Cold Blooded Assassin Book 6: Red Horizon (Nick McCarty Assassin) (43 page)

“That would be great, Clint,” Johnny said as he joined the group with his and Cala’s bags. “I hope we have an opportunity to do another Crusader Crue video. The cat videos are kicking my butt on YouTube. I must get something of substance uploaded soon.”

* * *

“What will we do without Kaders screwing with us,” Gus asked as he drove toward Pacific Grove.

“Enjoy walking to the school again,” Nick replied. “This road trip was chock full of surprises. I’m ready for some mornings at the beach, days and nights writing on the deck, and walking the Dekester.”

“How long will you take off before you go to the sand?”

“I’ll know more about that when Al-Saud responds to my report on Al-Kadi’s ending. Clint fixed Saran nicely inside a body-bag with a perfect .45 caliber hole between his eyes for me to send Al-Saud. It was better than my quickie pictures at the compound with a slit throat. He will be letting me know when he wants to meet in Dubai. He’s already paid me for the hit. I gave him the opportunity to look over what I have from the Pilot Hill compound before paying for what he asked me to retrieve for him.”

“I bet Rachel would like you to hang around for a while. You have a book signing too, don’t you?”

“I promised Pilgrim’s Way Books in Carmel I’d do another signing. I half expected them to cancel because I had to kill that book killer outside their establishment.”

Gus chuckled. “After the headlines you received with the US Marshal McCarty Shootout in Carmel, I’ll bet they had plenty of demands for your return. Did you get much writing done on the trip? I saw you typing away but you never mentioned anything about progress.”

“I managed fifteen hundred a day. ‘Blood Beach’ will be a hit I think. Diego’s romance with Fatima despite her constant betrayals have Jed and Leo frustrated as hell. They can’t believe Diego hasn’t shot her in the head yet. Did you get a chance to read the copy I put on your Kindle?”

“Yep. It’s your best one yet. Johnny thinks so too. He’s read through your whole series already. He’ll be pissed about missing a book signing.”

“Johnny’s so pumped about learning the ropes making movies, I doubt he’ll give it a thought. I wonder if Rachel will allow Jean to go with me. I know she’ll ask if she can go along with her minion, Sonny.”

“Those two are inseparable,” Gus said. “I’ve tried not to think about what kind of devilment they cooked up while we’ve been gone. Issac told me everything’s been quiet. After he returned from Pilot Hill, he patrolled our neighborhoods. He shadowed Rachel when she took the kids to school.”

“Issac’s our extra utility player we’ve needed. Rachel said she appealed to Jean one on one and Jean reacted to being treated like an adult very well. I’m glad you and Johnny will be around while I’m playing in the sandbox.”

“I hope Johnny stays in touch. I want to hear how Nazari looked to him. I thought Senta was reprogrammed but she damn near got you killed. Speaking of writing. How did you do on ‘Blood Beach’ today? Will you be writing on the deck or can Tina and I come over?”

“I wrote my fifteen hundred on the ride to Oakland. I’ll get in another five hundred words. Jean will be working on homework with Sonny or throwing knives. I’d like you to come over with Tina. It will be a nice night on the deck.”

“We’ll be there. When will you do the book signing?”

“I have to let them know when I get back. I think it would be good to do a book signing without a book killer visit, but it would be really nice not to get a grammar Nazi. Pilgrim’s Way ordered a bunch of my entire series. In addition to taking questions about ‘Dark Interlude’, I’m supposed to give a short talk on my progress with ‘Blood Beach’ before the signing. My agent Cassie e-mailed me that the publisher is ecstatic about my doing more signings.”

“Have you figured out what you want to do in Dubai?”

“A lot depends on my interaction with Al-Saud. I’ve been in touch with my contact you met when I came out of retirement and we went to the sand. I wired Khalil a hundred grand to make his way to the Atlantis in Dubai. He’s acquired a vehicle and Denny helped arrange a safe-house for me. I may have to take Al-Saud to a place more private where I can negotiate with him for all of his ill-gotten gains.”

“How do you know this Khalil won’t sell you out and keep the money?”

“I promised him a million more if he helps me with the many aspects of the mission. It’s not all about the money anyway, although I could tell from our correspondence he wants in on this in the worst way. I saved him and his family. They were caught in a roundup of Kurdish Christians in Afghanistan at a time I entered the area with a CIA team to get the Taliban leader in the area. My way of doing things was find someone getting stomped on by peaceful Islam and fix their situation. I saw Khalil, his wife, and two sons ushered into a mosque in Herat with a few dozen others, kicked and whipped into a holding area there. I went in at night against orders, slit the throats of the guards and freed the people inside. Khalil helped me while I set charges inside the mosque, which was nothing more than an armory. I blew the mosque to kingdom come. I booked safe passage for Khalil and his family to Dubai. I convinced him to pretend he and his family were Muslim refugees, willing to work doing anything to stay. Anytime I’ve had a job in the sand, Khalil coordinates everything.”

“Didn’t you get screwed going against orders?” Gus showed intense interest in yet another McCarty past event.

“Nope. Khalil knew where the Taliban leader lived. I killed him the same night during the chaos after I blew up the mosque. The CIA team were following the book. They loved my improvisation. The guy who ordered me to stand down was demoted to shit-land.”

“Damn, Muerto, you should be in charge of CIA ops.”

“We have the right guy in charge now. Paul Gilbrech and Denny Strobert make a great team at the Company if we can keep them alive. Anyway, in answer to your question about Dubai, I have the puzzle pieces in place for when I hear from Al-Saud. Khalil has smuggled some tools for me at the safe-house, thanks in part to Denny’s assets in the area. Khalil contracted the same cleaners he helped us out with before at a price undeniably a blessing in that sand pit. I took care of them pretty well before, but I’m making them rich enough this time to go somewhere nice.”

“Then you are going to need cleaners.”

“Maybe…maybe not, but I believe so. It’s better to have them in place if I do need them. If I can get an audience with Al-Saud in his room at the Atlantis, I plan to kill his hired help, and take Al-Saud for some conversation. He’s high in the ranks of Al-Qaeda in Europe. If I bring home information gifts for Paul to use, I will get to continue my rogue operations. I’ll possibly need a top notch cleaning crew to ease the rough edges on my plan. We’ll talk more about the specifics when I hear from Al-Saud. It would be nice if I can take them outside the Atlantis.”

“I don’t envy you going back into the sand. Don’t think I forgot about the Nazari name. That’s why I’m so interested in the Florence Nazari experiment. It’s obvious her husband didn’t know you probably killed one of his relatives, Sheik Abdul Nazari.”

Nick liked the fact Gus remembered the Nazari name. “I’m glad you remembered the name. Nazari chose the Isis side. Al-Saud sided with Al-Qaeda. I’m not expecting any Nazari relative interference over there if you’re worried about that. I won’t know, of course, until I get to Dubai. One stipulation Al-Saud made was I have to travel under my real name. That’s the main reason I have to retain first class cleaners on the job.”

“Are Khalil’s cleaner team trustworthy?”

“They’re his sons, Asim and Ghazi. With the guards Al-Saud always has near him, I have to cover the aspect we’ll need to clean the Atlantis rooms before leaving. I’ve paid for the list of goodies I had Khalil import for me. He’s stockpiled a Colt .45 with silencer, an M107 sniper rifle with silencer, and an XM25. Leaving Dubai may get messy. Khalil has the same pilot on notice we used to get out of the sand last time.”

“Why not shoot Al-Saud in the head too and forget the negotiations.”

“That’s very shortsighted of you, Payaso. I have expenses. You know how frugal I am. Besides, Denny has inquired as to whether I can bring Al-Saud.”

“I think I know some sand people who will very shortly enjoy more opportunity than they ever dreamed possible,” Gus replied.

“Khalil is indeed as frugal as I am. He will have a chance to apply for citizenship elsewhere. He went with me on a job in Switzerland once. I believe he has an eye on immigrating there where he’ll be able to become a practicing Christian once again.”

“He doesn’t want to come to the United States?”

Nick smiled. “Whenever I’ve mentioned it, Khalil reminds me that Chicago is the murder capital of the world. They read the death list news for Chicago over there. He has mentioned we have more deaths in Chicago on any given weekend than in the Iraq warzone most of the time. I told him I could help him move to Texas where they love guns, Christians, and hard workers. He says it’s cooler in Switzerland and they love all the same things. I couldn’t argue with him about that. He’s greased a lot of hands at the Dubai Atlantis hotel in preparation for my arrival. I will know Al-Saud’s whereabouts at all times along with his men. It’s my key ace in the hole to keep from being ambushed.”

“What if they do set an ambush?”

“Then I ambush them instead. They’re cheap buying information and help. I’m not. Khalil knows how I operate. He also knows to look for honest disgruntled helpers.”

“You do have a way of drawing in a loyal following of people. Has your method ever backfired?”

“A couple times, but only here in the states, and nothing real bad. I had to go with plan B in those instances.”

“Grenades?”

“How perceptive of you, Payaso.”

* * *

“Oh… baby… you really did miss me.” Nick stroked Rachel’s side as she lie gasping in the aftermath of an intense interlude. “That was sheer genius tricking Jean into taking her minion to the 3D Imax showing of the new Star Wars episode.”

“We better… get a shower. We have to pick them up in an hour.” Rachel attempted to rise but fell back on the bed. “God… I don’t think I can move. Go get your shower first and get Quinn ready while I take a bath in the downstairs bathroom. Help me out of this bed, Muerto. They’re at the Cinemark in Monterey.”

“You’ll have to take a quickie bath, baby,” Nick said, scooping Rachel off the bed with Deke joining his journey with her in his arms down the stairs. “Quinn must have sensed his old man’s needs. He didn’t make a peep.”

“I timed everything perfectly,” Rachel replied, her arms tightening around Nick’s neck, “and damn if it wasn’t worth every moment of planning.”

“Do you mind Gus and Tina coming over in a couple hours? They’ll probably bring Issac over with them too.”

“I don’t mind. I got what I wanted. I’ll have seconds later.”

“You will indeed, my dear.”

* * *

“We tracked you Dad,” Jean announced while leading Sonny into the backseat. “You went on a rampage without a single headline. I heard you had to make a couple of unexpected stops. My informant Al came through with a scoop on your rescue of Mr. Chardin’s cousin. You even had a chance to kidnap a famous movie star for Lynn’s Hollywood Bounty Hunters.”

“It sounds like Al is as big a sneak around the Harding household as you are in mine, Viper. I hope you don’t get her into trouble with her Dad.”

“I won’t if you don’t rat us out to him.”

“Jean!”

“She’s still sore about me acing her extortion bust. Nice to see you too, kid. How are you doing at home, Sonny?”

“About the same, Sir. I think my folks have some kind of scam in the works. When I know more details, I’ll be able to figure out if I need advice.”

“Anytime. I thought your Dad was tending to his passport office job more diligently.”

“He is, but I think my Mom wants him to take her back to DC and appeal his exile. If they move back to DC, can I stay with you?”

“Absolutely. I think it would be a bad idea for those two trying to get another gig in DC. They nearly ended up in prison the last time. They have the wrong sort of ambition for DC.”

“I mentioned that fact but they told me I was too young to understand. I told them I wouldn’t go to DC with them no matter what.”

“I’ll talk to a few of my friends in DC. They’ll whisper a few words of wisdom in your parents’ ears. Phil is still on a probationary list of people who can go to prison over the passport office terrorist thread. They might travel to DC but the doors will all be closed.”

“Thank you.”

“I’ll keep it very quiet. I don’t want them suspecting you had anything to do with it.”

“You look like your head’s going to explode, Mom,” Jean observed.

“I will speak no evil of Sonny’s parents even if I pop a vein holding it in. Don’t you think it would be a good idea if Sonny at least found out what plan they’re hatching?”

“I’ll keep listening… I wasn’t going to say anything until I was sure, but I heard Nick’s name mentioned a couple times. They heard me move and shut up. I haven’t forgotten though. I know my folks can be dangerous,” Sonny explained. “I don’t want them involved in something so deeply you have to kill them. They’re so stupid!”

“Easy, kid,” Nick said. “I’m not going to kill them. That’s off the table. We’ll make sure they don’t go off the cliff of ignorant actions. Pilgrim’s Way Books wants me to do a signing tomorrow. Saturday is a big tourist moment so there will probably be a big crowd even though it’s a short notice signing. Johnny Five can’t come this time but Gus will be there. Would you two like to come? Remember, it’s strictly voluntary.”