Cold Blooded III: Sins and Sanctions (Nick McCarty Assassin Series Book 3) (45 page)

“See you there, brother,” Gus stood with John. “I’ll be designated driver tonight, lush.”

“Me?” John jolted to a stop as he had been walking toward the door. “Lately, we have to pour you into a vehicle, or make you walk it off on the way home, Payaso.”

Gus grinned. “Yeah, El Kabong, I do need to cut back a little. How soon are we moving on this, Nick?”

“I’m thinking tomorrow. It’s an in and out with casualties.”

“The sooner the better,” John said. “I do not care for this sect so close.”

“See you in a few, guys,” Nick said. “I’ll walk you to your car, Cindy.”

Cindy had been making some observations of her own while listening. “You’re that El Muerto, and your two partners are Payaso and El Kabong. The three of you are a legend. That…that means your daughter is Viper. Oh my God!”

“Also on the down low, Cindy, along with everything else,” Nick warned. “We have people in very high places protecting us. We’ve erased serial killers from existence no one else had a clue about over the years. We’re letting you in because you’re Grace and Tim’s blood relative, and you have a problem only we can solve. It would be very bad for you to forget the confidentiality your Aunt Grace mentioned. Stay inside your hotel for the next couple days. We’ll bring Kelly to you.”

“Are you serious?”

“Deadly serious. Take your daughter, head for home, and forget all about us or anything you see in the news. Are we clear?”

Cindy gripped Nick’s hand with both of hers. “I understand. Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet. Viper is a loose cannon. She was a lot cuter when she was Dagger.”

“I heard that,” Jean’s voice called out.

* * *

John and Jean arrived at the compound at noon the next day by taxi. Jean wore all black, including her Hijab. She kept her eyes down with John leading her. He had dressed in a dark business suit. They approached the gate with confident strides. It had taken Paul Gilbrech half the night to find a connection overseas for John to use at the entrance to the gated compound. A scowling guard met them outside the gate, his hand on the gun handle at his side.

“What do you want?” The guard asked in Arabic.

“We have come from Saudi Arabia, given passage by Aaban Safar,” John said. “We were told to come here.”

The guard’s eyes widened as his companion approached. “Who is this woman?”

“An ally from overseas,” John answered. “She will be of great use because of her ability to infiltrate the nonbelievers groups. Speak woman!”

Jean kept her eyes down, while answering in Arabic. “I am Isolde. I do the bidding of Safar Aaban.”

The guards relaxed. The first guard gestured to them. “Come, I will take you inside. We are in a guarded state at this time. Your help would be most valuable, especially your woman companion.”

“One thing we must do is find out the problem you have with a woman named Kelly Brighton. Safar has heard she puts the entire Masjid in danger.”

“I am glad to hear you say so,” the guard admitted. “Our Imam’s son is obsessed with her. She will never fit in. It was a mistake to bring her here. Has it come to this where her presence here threatens our plans?”

“It does, brother. We must find a way to make her disappear or convert her to the true path before any more damage is done. We have a mission!”

“Yes!” The guard turned to address John. “We must strike soon. This Kelly is a liability we do not need. I do not think she can be converted to our cause. Javid enticed her to us with hopes of a woman like your Isolde who could penetrate our enemy’s meetings.”

“You must take us to her now, brother. Isolde will decide if she can be used. If not, I will take her far away where our Masjid will not be held in jeopardy or our mission compromised.”

“I will do so immediately!” The guard’s animated anger directed at Kelly showed in every feature on his face. “It was truly a mistake to bring her here.”

“Agreed,” John said.

The guard led them to a quarters far from the main complex. A guard stood outside the small blockhouse. He held up a hand questioningly to the guard who had brought John and Jean.

“These two must see the Brighton woman.”

“I cannot allow that. Javid Harandi ordered no one is to see her.”

Jean drove the guard’s nose bone into his brain a split second after he finished speaking.

“Uh oh,” John said, as the escorting guard’s head was pulped by an incoming round from Nick’s sniper’s nest. “Gee… that went well. It may have been better to make sure Kelly’s in there, Viper.”

“On it.” Jean scooted through the door, ready for anything. All she found was a terrified Kelly, sitting on a cot. No one else was sharing the room with her. “C’mon, girlfriend. This is a breakout. Your Mom, Cindy, wants you in the worst way to be a good girl.”

Kelly broke down in tears, rushing to hug Jean.

Jean patted her back mechanically, and shook her a little. “We have to go now while no one knows what’s happening. Get your shit together, kid!”

With Kelly between them, Jean and John rushed her toward the exit gate. Men appeared and died along the way.

* * *

“That was a great nose strike,” Rachel observed. “I wonder where she learned that one, Muerto.”

Quinn called out coordinates, with wind figured, chuckling at his Mom’s comment. Nick pulped the other guard’s head. “A little busy here, Hon. Could we wait for the retribution until after the op?”

“Of course, Dear. Jean has her out and on the way. No response yet,” Rachel said. “Wait one. She called out a vector Nick turned to. He fired, eliminating the approaching man.

“Good catch, Hon. Hey Newbie, get your head in the game.”

“They have a vehicle in pursuit, Dad. It’s armored,” Quinn said.

“That’s what they think.”

* * *

John and Jean kept Kelly on a zigzag pattern toward the gate. The revving of an engine behind them caused a stop near one of the structures where they were challenged by the occupants. John downed the most vocal one instantly with a throat strike. Both he and Jean peered around the structure to see the armored vehicle’s driver’s head get pulped, followed by shots into the driver’s side tire, causing the vehicle to dive and roll.

“Hello down there,” Rachel’s voice echoed in their ears. “Move it, you two. What the hell are you waiting for?”

“See, John… that’s why I told Dad not to bring the Snow White on mission.” Jean listened appreciatively to the gasps and amusement on their networked line. “Coming, Mom.”

When they reached the gate, the guards were already dead. Gus slid to a halt and the trio piled into the waiting vehicle. Twenty minutes later, they delivered Kelly to her Mom. Cindy broke down in Kelly’s arms, hugging her with all her might. Kelly, her eyes and mouth clamped shut in guilty acknowledgement clung to Cindy, trying to calm her Mom. Jean grinned appreciatively, giving a backhand slap to Quinn’s chest.

“See kid. Now that’s how it’s done.”

“Damn, Sis,” Quinn said. “That nose strike was awesome. Did Dad teach you that one?”

Jean glanced where Nick leaned against the hood of their vehicle, his arm around Rachel. “He taught me a hell of a lot more than that, my brother.”

The End… for now

Thank you for purchasing and reading Cold Blooded Book III: Sins & Sanctions. If you enjoyed the novel, please take a moment and leave a review. Your consideration would be much appreciated. Please visit my Amazon Author’s Page if you would like to preview any of my other novels. Thanks again for your support.

Bernard Lee DeLeo

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