When the video reached the dependent clause/comma Nazi, loud appreciative laughter erupted.
“Oh my God, she made you write an apology for something you don’t even know you did or not. That settles it. If the signings are going to be this good, I’m going,” Rachel declared.
“You’re forgetting the hours of mind numbing boredom while we listen to Captain Hook tell sailor stories all day, and Gomez get his panties in a bunch because he doesn’t know where to put a comma. You’re on your own, girlfriend.”
“Right, Tina,” Rachel said. “What was I thinking? We’ll scan the video for choice moments to enjoy in a luxurious setting.”
“At least you didn’t have to kill anyone today, Dad,” Jean piped in.
“The day is five hours from midnight. There’s still time. I’ve heard in the new Addam’s Family they’re thinking of writing a scene where Gomez goes mental, hacks Cousin Itt apart, puts the Itt pieces on the barbie, and then serves them for dinner.”
“They do not,” Tina said, startled at Nick’s word picture.
“In my screen play they do.”
“Don’t be hatin’, Gomez,” Tina mumbled while her companions stifled amusement of Cousin Itt.
*
“You’re certain he goes in along the railroad track?” Dominic Calhoun stared with tightly controlled rage at the single track running into the huge wooded area near The Great Wolf Lodge. “Today is perfect. It’s overcast and drizzly. We’ll be alone with him in there.”
“Are you sure you can trust what that FBI broad mentioned? It seemed like she was setting us up the way she talked with the other agent when the cops escorted us out. She did sound pissed off though.”
Dominic nodded at his two cohorts. Rafe Lansing had been on the receiving end of Nick’s temporary adjustment to the pimp population. He was raw about the way Nick took them down too, but uneasy with the expertise he had done it. Jess Boyer freelanced collections, strong-arm extortion, and keeping the prostitutes in line. Boyer thought it funny they were out trapping some Fed because he roughed up Dom and Rafe.
“Instead of watching him, you should have paid me to kill him,” Boyer said. “He’s a damn dog walker. I could have followed him into the brush and been done with your Wyatt Earp wannabe without you driving here.”
“The guy’s no joke, Jess,” Lansing replied. “Dom and I have been around the block. That sucker is fast. I’m glad we brought the Uzis. They have range as a rifle. I want to do this clown, but I don’t want to be close for it. I figure all we have to do is follow a mile in along the tracks, and then ambush him when he returns from his dog run. He must go a long way in there. Jess and I didn’t see him for forty-five minutes yesterday when we staked him out.”
Dominic gestured for his men to follow him. “It’s a good plan, Rafe. With the silencers, the asshole and his dog will be dead without anyone hearing it a mile in. He won’t be able to spot us with these camouflage rain slickers. We’ll drag their bodies into the brush and leave ‘em. It’s supposed to rain and drizzle for the next week. No one will find the bodies for weeks probably. I wanted a piece! That’s why I had you wait until I got here, Jess. You’re getting paid. What do you care?”
Boyer shrugged as he followed Calhoun while grinning back at Rafe. “The three man ambush works for me. This will be fun. We’ll need to split up so we have three nests in case he is armed, and is as fast as Rafe claims. We take no chances. That okay, Dom.”
“Perfect. We spread out at the spot with maybe fifty feet between us on each side of the tracks, far enough in the woods so we have cover. I’ll shoot first. I don’t want him getting near enough so there’s a chance we’d hit each other.”
“The guy did stop that Ripper bastard,” Lansing pointed out. “I know he punked us in the hotel, but we were going to steal his money. Now, the girls are back workin’ and business is good. I’m not sure payback is such a great idea, Dom. This could bring a lot of heat down on us killin’ a famous novelist with a US Marshal’s badge. You know damn well they’ll be checking out anyone having a beef with him in the area.”
Calhoun spun on Lansing angrily. “Fuck you, Rafe! I ain’t letting bygones be bygones after what he did! Look at my face! He nearly took my eye out, and I’ll have a damn scar for life. Then the bastard kicked me in the nuts! He dies today! You got that?”
“Yeah, boss, I got it,” Lansing agreed with placating motions. “I’ll cover him over with brush. Maybe they won’t notice the bodies for months with spring rain hitting.”
“That’s what I’m talkin’ about,” Calhoun replied, turning again to the tracks. “I’m going to shoot that motherfucker right in the dick first. Let’s get to our spot. Nobody does that shit to me and gets away with it.”