Hard Case VII - Red Waves (John Harding Series Book 7) (12 page)

“Americans tired of waiting for our government to stop kissing Islamist ass will now have another movie and proof of our resolve. The Starlight of the Seas is safe because of our actions. We have delivered a strategic blow to the Islamist dogs incapable of civilized thought. The Unholy Trio and our friends will hunt your jackals to the ends of the earth! Muerto… away!”

Lynn cut the scene. “You guys are an inspiration. Heads will explode in the sand all over the world. Network Al Jazeera jerks in charge will cut their own throats rather than air our film. Thanks for letting me be a part of this movie.”

“It was an honor working with you, Director Dostiene,” Kabong replied. “It will be very difficult waiting until we finish the Starlight mission to air your masterpiece.”

“Before we disband for the time being, the Dark Lord wishes to present an added feature onto the end of our Starlight mission since we know where it will be originating from,” Denny said. “It’s your show, Cheese.”

“I want to assault the Port of Chabahar after we annihilate the pirates. I’m not worried about our capability to conduct a punishing raid like that, but I don’t know if we’ll get any cover when we’re pursued away from the port. Denny will speak with Director Gilbrech who will be with the fleet. I don’t know if he can get us fighter coverage on our way out or not. I’m sure he’ll want to. The military wanted to help during the Benghazi attack. Their help was blocked for reasons no sane American could understand. We could get hung out to dry on my rogue mission idea in the same manner. This isn’t a sanctioned anything so we’re here to discuss it, and it will be volunteer only.”

“I’m in,” Nick said. “I don’t care about fleet coverage. I want to be on board one of your assault ships. Do you have anything we can really lay waste to the port target with?”

“Yep. We have an MK 46 turret on board that fires the new 40mm cased telescoped ammo. I figure we can wipe out all land resistance while using every portable rocket and grenade launcher we have to devastate the port area.”

“You do know India helped build the port with Iran, right?” Payaso looked around at all the smiling faces, probably wondering if this was a joke.

“Yes, Gus,” I acknowledged. “We’re sending a message to the enablers too. Iran gets away with murder, mayhem, acts of war, and genocide, all in plain sight. They would blow India to kingdom come if they could get away with it, yet India helps them build a terrorist/pirate port launching area.”

“We’ll have to make plans for our loved ones,” Clint mentioned. “I can tell from my wife’s face she wants a part of this operation. I won’t be letting her go on it alone. We’ll have Dannie and Amara on the Starlight with the baby. Anyone of our groups who doesn’t want any part of this can stay on the Starlight. We have Laredo flying our assault helicopter, so we can fly everyone not participating in the port mission to the Starlight.”

“Hell yeah, I want in. Clint and I have a living trust now in effect with Dannie and Amara as our beneficiaries if something happens to both of us.” Lynn stated. “We live for this. God… I want to assault that port now so bad I can taste it. I say we go whether Denny and Gilbrech can back it or not.”

“I am in,” John told us, putting an arm around Cala. “The Cleaner is in too. I told her we can never be captured.”

“Yes… I understand,” Cala added. “I am with John in all things to our end of days. You will need crew members and weapons shooters. I can do this.”

Lynn nodded. “You have a good one there, Kabong. How about you, Payaso?”

“His wife, T-Rex Tina, will never allow such a thing,” Cala spiked Gus with a grin.

Gus took a deep breath as Nick, John, and Cala shared amusement involving Gus’s subservient position with his wife. “They will need an extra ship’s captain. I’m in. I needed to remind everyone of the fact with India being involved in the port’s construction, we will have an ally nation within striking distance to hit anything in the Gulf of Oman.”

“As long as the dependents are all on the Starlight after we make her safe from pirates, I’m in,” Lucas said. “We need Gus along. If we’re attacking a port, I’d rather he captain the Valkyrie. I know the Sea Wolf inside out. Gus captained tugboats before.”

“Speaking of which,” Gus said, “how the hell do you plan to get the assault boats you plan to use into place?”

“They’re already on the way in a friend’s container ship under guard by Crue’s minions and in secret,” Denny answered. “Alexi Fiialkov runs the ports in the North Bay. His container ship, The Roma, will be arriving with Sea Wolf and Valkyrie sometime tomorrow in the Port of Sohar. He will remain in port until we take charge of the boats.”

“Can you trust this Fiialkov?”

“With my life, Gus,” I answered. “If not for Alexi’s help and trust we would have never stopped the China Basin attack Isis planned using his container ship Roma to bomb.”

“That’s good enough for us,” Nick stated. “Paul told me about your intervention. The bastards were going to hit China Basin using the container ship with an atomic bomb on board. When do we leave for the port where Starlight starts its cruise?”

“Two weeks,” Denny said. “We’ll get moving right now. I’ll get a flight to DC and take this to Paul in person. I’ll have an answer on fleet cover during any kind of an assault by tomorrow. You bunch do know the dweebs could do a Benghazi on our asses, right? I know the Dark Lord understands this will be a gamble even with guarantees. I want all of you to know a last minute Benghazi sellout could happen.”

“There’s no need to frost this cake for us, Denny,” Lynn said. “It wouldn’t be exciting otherwise. Danger is our middle name, right Clint?”

“I don’t have a middle name,” Clint deadpanned for amusement of all. “I only have one thing to add if we attack, whether it’s in the Gulf of Oman against the pirates, or assaulting the Port of Chabahar. We sail under the colors with ‘The Ride of the Valkyries’ until we’re blown to hell and gone or those Isis bastards are.”

“Amen, brother,” I stated.

“Absolutely,” Nick agreed. “What do you all have planned before we leave?”

“We have a little soiree planned in our Oakland warehouse fight zone,” Lucas answered. “Cheeseburger will be defending the honor of the Oaktown Cartel against a ringer from an Albanian Mafia that moved into the area right under our noses. They started terrorizing businesses along International Blvd and heard about us. We absorb outfits like theirs with a Cartel front label. They get a champion to fight Cheese. If Cheese wins, we absorb the gang. If they win we pay them off and watch them. The next thing they do wrong and we come back and shoot them all in the head.”

“How many have you lost so far, Cheese,” Nick asked.

“None, but I came close once,” I admitted.

Lucas chuckled. “Recon took on the Asian Crips champ, Dragon Hands. The Dragon squeezed Recon’s neck so hard, he said he saw Smokey the Bear.”

“How did that one end?”

“The usual, Muerto,” Lynn replied. “Cheese picked his ass up, slammed him headfirst into the cage. If Alexi Fiialkov’s referee hadn’t intervened the Cheeseburger was going to dropkick his head into the next dimension. The Cheese was pissed.”

“Can you send us the video, Lynn,” Nick asked. “Man, I’d love to see the Dragon Hands video along with the new one featuring the Albanian.”

“I’ll send you the link, Muerto. The Dragon video has a million hits on YouTube already. I’ll be sure to send you a first release of Cheese fighting the Albanian.”

“Thanks, Lynn. Does the Albanian have a cool nickname too?”

“Oh yeah! He calls himself Juthamah,” Lynn replied. “We’ve been ragging Cheese ever since his partner Tommy set the match into place.”

“Muslim name for nightmare, huh? Damn. Please send me the video. I have to take my daughter Jean to a Lacrosse tournament in Santa Cruz. Kick his ass, Dark Lord.”

“That’s my plan, Muerto. Believe me, my so called friends here have been whipping me into a frenzy in accompaniment to the rumor of Juthamah’s legendary brutal killing prowess. Apparently, Juthamah and his handlers have been putting word on the street if I know what’s good for me and my loved ones I best not show for the match at all.”

“Oh my,” Nick commented with a big grin. “That is just so precious, my friend. I see this confrontation as the end of nightmare.”

I grinned back at my respected colleague, Muerto. “That’s how I see it too.”

“We don’t allow threats to family,” Clint remarked. “The Albanians knew that before Juthamah shot his mouth off. The street gangs we haven’t absorbed into the Oaktown Cartel keep their mouths shut. We don’t try to police the whole city, but we’re making progress in controlling the areas where citizens don’t want drug and gang wars.”

“We have three former South American Cartel enforcers as our ‘Godfathers’ who run the Oaktown Cartel as the face of the organization. They’re rehabilitated and part of our crew. They’re also widely known amongst the gangsters in Oakland,” Lynn explained. “They issue orders for the gangs we’ve absorbed.”

“That is incredible,” Gus commented. “We don’t have any gangs in Pacific Grove. It’s a small tourist city.”

“Muerto’s killed all the ones poking around, exploring opportunities,” John mentioned.

“It’s nothing like Oakland here,” Nick said. “We naturally have a bad element here and there. Most of our problems work their way down from the Salinas area. Now we’re catching some interest from these terror idiots looking for easy targets in high profile tourist areas. How does your wife feel about everything, Dark Lord?”

“Lora hates his fighting. She hates the missions. She hates the Oaktown Cartel business,” Lucas did a countdown on his fingers. “She-”

“Lora has some misgivings when things heat up as in these past months,” I interrupted Ahab. “I haven’t gotten my face rearranged too badly since the ‘Rattler’ turned me into the Cheeseburger. She knows my match fights against gang champions are stacked in our favor. We have gang members we’ve absorbed doing security detail, complete with our own crew armed to the teeth and Lucas watching the outside with an M107. Lucas will have the hardest time with convincing his Rachel it’s okay to stay on the Starlight. Will you have a problem with your Rachel going along on the family cruise into danger?”

“Nope. As soon as my daughter Jean thinks we might be attacked by pirates, she’ll have Rachel in line quickly. I bet Jean and your daughter Al will get along great. There’s lots of activities on board.”

“I think you’re right. I know we’ll have some explaining to do when they see how badly this pirate attack ends for the pirates. Then if all goes well it will be on to the Port of Chabahar. That’s when we’ll have the most problems with the dependents.”

“Casey already told me Anna won’t be coming along with the new baby. I think my Sarah and kids will be getting together with Anna and my Godson Lucas while I’m on mission,” Lucas said. “Have you heard one way or another from Tommy, Jess, and Dev?”

“Jess and Dev are going but no dependents. They want to crew aboard the Valkyrie. I told them they could stay aboard the Starlight until they’re needed, but they know we’re shorthanded on crew. Laredo will be on the Valkyrie. Tommy may think this is a little too much adventure for his taste. If he comes, he said he wants to crew on the Valkyrie. We’re all checked out sailing on the Valkyrie in any emergency. With Jafar we only have three crew, Gus. Will that be enough to sail Valkyrie? I know two can do it if they have to but it’s a bitch.”

“I’ll be fine, although I know of a crew member who can be trusted I’d like to contact,” Gus answered. “What about Lucas’s crew?”

“I’ll have Crue’s minions on the Sea Wolf. They’re checked out on either boat if you need them, Gus. I don’t need all of them on board until the battle starts,” Lucas said. “Sylvio Ruelas, Gus Denova, and Quays Tannous are family. They would slit their own throats rather than betray us. They can be counted on.”

John and Cala had been whispering. John spoke after Lucas. “Cala and I will crew on the Valkyrie. We can do more good there. We’ll do the luxury cruising another time.”

“Outstanding, Kabong. Thanks. That should give us enough hands on deck for the two ships so Clint, Lynn, Nick, and I can conduct our mole hunt on the Starlight.” I shook hands with Nick. “We’ll be in touch. We have a jet, so don’t worry about anything other than getting ready to go. We’ll use one of the small airports around here. You’re still bringing Maria and the baby on the Starlight too, right Denny?”

“Yes. Maria goes where Crue goes,” Denny answered. “We can pick Nick and his crew up at the Monterey Regional Airport.”

“I’ve used the Monterey Regional on a couple missions,” Nick suggested. “We won’t need long to get ready. We’ve had our own Albanian thug problem down here. Don’t forget to let me know how ending your Albanian nightmare goes.”

“I will, Nick.”

In the action van on the way home we were all quiet. It had been a long day. Lucas volunteered to drive. Since we took Gordon Gilani with us, I made him clean the van from the mess I made doing his finger adjustments. We kept him pain free so he cleaned competently with one hand. He knew better than to complain anyway. Since the minions were on assignment, guarding our transported Sea Wolf and Valkyrie, we would have to lock Gordy in our special isolation cell where I could keep an eye on him remotely. The cell could be watched from my iPad or iPhone. If anything happened, I could be there in under half an hour. We had a lot to think about with this Starlight mission, especially since I tacked on a port assault.