Cold Blooded Assassin Book 6: Red Horizon (Nick McCarty Assassin) (36 page)

“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.

“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.”

“It’s your funeral, but she’s been acting the whole time,” Lynn said. “I can’t believe the little tool fooled me.”

“She didn’t,” Nick whispered.

Jafar entered the open gateway. It closed behind them. “That wasn’t nice.”

“It won’t matter, Achmed,” Nick said. “Proceed with ceremony, my friend. Remember, we’re the guests of honor.”

Jafar slowly rounded the ornate circular driveway. He stopped in front of the lavish front entrance where four armed guards approached to greet the BMW occupants. Jafar leaped out with professional quickness to open the rear door for Nick, Fernando, and Senta.

“Put on your game faces, kiddies,” Nick whispered. “You stay close to me, Senta as we rehearsed.

After leaving the vehicle, Fernando took over the vocal interaction with the guards. “I am Fernando Carone. I am here to see Saran Al-Kadi as planned. Come now. You all know me. What is this game all about?”

“You were to be stopped until we make certain Mr. McCarty is unarmed. Your host is most anxious to speak with you and McCarty, but his reputation must be taken into consideration.” The lead guard spoke in Arabic.

Nick guided Senta in full veiled robes to the guard’s side. He spoke with the guard in Arabic. “I understand the precautions. What would you have me do?”

Surprised at Nick’s fluid Arabic, the guard gestured to his companion. “Momar will pat you down, Sir. Please do not be offended. We are merely taking precautions necessary in these times.”

“Of course.” Nick allowed the guard named Momar to thoroughly search him for weapons, all the while lightly grasping the sleeve of Senta’s burka. She made as if to move away, but one glance into Nick’s eyes and nearness caused her to hesitate. Momar finished his frisk, shaking his head in the negative.
Oh boy… Senta’s ready to bust our dress rehearsal
. Fernando, on the other hand was broken and anxious to finish his part.

“Please. I must get back to the Tempest as soon as possible. I have no way of knowing if I was tracked to my new anchorage.”

“Of course,” the lead guard acknowledged. “Follow me. The Bulgar woman’s presence has been ordered also. I see she is dressed appropriately.”

“I think I should wait here until the main meeting is over before seeing my master,” Senta stated.

Nick grabbed her arm painfully enough to evoke a yelp from Senta. “You will do as Saran Al-Kadi orders. I have no patience for your hesitation, nor do I care for your input! Be still and do as you are told!”

Nick’s Arabic guttural toned rebuke silenced Senta into a head bowed pose as the guards stifled mirth at the way Nick handled her. Fernando again took lead, also surprised at Nick’s adlibbed interaction with Senta. Fernando made a slight hand gesture at the guard who greeted them, but was staring at Senta uneasily. “Lead the way. Let us meet with Saran quickly. There is much to discuss.”

Fernando looked toward Jafar as agreed upon beforehand. “Drive the car out of the way and remain here until we complete our meeting, Jafar.”

“Yes, Sir,” Jafar acknowledged. He reentered the BMW and drove it around the circular drive until it no longer blocked the front entrance.

As requested the guard led the three visitors inside. Nick, well versed with the plans and pictures of the interior, recognized they were being led to Al-Kadi’s private quarters. That fact did not bode well in Nick’s imaginings of outcomes. They should have been brought to the ornate meeting room Fernando had described in detail. The guard glanced over his shoulder at Senta. She gave him nearly an imperceptible head shake Nick would have missed if not for his excellent peripheral vision. For his part, Nick checked to see the other guards following them. They were ten feet further to the rear and not paying attention.

Nick waited no longer. He ripped the rear of Senta’s burka upward, drew out the silenced MP5, and fired a round down through Senta’s back. Her screams of agony as she fell to the floor in a writhing heap drew everyone’s last moment’s attention. Nick fired into the lead guard’s head, dove to the floor, and stitched each one of the guards following them before they could bring their weapons to bear. Nick then fired a shot through Senta’s head, stilling all sound from her forever. Fernando had dove to the floor as trained, locking shaking fingers behind his head. Nick drug him to the side of Al-Kadi’s doorway.

“Did I just hear screams and silenced MP5 firings, Muerto,” Lynn asked.

“One of the toys is broken, Lynn. Sorry. No one else enters, Lucas. We are mission engaged,” Nick stated.

“Understood. Stay clear of the front, Dead boy.”

“Will do.”

* * *

Nick’s pronouncement needed no further discussion. Lucas and Casey went to work. Both sides in the conflict surprised each other. They didn’t expect us to have snipers and our asses covered on the perimeters. We didn’t know this was a trap. If Nick hadn’t noticed something inside, it would have been a pitched battle at close range. Because of his warning, coupled with our snipers’ work on the guards at all levels outside the house and front grounds, our skirmish line was prepared. Lucas and Casey scrambled down from their nests on the approaching enemy’s side of the woods to join our Monster Squad. Al-Kadi’s small army of men moved on us from the wooded area across Plum Drive.

The moment we began to take fire from woods across the way, our armored vehicle drivers streaked in from their positions to give us spaced cover. They left the vehicles and joined us with weapons and ammo, including XM25 airburst 25mm grenade launchers. Gus brought along Nick’s XM307 they used to blow the Mexican fighter jet out of the air. Issac and Tommy split at my direction with combat experienced Jess and Dev to hold our line. I helped Gus with the XM307, while Clint, Lynn, and Claude spread out to provide cover fire with Chuck and Sal on our M2 .50 caliber machine gun. We barely had enough time to finish our skirmish line when I saw the rocket streak from the woods. It blew our middle armored vehicle onto its side.

“Fire!” My one word caused ecological damage across the road for I would guess a couple years. Between the airburst grenades and M2 machine gun fire, I doubted the likelihood of survivors. “Cease fire!”