Nick saved his file, and closed up the notebook computer. He pushed away from his desk and stretched before joining Jean and Deke at the doorway.
“Writing is an escape to a different world where I make things happen the way I want them to.”
“Cool.” Jean led him toward the stairs. “You’re like king of the world.”
“Exactly. If something bothers me in real life that I can’t do anything about, I use my fantasy world to make everything work out the way I want it to.”
“Maybe I can be a writer. How did you get started? Did you write stuff when you were my age?” Jean looked back at him questioningly as they went down the stairs, with Deke leaping the last few steps.
“No, not for quite a while, but I read a lot. Reading gave me an idea of what kind of fiction I liked to read. I loved action/adventure type fiction, so when I started writing, I wrote what I liked reading.”
“Mom says you write novels about an assassin.” Jean turned at the bottom of the stairs to face him with a smile forming. “I thought you said you write fiction.”
“You’re beginning to annoy me, Danger.”
Jean giggled. She ran off to the kitchen with Nick following her.
Now I’m getting tagged by eight year olds.
“We’re all set, Nick,” Rachel told him as he walked in the kitchen. “Corn is on the boil. The baked potatoes are in the microwave, and I’ve coated the steaks with barbeque sauce. Did you want to wait to start the coals?”
“No, I’ll do it now,” he said, making pantomime gestures at Jean of him choking her.
“Why are you threatening by daughter, you brute?”
“She started it.”
“Did not.”
“Did too.”
“Nick, go start the coals. You should be ashamed of yourself.”
“Yeah Nick,” Jean added, joining Rachel near the stove with folded arms.
“I…” Nick began. Deke streaked out just as the doorbell interrupted Nick’s intended rejoinder. He shook a finger comically at Rachel on his way out of the kitchen. “This isn’t over.”
At the door, Nick checked through the security eyelet. He opened the door, gesturing Suzan and her kids inside with a smile while keeping an arm around the excited Deke.
“Hi, Ross,” Suzan said.
“C’mon in. I’m starting the coals now. This is Deke. He likes everybody.”
“Hey, my mom bought me some new card games,” Jean chimed in as she hurried over to greet Kelly and Garth. “We can play cards until dinner, and then watch movies if you want.”
“Sure.” Garth crouched down to pet Deke. “We don’t play many card games.”
“Can we play in your room?” Kelly looked up at Nick apprehensively.
“Absolutely,” Jean replied, parroting Nick, and giving him a little wave. “We’ll be upstairs, Dad.”
“I’ll call you when we’re ready to eat,” Nick agreed.
“Okay,” Jean acknowledged. She led Kelly and Garth toward the stairs.
“Why don’t you go on in the kitchen, Suzan? Rachel’s already there. I’ll start the coals and join you both in a couple minutes,” Nick suggested, patting his leg to get Deke to follow him.
“Thank you.”
* * * *
Suzan entered the kitchen, waving at Rachel. “I like your outfit. I see you and Jean did a dual hair coloring. The eye color change is a nice touch too.”
“We were overdue for the color change.” Rachel gestured at her black short shorts, and pink sleeveless top. “Jean and I went shopping for clothes this morning. How are you holding up?”
“I was hoping you and Ross could tell me that,” Suzan answered, sitting down at the table. “How are we all doing?”
“I better let Ross handle that question. How about a drink? I bought some Berringer White Zin.”
“Are you having some?”
“Sure, I’ve only been waiting for you.” Rachel went to the refrigerator for the already-opened wine, which she poured some into two wine glasses on the counter. Rachel set a glass in front of Suzan and sat down opposite her.
Nick walked into the kitchen, having left Deke out back. He sat down next to Rachel with his own beverage. Suzan took a gulp of wine nervously.
“Who are you really, Ross? I know you’re no US Marshall.”
“I was asked to take in Rachel and Jean for a short time by the US Marshalls in charge of her case. We need to stay here for a couple weeks before moving on.”
“What…what you did yesterday…I know you can’t be a cop. You’re a stone-cold-killer,” Suzan blurted out, taking another hit of her wine.
“I’m here to protect Rachel and Jean. Let’s leave it at that.”
“You recognized us at the Excalibur, didn’t you, Suzan?”
Suzan nodded. “I tried to keep the kids from hanging around with Jean, but Brewster saw you. He wasn’t there to watch out for me and the kids. He was there to keep an eye on us for my husband’s employers. My husband wants out, but he’s in too deep, and knows too much. Jim’s invaluable to them right now. When they don’t need him anymore, we’re afraid he’ll end up like your husband, Rick. Some Tanus employees told Jim what happened to Rick. They gave him a family picture of you, Rick, and your daughter. Everyone in the organization was to be on the lookout for you and Jean.”
“Brewster showed it to us.” Rachel saw Nick nod his head for her to go on. “You and Jim weren’t contemplating blackmailing anyone, were you?”
“Hell no! We didn’t know why they killed your husband. Jim figured they gave him the picture as a warning not to try and leave the organization. Look…I have to ask this…is…is
Brewster…you know…coming back? I heard you tell Joe you paid Brewster off.”
“We didn’t pay him off. He’s in much the same condition as Joe and Craig. Do you know if Brewster had to check in with anyone periodically?”
“He probably did. You’re worried they’ll send someone else, aren’t you?”
“Would they call you up when they didn’t hear from him?”
“It’s never happened before. Carl’s been watching us for the last six months.”
“I think you should call your husband and tell him to get in touch with Carl’s real employers,” Nick suggested. “Jim should be the one to tell them you haven’t seen Carl for a few days, which you thought was unusual.”
“That’s a good idea.” Suzan considered Nick’s suggestion. “Is there any way you can help Jim and I get free of Tanus Import/Export? Yesterday convinced me they don’t need a reason to kill us. It’s only a matter of time. They keep ramping up their demands on Jim. He thinks they’ll use him as a fall guy if the feds bust Tanus.”
“Rick was blackmailing Tanus because of me,” Rachel admitted. “They tortured and killed him to find out where he had taken the flash drives he’d made of their operations.”
“Oh shit…” Suzan whispered. “What happened to put you on the run? Weren’t you in Witness Protection?”
“There’s a leak in the program and they found out where we were.”
“If Rachel and I recover the flash drives, do you think Jim could decipher the information for us?”
“Are you nuts? They’ll kill us for sure then. You just said the Witness Protection Program has been compromised.”
“We believe those flash drives will bring down Tanus Import/Export,” Nick explained, hoping they hadn’t already lost any chance to recruit her. “They would be your family’s ticket out, because the government will need someone to testify as to the validity of what’s on the drives. The organization has already recovered from Hayden Tanus’s death. US Marshalls are working to close the leak right now.”
“I’ll have to talk with my husband.” Suzan finished her wine. Rachel refilled Suzan’s glass, and then her own. “I know better than to call him with something like that. He’ll be home in another three days.”
“You should call about Brewster though,” Nick reminded her. “I don’t want any suspicion on you. I went over his buddies’ stuff. I didn’t find anything tying them in with Tanus Import/Export, so I believe they were going to do just what Joe told me: sell the drives to the highest bidder. If you do get assigned a new guy, would you let me know?”
“I owe you our lives. I’ll tell you if they send a new guy. Do you think it would be possible they’d trust me because I told them Carl was missing?”
“As you already perceived, they’re using you and the kids to keep Jim in line.”
“I probably should lay off the wine.”
“I’ll put the steaks on.” Nick walked over to the counter for the steaks.
“I’ll try to convince Jim to help you.”
“Thank you. I think it’s your only way out.”
* * * *
“Remember what we talked about,” Nick instructed, crouching next to Rachel. “Only the first pad of your finger touches the trigger. If you wrap the finger, you’ll jerk the shot. Hold the weapon firm, but don’t clutch it like a life buoy in the Arctic Ocean. Last call, Danger, what do you have for readings?”
“No wind, no heat wave, seventy-eight degrees,” Jean called out, spotting for her mom’s shot. “You have a go, Mom.”
Nick watched Rachel’s finger squeeze the trigger. He shifted his attention to the cast iron targets he had placed at two hundred meters. The weapon fired and a moment later the plate clanged.
“Yes!” Jean pumped her fist. “Nice shot, Mom.”
“It’s not even in the same ballpark as the shots Nick makes.”
Nick nodded approvingly as Rachel sat up, excited and tingling all over from having hit the target her first time.
“Over two football fields,” Nick corrected her. “I’d say you did very well. Let’s not get into comparisons. I’ve shot thousands of rounds. You shot once. How was the recoil?”
“Not bad with this recoil pad you gave me.” Rachel touched the shooter’s vest Nick had helped her put on.
“Can I try it, Nick?” Jean asked.
“I don’t think so, Danger. I brought along a twenty-two caliber rifle with a hunter’s load. Without wind, I’m betting you can hit the same target with it. It will actually take more skill, because although the telescopic sight I put on it is accurate to five hundred meters, the.22 hunting slug doesn’t always act predictably beyond a hundred and fifty yards. Spot the rest of this clip for your mom, and then we’ll work on your skills-if it’s okay with her.”
Rachel shrugged. “I’m going to hell anyway.”
“Debatably, the greatest sharpshooter of all time was Annie Oakley,” Nick told Jean. “Annie Oakley was only about five feet tall. She was an expert with rifle, pistol, or shotgun. Annie learned to shoot at age eight with her Dad’s old.40 caliber cap and ball rifle. My.50 caliber sniper rifle is a baby’s toy next to that old Kentucky rifle.”
Jean’s eyes and mouth were getting wider as she reacted to Annie Oakley’s legend the way Nick figured she would.
“Annie outshot every sharpshooter in Europe when she toured with the Buffalo Bill Troupe. More importantly, she brought home food for the table and to trade when she was just a girl. So, Danger, I doubt your Mom will be going to hell because you shot a rifle at age eight. It’s been done before.”
“I’m only seven,” Jean immediately qualified her age. “I’ll be starting before Annie Oakley did.”
“Well, your mom’s a natural, so it probably runs in the family. Maybe you two will get so good, we’ll go on tour as the Terminators.”
“You really are sick, Nick,” Rachel noted as Jean laughed. “Spot me for three in a row Jean and mix up the order. Let’s get this Wild West Show on the road.”
When Rachel turned to the sniper rifle, Deke stuck his nose up the back of her blouse, launching Rachel straight up in the air, much to Nick and Jean’s amusement. Rachel started looking around on the ground and amongst the packs.
“What are you looking for?” Nick asked finally.
“A ball or something this damn dog will chase out in the sand. I think it’s time for some live practice.”
“Don’t listen to your wicked stepmother, Deke.” Nick covered the dog’s ears.
“Quit foolin’ around, Mom. Get shooting. I don’t want to miss my turn.”
“I’m warning you, Deke.” Rachel pointed at the dog, who ‘gruffed’ and pulled on her pant leg. “Some folks think dog meat is a delicacy.”
* * * *
An hour later, Nick and Jean were packing the gear. Rachel had taken Deke with her for a walk to get away from the noise an un-silenced twenty-two makes. When they were putting their packs on, Rachel led Deke over the small bluff toward them.
“How’d she do?”
“She hit nearly every time.”
“I’m going to be a sniper when I grow up,” Jean announced. She giggled at Rachel’s stunned expression. “I knew that would push your button.”
“I blame you for this, Mr. Oakley.” Rachel turned on Nick, who had been laughing, but now was retreating with hands up in surrender fashion.
Nick changed the subject. “It’s getting hot. Let’s go see if I can rent our Excalibur Cabana.” He started hiking toward where they had left the Escalade. “We’ll see if Suzan and her kids want to meet us there. If you wear your ball cap, and look inconspicuous enough, maybe I’ll let you toss in a few quarters at the slot machines, Wonder.”
“I’m not liking these nicknames,” Rachel muttered, falling in behind Nick, with Jean and Deke bringing up the rear.
“You could be Nikita,” Nick suggested, stopping to glance back at Rachel.
“Who?” Rachel thought he looked unusually surprised as she and Jean reacted without recognition to the name.
“Oh, come on, you never saw the ‘La Femme Nikita’ television show?”
Rachel blushed, remembering, while Jean continued to look mystified. Deke began jumping around as if he recognized the name.
“La Femme Nikita was a TV program about a secret organization, where Nikita killed people for some pseudo government organization,” Rachel explained.
“That is so cool!” Jean exclaimed. “I like it way better than Wonder Woman. Nick and Nikita, assassins for hire. I like it.”
Nick and Rachel exchanged glances. Nick started walking again, throwing his hands in the air. “Okay, I’m going to hell. I’m doomed.”