Sonny released his Dad, patting him on the shoulder. He moved over to his Mom without hesitation, putting a comforting arm around her shoulders. “Mom… I love you and Dad. I know what you two are, but I still love you both. Doesn’t that mean anything to you? Nick saved my life and yours, yet you two still treat him like shit. I spent more time at his home than anywhere on earth while growing up because I love everyone in the McCarty family. I allowed this discussion to go this far so I could at this point tell you and Dad my loyalty and honor are with the McCarty’s, not with you.”
Clarice gasped, stepping back with her hands covering her mouth in award winning form. “We love you. These people are killers! They would slit-”
Jean grabbed Clarice’s mouth in an unbreakable squeezing grip. “Don’t finish that, Clarice. You and Phil are not in touch with reality. We take that into consideration, but there is a limit to that allowance. As I said, be careful of your words. I see Phil understands.”
Phil, who had been watching the rise of retribution on Nick and Rachel’s faces, jerked Clarice away from Jean. “We have to go now! Don’t say anything else!”
Rachel took a deep breath and stood up. “It’s okay, Jean. Listen Clarice. I’m running against you. Nick has already filed for me. We have nearly every business in the city wanting me on the City Council. My next stop after that will be Mayor. Don’t come around throwing tantrums. It’s all a done deal. We love your son like our own. He’s with us because he has a heart and conscience. Be proud of that. Go ahead, Phil. Escort Clarice off the beach. If I were you two, I’d stay the hell away from here.”
Phil yanked Clarice toward the stone stairs as she mumbled something about electioneering and fraud. Rachel sat down, gesturing for Sonny and Jean to sit. “I hope we can get them to stay away from Otter’s Point. They must check the house and then come straight down here.”
“I doubt it,” Sonny replied. “They want a meeting in public with cars driving by when they decide to confront us about something.”
Amused by most of the Salvatore visit, Nick grasped Rachel’s hand. “We’re going to get her elected. We could probably get her into the Governor’s mansion if it weren’t for El Muerto.”
“I want to beat Clarice,” Rachel replied. “I don’t want to turn our lives upside down.”
“Maybe if we propelled you into the Governor’s mansion, you could do ‘Trailer Trash Momma’ for a nationwide audience,” Jean said.
Rachel laughed, pointing at Jean. “Good one, Scarface. I could imagine the news conferences when I got a crap question and I bring ‘Momma’ out. Let’s beat Clarice. She and Phil are relatively harmless right now. They aren’t money strapped are they, Sonny?”
“I put them on a budget, Ma. They don’t like it but I know they’d find a way to get into trouble otherwise. The extra money I gave them went for this whacky run for council I’d bet. Uncle Johnny? Are you sure I couldn’t go in with you. I speak the language very well. Even Dad said so.”
“I wish we could,” Johnny said. “Hell, I’d like to go in dressed as El Kabong with Muerto, Payaso, and Cala the Cleaner at my side, guns blazing. We’ll only have one chance of getting in there, one guy and two supposedly helpless women. We’re copying the method those dolts used Muerto sanctioned on the Fisherman’s Wharf pier long ago. The woman tucked automatic weapons in her burka. Viper and Cleaner can do the same thing. They’ll be suspicious enough as it is, Sonny. I’ll be lucky if they don’t turn us away.”
“We’re lucky Kabong’s Ebi Zarin identity is still working on a careful basis,” Nick added. “Zarin is an Isis legend. He appears out of nowhere, claims to have a cell forming, and everyone who comes into contact with him dies. Besides, ever since Clint streamed me the surveillance footage from satellite, Gus has been studying the compound.”
“It’s built like a small town,” Gus said. “They’re not stupid. They have streets, housing, and stores. The largest building is the mosque. One of the reasons the Monsters came to see us was for confirmation on what I saw, and finalize the infiltration without anything passed even on a secure line. Clint and I agree the mosque acts as their armory as always. It’s shielded. One of the ways we’ve been able to stay a step ahead relies on unavoidable building costs and plans. They can’t get away with any structures utilizing water, electricity, and gas without filing plans. Their lawyers are useless against California’s tax collectors. This Daesh sect we’ve handled before bought many properties in impoverished out of the way areas all across the USA.”
“We have to get inside the mosque somehow,” Jean said. “You said you saw some burka babes running around that for sure weren’t women, right, Uncle Gus?”
“Yep. Too tall and too hairy and rough handed. I could tell from the small opening they have for their eyes, with only what I could see of their features, they were male goons. Plus… there are no children at all. I’d bet money if they ever get wind of an inspection, they’ll bus in real women and kids to wail about discrimination in the street.”
“It wasn’t that long ago when we ran across this spinoff Daesh bunch and extracted Tim and Grace’s relation, Kelly Brighton. They were dopey enough to use visible armed guards. You never mentioned the place again, Dad.”