Eliah quieted, glancing fearfully at Nick. “You are McCarty.”
“Yes. You’ve called for me by sending killers after my family and friends, including your own niece. Here I am. I tried warning your family many times. Most of them are all dead now. Ishmael knew you sent him to his death by blackmailing him into trying to kill me. He left a last message with his wife, naming you, and telling me exactly where to find your stupid ass. He reached out to pay you back for sending him on a suicide mission. I promised his wife I would make sure you never caused another death. Besides, I wanted Cala to have a chance to beat the shit out of you.”
“Let me go! I will make sure… I give you my word… no one will bother you again!”
“Lying to the infidel, huh?” Nick smiled as his three companions enjoyed Eliah’s pleas which they all knew to be false. “I’m afraid that ship steamed out of port. Your family surprised me with the depth of its stupidity. Did you ever wonder why so many of your idiot relatives disappeared when sent after me? I figured when I killed that old zombie who turned down my five million dollar dowry, Ishmael might be able to make you all see the light, and leave me the hell alone. I called the old zombie, Yoda. What the hell was his first name?”
“Mohammed,” Gus answered.
“Yeah, that’s it,” Nick acknowledged. “He looked like a raisin baked in the sun on a hot sidewalk. Anyway, that was your family’s chance to be reasonable. Soon, your family will be reasonable. We have business to discuss though before I send you to join the rest of your missing family in hell.”
“But…but is there no way I can live in this deal? Why would I help you if I cannot buy my life?”
“Heh…heh… I don’t think you understand,” Nick said. “We’re going to stop somewhere quiet for a question and answer session. Cala will be our visual lie detector while her husband will be transferring funds and checking your information. Unfortunately, on a road trip like this one I’ll have to use my old school interrogation method. I wanted to try my new acupuncture technique on your feet, but frankly, I don’t want to cart your ass all the way to California. I have a spot in Pennsylvania where we can have our talk. It’s in the Allegheny Forest. If you’d like to start being cooperative now, maybe by the time we get to your final resting spot, I’ll simply put you to sleep for good.”
Eliah began to sob. “I…I don’t know anything.”
“There’s no crying in terrorism! Cut the crybaby crap. Sure, you know all your accounts and passwords. We have your laptop, tablet, and phone. You’re going to help us transfer everything to us. These trips cost money, and I made sure Ishmael’s wife received a substantial amount of money to free the women and children from the Kader curse.”
“Wha…what curse?”
“That would be me. Are you fired up and ready to go, Johnny?”
“Yes, Muerto. He can give me his account numbers and passwords now. I have his laptop booted to the desktop too. We can make all the transfers. We have a clear satellite signal. He has Norton 360 Security System with an identity safe. If I get in there, I can take care of everything.”
“Okay, Eli, get talkin’. Most people, even terrorists, have one of those password vaults, Johnny mentioned. Do you keep all your account places listed with passwords in your identity safe?”
Eliah nodded. He knew these people would torture him to death. Anything could happen between now and when they stopped, he thought. If he could stay alive long enough, he might somehow be rescued. The transfers could be reversed in his mind if he stayed alive. Eliah Kader recited his password for the security vault, and the file listing his account numbers and banking information on a spread sheet.
“Oh my, Muerto,” Johnny exclaimed. “Eliah has done very well for himself even though he’s never held a real job in his life. He has nearly eight million dollars in accounts I do not think his Kader herd know anything about. I have been able to lighten this monetary burden from his shoulders. That was a good investment with Ishmael’s widow. His main financial additions have come from… wait for it… Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The deposits, funneled through a corporate account linked to both nations under a joint venture fund titled Al Alef Global have made Eliah Kader a partner with Saran Al Kadi. Imagine that.”
Nick pinched Eliah Kader’s cheek. “Why you little conduit, you. This explains the merger you were planning with Omar Fontaine. You bunch of cockroaches launder money, influence, and serve as halfway houses on both coasts for infiltrators. No wonder you could scoff at my dowry offer for Cala. Does Al-Kadi have the largest money holdings?”
Eliah cringed but remained silent.