“Very true. I don’t think you understand how devastating losing you would be to your Mom and me. I agreed to train you, but I sure hope you take my writing career more seriously than my other career choice. I do have an idea for your ninja plans. I’m thinking of giving you and Sonny com units like Gus, John, and I use. I could network with you whenever these maneuvers take place. That way, even when you are separated from Sonny, you’ll still be in contact.”
Jean pumped her fist with enthusiasm. “That is so cool! Wait until I tell Sonny!”
“Tell him what,” Rachel asked sleepily from the door, cradling Quinn.
“It’s ninja business, Momster,” Jean said. “There’s no need for you to get worked up over ninja operations.”
“Oh… you are so lucky I’m holding Quinn and your Dad’s making pancakes so I can’t stuff his son in his arms and then stuff you in the oven like the witch did Hansel and Gretel.”
“Wow… overreact much? You haven’t been the same since Dad stopped duct taping you into bed. I thought Brother Quinn would mellow your attitude, but you’re out of control.” Jean giggled as her retort had Rachel looking for a place to put Quinn.
“You wait! When I don’t have a baby in my arms I’m going to beat you until you cry Mamma!”
“Ladies,” Nick interjected finally as he brought over a stack of pancakes. “Please. Let’s have a nice civilized breakfast. Let me have Quinn, babe. You sit down and eat. I’ll bring you a coffee. We’ll all discuss terms with The Daughter of Darkness.”
Rachel pointed at Jean after sitting down across from her where Nick had made another place setting. “You’re lucky these pancakes are calling for me or you’d be in for a beat down.”
“I may be lucky, but your waistline is already howling for mercy.”
Nick sighed as the race was on with Jean slightly in the lead, but with the Momster close, and Deke nipping ankles at every step. He sat down with Quinn and his coffee. “I’m worn out, Quinn. I need you to grow up overnight and help me out here. Your Mom and Sis are driving me to drink. I believe in spite of my mistakes of perception last night I will have to take a taste of the Irish with me to the beach.”
As if in answer Quinn spit up on Nick’s shirt.
“Et tu, Quinn?”
* * *
Nick arrived at the beach with his complete clan, including Sonny. Gus and John were already in serious discussion with laptop and iPads out. Cala and Tina sat beside their men with Cala in animated discussion with Tina. Sonny and Jean split off with Deke to trek the beach trail, testing out the communication units Nick helped them don for the outing. The trail wound around all the beaches along the coastline. Nick handed Quinn over to Rachel while setting their beach chairs in place.
“Hi guys. How goes the Kader watch?”
“They’ve already called the police,” Gus said. “We’re keeping an eye on the police band.
“Damn, Gomez,” Tina said. “You had a busy night. Every walk with the dog is an adventure for you lately. I’ve been hearing from your new groupie, Cleaner Cala.”
“Tina!”
“I’m cool with it, girlfriend,” Tina reassured her with a shoulder hug. “Rachel and I don’t want on the cleaning crew.”
“You got that right,” Rachel agreed. “I’ve seen Nick’s messes. I don’t know how you stomach it, but welcome. You’re our little Sis now, Cala, but we’re not going to be ‘The Sisterhood of the Traveling Body Cleanup’. You can be our representative on that crew. My Daughter of Darkness will probably join the moment she turns eighteen.”
“I like the nickname, Cleaner,” Nick said. “You’re a natural. In our family business, it’s become a necessity. Just when the freezer gets empty, up pops an in-law Kader with a bad attitude. I called Paul when I got home. He answers on the first buzz now from being inside the crap storm lately. It seems a few of Jacob’s crew last night were on the Interpol watch list, here with false identities. They’re suspected of being complicit in numerous bloody events overseas. Paul is looking into how the hell they managed to get in the country. Frankly, I think that’s a waste of time. Our borders are so porous it’s a wonder we bother having borders.”
“Do you really like the nickname?”
“Oh yeah,” Nick told Cala. “It has a more professional flavor than T-Rex Tina.”
“Gomez!”
A few moments later, once coffees were passed out and supplemented, John continued with their tracking report. “It was explained to the Kader that called a missing persons case with adults in a car would not be treated seriously for at least twenty-four hours, but they would list everything about the car on a bulletin in case there had been an accident.”
Nick lifted a finger in a wait gesture as he heard Jean’s voice. “Viper here. Do you read, Muerto?”
“Loud and clear, Viper.”
“This is so cool! Thanks, Dad.”
“No problem. Don’t go past Lover’s Point.”
“Okay. Viper out.”
John looked around from his laptop screen. “Did you decide on a camp, Muerto?”
“We decided on the one nearest you, Doubleday Ranch Camps on East Carmel Valley Road. As you can hear, the ninjas will be well equipped for their practice sessions. You, Gus, and I can monitor their network so before they begin anything, they’ll have one of us on with them. Yes, I know it’s crazy. So, what else is new?”
“The first step is admitting you have a problem,” Rachel quipped.
“Jean’s really into it,” Gus said. “Muerto’s right. I’ve talked to her. The only thing he can do is continue to train and guide her. She gets straight A’s in school. How’s Sonny doing in school?”
“The same as Jean. Once we clear this mess in Washington, I’m hoping to get Phil under observation from now on, and give Sonny a chance to have some kind of a childhood. They’ll have fun at the camp. We’ll drop them off there the moment I get back from DC.”
“Dimah says the wedding planner has been excellent,” Cala said. “The wedding will be on the last Saturday this month with Lover’s Point as the hoped for venue. Will that still be okay?”
“We’ll make it okay,” Nick said. “I’m making this DC excursion as short and sweet as I can. When it’s over, I want us to enjoy a couple months down time.”
“I hope the Isis maniacs will allow such a thing,” John said. “Do you think we made a dint in their recent assaults?
“They’ve stepped up their attacks overseas with success because the dumb ass European Union countries let them immigrate and then take over their damn countries with Sharia Law,” Gus said. “They have whole enclaves there where the authority for everything is ceded over to them. In a few years I’m afraid the same thing will happen here.”
“Probably,” Nick agreed, “but not until I’m out of ammo and knives and deader than the proverbial door nail.”
“Ditto,” Gus said.
“Kabong shall not go quietly either,” John added.
“Cleaner will not fail either,” Cala said with enthusiasm. “I-”
Nick’s phone vibrated. It was Ishmael Kader on the Caller ID. Nick signaled for John to trace the call. “Hi Ish. Did you come to a decision on the money?”
“Did Jacob find you?”
“Jacob who?”
“My uncle,” Ishmael answered with a tremor in his voice. “I believe he meant to hunt for you after your generous offer was not accepted by our family counsel. He did not return, nor anyone who left with him. Did you see him?”
“I had no reason to want to see him, Ish,” Nick replied, skirting the answer. “Maybe they left town. Was he going to at least make a counter offer?”
“No. His intention was to cause you bodily harm. We reported his disappearance to the police. The car they left in has not been found either.”
“So you’re saying Jacob meant to track me down and kill me? For what reason would he do such a thing. He could just reject the offer.”
“My family is very viol
ent and lacking in any semblance of social grace. I had hoped to find common ground on this marriage matter but nothing I said made any difference. He may be waiting to ambush you and that is why he has not returned. Perhaps he lies in wait right now. I will be going home to New York. I want nothing further to do with my family.”
“Probably a wise choice for your own sanity and wellbeing. Is there anyone left in your family with ill feelings towards me? Dimah and Cala’s marriage will be going on as planned.”
“I do not know for sure,” Ishmael admitted. “I…I called because… when I was told Jacob and his men had vanished, my first thought is that they are dead. I feel that now to be true. I called you because I do not want to die. I am leaving, Mr. McCarty. I would not like having to look over my shoulder for death to arrive.”
Nick smiled at his crew who were waiting intently. “I’m sure if you go home to New York and steer clear of your more suicidal family members, you’ll live a long and prosperous life. It would be unwise to allow your name to be tied to any further attempts to track me down as Uncle Jacob supposedly did before he went missing.”
“Thank you, Sir. I will change my name if it becomes necessary to do so.”
“Can you do me a small favor and tell the rest of the East Coast Kaders to please stay on their coast? If they come here, tell them it will not go well for them.”
“I will do so, Sir. Goodbye.”
“Bye, Ish.” Nick disconnected. “That confirms it. Ish says the Kaders nixed my money offer. That’s why Jacob of the dead came after me last night. Ishmael called to tell me he knows Uncle Jacob and his men are dead. Ish is ‘leavin’ on a jet plane, he don’t know when he’ll be back again’ Nick sang to the tune of ‘Peter, Paul, and Mary’s’ song to much amusement.
“It means the Kaders may not be done,” Gus remarked.
“True, but there are a lot fewer of them,” John said.
“We’ll have to draw them out. I’ll deal with that when I get back from DC. We’ll have to stay at Defcon One until I clear things there. When I saw it was Ish calling, I thought maybe the Kaders had decided to accept. Well… one cluster fuck at a time. Phil better be in a non-whiny mood tomorrow. I feel a bitch slap may be in his future otherwise. I hope we can enjoy this last day without Kaders. If-”
“Dad… there’s a black car following us from along the street. We’ve already started back to you. We’re nearing Lucas Point now. Some guy is calling for us to stop.”
Nick was already on his feet, running to the road. “Wave at them and jog towards us. Don’t stop for anything, Jean. I’m heading toward you now. I should be within sight of you in about two minutes.”
“Three guys got out of the car, Dad. They’re running along the trail with the car speeding ahead of us. I see you!”
“I see you too, kid. Keep coming, but be ready to hit the dirt when I tell you to. You copy that, Cracker?”
“Yes Sir,” Sonny answered.
The black Ford Panel Van screeched to a halt as Nick ran past it at full speed. He knew Gus and John would be on the way with Gus driving and John ready to deal death. In a moment he was abreast of the kids and Deke.
“Down!” Nick shouted as he streaked by. The three men jogging after the kids looked startled but began drawing weapons. Nick went to one knee .45 Colt already firing. His first three shots hit each man center area. They dropped in their tracks, down with the .45 hollow points slamming them to the gritty dirt.
Nick ran closer, took careful aim. He shot each one twice in the head. Gunfire erupted behind him. He never hesitated after his last shot. Nick was on his feet running at the Ford, changing clips. Gus had blocked the van with John firing short bursts through the front windshield with his MP5. The side door slid open. Nick shot everyone clustered at the rear door. By the time he reached the van, Gus and John were at each side with finishing shots.
“We have to move, guys. Gus gets the kids, Deke, and our crew into lockdown at my house. John drives the Ford with me at the sliding door. Reverse until I tell you to stop. I’ll load the bodies. The shots have cleared the public but the police will be here soon. Let’s go!”
Without a word, John threw the dead driver over into the passenger floor area on top of the dead passenger while Gus raced his car around the van to where the kids were. Nick jumped in the rear cargo area. In moments, John had reversed around Gus as he loaded Deke and the kids to where Nick called out to halt.
“Keep the engine running and your eyes open, John. I’ll get the bodies.”
“Yes, Muerto.”
Nick ran over to the bloody corpses, throwing the first over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. A minute later, he threw the body inside and went after the next. Inside of five minutes, a slightly winded Nick dumped the last body inside. He slammed the rear sliding door closed before emptying the front passenger area of bodies, shoving them over the middle area behind the seats into the rear. He buckled in after brushing away windshield pieces.
“Carmel Valley, Kabong. It looks like another bloody Wednesday.”
“We have a nice breeze though, Muerto,” John replied, moving his hand around in the blasted windshield area. “I bet these are not Kaders.”
“I believe you’re right, my friend. That leaves only a couple of entities out there sending a squad for kids. They knew we were at the beach and knew better than to front us there. They staked out the kids in the hopes of grabbing them for a purpose to be determined. I’m wondering whether this is Fontaine’s work or Cameron’s. When we get to your place we’ll do a quick identification process with everything at our disposal. I’ll give Paul the news. He probably doesn’t want to speak to me anymore.”
“I think you are one of the few people he does speak to, Muerto.”
“He has a girlfriend now.”
“I wager he trusts you more.”
“Maybe. His girlfriend won’t kill for him. This is bad timing before my DC trip tomorrow. This will be a lot of work cleaning this damn van. Maybe we should have brought Cleaner Cala along with us.”
“We will hide it for now after we bag our guests. I will disconnect the battery so it cannot be tracked and strip all their electronic devices. Cleaner and I will ready the van for Jerry while you’re away in Washington, Muerto.”
“That would be nice,” Nick replied. “It will give us a chance to work this new problem once we find out who we’re dealing with. Thank God I gave the kids those communication units to practice with before their camping excursion. This is a rough stretch for us, Kabong.”
“It will be a much rougher stretch for those causing our bad patch.”
“Amen to that, brother.”
* * *
“I confirmed John’s initial identity searches and added quite a bit more in the data I just sent back to him. They’re all Omar Fontaine minions, Nick,” Paul said. “They’re all former Iranian paramilitary, secret police. Do you have a theory on why they would go after the kids other than the obvious kidnapping for blackmail purposes?”
“Would he put his minions at Senator Cameron’s disposal? I’ve wondered about the knowledge Fontaine has. If he’s been paying for inside information from Cameron, it would follow he would not like losing her as a source. She may have been tipped off about the contents of our coming confrontation with her. It would also mean she’s had me on her radar since the recent actions against Isis. I don’t think Phil tipped her off. His wife is another matter. We’ll keep forging along. I think we bought some time by stashing the kidnappers for the time being.”
“Clyde will be there bright and early. Do you need a team sent to take care of your people?”
“Gus and John will be here. I trust them implicitly. We all have safe-rooms, Fontaine or Cameron will be waiting to hear from the Iranian dead men. Maybe I can get Cameron’s exit from the Senate a done deal before the end of tomorrow. If I find out she had anything to do with the kidnapping attempt, I will have to make an adjustment in her future years.”
“Understood. I will have people I trust working on further connections between Cameron and Fontaine, especially involving the men you aced today. I’ll have them look for political enemies who suddenly shut up and were never heard from again. It appears I may not be able to trust our FBI and Homeland counterparts until we find out how and why on Fontaine’s dead minions.”
“Exactly. I have an idea to wake Princess Di to reality. She may be feeling a bit aloof from the fray. I’d like to make sure of her involvement in today’s kidnapping attempt. It will be a bit of an uncivilized slap in the face, especially if she’s innocent, but I don’t weep for misused traitors who think they’re untouchable.”
“I know you will, but be careful on the attitude adjustment end. I will stay on the leads we talked about. If I make any connections, I’ll message you right away. Thanks for all this, Nick. Without you, we’d be blind to what’s going on right under our noses.”
“Don’t worry about it. No one knows how deep into the congressional houses the money has creeped from cartels and quasi-terrorists like Fontaine. It’s nearly impossible to know who to trust. I imagine you’ll have my extra guy picked out for my stay and details about time of meeting for the face-off with Cameron. I imagine she’s not being very cooperative.”
“I have a man picked out you’ll like. Yes, she’s tried ducking it with every excuse in the book, but that’s in the past. The President phoned her and said make it happen or get ready for an investigation by the Justice Department. She was pissed.”
“She’ll be more than pissed after our meeting. I’ll talk to you after it’s over. I’d like to frog march her out of the Senate building in handcuffs. One way or another she’s done and her buddy Fontaine will be finding out there are worse things than death. He probably thought he had nothing to lose by kidnapping the kids because I was after him anyway. I’ll show him there are always other things to lose in life.”
“I believe you. I’ll call late tomorrow with details of whatever private meeting I can arrange with the Algerian ambassador. Talk to you later, Nick.”
Nightmare in Red Page 29