Cody exchanged greetings with her before showing her a photo of the man in the suit.
“He was near you and Elijah when the shooting was going on at the festival.”
Heidi’s pretty face formed into a scowl. “I remember him. When he saw Elijah and I together he shook his head and sent us a dirty look. I think he’s a racist.”
Tanner nodded in understanding. Elijah was a light-skinned black man. He and Heidi had already had to deal with racism a few months earlier while at a concert in Culver. Two men had made stupid remarks as the couple were headed to Elijah’s truck in the parking lot. Elijah ignored them until one of them made the mistake of grabbing Heidi by the arm. In the fight that followed, Elijah suffered a split lip. The two men didn’t fare as well and spent the night in the hospital. Culver Chief of Police Brenda Harding, whose grandmother was black, hit the two with every charge she could think of.
“Did the man speak to you?”
Heidi shook her head. “Right after that the shooting started. If you want to talk to Elijah, he’ll be here any minute. He’s coming by to drop off the receipts for supplies he bought in town this morning.”
Cody waited and Elijah appeared nine minutes later. When he saw Cody, he thrust out his hand while grinning.
“I was going to come by the house later to thank you for my promotion, Cody.”
“You deserve it. But as much as I agree with it, it wasn’t my idea, it was Rick’s.”
“I thanked him too, and I swear I’ll do a good job and learn quickly. I already know a lot of what Rick does around here. I need to develop the people skills he has.”
“That will come with time.”
“Cody was asking me about that rude man we saw at the festival, Elijah. You know, the guy wearing the suit.”
Elijah looked blank for a second, then he nodded. “Oh, that guy. Yeah, he looked at me like I was dirt or something. I think he was a damn Nazi.”
Tanner cocked his head. “Why do you call him a Nazi?”
Elijah shrugged. “He was German, or at least, I heard him speaking German. He was mumbling to himself after the shooting stopped; it sounded like German to me. We had a neighbor who spoke it all the time when I was growing up, him I liked a lot.”
“Why are you looking for this man, Cody?” Heidi asked.
“You know that I was a reserve police officer on the day of the festival, right?”
“Uh-huh,” Heidi said.
“Chief Mendez thinks this man could aid in an investigation he’s working on. When I saw that you two had been near him in the photo, I thought you might be able to help.”
“Did we, help that is?” Heidi said.
Cody smiled at her. “Knowing that he’s German might turn out to be important, so yeah, you helped.”
Elijah thanked Cody again for his promotion and Cody left the couple to return to the house. He had no idea who the German was, but he knew someone who might be able to find him. He took out his phone and called Tim Jackson.
10
No More Games
To say that Tim Jackson was a gifted hacker would be like saying that Leonardo Da Vinci had been good at painting. Jackson was levels above his peers, and it had gotten him into trouble with the mob when he inadvertently stole money from a corporation they controlled.
At that same time, Tanner was waging a war against the Conglomerate, which was what the mob was calling themselves during those years. Tanner convinced Tim to team up with him and the two of them brought down the Conglomerate and the man behind it, Frank Richards.
Tim and his wife, Madison, suffered more trouble recently that Tanner aided them in getting through. Tim was elated that he would get an opportunity to help repay Tanner for all he’d done for them.
“I’ve got the photos. Once I’ve identified what sort of car it is, I’ll go about tracking it down.”
“How will you do that?”
“It looks like a high-end auto. I’ll bet you that it came loaded with extras, including a system that can track it in case of an emergency. Once I locate what system the manufacture uses, I’ll take a peek at their info and find out where the car is and who the registered owner is.”
“That sounds like it could take some time.”
“The biggest hurdle is identifying the make, model, and year. There’s software that can do that. Once I have that, I might have something for you in an hour or sooner.”
“You’re a wizard, Tim.”
“Don’t thank me yet. If it’s a common car like a Lexus or a Mercedes, we might get dozens or even hundreds of matches. If that happens, then I’ll have to look through each file and backtrack to see which vehicle had been in Stark, Texas on the day in question. Of course, that will only add a few minutes at most since the computer can do the search for me.”
“How’s Madison doing?”
“She’s good, Tanner. She hasn’t had a nightmare about her abduction in months now. She’s downstairs in the hotel gym or I’d put her on to talk to you.”
“Tell her that I said hello.”
“I will.”
Tanner’s annihilation of the trio with the snake skinned boots had come to the attention of the people who had hired them to deal with him. They were an organization that Tanner had brushed up against once before in New York City. They called themselves Cipher.
Cipher was an entity with a reputation for getting the impossible done. Governments and even individuals with unlimited resources would contract with them to commit nefarious acts that couldn’t be traced back to those requesting them. Cipher accomplished this by hiring a myriad of groups to do their bidding.
Tanner, Joe Pullo, and Jake Caliber the fifth had aided the authorities in thwarting a plan carried out by Cipher that would have destroyed the United States economy. Thanks to bribes and well-placed sources, Cipher was aware of their involvement. They were now beginning to wonder if the assassin Tanner was once again interfering in their business.
Two men and a woman met together in an office tower in Dubai. One of the men was old, the other was thirty-five, and the woman’s age was indeterminate. They had become aware that one of Cipher’s money laundering endeavors had suffered problems. Like many problems, it seemed to be getting worse despite being given attention.
Raúl and Felicia had been reliable contractors for years, as were Mr. Smith, Mr. Jones, and Mr. Johnson. They had been bested by a man Felicia described as having, “Eyes that make one shiver.”
The three members of Cipher realized that the description matched similar ones related to the American assassin, Tanner.
The old man suggested that they send another team of killers to Texas to deal with the problem. The younger man was willing to go along with that, but the woman protested.
“Remember what happened in New York City last year? We sat idle while assuming that the contractor we engaged would solve the problem. Instead, Tanner, Pullo, and Caliber destroyed the contractor’s organization and ruined our plans. Our client was extremely unhappy, and I don’t doubt it will be some time before they use us again, if ever. We cannot afford to let this… ‘hit man’ become a continuing thorn in our side. I say we quit playing games and destroy him now.”
The old man considered her words as he took a puff on his pipe. “Perhaps you’re right. Who do you suggest we use?”
“Logan Fortunato.”
The younger man chuckled. “Fortunato? To kill one man?”
The woman turned her cold gaze on her colleague. “Have you read the file we commissioned on Tanner?”
“No. What difference does that make?”
“Read it. It won’t take you more than ten minutes. And I’ll grant you that much of it was gathered through hearsay and speculation, but keep in mind that the accuracy of the information is said to be ninety percent.”
The younger man picked up a computer tablet that was lying on the table before him. He accessed the correct file and began reading. Within a minute he licked his lips nervously, as he
read deeper into the file, he was seen to swallow hard. As he was reaching the end of the report, his head shot up.
“He single-handedly destroyed Ordnance Inc.?”
“Yes,” said the woman. “He fought a battle with hundreds of men and killed them all. Now do you see why I want to use Fortunato?”
“I do,” said the man. “I now wonder if he’ll be enough.”
“Logan Fortunato and his people have never failed,” said the old man. “As remarkable as he is, Tanner is still just one man.”
“Ordnance Inc. probably thought the same thing,” the young man mumbled.
The woman smiled at his change in attitude. Minutes earlier he hadn’t thought Tanner more than a minor irritation, now he was worried. She had inherited her lofty position as had the younger man. She thought herself more worthy of the honor than he was. She had a steel spine and an innate understanding of what Cipher was and wasn’t. She turned to her colleague and tried to make him understand.
“We have an advantage that Ordnance Inc., Alonzo Alvarado, and the others who have fallen to Tanner never had—we are anonymous. We are those who direct the chess pieces around the board, but we are never in jeopardy of being checkmated. Even if Tanner learned of our existence, he would have no way to find us. Cipher is no more than a rumor and we keep it that way by never personally getting our hands dirty.”
“What if he knows about us already?” said the younger man. “Maybe that’s why he’s interfering in our business.”
The woman shrugged her delicate shoulders. “The money laundering difficulty is an internal problem. That means we won’t risk alienating a client again. If Fortunato fails and Tanner retrieves the rare bill before we do, it will be a loss, but not a devastating one. There are a world of mercenaries and paid killers we can throw at Tanner, and eventually they’ll wear him down and defeat him, even if it takes decades. There is no way for him to track us down. Our triumph over him is inevitable. Now, let’s move on to the contracts we’re fulfilling in South America. How are they going?”
The old man opened a file in front of him to read aloud, and the meeting continued. To the heads of the organization known as Cipher, Tanner was a speed bump on an otherwise smooth and endless road of wealth and power.
Tim Jackson came through once again. He identified the white car belonging to the German as being a Volvo S90 Hybrid. There were thirty-two white S90s registered in Texas. After pinpointing exactly which one of those was in Stark, Texas on Saturday, Tim hacked into the files of the company that serviced the car’s safety and security system. That allowed him to find out where it was currently located.
“That car is about forty miles north of Dallas, Tanner. It looks like it hasn’t moved in days. I’ll send you the exact GPS location.”
“You’re the best, Tim. What’s the name on the registration?”
“Karl Weber. That’s Karl spelt with a K. I’ll send you a copy of his driver’s license photo.”
“Do that, and thanks again.”
“And I’ll send you an alert if the car moves.”
“It will probably move when I get there. Weber thinks he’s safe, but if I can find him, so can others.”
“Oh, so he’s not a, um…”
“I’m not after him. I need him to tell me what information he has. Believe it or not, I’m helping the police solve a robbery.”
Tim laughed. “I believe it. You’re always full of surprises.”
Cody decided to fly to the Dallas area by using his own plane. He also made a stop at a neighbor’s house to ask someone to come along with him.
Caroline looked surprised to see Cody on her doorstep, but she smiled and asked him to come inside. She was dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt and was carrying a pair of cotton gloves. Her long blonde hair was tied back in a loose ponytail and she wore no makeup. The natural beauty was still lovely.
“Cody. Hi. This is an unexpected pleasure.”
“I hope I’m not bothering you or interrupting anything.”
“No, I just came inside to get a drink of water. Daddy and I are doing a little late-season gardening.”
“I’m actually here to see your father. I’ve a favor to ask of him.”
“Follow me.”
Caroline’s home was no ranch, but it did sit on two acres. They were putting some of the land to good use by planting carrots, spinach, turnips, and what looked like collard greens.
Crash smiled wide and nodded enthusiastically when Cody said that he needed a favor.
“Anything.”
“I haven’t asked yet.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Crash said as he leaned over and pecked Caroline on the cheek. “You saved my baby. I’ll always owe you for that.”
“I want you to bring one of your drones and fly with me to the Dallas area. There’s a man there I need to talk to. He might have information about the robbery of the Fall Festival.”
“Why do you need a drone?” Caroline asked.
“I think there are other people looking for this man. I want to know if they’re there already before I move in.”
“Will Daddy be in any danger?”
“No. There’s a chance that I’ll face trouble, but I’ll be ready for it. Your father will be piloting the drone from miles away. That will keep him safe. We’ll stay in communication through equipment I have.”
“I wish I could come with you,” Caroline said, “but Jarod will be home from school before we could get back.”
“Too bad,” Cody said, and meant it. He liked Caroline. She could have also flown a second drone to give them more coverage.
“When are we leaving?” Crash asked.
“Come by the ranch as soon as you’re ready. I’ll be out at the hangar. It will take us over two hours to get there, and then we’ll have to rent a car and drive the rest of the way.”
“I should pack up food for you two,” Caroline said.
“No need. Franny is already making sandwiches for the trip. We’ll each have a thermos of coffee too.”
“I like that woman,” Crash said.
Cody nodded. “I hear that it’s mutual.”
They were ready to go and about to take off when Cody saw a figure come running toward them across a field. It was Henry. He was wearing black jeans, black boots, and a bright blue hoodie that had the name and logo of his college on it.
He ran up to the plane and asked Cody where they were going. After Cody explained, Henry said that he wanted to come along.
“I thought you had an afternoon class today.”
“It was cancelled. The professor is ill. I can send Grandma a text telling her where I’ll be and I’m good to go.”
“Climb on in,” Cody said. Henry sat in the rear beside a backpack that was full of equipment, and soon they were off. Tanner had been right to think that someone else was looking for the German. That someone was named Logan Fortunato. He was planning to use the German as bait to catch Tanner and reel him in.
11
Little Man, Big Brain
Logan Fortunato’s real name was Larry Evers. Evers was physically unimpressive but had a high IQ and a devious mind. He stood only five foot four inches tall and weighed a hundred and thirty-six pounds.
What he lacked in brawn he made up for in brains. He had learned to outsource his need for brawn while still a child in grade school.
Larry skipped grades in school, and thus was smaller than his classmates. He had been bullied by several kids in his class because of his size and intellect. When he grew tired of it, he decided to do something about it. That was when he made an offer to a kid named Bruce.
Bruce was Larry’s opposite. He had brawn but was a dullard. While Larry was a nine-year-old who was much smaller than his twelve-year-old classmates, Bruce was the size of a high school senior. He was huge and had the strength to go with it. Despite being unable to do his assignments he was never left back or given bad marks.
No one teased the slow-witted Bruce, although to
look at him you’d think he might be a prime target. The last kid who had called him a dummy wound up losing three front teeth from a single punch. This was before the days of zero tolerance toward violence. It also hadn’t hurt that the principal was afraid of getting on the bad side of Bruce’s father. Young Bruce had come by his size honestly. Bruce Sr. was a hulking figure who it was rumored worked as an enforcer for a loan shark. The principal blamed the entire affair on the other student and had him suspended. Bruce was allowed to stay in school. The principal and Bruce’s teachers were just waiting for the day when the boy would be moved on to the junior high where he would become someone else’s problem.
Larry noticed all this and saw a way to use it to his advantage. He essentially hired Bruce. Hiring people was not a new experience for Larry. He ran a lawn business in the summer and a snow removal business in the winter and had been doing so since he was six. He realized that he didn’t need to do work himself in order to have the work get done. With the help of his mother, his only parent, he hired older kids to cut lawns and shovel snow. The business was so successful that his mother was able to quit her “job” as a prostitute.
People were willing to work for money, and most people settled for less than they were worth. The difference between what Larry charged his customers and what he paid his workers was pure profit. He paid no taxes on that money and his only expenses were a pen and notebook to keep track of things.
To hire Bruce, he had to give the huge boy what he wanted most, and that was candy.
Bruce loved candy but never had the money to buy any. Larry kept Bruce supplied with sweets and Bruce made certain that Larry was never bothered again. Being profit minded, Larry thought of a way to make money with Bruce. In essence, he started a protection racket. Every kid in school had to hand over a quarter each Monday morning, or otherwise Larry would have Bruce make them sorry that they didn’t.
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