Only Perez remained on his feet. He was bent over with his hands pressed against his stomach, and his eyes and teeth clenched against the agony in his midsection. Tanner’s shovel had dug deep into his stomach.
Tanner took a step back, raised the shovel over his head, and brought it down with as much force as he could. A crunching sound was heard as metal met skull and Perez dropped beside his fellow mercenaries, as the first to die.
Pullo tossed aside his shovel and disarmed the men that still had guns. The lean man with his ruined mouth was in too much agony to even contemplate resisting. He pawed at the ground with one hand as bits of broken teeth dripped from the maw of his devastated face.
Sullivan was regaining his senses. As Pullo took his gun, he made a weak attempt to grab it. Pullo kicked him in the ribs, forcing him onto his back, so he could stare down at Sullivan.
“When you were in New York last week you knifed a man in a bar. That was my friend, Al Bellini.”
Sullivan’s mind cleared as the threat of death approached. He held up a hand while pleading.
“I was there on Nick Cannon’s orders. If you want payback on someone, kill Nick.”
“He’ll be taken care of too, but you’re mine, Sullivan.”
“No, man, no, don’t kill me, don’t—”
“This is for Al Bellini,” Pullo growled. He fired two shots into Sullivan’s chest. Both slugs hit the man’s heart, ending his life.
Tanner used the shovel to bash in the skulls of the remaining two men, killing the last of Cannon’s mercenaries.
“Joe.”
Pullo had been staring down at Sullivan. He turned toward Tanner with a look of satisfaction on his face. “Now we go back, and you can kill Nick Cannon.”
“I’ll be going back alone.”
“What do you mean?”
“Cannon has that receipt for the motel that was found on Briggs. There’s a chance he might send someone there to check it out, if so, they’ll find Gracie and Kate.”
Pullo gestured at the bodies. “He doesn’t have any guys left.”
“Yeah, but what if he recruits someone from the regular militia? We can’t risk it. You take the van and make sure Gracie and Kate are safe.”
“Damn, you’re right, but I don’t like you going back to that base alone.”
Tanner smiled as he looked down at Sullivan’s corpse. “I won’t be alone.”
The guard at the gate was a different man than the one who had been on duty when they left. The guy looked past Tanner, who was behind the wheel of the black pickup, to take in Sullivan.
Tanner spoke in a soft voice. “He fell asleep on the ride back.”
“Why are you driving his truck?”
“You wouldn’t be asking that if you’d seen how much he put away.”
The man wrinkled his nose. He was a young guy with a slim build and chubby cheeks.
“What’s that smell?”
“You ever hear the phrase, blind stinking drunk?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s the stinking part. I think Sully shit himself.”
The guard’s eyebrows shot up. “Damn, I don’t ever want to be that drunk.” He checked the log to mark their return and noticed something. “This says the truck left here with four other men in the van. Where are they?”
Tanner smiled. “The last I saw of them they were doing good with a group of college girls. They might not be back until morning, lucky bastards.”
The guard chuckled and waved Tanner through. If he wondered why Sullivan was wearing a wool jacket on a warm July night, he didn’t say so. Tanner had found the football jacket in the pickup and placed it on Sullivan’s corpse to hide his bloody wounds. With his eyes closed and buckled into the seat, Sullivan passed for a sleeping man.
After reaching the main house, Tanner had to maneuver the big man’s corpse into the driver’s seat. Once accomplished, he climbed into the shadows of the tight rear seat, reached over Sullivan’s shoulder, and blew the horn three times.
The meeting at the mess hall had ended during Tanner’s absence. Most of the participants were at home for the night, with a few visiting the bar. Only two people walked past the truck. They were a boy and a girl in their teens. They only had eyes for each other and paid Sullivan’s pickup no attention.
Nick Cannon emerged from the main house, locked the door behind him, and walked down the stairs. There was no guard on duty for once. Until the house was cleaned up and the blood scrubbed away, it wouldn’t be a good idea to invite a regular militia member to the home. Any guard venturing inside to use the bathroom couldn’t help but noticed the residue of the violence that occurred earlier.
Cannon addressed that subject as he approached the truck.
“I hope you told Perez and the others to clean the house, Sullivan. I hosed down the porch and the steps, but that runner in the hall is too bloody to—Sullivan? What the hell, are you asleep?”
Tanner leaned forward and pointed his gun at Cannon’s face.
“Sullivan is dead. You’ll be next if you don’t do what I say.”
Cannon swallowed hard as his breathing increased. “Don’t shoot me, damn it; we can make a deal.”
Tanner stepped out of the back of the truck. After disarming Cannon, he gave the man a shove. “Get into the passenger seat.”
“What?”
“You’ve got a date with Shasta Shah, right? You don’t want to keep the woman waiting.”
“You want to go to the cult compound?”
“Get in the truck, Cannon.”
Cannon decided to do as he was told. Once he was in the passenger seat, Tanner opened the driver’s side door, gripped the collar of Sullivan’s jacket, and let the body tumble to the ground without ceremony. After tossing out the blanket the corpse had been sitting on, Tanner climbed behind the wheel with the gun still in his hand.
“Try anything, and I’ll kill you.”
Cannon nodded in response as his mind raced. Tanner knew what he was thinking. Once they were inside the cult compound, Shah could order her monitors to attack Tanner, and he wouldn’t be able to escape unless she allowed it. Those facts calmed the militia leader and he made certain they got past the gate guard with no problem.
As Tanner drove, he asked Cannon a question.
“Who did you sell the girls to?”
“What girls?”
“Try playing stupid and I’ll make you bleed.”
“Are you a Fed?”
“No, answer the question.”
“Logan had connections with a gang in Miami.”
“And how many girls have you sold?”
“Only three so far.”
“And you were gearing up to sell them by the dozen in New York City.”
“You know about that?”
“I’ve been inside that warehouse of yours, but why New York?”
“The Miami crew is just a satellite of a gang based in New York. It would also be hard for the cops to track the girls to the warehouse once they left the bus station.”
“Why only three in the beginning?”
“We wanted to see if the authorities would come down on us.”
“Briggs was a Fed.”
“Logan had a friend who told us an ATF agent was sniffing around. It must have been Briggs investigating our arms sales, but I guess he stumbled onto this other thing. That’s why I’m seeing Shasta tonight. I have to tell her we need to hold off for a while.”
“A while? An ATF agent goes missing from your base and you don’t think they’ll be scrutinizing your every move from now on?”
“They will, but they won’t be watching the cult, and I still have the connections in place. Ray, you’re a smart man, you must see the profit that can be made, and it’s not just sex slaves. Some of the cult members could be used in the drug trade. They always need women to put to work cutting the drugs, or maybe turn them into drug mules. Shasta Shah’s cult is a goldmine. No matter how many women we sell, more join Shast
a’s cult every day, and no one keeps track of who comes and goes. Throw in with us, Ray. You’ll soon be a wealthy man.”
“Let’s sit down with Shah and make some plans, but I want to be a full partner.”
“It sounds good to me. Nobody else has to die and we all get rich.”
They arrived at the cult and Cannon told Tanner the four-digit code to get in.
As the gate slid aside, Tanner asked a question.
“Do we have to get past any security?”
“I called earlier. Shasta is expecting me. Just drive straight to the palace. There will be monitors there, but they have orders to let me up to see her. If I tell them you’re with me, they won’t question it.”
“If anything goes wrong, I’ll kill you first, Cannon.”
“Understood.”
As the gate closed behind him, Tanner drove toward a palace, to visit a goddess.
He smiled inwardly. Wait until I tell Romeo about this.
32
Silence Is Golden
As Cannon had predicted, they had no trouble gaining entrance to the palace. Once they were outside Shasta Shah’s master bedroom suite, security grew tighter and they were approached by three monitors. Tanner didn’t recognize any of the men from his previous stint at the compound. These guards worked the night shift, so it was not surprising.
“He’s with me,” Cannon told them.
“Are you armed?” one monitor asked in a deep voice. He had an assault rifle slung over his back, as did his two companions.
“Yes,” Tanner said, and pulled up his shirt to reveal the holster on his hip.
“Leave it with us.”
“No problem,” Tanner said.
He unholstered the gun slowly, then appeared to be handing it over. As the monitor reached for it, Tanner dropped the gun, kept his hand moving, and freed the nightstick hanging from the man’s belt.
With one fluid motion, Tanner struck the guard on the side of the head while burying a booted foot into the groin of a second monitor.
While the third man was bringing his rifle around, Tanner’s arm moved in a blur and he struck the man in the face four times. The nightstick broke the guard’s nose while causing damage to his lips and right eye. Tanner gained control of the rifle and held it on the men. He then halted Cannon by saying six words.
“You’ll never outrun a bullet, Nick.”
Cannon had been rushing toward the golden doors that led into Shasta Shah’s bedroom suite. He was three steps from the elaborately designed portal when he froze. Tanner was glad Cannon believed the threat, because he didn’t want to use a gun.
If Shasta Shah heard shots being fired, she would have more monitors rush to her aid. Until Tanner had her under control, he was at great risk. If Shah wanted to, she could enlist the aid of her followers as she had once before, children included. Tanner needed to avoid that at all costs.
“Get back over here,” Tanner told Cannon, who complied. Tanner then put him to work disarming the monitors while also taking their radios and keys. Afterward, they were handcuffed together and marched toward a stairway. Once there, Tanner employed the handcuffs to link them to the stairway’s metal baluster.
Three sets of eyes stared at Tanner with murder in their gaze, but only one man gave voice to his anger. It was the same guard Tanner had kicked in the groin.
“If you harm the goddess, we’ll hunt you down and kill you.”
In response, Tanner kicked him in the balls again.
Tanner pushed a glowing button set in an intricate frame. It was embedded upon a twelve-foot high golden door covered in an intricate pattern of arabesque design. After ringing the doorbell, Tanner stepped to the side and out of view of the peephole. The chiming of bells could be heard coming from beyond the door as Tanner whispered to Cannon.
“Try warning her and I’ll cripple you, and oh yeah, put a smile on your face.”
A sickly grin formed on Cannon’s lips. It made him appear to be suffering from constipation. When the door was opened by Shasta Shah, Tanner shoved Cannon into her and entered the room. Shah stumbled backwards but stayed on her feet.
She said, “What the hell, Nick?” then spotted Tanner. Before she could utter another word, Tanner rushed toward her and landed a hard right jab on her chin. Shasta Shah fell to the floor in a sprawl, looking very un-goddess-like. She was out cold, and a pink satin slipper had come off her right foot. The cult leader was dressed in a matching rose-colored robe with a black nightgown beneath it.
“Drag her over there and place her on the sofa,” Tanner told Cannon, while pointing at the sitting area.
Cannon spoke as he bent down to grab Shah by the wrists.
“None of this is necessary, Ray. I’m telling you, the three of us can work out a deal.”
“Shut up.”
After Cannon wrestled Shah’s limp form onto the sofa, Tanner instructed Cannon to follow him over to the suite’s walk-in closet. It was a large space with its own seating area, ceiling fans, refrigerator, coffee maker, and microwave. It could have made a decent apartment for a family of four.
After selecting an elaborate gown of silver that had golden highlights, Tanner tossed it to Cannon. Glittery silver shoes and a golden tiara were grabbed off a shelf and thrown toward Cannon as well.
“Put this stuff on Shah.”
“What? Why?”
“She needs to be in costume when she’s out among her people.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You don’t have to, Cannon, just get her dressed.”
Nick Cannon went to work on Shah as Tanner surveyed the room. He spotted the control panel Kate had mentioned in one of their conversations. It was on a wall beside a set of double doors that led to a stone balcony. It was the perfect spot to look out over the courtyard below. There were no drapes on the doors since no one other than a bird could have looked into the room.
Tanner studied the control panel and saw that Shah had kept things simple. Several buttons controlled the lights inside the compound. They were meant to override the automatic cycle of the dusk to dawn lighting, while also controlling the brightness. Along with the light controls, there was a loudspeaker system and an alarm.
Tanner considered the alarm, then realized that it would be too much, as for making an announcement, Shah would soon be incapable of doing that. No, the lights would do the trick.
As he walked over to the sofa, Tanner removed a tube of glue from his pocket. He’d come across it while rummaging in the glovebox of Sullivan’s pickup truck. The moment he saw it he thought of Shasta Shah.
He had spent nearly two full days locked in a pit while forced to listen to Shasta Shah’s voice. He never wanted to hear it again.
According to the writing on the tube, the glue was colorless, quick-drying, and bonded anything to anything. As Cannon slipped the glittery shoes on her feet, Tanner applied the glue to her lips.
“What the hell are you doing?” Cannon asked.
“She needs lipstick.”
“Are you gluing her lips together?”
“Silence is golden.”
Tanner was generous with the glue and made certain to apply it evenly. A bruise had begun forming on Shah’s chin. However, it was still faint and wouldn’t be obvious until it grew darker.
When she’d begun to stir awake, Tanner had gone over to the control panel and turned every exterior light in the compound on to full brilliance. As an added measure, he had activated the speaker system momentarily, causing it to squeal, as if the goddess Saisis were about to make a pronouncement.
Lights came on in the north, where the living quarters were. Soon, figures appeared on the street below, with their heads tilted back to gaze up at the balcony.
Shasta Shah awoke while moaning, then she touched her chin gingerly. The fingers moved up to her mouth and she began mumbling as her eyes went wide.
“I glued your lips together,” Tanner told her. “It should weaken in a few days.”
Shah struggled to open her mouth, even using her hands to attempt to pry them apart. When that didn’t work, she scrambled off the sofa, intending to make a dash for the control panel. She had just gotten to her feet when Tanner grabbed her by the wrist and pressed his gun against her temple.
“The three of us are going downstairs. When Cannon and I are back outside I’ll let you go. If you try to warn any of your monitors by gesturing, I’ll shoot you. Do we understand each other?”
Shah didn’t respond. She had just noticed that she was dressed in a gown and wearing a tiara. Cannon had put the dress on over her nightgown.
Accusing eyes found Tanner as Shah gestured to herself.
“He didn’t touch you, Shasta,” Cannon said. “He made me put the dress on you.”
“You have to look your best whenever you go out, yes?” Tanner said, while lowering the gun.
Shah mumbled something, then wiggled her fingers before gesturing at her neck.
“You want to put on jewelry? No, I think the tiara is enough. Now it’s time to leave, and remember something, If I’m attacked, you die first.”
As they stepped into the corridor outside the bedroom, they could hear the guards in the stairwell calling for help, their voices echoed in the closed chamber.
On the ride down in the elevator, Cannon asked Tanner what he had planned for him.
“Unlike Shah, you’ll do plenty of talking. I want to know how to find those girls you two sold.”
“What’s the point? The people that have them won’t give them back, and they may have sold them themselves. Logan told me that the girls get passed around sometimes, or even given away to sweeten a drug deal.”
Tanner held the gun with his arm hanging loosely at his side. Cannon’s cavalier attitude toward the women he and Shah used made him want to bring the weapon up and blast him in the knee. He calmed himself. Cannon would be dead soon enough.
Shah and Cannon were in front of Tanner when the doors on the elevator slid open. If the monitors had been alerted to their mistresses’ plight, she would have been used as a shield. Instead, they seemed surprised to see her step off the elevator and bowed in respect.
Tanner- Year One Page 16