MacEachern tugged on Nick’s sleeve to delay the introductions for a moment. “I’ll be working with you closely. I booked you in at the Great Wolf Lodge Grand Mound in Centralia. It has everything, including an indoor water park for your daughter. It’s twenty-five miles away from Olympia, but it’s an easy drive, and Centralia puts you closer to Onalaska. I have a GMC Yukon at the Lodge now, as per your request for personal use. The keys are with the desk clerk. We’ll take a limousine to Centralia from the airport as befits your bestselling author status. I will be with you the entire time when you have book signings, or simply in transition from one place to another. Mr. Gilbrech read me in on your other operation in Seattle. I can coordinate that for you too. It seems like a bridge too far with this Isis gig, Nick.”
“I know. It provides cover for my leaving the area though officially with another book signing in Seattle. We don’t know how explosive our interaction with the Onalaska compound will be. It may be bad. I like being settled in closer to the compound, but we still have to deal with local police fallout. We’re heading for the area early because as I was telling Clyde, I have a man on the inside now. I’m his backup. The book signing party in Olympia won’t take place for another week. I’m going in tonight to recon the coordinates my man gave me, and every night until we know one way or another what the hell is going on inside.”
“This is straight from Mr. Gilbrech, McCarty,” Bacall stated. “If you find out this is an actual Isis infiltration base, he doesn’t want them brought to justice, or to see the inside of any courtroom. The crap they’re pulling overseas has even the usual Islamic apologists worried we’re likely to taste the same thing here. I don’t want to know what you have in mind, but my job is to help you make it happen. He said one other thing I didn’t understand – Mr. Gilbrech said you can use cartoon characters if you have to.”
Nick laughed. “You’ve made my day, Clyde. Anything else before you meet my people, Robyn?”
“Nothing serious. I’m glad you’re getting into place early. This Lodge I picked out is perfect for staying out of the public view. I know you have an agent named Cassie Sedwick, who handles all of your publishing endeavors. Has she been read in on anything other than your author business?”
“No, and I’d like to keep it that way. Paul sending you in as an extra liaison is a perfect fit right now. It will make everything much less complicated. Cassie’s easy to get along with, and she usually packs it in early once the signing gets off the ground. She won’t get in your way. It will be great having someone familiar with this entire area and assets along.”
“I have to say McCarty, your reputation hinges on the proverbial lone gunman template. What the hell is all this mixing family, friends, pets and other hobbies into national security operations?”
“Don’t give it a thought, Clyde,” Nick replied. “You know the old saying, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. I’ll add one other thing you need take to heart – don’t presume to know me, what I do, or how I get it done. If I ever catch you working at cross purposes on a mission I’m on to undercut me, I’ll introduce you to a side of me you’ll only see once.”
“I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t point out weaknesses in your mode of operation.”
“Yeah… you would, and you’d be less annoying. Remember what I said.” Nick took Robyn’s arm. “This way to the bane of Clyde’s existence.”
Chapter Eleven
Terrorists No More
“Damn, Nick, it’s darker than the black hole of Calcutta out here.” Gus drove slowly along Spencer Road to the loop Nick programmed into the GMC before they started out. At the late hour, no traffic or even the far off glow of headlamps could be seen. “I realize you need to know exactly what terrain you’ll have to traverse to stay away from a frontal assault, but what if these guys have the surrounding area booby-trapped? You couldn’t see a trip wire to save your soul in these woods.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Payaso. This isn’t the Las Vegas Strip. Even the Isis death cult freaks won’t take a chance on blowing some unsuspecting hiker to kingdom come. If anything, they’ll have motion sensors, and networked cams to protect their tunnel entrances. They don’t have fences because a fence would be like an arrow pointing at the place from orbit.”
“You do remember,” Nick continued, “the little factoid John was able to share with us about these assholes having an entire network of tunnels underground, right? There aren’t any doors to knock on, or assault for that matter. Like John says, this place is a training facility and halfway house for infiltration from Canada. They don’t need housing and a community so they can pretend they’re practicing religious freedom away from the Islamophobic populace. They’re training soldiers. They’re also stockpiling weapons, explosives, and they have a sealed lab, John was warned to not even go close to.”