“Yes, Sir. All women moving around the premises where Saran lives must be fully covered. Even when he used me for an assassination I would have to be covered until given into my target’s control.”
Nick reached into his equipment bag, retrieving a spandex belt with a quick release holster made specially to hold an MP5. It had slim pockets on each side to carry extra clips. “This will fit tightly to Senta’s waist with weapons within reach at the rear. After they frisk me head to toe at the door, I’ll keep Senta close by me when moving to our meeting with Al-Kadi. If they try to separate us, I will go for my weapon immediately. The party will have to start then. I can have my com gear clipped to the belt too so I can get into contact with the network the moment I begin eliminating inside opposition.”
“Nice,” John said. “I like it.”
“Wait a damn minute.” Lucas bumped into Nick, rooting around in the bag. He brought out a grenade. “I knew it! You’re fixing to blow the hell out of my vacation cottage in the mountains. I ought to shoot you right in the head.”
Nick sighed as everyone enjoyed Lucas’s Marine drill sergeant face-off with Nick while waving the grenade under his nose. “Look Ahab, this isn’t a suicide mission. If I need to blow the shit out of something to save my ass, I’ll do it. Don’t let whale-shit confiscate my backup plan, John.”
It took a few more moments before Harding could speak to the issue of confiscation after the whale-shit comment. “Leave… the grenades alone, Pappy. I’m not losin’ Muerto. Especially after he has that ‘Spaghetti Western’ ploy going between Al-Saud and Al-Kadi, getting paid by both sides with his own extermination plan for both in effect.”
Nick grinned. “You recognized my ‘Clint Eastwood’ plot, huh?”
“Oh yeah,” John answered. “It’s the plot of a ‘Fistful of Dollars’ where Eastwood as ‘the man with no name’ plays off the murderous Rojos and Baxters against each other while getting paid by both.”
“I used it in Florida when I helped my wife Rachel and daughter Jean out of the mess they were in. It’s nice you recognized it, Dark Lord. I’m going to play my part inside the compound until Al-Kadi pays my upfront fee for killing Al-Saud if I can.” Nick shook hands with Chardin. “Fenric Ballesteros is dead, Claude.”
Chardin looked surprised. “Thank you. I crossed him one time and he held a grudge. He’s tried four times to kill me. I figured if anyone nailed me out of the blue it would be him. Fen wasn’t a bad sort for one of us psychopaths. I received bad intel on a job. Fen was nearly captured by the Egyptians. That’s a bad bunch to be captured by, especially when they believe you know something they want.”
“Don’t you use those damn grenades unless absolutely necessary, meaning you can sacrifice all your body-parts first until you only have one hand to pull the pin,” Lucas ordered.
“On a more serious note, Cheese told us about ex-Senator Cameron trying to get you outed and hung up to dry during the hostage situation you fixed,” Tommy said. “How’d you do getting clear of that?”
“I had to have a little help from my friends on that, but I did learn who instigated the assistant DA and practically owns her ass,” Nick replied. “I will have to deal with Cameron, not in a permanent way, but I am considering using Lynn’s foot massage method to get her in line if Sylvio can make a portable one for me.”
“I will make you one the moment we return from Pilot Hill, Muerto,” Sylvio stated. “It is a very good teaching tool for recalcitrant students.”
“Thanks, my friend, I will use your teaching method sparingly. I’m glad to see you and Jess in on this too, Dev. We need all the drivers and perimeter guards we can get. I wish this were a lock as far as how Al-Kadi’s terrorists in training will react, but the truth is, at the first shot they might take to the woods. We can’t have that.”
“Agreed,” John replied. “Before we send you in, we’ll move everyone into position. We will have our snipers and assault force ready on the outskirts. I’ll go in with Clint, Tonto, Johnny, and Lynn. Lucas and Casey will be in the sniper’s nests we’ve already picked out for a crossfire that should be deadly for anyone near the house. That leaves the perimeter for the minions, Sal, Chuck, Dev, Jess, Claude, and Achmed. Denny and Samira will handle networking and satellite surveillance. Gus, Tommy and Issac have armored vehicle duty, ready to drive us out of danger or to hunt down escapees. Laredo will fly the stealth for air support. After the recent Isis media tagged lone wolf killings across the country, we’re making a statement once again. Like all of you, I thought the ‘Starlight of the Seas’ mission would help here on home soil as it did overseas.”