Hard Case IV: A Violent Life (John Harding Series Book 4)

by Bernard Lee DeLeo

  I shook my head. “Screw it. I’m done making calls about Lynn’s readiness. I’ll tell her and Clint to make a decision. If they decide she’s coming, then she’s coming. No way will she compromise the mission, but it ain’t going to be a fun time for her if she decides to ignore common sense and logic.”

  Denny clapped me on the shoulder. “See, now that’s management there. You are learning, Cheeseburger. When decisions get tough, pass them down the line.”

  Prick. “One of these days, Spawn, you’re going to wake up at the bottom of a quarry just before they start pouring the cement.”

  “My compliment on your management style is no reason to get nasty, John. There’s Alexi. I added a note of urgency to your earlier invitation in the text message I sent him as a reminder.”

  Alexi received congratulations from Marla with quiet acceptance before joining us. Marla brought over a coffee for him. Uh oh, I had a bad feeling Alexi’s precognitive powers, backed up by an untold number of informants he kept on payroll, may have tipped him off regarding interest in his ship, City of Hope. He sipped his coffee. “I have already received rumors from overseas that something of a secret exchange will be made involving my container ship City of Hope. Please tell me you gentlemen would not make unauthorized deals in my name with shitheads I wouldn’t piss on if they were on fire.”

  Bingo! The old man had his game face on. I put mine on. “We had to make some initial checks before discussing this with you, Alexi. If you think we would use you in such a way, walk out, and you don’t need to hear anymore. Denny and I will find a different path. You will not be involved in any way, shape or form, nor will your ship be mentioned again.”

  Alexi took another sip, while his eyes never left mine. “I would hear this plan. Shall we adjourn outdoors?”

  I caught Marla’s attention. “Please tell the rest of our crew to have one, Mar. We’re going outside for a moment.”

  “I’ll tell ‘em, John.” Marla knew nothing about this was lighthearted fun.

  Outside, I told Alexi everything, including what Denny and I agreed would be the best approach to a solution. To his credit, he didn’t interrupt. Even after I finished, Alexi remained silent. He walked away, his hands clasped behind him. Denny grinned over at me. This negotiation business sometimes required a light touch. The truth of the matter Alexi wrestled with now was whether we would let him walk away or not. In reality, his choice to walk away ended the moment he decided to hear us out. He knew us, and what we were capable of. He was deciding whether now would be the time to test our resolve to guard this nation at any cost.

  I hoped he recognized the danger to millions of people, including his family. I didn’t want to make a decision as to whether I would let him walk away, or break his neck the moment he tried to walk away. I liked Alexi, but I’m afraid his chances of survival could drop precipitously in the next few moments. Denny reached under his coat at the back. I shook my head. I pointed at myself while Alexi faced in the opposite direction. This had to be done quietly. Denny nodded his understanding, but kept his hand under his coat. We had no intention of underestimating Alexi Fiialkov. When Alexi turned, he smiled at us knowingly.

  “Would you gentlemen believe me when I tell you my City of Hope is at your disposal without duress? I know you plan to kill me where I stand if I am stupid enough not to realize the severity of this threat. I admit my anger at finding out about this by rumors clouded my judgment. Please accept my apology for not trusting your intentions. Would you have allowed me to leave the bar, John?”

  “Yes, Alexi, but not now. I respect you. If you are with us, I will accept your word it is so. We must take these people at sea away from everyone, with safeguards in place if we fail.”

  “I agree, John. We will make it so.”

  I anticipated Denny’s decision not to take any chances. I caught the slug’s draw, and twisted his .45 Colt out of his hand. “You are not allowed to make my word worthless, Den.”

  Denny rubbed his wrist with a rueful smile. “Damn it, Cheeseburger, now is not the time to take chances like this.”

  “I will not betray you, Mr. Strobert. John knows this,” Alexi stated with calm deliberation. “It is very likely my entire family would have died in such an attack. Any entity vicious enough to carry out such an attack must be wiped out without mercy. I will assist you in every way possible in completing such a task. Let us go inside and have a drink together, Mr. Strobert. I am with you in this. You have my word. What is this Cheeseburger business?”

  I popped the clip, cleared the chamber, and handed the Colt back to Denny with the universal I’m watching you gesture from my eyes to his. I put my arm around Alexi’s shoulders. “It’s a mangled nickname of disrespect my so-called friends have labeled me with because of what the infamous Rattler did to my face. It is of no consequence, my friend. I endure their abuse with humor so as to keep up team morale.”

  “May I call you Cheeseburger then?”

  Denny enjoyed that line all the way into the bar. I, the Cheeseburger, was very hurt, but happy a world shaking event could end in a stupid nickname reference. Inside, the gang was all at the bar. As if on cue, they all held up their glasses as we joined them near our seats.

  “Thank you, Hamburger!”

  Alexi dived right into the nickname travesty. “Hamburger has now been given a promotion to Cheeseburger. I am happy to be the first to share this vital information.”

  General hilarity ensued, because they all loved the upgrade. While everyone was in a good mood, I pointed at Lynn and Clint, gesturing them to our outside conference venue. They followed without question. I didn’t pull any punches.

  “First off, we’re on mission for an assault at sea. Secondly, I am not making the decision about whether you go or not, Lynn. You and Clint have all the time until we fly out to decide if it’s a good idea. Clint knows the drawbacks for anyone, let alone a woman nearly three months pregnant, involved in an at sea assault. Take the decision seriously. It is entirely in your hands.”

  “Of course I-”

  Clint stopped Lynn’s immediate response with a comical sealing of her mouth with his hand. “Would you please refrain from making such a decision until we can talk this out, babe? Thanks, John. We’ll discuss it and let you know. Laredo told us it will be at least a week before City of Hope reaches port. They’ve had a couple of weather setbacks.”

  “The ship will not be leaving port instantly either, so don’t rush with your decision. It’s not like we’ll be getting a replacement.” I also regaled them on our Fiialkov recruitment venture.

  “I’m glad you didn’t let Denny kill him,” Lynn said. “I like the old man and his granddaughter… probably more than I like Denny. Clint’s right about talking this out about my going. Thanks for the opportunity to decide, Cheese. Rumor has it everyone is still in one piece back at your house.”

  Oh good. Marla has decided to become the Warehouse news outlet. “There were a couple close calls, including a last second grab to keep Lora from launching the fists of fury, but when I left they were all doing a puzzle together. Let’s go in and absorb a mission free hour or two for a change. How was your day?”

  “Danessa cleaned our place while we were gone,” Lynn replied. “I think she’s trying to make herself indispensable in a manner Clint finds a little creepy.”

  “Think of it from my perspective. We all know what Cruella did to her. That Danessa has now bonded with Cruella and my dog is just a little over the edge for me. On the other hand, our house is clean for the first time since I brought my bride home to it.”

  I watched with amusement as my dynamic duo mixed it up in the dark. Clint quelled the Cruella Deville outrage at being branded a slob with quickly wielded blocks followed by a hug. I had to agree with Clint on his uneasiness, but silently. Getting in between these two was not a mission to be taken lightly. They were again pawing each other affectionately while Clint guided his mate toward the Warehouse door. The Cheeseburger was two for
two so far, but mighty thirsty. When I followed Clint and Lynn inside, I noted Jafar and Samira had arrived. They were joking around with Lucas and Casey while Alexi and Denny were sitting together listening. That was at least a neutral sign of acceptance. Samira looked radiant. She did not accompany Jafar to the Warehouse very often. I could tell Lynn was glad she came. Cruella was probably tired of being one of the boys at these get-togethers. She updated my nickname for Samira’s benefit, of course.

  “I’m calling him Cheese for short,” Lynn finished me off for Samira’s listening pleasure.

  Marla brought me refills as I remained standing amidst my crew. I drained them both. Terrorist assault negotiations, mixed in with a good friend’s possible elimination, made for a tedious business. After the joking around ended, they looked at me speculatively, waiting for some response.

  “Why don’t we put some tables together, and get some food too.”

  “Good idea, Cheese,” Samira agreed. “I am famished.”

  While we were arranging our seats and tables, Tommy, Dev, and Jesse arrived. I had texted them we were having a short meeting with free food and drink. Lynn ran right over to guide Jess to his seat, making him as uncomfortable as possible. She then lightened everything up with my Cheeseburger upgrade. I sat down between Alexi and Denny. After doing a short confirmation we were mission on, I made sure Tommy, Dev, and Jess could watch home base until our return.

  “How are you healin’, Cheese?”

  “Not bad, T, except for my good looks. I’ve stopped getting requests to put a bag over my head. The kids are loving the walks to school with, and I quote, Frankenstein’s Monster. I of course did the arms out, stiff legged walk for them as we mixed in amongst the parents and arriving teachers. The kids all laughed, but I got mixed reviews from the parents and teachers.”

  “That’s a ‘what have you done for me lately’ crowd,” Lynn noted. “You should get a little more respect after we saved the damn school.”

  “They didn’t call the cops,” I replied. “That’s a good thing.”

  Marla took our orders, and brought more drinks. She was going to have a very profitable Thursday night. Tommy continued on a different track.

  “Have you had enough, or do you want to start training again when you get back, meat?”

  “On the same subject,” Alexi said before I could answer. “Eugene Comings’ handlers contacted my fight conglomerate. They have dropped the charges of intentionally hitting him after the round ended. They wanted me to speak with you about a rematch.”

  “The Cheese ain’t fighting the Rattler again. I accepted a competitive fight for him with one of The Little Sisters of the Poor,” Lucas porked me. “I think with hard training he may survive, but who knows after that last embarrassment.”

  Even Alexi enjoyed the Cheeseburger charbroil remark. “It’s a little too soon for me to be torturing myself with thoughts of a Rattler rematch. I’m seriously considering the Little Sister of the Poor smack down. I think I might be able to give her a real battle. Thanks Lucas… you prick!”

  “If you agree to fight the Rattler again, I’m done as your manager,” Tommy blurted out. That shocked everyone into silence. “Comings won’t be showing off this trip on the boat to idiot’s island. He will plant your ass… probably in the morgue. We can get other well-paying matches without ever crossing Comings’ path. You have nothing to prove after that fight. There’s no damn reason in the world to do what Ali and Frazier did to each other decades ago. After those three fights they had, neither man was ever the same again, mentally or physically. I won’t be a part of that.”

  Luckily, Marla arrived with help to feed our group. It took a few minutes to distribute the chow to the proper recipient. “Enjoy the meal. Let me know if you want anything at all.”

  “Thanks Mar,” I told her amidst the silence. She looked around the table uneasily, but left without any further comment.

  “Damn, T!” Jesse put his game face on before even taking a bite of his meal. “What the hell? You can’t just throw Cheese under the bus ‘cause an opponent’s tough. It happens.”

  “While I don’t care to be in attendance at your demise, Cheese, I’ll come along for the ride,” Dev added. “If Rattler puts you down, then so be it. The UFC is pretty good at preventing serious damage.”

  “Except this cement headed idiot won’t tap out!” Tommy put the real objection on the table. “Until the Rattler, I let John call the shots for who he wanted to fight. The Rattler is his kryptonite. Except for being a prancing nitwit, Rattler has no weaknesses. I guarantee he won’t be a showman in a rematch.”

  “You’ve told the Cheese other guys didn’t have weaknesses too, T,” Dev reminded him. “Why the hell would you throw him under the bus now with an ultimatum?”

  “C’mon guys, no need to blow this out of proportion,” I said. “Tommy has the right to option out of this if the rematch happens. He and I have been at this a long time. Hell, even I’m not thrilled about a rematch with Eugene.” I decided on joking around. “I think I trained too hard for the first Rattler fight. I need to ease up. I must have left my game on the practice field.”

  It was a hit. The Cheeseburger goes three for three, but loses his manager. I’ll take a three and one at a time where one of the wins is putting together a plan against an anthrax attack. Alexi waited until we all finished eating before speaking up again.

  “I think a Rattler rematch is a mistake also, John.” Alexi stood up. “I must go now, but I will be in touch with times and dates concerning our other project. Goodnight, my friends… you too, Strobert.”

  With that parting shot, Alexi headed out. Denny smiled at me. “Think I hurt his feelings?”

  “Nope, but a cooling off period may be in order after we get through with this collaboration. Anything of importance going on in our real business, Tommy? Lora didn’t mention any problems, but she’s neck deep in family visitors.”

  “Nothing out of the ordinary. Kevin called from LA. He and the Buffster are in the middle of filming episodes for their TV reality series: Hollywood Bounty Hunters. They want to film a serious takedown. The guy they’re tracking for the episode is Gus Denova.”

  “Denova?” Clint was fully engaged suddenly. “He’s a stone cold killer. Whatever the warrant on him says, he’s done a thousand things worse. I thought he was hiding out in Thailand. They need to pretend he doesn’t exist. That’s a guy you point the FBI and SWAT at. Let them set him up and shoot him in the head.”

  “They probably won’t find him anyway,” Tommy said. “I told them the same thing. Cheese and I nearly got him when he passed through Oakland a few years back. He made it out aboard a tanker heading to Southeast Asia. That must be when you heard he was in Thailand. We got his partner, but Denova gave us the slip. Kevin told me they had a lead on him working with that big Chinese freighting service, Cosco. They have that ex Hell’s Angel, Les Tavor, working with them on busts. Turns out Tavor has a lot of contacts all over the LA area. One of them said they saw Denova. Kevin says they’ll do the investigative work, and then give us a call. If we can’t help, he’ll make sure they don’t go any further.”

  “When I came across him five years ago, Denova worked contracts with a guy named Sven Hogan. Who was he working with when you guys ran across him, Tommy?”

  “That was the guy, Clint… Hogan.”

  “He was a piece of work too. Where is he now?”

  Tommy looked at me. Casey and Lucas were already chuckling. Clint got it. He grinned at Lynn. “I’ll have to make a notation alongside Hogan’s name on our Rogue’s Gallery.”

  “Okay,” Dev said. “Something went wrong during the pickup, huh?”

  Tommy shrugged. “After we zapped him, and put him in the car, I couldn’t shut Hogan up. He decided he could threaten his way out of custody. In a way, he did.”

  “I do not understand,” Samira said.

  “The guy shot his mouth off until Cheese turned his water off,” Lynn told her. “Wher
e’d he end up, Cheese?”

  Sven had made sure to tell Tommy and me he was going to use his phone call at the station to have some nasty people hunt down everyone we’d ever known unless we let him go. I found out who those nasty old people in our area were from Sven – old school. Then they all ended up together in the Davis street dumps landfill. “Sven and a few of his associates went into the landfill business.”

  Tommy sighed. “We lost ten grand on that damn bond, but it was unavoidable. The Cheese is rightfully a little sensitive about threats. Anyway, I told Kev we’d consider it if it doesn’t interfere with anything going on in Denny land.”

  “I watched their pilot episode,” Lynn said. “I laughed my ass off. When Kensy… I mean, the Buffster, leaps out of the action van backed up by those cardboard cutouts with tats… damn… that’s entertainment. In any case, I’m in. No one touches my little Buffster.”

  “We’ll do it, Lynn,” I agreed. “Taking Gus Denova out of circulation is unfinished business. Anyone else wondering what would lure that asshole out of hiding?”

  Lynn waved her hand around in the air comically. “I’ll ask Gus.”

  Jess shook his head. “Sucks to be him.”

  Chapter Eight

  A Simple Walk to School

  Rising early helped my image Friday morning. I made pancakes for Al with her favorite scrambled egg side dish with bacon. She shared some of my early morning routine many times. Al seldom slept in. Claiming the smell of coffee woke her up, Al would join me for a cup of tea, breakfast, or whatever she felt in the mood for. Lora slept every moment she could in the morning. I had to wake her in Dark Lord persona, complete with cup of coffee, and theme song beat. It always led to begging for more moments, Dark Lord sarcasm, and final DL victory as reality won over Lora.

  Al danced into the kitchen, sniffing and growling like a bear fresh out of hibernation. “Oh God, I am so hungry! Do you think I’m getting fat, Dad?”

  I bit my tongue to keep from laughing while Al pirouetted to demonstrate her supposed fat angst. “Absolutely not, but remember moderation in all things. Chew your food, and keep your portion size down. Drink at least a glass of water before eating. Try to-”