“Well, well, well, I can sure understand why you missed checking in after your date,” Frank’s voice greeted him as Nick answered the satellite phone following his initial call in. “If you were ready to start a family why didn’t you say so, Nick? How is the family? How did you know the sniper wasn’t shooting at you, Pappy?”
“Maybe we should skip the sarcasm for now.”
“Very well.” Frank paused for a moment. “We plugged the leak. I can’t say I’m pleased with your methods, but you damn sure lured the dummy out into the open. What the hell made you think taking Hunter and her daughter to your place would work?”
“We have differing views, Frank. You keep looking for criminal masterminds, and I look for impatient dolts who like the money but not the precautions. Let’s tackle the next order of business.”
“Don’t you want to know anything about the leak?”
“Why should I? The mark won’t know anything anyway. The FBI can trace the money trail to the dead end I’m sure is waiting for them.”
“You don’t do detective work but it seems you’re pretty good at it. Did you enhance your rep as Sherlock Holmes by consulting with the Marshalls and local PD? I know those idiots didn’t get the shooter by themselves. I thought maybe you were figuring on opening a detective agency or something.”
“You’ve developed quite a sense of humor, Frank,” Nick replied, without a trace of humor. “I have a kink in this case I think you’ll like if you’re all through with the comic act.”
“Give it to me but it better be damn good. The thought of you playing house and risking the asset we’ve built for ten years will eventually lead to an adjustment. Know this, Nick: it won’t be me who clips off all the loose ends you’re creating.
If it comes, I’ll be the first one tied on the tracks with the train coming.”
“Acknowledged.”
Nick smiled as the silence stretched on for a very long moment.
“I could have the US Marshalls pick her back up.”
“And she would, of course, not know squat about any safety deposit box.”
“What do you want, Nick?”
“I get a sweet family cover for the heinous deeds I do, and a little company. You get the flash drives with the whole Tanus network documented…after I take a look at them. We agree on the upper echelon of the network meeting with inexplicable accidents and everyone’s happy.”
“Have you been watching reruns of ‘Father Knows Best’ on Nickelodeon or something?” Frank asked with obvious disdain. “You have a psych profile making you the original Lone Wolf. You don’t play well with others.”
“I need a change.”
“Go to Barcelona.”
“Did I say something to make you think this was a debate?”
“Okay…listen pal, there’s no use in me pretending I don’t care about those flash drives, but what happens after you get tired of playing house? I wager Hunter knows too much already and her kid will…shit…why am I talking about this? You’re insane.”
“If things don’t work out, I’ll set them up real nice somewhere. Rachel Hunter is a bit more complex than you think, Frank. In the meantime, I acquire an added family dossier to waylay suspicion overseas. It’s not like they can find out about you or your puppet masters. Hell, I don’t even know about them, but if you think I need to, I could find out.”
“Now wait a minute…you’re playing a dangerous game, Nick.”
“Oh, I’m so scared.”
“The trouble with you, Nick, is you’re getting delusions of grandeur…and invincibility.”
“Not at all,” Nick reasoned. “I know my value. In addition, while we’re on the subject, you do realize that taking me out will have some unintended consequences, do you not?”
“Overseas?”
“I sure wouldn’t hide implicating evidence in Podunk, USA. It would be embarrassing for you if I’m ever unable to touch base with my contact.”
“I’m going to miss Tanus’s taste in hits.” Frank sighed audibly as Nick heard him take a deep breath. “It will be extremely interesting to finally find out from those flash drives why his choice of bad people intersected our own so often. What do you need from me?”
“Nothing,” Nick answered. “If you take a hand in this to get the US Marshalls off my back, it’ll be way too suspicious. You plugged the leak, but they know someone still wants Rachel dead. You’ll have to be patient. I’ll take Rachel to get the flash drives as soon as possible.”
“Tanus was your biggest employer with needs closely tied to ours. What are you going to do about work?”
“It may be time for you to stop waiting for bad guys to pay me to kill other bad guys. You’re the one making sure all the info and equipment materializes when I need it.”
“That’s funny, Nick. You want us to admit we double-ohseven your ass around the world to sanction people dangerous to the USA. Yeah, that’ll happen. Don’t forget who pockets the money from the hits.”
“I didn’t say put it out in the New York Times, Einstein,” Nick retorted. “Fine, we keep the status quo. I’ll be in touch.”
“Make it sooner rather than later, Pappy.”
Nick woke up. He slid silently out of bed in an instant, listening intently. The click of a door downstairs triggered the subconscious alarm Nick had spent decades honing. A glance at the bedroom wall told him his security system had been disabled.
Moving out his open bedroom door while staying low to the floor, he came face to face with Deke. Nick smiled and gave the dog a quick stroke before moving quickly down the hallway to Rachel’s room with Deke following. In seconds, he maneuvered to her side. Nick clamped his left hand over her mouth while keeping the bedroom door covered. Rachel’s eyes flew open in shock. She saw Nick shake his head in the dark, and the hand moved away from her mouth. When Nick knew she was awake, he walked quickly over to the bedroom’s walk-in closet. Opening a door at the closet’s rear wall revealed a recessed armored doorway with digital security keypad. Nick opened the reinforced door. The interior safe room lights came on. He then returned to Rachel’s bedside.
“In two minutes time, run into Jean’s room, pick her up, and get her and Deke into the safe room. Make noise doing it,” Nick whispered close to Rachel’s ear. “Count the minutes now.”
Nick pointed at Deke purposefully and the dog sat down. Nick hurried silently toward the stairwell and down the stairs, his weapon trained in the direction of the house entranceway. He moved next to the ornate, open sliding oak door, separating the front entrance from the interior of his house. Nick heard the intruder threading his way slowly through the adjoining rooms. When Rachel made noise upstairs, Nick waited with weapon at the ready. The intruder quickened his assault, thinking Nick was moving upstairs. Nick fired two silenced rounds into the back of the assassin’s skull as the man went past. Nick’s.45 caliber rounds propelled the man face first onto the hardwood floor. Nick fired one more round into the man’s head, and retrieved the weapons he found on the body.
Knowing he had time now, Nick ran into the kitchen, pulled out a black plastic kitchen bag and duct tape from under the sink. He quickly returned to the body, slipped the bag over the dead man’s head, shoulders and chest. Nick duct taped the bag opening tightly around the body as he rolled the corpse over. He ran upstairs. After retrieving his satellite phone, Nick called the communication activation code and hung up while moving downstairs again. When the phone vibrated, Nick answered it.
“Hi honey.”
