“Gus and Tina… my two most welcome guests,” Nick said as he opened the door.
“Oh my, Gus… someone has been sipping a few before our arrival,” Tina said.
“After all we’ve been through the last week, I’m hoping to join him in short order. Lead us to the sustenance of lost souls, brother,” Gus directed.
“Right this way, brother. I’m cutting Deke off though. He was a little wobbly coming down to meet you two. I’ll counter his lust for beer with treats. Watch this… ‘bacon, bacon, bacon’!”
Deke streaked up the stairs to the deck.
It took a few moments before Tina and Gus could follow Nick to the deck.
“I’ll bet that sobers him up,” Gus observed.
“It makes him drink water, but it adds a walk for me this evening,” Nick replied while leading the way onto the deck. He opened a new bag of treats and sat down with them. Deke hovered at his side in patient sitting position. “Easy boy. I know the beer makes you frantic. Easy does it, buddy.”
Nick fed him a small piece at a time rather than put out a bunch for him to devour. “The kids are throwing knives so we can talk. That’s it, Dekester. Small bites.”
“You and Deke are so comical, Muerto,” Tina said as Rachel gave her a glass of wine. I think that damn dog feeds off of everything you do.”
“We are drinking buddies. He understands me.”
“You mean he knows you’re a serial killer?”
“That’s just mean, Gus,” Nick said, lowering his head in serial killer penance. “Deke loves me. He doesn’t care if I arrive here from the dark side.”
“That’s only because you entice him with beer,” Tina noted.
Nick took in a deep breath with a spreading of his hands. “That may indeed be a factor but animals know things beyond human perception. Deke and I bonded immediately the moment I met him.”
“Has Al-Saud contacted you yet, dog whisperer?”
“Yes. He and I have interacted digitally. Rabiah and I will be speaking in another fifteen minutes as a matter of fact. He loved the picture I sent him of Saran Al-Kadi in the body-bag Clint supplied me with. I explained I only gave him a fraction of the info I took from Saran’s abode. He was hot to get everything at any price. I told him I would meet him in Dubai with samples. The game is afoot.”
“It seems like a damn trap, Muerto,” Gus said. “You’re never this trusting. Do you know something we don’t?”
Nick smiled. “I spread enough money in Dubai to be the all omniscient Wizard of Oz if I want to be. I have human intelligence Al-Saud was far too cheap and arrogant to buy. Otherwise, I’d abort the mission. I’m not doing a suicide mission, Payaso. That arrogant bastard will be landing in a hostile environment built with money he’s too aloof to spend. Relax. Let me handle this the way I know I can. Remember Felix Moreau. He thought he was on top of the food chain too.”
Nick began dancing around to everyone’s amusement. “I am the great and powerful Oz!”
“Damn,” Gus muttered. “I think Muerto’s in the tank.”
Nick stopped. He shrugged. “Sorry. I was having a little fun. I do have many pieces in place to help me with this mission. I didn’t treat it as an assassin. I know I have backup but I’ve covered all avenues of disaster my active imagination could think of. I’ll speak to Al-Saud and see if I detect anything amiss. I spoke to Khalil today. He has been hard at work spreading wealth.”
“Those people don’t know what your plans are, do they,” Gus asked.
“No. Only Khalil and his sons know what I’m doing in Dubai. Our paid informants were told we need to be apprised of Al-Saud’s wherabouts at all times because of a business dealing. Rachel gave me the okay to take the kids with me tomorrow to the book signing. Do you still want to go, Gus?”
“Sure. I’m surprised you’re letting the kids go with us after that last gun battle outside the bookstore, Rach.”
Rachel breathed in deeply. “They finished their whole weekend’s worth of homework. Jean would torture me all day tomorrow if I didn’t allow them to go. I know you and Muerto will watch out for them. I bet after that shooting last time, the bookstore will have more security at this signing.”
“They can’t afford it so I’m paying for extra security guards,” Nick replied. “We sold so many books after my last signing ended in a street battle that Cassie joked about my shooting someone every signing.”
The four friends were still enjoying Nick’s adlib when his special phone rang. The green light on its side indicated no one was trying to trace the call when he answered in Arabic. “I received your payment. Everything is in order for my Dubai trip if you would like to look over the rest of what I took from Al-Kadi’s compound.”