moved into view next to Ray’s body and poured bleach along Ray’s evisceration. Ray stayed conscious for only seconds of hell before he passed out. By then, Biff gasped, howled, screamed, and begged as Ray’s body relaxed into momentary coma-like stillness. Nick moved into view in his Muerto disguise.

  “I see in your face you recognize the fact you won’t live, but you could die comfortably. That in itself should be a comfort. I can supply you with a painless death, or you can watch your buddy, Ray. He’ll give you a preview of the way you’ll go unless I get detailed answers to all of my questions. Do you understand the consequences of playing with us, Biff?”

  Nick noted the open mouthed stare of horror highlighting Biff’s features. He smiled. “C’mon, Biff. Use your words, buddy.”

  Biff focused finally on Nick’s masked features. “What…what do you want to know?”

  “We know your boss Fernando wants this area under his thumb for drug, extortion, and even human trafficking. We want to know every detail of the operation, including Panga boat exchanges, guards, weapons, and Fernando’s presence on board. Leave nothing out. I will let you talk because we know many details already. Choose your words carefully, Biff. If you don’t match what we already know perfectly this will be a bad day at black rock for you, pal.”

  “Ah… what do you know?”

  Nick chuckled which came out as an evil Darth Vader sounding amusement. “That’s for us to know and you to find out. Start talking.”

  * * *

  Biff relaxed backwards with a loose bodied movement indicating complete capitulation. He gave them everything about Carone’s ambitions in the area, including the fact no one had been sent yet to replace Jay’s exterminated crew. Biff began to sweat as he explained how Fernando recruited him and Ray in East LA from their enforcement job with the Zetas. He wanted to fuck these assholes over somehow. Ray’s torture unnerved him in a way he didn’t think was possible. If he could hold back something before they gave him a hotshot it would be worth a gamble. After he told them about the sleeping quarters for Fernando on board ‘The Tempest’, along with the number of guards watching the boat during the night, Biff fell silent. He pretended trying to think of something else he left out, repeating a detail about Fernando’s party habits he’d already mentioned.

  “Not bad,” Nick stopped him. “I think maybe you earned a sleepy-time shot, Biff. I-”

  Cala had been watching Biff closely. She rushed over to Nick, who approached Biff with a syringe Cala knew meant death. “Wait, Muerto! Biff is lying… or withholding a critical fact. He’s sweating although he is naked. Do not trust him. I have a feeling.”

  Shit! Biff wrestled around in his bonds. Sweat stung his eyes. He glanced at Nick, who watched him with a smile. His ploy was dead and he knew it. “I…I forgot one thing.”

  “You didn’t forget, Biff. Cala caught you. Nice one, Cleaner. I think a couple of incisions with a little bleach should get you on board.”

  “Dickerson! He…he’s a lead cop Jay mentioned as being impossible to buy off in Pacific Grove. Fernando has a hit on him to take place tonight! Please… I’m sorry… I…I thought maybe-”

  “Maybe nothing,” Nick cut him off. “Who did Carone hire and where’s he staying?”

  “I don’t know where he is… honest to God! His name’s Fenric Ballesteros. He’s a pro. The contract is for tonight. That’s all I know!”

  “Do you know him, Muerto,” Gus asked.

  “I know of him. He’s amongst my Rogue’s Gallery of guys to watch out for. I saw him in Cairo nearly three years ago. My old boss Frank Richert wanted him tracked for possible sanction. Frank had an address for him in Cairo and knew who his target was. I found his target first - an official with the Saudi government visiting Egypt on official business. Then I found Fenric casing his target. Frank aborted the sanction. I have plenty of pictures of Fenric from that time. Carone’s becoming a real problem. He wants the Monterey area under his thumb; but why? I can understand sending in a group like Jay’s crew to do some exploring for opportunities in the Central Coastal Area. It makes no sense to start assassinating local cops.”

  Nick turned again to a terrified Biff. “You can still earn a quiet, painless passing. Why the hell would your boss send a damn professional to kill a local cop?”

  “Fernando figured to establish a presence with gang contacts as a screen… you know… to give the locals something to bitch about. We did it in the Southern California area, but Homeland Security tightened operations down there because of the ports. We…we had sweet Panga boat ports in all the small coastal cities.”

  “Keep going,” Nick said. “I want to hear everything concerning this floating operation.”

  “Like Fernando says… we need a key cop in the area we establish a presence in, along with a gang like Jay’s under our control. We can use the gang to distract from any kind of port activity we have going on. The drugs are only part of it… but I guess you know that. Fernando could move anything: weapons, women, drugs, even explosives.”

  “You’re beginning to bore me.” Nick moved on Biff with the scalpel when he paused.

  “Wait! Give me a minute! I…I have to get this straight. With one or two key cops in our control, we can own an area, moving anything we want in and out of the port. The gang causes just enough of a problem with small shit on big transfer days to allow our cop contacts to recommend big police attention away from what we’re doing. The best is it never ties back to us. It…it’s worked so far… until now.”

  “That’s a steep step to get from small time chaos to killing cops,” Nick replied.

  “Not if a pro does it random like,” Biff explained, seeing the scalpel in Nick’s hands begin to rise from his side. “Think about it… a pro like Ballesteros breaks in, kills the family, takes shit like a burglar, and gets out without leaving a trace. The cops go on a useless manhunt, looking for someone with a grudge against Dickerson. Fenric is long gone before they even discover the scene.”

  Nick’s mouth tightened into a thin slash. “You left the part out about Dickerson’s family being murdered too.”

  “C’mon… sorry… I figured you would know Fenric would have to kill the whole family… random… bloody… and violent.” Biff began to hyperventilate watching Nick. “Please… for God’s sake… don’t cut me! I told you everything! I’ll make this right! The Tempest isn’t at sea all the way down near San Luis Obispo or the Channel Islands. We’re anchored five miles west of Point Lobos. That’s good info, right? The coordinates are on my tablet in a note file marked Point Lobos.”

  Nick backed away with iron control, thinking about Neil and his family. He gestured at Gus. Without another word, Gus gave both the comatose Ray and the relieved Biff hotshots into eternity. Cala sized the two bodies with cold calculating purpose before turning toward Nick.

  “Helicopter, Muerto?
We have freezer room if you want to store them for now.”

  “Let’s store them, Cala. This really brings Neil into our business bigtime.”

  “It saved his life, Nick,” Gus stated. “Did… you know… ever kill a family to cover a sanction?”

  Nick grinned, knowing it would be stupid to act outraged at the suggestion. “No. I would have figured a way to take Neil out in some other form, probably like I did in Senator Ambrose. I’d use ether on anyone in the house who might waken. Then I’d simply stick him with a heart attack shot or cut off his breathing. It leaves the coroner looking for clues about a guy dying in the midst of his family without any sign of break in.”

  “That was a great tip to get the exact coordinates for The Tempest. Nice catch, Cala,” Gus said. “What do you have in mind for stopping Fenric, Muerto?”

  “We’ll need to recon Neil’s area, making sure Fenric’s not keeping lookout on the house at this time,” Nick replied. “We won’t be looking for him. That would be a waste of time. We’ll concentrate on the target. He’ll come to us and I will stop him somehow. If he’s not casing the area around Neil’s home, we’ll slip the Dickerson family out. I’ll take their place.”

  “What if he is watching Neil’s house,” Johnny asked.

  “Sucks to be him,” Nick said. “It looks like you’re our driver for the evening, Cleaner.”

  “I know Neil, his wife and their kids. I would kill this Fenric myself,” Cala stated.

  “Not necessary, but you will need to calculate space in the freezer,” Nick replied.

  “I will do so happily, Muerto.”

  * * *

  Fenric Ballesteros watched the Dickerson household with the calmness of an experienced killer from early in the day. Enjoying the commonplace family activities as they moved about their lives without a care in the world touched the only part of Fenric he cared about. Killing meant an end with monetary stability. Feeling the everyday actions of a busy family who smilingly skipped around happily inside their pathetic lives without a clue thrilled him in an indescribable way. It made the tedious prep work actually exciting and the killing just a mundane action.

  Fenric smiled in anticipation. He found Mrs. Dickerson to be quite the tasty morsel. Clueless wives could be a wonderful addition to any crime scene. For the next few minutes, he imagined the unimaginable acts he would engage in with the cop’s wife. Ballesteros couldn’t decide whether to keep the cop alive to watch or not. Fenric made disparaging gestures, even as regret in the thought plagued him. Some things would need to be unscripted. The killing of Dickerson’s family would need to be haphazardly violent. If a rape opportunity presented itself, Fenric would be ready. The suddenly appearing flashing lights at his back stabbed reality into his consciousness. Fuck. What the hell could this be?

  A dark figure approached Fenric’s vehicle with slow care. Not knowing how many cops might be in the Ford SUV, Fenric decided on feigned ignorance, hoping to dissuade the cop with a lost persona. He rolled down his window with a smile of helpfulness, secretly cursing the time and opportunity window missed.

  “Hello. Did I do something wrong?” The Taser needles shot into his chest blanked any random thought. The one who shot them into him watched with a grin until Fenric lost consciousness.

  * * *

  “Nope.” Nick also answered the question to himself, and you won’t be doing wrong… ever again.

  The Ford drove alongside with side door popping open. Nick deposited Fenric inside. He then got into Fenric’s vehicle without a backwards glance, following the Ford away from Dickerson’s house. He activated his networked com unit.

  “Did you get that interaction, Kabong?”

  “It has all been digitized, Muerto.”

  “Good. This worked out very well. Fenric had no idea he might be in danger from any outside source. That helped immeasurably. We spotted our boy. We had a plan. We engaged. We have Fenric in our control. It’s Miller time,” Nick joked. “I can handle it from here if you three want to call it a night or day.”

  “I’m in to the end,” Cala said. “I know this monster would have killed them all without a thought. Johnny and I will sleep later.”

  “Me too,” Gus stated. “The ‘Starlight’ gig soured me on the milk of human kindness. Like Cala said, Fenric no doubt had a kill mission in mind.”

  “I have researched everything about this creature,” Johnny added. “He is suspected of heinous acts no human being should be taking on as a so called job. Do all assassins think in this way, Muerto?”

  Nick hesitated. He shrugged. “Mostly… we’re psychopaths. I would have never taken any job with a family involved as collateral damage, but I know it happens. You’re right though, Johnny, assassins don’t question their employers for the most part. We see targets. We kill targets. Very seldom do we get into the morality of contracts.”

  “Will he talk, Muerto?”

  “Sure, Cala. Fenric will talk easier than anybody we’ve had for interrogation. Once he wakes on a gurney in our funhouse, Fenric will cooperate for anything we have to offer. Look… we have no conscience, no loyalty, and no compassion.”

  “You do, Nick,” Gus said with solemn emphasis.

  “I could pretend for you, Gus. Unfortunately, my inner dark side doesn’t disappear at will. Harding calls his people the ‘Monster Squad’. He differentiates his crew between Monsters and Snow Whites. Consider me in this way. Depending on the circumstances everyone is a Snow White to me.”

  “I’m well aware of that,” Gus replied. “I also know loyalty strongly influences every one of your actions.”

  “That is so, Muerto,” Johnny agreed.

  “Let’s leave the morality lessons alone for now. Take us to the Funhouse, Cleaner.”

  “Yes, Muerto.”

  * * *

  Fenric ached all over. The application of Taser needles until he passed out affected his short term memory. He kept his eyes shut while quietly taking stock of his physical attributes. Cursing himself internally without showing any outward sign, Ballesteros concluded his limbs as well as his head were restrained with straps he could not slither away from. He thought for a moment as to his choices, wondering about who or what he could barter away to keep his life. It was then three men approached, dressed in black, one with a vicious clown mask, and the other two with black silk face masks. A woman accompanied them, dressed in black, with a red eye mask and a red headband. One of the black silk masked men checked the video camera mounted directly behind the four. He nodded at the one at the other end of the line, who came forward with a water glass and straw. Fenric drank with hard to pretend thirst.

  “We know you were staking out the Dickerson house,” the man said, stripping off his mask. “I’m-”

  “Nick McCarty! Oh sweet Jesus! You killed Felix Moreau. Listen, Nick… I don’t have a contract on you. This is business, compadre. My employer doesn’t even know you. I’m here for the Dickerson family across from where you snatched me. I would never have taken a contract on you. Sure… I would shoot you in the back of the head if I saw you. I damn well wouldn’t go hunting you. I heard you took down the Frank Richert Cartel inside the NSA. How can I make this right?”

  “You can’t, Fen,” Nick answered. “I’m willing to forget you were going to hit the target bought and paid for by Fernando Carone. It’s nothing personal. It’s just business. You know reality, brother rat. You’re not walking out of here. Let’s get the finances out of the way first. Cleaner? Come over and scope this out.”

  “Yes, Muerto.” Cala streaked into position, staring at Fenric. “I’m ready.”

  “This is ‘The Cleaner’. She’s a living lie detector. We’ll need all your bank accounts first. Please don’t play make believe with us. We’ll keep you alive for a time until we confirm everything. Then, I’ll give you a peaceful, painless death. God help you if we don’t get the truth or your account information doesn’t check out. In that case, I will give you a glimpse of hell. My other compatriot, E
l Kabong will be using his satellite uplinked laptop to transfer your funds first. Begin quickly, Fen. You have ten seconds to comply with your account locations and numbers for transfer. We’ll get to the rest later.”

  Fenric recited in precise terms everything McCarty asked for. He observed for over a decade what can be done to a man in interrogation. The choice was clear – he either gave them everything they wanted or they would torture him until he did. He recognized McCarty immediately. Fenric had laughed when watching reports and videos of the ‘Unholy Trio’. Never did he think to cross their paths. Unlike other observers to the videos, Fenric knew they were not fake. The Middle East idiots, he had watched the destruction of an Isis cell in Ohio with, claimed it was a fake, vowing to find the filmmakers responsible. Fenric told them, ‘Allah help you if you do’. Carone had hired him for a simple kill in quiet Pacific Grove. If McCarty wanted Carone, Fenric would help him. He didn’t know if Carone knew about McCarty or the Unholy Trio, but if he had sent him into their hunting grounds without telling him, Fenric wanted him to pay for it with his life, as he himself soon would.

  * * *

  Johnny nodded at Nick after finishing transfer of accounts from Ballesteros’s holdings into their own offshore accounts. “It is done. He had nearly five million as he claimed.”

  “Very good, Fen,” Nick said, turning to Ballesteros. “You may have guessed we want the guy who hired you. Fernando Carone put the hit on our police friend and his family. We know where he is and what his plans are. You were to kill the Dickerson family tonight. Is that correct?”

  “Yes. I will help in any way I can for you to get the bastard who put me in your sights. Our kind do not have friends. Why make this personal?”

  In most instances, Nick admitted to himself, Fen was right. His career as a writer, and moving to Pacific Grove as a base, changed him. Then, along came Rachel, Jean, Deke, and now Quinn to cement the change into place. He knew explaining it to Fen would be a useless exercise. “Shit happens. I never took a contract on a family. I don’t hold that against you, but we were never the same kind. We need you to confirm information gathered from two of Carone’s other henchmen.”