Hard Case VII - Red Waves (John Harding Series Book 7) (34 page)

Gilani waved his damaged hand at Chardin. “Hello. Claude.”

“You and Francois stayed with the psychopaths too long.”

“We talked about it. They would have killed us anyway if we quit. We should have worked harder on new identities to disappear with. Now, we are dead men.”

“That’s not written in stone yet, Gordy,” Lynn told him. “Come on, guys. I have something else to show you in the control room.”

We watched the screen in the video room while Lynn put the female’s cell on screen. They were lying on their bunks. Lynn electrocuted them. I’m not speaking of a brief lesson. They danced the electric Watusi until the jolts finally threw them from the bunks. Cruella Deville could barely speak through the electronic lesson. When she could speak again, she turned on the audio into the cell after the noise level dropped to moaning and groaning.

“Hi girls. How do you like me now?” She smiled as they began cursing her in at least two languages. Bad move. The electronic show was only one of the tools the wily minions installed for her entertainment.

Lynn energized another system, giving her power to full bore, hurtful water jets under control to a joystick she began using. It was my first time as well seeing this new addition in action. Oh my. They could run but they couldn’t hide. The moment the screaming women wormed under the bunks, Lynn gave them five second intervals of electrocution until they rolled out for Lynn to begin her very accurate water gun firing. Claude and Alexi merely smiled with interest, but sister Cruella Deville had me with this new one.

“Who’s your Daddy, girls?”

They knelt with hands up, gasping for air, and then wailing.

“One more wail and we start the lessons again.”

“We…we are all wet!”

That observation led to a twenty minute education in what all wet really meant. At the end the girls were justifiably silent.

“That’s better. Remember, when you think it can’t get worse, I’ll show you how it can.” Lynn shut down her control system with a big sigh. “Oh God in heaven I love this job.”

I lost it again along with Sis as Alexi and Claude merely observed the monsters in merriment. Clint joined us with the baby, having viewed the entire demo on the big screen.

“Sylvio, Gus, and Quays really armed you with some entertaining weapons, babe. That was hilarious. Even Clint Jr. laughed through the whole thing.”

“You did!” Mama Cruella scooped the little monster in training from his Dad, dancing him around until he squealed happily.

“How’d the new joystick work?”

“Like a champ, right Cheese?”

“Oh brother, she’s dead on accurate. There was not a safe spot in the entire cell,” I told Clint. I clapped the poor little Abushi on the shoulder. “I’m afraid the entertainment’s over, Yanny. We have to enter what you’ll think of as the Twilight Zone of information gathering. Ready, Sis?”

“Oh hell yeah. You go get Yanny mounted in the podiatry clinic while I play with the baby. We’ll get Alexi and Claude another coffee and something to nibble on.”

“Okay, Sis.”

“Wait!” Yanny didn’t like this. “There is nothing wrong with my feet. I do not need this podiatry clinic.”

I guided Yanny along roughly. “Sure you do, Yanny. You can’t believe the techniques Dr. Deville has invented to make information you thought lost forever pop from your feet to your mouth. It’s amazing.”

* * *

We were rather glum information gatherers when Crue created a new helpful Yanny. He knew about the Starlight assault and redirecting ploy. Only one name from the ship not known by Francois came into our control: Tarnos Blunt. Although Yanny didn’t know if he had made it into the country or not, another bigwig from Al Qaeda, now with Isis, supposedly snuck into the country months ago, named Mohammed Al Sirani. Remembering Claude’s mention of the horrendous Paris ‘Arab Spring’ and his friend’s brutal death, Crue ended Yanny with a shot of eternity.

“I networked Jafar into all of it,” Clint said in the break room. He’s running Blunt and Al Sirani. Why the long faces? We’re making a lot of progress.”

“We don’t have a clue where Al Sirani is,” I answered.

“I know him,” Claude said. “He would be the leading coordinator but would compartmentalize everything. As you’ve already found out, the crew has been on board the Starlight for weeks. The people he placed will be from different venues and players, like Francois. His atrocities are legion. Thank you for Abushi’s death, Lynn.”

“No problem. We can’t take a chance our handler Denny will decide a trade would be better for a player to be named later. The whole cycle starts again then. That ‘Arab Spring’ shit makes me want to go street walking with a tank and lots of ammo. I’d make them a real memorable ‘Arab Spring’. You guys already know how their own leaders handle the bastards – they machine gun them down and shut off the media access. They don’t want freedom. They had freedom in their grasp in Iraq. The shit-birds don’t give a crap about a better life. They’re a death cult. They love death. Let’s give it to them until the only ones left actually want life.”

“After seeing so much of the world while dealing with Islamists, I agree reason and logic are concepts seldom seen in the Middle East. When someone shows a grasp of the concepts, they kill him as they did Sadat in Egypt.” Claude paused. “We will do what we can with this new extortion power plan of theirs and save many lives. It is all that can be done until appeasement is found once again to be a poisonous snake disguised as a jewel.”

“If we’re all decided about The Warehouse tonight, let’s adjourn this first meeting. Possibly, Jafar will have a clue by then as to where Al Sirani is. Until then, we can drink a little, eat, and enjoy each other’s company.”

“Very good, Cheese,” Claude agreed. “I’ll be there.”

“As will I,” Alexi stated. “I will see if Marla can reserve a large section for our dinner date. “I heard you were thinking of three this afternoon for refreshments first.”

“Yes. Do you want us to swing by and pick you up, Claude?” I didn’t know how he was traveling now.

“No, I’ll drive over very near the beginning.”

“We’re in, of course,” Lynn guaranteed. “We nearly always get some incredible surprise entertainment with the Cheese around.”

“I’ll go bag cell seven and clean the residue from this morning’s misunderstanding.” Clint would have volunteered to stay and help clean but I clean my own messes. Besides, I’ll bet it’s quiet down in holding. “Want me to do anything for the wet girls, Sis?”

“Do you know me at all, Cheese?”

“Sorry, Sis.” That would be no.

* * *

They met me at the door with matching cruise wear: bathing suits, light sun dresses over them, floppy hats, and beach sandals. My two auburn haired beauties, Lora and her mini-me, decided to show their support for the mission. Not for the first time did the guilt pangs hit for inadvertently using them as cover bait on a kill mission. It seemed like a good idea when I first hatched it. Now… not so much.

“Gee, Dark Lord, here we are in our finest clothing for cruising and all I see in your face are guilt trips,” Lora said, hands on hips in customary retribution stance. Mini-me followed suit only Al did it with a smile, more to mock Lora than to chastise the Dark Lord.

“It’s a process. You two look lovely. We have a big monster meeting at The Warehouse this afternoon. Would you two like to go with me?”

“Sure. Will you be talking shop the whole time?” Lora loved my monsters but didn’t care much for monster details.

“Not a lot. There may be some mention of a new player that we’re trying to find out his location.” I certainly didn’t want my girls finding out about my recent cell adjustments. I was still trying to work out in my mind what to do with Francois’s people. The Albanians worried me too, but I trusted Denny with them. The Albanians huddled away from my cage cleaning operation, but Francois’s crew watched me the whole time, including the wet wipe girls. I didn’t mind. They were all quiet but had that cunning creepy vibe. When something seems creepy to me, I kill it.

“We’ll go along then. When do we leave on the cruise?”

“In a week I believe. We have a slight stay in New York City where we have to do a bit of monster business. You and Al can take in a few sights there until we finish. We’ll be there for at least a couple days. Then we leave immediately overseas for cruise departure.”

“New York City, huh? Maybe Mom and Tess can have dinner with us while we’re in town.”

“It would be fun to see Grandma and Aunt Tess, Dad.”

“Done deal. I’ll get you the probable date for a dinner or they can even stay in New York City in a huge suite. Offer to pay the whole deal from Boston to New York along with a couple of huge suites. I’ll leave it to you. Spare no expense.”

“I’m liking this vacation a little more except for the Tripoli Pirate adventure. From the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli, right Marine?”

“Rah!” If she only knew… I’d be sleeping on the couch.

* * *

Alexi bought out The Warehouse for our get together. We had everyone there except for Denny. He said he had something big in the works. The minions were overseas with our assault ships aboard Alexi’s tanker ‘Roma’. It did have a party mood. I introduced Claude to the rest of the monsters. Lucas and Casey went on mission with us in the sand. We were the ones who put him out of the assassin business. I maimed him and then we enlisted his terrorist knowledge in the Emirates. Tommy arrived a little late with his wife. I was sipping my second dose of the brothers Bud and Beam. He said his hellos. His wife joined Lora and Al at the dinner tables that were set for us. The less monstrous were having a good time conference there, including Dannie and Amara with Clint Jr.

Jess shoulder bumped Tommy. “Why so glum, brother?”

“You’re not going to start whining already are you, T?” Dev smiled as he prodded Tommy to the amusement of our monsters at the bar.

Tommy gulped a Beam brother down. “A new bunch of thugs called me today on the Oaktown line. They’re violently moving in down in the High Street/International Blvd area. They weren’t on our radar yet. I did some checking with ‘Rique. He confirmed trouble brewing. They’re mixed race thugs, bangers, ex-cons, and they know about Oaktown.”

“C’mon, T,” Lucas barked. “Don’t make this like pulling teeth. What’s the big deal? We could use a tune-up before the big show, right Recon?”

I watched my old friend’s face. “What’s the problem, Tommy?”

“They have a fighter. They call themselves the ‘High Street Loners’. Their fighter is Dragon Hands.”

Loud laughter erupted from the monsters at the mention of the fighter who choked me into seeing ‘Smokey the Bear’ before I slammed his head into the cage. Tommy didn’t like the reaction.

“It’s not a laughing matter. Cement-head here would rather die than tap out.”

“We offered him a job fighting for us. I thought he didn’t want it anymore.” I tried to figure in my head why the hell Hands would decide to fight again, but not for us. His old gang ‘The Asian Cryps’ belonged to Oaktown now.

“No clue. All their arrogant jackass spokesman would say is Dragon’s going to kill you. He said ‘The Loners’ would be waitin’ at Alexi’s fight cage warehouse tomorrow night at ten.”

“Get to the punch line, Snow White Sands.” Lynn pointed at him. “I see hidden entertainment lurking on your chops. Spit it out.”

“He warned me they have killers. Anything funky and it will be a bloodbath.”

Many moments passed before the monsters recovered from the cheap thug warning. Claude took it all in with amusement. Alexi remained contemplative. He owned our normal fight arena.

“I can get it ready in time if you would like, John.”

“Thanks, Alexi. Let’s do it. Like Lucas said, we’re just biding time.”

“What about the gamble you might not make it to the other big date,” Tommy asked.

“I’ll tap out.” I lied, provoking more amusement. “Okay then… Jack will sap him if he doesn’t stop. I don’t think the rest of you should go though. It might be dangerous.”

Oh yeah. A good time was had by all. Claude would be there as a guest of Alexi’s. It was all better than training in the Bay being bumped by sharks and poked with poles.

Driving home, Lora delved into the amusement at the bar while acting as designated driver. I had hoped with the great meal and otherwise mundane comments and jokes, she would have forgotten the bar laughter.

“What was so funny at the bar? Something had the Monsters laughing.”

“I noticed that too, Dad.” Al threw in with Lora. “I asked Uncle Tommy. All he said was we might have another visit from Smokey the Bear. He said it so seriously, I didn’t know if he was joking or not.”

“Dragon Hands?” Lora pulled the incredulous card. He nearly killed you last time!”

“Oh yeah! I heard about that fight. You rammed him into the cage to get him to let go,” Al added.

“I thought he gave up fighting after you nearly killed him,” Lora continued. “What’s he doing back? His gang works for Oaktown. You even offered him a job fighting in your place.”

“He joined with a bunch calling themselves the ‘High Street Loners’. I’m not sure why he didn’t take our offer. I’m certain we pay better. I’ll ask him tomorrow.”