“Let Deke do his business, and hustle your ass out of that damn ice box.”
“I hear you load and clear, partner.” Nick adjusted his parka slightly, tightening it at his neck. “It’s beautiful here in spite of the arctic conditions. The way Deke’s prancing around, you’d think it was springtime in Paris. Give a dog a fur coat, and he thinks he owns the world. Man… his paws have to be frozen. Damn… did you see that? He pounced on something he thought was in the big bush on our left. Deke leaped the pathway fence like a gazelle.”
“I saw him get snow dumped when he did it,” Gus acknowledged. “He shook it off though. Being off leash has him a bit mental I think. The bugger’s almost invisible bounding around in… head’s up, Nick – incoming. There’s three of them in parkas, including the one who has been shadowing you normally. Damn it! They headed into the park. It could be a dry run, but I’m heading for the rental.”
“Do you think they can see me Gus?”
“No way… not in the dark with snow falling. I know exactly where you are, and I’m having trouble following you with enhanced range finders.”
“I’ll get Deke to quit cruisin’. We’ll jog toward 69th as planned.”
“Forget it, Nick. Keep running out, and I’ll pick you up. Abort this puppy for now.”
“No can do, Gus. Let’s play the hand out.”
“Part of that ‘Gambler’ song is ‘know when to fold them, know when to walk away, and know when to run,” Gus offered while hurrying out of his room with a quick wave toward Tina.
“I am running.” Nick gave Deke a short two toned whistle, and jogged toward the 69th Street park entrance at a casual pace. The three would expect Nick to retrace his steps back to the hotel as he had done before. On the way toward 69th Street instead, with Deke close by his side, Nick gauged the amount of sound he made in the snow, comparing it mentally with the surrounding white noise of city, wind, and muffling effect a parka would have on the men tailing him. “I don’t think my buddies down the way are going to like this Deke.”
Breathing hard, Gus met Nick and Deke inside the 69th Street park entrance. Without a word, he leashed Deke, and walked toward his rental car. Nick ran toward a spot slightly past the 7th Regiment Memorial he had plotted out before as the site for Dafar’s demise. When he reached the spot, wind and snow made the more wooded area an eerie landscape of poor visibility. Nick slipped off his parka, placing it out of sight behind the tree he had stopped at. He then pulled a black nylon polyester mask on over his face, tucking the extended neck part in under his black turtleneck sweater. After slipping on his tight fitting black leather gloves, Nick leaned motionless against the tree, watching the city lights he glimpsed sparkling beyond the park perimeter. With twenty-five million volt baton nightstick in one hand, and a Browning Backlash dagger in his other hand, the killer quietly awaited his prey.
*
“I can see nothing!” Mohammed Dafar hissed at his companions. “He was in sight seconds ago. Where did you see him go before, Boyko?”
“Quiet, Sir,” Boyko Sarac whispered harshly, leaning close to Dafar so he could be heard. “This man is not to be underestimated. He walks his dog far beyond this pathway, and stops in that memorial site where he turns the dog loose to run when no one is around.”
“It is a good spot to take him,” Goran Milic added. “On a night like this, there is no way we’ll be seen. You will be able to do anything you wish to him.”
Dafar smiled. “I will make him beg for his life.”
“I would rather shoot him in the back, Sir,” Boyko replied, staying close to Dafar. The wind muffled speech to the point of misunderstanding. Boyko did not want a shouting match while trying to be understood. “If we wait another day, Sir, I can get a silenced automatic. McCarty has walked the dog in the same manner each time I’ve followed him. It is much safer to shoot him immediately as he walks toward us. If we take him near the memorial we will also have to deal with his dog.”
“I will double your pay. You and Goran can do this for me. He is only one man. The dog is no threat. I will kick its teeth down its unclean throat.”
Goran shrugged at Boyko. “Very well, Sir. We must be careful when we get to the memorial. If he ends his time at the memorial before we can get there, let him approach us without a word. Goran and I will jump him then. I will use my sap on McCarty. Then you may do whatever you wish after we control the dog.”
“I would see him on his knees,” Dafar mumbled.