KILLER IN BLACK a gripping action-packed thriller (Johnny Silver Thriller Book 2)

by PAUL BENNETT

  ‘So not just famous for its dill pickles?’

  He looked me in the eye. ‘You’re ribbing me,’ he said. ‘But I don’t mind – that’s your way and I’m used to it. No shame in feeling pride in your country, no matter where you come from.’

  ‘What’s the lake like?’ I asked.

  ‘The hotel is on the shores of Lake Solina in the southeast of Poland. The climate’s good and it’s a favourite spot for tourists – Poles mainly, since not many people outside the country know enough about the lake or the country as a whole. One day they’ll learn and probably force the locals out. Till then it’s a fine place to live. Come visit. Bring Anna. I’ll give you the best room in the hotel.’

  ‘We’d expect nothing less, but would be happy to settle for whatever you gave us. Wouldn’t want to turf out a deserving paying guest.’

  ‘No one more deserving than you,’ he said. ‘If it hadn’t been for you and the money you shared among us in Amsterdam, then I’d never been able to afford the hotel. I can’t thank you enough.’

  ‘It wasn’t giving – you earned it. I’m grateful for what you all did. Good to have friends you can count on.’

  He nodded. ‘Reckon so,’ he said.

  There was a silence between us for a while. We were both comfortable with it – didn’t need always to be talking. Sometimes silence speaks volumes.

  ‘Ho’s a good kid,’ I said. ‘How old do you think she is – twenty?’

  ‘She’s twenty-five – small for her age, but I suppose many Chinese are. Her cooking may need a few tweaks—’

  ‘Few tweaks!’

  ‘OK, back to basics is probably more accurate, but boy, can she fight! Did you see her in that ruckus at the bar? She held her own there. Didn’t need any help. Not till that guy pulled that gun. Good that you were able to react so quickly. If you hadn’t, at least one of us would be dead by now.’

  ‘You’re kind of fond of Ho, aren’t you?’

  He blushed. ‘Not in that sense,’ he said quickly. ‘More like a daughter.’ He let out a breath – about as much emotion as you could get from Stan. ‘Don’t have any family – no wife, no kids. I expect that it’s a common situation in our profession. Don’t want any ties – no one to cry over your grave when the day comes when you meet the man who’s better than you.’ He took a long swig from the bottle of water. ‘I’m getting a bad feeling about this man in black. He could be the one – the one who’s quicker on the draw or a better shot.’

  ‘Time will tell. I have a feeling that he’s not going to give up – that death is the only thing that will stop him. His death or ours.’

  ‘Maybe I shouldn’t get too attached to Ho. Or she to me. Hate for it to turn out badly.’

  ‘You can’t go through life like that. Mustn’t suppress your feelings in case something goes wrong. Men like us should treat every day as if it could be our last. Live for the moment. Grab whatever love you can when it comes around. Funny, but until Anna came along I probably felt the same way as you. Now I wouldn’t be without her for the world. If it all ends tomorrow, it will at the happiest time of my life. Before Anna, I didn’t belong – except as a part of you guys. Anna made me realize that wasn’t enough.’

  He looked away. Cast a glance at the ranch house. He gulped.

  ‘Hell,’ he said. ‘Can’t spend all day stretching our backs. There’s a pit to dig.’

  ‘And a big one, too,’ I said.

  ‘Reckon so,’ he said.

  At the end of the day I showered and changed. I reckoned one more day and the pit would be finished. After that it would be the easier tasks of fixing the stinger, the trip wires and the rest of our defences. I put my gun in the shoulder holster, slipped a lightweight jacket over the top and headed into the town.

  Jerome was in his usual spot, dog by his side. As I approached he looked at me and said, ‘OK, I’ll do it. Do it for free this time, too, seeing as you’re such a good customer.’

  ‘Do what?’

  ‘You didn’t come into town just for your health. You want me to visit my sister again. See what action’s going down. What the bikers’ plans are now. And, just as important, how many of them are still left.’

  ‘You’re wise beyond your years, old man.’

  ‘Be difficult,’ he said. ‘Well?’

  ‘Well what?’

  ‘Don’t I even qualify for a beer?’

  I laughed and made for the door.

  ‘And don’t forget the peanuts,’ he shouted at me.

  I came back outside, passed him a beer and flicked a nut at the dog. Caught it OK, but seemed a bit slower today. Maybe the heat was finally getting to it. I took the steak, chopped up small, out of the plastic bag and spread it out on the floor for the dog. He started chomping immediately.

  ‘You keep your word,’ Jerome said.

  ‘Only way to be.’

  Jerome took a sip of his beer. Sat there deep in thought.

  ‘Are you ready for them if they come right now?’ Jerome asked.

  I shook my head. ‘Need a couple more days, then our work will be complete.’

  ‘Got some surprises up your sleeves?’

  ‘Plenty. And they all depend on them being less smart than your dog.’

  ‘Don’t let the dog hear you say that. Might get offended.’

  ‘And we wouldn’t want that.’

  ‘No siree. Those gums are lethal weapons.’

  He reached down and patted the dog’s head. The dog looked up at him and panted, lowered his head and then rolled over. I bent down and tickled his tummy. The dog put all four paws in the air.

  ‘Dog’s gonna miss you when you go,’ Jerome said. ‘I better try to keep you alive as long as possible. Come back tomorrow. If it’s more urgent than that, I’ll phone you.’

  ‘In that case I hope I don’t hear from you.’

  ‘If you’re pleased, maybe you could buy me a bourbon. I ain’t used to all this beer.’

  ‘If it’s good news I’ll buy you a bottle.’

  ‘And if it’s bad?’

  ‘I’ll still buy you a bottle. Won’t be your fault.’

  He considered this and looked up at me.

  ‘Not just the dog who’ll miss you,’ he said.

  ‘Feeling’s mutual,’ I said.

  ‘Now get out before I get sentimental. You’ll be giving me a bad reputation.’

  ‘I’ll drink to that,’ I said, finishing the beer. ‘See you tomorrow.’

  ‘God willing,’ he said.

  ‘Amen to that.’

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  I couldn’t stay away, waiting for a phone call, not knowing the outcome of Jerome’s visit to the diner. I went into town and walked down the street to the hotel. Neither Jerome nor his dog was outside. I went inside and asked the helpful receptionist where he was. Out walking the dog, apparently. I found out what was his usual route and started walking. They couldn’t have got far – dog didn’t look like he had much walking in him.

  Jerome was sitting on a roundabout in a children’s playground, faithful dog at his feet. I walked over and sat next to him. He was staring out into the distance.

  ‘Sometimes it does you good to go back to your childhood,’ he said. ‘Look back on your life. See what you did right and what you did wrong. Where you might have been if the dice had rolled a different number.’

  ‘No harm in that,’ I said. ‘As long as you realize that you can’t turn the clock back and take a different path. The die is cast and we have to live what fate sends us.’

  ‘I was one of seven children,’ he said. ‘Poor family living in a shanty town. Scratching a living where you could. Ma cleaned for the rich folks, took in washing, anything to get a dime. She loved us kids, but we were a burden. As soon as I was old enough I signed up for the army, full ten-year stretch. Army fed me, army clothed me, and I had a little left over from my pay packet to send home to help Ma. Life was good. Had a stint in Korea and managed to come out of that alive.’


  ‘Then what happened?’

  ‘Along came Nam.’

  ‘Ah,’ I said.

  ‘Yeah. Ah. I was shipped out along with a lot of kids who were five years my junior. Didn’t have any experience of life, straight out of college most of them. Army did the best it could to train them in the time it had, but they were as green as the grass in springtime. Never stood a chance.’ He dug in his pocket and picked out half a cheroot, lit it and blew a stream of smoke into the air. ‘You should have seen some of the things I saw.’

  ‘I can guess,’ I said. ‘When we were in the old Yugoslavia – Bosnia, Serbia and the rest – we saw what the Serbs did to their male prisoners. Cut off their genitals and stuffed them in their mouths. Left them to bleed to death. So we signed up with the Muslims to even up the fight. Thought we’d found a just cause. Until we saw what the Muslims did to their prisoners.’

  ‘Cut off their genitals and stuffed them in their mouths?’ he said. ‘Left them to bleed to death?’

  I nodded my head. Then shook it sadly. It was a picture I still saw in my nightmares in all its blood-red vividness.

  ‘It wasn’t a fair fight,’ he said. ‘Yes, we had the equipment and the advantage of numbers. But we were up against guerrilla fighters. Strike, run, hide, strike again and so on. We were butchered. I made up my mind early on that I wouldn’t get to know the new recruits – better not to get involved. Less pain that way.’

  The dog, as if sensing his need, raised his head and nuzzled into Jerome’s feet.

  ‘We used napalm. Never should have been allowed. What you educated people would call indiscriminate. Men, women, children – a mass of flames, screaming as they ran around and burnt to death. I shot some of them to put them out of their misery.’ He drew again on the cheroot and was quiet for a while. ‘We lost a lot of men – a lot of kids – during that war. And for what? Didn’t make no difference to us what happened in Nam. Wasn’t going to affect life in the States. Senseless.’

  ‘What happened to you, old man?’

  ‘Purple heart,’ he said. ‘Shot in the back. Lucky it didn’t tear my spine apart.’

  ‘What did you do then?’

  ‘Bummed around. Took whatever work I could – army hadn’t trained me for anything useful. Not many jobs going where they need people who can kill. ’Cept your line of business, I suppose.’

  ‘Reckon so,’ I said.

  ‘Got a job on the railroad. Maintenance. Working along the track hammering everything so that the rails were tight and there were no gaps. Did that for a long while until I couldn’t swing the hammer any more. Pensioned off. Now I carry bags, smile at the visitors and act as the token black. Gives the hotel character, the boss says.’

  ‘Nothing wrong with that,’ I said. ‘Can still feel some pride in what you do.’

  ‘Sister says it keeps me out of mischief.’ He smiled. ‘Although what mischief an old man like me is going to get into, I don’t know.’

  ‘You’re a good man, Jerome. Nothing you could have done for those you lost in Vietnam. Nothing on your conscience.’

  ‘I killed some of the enemy,’ he said.

  ‘Sometimes that’s what you have to do – them or us. Survive or die.’

  ‘I didn’t like doing that.’

  ‘Very few people do. It’s only guys like the man in black who can kill without feeling anything. That’s what makes him such a formidable foe. He won’t hesitate to kill – you don’t get any warning.’

  ‘I hope you get him, Johnny. If I were younger, I’d give you a hand. Shooting’s like riding a bike – you don’t lose that skill. Ain’t that right?’

  ‘Yeah. But your reactions slow with age and without constant practice. Some day they’re too slow to get you out of trouble. And then the man in black – or someone like him – wins. Once this here is over, it’s time for us all to retire again. Hang up our gunbelts and look to a peaceful future.’

  ‘Amen to that,’ he said.

  ‘Got some business for you,’ I said. ‘How busy is the hotel?’

  ‘Wrong time of year for trade – too hot. Got maybe eight or nine rooms free.’

  ‘I want to take all of them.’

  ‘Getting rid of the cannon fodder?’

  ‘I need somewhere for the ranch hands to go when the battle starts. Don’t know yet when they will be arriving, but keep the rooms free.’

  ‘News from the diner ain’t good. The bikers are still recruiting reinforcements. They’re gonna hit you hard. Thirty or so at the moment – they lost a few after your raid. Only the dedicated or the stupid remain. Don’t know what the final figure will be, but the odds are gonna be way against you.’

  ‘They won’t know what hit them.’

  ‘I’d like to think so,’ he said gravely.

  ‘Me too,’ I said.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  The next day passed by uneventfully. We spent time catching up on our sleep, cleaning our guns and filling ourselves with Ho’s vastly improving cuisine. All our traps were set and we were ready for the bikers.

  Ho came out of the kitchen and put some plates on the table in readiness for dinner.

  ‘How did you come to be here?’ I asked. ‘Seems a strange place for a young girl to be.’

  ‘I come to America with my parents from Shanghai. We thought it was the land of opportunity. That we could all get better jobs than at home. Shanghai has a lot of poverty, few jobs, even for those willing to do anything. We thought we would have more money and a better lifestyle. We didn’t realize how hard it would be for a Chinese person to get a job. We came to Texas because of the oil. Thought there would be plenty of jobs.’

  ‘Oil’s mostly mechanized now. Not like in the old days. Not much manual labour around. So what did you do?’

  ‘Mother and Father got work in Chinese laundry – not much pay, hard work, but better than no work at all. I get job as washing up lady in Chinese restaurant. Watch what the cook does. Learn how to cook things. Then the job here comes up. No one seems to want it, but no one will say why not. I come here and cook Chinese meal for Red and he like it. Offers me the job.’

  ‘And then the men start grumbling, I suppose. Chinese food each night loses its charm.’

  ‘I didn’t know how to cook American food until Stan comes here. He good teacher. He good man.’

  I nodded. ‘You know what Stan and the rest of us do?’

  ‘You fight bad men. Rob the rich to pay the poor, like Robin Hood. Protect the weak against the strong.’

  ‘And you know how we do that?’

  ‘You kill bad men. They deserve to die. No problem.’

  ‘It isn’t quite that simple, quite that black and white.’

  ‘Doesn’t matter. It is result that counts. You bring justice to people who need it. Don’t need to know any more.’

  ‘And how did you learn kung fu?’

  ‘Father teach me. Say it will protect from bullies at school. He was right. No one gives me trouble.’

  ‘I’m sorry that you have got caught up in this. Things will be back to normal soon. The big fight is coming. The last battle. When we win that, everyone can go back to doing their usual jobs with no fear of what will happen to them.’

  ‘I will pray for you.’

  ‘I’d appreciate that.’

  Can’t do any harm. If there’s a god up there, then he’s just as likely to speak Chinese as any other language. We need him to smile on us when we go into battle. Surely he’d approve of what we were doing. Agree that to right a wrong sometimes people get hurt. We’d do our best to keep the number down. Can’t say fairer than that. Be good to have him on our side. Even up the numbers a little. That’s what we needed – a fair fight. And may the best men win.

  Bull pushed his dinner plate away, meal only half-eaten – too painful to chew, I guessed – and got up from the table. He went to where we kept our guns, slung the Kalashnikov over his shoulder and tucked his handgun in the back of his trousers.

  ‘W
here are you going?’ I asked.

  ‘I’m not sitting around marking time any longer. I’m a patient man,’ – normally, yes, but not with toothache – ‘and I’m not going to sit here waiting for the inevitable. Every day that goes by, they get stronger and our nerves jangle a bit more. I’m going to issue a challenge. Get this thing over and done with.’

  ‘And you’re going to go alone?’ Red said.

  ‘If I have to,’ Bull replied.

  ‘Hell,’ I sighed. ‘Let’s tool up. Can’t have you going into the lion’s den without any back-up.’

  ‘Just as long as you know this is my show. OK?’

  ‘I’ll take that as gratitude for us coming along, shall I?’

  ‘Take it however you like. One way or another, this has got to be done, and done now.’

  ‘What’s the plan?’ Stan asked. ‘We can’t go without a plan.’

  ‘I’m going to shout at them a lot,’ Bull said.

  ‘Can’t beat a simple plan,’ I said.

  Stan looked horrified. ‘I need time,’ he said. ‘We need to know what we’re going to do when we get to the diner. Who’s going to be on point, who’ll take the flanks, who’ll mind the back door.’

  ‘Work it out while we’re driving there,’ Bull said. ‘As long as I get to do the shouting – and the shooting, if it comes to that.’

  We went to the back of the room and got ourselves ready. I slipped on the shoulder holster over my T-shirt, slotted the Browning inside so that it was in full view and picked up the Uzi. I put in a spare clip of bullets for the gun in the right-hand pocket of my jeans, walked back to the table to take a sip of water: mouth dry, hands sweat, that’s how it starts.

  ‘Give me a minute,’ I said.

  I went out of the door and over to the bunkhouse. The ranch hands looked at me and the Uzi in my hand. ‘It’s time to leave,’ I said. ‘Rooms are ready for you at the hotel. I’ll send Ho out to you and then you get out of here. We’ll let you know when it’s safe to come back.’

  They started getting their things together. It didn’t take long. Drifters don’t have many possessions.