“We wondered if you managed to explain everything to Dimah. Instead of an open wedding with guests in danger of the Kader family’s murderous nature, you had planned to suggest a nice wedding in Las Vegas. After Dimah talked to you, she seems to think you meant a Las Vegas type spot under the trees at Lover’s Point. I thought you meant the place in Nevada with casinos and lavish hotels. Were you going to put in a roulette wheel and a slot machine for the day at Lover’s Point, Hon? Oh, and I thought you were getting me out of being in the wedding party, but according to Dimah, you meant to get into the wedding party.”
“Am I the Flower Girl now in Ms. Kader’s wedding, Mom,” Jean added. “Hey, Dad, maybe Mom means to put one of those little saddles on Deke so he can be the ring bearer too. We’ll have the whole ceremony covered if we can talk Uncle Gus and Uncle John into being ushers.”
“You two are just too cute for words. Are we done now? There’s no sense in sugarcoating my complete failure at interventions. What would you two like for dinner?”
“Italian Wedding Soup,” Nick replied.
“And wedding cake with ice cream,” Jean finished.
Rachel spun away, her right hand alongside her face in a classic shunning gesture. “Dead to me. You are both dead to me.”
*
Nick and Deke led his group of Gus, Tina, Rachel, Dan, and Jean aboard the private jet, put at his disposal by Paul Gilbrech. Clyde Bacall greeted them on board the plane, distastefully checking Deke out with a jaundiced eye. Nick introduced him to everyone, including Deke, who sat and raised a paw on cue. Bacall ignored it.
“Don’t leave my dog hangin’, Clyde.”
Bacall reluctantly crouched to shake Deke’s paw as the other members of Nick’s crew proceeded to their seats. “An entourage and a dog… really?”
“I shouldn’t have introduced you to my family,” Nick replied. “We should have walked by you without even a look, like we’d do with any other rude-ass flight attendant. Let’s stick to business. My other partner left for Washington under the radar a week ago with a specially designed GMC Yukon programmed so it can’t be tracked. He joined the Masjid Al-Nur in Olympia after checking out a few Islamic sites. He has already made contact, and been recruited to meet with some of the founders at the suspected Isis compound in Onalaska.”
Bacall looked shocked. “How in hell did he work his way in so fast? The FBI has been trying for over a year to infiltrate the compound with no luck at all.”
“John’s my secret weapon. His real name is Ebi Zarin. All of the terrorists he once was associated with are dead. He was trained overseas, and infiltrated from Canada. I caught him and turned him. I trust John with my life. His name can be checked by the locals in Olympia. They will treat him like a hero for surviving. His cover story is solid. I’m telling you this because we will be the only ones who know about him. If anything happens in a police roundup, or action by the FBI, I need you to be on top of it. Paul said you would have a liaison working with us, so we wouldn’t be seen together much during this operation.”
“She’ll be coming on board any moment. Her name is Robyn MacEachern. She works with Homeland Security, and coordinates operations on the border with Canada Border Services Agency. Mr. Gilbrech says you can trust her with anything. She’s one of ours inside HS, so anything you need that you don’t have, she will get you locally.”
A slim woman of medium height, in jeans, tennis shoes, and a black windbreaker boarded the plane. She waved at the pilot before walking over with a big smile. “Hello. You must be Nick. I recognize you from your book jacket, and of course your file.”
Nick shook her hand. “Clyde filled me in on your liaison duties, Robyn. He says if I need anything, you can get it.”
MacEachern lowered her voice. “The Company has more than a few assets in the area because of border infiltration, and that viper nest in Onalaska. It beats me why they don’t simply send a Reaper over it, and erase the damn place from the Northern Hemisphere.”
“Good question. I have a trusted friend on the inside. By the time we’re ready to make a decision, he’ll be able to tell us what they’re actually doing at the compound. C’mon, I’ll intro you to my ‘entourage’ as Clyde calls them.”