Hell on Earth Page 6

  “I don’t care about all this,” Gus said with a sigh. “I’m glad to be here on the balcony. Vegas can drain the hell out of someone.”

  “They don’t call it ‘Sin City’ for nothing, Payaso,” Nick replied. “We caught this latest Phil and Clarice action at its beginnings. It seems I’ll only need to have a talk with them. Worthum Associates sells information and contacts on the political front. At least it doesn’t have a terrorist angle. No money exchanged hands yet. I think even Ray Worthum is leery of our Salvatore duo. The rumor mill by now must have Phil and Clarice on the no-fly list with even the criminals and extortionists.”

  “Oh shit… Muerto… check this out,” Johnny exclaimed while transferring the screen to both Nick and Gus’s laptop.

  “Well… that calls for a drink, gentlemen.” Nick went to the bar.

  “Amen to that,” Gus said. “For God’s sake, let’s just kill these two weasels, Nick. I’ll do it. Sonny will understand.”

  “No… he won’t. I’m invested in Sonny forever, Payaso. We monitor the Salvatores. We fix what they do and use them when it comes to that. Sonny’s a ten-year old kid, in love with Jean. We don’t kill his treasonous parents under any circumstances.”

  Gus nodded. “Understood. This is serious. Worthum is fronting for The Muslim Brotherhood in DC. His firm influences Congressional members and the media on cases involving CAIR and Isis, trying to soften the public’s perception with the usual bullshit about Islam means peace. I’m staring at their money backers. It’s still the Al-Kazar family. You know those bastards are trying to get inroads to us. They will act on suspicions which is all they have.”

  Nick set whiskeys down in front of his friends. “I know, Gus. Jafar texted me about a street match John’s getting into on behalf of the Oaktown Cartel. It has Al-Kazar/Saudi and BLM overtones. Apparently, we’ll have to deal with that bunch in the Sand. I made some overtures to Paul about it. He’s getting the same vibes. I thought maybe this Worthum was just a lobbyist looking for inroads into blackmail. I should have known probably every lobbyist in DC takes Saudi money. We already know the media and Congress does.”

  “It would be suicide to go back into the Sand, Muerto.” Gus toasted his friends.

  “I either discourage this Al-Kazar gang as I did the Kader family or we’ll be targeted constantly. Jafar’s text states the Al-Kazar family bought themselves a couple of Yakuza pros from San Francisco to challenge Oaktown. We drained their funds substantially. I can use it against them in the Sand if I need to go.”

  Nick put beer in Deke’s empty dish and sat down with his comrades as Deke went to work on his beer. “I’m glad I wrote this morning before we left and during the plane ride. I stopped writing at a great scene, so I can take out my anger using my avatar Diego. I was considering talking with the Salvatores, but I’m afraid I’d kill them.”

  Gus ignored the last comment. “Blood Beach must be nearing completion.”

  “I have less than twenty thousand words left to finish,” Nick replied. “I’m ahead of my deadline. I’ve been editing like hell as I go. I’ll start reading over what I have on my Kindle tonight. I’ll send a mobi file to you guys for your Kindles so you can check out the novel. If you spot anything, note it on the Kindle.”

  “When you stated you’d use their funds against them in the Sand, what did you mean?”

  “Everything is for sale in places with the very rich and the very poor, Payaso. The Saudis treat their help like slaves. With unlimited funds, the opportunities can be endless. If I get a clue and intel, I’ll go native. With the right amount of gold, I’ll buy help along the way. We have CIA assets in Saudi Arabia. If I don’t compromise them, I can make my way from target to target. Intel will be the key. We have a list of the Al-Kazar family tree.”

  “Have you ever done such a thing, Muerto?”

  “Yes. We had enemies in Yemen when I worked for the NSA rogue outfit under Frank Richert. I went native there, fed intel by satellite and messaging. I struck and disappeared until the Yemen officials gave in to Frank. Anything can be bought there, from allegiances to safe-houses. In Saudi Arabia, it will be more a matter of gaining access to ambush sites without detection.”

  “If you do this, Rachel will kill you before you can get out of the house,” Gus commented. “You know that, right?”

  “Rachel understands, as does Jean. We’ve been on the trail before together. They know at some point I must go on alone for a time. I have you, Johnny, and Cala watching over them while I’m gone, brother. If Al-Kazar’s spawn are able to get enough people on their payroll again, coupled with a new mass of mutant Moslem refugee recruits, we wouldn’t be safe even walking to Otter’s Point.”

  “You’ve made a difference at Jean and Sonny’s school,” Gus admitted. “The crap with the terrorist ghoul agenda and BLM agenda have been confronted at the school board level. At least a couple of people in authority have a brain.”

  “At least they don’t run with their hands over their heads at the first screams of protest from Moslem mutants and BLM thugs,” Johnny added. “I wish I could go with you, Muerto.”

  Nick sipped his whiskey. “I know that, but I have you and Gus here, protecting Rachel and the kids. I’m hoping to slam the Salvatores back into line with a talk. I swear to God… I figured those haircuts in the middle of the night would keep them in line for at least a few months. My ploy didn’t work for even three weeks.”

  “No use dwelling on the Phil and Clarice show, Muerto,” Gus said. “You’ll need to explain the facts of life once again to them. What should we do about Worthum Associates in the meantime?”

  “We have found enough ties between Worthum and the Al-Kazar family to erase him,” Johnny said. “Once in our grasp, you could learn if he has more dangerous associates in the country. I have not yet been able to pin down where he accesses his funds. The Al-Kazar family has threaded into many avenues, leading to an expanding base of traitors within Congress and liberal lawyer type lobbyists.”

  Johnny shrugged and drained his whiskey. “We cannot kill them all, Muerto. Money drives everything. The Saudis have it. Your solution is one that may work in the darkness. When the mongrels die mysteriously, one after another, at some point the cowards will go into hiding. I know these crown prince jihadists very well. They do not strap bombs onto their bodies, or their children’s bodies, or any of their fanatical bearded Imam mutants. When these enablers are targeted, they will hide and sob out their plight with wringing hands and lies.”

  Nick grinned and nodded, refilling their glasses. “I believe you have reiterated what we face perfectly, Johnny. Let’s hope I can get into a position to make the survivors run for their mama’s arms.”

  Jean and Sonny entered the room with a tray of vegetables and dip. “Mom says you three need to eat something or you’ll all go out on a rampage.”

  Jean’s recital of Rachel’s words provoked a loud amused appreciation from its targets. Jean put her arm around Nick’s shoulders. “Mom thinks you have to go away. Is it true?”

  “Only for a short time, kid. I’ll be back before you know it. You and Sonny have to go into ultra-protective mode over your Mom and Quinn. I trust you two will provide your Uncles with intel on anything happening at the school or anywhere else you spy something out of place.”

  Jean stared into Nick’s eyes with an understanding of what the ten-year-old girl had become, and the respect Nick gave her. “Cracker and Viper will not let you down, Dad.”

  “I know that.” Nick hugged Jean.

  “This involves my Mom and Dad, doesn’t it, Sir?” Sonny looked on with his fists clenched. “You should kill them! They don’t care about anything around them or the safety of America! They’re traitors!”

  Nick stood, putting a comforting hand on Sonny’s shoulders. “They produced you, son. If we keep surveillance on all of their mingling with the dark side, it at least warns us of entities beyond our scope trying to assault us. I wish it were easier on you, kid, but all
of us are with you.”

  “Amen to that,” Gus said. “We know what you’re goin’ through, Sonny.”

  Johnny raised his refilled glass and sipped it in toast to Sonny. “Remember the famous Cruella Deville logic.”

  Sonny chuckled. “It is what it is.”

  “That’s the one,” Johnny replied.

  * * *

  Clarice stood at the door with gun in hand when she saw Nick accompanying Sonny. She decided to kill their arch nemesis, even if she needed to do it in front of their son. McCarty would be dead, and all their problems solved. Clarice formulated all the reasoning for the shooting at the door with a con-artist’s ability to deflect and deceive. She smiled. McCarty would pay for the travesty he had visited upon them. The moment the door opened, Clarice tried to squeeze the trigger, but in the split second it took for her to aim, Nick twisted the 9mm Glock out of her hands. His reflexes left her gasping for breath, staring down the barrel of her own weapon.

  Sonny grabbed her shoulders, horrified at what she had attempted. “Mom! What is wrong with you?!”

  Clarice’s shoulders drooped. She looked away from Sonny’s accusing stare with a onehanded deflection of reality. “It’s kill or be killed. McCarty’s the devil. I knew when he walked with you to the door, he knew about our business dealing with Worthum Associates. We have no privacy at all! This bastard knows everything!”

  Phil hurried into the room, hearing Clarice’s plaintive cries. Seeing the scene, Phil rushed in to hug Clarice. “What have you done? We…we talked about this!”

  Sonny faced Phil and Clarice, fists clenched at his sides. “Nick could have killed you by mistake, Mom! Nick’s a killer. He’s not a burglar or an unknown assailant.”

  Sonny went through a series of confused motions before relaxing into a state of acceptance. He stared finally at his parents with tired eyes. “Nick has saved you both from prosecution for espionage, that would have put you both in prison. He’s saved you from dying at the hands of the terrorists you two have collaborated with. Now… you try to kill him… when he’s found out you’ve collaborated again with the enemy!”

  “You have no right to speak to us like that, young man!” Clarice denied reality, to deflect her own guilt, pointed out by a ten-year-old.

  Sonny waved her off as Nick unloaded the Glock. “I have every right. I’ve given up on you two. I...I’m embarrassed I come from you two. I dream sometimes that Jean’s Mom is right and I was abducted as a baby. You two are traitors! There’s no simple way to speak about what you do. Nothing, other than money, means anything to you. I’m a kid, but I know America is the greatest place on earth, thanks to Nick!”

  “So… you embrace an assassin’s creed instead of what your own flesh and blood try and teach you?” Clarice turned her back on Sonny, out of Phil’s grasp. “Fine… go live with them!”

  “No! I will live with you two, my parents,” Sonny replied. “You two need to be watched at all times. The fact you knew Nick came on terrorist business means you are guilty of treason again! I will stay here and spy on you two terrorist moles, and you can’t do anything about it!”

  “What he said,” Nick added, handing the unloaded Glock back to Clarice. “If you ever try that again, I will break my bond with Sonny and kill you both. You have been blessed with a living conscience and moral compass in your son. It’s a damn shame he knows right from wrong, but you two don’t. Be that as it may. I love Sonny like my own blood. I know he acts well beyond his years. Screw with him at your own peril.”

  “We know you’ve come to the door for a reason,” Phil stated. “What is it?”

  “You two traitors have once again embraced the dark side. Know this. After today, every keystroke, communication, or other avenue of deception will be traced. You, Phil, may yet again be utilized for what needs to be done in the terrorist sector. You won’t have a choice… nor should you have one.”

  “Why do you incorporate our own son into this? You’ve made him into a spy like the Hitler Youth during World War II!”

  Sonny went into Clarice’s face. “Are you stupid? This isn’t Germany and you two aren’t persecuted Jews. I care for Jean! She and her parents love America! I love this nation! God help you that you don’t. Doesn’t it matter to either of you that if your traitorous plans came true, the first victims the new order would kill are useless idiots like you two?”

  Clarice slapped him, but Sonny caught her wrist. “Don’t, Mom. You can’t hurt me anymore.”

  Clarice jerked her hand back. “You do know this man is a psychopath, right!”

  “He knows what I am, Clarice. Let’s go in your kitchen and talk about Ray Worthum,” Nick said. “We’ve already found ties between his agency and The Muslim Brotherhood. His firm is being paid secretly by them on behalf of Isis and CAIR. The money trail seeps back to Saudi Arabia and the Al-Kazar family. Even I’m surprised you two dived back into this cesspool.”

  Phil sat down with his still fuming wife. Nick and Sonny sat across from them. “We need the money and we want to get back to DC. Ray agreed to use his influence, helping us attain some added funds, and possibly get another posting in DC. We want the hell away from you.”

  “Phil… they know you’ve tried to sell information before. You won’t even have the job you do now if they audit your actions,” Nick replied.

  “You could get us back in DC,” Phil stated.

  “Why in the world would I do that? At least here I can monitor what you do. Besides, I couldn’t if I wanted to. You’ve been blackballed. Your name’s on the no-fly list of government parasite jobs because of your past history. I think Worthum’s stringing you along. Other than blackmailing some Senate or Congressional member to… damn… that’s it, isn’t it?”

  Phil’s silence as he glanced around his kitchen told Nick everything he needed. “C’mon, Phil. Who does Ray have on his string?”

  “Ray can get me on with Leila Rackson-Gree’s staff.”

  “Oh my… that’s so sweet. You’d fit right in with her, Phil. She’s dumber than a box of rocks. Her stupid comments achieved legendary status long ago. She’d sell out her own Mother if the buyers threw in an ice cream cone. Gree loves every anti-American dictator on the planet. I believe she went into mourning for three weeks when Fidel Castro finally kicked it.”

  “How dare you speak of a Congressional member in such demeaning terms,” Clarice argued. “You have a lot of nerve. At least Congresswoman Gree doesn’t torture and kill people.”

  “I have other skills,” Nick replied. “I give great haircuts.”

  Clarice automatically put hands on her wig, worn over the shearing Nick did to her and Phil for their last traitorous act during a middle of the night warning.

  “I see you remember my lesson,” Nick said. “Let’s get down to business. Has Ray mentioned what connection Gree has to these terrorist dealings?”

  Phil shrugged, much to Clarice’s annoyance. “You already know Gree loves dictators. I suspect she is dumb enough to believe she could be one… or survive one. I don’t know what Ray has going with her. She was one of the ones he was interested in knowing where she traveled to. I’m sure you’re aware she takes ‘fact finding’ missions to an all new level at taxpayer expense.”

  “Now we’re getting somewhere. I know she sits on the Judiciary and Homeland Security committees. You’ve been helpful, Phil.” Nick stood. “I’ll leave you alone to your dealings. Delay anything pertaining to Worthum. We’re going to handle our mutual responsibility with Sonny together, meaning if you have a problem with him, come to me about it. I know you don’t hit him. Don’t start. I will know. Sonny knows he would answer to me if he gets into trouble.”

  Sonny walked Nick to his door. “I’m sorry about the gun thing, Nick. Thanks for not shooting her in the head.”

  “Keep your eyes open. I’ll have to go on a business trip overseas shortly. I’d like you to be Gus and Johnny’s eyes and ears here at your home, and at mine.”

  “I will
, Sir. Thank you for your understanding today. My Mom was going to kill you.”

  “Let’s keep that between us. If Rachel finds out, I’ll have to put a twenty-four-hour guard on your Mom.”

  “I know. I will tell no one about this.”

  “That would be best. I’ll see you soon, Sonny.”

  * * *

  At 6 am, Nick sat hunched over his keyboard, taking Diego through a complicated trap of yet another Fatima betrayal. The slight knock on his door roused Deke from lying over Nick’s slippers. Nick checked his screen, making sure Gus and Johnny were his arrivals. He opened the door and motioned them in.

  “How about that Cheeseburger and Dr. Deville? You guys watched the videos, right?”

  “We did indeed, Muerto,” Gus replied. “Did you have time to read Jafar’s notes about the connections to Al-Kazar putting together another BLM gang and paying those two Yakuza killers?”

  “Yep. Oaktown took care of the new BLM problem for now. John and his crew will be watching for Yakuza problems. We all still have an Al-Kazar problem. I sent Jafar what we learned from Phil. I explained I would be checking the Worthum angle. What’s the fallout from the Congresswoman, Nancy Soulosi’s disappearance so far, Johnny?”

  “It’s a mystery. When we destroyed Morrison Commodities and dumped Soulosi in the ocean, the authorities are baffled. They’re of the opinion Soulosi fled the country because of all her business dealings we’ve uncovered. The media has gone silent, except for a few conservative outlets. They’re trying to ignore the evidence Soulosi sold out the nation, but the people in DC know. The FBI are working on every thread we sent them. Are you considering a similar mystery for Rackson-Gree?”

  “In the back of my mind, I’m thinking what’s one more traitor. I’d like to let the Soulosi hunt simmer down first. I don’t see how I can avoid a talk with Ray Worthum. If he’s the conduit for Al-Kazar money, I can learn from him where to find them in Saudi Arabia, or wherever else they might be. I need to talk this over with Paul. Worthum’s in DC. A military flight in and out of there without my being listed on the manifest would help considerably. If anyone asks about me here, I’m trying to make a deadline writing.”