Cold Blooded Assassin Book 6: Red Horizon (Nick McCarty Assassin) (39 page)

A few minutes later, a higher pitched voice, brimming with excitement came on. “I have called Saran. He says you do indeed have Cala Kader with you and the McCarty is dead. I will buzz you in. Come up quickly. Mine is the first on the right.”

“As you wish, Sir.” The buzzer announced the unlocking of the outside door. Nick gripped Cala’s arm. “I can feel your excitement, Cleaner. Take deep breaths and get your scowl ready.”

“Yes, Muerto.”

The door opened and a bearded man with white Kufi, carrying twenty pounds too much weight at his belt motioned them in happily. “I am very pleased. Saran has given me a gift I can never repay. Did you see the McCarty die, my friend?”

Nick smiled while shaking his head. “Unfortunately, I was already traveling with Cala Kader by then. She has been a problem but is now safely in your hands.”

“Yes… she and Dimah Kader have caused much loss to our family.” Eliah circled the trembling Cala, her face a mask of terrified obedience, staring only at the floor in front of her. “If she is lucky, I will find another rich suitor. She has been defiled and will fetch only a fraction of what we could have gotten for her.”

Eliah reached to take Cala’s arm. At his touch, Cala gasped and fell faint to the floor. Eliah and his two men standing to the side of Cala snorted in amusement at her collapse. The twin hollow point .45 caliber slugs from Nick’s silenced Colt tore into the heads of Eliah Kader’s personal bodyguards, pitching them to the floor. Cala straightened and punched Eliah in the groin. He screamed, falling with both hands over his injured part. Cala jumped atop him but Nick pulled her away.

“Kick’s only, Cleaner. We don’t want blood all over your clothing.”

“Of course, Muerto… sorry.” Cala went to work on Eliah, rage at the long deadly pursuit of her by the family she shared DNA with charging each kick with added power. She backed away at a gesture from Nick.

“Nice friendly hello.” Nick handed her the small bag with hooded plastic rain cover inside and a pair of surgical gloves. “Here you are, Doctor Cala. Do you still want to retrieve my slugs? If not, I’ll do it.”

“I want to do it. I bet I could be one of those forensics pathologists.”

“I bet you could to0. Make it your major. We’ll send you to any college you want to attend.”

Cala finished covering herself. She took out her probing kit and scalpel set. “I like what we do better but I might take a few classes. I liked college. It’s just that I love being with Johnny and our Addams’ family. We do everything. We’re detectives, assassins, soldiers, killers, pathology experts, coroners, and computer pros. Not to mention we feed the fish.”

Nick bound the groaning Eliah while enjoying Cala’s recitation on their skills. “You are a very sick young lady, Cala.”

“Yes… I have been corrupted. You said you had a plan for our scene. Will it still work?”

“Oh yeah. We’re on our way out, Payaso,” Nick finished his call for their ride and propped Eliah against a wall. He dipped his finger into the blood of a dead man nearest the wall. He finger painted: As-salamu alaykum in Arabic script. He added ‘Isil is jihad, Al-Qaeda is the devil!’ - all in bloody script.

“I have the slugs.” Cala made a face. “These two men stink. Perhaps we should pepper spray them before we go.”

“Good one.” Nick lifted Eliah onto his feet. He fired off an arc from his stun-gun where Eliah could see it. “I will have this pressed against your ball sack. If you make one sound while I’m guiding you to our vehicle, I will burn your balls off. Understand?”

Eliah nodded fearfully as Nick held a plastic bag open for Cala to dump her protective clothing into. Nick went to Eliah’s closet, picked out a light windbreaker, and threw it over Eliah’s restrained hands. He then wiped down everything they touched with Cala’s help. They bagged the electronic devices to take with them. Nick held the door for Cala so she could walk in front of Eliah with a solemn pose while wearing her headscarf. Nick locked and closed the door behind them. At street level, Nick held the door for Cala before jamming the stun-gun into Eliah. Johnny held the door open for them to get into the back. In seconds, they were on their way with Eliah blubbering between Nick and Cala. Nick stripped off his gloves.

Nick elbowed Eliah in the ribs. “Silence!”

Eliah quieted, glancing fearfully at Nick. “You are McCarty.”

“Yes. You’ve called for me by sending killers after my family and friends, including your own niece. Here I am. I tried warning your family many times. Most of them are all dead now. Ishmael knew you sent him to his death by blackmailing him into trying to kill me. He left a last message with his wife, naming you, and telling me exactly where to find your stupid ass. He reached out to pay you back for sending him on a suicide mission. I promised his wife I would make sure you never caused another death. Besides, I wanted Cala to have a chance to beat the shit out of you.”

“Let me go! I will make sure… I give you my word… no one will bother you again!”

“Lying to the infidel, huh?” Nick smiled as his three companions enjoyed Eliah’s pleas which they all knew to be false. “I’m afraid that ship steamed out of port. Your family surprised me with the depth of its stupidity. Did you ever wonder why so many of your idiot relatives disappeared when sent after me? I figured when I killed that old zombie who turned down my five million dollar dowry, Ishmael might be able to make you all see the light, and leave me the hell alone. I called the old zombie, Yoda. What the hell was his first name?”

“Mohammed,” Gus answered.

“Yeah, that’s it,” Nick acknowledged. “He looked like a raisin baked in the sun on a hot sidewalk. Anyway, that was your family’s chance to be reasonable. Soon, your family will be reasonable. We have business to discuss though before I send you to join the rest of your missing family in hell.”

“But…but is there no way I can live in this deal? Why would I help you if I cannot buy my life?”

“Heh…heh… I don’t think you understand,” Nick said. “We’re going to stop somewhere quiet for a question and answer session. Cala will be our visual lie detector while her husband will be transferring funds and checking your information. Unfortunately, on a road trip like this one I’ll have to use my old school interrogation method. I wanted to try my new acupuncture technique on your feet, but frankly, I don’t want to cart your ass all the way to California. I have a spot in Pennsylvania where we can have our talk. It’s in the Allegheny Forest. If you’d like to start being cooperative now, maybe by the time we get to your final resting spot, I’ll simply put you to sleep for good.”

Eliah began to sob. “I…I don’t know anything.”

“There’s no crying in terrorism! Cut the crybaby crap. Sure, you know all your accounts and passwords. We have your laptop, tablet, and phone. You’re going to help us transfer everything to us. These trips cost money, and I made sure Ishmael’s wife received a substantial amount of money to free the women and children from the Kader curse.”

“Wha…what curse?”

“That would be me. Are you fired up and ready to go, Johnny?”

“Yes, Muerto. He can give me his account numbers and passwords now. I have his laptop booted to the desktop too. We can make all the transfers. We have a clear satellite signal. He has Norton 360 Security System with an identity safe. If I get in there, I can take care of everything.”

“Okay, Eli, get talkin’. Most people, even terrorists, have one of those password vaults, Johnny mentioned. Do you keep all your account places listed with passwords in your identity safe?”

Eliah nodded. He knew these people would torture him to death. Anything could happen between now and when they stopped, he thought. If he could stay alive long enough, he might somehow be rescued. The transfers could be reversed in his mind if he stayed alive. Eliah Kader recited his password for the security vault, and the file listing his account numbers and banking information on a spread sheet.

“Oh my, Muerto,” Johnny exclaimed. “Eliah has done very well for himself even though he’s never held a real job in his life. He has nearly eight million dollars in accounts I do not think his Kader herd know anything about. I have been able to lighten this monetary burden from his shoulders. That was a good investment with Ishmael’s widow. His main financial additions have come from… wait for it… Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The deposits, funneled through a corporate account linked to both nations under a joint venture fund titled Al Alef Global have made Eliah Kader a partner with Saran Al Kadi. Imagine that.”

Nick pinched Eliah Kader’s cheek. “Why you little conduit, you. This explains the merger you were planning with Omar Fontaine. You bunch of cockroaches launder money, influence, and serve as halfway houses on both coasts for infiltrators. No wonder you could scoff at my dowry offer for Cala. Does Al-Kadi have the largest money holdings?”

Eliah cringed but remained silent.

“Don’t be afraid. Saran won’t be alive much longer. Why do you think he helped me out with a phone call to you as backup? My friends convinced Saran to help me in a very painful way I hope to help you avoid.”

“You… have Al-Kadi?” Eliah lowered his head, shaking it negatively from side to side slowly. “We are lost. How has this been done? He had a near army of the faithful built to strike. It…it does not seem possible.”

“Yeah, we’ve been busy repairing breeches. Some of us darker elements of America decided to act on behalf of our citizens instead of the Islamic ass kissers in DC. Our efforts are beginning to make some major inroads, such as annihilating that army Al-Kadi was building.”

“No!” Kader jerked upright, staring with horror into Nick’s smiling face. “They…they are dead… all of them?”

“All but Saran, whom my friends are questioning. I heard he was shocked all of his troops went virgin hunting too. I found him hiding out in his bedroom hoping the ambush he planned for us worked.”

“You people are monsters! You cannot just execute us like dogs!”

“We don’t execute dogs. I like dogs. I would never hurt a dog. I have a dog named Deke. He’s worth a hundred of you ass-wipes,” Nick lectured. “You wouldn’t like him though. He drinks beer, never hurts children or women, and he hates the followers of the death cult. That last discriminatory feeling is my fault. I told him Muslims think dogs are unclean. Deke was very incensed over my revelation. Excuse me for a moment. I have to call the Monster Squad and make sure they know about Al-Kadi’s funds. Johnny… entertain Eliah with the compound video or as I like to call it: the Isis Snuff Film.”

Johnny chuckled. “Yes, Muerto.”

Lynn answered on the third buzz. “Muerto? How you doin’. We were wondering if you’d be checking in.”

“Everything went well, Lynn. That phone call was priceless. We have Kader with us now. He’s been very helpful. It seems Al-Kadi was the main money launderer and financier of the funds funneled into the states from a joint venture between Saudi Arabia and Qatar called Al Alef Global. I wanted to make sure you had that information.”

“Did you just insult me, Muerto?”

Nick laughed appreciatively. “Sorry… just checking.”

“I’m glad you called. We have a problem Claude clued us in on. It’s an important personal matter with him. It seems a cousin of his was kidnapped in Paris during the Arab Spring riots. Al-Kadi had a hand in the Arab Spring debacle and he knows where the cousin is. I don’t know where you are, but she was sold to a man named Haris El-Amin. He lives in Schenectady on Union Street near Union College in a very nice looking multi-story home. I’ll text Johnny the address in case you’re interested.”

“I’m interested. We’ll be nearing Schenectady in a couple of hours. Is Al-Kadi capable of another phone call on our behalf?”

“Great minds think alike,” Lynn replied. “He is indeed. Claude and I think this El-Amin would allow a phone call between Felicia and Claude if Al-Kadi asks him. It would mean telling El-Amin the truth about the connection between Claude and Felicia, but also make it a trade for Claude’s services by Al-Kadi. We’ll have him call right away to introduce you to the meeting.”

“Nice plot, Lynn. That might work very well. Let me talk to Claude.”

“Absolutely.”

“Nick?”

“Lynn explained a little about your cousin. I’ll be glad to look in on her but maybe you better spell it out for me as to the parameters of the visit. I like the phone call ploy.”

“Of course, my friend. Her name is Felicia Martel. She would be in her late thirties now, nearly a decade in El-Amin’s control. Al-Kadi hosted them in New York two months ago. Felicia wore a black burka, so he could not tell what condition she was in. She kept her head down and trailed El-Amin like a dog. I just need to know if she can be rescued or if she has been turned into a forever slave. Lynn thought I should ask for your help instead of going myself. She believes you could perhaps find out if Felicia is okay without making things worse for her if we force Al-Kadi to make a personal plea to El-Amin before you arrive there.”

“I will find out. What would you like done if she appears willing to leave her life?”

“I would leave it to her. If you are willing, I would be grateful if you could carry out any fate she would like for El-Amin.”

“That’s plain enough. If I have a question when I’ve investigated Felicia’s situation, or she does, I would like it to be on Facetime so you may see her. Keep your iPhone with you. If our ploy works, I will have her Facetime with you.”