Nick wiped his stiletto blade on Calhoun’s jacket. He crouched next to his victim. “Hi Dom. In one way this is your lucky day. You only came after me instead of my wife and daughter. Secondly, I wasn’t called in by one of your girls because you retaliated against them. Either of those acts would have earned you the repulsive reward of having your dick cut off and shoved down your throat while you were still alive. The unlucky part of your day is you did come after me instead of simply resuming your pimp duties. First off. How did you know where to find me?”
Calhoun twisted pleadingly toward Nick. “I’m sorry! I…I made a mistake. Don’t do this! I have money! You can have it all! I overheard that bitch from the FBI griping about you living the high life at the Wolf Lodge at Grand Mound loud enough for the whole precinct to hear. It was like she wanted me to know. Did she set me up for this?”
He groaned, hugging himself tighter as his pleas caused sharper pains.
“Nope. She set me up for this,” Nick replied. “Give me your account numbers, and I’ll check what you have on line.”
“Sure!” Calhoun turned slightly with hope. “Get me to a hospital. I…I’ll give you everything.”
“Gee, Dom, I thought you were smarter than that. See, the way this works is you give me access to your accounts so I can transfer all your money into my accounts, or I do this until you bleed out.”
Nick stabbed the stiletto into Calhoun’s upper arm, watching and listening to the resulting horrified movements and cries. “I figure I can probably stab you hundreds of times before you bleed out, but that’s up to you for now. See, I figure I should be compensated for having to drag you and your dead buddies deeper into the bush for a shallow burial. I’d give it to your girls, but I’m not inclined to reward bad behavior.”
When Calhoun continued to sob and cry while writhing around trying to find a position without pain, Nick plunged the stiletto in again through Calhoun’s calf. That was enough prompting to get Calhoun’s complete cooperation. As he stated, Nick checked accessibility to Calhoun’s accounts, both locally and abroad. When he was certain he had the correct passwords, and account numbers, Nick slit Calhoun’s throat. He then jogged along the tracks until he could retrieve his pack. After putting on his rain slicker and tying the hood in place, Nick put on his pack, and returned to his victims.
He dragged each one deeper into the woods on the left to a densely wooded spot with soft and loose ground surrounding the trees. With his folding shovel, Nick dug three shallow graves, stripped his would be attackers of everything on their person except clothing, and planted them in the graves. With the bodies covered completely, Nick concentrated on finding rocks and dead wood to cover the ground over the graves, lastly adding leafed branches. The rain pounded down as Nick finished his task, and shouldered his pack with Uzis and personal effects.
Gus answered on the first ring. “Payaso the pawn, how may I help you?”
“Drive to the spot. I’ll be there shortly after you arrive. Bring some towels to cover the seat in. Did my absence draw much attention?”
“Just the usual complaints from the Bump and Dagger show. I bet you’d like to get dry, get comfy, write, and drink until nightfall wouldn’t you?”
“I assume that isn’t in the cards or you wouldn’t be tantalizing me with it, you prick.”
“Heh…heh,” Gus replied. “It looks like the indoor water park for Muerto today. No rest for the wicked.”
“There will have to be a slight delay in the water park mission. After I get dry clothes on we’ll drive the bad guys’ vehicles into Centralia and park them on the other side of town where there’s no street cams. Rachel will have to drive us back to the Lodge. You can leave with Calhoun’s car right away, drive across town, and park it a couple miles out of town toward Olympia. I’ll pick you up, and we’ll drive a couple miles further on. Rachel can swing by then, and pick us both up.”
“Who gets to tell the Bump about your car disposal plan?”
“I do. I’ll have to return the GMC to her before walking back out to get the minions’ mobile for my drive through Centralia. Don’t forget a garbage bag for my clothes, and our wipes and gloves for cleanup on the vehicles.”
“Get moving. I’ll be there soon.”
Forty-five minutes later. Rachel and Jean stopped to get Nick and Gus. “Oh look, Jean. It’s the infamous El Muerto and his sidekick Payaso. Whatever are they doing out here?”
Nick hung his head while allowing Deke to jump all over him as he got in the backseat with Gus. “No tongue, Deke. I already apologized for this late in the day operation. Gus and I were one minion short.”
“The Momster’s only kidding, Dad.” Jean peeked around the front seat where she and Rachel were the ones most noticeable in the GMC as per Nick’s direction. “So, where are all the bodies buried?”
“If you want me to ride the water park slides with you today, I advise caution on your choice of topics. I see what you mean about the Bump and Dagger show, Gus. Good description.”
Jean giggled. “The Bump and Dagger show. I like that, Uncle Gus.”
“You would,” Rachel said. “Does this end our Muerto hijinks for this vacation?”
Silence.