“You disobeyed a direct order, dog,” Nick informed the unrepentant Deke. He hugged him. “Thank you.”
Nick breathed deeply. He called Gus, giving his longtime friend the Reader’s Digest version of what happened. “I’ll be joining you and Johnny at the beach but it’s going to be a little later. I have to take care of statements to put the Nazari bunch in jail. There’s no doubt about a connection between the Kaders, Nazaris, and the Isis flakes who sent Ishmael and his buddies after me.”
“I’ll call Kabong. They tried to snatch Jean. Hopefully they’ll get out and we’ll deposit them in the ocean. Text me when you leave for the Point. Johnny will bring the satellite gear so we can check out this new Kader thumb-drive info.”
“Nazari’s wife is a cover. I’d be surprised if she didn’t marry him so he could gain entry into the states. They’ll probably allow her to leave if they free any of them. She should be charged as a co-conspirator in a kidnapping. I’ll talk to you at the Point.”
Nick drove to his house. Rachel awaited him at the door. “Jean told me what happened.”
“Nazari knew about the Kader deaths last night. That’s no coincidence. After I file charges and make a statement I’ll meet Gus and Johnny so we can go over the names we do have. Take everything with you to work, babe – your 9mm along with the pepper spray and stun-gun. Keep your eyes open for anyone suspicious at the Café.”
Rachel grinned. “Shall I profile?”
“You’d better,” Nick replied.
“I already told Joe, Quinn’s coming along with me so just watch out for yourself, Muerto.”
“Will do. Keep the phone near at hand.”
*
Deke pranced in front of Nick on the way to Otter’s Point, his tail wagging at hyper-speed as he inhaled every scent, happy to be outside. Nick, on the other hand, observed every vehicle suspiciously, knowing he had been officially targeted. The need to remove the threats against him would involve Al-Kadi’s place at Pilot Hill. The two men arrested with Nazari listed their residence as the compound. They would not be going anywhere for a while though. Nick could only assume the two men were the assassins mentioned by Ishmael. Gus and Johnny sat in their regular place with Gus spaced ten feet away from his friend, the infamous birdman of the beach. The swirl of flying rodents around Johnny as he fed them the last of his bread treats dissipated quickly once the feeding ended.
Nick let Deke off his leash to run at Gus and Johnny before swerving away for the hunt along the rocks of the deserted beach. Nick placed his beach chair in Gus’s buffer zone separating him from the birdman’s completed feeding. Each of them held out a mug for their ration of the spiked coffee Nick brought along in a huge thermos. He poured and sat, sipping the concoction while watching the calmer wave action of the day.
“I talked with the DA and Neil when I finished my statement. My statement combined with the other parents’ versions of what happened at the school meshed well enough for the DA to recommend their transfer to federal custody. There won’t be any deals. It was as I suspected – Florence married Majd to provide him entry into America. The other two have phony papers. I called the two FBI agents working out of San Francisco we met before the cruise. They were very interested in the Kader thumb-drive info and the fact Nazari’s two friends were probably the assassins mentioned on the drive. Sam told me he and Janie would pass the information to John Harding’s crew. They’re coming down to take custody of both Nazaris and the two men. Neil will hold onto the driver for the time being. I’ll probably have to deal with him later.”
“Is it possible they might take their prisoners to visit Cruella Deville first,” Johnny asked.
“Great minds think alike, Johnny. I asked them if they would be taking them to Lynn or if they could give them to us,” Nick replied. “Sam told me if they can get away with it, they will do exactly that. I explained the connection between our Kader problem and the Nazari/Pilot Hill compound thread. They want to know how to stop the No-Go Zone infiltration too. Sam’s worried they want to make a Dearbornistan size Muslim No-Go Zone with mosques housing armories, complete with training centers all along the California coast.”
“Since you know there’s a Fatwa that’s been issued for your death, are you still planning to go with Fernando and Senta to the compound under the guise of offering your services as an assassin,” Gus asked. “That seems like a suicide mission now.”