Returning from the walk, Gus related some ideas of when they could empty their body freezer at the Carmel Valley house. Nick grabbed his arm suddenly, making shushing sounds. He drew Gus down the hill slightly, and into the darkness cast by the trees lining the property owner’s lawn. Deke sat at the nearest tree, watching the two men with him curiously.
“There are two guys in black fooling around my house. Can you stay here with Deke while I go collect them for the cops?”
“Are you sure about this, Muerto,” Gus asked while taking Deke’s leash. “We can call the cops on them.”
“I have my stiletto, stun-gun, pepper spray, and my Colt. I have a damn good idea who these two are, and I have dibs on them before the cops.”
“The flag guy, right?”
“Yep. I’m betting it’s Rashidi, and his dimwit brother. I’ve been wondering why I haven’t been contacted by the DA or someone. The DA’s office probably wants to treat this as a catch and release deal. The brothers think I’m home. I’m not sure about their plan, but they disabled my motion sensor lights. Where they are right now, it should look like daylight. I’ll call you when I get a conference with my banditos.”
“Please don’t get killed, Muerto.”
“Okay, but only because you asked nicely.”
*
“Quickly, Akim,” Habib Rashidi whispered. “Attach it right here under the eave.”
Akim Rashidi did as his brother ordered. “Do we really need to attach two more, brother?”
“Yes.” Habib handed Akim one of the remaining charges. “Attach this at the back corner where I showed you on the house plan. I will put the final charge on the other side of his house.”
“Very well. I will meet you at the front when I am through.” Akim stayed near the house, stopping every few moments to listen for any noise out of the ordinary. He heard nothing. As he attached the explosive charge to the ash-block base at the left rear corner of the house, Akim heard a sharp electrical crackling noise. The pain in his back proved excruciating enough to cause Akim to momentarily blackout. When his eyes fluttered open, Akim saw Nick smiling at him a moment before Nick pressed the electrodes against Akim’s neck for an extended period.
On the other side of the house, Habib heard the crackling noise. He hurriedly set the charge on his side of the house before he heard yet another crackling sound. Making sure of his charge’s attachment with a tug, he set the charge, and went to join his brother. Habib hurried around the picket fence on the corner house’s front boundary, only to jam against the electrodes of Nick’s stun-gun. Habib dropped as if struck by a baseball bat in the head. After an indeterminable time, Habib regained his wits, trying to move his hands, but they were restrained at his back, along with his ankles.
“Hello, Habib,” the dark form Habib squinted at patted his cheek. “I’ve already called the police. They’ll be here shortly to collect you, your brother, and your bombs. While we’re bonding, I’m going to teach you something about me to take with you to prison.”
In the next instant, Habib heard the stun-gun discharge a split second before the worst pain he had ever felt lanced through his groin. It was so bad, the only sound that emerged from Habib sounded like a tea kettle on the boil. The discharges continued at short intervals, where he did not pass out, but stayed in a constant state of unimaginable pain. Sirens in the distance ended the torturous regimen. Habib was dragged to the front of the house with his brother.
*
Nick found the cell-phone detonator in Habib’s bag, but left it untouched. Rachel and Jean were in the safe-room upstairs where he had told them to go. The safe-room was bomb proof, and although he had inspected the bombs they had planted, he made sure if there were a mistake, Rachel and Jean would not pay for it with their lives. Gus joined him with Deke a moment before a squad car with Sergeant Dickerson arrived.
Dickerson and his partner, Trina Helmgrin walked carefully with hands on the butts of their weapons. “Jesus, Nick, what the hell happened now?”
“Did you request the bomb squad like I told you?”
“Yes. They’re in route from Monterey. These guys actually planted bombs on your house?”
“I’ll show them to you. I caught them in the act. Gus and I were walking Deke. When we returned, the Rashidi brothers were attaching bombs to my house. I stun-gunned them, and called inside to my wife Rachel to take Jean into our safe-room. The bombs are activated by a cell-phone detonator inside Habib’s bag. It’s still turned off, but I waited for you and the bomb squad.”