Gus arrived at eight o’clock sharp, laughing when he saw Nick with Jean out on the patch of lawn bordering the condo complex in suit pants, white shirt and tie, taking turns throwing Deke the Frisbee. Gus parked the black Lincoln Town Car under the awning-covered parking section near the building’s front. He exited the Lincoln, also dressed formally, and walked over toward Nick.
“I see you’re passing the time before our morning enterprise gainfully.” Gus grinned down at Jean, who came over and gave him a hug, while Deke dropped the Frisbee in front of him. “I’m beginning to see where you’re going with all this, Nick.”
“Good. Maybe you can fill me in. Danger’s going with you and Rachel. I’ll take the Escalade with Deke in the back. I’m not leaving anyone this morning.”
“It’s your show,” Gus agreed, his tone somewhat surprised.
“I’ll get Rachel.”
Nick entered the condo. Rachel met him at the door with his suit coat, and he looked her over approvingly. She wore a sleeveless burgundy dress with black high heels and tan nylons. The neckline plunged modestly. Her hair fell in waves past her shoulders. She turned after handing Nick his coat.
“Zip me, big boy.”
He did as ordered. “I see you have your bag. Do you have the ID’s you’ll need to access your box?”
“Yes, and I have the Ziploc bag for the drives. I’m not sure it’s such a good idea to take the pepper-spray and stun-gun though. I shouldn’t -”
“Leave them in your bag,” he directed, locking up after she cleared the doorway. “They won’t search you. The stun-gun and pepper-spray give you added insurance in case I missed something or Santora has been found. I checked the local news earlier. It was all quiet. I expect they haven’t seen you around at the bank in quite a while. They’re sure to give you a bad time at check-in. Stay frosty and don’t take any shit. Have them call over the branch manager if they give you the run around.”
“I will,” she acknowledged with some condescension, having heard the directions many times. “It won’t be so hard since you didn’t have me dye my hair red.”
“Did you just give me attitude?”
“Maybe…ouch!” She jumped as Nick smacked her butt with a resounding slap. “You…you spanked me!”
He smiled as he took Rachel’s arm and pushed her forward. When they reached the Lincoln, Nick opened the rear door for her, giving Jean a small wave.
“A couple hours from now we’ll be lying out by the pool,” Nick told them, closing the door. He turned, and took Deke’s leash from Gus. “I’ll call you the moment I go in. We’ll stay in constant contact once we’re in the bank. Anybody in front looking suspicious, let us know.”
Gus nodded. He walked around to the driver’s side of the Lincoln while Nick walked Deke two spots over, opening the Cadillac’s rear door and motioning for Deke to jump up. Nick left first as they had previously arranged. He drove to the bank, parking in the spot they had used for surveillance. Looking around with his spotting scope, he saw only a few cars parked near the shops along Main Street. The traffic was sparse. In the few minutes before Gus arrived, Nick only spotted one person going into the bank. He watched the Lincoln pull up in front of the bank, and then drive away, leaving Rachel walking confidently into the bank.
Nick waited fifteen minutes. Leaving the Escalade with notebook computer bag in hand, he walked quickly over to the SunTrust bank and went inside, phoning Gus as he did. A woman was signing Rachel into the safety deposit box area when Nick came through the entrance.
“Rachel’s in,” he relayed to Gus. “Open up a three way for us with her.”
“You’re on,” Gus replied simply.
“Everything okay, Rach?”
“They’re all here. I’ll be out in ten minutes.”
“Hang up, put your cell on vibrate. Once you’ve left the drives with me, sit down in the waiting area. I’ll call you when we’re clear.”
He walked over to a teller’s window in the nearly empty bank and deposited two hundred dollars before moving to the forms desk, where patrons could get deposit and withdrawal slips. They also had forms for obtaining ATM cards. Nick took one of those and began filling it out carefully. Rachel walked out of the safety deposit box area a few minutes later, spotted him, and walked over to the form table. She put the Ziploc bag with flash drives on the table, picked up some deposit slips, and went to sit on one of the chairs in the waiting area.
Nick put the filled out form in his bag with the flash drives. He signed into the safety deposit box area and retrieved his box with the help of Rene Santora’s replacement. Inside the private viewing room, he opened up his notebook computer and started the tedious process of copying the flash drives over to his hard disk, and to a new set of flash drives. When he completed the process, he put the original flash drives in his safety deposit box. After storing away the new copies and notebook computer in his bag, he waited for the attendant. When she came over to help him, Nick returned his safety deposit box to its slot and left.
“Gus, I’m on the way out of the safety deposit box area. Are you across the street?”
“Yes, and there’s a woman pacing out here: brunette, mid-thirties, designer blue and green jogging outfit. She’s moving around as if waiting for a running partner. I don’t like it.”
“I’ll take a look. Get Rachel back on with us now.”
Nick walked to the entranceway and stopped near the security guard. He knelt down as if to rearrange or check the contents of his notebook computer bag, all the while watching the woman doing small stretches out front. She finally glanced at the bank entrance, giving Nick a facial view. Nick took his partially filled in form out and walked to the forms desk once more.
“I know her. She’s not Tanus or Fletcher. Rachel, I want you to go get the security guard at the front to walk you out to where Gus is going to be. Don’t engage the woman at all. Don’t look at her. Don’t pause. Have your stun gun ready even with the security guard next to you. If she so much as asks for the time, zap her. We have to flush her partner out. Gus, is that warehouse place we used a couple years ago on the dock between here and St. Pete still abandoned?”
“Yeah, the rebuilding money fell through during the mortgage dump.”
“Take a drive around Sarasota for the next thirty minutes, and then take them there. You know the drill. Don’t drive anywhere you’re not in the middle of traffic. Use the approach near the water, where the buildings are on your left. Stop fifty yards from where the access winds around to the left.”
“Got it.”
“Leave now, Rach.”
“What if the security guard won’t walk me?”
“Make a fuss if he bulks, but don’t go out to Gus without him.”
Rachel stood up with bag in hand. She walked quickly to the security guard, engaging him in conversation for a moment. The man nodded agreeably, and held the door open for Rachel.
“She’s on her way, Gus.”
Nick went to the front entrance and watched her progress. When the woman saw the security guard, she took out her cell-phone and made a call. She did not approach Rachel. The Lincoln was waiting when Rachel reached the street. She thanked the security guard and slipped into the passenger seat next to Gus. A white Lexus drove by in front next, stopping long enough for the apparent jogger to jump in before it followed the Lincoln. Nick left the bank and jogged toward the Cadillac. He opened up the cargo area and stripped off his coat and shirt, throwing them in the back. Deke sat up on the passenger side front seat when Nick opened the driver’s door.
“You’re going on a field trip with me, Deke,” he told the dog, slamming his door and gesturing Deke into the back seat.
“I hope you ladies enjoyed our scenic tour of Sarasota,” Gus spoke up, as he drove toward St. Petersburg.
“What are we doing, Gus? Is the woman from the bank still following us?”
“She’s back there. Every once in a while I catch a glimpse of her white Lexus.”
“Where’re we headed now?” Jean asked.
“A warehouse spot near the ocean almost to my house,” Gus answered. “We’ll only be stopping there for a moment before we go back to the condo.”
Because the traffic thinned out considerably, both Rachel and Jean saw more of the Lexus as they traveled. When Gus turned into a dock area, lined with graffiti covered warehouse buildings, Rachel looked around worriedly. Gus slowed to a crawl as they drove along the litter filled access road. The Lexus had plainly followed them.
“What the hell are you doing, Gus?”
“Calm down, Rachel,” Gus urged as he approached a winding curve.
Gus stopped the Town Car. Rachel and Jean watched the Lexus get larger in the tinted rear window. It stopped only twenty yards behind the Lincoln. A few seconds after the Lexus halted, its windshield shattered. Rachel and Jean both jumped. The passenger side door of the Lexus started to open; but the woman they could see plainly through the now open windshield area suddenly pitched backward, her left shoulder a bloody pulp. Gus turned the Lincoln around.
“Close your eyes ladies,” Gus advised.
He drove by the idling Lexus. Neither Rachel nor Jean looked away. The Lexus driver no longer had a head. His woman companion moved only slightly. As the Lincoln accelerated, Rachel saw Nick’s Escalade round the curve and stop next to the Lexus. Rachel turned toward the front. She knew the end of this particular story.
“That’s the Terminator,” Jean said quietly, still watching out the back window.
“Yes it is, honey,” Gus agreed.
“Hello, Kate.” Nick peered into the Lexus, his H &K at the ready. “Does Frank have anyone else down here right now?”
“An…an army,” the woman moaned, clutching her wound where the.50 caliber slug had ripped the top of her left shoulder off. “Christ…Nick…you did this on purpose.”
“You know me and loose ends, Kate. This is going to hurt a little.”
Kate’s high pitched scream dropped into an agonized wail as Nick backed off from prodding her wounded shoulder. Nick had revived the woman twice in the last forty-five minutes, noting that blood loss would quite shortly put an end to the interrogation. Kate’s story had not changed in any significant detail as Nick had taken her through it three times.
“Now, Kate,” Nick urged. “Is -”
“Pleaaaaaasssssseee…Nick,” Kate sobbed grotesquely, head writhing from side to side, her blue and green top soaked in blood. “No…no more -”
“Just a little more, baby,” Nick implored in a soft but urgent voice. He added a new question. “Where were you to take the flash drives?”
Kate hesitated. In doing so, she knew instinctively it would mean more pain. She began crying piteously. “You…you cared for me once.”
“About as much as you cared for me, Kate. You knew who Frank sent you down here against.”
“I never thought…you’d protect the Hunter woman. I told Frank I thought you’d send her down here to get the drives…and…and if she didn’t get them you’d -”
“Write her off?”
Kate’s mouth moved for a moment, but no words issued forth. She looked away from Nick, life and pain fading from her anguished features. “Jason…Bidwell…”
Nick heard the rattling exhale of life, as the final loss of all worries in this world erased the lines from the woman’s face. It took nearly thirty minutes for him to position the Lexus. Five minutes later, he watched the vehicle sink beneath the ocean’s surface.
Deke ran into the condo, charging across the room to Jean, his whole body wagging. Jean immediately began wrestling with him on the floor near the dining room table where Gus and Rachel sat drinking coffee. Nick, carrying the clothes he had discarded before setting up his trap, walked in only seconds after Deke and closed the door. Jean gave him a hesitant wave from where the dog had her pinned on the carpet. Nick waved back and threw the clothing over a chair back before sitting down.
“How we doing, partner?” Gus asked.
“Pretty fair,” Nick answered as Rachel reached over to cover his hand with hers. “It seems my little feint toward Washington didn’t draw everyone away from the area. The good news is those two in the Lexus were the only ones. Frank had his own insider at the bank; but it’s no one we have to worry about, because Rachel won’t be going in there again. I made the call to the cops about Santora. They won’t be finding the Lexus and its occupants anytime soon.”
“Did you know the woman outside the bank personally, Nick?” Rachel asked.
“I knew both of them,” he answered without any change of expression. “The woman gave me a name: Jason Bidwell. He’s the one they were to take the drives to. I believe we can count Frank out of helping us return things to normal.”
“As in Jason Bidwell, former senator, financier, and big time trader in carbon offsets?” Gus rattled the facts off with a low whistle and small shake of his head. “We’re going to need a bigger boat.”
“We?” Nick exchanged smiles with Gus. “You signing on for the duration or something, Gus? I figured to transfer some funds and you’d be on your way like always.”
“I think I have a chance to finally get even with you, brother.”
“If you mean Jamaica, we’ve been square a long time.” Nick’s smile diminished into a tight-lipped grimace. “What the hell makes you think I have you on the pad for Jamaica? Those two runs off the keys, when no one else in the world would have anything to do with me, evened us up just fine.”
“Those were cake-walks.” Gus waved Nick off with some annoyance. “My brother’s a doctor now up in Boston because of Jamaica. You need me on this, just like I needed you back then. Burning Jason Bidwell will bring all kinds of hell down on you, Nick. I like your new family here, if you haven’t scared them off with that stunt today.”
“Stunt? Well, maybe it was a little creative, but -” Nick started.
Gus cut him off. “Without me, your ass would’ve been hanging out in the breeze.”
“Which is why I brought you into the Florida part of this,” Nick reasoned. “I didn’t turn your offer down. For the first time, I don’t know where this shit ends. Bidwell’s just the newest addition to a growing list of guys we can’t run from. If word gets out you’re in this with me, no one you ever knew will be safe, Gus.”
“We’ll just have to be careful then, won’t we, Boss?” Gus stuck out his hand. “Don’t worry, it’s going to cost you a nice tidy sum I ain’t decided on yet.”
“If we pull this off, my friend, you’ll be able to retire in style.” Nick shook Gus’s hand. “Best think it over tonight before throwing in with us.”
“Hey, what are friends for, right Rachel?”
“That’s right, Gus,” Rachel nodded her head happily. “I’m glad you’re staying.”
Nick shook his head. “Would this be a good time to tell you those two folks in the Lexus were friends of mine too?”
Deke ran full out to the fence after the bouncing softball. Gus ran toward second base to help Jean who waited halfway to the fence for Deke to bring the ball back. Rachel streaked around second base, while Nick moved from first base to cover home plate. Deke dodged Jean and faked Gus off his feet to one knee. When Deke reached Nick, he dropped the ball with Rachel still ten feet from home plate. Rachel squealed and barreled into Nick, who had grabbed up the ball and moved to block her. They went down in a heap as Gus and Jean ran up to umpire the action. Deke poked his nose into the squirming, two-player pile. Suddenly, Nick’s right arm shot up from under Rachel with the softball in his hand.
“Yoooooooouuuuuuuuu'rrrrrrrrreeeeee out!” Gus and Jean yelled in chorus to Rachel.
Rachel sat up on Nick with an outraged look, red faced and panting.
“No fair!!! I scored before he tagged me.”
“Oh waaahhhhh. Get off me you big baby… you are so out.” Nick used the softball to bop Rachel in the forehead, which set Gus and Jean off on a laughing jag.
Rachel went for Nick’s throat, forgetting about the ever vigilant Deke. Rachel’s left forearm ended up in Deke’s mouth, while the dog stared her down with a growl.
“Damn it, Deke! I had my first homerun, you ungrateful cur!” Rachel complained, disengaging herself from Nick and the dog. “Now I have slobber all over my arm and forehead, and I’m out. Thanks a lot.”
Deke barked. He plopped down on his paws next to Nick.
“Nick, your dog never hits the cutoff man.” Gus knelt next to Deke and stroked his head.
“Deke is the star. He doesn’t need no stinking cutoff man, right Deke?” Nick received a short grunt of acknowledgment from the dog.
“He slimes the ball anyway,” Jean added.
“Put a fork in me, I’m done,” Nick stated, lying back over home plate.
“I’m taking off too.” Gus stood up. “Will you require a new vehicle to check out the bank tomorrow, Ace?”
“Only for a short time,” Nick answered, sitting up. “I want to see if Santora goes to work tomorrow. I’ll go alone. I don’t want anyone to even get a glimpse of Rachel.”
“What about the flash drives?” Rachel kicked Nick’s leg, while keeping an eye out for Deke.
“I’ve already compressed all the content,” Nick answered, slapping Rachel’s foot away and standing up. “They’re all ready to send over to Suzan’s husband. Then we’ll hang around and wait for his input. If it matches or enhances what I gleaned from the drives, we’ll call Grace and put her in touch with Suzan. They’ll have plenty of bargaining power. Suzan and Jim will have to handle their own deal with the government.”
“Can we go swimming again, Nick?” Jean asked.
“Absolutely.”
“I’ll leave you to it then.” Gus handed the glove he had been using to Rachel. “See you all tomorrow.”
“Bye, Gus,” the three chorused in varying tones as he walked away.
“I need a beer,” Nick announced as he picked up their equipment bag and began stuffing it with balls.
“What happened to your iced tea craze?” Rachel took charge of the bat.
“It turned into a beer craze the moment I had to endure ninety degree heat and humidity.”
“Can I have a beer too, Nick?” Jean asked as they walked with Deke toward the parking lot. “Deke always gets one.”
“Sure, Danger.”
“Nick!” Rachel pushed him off balance.
Nick shrugged at Jean with his ‘I’m not in charge’ look.
“Well, how about a shot of Jack Daniels?”
“Jean!” Rachel ran after her giggling daughter with Deke nipping Rachel’s heels.
Nick watched his team of terminators for a moment before shaking his head and walking after them. Oh boy.
Nick and Rachel watched Jean practice swimming laps from the lounge chairs they had set in the shade of the building that housed the bathrooms for the condo pool area. Nick had packed a cooler for their sojourn to the pool. Deke lay next to his water dish, sleeping in the shade between the lounge chairs.
“It looks like Danger finally wore out Deke today.”
“Maybe, but I don’t trust that dog.” Rachel noted Deke’s head didn’t pop up at his name. “We have the whole pool to ourselves this afternoon.”
Nick glanced at his watch. “It’s nearly six. Everyone else is probably eating by now.”
“I heard you talking to Suzan.”
“I gave her the domain address on the internet where she could access the information off the drives I uploaded. She said her husband Jim would go over the information right away. I’ll call her tonight after we get something to eat and see what he thinks.”
“It may be dangerous for you to go over to the bank tomorrow. What if Frank sent more people? They’ll be looking for you this time instead of me.”
“I figure I have a day before Frank figures something’s happened to Kate and Jessops.”
“I’m sorry you had to -” Rachel began, having heard Nick call the woman he’d killed by name for the first time.
“Don’t.” Nick cut her off with a quick wave of his hand. “Kate made an error in judgment. It cost her. They would have killed you, Jean, and Deke without blinking an eye. If the name she gave me pans out with Jim Benoit, there will be lots of pond scum floating to the surface. Bidwell would have a few layers between him and this mess. The sooner we put the Benoits together with Grace and Tim the better. Some of the heat on us will most definitely cool once the rats start scurrying for cover.”
“And then what?”
“We go rat hunting.”