Nick heard the slight knock on the door at 7 am sharp. He looked longingly at the laptop screen where Diego parlayed with Fatima, the Black Widow type anti-heroine. Grinning as he went to the door, Nick plotted the final surrender of Fatima’s attraction to the enigmatic Diego. She knew they existed in opposite realities, her mission to gain his complete trust, and betray him. Each time Fatima thought to have gained Diego’s complete trust, he somehow thwarted her efforts at the last moment. She… the light knock sounded again, as Nick realized he had been in suspended animation on the way to the door. Damn, Fatima, I don’t know about Diego, but you sure have me going. Nick opened the door to his comrades in arms, with Deke next to him.
“Yesterday and this morning have been wonderful, guys. I’m thinking of abandoning the ‘Ripper’, kicking back here at the Lodge, doing a little home schooling with Jean, hitting the water park, running Deke around in the woods, sipping a-”
“The Ripper sliced apart another prostitute early this morning,” Dan interrupted.
“Shit!” Nick walked toward the kitchen with Deke, leaving Gus to close the door.
Nick poured coffee for his friends, having already set out sugar, and creamer. “How old?”
“Middle twenties, rap sheet a mile long, been in trouble since the day she was born, and still didn’t deserve to die like that,” Gus said. “It’s not our fault. We can only move on this so fast. It’s just as you said yesterday when we returned. There’s a firestorm out there with government teams, cops, hazardous material/biological weapons specialists, and media vultures. The vultures are looking for any way possible to make the extermination of the terrorist enclave a travesty against humanity. The Wolf Lodge is a perfect place to lie low with wives, kids, and the Deke. If we can keep you from getting into throw-downs with the local civilian guests, we’ll be fine here until things cool down.”
“Payaso is right, Muerto,” John added. “Even with Mr. Gilbrech’s background help, there will be government people looking for any sign of the Unholy Trio. I’m sure he would appreciate it if we stayed out of the limelight for the time being. I wish I could have seen the faceoff at the water park. I always miss the good stuff.”
“You didn’t miss anything, John. This guy’s wife was bored, and decided to stir her husband into a fist fight in the middle of a kid’s water park. Luckily, Payaso ended the threat by sending Dagger over to quell the possible altercation. Like I told Rachel, I would have called security. We were already getting eyed by a couple of them for sure. I’ll be watching out for that goofy woman from now until we leave. I think Kong understood what she was doing though.”
“Kong?”
Nick smiled. “Yeah, Dan. Rachel called him Kong when he blocked our way to the pool. Do you guys want a shot?”
“Wait a minute. Was Rachel in danger? Did the great Muerto allow his wife and unborn Quinn to face a deadly mugger in public? It’s a lucky thing the Daughter of Darkness tag-teamed with the Momster to scare away this scoundrel.”
“Not funny, Dan.” Nick frowned as everyone else but him, and possibly Deke, found Dan’s pronouncements funny. “You guys are mean. Muerto acts with restraint, and this is the reward he gets.”
Nick stood and made his coffee Irish. He brought the bottle back to the table, where John and Gus also poured in a taste of whiskey. “Before I heard about the unfortunate woman’s demise, and then was held up to ridicule, I was in the midst of telling you guys how great this place is. I got up at 4:30, and took Deke out for a great run around the woods before dawn. He loves this place. Then, I came back here, and wrote until you ingrates arrived with bad news and bad attitude.”
“We gathered intel while the great Muerto wrote pulp fiction scenes. Did you get a chance to find candidates for Dan’s pimping project?”
Nick entered into his iPad, and handed it over to Gus. “I did indeed. There’s our three crews to recruit from. They all work from the Dark Web. Key people in the city such as hotel managers, taxi drivers, etc. give out a card with phone number or Dark Web address. The interested party can peruse the different girls on the Dark Web site, and arrange a date. The pimps handle commerce right on the web without sending the girls out on the streets. This ‘Ripper’ has hacked the Dark Web, which is no easy task. His victims so far have all been taken in route to their meeting with a ‘John’… I mean customer, including the pimps he killed. Here’s the kicker – the FBI task force isn’t looking at the Dark Web at all. They’re focusing on profiles, and street prostitution which the Ripper has nearly ended.”
“You seem to know a lot about this Dark Web, Nick. How the heck did you get the idea about looking there?”
“Remember when you and Carol used to see me down at Otter’s Point with my satellite laptop, and I told you I was writing.”
“Sure. We used to bring you coffee when we knew you were down there.”