Red Horizon

by Bernard Lee DeLeo

  John Harding led Nick’s crew to the converted EMT van. “I did and I think it’s entertaining as hell. Your call to Al-Saud was a work of genius. You do know once you’re overseas in Dubai, they may just shoot you in the head, right?”

  “Did you just insult me, John?”

  Harding laughed. “Have it your way. I hope the assets overseas are as dependable as you think they are.”

  “That makes two of us,” Nick replied, holding the rear van door open for his crew.

  “Are the two going in with Muerto at Pilot Hill primed for their part,” Gus asked as he entered the van behind Johnny, Issac and Cala.

  “Believe me, Fernando and Senta have only one purpose in life – to please Cruella Deville,” John replied. “You’ll see when we get to Pain Central. It’s good to see you again, Issac. I’m glad you were able to come on mission.”

  “It is good to see you too, Sir,” Issac said. “I am very excited to be a part of this. St. Lucia is experiencing an influx of Muslims. A hundred Isis recruits from the other islands have flown to Syria.”

  “I heard about that. Nick told me you have a house now in Pacific Grove. How are you adjusting to the weather?”

  “I am freezing my ass off, John.” Issac replied in a hushed voice, avoiding Nick’s smiling glare. “I was promised the sun and all I have been given is an icy wind.”

  “Nobody promised you anything, Cheeto breath.” Nick handed Issac his large equipment bag. “You’re going to clean my helicopter when we get back, young man.”

  “So, you have a Cheeto addiction, huh Issac?”

  “I have a weakness for them, John,” Issac admitted. “They are so plentiful here. It is mean though to call me ‘Cheeto breath’.”

  “You’ll survive. Get in the van. I’m riding in the front with John,” Nick said.

  * * *

  Carone and Bulgar sat on chairs with heads bowed near the meeting table. Nick didn’t need more than a glance to tell the two were broken. Everyone, including Sal and Chuck from Red Dragon Security, sat at the meeting table at Pain Central. Lynn’s personal assistants Dannie and Amara watched Clint Jr. and Mia in the theater room. Tonto had already sniffed out the newcomers and escorted them to the table for heartfelt greetings.

  “I see what you mean about our helpers.” Nick walked next to Fernando and Senta. They immediately became attentive. “Hello there, Fernando. John tells me you and Senta are well rehearsed in what we will be saying at the compound.”

  “Show Muerto how well prepared you both are, my good little helpers,” Lynn said.

  The pair stood. They took stock of their movements and facial expressions before standing next to each other as if standing on the compound’s doorstep. Their absolutely perfect dialogue, delivered without tremor or wavering tone, impressed Nick so much he clapped the cringing Fernando on the back.

  “Outstanding! How did the introductory call to Al-Kadi go, Fernando?”

  “Al-Kadi acted supremely interested,” Fernando answered. “The Mistress of the Unimaginable made a recording, Sir.”

  Lynn started the audio call in to Al-Kadi to set a time for their visit. Nick listened intently, hearing the relief in Al-Kadi’s voice. Fernando discussed the need and reason for his moving the Tempest to a new anchorage. Al-Kadi agreed with all of Fernando’s suggestions about keeping the ship’s position and radio silence for the time being until it became safe to reposition the Tempest.

  “You are incredible, Lynn,” Nick said. “I may be able to do a lot of damage inside. If this works the way I hope, I will kill the guards with Al-Kadi, pick a spot for an ambush within the room I meet him in, and have Saran-wrap scream for help. The number of guards answering his distress call may reduce the number of soldiers inside significantly.”

  “Damn good, Dead boy,” Lucas said, getting nods of agreement around the table. “We could move then on the perimeter in full force. Clint can spearhead the house entry with Tonto when we clear it.”

  “What happens when Nick tells you to get down, my darlings,” Lynn asked Senta.

  “We drop to our faces on the floor with fingers locked behind our heads, Mistress,” Senta answered without hesitation. “We do not move until ordered to.”

  “Very good, Senta. I believe we’re as ready for this as we can be, Muerto.”

  “Yep. They’ve activated too many lone wolf attacks, probably orchestrated right out of a cell training center like Pilot Hill. It’s payback time for the lives lost while our leaders busily tried to strip us of the weapons to defend ourselves.”

  “Thanks for a part in this,” Sal said. “Chuck and I have been going nuts watching these chicken shit attacks.”

  “What are you using in the big house for weaponry, Nick?”

  Nick hesitated a moment which furrowed Lucas’s brow. “I’ll show you, Chuck. I read the reports on when Senta was with Al-Kadi. She was required to wear a burka at all times. Isn’t that true, Senta?”

  “Yes, Sir. All women moving around the premises where Saran lives must be fully covered. Even when he used me for an assassination I would have to be covered until given into my target’s control.”

  Nick reached into his equipment bag, retrieving a spandex belt with a quick release holster made specially to hold an MP5. It had slim pockets on each side to carry extra clips. “This will fit tightly to Senta’s waist with weapons within reach at the rear. After they frisk me head to toe at the door, I’ll keep Senta close by me when moving to our meeting with Al-Kadi. If they try to separate us, I will go for my weapon immediately. The party will have to start then. I can have my com gear clipped to the belt too so I can get into contact with the network the moment I begin eliminating inside opposition.”

  “Nice,” John said. “I like it.”

  “Wait a damn minute.” Lucas bumped into Nick, rooting around in the bag. He brought out a grenade. “I knew it! You’re fixing to blow the hell out of my vacation cottage in the mountains. I ought to shoot you right in the head.”

  Nick sighed as everyone enjoyed Lucas’s Marine drill sergeant face-off with Nick while waving the grenade under his nose. “Look Ahab, this isn’t a suicide mission. If I need to blow the shit out of something to save my ass, I’ll do it. Don’t let whale-shit confiscate my backup plan, John.”

  It took a few more moments before Harding could speak to the issue of confiscation after the whale-shit comment. “Leave… the grenades alone, Pappy. I’m not losin’ Muerto. Especially after he has that ‘Spaghetti Western’ ploy going between Al-Saud and Al-Kadi, getting paid by both sides with his own extermination plan for both in effect.”

  Nick grinned. “You recognized my ‘Clint Eastwood’ plot, huh?”

  “Oh yeah,” John answered. “It’s the plot of a ‘Fistful of Dollars’ where Eastwood as ‘the man with no name’ plays off the murderous Rojos and Baxters against each other while getting paid by both.”

  “I used it in Florida when I helped my wife Rachel and daughter Jean out of the mess they were in. It’s nice you recognized it, Dark Lord. I’m going to play my part inside the compound until Al-Kadi pays my upfront fee for killing Al-Saud if I can.” Nick shook hands with Chardin. “Fenric Ballesteros is dead, Claude.”

  Chardin looked surprised. “Thank you. I crossed him one time and he held a grudge. He’s tried four times to kill me. I figured if anyone nailed me out of the blue it would be him. Fen wasn’t a bad sort for one of us psychopaths. I received bad intel on a job. Fen was nearly captured by the Egyptians. That’s a bad bunch to be captured by, especially when they believe you know something they want.”

  “Don’t you use those damn grenades unless absolutely necessary, meaning you can sacrifice all your body-parts first until you only have one hand to pull the pin,” Lucas ordered.

  “On a more serious note, Cheese told us about ex-Senator Cameron trying to get you outed and hung up to dry during the hostage situation you fixed,” Tommy said. “How’d you do getting clear of that?”

  “I had
to have a little help from my friends on that, but I did learn who instigated the assistant DA and practically owns her ass,” Nick replied. “I will have to deal with Cameron, not in a permanent way, but I am considering using Lynn’s foot massage method to get her in line if Sylvio can make a portable one for me.”

  “I will make you one the moment we return from Pilot Hill, Muerto,” Sylvio stated. “It is a very good teaching tool for recalcitrant students.”

  “Thanks, my friend, I will use your teaching method sparingly. I’m glad to see you and Jess in on this too, Dev. We need all the drivers and perimeter guards we can get. I wish this were a lock as far as how Al-Kadi’s terrorists in training will react, but the truth is, at the first shot they might take to the woods. We can’t have that.”

  “Agreed,” John replied. “Before we send you in, we’ll move everyone into position. We will have our snipers and assault force ready on the outskirts. I’ll go in with Clint, Tonto, Johnny, and Lynn. Lucas and Casey will be in the sniper’s nests we’ve already picked out for a crossfire that should be deadly for anyone near the house. That leaves the perimeter for the minions, Sal, Chuck, Dev, Jess, Claude, and Achmed. Denny and Samira will handle networking and satellite surveillance. Gus, Tommy and Issac have armored vehicle duty, ready to drive us out of danger or to hunt down escapees. Laredo will fly the stealth for air support. After the recent Isis media tagged lone wolf killings across the country, we’re making a statement once again. Like all of you, I thought the ‘Starlight of the Seas’ mission would help here on home soil as it did overseas.”

  “We needed to force the bastards out of hiding anyway,” Lucas said. “This way, the American public can get a clue, and understand this is war, kill or be killed.”

  “Exactly,” John said. “Except for Al-Kadi if Muerto can get him out alive, this is a kill mission. Lynn can find out everything Al-Kadi knows or has learned from birth to death after we get him back here. He dies then and Muerto gets proof to take with him to the sand for the hit on Al-Saud. Denny had our armored vehicles transported to a place outside Pilot Hill. We’re taking no chances. If worse comes to worse, we’ll drive the armor right through Al-Saud’s house. The only casualties I want to see are the terrorist trainees.”

  “One other item while we’re hashing this out.” Denny had been silent through the whole briefing. Paul Gilbrech made the ‘kill mission’ call already. Denny would only have Al-Saud for a short time. “This attempt by an already known traitor, ex-Senator Diane Cameron, to mess with Nick cannot be swept under the rug. They have enemies’ lists in politics. We need to start watching our congressional leaders with a more proactive approach. They’re being elected by promising entitlements and many have never held a real job in their entire lives. This is a dangerous time. They’ve allowed our deadliest enemy to infiltrate our country in the hundreds of thousands.”

  “Do you mean assassinate these people,” Tommy asked.

  “No. That won’t work. It would end badly for us no matter how much good we did,” Denny replied. “I mean to establish a way to discredit these parasites who get elected promising freebies and then sell out their country for a buck. We have ways to get to these people without killing them. Nick took out Cameron that way. He made a sitting Senator resign or face prosecution. We can do the same.”

  “What about the ones who stay below the radar legally but who we find selling influence to foreign countries,” Clint asked.

  “There may be some who will have to be taught like Nick plans to teach Cameron,” Denny answered. “She obviously didn’t learn her lesson the easy way. I know from Nick’s report to Paul Gilbrech that Cameron deserves to be shot by firing squad. We can’t do that at this time without the liberals going on a suicide watch. Nick may do her a favor this way, because despite her plea deal to resign, we’ll send her to prison on some other charge. In any case, keep what I said in mind. We will be watching these jackals more closely.”

  “Let’s get loaded,” John said. “We have a final lesson to teach at Pilot Hill. I wish we could do it with music but this one has to be silent death.”

  * * *

  Nick checked Lucas and Casey’s nests in the trees opposite the main house nearly four hundred yards away. He climbed to each perch in the darkness with his night-vision range finders at their request. The kill zone area fronting the main complex, within full sight of the two nests, made the positioning perfect for a bloody crossfire. He grinned at how the guards patrolled the grounds and the stationary spots on the upper levels of the building. It was obvious they thought their assignments of guarding the compound to be demeaning and unnecessary. Not one of them had night-vision oculars to scan the outlying areas. The perimeter was left unguarded completely. With the thick walled ornate barrier and solid steel grated gate, Al-Kadi’s men felt obviously safe.

  “This is damn near perfect, Lucas,” Nick said. “Casey’s angle crosses your fire zone with as deadly a field as I could have pictured.”

  “Thanks for taking a look, kid,” Lucas said. “With an op this touchy at night, I didn’t want to miss something. Another set of eyes is welcome. I’ll bet you’d like to be in my place.”

  Lucas knew his former pupil very well. “You got me,” Nick admitted. “I live for this nest setting and kill zone. My part in this will be loud and exciting but this… this stirs my blood.”

  “You had your fun on the ‘Starlight’. When you blew the heads off the captain and bridge crew on the first attacking boat before blowing it to pieces with the XM25, the rest of us nearly forgot what the hell we were doing. It’s my turn.”

  “And mine,” Casey said in their ears. “I’ve been watching the troops deploy around the perimeter. We’re nearly ready for your big performance, Muerto.”

  “I’ll get down and calm my assistants. They’re a bit nervous about their parts, especially after the last minute pep talk by the ‘Mistress of the Unimaginable’.”

  “I heard that,” Lynn said. “Get to work. I promised my toys if they did a great job helping you I’d allow them to attend camp with Denny. Senta worries me, Muerto. She’s a high caliber actress. I’m usually sure of my creations, but in this instance, I’m a little uneasy.”

  “I hear you, Lynn.” Nick climbed down from Lucas’s nest. “I will keep your reservations in mind when we get inside. Hey… if this was easy… anyone could do it, right?”

  “That’s right, Dead Boy,” Clint said. “Pay attention and watch your six.”

  “You never used to be this touchy/feely, man from nowhere.”

  “I grew in stature while you were shrinking, Dead Boy.”

  Nick had to stop on his way to the entry vehicle while enjoying Clint’s reply along with the rest of the network in his ear. “Okay then… here we go.”

  John Harding waited for Nick. Jafar waited at his side. Jafar volunteered to drive the three in, pointing out how it would look to the guards and Al-Kadi if they didn’t have a driver. He also mentioned the captives would have to be watched closely on approach. The fact Jafar would not be searched because he would stay with the car was the deciding factor. An MP5, hidden under the driver’s seat, would be Jafar’s go to weapon although he also packed a Walther 9mm handgun. Jafar said he would drop Nick and his companions at the door. Afterward, he would drive the BMW used in the approach to the side where he would await the outcome and action calmly near the car. He was dressed in a black suit with tie and Kevlar vest underneath the clothing.

  “You’re certain you want to do this, Achmed,” Nick asked as Jafar held the door for him.

  “Absolutely,” Jafar answered with a grin as John put away the .45 caliber Colt he watched Fernando and Senta with until Nick joined them.

  “It’s a solid plan,” John said. “I transfer custody, Muerto.”

  “I have them, Cheese. I’ll see you on the other side. If anything goofy happens, I will take care of Achmed.”

  “I know you will. Do not be a target, little brother,” John said to Jafar.
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  “I will be good, John. Lucas would never let anything happen to me. He’d never be able to turn his laptop on again.”

  “Why you little… turd,” Lucas muttered to much amusement. “You are dead to me.”

  “Am not,” Jafar stated with confidence while getting behind the steering wheel. “Here we go. I will pray Ahab’s sight doesn’t fail him before the mission is completed.”

  Nick listened to the outrage from Lucas and amusement from their comrades with deep appreciation. He had been so long on his own, Nick hearkened back to his days with Delta Force when his brothers in arms meant everything to him. After the ‘Starlight of the Seas’ mission, Nick thought of Harding’s ‘Monster Squad’ as family. He glared over at his traveling companions with distrust as Jafar drove away. Senta worried him as she did Lynn – not in a fragile sense, but in a methodology of how to kill her once he was betrayed. If he could stay close to her until gaining an audience with Al-Kadi, Nick felt everything would be fine. With his writer’s imagination, he could contemplate all possible actions with clinical perception. Nick felt after a few moments rehashing the coming action in his mind that he had anticipated every conceivable happening.

  “Take deep breaths,” Nick instructed Lynn’s helpers. “We’ll act our parts as rehearsed. When it comes time, get on the floor face down and cover. Stay there until I tell you it’s okay to get up. Any questions?”

  Fernando and Senta kept their heads down while shaking them in the negative. Senta glanced at Nick after a moment. “Why are you doing this? You are the foremost assassin in the world. Even Claude Chardin acknowledges that. I heard you tell him you killed Fenric Ballesteros. We knew from Al-Kadi you had killed Felix Moreau. You could have anything you want. Why participate in this stupid spy game?”

  “Shit! She’s going to fuck you, Muerto,” Lynn muttered through what Nick thought was probably fist clenched rage as she listened. “Abort this.”

  “Easy.” Nick addressed Senta, while also answering Lynn, without giving away the fact he was in constant contact with his friends. “We’re going through with the mission, Senta. Calm yourself and play the part given to you. Don’t volunteer anything other than answer as you have been instructed. I will handle the rest. Why I do what I do means nothing in your mind, so why talk about it. Focus on your job.”