North’s Nikki

by Dale Mayer

  North considered the matter, then gave a clipped nod. “That should do it. We have permission from the head office and from her. But I don’t want her to come with us.”

  “Too damn bad,” came Nikki’s hard voice.

  With a big grin North looked up to catch Nikki’s gaze as she snapped at Anders. “I understand why North is saying that,” she said.

  Anders nodded, adding, “A—we can move quieter if it’s just the two of us. And B—we don’t want to put you in danger.”

  “According to you two,” she said in a slightly more mollified tone of voice, “I’m already in danger. Besides, you’ll need me to show you which part of the warehouse is ours versus the other company’s.”

  “Are you telling me that you can’t draw a map for us?” North asked.

  She thought about it and shook her head. “I’m not sure I could. I was quite confused when I was there myself.”

  “In which case,” Anders said smoothly, “you won’t be any help now.”

  The tray of coffee mugs she carried landed with a hard bang on the coffee table. She straightened, crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot on the floor. “I get that you’re here in some sort of weird hero mentality, but it’s not working for me. So I highly suggest you get off that macho horse of yours and realize that I’m going with you, whether you like it or not.” She spun around on her heels and left.

  North burst out laughing.

  Anders glared at his buddy. “You would like her,” he muttered. “She’s just your type.”

  North leaned forward. “I have a type?”

  Anders nodded. “You like them spitfirey and difficult to get along with.”

  “How could you possibly know that?” North asked in confusion. “I don’t think you’ve even met any of the women I went out with.”

  “No, but I already know you like Nikki, which means she’s your type. And, for that, you need to have your head examined,” he said.

  North shot him a look. “I didn’t say I liked her.”

  “Well, the two of you respond to each other very well,” he said drily. “A little too well. So I hope you don’t start doing any of that lovebird gushy stuff around me.”

  “Why? You don’t like that stuff?”

  “Not when I’m not the one doing it.” Anders chuckled. “And I have no intention of playing third wheel to anybody.”

  “I never really understood that saying,” North said. “I mean, surely if you’ve got two wheels, being a third wheel would be more stable. Like a tricycle.”

  Anders glared at him, snagged a large mug of coffee and set it down on the coffee table beside him. “For that comment, you get the smaller cup.”

  “Hey, that’s not fair.” North grabbed the remaining cup for himself. “She meant the big cup for me,” he murmured.

  “Good. In that case, I’m glad I stole it. And I’m not so sure about this London Emporium company she works for. Doesn’t that word emporium generally mean anything and everything?”

  “We need a better understanding of the products they’re importing and exporting,” North said. “And will need deep background checks on everyone who works for them too.”

  “According to their website they outsource anything. Of course that’s a blanket statement. But they do talk about rare wines, imported cheeses, specialty gourmet foods, like … octopus … noodles.” The words slowly dripped off his tongue, and his face twisted at the thought. “Why would anybody want to eat that?”

  “I think it’s black octopus too,” North said, thinking about it. “I believe they’re handmade in a small town in Italy or some such thing.”

  Anders just shook his head and kept on reading. “So they do all kinds of specialty food items, including wines and spirits. But they also do dry goods. So high-end linens out of a special area in France, unique wool from Aran Islands, Ireland. But don’t these places already import and export?”

  “They do. There are always middlemen with connections to make the flow of goods easier.”

  “Plus hand-blown crystal out of Italy, wine glasses from Venice—which is Italy anyway, so I don’t know why that’s listed separately,” he muttered.

  “Because, with anything out of Venice, you get to tack on some more money,” North said with a chuckle. “But this is interesting. They also bring in gold and silver.”

  “Jewelry?” Anders asked.

  “We should be asking her all these questions,” North said. “She’ll have a better idea about all the products they import.”

  “I do know what we import,” she said from the doorway. “But we’ll discuss it after we eat. Come now, please. Dinner is ready.”

  The two men closed their laptops, placed them off to the side and stood, following her into the kitchen.

  North was amazed as Nikki led them into a formal dining room set for four. He stared at the length of the table and said, “You could easily feed a dozen people here.”

  “My grandfather does regularly,” she murmured as she took a seat. She pointed at the chair beside her own. “Sit please.”

  He did. “Are you sure there’s nothing I can do to help?”

  She smiled and shook her head.

  From across the table Anders muttered, “Suck-up.”

  North snorted. “Being nice doesn’t mean I’m trying to be a flirt. Or to get into her good graces.”

  “Well, one of us should,” Anders said with a big grin focused on Nikki. “Apparently she doesn’t like me.”

  Nikki snorted but stayed quiet.

  North smiled. Anders was a good man with a big heart and smile. And, when he made a good first impression, he tended to settle into that mode and didn’t give a damn what anybody else thought. That was all fine and dandy, until somebody he liked couldn’t see him for who he really was. North grinned at the disgruntled look on his friend’s face.

  “So you both used to be SEALs? Why did you leave the US Navy?” Nikki asked, joining in the conversation now.

  “The navy way was getting to be too much,” Anders said. “The missions, the fighting, just the constant immersion into the depths of human depravity. My spirit sank every time I was called to go anywhere. I was fighting it mentally, and, once that set in, it was time to leave.”

  “Agreed,” North said. “I felt like there was so much more need for all of us elsewhere, and yet we were doing so very little to help in the broadest sense while in the service. That was frustrating. I wanted to do more every place we went, but we were always under strict orders to not do anything other than what we were expressly told to do. The orders were starting to chafe.”

  “They had chafed on me for a long time,” Anders continued. “At least with Levi, you understand why the orders are there. While we were on SEALs missions, outside of those orders to ensure our survival by our own team leaders and commanders in the field with us, the rest of those corporate-issued orders often made no sense, probably coming from some guy in a suit in his posh Washington, DC, office, who probably never served his country on a battlefield. We couldn’t discuss them, get them changed or ask for somebody to reconsider them. In Levi’s case, he’s always willing to listen.”

  Nikki quietly watched their animated expressions as the guys spoke, seemingly taking in every word.

  North nodded. “I think it’s great we’re both working for Levi now. Not to mention Stone and Merk and Rhodes are all in the next tier, and, because we’re all of the same mind-set and background, we all understand how much the naval orders used to cause us trouble. There was nothing more inane than stupid orders that led men to their deaths.”

  “Ditto that.”

  They heard a faint rumbling sound, and, as they watched, Charles pushed a trolley toward the table. It was heavily laden with food.

  North sniffed the air appreciably. “Well, there’s definitely an advantage to being here with you, Charles. This food smells divine.”

  “Have you been around Alfred’s cooking much?” Nikki asked as she wa
ited for her grandfather to lift off the lids from the platters.

  “Not enough yet,” North said. “And Bailey’s baking is unbelievable. It’s not a hardship to wake up to fresh croissants and cinnamon buns every morning.”

  The heady aroma of fresh roast beef filled the air. North smiled and held out his plate in anticipation. There was gravy, mashed potatoes and roasted vegtables. He was in heaven.

  Charles chuckled as he proceeded to fill North’s plate to overflowing. “Exactly. Levi’s outfit has gotten so big that Alfred needed a competent hand in the kitchen. Sounds like he’s found quite a gem in Bailey.”

  The other plates were filled, Nikki’s was only half as full as his. North worried that she wasn’t eating enough. But she appeared to be delighted with the fare in front of her. North, satisfied, continued with the conversation. “And honestly I think she’s quite happy there. They are two peas in a pod. They never get more excited than when you bring home a new cookbook or suggest we try Tunisian food for a change. They start tossing ideas back and forth, and we know it’ll be a fabulous dinner,” North said with a chuckle. “I swear to God that’s half the reason why Levi can keep us, due to Alfred’s and Bailey’s cooking.”

  “And I hear you have puppies.”

  “Well, they are definitely big now. I don’t know about calling them puppies anymore,” North said. “I couldn’t believe it when I first arrived and saw the dogs running wild inside and outside of the main structure. But it makes sense. The compound includes a lot of acreage, and there are a lot of people to look after the dogs. Alfred and Bailey took one, and he has become the kitchen mascot. He’s called Orange.”

  Nikki looked up. “Orange?”

  North shot her a grin even as he cut the melt-in-your-mouth beef. “Yes. You have to keep oranges away from him. He thinks they’re balls, and he’s forever biting down on them and then yelping when the orange juice gets in his mouth. But he won’t give them up because he swears they’re balls, and those balls are his.”

  At that Nikki chuckled. “And I suppose they keep the oranges in a bowl on the counter instead of in the fridge.”

  “Absolutely. And the puppy, Orange, is well known for hopping up onto a chair, snagging an orange out of the bowl and running off with it.”

  Anders admitted, “It’s quite adorable.”

  At that, Charles’s smile lightened the atmosphere, and the rest of the conversation while they ate was about Levi’s business and how he was adding to the compound.

  “They broke ground on the swimming pool,” North said. “I know we’re all waiting for that. It was delayed multiple times, but it’s going ahead now.”

  Charles nodded. “I’m glad. That’s Ice’s project. She loves to swim.”

  “I do too,” Nikki said. “But I don’t ever expect to have my own pool in England. Of course the weather is better in Texas for swimming.”

  “That’s the advantage of a pool at Levi’s place. A lot of people live there, either in the compound itself or within the individual apartments that are being continuously built to meet the demand. So that pool will get a lot of use. So will the massive outdoor kitchen going in and the large patio space.”

  “It’s nice to know Levi’s dream has come true,” Charles noted.

  “Still, it’s a big complex, high-security type place?” Nikki asked.

  Anders nodded. “Absolutely. That’s one of the beauties of it. Everybody lives inside the secured perimeter walls, but it’s very much a home at the compound. More of an industrial-type mansion with so many of us living there. Not like Bullard’s main location, which is more ornate in its exterior design. But Levi and Ice have rehabbed a lot of apartments in one of the other buildings, so a lot of the couples have their own places that are a bit set apart from the rest of us. They often don’t eat in Alfred’s kitchen, but there are always leftovers so that nobody ever runs short of food. And I don’t think Alfred is ever happier than when he has the whole gang around. Often they host Sunday barbecues, and, now that the new outdoor kitchen is getting set up, I’m sure that’ll be more than a one-day-a-week thing.”

  “There’s nothing like a barbecue,” Charles said with a big smile. “I have a small pit out on the back patio, but it’s definitely not intended to feed more than a couple people.”

  “Exactly. I think that’s why Alfred is in his heaven over there. There aren’t too many complexes like it.”

  “Except for Bullard’s place. Alfred said he has something very similar, although Bullard’s is grander in its architecture,” Charles noted.

  “As far as I understand,” Anders said, “Bullard’s got his newest complex close to the Tunisia border, in addition to his original African estate.”

  North’s plate was rapidly emptying. He eyed the platters wondering if seconds would be offered. He did enjoy home-cooked food.

  Charles nodded. “Yes, and it’s calming down a bit now. He’s finally got enough staff to run both places. I think he still prefers his original estate as his main station. After all, he did all the landscaping himself.”

  “Do you keep in touch with him?” North wondered how that worked. Charles was kind of a middleman for everybody, and yet he appeared to know Alfred and maybe Dave very well.

  “Alfred, Dave and I are old friends, although I’m older than the other two,” Charles said with a smile as he stood up and refilled North’s plate. “We’ve all served in the same military, were all in similar jobs and met through Levi and Bullard. The fourth one of us, Byron, has gone on to handle the kitchens at the new complex for Bullard.”

  “Wow,” North said in respect, his gaze lifting to study Charles’s face. “That’s wonderful to hear. And a nice way for the four of you to keep in touch.”

  “I don’t keep in touch as much as the others do. They have some sort of security system with monitors where they can keep track of each other on a regular basis.”

  “I’ve seen that, but I think the TV system they have works a little better now. Although the TV is a special monitor, they can beam in live from Bullard’s complex. You don’t have that here, do you?” North asked, looking around.

  Charles shook his head. “No, I don’t have a working base with a computer linkup like they each do. I’m more of a middleman. It’s just me and my property. I’m always opening my door to help out when I can,” he said quietly. “But I’m not sure I’m interested in doing a whole lot more than that. I’m not as young as I used to be.”

  North glanced at Nikki and realized she had to be at least thirty herself and, if not, then close to it.

  She patted her granddad’s hand. “You’re doing just fine. You already do an awful lot more than most people do,” she admitted. “It keeps your hand in the game, which I know is important to you.”

  Charles chuckled. “It does, indeed. We’ve had quite the events at this place. Trouble comes in all forms and from many different directions, including yours, my dear.”

  She wrinkled her face. “I was hoping it wouldn’t be me with security troubles. It would have been nice not to add to your burdens.”

  “It’s not a burden,” he said. “You’re family. And I’ll do anything in my power to help you.”

  North watched the exchange, seeing the obvious affection and caring between the two of them. “At least you know who to call on when you need any additional help. Speaking of which, we want to go to the warehouse tonight.”

  Startled, she looked at him in surprise. “Why tonight?”

  Anders and North exchanged glances. North shrugged, spoke to Anders. “We could use her help.”

  “We could, but she could also get us killed. That we don’t need.”

  “I promise I’ll do whatever you tell me to do when you tell me to do it,” Nikki interjected.

  Even North raised an eyebrow at her. “Somehow I don’t think I can believe that,” he said gently. “You care too much. Your own grandfather said you don’t like taking orders. However, I understand that you want to get to the bot
tom of this, and you want to find the men who threatened you. So, if we say, Go left, and you see them go right, you’ll go right.”

  She sat back with a huff gently nudging her empty plate to the side. Then shrugged. “You still need me.” She glanced at her watch. “It’s heading on nine o’clock. We’re about thirty-five minutes away. We could be back by midnight.”

  “Do you have the weekend off?” North asked, considering the amount she’d eaten, then realized she’d cleaned her plate and was even now snagging up a fresh bun and buttering it. She’d be fine tonight.

  She nodded. “I work from home anyway, remember?”

  They helped Charles clean off the table and do the dishes. But the kitchen was small and crowded with them all in it. North watched as Nikki shifted impatiently, running rapid-fire through the kitchen, speeding up the process. Finally Charles shooed them all away. “Go. I’ll get this done much faster without all this ‘assistance.’”

  “Meet me out front in five minutes,” Nikki said, looking from North to Anders, getting an acknowledging nod from both. Then she promptly left.

  North leaned over, squeezed Charles’s shoulder and said, “Thanks. And, yes, we’ll look after her.”

  Charles gripped his fingers with a surprisingly strength and pulled him around so the two men stared at each other while Anders looked on. “Her parents are never home. It’s just her and me. Please bring her home safe.”

  Touched, North nodded. “You know I’ll do my best.”

  At that, the tension eased on Charles’s shoulders and face. “And, with her, that’s about all you can do because you’re right. She’ll do what she thinks she needs to do, regardless of whatever instructions she’s been given.”

  Anders snorted, leaving the kitchen first.

  North was right behind him, already heading toward the front door. “I’ll keep that in mind,” he called out. It wasn’t anything he hadn’t already learned about Nikki. He admired that trait—unless it interfered with his orders.

  Outside she brought the car around. They got in, North in the front, Anders in the back. There was complete silence while she drove through the city toward the warehouse district. She glanced over at North once. “Don’t you have research to do or something? You’re just sitting there, silent.”