“I realize this is just business, Prince,” Nick continued. “Did you wish to present a business proposal to me?”
“I must apologize for my men. They misunderstood their orders. I wanted them to make contact with you the moment they reached your city, but they were to call you first. They were not told to confront you.”
Lie to the infidel, huh? “I understand. What were they to contact me about?”
“I wished to hire your services to erase a man near where you are who seeks to kill me. Would you be open to such a contract?”
“Who is the target?”
“Saran Al-Kadi. It will not be an easy task. He lives at a guarded compound north of you. There will be many soldiers there. I have already survived two attempts on my life orchestrated by Al-Kadi. I need the contract completed as soon as possible.”
“I have heard of this Al-Kadi. He contacted my drop on the Dark Web trying to hire me to kill you. I turned him down because I did not wish to take any more contracts in the Middle East. I have a plan though if you know where I can find Al-Kadi.”
“My intelligence on his location is correct.”
“It will cost you one million dollars.”
Silence.
“Do not waste my time, Prince.”
“I will pay it,” Al-Saud agreed after a moment more. “Will half in advance suffice?”
“Yes. I have a transfer account in Belize.” Nick gave Al-Saud the transfer instructions. “Make the transfer. Once confirmed, I will call you back.”
Nick disconnected. He checked his Belize account set for only receiving funds. The money appeared in his account after half an hour. He transferred the money to another account and called Al-Saud.
“Very well. I will begin preparations. Send me everything you have on Al-Kadi’s location.”
“How will you approach him?”
Nick smiled. “I will contact him and tell Al-Kadi I will take the contract to kill you. If he agrees to terms, I shall get money from him for his own death when I visit the compound. Once he is dead I will blow the place up to cover my escape.”
Silence and then laughter. “You are a very bad man. I will send you the information within the hour.”
“Omar told me you will be visiting Dubai soon. I will be meeting a colleague there on an arms deal he would like me to protect. Is there anything of Al-Kadi’s you would like me to bring you in Dubai?”
“Yes!” Al-Saud’s excitement was palpable in his voice. “Can you bring me everything of an intelligence nature from his computers?”
“Certainly. I can copy the drives and bring them to you. They will cost you another one hundred thousand dollars if I can successfully clone them. I will contact you when the contract is fulfilled with proof. We can make arrangements to meet in Dubai once you have proof of Al-Kadi’s demise.”
“May I ask how you found out about my visiting Dubai?”
Nick thought of Omar’s initial introduction to pain which loosened his companion Solomon’s tongue. “The hard way, Prince.”
“Understood.”
Chapter Eleven
The Compound
John met Nick with a big smile at the Oakland hangar. They shook hands. “Hey, brother, how are things in paradise?”
“Oh… you know… a snake here and a snake there,” Nick answered. “I guess you know from my notes on the New York Kader and Al-Saud, I’ll have a busy time after our Pilot Hill venture.”
“We’ve taken a vote here in the north bay. We’re coming with you.” John shook hands with all of Nick’s crew. “You are all a welcome sight. We need everyone we can get on this caper if we hope to confiscate Al-Kadi’s compound in one piece.”
“I appreciate the offer, brother,” Nick replied, “but I’ll have to do Al-Saud on my own. It’s a tricky mission with too many questionable outcomes. I have some assets in place there I can count on. Unfortunately, the New York Kader gig is the same way. Both are narrow hits. If I go in with the forces of darkness, either one of them could explode into an incident with far too many unintended consequences. Either one could jeopardize what we’re trying to accomplish. If we can handle the Pilot Hill operation to our benefit, I believe it will ease a lot of matters in our peripheral view.”
“Clint said you’d say that… very nearly verbatim,” John said with a grin. “I’m not your Mommy, and I sure as hell ain’t in line for the number one assassin in the world race. If you get into trouble and you need our help, we’ll try to get to you in time, in spite of you disrespecting our original offer, so call us if you need us.”
“I will, my friend. I hope to plot out my endeavors with Kader and Al-Saud so they will not be missed. Did you get the outline I sent you for my plot?”
John Harding led Nick’s crew to the converted EMT van. “I did and I think it’s entertaining as hell. Your call to Al-Saud was a work of genius. You do know once you’re overseas in Dubai, they may just shoot you in the head, right?”
“Did you just insult me, John?”