The three men toasted, each with his own thoughts to Dan’s part, and the road ahead. Each knew it would not be for the faint of heart. They shared the toast understanding each made a pledge to the other, that they would not allow anything to turn such a commitment into a death pact. Nick drained his, and refilled.
“I knew Dan and Carol a very long time. I hate even the word soul-mate. No one knows what the hell that touchy feely tag means. Those two were bonded beyond clichéd crap like soul-mate. I’d rather Dan didn’t die while earning his commission with us. I also don’t want any of us and his kids saddled with the results of an errant decision on his part. I needed to make it clear I’m allowing Dan in on our gigs no matter what he does. If either of you have a problem with that, now would be the time to voice it.”
“I’ll ride with my friend Dan to the end of the string,” John said immediately.
“Ditto!” Gus acknowledged immediately. “We’ll keep an eye on him, Muerto. If he slants off the reservation, Kabong and I will conference you on it. In the long run as Rachel quoted earlier from ‘The Thirteenth Warrior’, it’s a small thing, brother.”
I’m glad to be in the company of warriors after so many years by himself, Nick thought as he grinned and refilled his glass. “If it happens, we will make the Geezer’s passing memorable.”
“Hell… yeah… we will,” Gus added. “After that last trip to the sand with you, I don’t even know what fear is anymore. Once your life passes before your eyes more than a few times, you start thinking I’ve seen this movie. Change the damn channel.”
That statement amused Gus’s audience of two completely for a moment.
“Let’s get down to business. All kidding aside, I see you want to do the infiltration ploy, John. Do you have a plan for getting close so that you can infiltrate this group?”
“Of course,” John countered. “I have to establish myself at a Masjid immediately in an area between your signing and the compound. They will be recruiting there. It is not a coincidence when the FBI dolts look into the people caught setting off bombs, they are always frequenters of a Masjid. Even if the Imam running the Masjid is unknowing of these defilers of holy places. Isis and their ilk understand the reticence of law enforcement to investigate Masjids; because the politicians will hang them out to dry, trying to be politically correct with a deadly enemy. It is insane, but I will find a Masjid in the area where I can be certain I will cross paths with the Isis acolytes.”
“How?”
John grinned at Gus. “I will hack into everything until I find a membership role with a number of participants from the suspected area where the Isis compound is located. They will have P.O. boxes instead of addresses.”
“You, my friend, are a very fine addition to our team,” Nick complimented John. “That is a great start to your infiltration endeavor. We’ll have to get you into a residence nearby where you locate some suspected recruiting depots.”
“Yes,” John replied. “I will be freshly moved in, and looking for work. It will be as you call it ‘a cinch’.”
Gus held his glass for toasting purposes. “Here’s to John. You have rhino balls to infiltrate those throat slitting assholes.”
“No,” John replied, gripping Gus’s wrist, negating the toast. “I am a man with a second chance. I have the deadliest backup I can imagine. I’ll get in. It will be my fault if I do not get out. Kabong, with the help of his deadly friends, Muerto and Payaso, shall triumph.”
The three men toasted solemnly on that note.
*
Nick typed with passion, threading in new scenes of violence and destruction for his character Diego. Having already sent Diego’s latest adventure, ‘Assassin’s Folly’, to his agent Cassie, Nick could start his frenzied new adventure with the whispers of his last novel fresh in his mind. He had allowed more emotion into his character than ever before in ‘Folly’. Nick plotted to tie his new novel into the Isis compound adventure in Washington. He grinned appreciatively, anticipating the day when it would be released; because most of what transpired if his hit on the compound was successful, would be true. It was a small gamble he had taken in past Diego novels, involving real life events.