“We data mined for anything of a threatening nature in the Sand circles there. We found no mention of you or Pacific Grove in any communications between the likely suspects,” Johnny answered. “I saw a reference to Harding’s Yakuza killings with a warning to stay away from the Oaktown Cartel for the time being.”
“That video was a snuff film,” Rachel said.
“It was? Can we see it?”
“No, and I’m sorry I said that.” Rachel saw Jean smile at Sonny. “No… you’re not allowed to look for the YouTube fight video either.”
“They did make a statement,” Nick said. “As I understand it. The Yakuza in San Francisco lost their two best people. The Al-Kazar idiots decided to back away from anymore contracts involving Oaktown. We took a lot of money from them. If they had a brain between them, they’d cut their losses and forget about our two teams.”
“There is one more order of business on the Worthum deal. The Congresswoman Phil and Clarice wanted to stage their return to Washington DC on through Worthum, made a few bonehead statements while you were in Chicago.” Gus hesitated before going on.
“Tell him, Payaso,” Johnny said.
“You’ll have to fill me in because I’ve been lost inside the most whacked out political killing field I’ve ever been close to,” Nick added. “What could the veritable amoeba brained Leila Rackson-Gree be fomenting? Even her staff and colleagues know she’s too stupid to be allowed outside her home without an escort. Who would listen to her about anything?”
“She’s going after Paul Gilbrech,” Gus said. “Paul has a lot of enemies on the leftist commie side of the aisle. They’re willing to allow Goofy Gree to lead the character assassination.”
“You’re kidding me.” Nick drained his whiskey and poured another. “Paul’s wins since being CIA Director have never been surpassed. We’ve stopped terrorist threats with his backing that would have put us into all-out war… not that I don’t personally think we should be at war with the Sand anyway. What the hell case can she make against Paul, and why didn’t he mention it to me?”
“For the same reason Payaso is reluctant to tell you,” Johnny replied. “Paul knows your first thought would be to erase her from existence.”
“Did you just insult me, Johnny?”
Nick’s refrain drew the intended amusement. “I would never go after that ignoramus. Making her disappear would give Goofy Gree saint-like status. We wouldn’t be able to keep Paul in place then, even if I wiped out half of congress. This needs handled… top priority. Let’s get to work on her first thing in the morning. We need to enjoy this foggy night of celebration. I’m back from Chicago hell, Blood Beach is in Cassie’s hands for final steps to release, and we ran a home invasion crew to ground… legally.”
“Amen to that, brother,” Gus said. “What do you have in mind for Gree in the morning.”
“We need to find some of her staff with shady connections to the Sand through Worthum’s network. The woman has made statements so idiotic, that they’ve become classic jokes of ignorance. Her staff acts as intermediaries in this - guaranteed. We need to find the ones most responsible for leading Goofy out into public and making sure she doesn’t say things so dumb as to get her committed to the looney bin.”
“We have our ‘Dark Web’ connection with Worthum,” Johnny replied. “I’ll send him a message we want everything he has on Gree and her staff or he makes a final visit to hell on earth.”
“Good start, Johnny. Let’s go with that. We can’t have anything happening to Paul. Until we get this Gree thing resolved there will be no more talk of the Sand visit. The Al-Kazar family goes on the back-burner for now.”
“Gus and I are coming with you to the school board meeting,” Tina announced. “I don’t want anything to do with terrorists, serial killers, or political traitors. Jean and Sonny are blood to us. Nobody messes with the Addams Family unless they come through cousin Itt.”
“Oh yeah!” Jean high-fived cousin Itt.
* * *
Gus, Johnny, and Nick sat on the deck with coffees and Deke at Nick’s side. Meeting at 7 am, the three men threaded into the lives of Gree’s personal staff. Worthum delivered everything asked after Johnny’s communique via the Dark Web. It was obvious Worthum knew beyond any doubt a force existed to monitor his traitorous actions. He never wanted to suddenly awaken in hell on earth ever again.
“I think we have Ray Worthum in line,” Gus noted. “This stuff is fabulous. If it were being collected by a government agency with America’s wellbeing in mind, it would be wonderful. That an extortionist/racketeer collects it is just… disturbing.”
“As you say, we have Ray,” Nick replied. “Gree’s chief of staff and his assistant shine brightly in this endeavor. Eric Strickland and Pamela Stallings pull the strings on the Leila Rackson-Gree puppet. Let’s work that angle to the max. Maybe I’ll have targets to alter the course of the stupidity Gree machine. We need her prosecuted.”
“I will work Stallings,” Gus said. “You work Strickland, Kabong. We’ll let Muerto devour Gree.”
“Have you seen the videos of Gree acting out in public? Good Lord, she thinks she’s some kind of queen. Texas is better than this. I refuse to wonder about why this idiot has been elected to congress since back in the nineties. It’s unfathomable. Here in California, yes, but Texas?” Nick took a deep breath. “Okay… enough of that… we’re agreed these two staffers need to be brought in from the dark side.”
“They’re helping Goofy operate,” Gus replied. “She believes in every leftist, Sharia Law driven dogma infesting this nation. Goofy Gree’s too stupid to understand if she ever achieved her goal, the moron would be whipped into manual labor in a burka or put to death. Those two are her handlers.”
“I wish there were some other way besides you going to DC,” Johnny stated. “I wish Payaso and I could come with you. We work well as a team. You need support in DC, Muerto.”
“I either do this alone or we’ll be revealed to the world along with Paul. DC is a fishbowl with cameras everywhere. I need to do this alone. Besides, with the Al-Kazar threat still on our radar, I need you, Gus, and Reaper to watch Rachel and the kids. This won’t be like Chicago. I need to hit our two suspects hard and fast. I see they’re both single with residences in The Avenue, those very nice places in the Foggy Bottom area.”
“What’s your plan, Muerto,” Gus asked with some consternation. “That section is one of the most secured and monitored places in DC.”
“I’ve already obtained living quarters at The Avenue using my army major credentials I established. I will monitor and learn the camera placements with the help of my trusted partners, Payaso and Kabong. Once that’s established and plotted, I’ll go into each of their places and find everything there is to know. If I need to fix one or both for our plan, I can do it right in their residence.”
“Look… I know how important keeping Paul as director is, but they can execute you for the stuff you’re suggesting. Maybe Paul has enough coin of the realm to get past this,” Gus suggested.
“I’m past hoping for justice, Payaso. Paul and Denny Strobert are the real deal. We either keep them where they are or we may as well break out the prayer rugs and slave costumes. Gree won’t be dying, but by the time I gather my case against the forces of darkness, she’ll wish she was dead. Keep at this. The cameras in DC can be used to our advantage. We’ll each take one of these traitors as Gus suggested. I want to know every movement these dweebs do in a day. It’s tedious, but if we don’t want the long suffering, tragic figure of Muerto hung out to dry, this research must continue.”
“Oh barf,” Gus muttered.
“Ditto,” Johnny added with a grin.
“At least Deke loves me.”
Deke took that inopportune moment to throw up part of his beer intake on Nick’s shoe.
Nick sighed, patting the penitent Deke’s head. “I stand corrected.”
* * *
The Tina labeled ‘Addams Fami
ly’ sat in seats on one side of the large conference room in formal dress. Rachel kept Quinn in a harness at her chest. Nick and company remained silent as the bully families next to them issued an ongoing verbal assault against their adversaries until the security guard told them in no uncertain terms to shut up or he would remove them. The security guard, a middle aged black man, waited a moment for any remark. There were none. The bullies glanced at the smiling countenances of Jean and Sonny, but looked away quickly. They knew the six of them couldn’t beat Viper and Cracker. Trying to instill fear in skilled predators never works. The six bullies did what their adult figures could not do until threatened, they remained silent.
The Rivers family sat amongst Nick’s crew with Jay sitting next to Jean. Phil Salvatore came but Clarice stayed home. The board meeting began with all the usual readings of forgotten minutes, and orders of business concerning the ongoing debate over school lunches and open campus rules. The five trustees present then listened to a recital of what happened at the school, by Principal Roberta Smithson. When she finished explaining the incident, and punishment meted out, one of the two women trustees asked for a spokesperson from the family members of the accused bullies. A woman stepped forward, launching into a fifteen-minute tirade accusing Justin Rivers of taunting with racial epithets. Nick had already cautioned his crew not to react in any way, and to keep all eyes locked on the trustees.
The woman speaking had to be told to sit down, having been warned twice to watch her language. Once the speaker settled into her seat, the woman trustee in charge of the meeting asked if anyone in Nick’s group would like to speak. Nick stood.
“The incident happened exactly as Principal Smithson outlined to the board. I’m sure the board has had a chance to review the video proof presented,” Nick began. “There were no racial epithets or taunting. Justin, the victim in this incident, would like to speak if allowed.”
The woman trustee glanced at her companions. Receiving their acceptance of Nick’s suggestion, she motioned for Justin to step forward. “What would you like to say to the board, Justin?”
Jay kept his eyes on the trustee as Nick coached him, making sure he didn’t look off to the sides of the room or down. “I only wanted to add that I get knocked around even if I’m just walking down the hall at school. I sure wouldn’t call anyone names, ma’am. If not for Jean and Sonny, I would have been bad hurt. Thank you.”
Jay returned to his seat with Nick. The four boys and two girls were then asked to stand and come forward. All six were nearly a head taller than Jay and outweighed him by a considerable amount, even the girls. Although they did not give anything away, the trustees made notes.
“Was there anything you boys would like to say?”
“He call us names,” one of the boys said, pointing at Jay, who kept his eyes locked on the trustee.
“So, you think it makes sense for six of you to beat him?”
The boys and girls glanced around at their families and each other. The one who had answered the first question said, “uh… yeah.”
“The proper response to an incident at school where you believe someone has called you inappropriate names is to find an instructor and report what happened. It is never alright to get five of your friends and beat someone. You boys may sit down.” The chairwoman looked over her companions’ notes for a moment and then addressed the people in attendance. “Principal Smithson’s decision stands as ordered. This meeting is adjourned.”
The security guard stepped in between the crowd of unhappy participants with the bullies. Nick guided his crew along the wall toward the exit while their opponents shouted and cursed the departing trustees. Roberta Smithson went with them, hoping to avoid a screaming match. They nearly made it to the parking lot without a confrontation, but it was not meant to be. Their adversaries rushed out after them. Nick, Johnny, and Gus confronted them with credentials out. Cala moved to their side with her iPad recording. Tina and Rachel watched her back.
“The meeting’s over, folks. Go home. I’m US Marshal McCarty. With me are US Marshals Nason and Groves. Any trouble and we arrest the perpetrators. I’ve alerted Lieutenant Dickerson of the Pacific Grove PD. There will be a patrol car arriving shortly.”
The spokeswoman for the group surged forward with finger pointing. “This ain’t over!”
“Uh… yeah, it is,” Gus said. “We don’t want to arrest anyone, but we will. There is a baby with us along with the children. We will stop any aggressive movement on your group’s part with deadly force. Go home.”
“We know about you, McCarty! You killed a couple of innocent black kids in Chicago, you racist murderer!”
“They drew weapons on me in front of witnesses and on video,” Nick replied calmly. “They came in to a public place to murder me and two US Marshal colleagues. I advise you all to go home. I see the squad car driving in to the parking lot.”
“You’ll get yours McCarty,” the woman threatened. She led the group away, chanting ‘Black Lives Matter’, flipping off Gus and Tina, calling them ‘Uncle Tom’ and ‘Aunt Jemima’.
Nick waved at the squad car driver. He waved back and parked outside the lot, watching until the chanting crowd drove away. Only then did Nick escort Roberta Smithson and the Rivers family to their cars. Phil Salvatore had already departed.
“Thanks for coming, Gus. I didn’t want a gun battle. Having you and Johnny here prevented a much worse confrontation.”
“Can they do anything in court, Gomez,” Tina asked.
“I doubt they could find a lawyer to take the case. I liked the way the board low-keyed the meeting. They weren’t interested in notoriety. We have Cala’s movie to work with now. That crowd had every intention of assaulting us. I’m hoping they don’t have something in mind involving harassment by the boys at school. I think Smithson will be keeping an eye on them.”
“I believe as they claimed,” Johnny replied. “They will not let this go. The kids did very well. Jay was excellent in speaking to the board. His small talk cinched the decision.”
“I don’t think he’s afraid anymore,” Jean added. “Jay was excited about speaking at the hearing. Sonny and I have been working with him at the school too. Predator will be a great addition to the team. You don’t think those people would try and mess with the Rivers family, do you?”
Jean’s question stopped Nick in his tracks. He called Dale on the spot. “Dale, do you have a good security system?”
“I think so. It’s monitored by a security firm we can hit the panic button for too. Why do you ask?”
“Jean rightfully mentioned to me that bunch from the meeting might stop at your place, rather than come after us. Put me on your emergency call feature. I’ll call Phil and Clarice Salvatore too.”
“Okay, Nick. I’ll make sure it’s on all the time we’re in the house. Thank you.”
“Jay did great today. I’ll be by with the crew tomorrow morning for the school walk.”
“I’ll tell him. Do you really think there might be a real threat to our home?”
“Better to be safe, my friend. I’ll talk to you tomorrow morning.” Nick disconnected. “Good input, Viper. You better text your Dad, Sonny. Tell him to make sure he keeps the alarm system on.”
“I will.”
“Aunt Jemima and I will be over later,” Gus said. “We need to keep working on Strickland and Stallings. The weekend revealed nada about patterns with those two. I’m hoping their day at work will give us a start. I liked your idea working them as your in to Rackson-Gree. Johnny had another idea too.”
“They may be using unsecured servers,” Johnny said. “I may be able to hack into their network. Setting up a live feed from their email and calendar would give us a better way to follow their habits before you leave for Washington.”
“I like it,” Nick said. “I’ll make steaks for us tonight. You’re right about the weekend being a wash. They left town. I wish I would have been in residence. Maybe they have a place they visit semi-regul
arly on the weekends. Anyway, I’ll see you all in a few hours.”
After they settled into the SUV, Sonny read the answer to his text message.
“I have to go home, Sir. My folks want to speak to me,” Sonny said. “I’m surprised my Dad left so quickly. I could have ridden with him.”
“Clarice probably wants to speak to you. They know we have an op involving Ray Worthum. I’ve seen no indication on the software I installed to track their keystrokes, emails, and communications. I realize they’ve probably purchased another way to bypass my oversight on their schemes.”
“Could they endanger you on this trip to DC,” Rachel asked.
“They might tip off the two people in the Congresswoman’s inner circle. I don’t think they can decipher what I plan to do in DC if they suspect I’m going there.”
“I’ll let you know what I can learn,” Sonny said. “We can fool them though. When you do need to leave, Jean and I can pretend you’re still around. They’ll find a way to ask me if you’re away from home, thinking I’ll answer without considering what I’m saying.”
“Good one. Let me know if that happens in the next couple days. We’re moving fast on this Rackson-Gree to protect the CIA Director. Worthum seems to be playing his part with us straight, but he still may be working Phil and Clarice on the side.”
“Did you work out this morning, Dad?”
“He went at it for two hours after walking all of you to school,” Rachel answered for Nick. “That’s when I figured he’s getting close to mission engaged status.”
“You could use a little exercise time, Mom.”
“Why you little brat. Listen she-wolf of the darkness clan… I worked out with your Dad for an hour.”
“I don’t think we can count bedroom time.”
And that’s how the fight started.
* * *
“Oh yeah,” Gus said. “Check this.”
Nick and Johnny, networked with Gus, perused his findings with interest. Nick chuckled. “Nice one, Payaso. Our Rackson-Gree handlers handle each other in their spare time. They’re careful though. I don’t want to contemplate the quickies at work or in their residences, but they stay separated according to the camera action. They don’t travel long distances. Adam’s Inn isn’t far at all.”
Cold Blooded Assassin Book 7: Hell on Earth (Nick McCarty Assassin) Page 16
