“Don’t play dumb, Nick. Those three guys you said were after me on the Wharf were all found dead in a mysterious gun battle. The next thing I read was Al Mady disappeared off the yacht he threw me overboard from one night later. You have that weirdo electronic chip I took from Al Mady. I want a cut or maybe I take my suspicions to the cops.”
“Oh boy.” Gus took a deep breath and stood up. “Want some coffee, Nick?”
“Yeah, thanks, Gus.” Nick grinned over at Tracy. “You’re dumber than a handful of anchovies on a day old pizza. If I were responsible for all the things you say I am, why on earth would you come here with a leg-breaker to threaten my wife – and when that fails, you come to my home? You are a whole new kind of stupid.”
Gus set a cup of coffee in front of Nick, but remained standing. Tracy’s mouth dropped open as realization made its ugly way into her head. Tracy had indeed assumed Nick had done all of what he stated, but had given no thought to what might happen if she faced off with Nick alone. Nick made a decision.
“First off, I did have the chip. The second part of that statement is I transferred the chip into the hands of the United States Attorney General, through two US Marshal friends of mine. I returned from that mission today. As to your other allegations, go on to the police and tell them your suspicions. The three guys were in a gun battle with each other. That case is closed. As to this Al Mady character disappearing at sea, what in the hell could I have to do with that? I wasn’t on the boat. It was ruled an accident. People fall off boats and drown all the time… even celebrities. My advice to you is get the hell away from me, and erase my name from your memory banks.”
The confident aura returned to Tracy’s face. “You’re more than a famous author. I do know that. You wouldn’t kill me. I have to get my friend out of jail. Give me ten thousand dollars, and I never bother you again.”
In a split second’s time, Nick lunged across the table, gripped Tracy’s throat, and yanked her over the kitchen table without spilling his coffee. He slammed her onto the kitchen counter behind him, against the line of cabinets, slowly tightening his grip while pinning her legs with his body. Tracy’s hands gripped and clawed at Nick’s arm, eyes bulging in terror. Gus moved away. First, the flailing hands relaxed, falling limply to Tracy’s sides. Life faded from her eyes as she stared into Nick’s darkening countenance. Tracy at last recognized death. Then she was lying on the cold kitchen floor, gagging and gasping for air. Her feet and arms waved once again in chaotic rhythms reflecting oxygen starved brain commands. Nick threw the afghan over her, sat down and sipped his coffee while watching. Gus sat down on the other side of the table.
It took nearly ten minutes before conscious thought directed Tracy’s movements. She rolled from side to side, still gulping in air. Finally turning to her hands and knees, Tracy gripped the afghan to her while using the kitchen counter for support. A moment later she grappled weakly to a standing position before throwing up in the sink. Sobbing, Tracy washed her mouth out, and turned bleary eyed toward Nick. His icy remorseless glare caused her to cringe away until backing into the counter’s corner.
“Do you have any more questions about what will happen to you, or what I have in store for you if we cross paths again, shit for brains?”
Tracy tried to reply. When only croaking sounds rasped from her throat, she shook her head in the negative with enthusiasm. Gus retrieved the plastic bag with her belongings and placed it in front of her.
“Get dressed. Get out of my home, and pray to God I don’t have second thoughts about you. If I do, you’ll be waking in the middle of the night with me at your side. I won’t be there to tuck you in. Before you get dressed though, Gus is going to take a little movie of us. You’ll be the star. I will stand near this counter, and you will come onto me like the two bit little whore you really are. Any deviations from my plot, and I choke you out for good. Do you understand?”
Tracy nodded, dropping the Afghan. Gus took a short movie with his iPad of Tracy moaning in a raspy voice while seemingly trying to seduce Nick, her roving hands stroking him. He let her act out while looking stunned. Nick then held her away. “No, Tracy.”
Gus grinned. “I got it, Nick.”
Nick pushed her away. “Get moving. You have five minutes.”
Tracy dressed as if her life depended on it. Far less than five minutes had passed when she jogged to the door and out of Nick’s home. Nick looked at the clock. It was only 2PM. “Bring the iPad and cloning phone, Gus. Let’s go have a drink while I clue in my lovely wife on her BFF.”
“I will have one with you. Damn it! When you recited all the items handled in DC successfully with the US Marshals, I figured Bloody Mary’s on a plane flight east to road trip land. I would have killed the bitch myself if I’d known you were that right on the money about her.”
“Come on. I hate to tell you this, but we’re not done yet.”
“Oh for God’s sake,” Gus mumbled, following Nick while glancing down at his iPad and the phone Nick had given him to clone Tracy’s with.