Cold Blooded Assassin Book 6: Red Horizon (Nick McCarty Assassin) (32 page)

After the hellos floated around in good natured banter, Nick sat down at their spacious balcony table. Johnny and Gus already had their satellite uplinked laptops open while they sipped. Cala and Tina sat next to their husbands. Nick sat down with his Bushmill’s Irish with Rachel on one side and Jean and Sonny on the other side.

“Grace and Tim will be checking with the police chief and DA if they can, concerning the circus event Assistant DA Emily Dorsett put me through. We have the joint mission at Pilot Hill coming soon. I don’t want to be locked into a legal morass with the locals. Let’s find out what’s really behind DA Dorsett’s outrage.”

“She’s black,” Gus stated after going through the preliminary social page Google hunt. “Are you sure it’s not just another race baiter ploy with the poverty pimp twins, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton arriving next to extort money from the city?”

“What would Dorsett get out of it though,” Tina remarked. “Did you tell Dorsett your partner’s black and his wife’s black.”

Nick’s mouth tightened. “Grace mentioned it. I don’t play the race card for anyone. I don’t do that ‘some of my best friends are black or fill in the blank race crap’ to prove how politically correct I am. All my friends are Americans. That’s as far as I go.”

“Here we go,” Johnny said. “Check your screens. It seems before getting her law degree, Dorsett worked as an intern for Senator Diane Cameron. She worked her way into a spot as assistant campaign director, rumored to have handled shredding all documents and e-mails tying Cameron to the Chinese influence scandal years ago. Check out all the pictures with those bosom buddies together at social functions in DC.”

Nick and Gus studied their screens with interest. “Good one, Johnny. That’s what I’m talkin’ about. I could tell Dorsett was using anything to build the lawsuits Quayle and McKinley filed nearly the minute they were taken into custody. Di’s out of office. Let’s have a little hack party. I want to find out if Dorsett and her mentor have been communicating by e-mail.”

“Why does that Cameron woman care about messing with you, Dad?”

“She’s a traitor, kid. We linked her to terrorists and forced her to resign. We also relieved her of all the ill-gotten gains she received for selling her country out. Di must have all her feelers in the wind trying to find any way she can exact revenge.”

“What do you want to do, Muerto,” Johnny asked.

“Discredit Dorsett with anything we can find linking her to Cameron, including payoffs. Di couldn’t have done all this in one day. She’s had Dorsett keeping an eye on me, awaiting an incident within her jurisdiction she could get me with. Let’s make sure her boss, District Attorney Daryl Atherton isn’t in Cameron’s pocket too.”

“At what point do you make sure Cameron doesn’t put you in prison,” Rachel asked. “She’s already ignored your warnings.”

Nick took a deep breath. “One thing at a time. First, we find out how much help Di is getting locally to haunt me. We’ll fix this episode now. Cameron’s lesson will have to wait until after Pilot Hill. We know where to find her when the time comes. Johnny’s been tracking her movements. She’s also on the FBI’s radar, thanks to Harding’s FBI friends Sam and Janie. I read them in on what we did behind the scenes to make her resign.”

An hour later, while enjoying the view from the balcony watching the fog move in and sipping Bushmill’s with his friends, Nick was satisfied they had Dorsett’s number. Combining all the networked information the ‘Unholy Trio’ found concerning real estate deals, botched cases involving Cameron’s friends on two occasions in the Monterey area and payment from Cameron for no apparent service, Nick assembled the case with timeline. He couldn’t bother with formality but Nick understood he couldn’t make what he had public himself, due to the way Dorsett’s information had been gathered.

“How does DA Atherton look, Gus?”

“He’s clean of Cameron. She was hired on Cameron’s recommendation, but that would not be unusual. I have his office computer gateway open for anything you want to do. I can put Dorsett’s file on his Desktop.”

“Nope. We can’t take a chance like that. I’ll call Paul on my secure line. I haven’t updated him on the Pilot Hill mission. He can officially approach the DA with the file, letting him know I work as a consultant with CIA, FBI, and Department of Justice. Atherton will be confused at first, but once he knows what’s going on, this may clear up fast.”

“Good,” Rachel said. “Do it now. It’s not that late in DC.”

Nick considered it. “Okay. I’ll be right back.”

“I’m going down and make a veggie tray and dip.”

“And order pizza?”

“Yes, Daughter of Darkness,” Rachel agreed, walking out with Nick. “I’ll get a couple of big ones with everything but anchovies, right gang?”

A chorus of affirmatives rang out. Nick’s phone beeped on his way out. It was Grace.

“I couldn’t meet with DA Atherton, but Dorsett stonewalled the video. The police chief consented to see it and hear our explanation. He advised us unless we can convince Atherton of what’s going on, he already received notice the DA’s office wants you brought in for further questioning.”

“Thanks, Grace. We have it covered.”

“You’re going to nail Dorsett to the wall, huh Muerto?”

“Absolutely.”

* * *

“Sorry to call you after regular working hours, Mr. Atherton.”

“Who is this and how did you get my private number?”

“This will be a little hard to explain. I am Paul Gilbrech, the Director of the CIA. This is not a prank. If you would like, call this number back. It is my direct line at Langley.”

Atherton shot out of his seat at the dinner table, waving off his wife. “No Sir. That won’t be necessary. How can I help you?”

“I sent you a folder just now concerning the incident at Fisherman’s Wharf. It contains a video record of what US Marshal McCarty witnessed along with his actions in the matter. The other file contains dealings between former disgraced Senator Diane Cameron and your Assistant DA Dorsett. No one in public knows this but Cameron resigned under pressure because of evidence found by Marshal McCarty tying her to terrorist organizations. I wager Dorsett didn’t show you the video Marshal McCarty put in her hands, did she?”

Atherton’s features tensed. “No… she didn’t. I’m beginning to understand your point here. Is McCarty an asset of CIA?”

“I can’t tell you specifics, but Marshal McCarty because of his combat experience and logistics training consults with CIA, FBI, and Department of Justice. He has thwarted numerous terrorist cells and attacks on the homeland. He was asked in to assess the hostage situation because of his skills as a sniper. The situation was handled incredibly well without civilian or police casualties. The reason we have the file connections between Dorsett and Cameron is because anyone dealing with Cameron gets added to the terrorist watch list we have on the former Senator. May I ask that you view the folder and call me back here?”

“Of course, Sir. I will do so immediately.”

“Thank you.” Gilbrech disconnected.

* * *

The knock on Atherton’s office door halted the conversation in progress with another Assistant DA, a retired Navy Commander with a grim featured persona spread over his ebony features. Assistant DA Dorsett waited at the door. Atherton motioned her in. Dorsett walked in with a smile that disappeared when confronted by the dour looks on her boss and co-worker’s faces.

“Sit down, Emily,” Atherton said. When Dorsett was seated, Atherton continued. “I won’t make this long and drawn out. You’ve committed some grave errors which cannot be ignored. I told you to keep me updated on the hostage situation that happened at the Wharf.”

“It was a domestic dispute, Sir.” Dorsett could see the aggravation building in Atherton’s body language.

“I have the video in my possession of the incident you withheld. I also have a file containing your dealings with former Senator Cameron and her pursuit of US Marshal McCarty. Her reasoning was revenge for his ending the Senator’s selling out of the nation. Your reasoning was obviously financial… and oh my, you certainly received that.”

Dorsett leaped to her feet. “Where the hell do you get off spying on my personal life?”

“I didn’t. When you continued dealing at Cameron’s beck and call even after her forced resignation from office, your name showed up on the terrorist watch list for consulting with her. The authorities tracked your dealings under Homeland Security auspices. Nothing would have happened to you but in choosing to pursue Cameron’s vendetta on Marshal McCarty, you committed a number of felonies. They will be recorded in your file. We will not be implementing legal proceedings against you. Pack your things and clear out of your office. There are two policemen waiting for you there to make sure you don’t commit any other crimes.”

“I’m being set up! You see what’s going on here, don’t you, George?!” Dorsett turned to her fellow district attorney for support.

Retired Commander, George Whittaker, stood too. “I was given this case because I still have a Top Secret clearance from my naval career. Former Senator Cameron is a traitor. You conspiring with her to frame Marshal McCarty proves you’re no better than she is. My advice is this. Don’t say another word. This meeting has been recorded. I will be prosecuting those two bastards Gayle and McKinley on so many felonies, they won’t see the light of day for fifty years. Anything else you have to say will be used against you in a court of law and by God I’ll be the one doing the honors. If not for Marshal McCarty, the wife, kids, and probably numerous civilian hostages would have been murdered.”

Atherton waited until Whittaker finished before standing. “If I hear even one word of bullshit from you either here or in public I will have George pursue every single felony against you. I will have you frog-marched in handcuffs from wherever you are, directly into a jail cell. Now get out of my office.

A terrified Dorsett left the office without a word as ordered.

“I still think we should have charged her, Daryl.”

“I know. The only reason I’m not pursuing her is I don’t want any distraction from putting those idiots away for as long as we possibly can. That video scared the shit out of me. They were on the verge of executing everyone on the pier.”

“I will get them. Don’t worry about that. I’ll update you at the end of the day.” Whittaker left the office.

Atherton dialed the number he had been given. When Paul Gilbrech answered, Atherton said, “it’s done, Sir. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.”

“Thank you for dealing with it, Mr. Atherton. If you ever have need of Marshal McCarty’s services, call me. I know he will help if he can.”

“I will indeed.”

* * *

Nick escorted Sonny and Jean to school along with Gus. The greeters from the other morning arrived as Nick walked toward the car alone. They awaited him away from the school front. As usual with the traffic dropping off kids, Nick parked half a block away from the school. Nick smiled as the man and his friends approached. Sergeant Neil Dickerson and his partner, Cheryl Rossdale stepped out of their unmarked car to intercept the men. Neil’s arrival with his partner in full uniform caught the three men by surprise. The big man Nick had run over the morning before tried to lead his companions across the street. Neil stopped them.

“Excuse me, Sir,” Neil said. “Do you have children attending this school?”

The man answered in Arabic, shrugging with a fake smile, pretending he didn’t know English. Nick stepped in and repeated Neil’s question in Arabic.

“That is none of your business.”

“If you wish to avoid being arrested with me as your interpreter, you should answer the question,” Nick said. “I know you speak English. It would be best if you did so now. You will not be going anywhere until I find out why you tried to stop me yesterday.”

“I do not have children in this school,” the man told Neil in English. “This is a free country… correct?”

“Yes… if you’re a citizen,” Neil replied. “Also, you tried to stop Marshal McCarty yesterday in front of the school. If you don’t have a very good reason for doing so, you’ll be coming to the station with me in handcuffs along with your friends. We don’t allow people to stalk others outside our schools.”

The man behind the big guy reached inside his coat, only to have Nick draw his .45 caliber Colt with the barrel pressed against the man’s temple. “Move, and I blow your brains out.”

Neil and Cheryl had drawn their weapons in the intervening seconds. Nick reached into the man’s coat. He retrieved a Walther 9mm and handed it to Cheryl. “On your knees with fingers locked behind your heads.”

The three men did as Nick ordered them. Each man carried a Walther 9mm and two extra clips. They had no identification on them. Nick spoke only after they were secured. “Tell us who you are and what your business is with me.”

“We will tell you nothing.”

Neil smiled as Gus strode next to Nick. “I release custody of these suspects to US Marshal’s McCarty and Nason.”

“Thank you for the assistance, Sergeant. I know you and Officer Rossdale prevented a violent incident in front of the shool. Marshal Nason and I will take charge of the prisoners now.”

“Wait! We demand to be taken into custody by the police!”

“I’m sorry, Sir,” Neil said to the big guy. “That ship sailed. We were called to assist the Marshals in carrying out a federal warrant. Besides the felony of carrying guns near school grounds without permits and identification, you and your friends have no identification period. We have officially transferred custody.”