Hard Case 12: Climate of Chaos (John Harding)

by Bernard Lee DeLeo

  Tommy and Jess were at my side, weapons in hand, while Nick, Clint and Lynn spread around us. The screams and panicked cries amongst the assembled Legislators went on until Flo called for order as police arrived in force. “Please remain calm! Only the bad guy is down! Stay seated while the police sort this out. We will adjourn immediately following their handling of the crime scene!”

  For the most part, the Legislators did as Flo advised. “John… are you okay?”

  “I’m okay, Governor. He hit my vest but ruined my suit and my favorite tie.”

  “This tie is ugly, Cheese.” Lynn inspected it. “I’m going to buy you a decent one.”

  “Gee… thanks, Lynn. Nice shooting guys,” I told Nick and Clint. “His next shot would have probably been a headshot.”

  “Dead Boy luckily shot the guy in the head fast enough to avoid it looking like an execution,” Clint said.

  “Luckily? Did you just insult me?”

  “I think I drew faster that time,” Clint added.

  “Now, I know you’re insulting me.”

  After amused appreciation of the interchange between two of the deadliest killers on earth, Lynn opened my shirt and bagged the slugs. I cringed a little. “You didn’t wear your double vest, huh Cheese?”

  “No… I thought this was a fun meet and greet, not a shooting gallery. My bad.”

  “You saved Mom’s life, DL.” Jess gave me a shoulder hug. “I guess I should thank Captain Hook for adding the quickness you showed getting in front of her.”

  “See… I told you Hook was one of us.”

  “If I see Hook.” Nick pretended with a finger as a gun while making gunshot sounds. “I empty a magazine of .45 caliber, hollow-point, happy shark rounds right between his eyes.”

  “Sacrilege!”

  * * *

  Nick watched the house at the end of Moll Ct in Sonoma where he had located Uber driver and murderer, Rederick Dhamfo, going by the name Sedric Samro. Nick followed Dhamfo for days, alternating with Bad Penny Chardin. Although not concerned with how he would take Dhamfo, Nick made sure of the man’s residence. At the end, his information gathering would eventually include a search of Dhamfo’s house. It would not be much of a trick to call for an Uber somewhere near Dhamfo, using his Roscoe Weatherby identity with Las Vegas address, and listing the airport as his destination.

  The research had paid off, thanks to his networked team. The GOP Headquarters for Sonoma County, was due to host a speaker from Southern California, the new Republican Party Chairman and California Assembly member, Trevor Pallen. No one owned Pallen. Nick knew him to be an American Nationalist and enemy of everything to do with the New World Order. His family would be with him on the trip to speak at the headquarters. With so many liberal leftists elected to office in state and federal elections, Nick assumed Pallen to be Dhamfo’s target. The Monster/Unholies network, fully engaged in the mission, hunted for every detail and thread to help Nick when the interrogation began.

  Pallen, due to arrive tomorrow morning left Nick with little choice but to move on Dhamfo now. He knew the Ghana native would not assault the Pallen family at the speaking engagement. Nick put away his rangefinders and drove half a mile away to the corner of 2nd Street and Blue Wing Drive. He parked his car a hundred yards away on 2nd Street, and walked across the street to the corner. With the Uber app on his phone, he requested an Uber with destination Sonoma County Airport and his location. Three nearby Uber drivers appeared on screen with Dhamfo the closest. Nick chose Dhamfo. Five minutes later, Dhamfo drove next to Nick in his Toyota Sienna.

  “Mr. Weatherby?”

  Nick smiled. “Yes… Sedric… is it?”

  “Yes. Is that all the luggage you have? I see you are visiting from Las Vegas by your credit card zip code.”

  “I am here visiting on business,” Nick explained, entering Dhamfo’s vehicle with only a large briefcase. “Your English accent is wonderful. I need to fly home for some important documents needing signed and then return in the morning.”

  Nick didn’t close the Toyota’s back door. Instead, he extracted a syringe. Nick sat in his seat and Dhamfo smilingly gestured at the open door.

  Nick smacked his forehead. “Sorry… sorry… I’m distracted today.”

  “It is no problem,” Dhamfo replied, getting ready to shift into drive as he felt the sharp prick at his neck. He batted at the point of the stinging, thinking he somehow had been bitten by something.

  “Are you okay?” Nick asked, knowing he didn’t want Dhamfo putting the Toyota into drive before the fast-acting knockout syringe did its work.

  Dhamfo turned toward Nick, realizing he had been injected with something. He tried to raise his Kimber 9mm handgun. Nick snatched it out of his hand. Dhamfo collapsed against the front seat, breathing heavily as he tried to resist the CIA formulated concoction. Dhamfo failed. Nick got out of the passenger area and heaved Dhamfo into the space between dashboard and seat on the passenger side.

  Nick took over the driving duties. He drove to a large parking lot on 1st Street near Arnold Field Stadium. Parking in the completely empty park near the center, Nick got out and walked around to throw Dhamfo over the seat into the back. He belted him in tightly with Dhamfo’s hands restrained behind his back and also restraining his feet with plastic ties. Injected with a shot to counteract the original knockout syringe, Dhamfo regained consciousness slowly. Nick talked to Claude Chardin first.

  “Bad Penny? I have him ready for interrogation. Drive to the spot I programmed for you. This shouldn’t take long.”

  “On my way.”

  He then spoke to the Unholies at his house in the East Bay. “Gus… Johnny… I’d say Jian too, but I know the wanker skipped out.”

  “I am here, round-eye oppressor.”

  Nick could hear Jean, Jay and Sonny in the background, enjoying Jian’s retort. “Down to business, guys. Send the kids somewhere else. This is where the rubber meets the road. Do not let them leave with their laptops.”

  “Out, kids… thanks for your help,” Gus said. “Don’t give me the look, Viper. Leave the laptops and take Deke for a walk.”

  A moment later, Gus spoke. “We’re clear, Muerto. Go ahead.”

  Nick put on his Muerto mask. “The first will be information gathering, including who contracted him, and where he keeps his stash on Moll Ct. At the end comes any account information we can tie him into with his employer. Operation to commence in only a few minutes while Dhamfo regains clarity.”

  “Understood,” Gus replied. “You’re streaming clearly with good audio. We should have an excellent recording for your client.”

  Nick slapped Dhamfo’s cheek lightly as he leaned over the front seat. “Wakey… wakey… I know you’re fully conscious, you rascal.”

  “I…I feel horrible. What have you… done to me? Get me to a hospital. I need a doctor!”

  Nick smiled as groans issued over the network. “You are in luck, my friend. Dr. Muerto is in the house. Tell me where it hurts. I’m sure I can help you through the pain.”

  “You are no doctor!”

  “I can prove it. Tell me where you feel the pain.”

  “My head is killing me!”

  Nick opened his knife with a quick flip and stabbed Dhamfo through his thigh. Dhamfo screamed as Nick moved the knife around. “I bet your head doesn’t bother you a bit now, huh?”

  “Oh God… my leg… stop!”

  Nick left the blade in place. “See… never doubt Dr. Muerto. I am an expert on redirecting pain. Now then… I need some questions answered. My hand will be controlling the tool lodged in your thigh. If I hear lies, Dr. Muerto will need to adjust the tool. Do you have him, Reaper?”

  “Oh yes, Doctor Muerto,” Cala replied. “I have his images coming through in detail. I will be able to tell when he lies instantly.”

  “You heard my assistant. I’m a good lie detector, but the Reaper is an excellent lie detector. I would advise not testing her abilities. The consequences will be extre
mely harsh.”

  “What do you want to know?! Please… don’t move the knife!”

  “You mean like this?” Nick moved the knife, evoking another scream. “Who paid you to rape and kill Morgan Carrigan’s daughter?”

  “Some rich… woman politician… hired me on the Dark Web. She made it possible… for me to escape the country.”

  “True,” Cala said.

  “Good. Take your time. What was the name and how did you get paid?”

  “No names… just money after I agreed to the job. I..I received ten-thousand-dollars in advance. I was texted to leave my car trunk open, but in the almost closed position… in my apartment building’s parking lot. The money and a new American passport identity were there in the morning along with instructions to board a tanker ship after the job. I was instructed to dump her in the trunk and leave immediately. I only… had a forty-eight-hour window before the tanker… ah… Orion… left Boston Harbor.”

  When Dhamfo grimaced in pain, Cala confirmed his admission.

  “Twenty… thousand dollars more… as agreed, awaited me in the cabin I was issued on the Orion.”

  “Do you think the tanker crew knew who you were.”

  “No… they seemed only to tolerate me.”

  “Did this woman who hired you ever contact you again?”

  “Yes… that is how I came to be here. She texted I was to establish my Uber business here in Sonoma and await further instructions. I was wired money by Western Union. Air flight tickets arrived by courier.”

  “What about a target?” Nick asked.

  “None… given at the time. When…when I didn’t… get anymore instructions… I queried the Dark Web drop she contacted me from. An answer came the next day, saying she had been killed in an explosion in Boston. The Dark Web drop disappeared when I requested further instructions.”

  “How did you know it was a woman.”

  Dhamfo hesitated for a moment and Nick grasped the knife handle. “Wait! I remember now! She signed the texts… with Ms. WMB!”

  “True,” Cala confirmed.

  Nick grinned. “I bet it was Willarie Modham Blinton. It would be just like the egotistical idiot to sign even murder orders with her own initials. The timeline fits. We made her extinct a while ago. So, no one has contacted you since?”

  “No. I… still keep the Dark Web drop… but no one has contacted me.”

  “You had the Dark Web connection in Boston for some time before the woman contacted you. What kind of business were you doing off the connection before the killing?”

  “I drove the car for thieves. They used me because I could prove I was an Uber driver and had no idea what my passengers did. I came up with the idea and advertised it. I only agreed… if the thieves could prove they were an experienced crew.”

  “Why would you take a murder contract?”

  “The police were investigating me. My Uber car was recorded at the scene of a couple jobs. The police brought me in for questioning. I played dumb, reiterating I was an Uber driver. I never participated in violent bank jobs. The thieves were burglars, hitting high end homes. The police… released me… but I knew I needed to leave before they investigated any further.”

  “Do you know who Trevor Pallen is?” Nick needed to cross that name off the list of potential victims even though Dhamfo had not received a target.

  “No.”

  “True,” Cala said.

  Nick picked up Dhamfo’s phone from the seat. “Fingerprint or iris?”

  “Iris.”

  A moment later Nick had the iPhone unlocked and with his iris as the key to unlock it. “How does your laptop at home unlock?”

  “Pin number… 5608… wait! Why do you need my laptop? Never mind! Drop me off at the hospital. You can go to my house and get anything you want. I… don’t care.”

  Nick had already extracted his cleansing tools, spreading them on the front seat. “Did you think you would never pay for raping and killing the young girl in Boston?”

  Dhamfo’s eyes widened. “I…I am Muslim. It is permitted in my religion to do anything I wish to a non-believer, especially a woman dressed like a whore. She was an offense to Allah.”

  Nick gagged Dhamfo and retrieved his knife, cleaning it on Dhamfo’s clothing. “Oh boy… this is going to hurt.”

  Forty-five minutes of cleansing later, Nick dropped two lit magnesium flares at Dhamfo’s feet and one in his lap. Five minutes after Nick closed the front passenger side door, Dhamfo burst into flame. He died screaming behind his gag a few minutes later, his voice only a tiny squeal after nearly an hour of Nick’s cleansing.

  Nick jogged away from the scene, hoodie and mask still in place, with equipment bag in hand. At the corner he got inside Chardin’s rented car. “Drive me to Dhamfo’s house, Bad Penny. We need to get that done quickly and head for home. I need a couple of drinks, no matter how late it is when we get to the East Bay house.”

  “I believe I will join you. How long do you think it will take you to search Dhamfo’s house?”

  “Probably a few minutes. I’m only interested in his laptop.”

  “That was a good cleansing, Muerto.”

  “Yes,” Nick agreed, leaning back in the seat. “My client will be pleased with the recording or sick to his stomach that he ever ordered it. We can’t please everyone though, right Bad Penny?”

  “Sometimes… people do not always get what they want, Muerto.”

  “Or envision what they want in retribution.”

  * * *

  Nick let me in the gate with Deke prancing around, seemingly glad to see guests. “Did you get your writing in on the new book?”

  “I did, indeed. Political Sanction progresses at breakneck speed. Diego once again crosses swords with the lovely Fatima, who left him after he needed to handle her kidnapper carefully. As you recall, Fatima needed plastic surgery to restore the damage done. She immediately involves herself with a corrupt politician.”

  “I like it already.” We adjourned to the kitchen for coffee. Not only writing copiously on his new novel, he also kept a close eye on the sleeping Quinn.

  Nick handed me a coffee. “Quinn woke up early with me, so I let him play. He ran around the kitchen with Deke. They wore each other out. My only problem is keeping Quinn from squealing at every lap around the table. Jean, Sonny and Rachel, along with all the other Unholies, slept in even with the added Deke and Quinn sounds. Are you going out on the water today with Hook?”

  “I sure am. After Achmed collated the mess we confiscated in Sacramento, we have even more evidence of the bug-eyed Bolshevik’s recruiting of Cobus. I don’t see any other choice but to get Assio-Warez in for a podiatry exam with Dr. Deville.”

  “As concerned as I am about the lovely Bug-eye trying to kill us all, I’m more worried about her actually winning an election by substantial numbers. People across the nation know from her ridiculous comments, even letting her out in public could mean she will walk out in traffic, expecting traffic to halt because of her being elected to Congress. This climate of chaos the country disintegrated into lately makes me fear the death of common sense and logic. Our citizens know what happened to Venezuela with people like the bug-eyed Bolshevik in charge.”

  “It worries all of us, Nick. We’re completing the vetting of patriots ready to confront the loss of our nation by force of arms. Monster island is in full swing, with special forces trainers in place, commuting from the mainland, training our militia troops already. It seems like the people waking up from fake news brainwashing understand the possibility of losing America. Did you garner any news from Dhamfo’s stuff?”

  “He loved internet porn,” Nick replied. “We did get one piece of information I networked to Jafar and Clint. Dhamfo’s Dark Web connection received an order for him to hit Trevor Pallen, the new GOP leader in California. Naturally, Dhamfo will not be answering that call. I’m taking the Unholies and Bad Penny to the speaking engagement Pallen agreed to at the Sonoma GOP Headquarters. Pa
llen will be flying to Bakersfield right after speaking, so the threat should be done. I need to make Pallen aware he is a target.”

  “Bad Penny loves working with you. He sensed a bond in the Paris mission, plus my cutting his Achilles tendons make us only respected friends and combat brothers.”

  “I understand how bad he was before confronting justice in the form of the Dark Lord. Claude knows you turned his entire existence around. Thanks to unknown Illuminati instigated missions, I don’t know if I acted in the past much better than he did.”

  God… how true was that… same as me. “I can think of many false flag crap operations I participated in, now, after the fact. It makes me question everything we do today, even though I trust Denny and Paul to watch our backs in DC.”

  “Agreed. No more blind missions,” Nick replied. “Would you mind if I accompany you with my M107 today? I need some practice before we guard Pallen. I plan to take the high ground with Jean, Sonny and Jay spotting intruders. The Unholies will be Pallen’s personal bodyguards.”

  “Wow… how did you get that past Rachel?”

  “Probably being more of a psychopath than you, helps with my plots. Rachel doesn’t know my plans. We’re in a war, brother. After the fact, I will explain my actions in detail. Viper fully controls her crew, so I never need worry about leaks. I have three monsters in training I need to put in the field as often as possible. Rachel holds onto civilization a little too much. She will eventually observe these missions with a more favorable eye.”

  “I hope you’re right, brother. Al will be a killer with conscience but will do so in a legitimate law enforcement position. Kade shows Monster signs even now. He will bear watching and guidance. Forget all that… you are more than welcome to ship out aboard the Sea Wolf. We fish too. There are plenty of poles on board for the kids, in between practice and Captain Hook watching.”

  “I confess I am not thrilled with watching you do the Hook riding in real time. I understand how Hook improved your perception of training, but my encounters with sharks made me appreciate being able to use weapons above the water on them. We definitely want to go, John.”