“You’re going to walk Deke to Assassin’s Beach this morning,” Jean accused. “What about that?”
Jean’s renaming of Otter’s Point threw Nick off for a moment while unable to contain the amusement he would share later. “One day soon, we’ll be walking old Deke to the beach, and you’ll be fully capable of protecting the old Dekester with knife or gun. You can wait until those times come.”
“Deke!” Jean’s sudden teary eyed sob brought Deke across the seat into Jean’s arms. After noting she wasn’t in danger, he stuck his head out of her window.
Knowing he had crossed a future tragedy of age not to be dealt with, Nick shut up. The remainder of the short ride to parking the car near the school was completed in silence. When they were parked, Nick started out of the vehicle but Jean grabbed his arm.
“Don’t, Dad. Sonny and I will be fine. C’mon Sonny.” Jean kissed and hugged Deke before getting her bag from Sonny. “Bye, Dad.”
“Bye, Kid. I’ll be over to pick you both up after school. Your Mom’s working the Monte today on the late shift.”
He watched Jean and Sonny walk along toward school with Sonny hesitantly taking her hand. Nick smiled, looking over at Deke. “Sorry I mentioned your years down the road, my canine brother.”
Out of nowhere a bearded man ran at Sonny and Jean. Sonny saw him coming and shoved Jean behind him. Deke yipped plaintively as Nick forced him down on the seat with a stern ‘Stay’ order. Deke slithered to the open car door. He slid down to the pavement. Nick ran a full speed sprint to the scene. The bearded man shoved Sonny to the sidewalk, reaching to grip Jean. Nick’s charge upended and flattened the man whom he guessed was Majd Nazari. Nick resisted the instant reaction of snapping the man’s neck. Instead, He revealed something Jean and Sonny did not know the extent of: his physical strength. Nick grabbed the easily hundred and eighty pound man off the sidewalk by his robe at the neck and belt, snatched him over his head, and body slammed Nazari to the ground. For a split second Nick forgot where he was, readying a killing stroke to the man’s neck.
“Dad… behind you!” Jean’s scream brought Nick around in an instant, Colt in hand.
Nick had only a moment to see the two coming at him before Deke smashed the leader to the ground, ripping him at arms, hands, and groin. Nick pistol whipped the man’s partner to the ground, resisting the impulse to shoot him in the head. “Deke! Hold!”
Deke lunged across the man under him trying to writhe into a fetal position with screams of pain. Deke grabbed his throat, snarling wildly, and only calming when his victim stopped moving. Nick did a quick weapons search of the man he had pistol whipped, bleeding from the head wound, and groaning in shock. Nick confiscated everything he found into his windbreaker, including the 9mm Beretta pistol and wallet. He then stood and pointed at the pistol whipped man.
“Deke! Hold!” Deke left his first hold to grip the second in the same manner. Nick acquired a Glock 9mm, knife, and wallet from him in quick succession. He looked toward where Jean helped Sonny to his feet. “Are you okay, Sonny?”
“I’m good,” Sonny stated with emphasis as he saw Nick point his Colt up through the man’s throat. “Please… it’s all good, Sir. Jean and I are okay.”
“We’ll go in the school, Dad. I’ll call Mom and let her know we’re okay.”
The Terminator retracted slightly as Nick catalogued where he was, the details, and the oncoming sirens. He nodded at Jean, waving her toward the school. “Thanks, Jean. I’ll see you kids later.”
The gaping mouthed stares from the school crowd generated a perception not blending with reality for Nick. He realized there could be no violent endings for Jean’s attackers at this time. Jim Amos and Rita Gonzalez moved to his side instantly. Behind them, Ruth Gurkovsky secured the scene. Nick relaxed, seeing his three military background friends from a past flag incident at the school.
“Hey, brother,” Jim said. “Can we help? Rita, Ruth, and I have decided to become the Nick McCarty backup crew here at the school.”
“Your wife, Rachel, is a badass,” Rita added. “We would have moved in on the scene the other day but she backed the beard here off without blinking.”
“We saw the whole thing this morning, Nick,” Jim said. “So did my kids.”
“Thanks, Jim.” Nick watched Ruth take Florence Nazari to the ground with attitude. By then, the police cars arrived. Nick took a deep breath as Neil Dickerson approached.
“How many dead?”