Cold Blooded III: Sins and Sanctions (Nick McCarty Assassin Series Book 3) (14 page)

“Damn, Nick, your plan sounds good, but when are you due in Charleston?”

“I called Cassie. We have another week to bring this op to fruition before we have to be in Charleston for the three book signings.”

“What if you clip one, and they abandon ship immediately? They could head for the hills after the first shot.”

“Such is life. They have to try and escape in a vehicle,” Nick replied. “I don’t like their chances. I’ll do the stakeout. It will take them a while to figure out the shots aren’t stopping. When they finally move on the barn, then things get interesting. Should I take Fang with me on this op?”

“Sure… if you want Rachel to kill you in your sleep, Muerto.”

* * *

Nick exited the slow moving vehicle with Gus driving, both interior and exterior lights off. He snapped his night vision helmet into place, carrying his Remington modular sniper rifle case. In multiple pockets throughout his black weather proof parka and pants, clips for his Berretta and rounds for the Remington moved only slightly as he approached the barn. The Kevlar vest underneath the parka also provided extra warmth. Nick took nothing for granted. While approaching the barn structure, he kept his eyes on the ground, looking for anything indicating recent digging or snares close to the ground. His cautious approach was rewarded when he reached the barn entrance. The door hung off to the side, but inside the door a thin trip wire strung at shoe height revealed itself in Nick’s careful observation. He used a mini-beam light to check beyond and all around the entryway before entering.

“Damn, Gus! These assholes have an explosive pack trip-wired at the door. A kid could blow himself to kingdom come exploring this old barn.”

“You suspected a minefield in the front. Be glad that wasn’t the case,” Gus replied. “Maybe you should back the hell out and set up a nest from the grounds.”

“Nope. The loft in here is the perfect spot to target the house. I will be looking for more surprises. Can you see anything from the low light cam?”

“Grainy, but clear,” Gus answered. “Nothing clear enough for me to watch for something you can’t see on scene though.”

“Acknowledged.”

Nick found the loft stairway after a significantly slowed exploration of the area around it. He inspected each step, and tested for stability until reaching the open loft covering a significant area in the upper barn structure. An open swing out hatch meant for hay baling at one time revealed a clear unobstructed house view. Nick settled in, building a sturdy spot for his Remington. He then took off his helmet, and used his night vision range finders to monitor any activity within the house. Gambling on the Isis recruits messing around until at least midnight, Nick was in position by eleven-thirty.

“Oh, Payaso, my old friend, you will never believe what our supposedly ultra-religious nutcakes are indulging in. These sinners right now gamble hideously within my vision, their gambling den of sin at a table for eight. Our new John is indulging with alacrity as I see others in the group eyeing him with malevolent looks.”

“A wide range of targets for El Muerto the exterminator, huh?”

“Yep. It’s lucky you were able to access a file on Ahmed Abaza. He’s sitting next to John. Want to wager how many of these true believers I can hit before they duck out of sight?”

“They may be ignorant, but they’re not stupid,” Gus replied. “I’m thinking your main target plus one possibly.”

“Game on, Payaso,” Nick said. “They’ve been drinking.”

In the next thirty seconds, Nick put .300 Winchester magnum rounds into four men before the players at the table fully reacted. He wounded one more on the target’s way down out of sight. Nick watched with satisfaction as John grabbed Abaza, shielding him as if he would give his own life to protect him.
Nice touch indeed, John – well played, pal
. With deadly accuracy, Nick killed two more as they revealed themselves for more than a second. He then sat back against the barn wall, his murderous side kicking in on this deadly game.

“Ah, Payaso, I killed six, with one wounded.”

“Holy shit… how… oh never mind. Bolt action, and you killed six? Jesus, Mary, and Joseph… that has to be a record in the psychopathic hall of fame.”

“John covered Abazza with his own body. It was so cute. Our head terrorist probably thinks John is the greatest thing since sliced bread.”

“What the hell are you doing right now, Muerto?”

Nick chuckled. “I’m allowing my pot to come to a boil, Payaso. I play out the game here to the lucrative end. I’m not sure how many more recruits they have in there; but rest assured, they’re crawling to the escape pods. I don’t like their chances, Payaso. Checking now.”

Nick peeked with his range finders. One of the garage doors opened within seconds of his surveillance. “Damn, Payaso, they’re not even planning an attack on the barn. I’ll disable their escape pod, and wait for targets of opportunity. This should be fun.”

“Only to you, Muerto… oh fuck it… yeah… it’s kind of fun thinking about the demise of yet another potential Isis cell, trying to devastate America, running to their deaths like scalded rabbits. I bet those threats they’ve been making taste like sand now, Muerto.”

“I believe you are right, Payaso,” Nick whispered, the pad of his index finger triggering the demise of the escape pod driver, the .300 Winchester magnum round passing with ease right between his eyes. The vehicle, a Ford Expedition, wobbled out of control to a slow meandering path to nowhere on the grassy lawn.

Nick targeted carefully. He spotted John, who held on to Abazza as the rats bailed out of the sinking terrorist land vehicle. With smiling satisfaction, Nick brought down three others in the vehicle, who ran for it in different directions, returning to each downed victim for a killing shot after the initial wounding. John dragged the struggling Abazza out, throwing him to the ground, and kneeling on his back.

“We are mission completed, Payaso. John has Abazzo in lockdown with a knee to his back. All other Isis badass members are in the process of finding out what lies beyond the great divide. Did you ever get Paul networked?”

“He’s on. Great work, Muerto. Where are you going to film the final Isis cell accounting, and do you want me there?”

“Of course I want you there, Payaso. New John will film us with the entire dead cell around the live Abazzo. We will have to do initial inventory on what they have on site before a team arrives. I’ll give you a look as I go through the place in real time, Paul.”

“Perfect,” Paul replied immediately. “Good Lord, that was outstanding shooting. Jesus, Muerto, you are a very bad man indeed.”

“Don’t suck up to him,” Gus ordered. “There’s no telling what he will do if Muerto gets any more positive feedback.”

“Acknowledged, Payaso,” Paul replied with much amusement.

* * *

The cleanup operation took very little time with Nick, Gus, and John transporting the bodies back inside the house. They positioned the already dead with the newly dead in the main living room. Nick used the attentive Deke to take care of Abazzo. Nick had trained Deke in holding a prisoner without Rachel or Jean knowing, figuring at some point he would be able to use Deke’s incredible patience and intelligence. Deke crouched now in front of a terrified Abazzo, every few seconds making a snarling jab within inches of Abazzo’s throat. Abazzo would squeal behind the duct tape over his mouth each time Deke juked towards him. Nick suspected Deke would be a natural for this type of holding procedure, and he lived up to Nick’s appraisal perfectly, actually enjoying the task.

With Paul networked into the cam feeds, he journeyed through the house with Nick, Gus, and John, noting and recording everything they found for the team he had on alert. The terrorist occupants left in panic, leaving everything in place without thought to a completely unexpected attack. Technical utensils were left exactly as found until Nick could find out passwords from Abazzo.

Nick approached Abazzo with a smiling countenance, waving Deke away. “Hi honey… miss me? Here’s the deal. When I ask you a question, you’ll answer it or I will fulfill your wildest dreams about torture. I kind of hope you won’t go along with my plan of acceptance. Then I get to extract the info, and oh honey… you and I will make a connection then. What’ll it be, Ahmed?”

After Nick tore off the duct tape from his mouth, Abazzo stared into the black masked El Muerto’s smiling face, searching for any sign his captor was bluffing. In the training camp overseas, they taught no American could kill or torture them. They were cowards and children afraid of the dark. Until this night, everything taught to Ahmed had proven true. The American media labeled it a hate crime to speak out against the very enemy seeking their annihilation. He ran the terrorist dispersal house across from the Canadian border without incident since coming into the United States from Mexico. They lived in luxury on this estate without fear… until this night. Abazzo and his men had thought the trip wires in the barn and around the house would be adequate. Never did they think to be picked off by a sniper herding them into a deadly trap.

“Tick… tock… tick…”

Abazzo hung his head. “What do you wish to know?”

Nick accompanied Abazzo in an information gathering tour of the house, checking passcodes for the computers they found inside during the first exploration. Abazzo opened the two safes, one built into the wall behind a bookcase, and one built into the floor under the corner of a carpet in the living room. Nick left Gus and John to empty the contents with gloved hands while he and Deke took Abazzo into the kitchen. After seating Abazzo, Nick put Deke on relaxed watch while stepping outside the kitchen.

“Anything special you have for my Abazzo talk, Paul?”

Paul listed a number of items, all having to do with the specifics of how Abazzo infiltrated the Mexican border, and what stops along the way existed between there and the present location. He ended with a plea. “I need this guy, Nick. Let the team take him.”

“He can finger my recruit, new John. I can’t take the chance he won’t get amongst his brethren to tell tales.”

“I know what you’re capable of,” Paul replied. “I give you my word he will never see a single soul he can tell. You’ve uncovered the greatest breakthrough into Isis or any other Muslim group we’ve ever had, Nick. Please, let me put this guy somewhere he can keep helping us. Hell, all I’ll have to do is show him your picture if he gets uncooperative.”

Nick considered the downside of letting Abazzo live with a writer’s imagination for all intricacies and tendrils which could eventually backfire. He weighed the negatives with how much information Paul could extract from Abazzo concerning Isis.

“Nick?”

“I’m thinking. Okay. We’ll do our El Muerto thing with all the dead bodies around. I don’t have to slit a throat every time. Give us a half hour, and we’ll be out of here. The trip wires around the house are disabled, but the setup around the barn is still hot. Everything from the safes has been emptied where they can be seen.”

“Thanks, Nick. I’ll send them in forty-five minutes from now. We’ll pick it clean, and leave some damaging items for the police to back El Muerto’s claims.”

“I’ll call you before we leave for Charleston. I’m naturally skipping the interrogation with Abazzo, but he’ll be tied down, and ready for plucking. If you find someone else you don’t want to give over to HS or the FBI, let me know.”

“Acknowledged. Talk at you later. Thanks, Nick!”

“Stay straight with me, Paul, and I’m with you at every step.”

“I know that, and I’d betray my own Mother before I dropped a dime on you.”

Nick chuckled. “That’s the spirit. We’ll be in touch.”

Nick walked into the kitchen once again. “Good news, my little terrorist buddy. The higher ups want you alive for now. I’ll cinch you in place for them. They’ll arrive shortly. My contact told me I can have you back if you don’t cooperate. We wouldn’t want that, now would we?”

Abazzo shook his head with fervor. Nick duct taped him solidly to the chair at each ankle, arm, waist, and chest. Lastly, he sealed his mouth again. “Stay here Deke, while Payasso and I get a few pictures.”

John stood uneasily outside the kitchen. “Can we not kill that one too? He knows me.”

Nick put his arm around John. “Now listen. You let me worry about identities, danger, and details. What was our haul from this excellent venture?”

“The safes held nearly $150,000.” John seemed confused. “Do they let you keep the money?”

“No, but we do anyway, right Payaso?”

“Hell yeah,” Gus answered. “You risked life and limb going undercover on this John. He deserves an even split.”

“I think so too,” Nick agreed. “Get the cam out, John. Payaso and I will get into character, and act out this video clip. Then we’ll do a few stills, okay?”

“Sure.”

Once they were ready for filming with voice altering added along with Nick’s full face black mask, Nick gave John the nod. “Hello, my fellow Americans. It is I, El Muerto, here with my deadly sidekick, Payaso. We’re near the Canadian border because we finished shutting down a major infiltration center for the Isis Cult. These dead Isis Cult members were on their way to cells throughout the United States. El Muerto will not allow such things. Payaso and I are on the job, America. We will not succumb to this death cult. No mercy.”