Cold Blooded III: Sins and Sanctions (Nick McCarty Assassin Series Book 3) (19 page)

Goatee walked over to the door. “Hey… what’s up?”

“The news,” Nick said excitedly. “I think they have your friend on the news!”

Goatee smirked at Nick. He opened the screen door, wondering if maybe he would have to take care of this retard. “What the hell are you talkin’ about? What’s this about the news?”

Nick walked in with intense concern, never wavering from his eye contact with goatee. “Sorry… sorry… turn on the TV. I think they’re still showing it on channel five!”

One of the drug-bots turned on the TV, using the remote to change the channel to five. It replayed the flagpole finding of Blackbeard in detail, along with the discovery of his name. Nick watched the rapt attention paid to the TV enlightenment with inner enjoyment while gripping Blackbeard’s .45 caliber Colt at his waistband.

“Oh my God!” One of the street thugs exclaimed. “That’s Blackbeard! Damn… what the hell do we do now?”

“Nothing, you moron,” goatee said, still staring at the screen, and listening to the accompanying news banter. “What do you think we should do, idiot, go collect the body. He was next door waitin’. I can’t believe it, but maybe that pregnant bitch got the drop on him. I can’t figure it out. I have to think.”

Gus banged on the rear door. Every head turned toward the noise. Nick drew Blackbeard’s Colt, and shot goatee in the temple over his left ear. A split second later, Nick was stun-gunning the two drug-bots into unconsciousness. He then searched goatee for a weapon. Goatee carried a Ruger .40 caliber automatic. Nick put on his black Nitrile gloves. He aimed the Ruger with goatee’s left hand, because he had noticed the weapon was positioned for a left handed draw. Nick shot both drug-bots in the arm, a leg, and the head.

“That’ll teach you minions to mess with me, the Goatee.”

After making sure the two drug-bots were dead, Nick wiped Blackbeard’s Colt clean. He positioned the drug-bot nearest to goatee with the Colt in hand, and fired at goatee’s shoulder, making sure the gunpowder residue would be all over the firing corpse’s front.

“Take that, Goatee! We are avenged.”

Nick held up the corpse’s gun hand, and let it fall. The hand hit the floor, and the Colt jolted free near his fingers. Nick surveyed his scene with satisfaction before striding to the rear entrance. He unlocked and opened the door to a very tense Gus awaiting the conclusion of Nick’s gang cleansing.

“Good timing, Payaso. It worked to perfection. Let’s go into town, find a public telephone, and call 911. I believe there was a gun battle here.”

“You are without a doubt the coldest bastard I’ve ever seen or heard of… even in the movies. Do I want to know how many murder scenes you’ve staged?”

“Not if you want to sleep at night.”

“I’ll take your word for it then. Let’s get out of here,” Gus said. “It’s lucky the distance between places will keep people from noticing or reporting the gunfire, especially with the trouble people have had here with these dealers.”

“Yep. I believe we’re done here. Let’s go find a payphone. That task in itself will probably take an hour. My ploy will be when I heard the gunshots, I took off in the car until I could find a public phone. The reason being, I didn’t want the drug gang to know who called the police.”

Not for the first time did Gus wonder about Nick’s cold logic, placing each action into a pattern reinforcing his endeavor. “On it, boss. Let’s go.”

“I don’t think you’re very accepting of this fine ending, Gus. No matter. Let’s adjourn to our pleasant hotel where we will put this problematic day behind us. Don’t feel so bad, Payaso. No animals were hurt in this video. Let’s have nothing but positive thoughts for our neighborhood reclamation project. The shootout didn’t attract any nosy neighbors. We will have to stay a bit longer after the book signings to ensure we don’t have to make any more adjustments. I’m hoping the one who drove the truck was in the group I helped into the afterlife.”

“Oh no, say it isn’t so. The great Muerto forgets to find out an important fact. This is a tragic day scarring the El Muerto legend.”

“That’s just mean, Payaso.”

* * *

Gus called in an anonymous 911 call to police, warning of shots fired at Blackbeard’s address at a convenience store halfway between Mona’s house and the hotel, claiming fear of retribution as his reason for not giving his name. He and Nick drove to the hotel in time to take Deke for an early evening walk, and accompany their group to dinner. Rachel, pleasantly surprised at Nick’s earlier than expected arrival, watched for any telltale signs indicating trouble on the horizon. She decided the direct approach would be more productive while they dressed for dinner as she stripped to get into the shower.

“You haven’t said a word about your excursion to Mona’s house. Is everything okay there now? I figured we should have been issued a news watch order by now.”

Instead of answering, Nick began stroking Rachel’s bare skin moving his hands in such a manner as to evoke a low moan of pleasure. In moments, his attention escalated into a rather lengthy delay in their showering. By the time they walked to their in room shower, Rachel was glistening with sweat, her breathing returning to normal slowly.

“God Nick… I appreciate the nice hello. What brought that on?”

“You looked too sexy for me to allow your showering without giving you a reason for needing one. In answer to your earlier question, we completed the neighborhood renovation a bit differently than anticipated, and here we are back early. We’ll check the news before dinner. Did you talk to Cassie at all yet?”

“She hasn’t called or anything. Maybe she won’t be arriving until later,” Rachel said. “I hope Cassie checks in early enough to get a good night’s sleep before the signing tomorrow. I like her. She enjoys the signings as much as you do I think.”

Nick led the way into the shower, setting the water temperature before pulling Rachel in with him. “Her eyes beam in a cash register type glow when she spots a line of hundreds waiting to get into the signing. I doubt she sleeps much before a signing. She goes on a caffeine high. When it implodes, I see her start to drag.”

Nick began soaping Rachel down in a less than utilitarian way. Before his cleaning ministrations ended they had jointly found another reason for showering. Only the pounding on their bedroom door pierced into the erotic shower scene Nick had created.

“Hey! Anybody home in there?” Jean’s screech carried through over the water noise. “I’m hungry! Quit foolin’ around in there, and come to dinner, Damn it!”

Rachel clung to Nick, gasping for breath and laughing. “Did Dagger just cuss us out?”

“I believe so.” Nick shut off the water. “I can hear Gus and Tina chortling away out there too. I guess we’d better dress for dinner before Jean leads a break in to get us.”

Rachel kissed him with lingering breathless frenzy. “Jesus, Nick… that was a wonderful shower. What the hell got into you?”

“Just a little bit of life for a moment, Rach,” Nick answered, thinking
I am El Muerto. Damn if Gus didn’t get that nametag right as rain. I wonder if I’m getting caught up in this giving and taking life to an unhealthy level. It’s starting to invade my reality
. He noticed Rachel watching his face as he dried her off. “What?”

“Nothing. I sense El Muerto invading our conversation.”

Wow, we’ve been together long enough for her to start reading my mind. Scary
. “You’re starting to know me too well. I’m not sure how comfortable I am with that revelation.”

“Yes!” Rachel pumped her fist, looking like an older spitting image of Jean. “I can make the deadliest killer in the universe uncomfortable. I can’t wait to hear the news. I’ll bet it’s the stuff of nightmares for bad guys. I have only one question – is there any more targets on this visit?”

“Possibly one. We know the boss’s name from what Blackbeard told us. We’re allowing Paul to sort through everything. If he thinks we can divvy the network into parts for local and federal authorities, I’m leaving the next steps to him. If he thinks the boss has a chance of fleeing or beating out anything we have to pin him with, I’ll handle him while we’re in Charleston. It has turned out to be more than just a neighborhood drug problem.”

Rachel hugged him. “I’m so proud of you. Thank you for fixing Mona’s situation.”

“Hey… I’m only a cleanup tool. You practically aced out the whole gang by yourself. I can’t tell you how juiced I was, listening to how you handled Blackbeard, and the truck episode. I sure as hell chose the right time and person to make me into a family man. It seems like you serving me at the diner while in the witness protection program happened a hundred years ago.”

“I know! It doesn’t seem possible with all that’s happened,” Rachel agreed. “C’mon, Muerto, let’s get you dressed.”

“Want to give me a little taste first?” Nick made inappropriate erotic nuances, making Rachel gasp.

“Damn it, Nick! Now I won’t be able to think of anything else through dinner. I hate you! Couldn’t you have kept your perverted tendencies to yourself until we returned to the room?”

Nick massaged Rachel’s shoulders. “I believe El Muerto’s work is done.”

“Not hardly.”

* * *

In the Charleston Grill they were all seated with prompt courteous attention. Nick immediately ordered appetizers Jean found suitable. Once they were delivered post haste, Jean quieted down. Mona, Rachel, and Tina ordered a Merlot they thought sounded good, while Nick and Gus stuck with a favorite: Bushmill’s Irish Whiskey.

“I saw more news today, Nick,” Mona kept her gaze on the table after the drinks were served. “There was a shootout in the drug house next door with three men dead. They apparently disagreed about something, and it ended in all of them dead.”

“It’s really sad when people adopt such a dangerous lifestyle,” Nick replied. “It was advantageous they had a falling out at this time, and you’ll be able to return to your home without worrying about those dangerous thugs.”

Jean giggled while gobbling down varied appetizers with relish. Silence followed with everyone sipping their assorted beverages. Mona seemed on the verge of saying something more, but when she looked at Rachel, she received a headshake warning her from more speculation. Gus and Nick toasted each other without notice, sipping strongly from their double Bushmill’s.

Nick spotted his agent, Cassie. He waved at her. “We have company. It’s Cassie. When she nears the table, let’s all shun her on my cue.”

Gus laughed, but Rachel gasped in displeasure. “Don’t you dare!”

Nick grinned. “Relax. Even Gus knew I was kidding. I believe you’re wound a little tightly my dear. Sip your wine. Is Quinn making his presence known with his feet again?”

Rachel sipped a bit more Merlot while nodding. “Yeah, he’s letting his poor suffering Mom know he’s nearly ready to do an Alien stomach burst on me.”

“Eeeuuuuuwwwwhhhh… Mom!” Jean crinkled her face in displeasure. “That’s not funny. You’re already drugging him with wine. Quit insulting him.”

“Why you…” Nick had to clamp down on Rachel as she readied to launch across the table. “Your moment of despair is on the way, little missy!”

“Calmness,” Nick urged laughingly as Cassie arrived at the table. “Let’s keep this a fun dinner. Hi, Cass. The only new face here is Rachel’s Mother-in-law, Mona Claren. Mona… this is Cassie Sedwick, my agent.”

Cassie reached over to shake hands with Mona as a server added a chair to their table. “I’m happy to meet you, Mona. Will you be going to the book signing?”

“Yes. I’m very happy to meet you too. Visiting with Rachel and Nick has been an eye opening experience. My Granddaughter Jean has grown so much. I don’t know that I’ve ever been as intrigued with people visiting as I have been this time. I’m looking forward to going to a real book signing for the first time.”

“You’ll have a good time.” Cassie sat down. “I think we’ll break some records tomorrow. I heard on the news there’s been a gang shootout in that nasty ‘Union Heights’ area. Three suspected drug dealers killed each other in a gun battle inside a house on Echo Avenue.”

“It’s next door to my house, Cassie,” Mona said. “They’ve been dealing drugs there for a long time.”

Cassie couldn’t hide the shock at Mona’s admission. “Sorry, Mona, that’s horrible.”

“They’ve been terrorizing the people who live in my neighborhood so we were all afraid to call the police or testify. I’m hoping this will mean better times.”

Nick changed the subject as a waiter brought Cassie the glass of wine she ordered while sitting down. “How’s our renowned publisher doing since the New York tour stops?”

“Linda was deliriously happy on the phone, Nick. I spoke with her before leaving on the plane. I guess you haven’t checked today, but Caribbean Contract is now the number one best seller on the New York Times list. Congratulations. Linda has dropped any pretension about trying to mold your writing to fit whatever goofball liberal flavor of the month trend they come up with. I think she finally realizes there is fiction, and pulp fiction. You’ve never hidden or pretended your work is anything but what it is: pulp fiction. Apparently, contrary to what the publishers keep harping, pulp fiction is a viable and sales worthy genre.”

Nick accepted the toasts and well wishes for owning the number one novel in the country with good natured acceptance. “Thank you. This has been a great book tour for me to experience too, especially with my partner Gus playing a larger role. It certainly bumped sales incredibly well. I’m glad the added notoriety with the Kader factor didn’t mar the results. I’m very happy with how this road trip has progressed. I know some unexpected happenings helped, but you did an outstanding job organizing and guiding us. Thanks, Cass.”