The TANNER Series - Books 4-6 (Tanner Box Set Book 2)

by Remington Kane

  “You’re a bit ripe, son, fever will do that. They sell a little clothing at the truck stop too, nothing fancy, but you might consider getting new clothes before you shower.”

  Tanner looked down at the black shirt he was wearing. It was ripped and bloody, and he could smell the stink coming off it as well.

  “New clothes sound like a good idea.”

  “I’ll also change that bandage for you, but say, how did you get shot?”

  Tanner smirked.

  “I underestimated a very devious woman.”

  “Your wife?”

  “No, and tell me something, this store inside the truck stop, do they sell phones?”

  “I don’t know, but the last time I was here, they still had a payphone.”

  “Good, I need to make a call.”

  “Say son, what’s your name?”

  Tanner thought for a moment, as he tried to recall one of the fake names he’d chosen, but he had burned through so many of them recently that he decided to just use the one that had been handed down to him by his mentor.

  “I’m Tanner.”

  “Well Tanner, I hear the ranch is hiring security, and judging by the way you handled that dude on the train, I’d say they’ll hire you on.”

  “Why would they need security?”

  “The story I heard is that some local big shot is hassling them.”

  “That sounds familiar.”

  Doc stopped walking.

  “You’re thinking about what happened back when it was the Parker Ranch, but don’t worry, the way I hear it, this thing isn’t that serious.”

  “Has the law gotten involved?”

  “Maybe, but I don’t know much about it.”

  ***

  The Highway 16 Truck Stop turned out to be a massive complex that housed a restaurant, offered truck repair, and had a shop where Tanner outfitted himself in a new pair of jeans and a black T-shirt.

  The store also sold cheap cell phones, and after showering and getting his bandage changed by Doc, Tanner stepped outside and made a call.

  After eight rings, a cautious voice answered.

  “Hello?”

  “Tim, it’s me, Tanner.”

  “Oh thank God, Madison and I were worried about you. The newspaper in Ridge Creek wrote a story that said you’d been shot. What happened?”

  Tanner gave Tim Jackson a quick explanation of what had occurred over the last few days, including the events in Ridge Creek.

  “I guess the farm is burned now that the FBI is looking at it?” Tim said.

  “No, I have an idea about that, but I’ll need you to find someone.”

  Tanner told Tim what he wanted to do and Tim said he would handle it.

  “I’ll find him, but are you certain he’ll do it?”

  “No, I’m not sure, but once you find him, get a number where I can call him.”

  “I will, and I’ll send out those materials you want too.”

  “The sooner the better,” Tanner said, as the “materials” Tim mentioned, were Tanner’s newest fake ID.

  After talking to Tim, Tanner joined Doc at a booth inside the restaurant.

  As he ate, Tanner felt his strength returning. He downed three glasses of orange juice with his meal as well, as the fever had left him dehydrated.

  Along with the bandaged gunshot wound, Tanner also wore a wrapping of gauze around his midsection, as his leap into the train had injured the ribs on his left side. He had also been wounded on his right leg, but the bullet that caused it had barely touched him, and left behind only a purple bruise.

  Once he finished eating, Tanner leaned back and asked Doc what he knew about the town of Stark, Texas.

  Doc stifled a burp and began talking.

  “After the... thing, out at the Parker Ranch, the town started to die. The Parkers were gone, but so was McKay, and between the two of them, they employed a lot of men. Without that revenue, the town shriveled up.”

  Tanner pointed out the window beside their booth.

  “That’s Stark over there in the distance, and I see three tall buildings that weren’t there years ago, so I guess the town made a comeback.”

  “It sure did, and you can thank a dude named Chuck Willis for that. He came here from San Antonio, bought up the McKay land and started building an office complex, huge place, like a college campus, and along with it, he built the housing so that his employees would have someplace to live.”

  “Why didn’t Willis buy the Parker Ranch too?”

  “He was too late. Reyes had already bought it cheap and started breeding horses.”

  “Horses? No cattle?”

  “The cattle business dried up around here. Reyes, whoever he is, must be doing well breeding horses, because he’s refused to sell his land to Willis.”

  “But Willis doesn’t take no for an answer, is that why Reyes is hiring security?”

  “What I heard is that a horse was poisoned and nearly died. They raise quarter horses, racehorses, and those animals can be worth a pretty penny, plus, some of the ranch hands got hurt in accidents. The thing is though, the accidents weren’t accidents, the story I heard is that one guy fell from a ladder that had a top rung sawn through. He broke his arm in the fall.”

  They left the truck stop and walked across more desert scrubland, as they headed towards the town of Stark, Texas, and as they drew closer, Tanner’s mind again filled with memories.

  CHAPTER 4 - Indecent proposal

  Stark, Texas, September 1997

  Tanner was escorted into Andy McKay’s office.

  The large room was masculine in every aspect, from its wood paneling to the real bearskin rug that covered the floor in the center of the room.

  A large wooden desk sat before a wide window that looked out on a green pasture, upon which, a score of cattle could be seen grazing in the distance. A console TV sat in one corner of the room, by the door, while a smaller desk was in the opposite corner and had a computer sitting atop it.

  The computer was one of many that Tanner had seen inside a home recently, and he thought that the machines were rapidly gaining in popularity, although he himself had never used one.

  The man who escorted Tanner into the office was tall, but had a gut that made him look fat. Tanner could tell that the man believed his girth and height made him intimidating, he was also aware that the man didn’t like him, and believed he knew why.

  McKay was bringing Tanner in to handle a problem that the fat man thought he could do himself and the man felt resentful.

  The man had told Tanner that his name was Jack Sheer, right before asking Tanner how old he was.

  Sheer was in his forties and no doubt thought that anyone under thirty wasn’t worth a damn. Tanner didn’t care what Sheer thought, he just wanted to know who McKay wanted dead, so he could do the job and head back to Dallas.

  Despite having grown up in a succession of rural environments, Tanner liked cities, and he wanted to leave Stark as soon as possible.

  From behind his massive wooden desk, McKay studied Tanner, as the hit man walked in and took a seat.

  Tanner guessed that McKay was in his early-fifties, but could tell that the lean man was in good condition, and judging by the stern expression on his face, McKay was a man who took things seriously.

  McKay was graying at the temples, and his lined and sun-browned skin told Tanner that McKay spent more time outdoors than inside the office.

  After reaching across the desk to shake hands, McKay told Jack Sheer to close the door on his way out.

  Sheer hesitated to leave.

  “Don’t you want me to sit in, Andy?”

  “No, but go see to that other matter we talked about.”

  “I got Dave and his brother handling that.”

  “I want you to handle it; it has to be done right.”

  “Alright, I’ll go see to that,” Sheer said, and then Tanner was alone with Andy McKay.

  McKay looked Tanner over.

  “You
’re younger than I’d thought you’d be.”

  “Why is that?”

  “I heard about you from two men, one was Robertson, the man that sent you here, but another fella I know real well said he hired you once, only that couldn’t be you, because the man named Tanner that he hired was older, and that was ten years ago.”

  “That man your friend hired was my mentor; when he died, I took the name Tanner, just like he did when his mentor died.”

  “What’s your real name?”

  “Does it matter?”

  “I guess not, but I hope you’re the man I need, because what I want done will take guts and it’s... complicated.”

  “You want someone dead or I wouldn’t be here. Tell me who it is and I’ll kill them. It’s just that simple.”

  “What if I want you to kill more than one?”

  “I’m sure that Robertson told you my price, just multiply that and you have my fee.”

  McKay took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and leaned across the desk.

  “Here’s the thing...”

  ***

  Less than a minute later, Tanner was leaving the office with McKay trailing behind him.

  “I thought you were a professional, Tanner. Why won’t you take the job?”

  “I gave you my answer, McKay. Go find somebody else, it shouldn’t be hard to do, the world is full of maniacs.”

  Tanner stopped to open the door and McKay spun him around.

  “I thought you were supposed to be a stone-cold killer, but you’re just a boy still, aren’t you?”

  “My age has nothing to do with it. I’m a killer, yes, but not a butcher or a madman. Listen to me, if you go through with what you want, the law will pin it on you. Hiring outside help won’t stop them from tracing it back to you.”

  McKay looked him up and down, as disgust covered his face.

  “You’re just a gutless punk.”

  Tanner opened the door.

  “Goodbye, McKay. Forget that we met.”

  Tanner went down the steps and into the wide driveway, while looking for signs of trouble. Then, he was in his car and driving towards the graveled path that would take him back to the county road.

  ***

  Inside the ranch house, McKay grabbed a walkie-talkie from atop a table.

  “Jack, come in.”

  There was the sound of static, followed by Jack Sheer’s voice.

  “What’s up, Andy?”

  “Tanner is headed your way. You boys kill that son of a bitch and I’ll give you two grand each.”

  “You got it.”

  ***

  After rounding a curve on the graveled drive that connected McKay’s ranch to the road, Tanner stopped the car and stepped out into the hot afternoon sun.

  He had refused to kill for McKay because what the man wanted done was madness, but mad or not, McKay wasn’t stupid, and Tanner knew that he would not be allowed to just ride away once he knew McKay’s plans.

  That “other matter” of which McKay had spoken about to Jack Sheer was no doubt an ambush.

  The driveway was lined on both sides by jacaranda trees that were still in bloom with their purple flowers, and beyond them was white fencing, followed by flat arid land. However, the road leading out of the ranch curved in both directions from where Tanner stopped the car and it placed him out of the line of sight.

  If he attempted to drive off, he’d be shot to death inside the car, and if he tried to run away, there would be no way to avoid being spotted on the flat terrain.

  The car itself was of no concern, because he had stolen it just for the meeting, knowing that negotiations sometimes went awry with a new client, and that his transportation might need to be abandoned.

  Tanner got into position and waited for McKay’s men to grow impatient and come to him.

  ***

  Jack Sheer came around the bend first, with two men following behind, and all three men were armed.

  Sheer had a sawed-off shotgun in one hand and a walkie-talkie in the other. Tanner could hear McKay’s voice, sounding tinny and weak, as it came from the speaker of the walkie-talkie.

  “He must be inside the car, blast it.”

  A second passed, and then the quiet day erupted into the thunderous sound of multiple weapons firing, as Sheer and the men with him blasted Tanner’s car, shredding the seats, destroying the dash, and shattering all the windows.

  The barrage was brutal, but short-lived, as first Sheer and then the two men with him fell atop the gravel with wounds to their feet.

  When all three men were down and moaning in agony, Tanner slid out from beneath the car and went for their weapons.

  The two men with Sheer were too concerned with their wounds to think about the revolvers they dropped, but Jack Sheer reached out to grab his shotgun, and Tanner shot him in the foot again.

  That finished Sheer, who rolled over onto his back and began crying from the pain, as blood formed in a puddle around his foot.

  Tanner tossed the two revolvers away, but kept the shotgun, and then picked up the walkie-talkie.

  “McKay.”

  There was a pause, but then McKay spoke.

  “Tanner?”

  “Forget your plans, and if you come after me again, I’ll kill you.”

  There was no answer, and so Tanner dropped the unit and stomped it with the heel of his boot.

  After rounding the curve, he came across the pickup truck that Sheer and his men had used to block the driveway. Tanner got in it and drove off to see Frank Parker.

  CHAPTER 5 - Entrance exam

  Tanner and Doc walked along a county road that was wider than Tanner remembered it being.

  It had been a two-lane road mostly used by ranchers, but was now a four-lane thoroughfare, which Doc told Tanner had been extended, and ended at a ramp that would place you on Highway 16.

  “That sounds much quicker than taking Derby Street to Culver Avenue,” Tanner said, and Doc gave him a strange look.

  “You said you hadn’t been here for years, but you remember the street names. Either you’ve got a great memory or you’ve spent a good deal of time here.”

  Tanner looked over at Doc but didn’t comment, and a moment later, something ahead caught their attention.

  There was a pickup truck blocking the entrance to the Reyes Ranch and two toughs were getting out of it and looking their way.

  Doc gestured at them.

  “What do you think? Are they trouble, or maybe Reyes already hired security.”

  “We’ll soon find out,” Tanner said.

  As they drew closer, Tanner could tell that the two men were related, likely brothers, and both were watching them with interest.

  It was a hot day, and yet, the men wore unbuttoned denim shirts over their white tees. The shirts were there to cover their guns, which, judging by the outlines Tanner could discern, told him that their weapons were just jammed in their waistbands and not sheathed in holsters.

  The men were both about forty and had dull eyes set in slack faces. The one on the right had hair two shades darker than the man on the left, but other than that, they looked like twins, and reminded Tanner of Earl and Merle Carter, except these boys were meaner looking and twice the size of Merle and Earl.

  Doc smiled at the men.

  “Howdy boys, how’s it going?”

  The one with the darker hair walked over and stared at them, and Tanner guessed that he was at least six-foot-five.

  “If you two are headed to the Reyes Ranch you can just turn around.”

  “Why is that?” Tanner said.

  The big man smirked.

  “It’s because I said so.”

  Tanner pointed over at the entrance to the Reyes Ranch.

  “Is that girl with you?”

  When the man turned his head to look, Tanner reached over and yanked the gun from beneath the man’s shirt.

  The man cried out, “Hey, don’t!”

  Tanner pressed the gun against the man
’s stomach, as his brother came walking over.

  “Tell your brother to toss away his gun, or I’ll blow a hole in you and use you for a shield.”

  “What’s going on, Ernie?” the man’s brother asked. He couldn’t see what was happening, but he could tell that something was wrong by the way his brother’s posture had stiffened.

  “He’s got my gun, Rich, and he wants you to toss yours away.”

  “Shit! How did he get your gun?”

  “He tricked me, but nevermind that, just toss away your gun.”

  Rich took his gun out but didn’t drop it.

  “It’s a bluff. He won’t shoot you.”

  Ernie looked into Tanner’s eyes.

  “It’s no bluff, this dude will shoot, now goddamnit, toss the gun away.”

  Rich hesitated for a moment, but then threw his gun into the sand on the side of the road.

  Tanner spoke to Doc, who had been watching the scene with his mouth hanging open.

  “Go get the gun and grab that shotgun from its rack in the truck.”

  “What?”

  “The gun, Doc, go get it, and the shotgun in the truck too.”

  Doc shook himself, as if he were trying to wake up, but he followed Tanner’s instructions, as Tanner told Ernie to join his brother. He then had both men lean back against the truck bed.

  A car drove past as the drama unfolded, but the driver was alone and seemed absorbed by a conversation he was having on his cell phone. The man never turned his head to look at them, or to glance into his rear view mirror.

  “Who do you two work for, Chuck Willis?”

  The brothers kept quiet and only glared at Tanner.

  Doc recovered the gun and removed the shotgun from inside the pickup.

  The guns, both .44 Magnum revolvers, had their serial numbers filed off, and the shotgun was loaded with 12-gauge buckshot.

  “On your way,” Tanner said, and the two bruisers climbed into their truck, but before driving away, Ernie stuck his head out the window.

  “We’ll remember you,” he told Tanner, and then he drove off.

  As the truck became a dot in the distance, Doc let out a long sigh.

  “I about peed my pants when you grabbed that gun from his waistband. I thought for sure the other one would start shooting.”