By Nick’s ending lines, as he paused between each one, his friends were causing so much amused racket, Rachel made an appearance. Silence followed abruptly. She read the room correctly. “So… the meeting’s over, and I’m being held up for ridicule, huh?”
“I was just explaining why I’m cutting back on my Irish coffees during our morning meetings. They thought my reasoning was very funny, Dear.”
“I’ll bet they did.”
“Don’t take that attitude, Mrs.” Gus shunned her, hand to the side of his face while turning away. “I tricked a few of your gems out of Tina while we male targets of opportunity were out of range. You don’t even want to start comparing our small dalliances with the everyday crap you pull. Perhaps now would be the time to air out some of your lunch dates with Tina.”
“That traitor! How… crap!” Rachel shut up immediately as she recognized she had been lured into a trap, which was immediately enjoyed by Gus’s viewers. They knew instantly Tina had never said a word, and it was all a supposition by Gus, weighing facts in evidence. “That’s just mean, Gus.”
Gus stood to wrap an arm around the penitent Rachel. “When you make one sided stabs at my brother, Nick, who has saved my black ass more times than I can count, I am duty bound to enter into a defensive mode, where I have figured out many things you and Tina have done since banding together as the ‘Sisterhood of the Nagging Pants’.”
Rachel tried an outrage ploy, and abandoned it while eyeing the amused faces around her. She giggled. “Okay… okay, maybe I’ve played the do as I say not as I’ve done card a few times.”
“Admitting you have a problem is the first-“
“Don’t even go there, John! How can you, a Muslim, speak to me about liquor intake? You’re not even allowed to have the fermentation of grapes or wheat pass your lips. You drink with these guys all the time, you sinner!”
“You stole that line from ‘The Thirteenth Warrior’! Besides, Islam is a religion much like the Christian and Jewish religions, and every other religion on earth. We are hypocrites – the only difference being, we pretend to be Godly while massacring innocent people for doing the same thing. I work to cleanse the many sins I am guilty of from my past. To do so, I must also commune with the Jack Daniels. What other lines do you know from a movie you profess to hate vehemently, Ms. Hypocrite?”
Rachel smiled and gripped John’s arm. “It’s a small thing, little brother.”
John sat down dejectedly, hands over his face. “I have been out quoted by an unbeliever, using my favorite line from my favorite movie. This humiliation will not go unanswered!”
Rachel poured him another Jack Daniels. “We Christians are good sports. Think of all the times Christians walked into Roman arenas as happy meals. Seek the council of your friend Jack here. Are you goofy enough to agree to another undercover assignment, John?”
John shrugged, sipping his Jack Daniels with pleasure. “I am very good at it. I believe it is time for that wayward soul, Ebi Zarin to make an appearance. These Isis jackals I have seen on the news butchering everyone will meet the El Kabong. I will lead them to their promised land. Unfortunately for them, it will be El Muerto and Payaso waiting for them instead of Allah.”
“I think it’s the Jack talkin’, Muerto,” Rachel said, patting John on the shoulder.
“I don’t think so.” Nick peered into John’s eyes with a smile. “He’s fine. Besides, he can take all night to decide.”
“What’s this about anyway?”
“I have to get in touch with Cassie about arranging the book signing in Olympia, Washington, like I mentioned. There’s a suspected Isis compound near there. Paul would like us to check it out. Would you, Tina, Jean, and Deke like to accompany us?”
“I’ve never been in that part of the country. I’ll talk it over with my bestie now that it’s a definite future endeavor, and see how she feels about it. I know Jean will want to go. Deke goes where the beer is. When you say check on an Isis compound, you don’t really mean check on it.”
“Paul said to check it out,” Nick countered. “He’s the boss now. You know me and orders.”
“I do indeed. I can’t think of one you ever obeyed,” Rachel fired the parting shot as she walked through the doorway.
“That’s unfair,” Nick called out as Rachel left to the amusement of Payaso and Kabong.
“Actually, I’m trying to remember an order you ever obeyed myself,” Gus said. “The only relationship with Paul as the boss is you accepting a job if you actually want to do it anyway. Then, instead of completing the job as directed, you dress in a comic book character costume, kill everyone, and take movies. How am I doing, John?”
“Do not seek my support in this disrespect of El Muerto, Infidel,” John replied, shunning Gus. “Mr. Gilbrech outlines a mission in vague terms, allowing Muerto to fine tune it into a result acceptable to everyone.”
“Thanks, John.”