Tanked: TANKED

by Cheri Lewis

  I hesitate when I see them together, though I have a funny rush of mixed feelings come across me. Maybe this is his girlfriend. A twinge of jealously hits my heart. Maybe I should leave. “Hey, I just stopped in to tell you I was here, I’ll let you visit with your, err, company.” I say quickly.

  Tank looks up from the file he has been studying. “McKinsey don’t leave.” I try hard to smother the smug smile when the look of surprise rolls across Super Slut's face. “I need to talk to you about your case real quick. Chrissy was about to leave.”

  “Oh… okay.” I feel a little sick on my stomach, Yep totally a hooker. Okay what in the hell is wrong with me? He can have a girlfriend or a hooker or whatever he wants, but why her? Ugh.

  Super Slut closes the distance between herself and Tank and gives him a hug. It shocks me when she “accidently” rubs side boob on his head when she hugs him. How do you accidently side boob somebody? I frown when her baby voice speaks again, “Okay Tatum, if you need anything you know my number. Hey, how about calling mom and dad sometime soon? They’d love to hear from you.”

  Mom and dad? Is this his sister? What kind of screwed up mess is that? Surely not, no wait he said his dad left him this place when he died… Tank clears his throat and looks up at her and I see that look again, the look of a broken man. Who was this girl? He nods without saying a word. She leans in and kisses his cheek leaving a blob of goo where her lips touch him. I immediately open my purse and pull out my hand sanitizer and a Kleenex and offer it to Tank. “It will wipe the lip gloss easier,” I say as I point to my cheek showing him where he needs to wipe.

  “Bitch,” she whispers under her breath as she walks out of the office.

  Ha! Takes one to know one. Surprisingly, Tank doesn’t seem to notice our territorial standoff. I knew he wasn’t mine but that girl needs to sink her claws into someone else. After he’s done he hands me back the hand sanitizer and I can’t stand it any longer I have to know. “Who was that?”

  “Christine.”

  I roll my eyes at his short answer that doesn’t explain anything. “Is she your sister?” I ask even though I know it can’t be but I’m fishing for answers.

  “No, I’m an only child.”

  “Oh, okay, the whole 'call mom and dad' is why I asked.” I lie.

  He looks back down at the file and quietly states with sadness, “She’s my sister-in-law… well… she was.”

  “Oh,” is the only thing I can think to say. I mean how do I respond to that? But I do know this whoever she is, or was, I still don’t like her, at all.

  He stares at me a second then looks back down after he asks, “Hey, do you know a Julian Boker?”

  Ugh this is when Jessie would come in handy he never forgets a face or a name. “No. Should I?”

  He closes the file then folds his hands on top of it. “They found somebody had hacked into your computer, Facebook, email, cell phone. All of it, even your work computer has been compromised. This means he’s had access to your credit card information but he hasn’t done anything with the information. So it was strictly to gain knowledge about you.”

  I feel a lump form in my throat, and my heart aches with fear. “Do you think it’s him? The black rose guy?”

  He shrugs. “Possibly.”

  That means they know who the killer is and can go arrest him, I smile a hopeful smile as I say, “So this means you can get him, go find him now?”

  He nods. “I can do you one better. We’ve already got him.”

  I wonder if I’d recognize him. “Can I see him? I mean do you have a picture in case I’ve seen him around?”

  Tank rubs his hand over his chin several times, like he’s playing with the beard that used to be there. He then nods, stands from his desk, and jerks his head indicating for me to follow. We go further down the hallway to a set of stairs I’ve never seen before. I follow behind him and when we reach the top and step into a long hallway with doors on both sides and I say, “This must be the office building part of your dad's business.”

  “Yeah, at one time he was the leading contractor in the tri-state area,” he beams with pride.

  I don’t have time to respond as he stops abruptly at the next to the last door on the left. He turns around to face me. “He won’t be able to see you through the glass.”

  “He’s here!?” I yell too loud in shock.

  “Yes, I told you he’s being questioned.”

  “Why isn’t he at the police station?”

  He sighs. “If it’s him, he’ll be there shortly. We just need to make sure.”

  I nod my head in understanding even though I don’t understand, and nothing could’ve prepared me for what I was about to see.

  Tank opens the door directly to our left and walks inside. It’s a smaller room that is dimly lit. There is a large window that is blacked out. A small table sits in the middle of the room with two metal chairs pushed up underneath it. There are open soda cans and protein bar wrappers on the table.

  Tank walks to the blacked out window and pushes a button on the wall. The window turns transparent and there sits a wormy young kid with glasses at a table just like the one in the room I’m in and he looks terrified. His navy blue t-shirt has a sweat ring around his neck, and it’s apparent he’s been crying. I walk closer to the window; I don’t recognize him at all, not a thread of familiarity. I thought maybe I might know his brother or sister but I don’t. I jump when Alexander appears in front of the window, his back is toward us. He slaps a pad of paper on the table with a loud whack! I look up at Tank. “Why— why are the walls padded?”

  “It also serves as a holding room; do you recognize him?”

  I can’t take my eyes away from the boy sitting in the room. “No, I don’t know him. He can’t be more than fifteen, he’s a child.”

  “He’s nineteen. And are you sure you don’t know him?”

  “No I don’t know him. He’s terrified.”

  Tank clicks the button and the window goes black in front of my face, I reach out to hit the button. Tank gently grabs my hand. “McKinsey, we’re not going to hurt him, but he knows something. He was the one who accessed your information. It might have gone to the highest bidder but he has a way of tracking where the payment money came from and who lies on the other end of that transaction.”

  I pull my hand away. “All I asked was to see a picture of him. Not somebody being scared to death.”

  He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. “I didn’t have a picture of him.”

  “Alexander could have taken a picture and sent it to you on your phone,” I say as I turn and walk back out into the hallway and I don’t stop until I make it all the way downstairs to the basement then sit on the bottom step of the stairway.

  I know Tank is behind me without even looking. “Why do you have a torture chamber like that anyway at an old construction company office? It makes no sense.”

  He comes and sits beside me. “That room serves multiple purposes.”

  “You know what, never mind. You said he wasn’t going to hurt the kid and he’ll find out what he knows. I don’t want to know anymore.”

  Tank’s phone chimes. He leans back to pull it from his pocket. “I need to get back upstairs. Are you alright?”

  “Yeah, I’m peachy,” I say with a little too much sarcasm.

  He stands and then reaches his hand out to me. I don’t take it, I look down at the worn carpet in front of me. He squats down and we are face to face. “Look McKinsey, I know that was a bit of a shock back there but you came to me to do a job. I know it feels like it’s gotten out of hand but I swear to you, we are going to solve this and you’re going to go back to your life of hanging out with your friend and getting your nails done and fighting with your mother, okay? You just have to let us do our job the way we know how.”

  I look past him and I say, “I know you're right but I just didn’t expect for you to have some torture room that you hold people in. It was a shock.”

  He
stands up and stretches out his hand again. I take it and he pulls me up as he says, “Now hopefully we got some answers. I’ll be back in a bit. And for the record, that’s not the torture room. It’s across the hall.”

  My mouth falls open as he shakes his head and half smirks. “I’m kidding! I swear, there are only empty offices in the rest of the rooms.” He lifts his hand and shuts my mouth with one finger under my chin. “I promise, cross my heart and pinky swear and all that good stuff you and Jessie do.”

  “Just go,” I groan in exasperation.

  He turns and jogs up the steps and I watch as he disappears through the door.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Tuna

  I’m excited it’s Friday. Jessie will be coming in tonight and I can’t wait. The guys have been busy chasing down someone they call Zebib. The little computer nerd said that’s the man’s online call name that bought my information and he also said the name Zebib was computer terminology for something. I personally think he could’ve come up with something a little better than Zebib.

  So that means I’m spending most of the evening by myself, of course other than Peacock, which I learned after I made a complete idiot of myself, is his real name and not because he is a male and struts like a peacock, is babysitting me out front. Jessie calls me about 9:30 on his way here which means he won’t be here until about 2 o’clock in the morning. We talk about my week and he listens to me cry and then stops me in the middle of one of my many rants, “Sunshine, my mother is calling me again. I can’t keep letting it go to voicemail, and I need to talk to her. Anyway I’ll be there shortly. You get some rest.”

  “Okay, I’ll see you in a bit.” I hit the end button to stop the call. I lay in bed a few minutes wide awake with no hope of sleep, Prima purring quietly at my head. I roll over trying to get comfortable but nothing works. I feel restless and bored so I get up, grab my pajamas and decide to take a long hot shower. I stay in the shower until the water starts to get cold. I dry off and throw my pajamas on, then wrap my hair in the towel and neatly stack it on top of my head. I head to the kitchen to make myself a bowl of cereal, then go into the living room and sit in the middle of the older but very comfortable couch. The crunch of my cereal is so loud inside my head it annoys me. I carefully lean over and grab the remote off the coffee table and turn on the TV. I flip through the channels until I find one of my favorite shows where people go and look at different houses then they have to decide which one they’re going to buy at the end of the show.

  A flash of light at the stop of the stairs causes me to look up; I see legs and bare feet walking down the steps. Tank looks freshly showered himself; his hair is damp and I could smell soap. I smile at him as I say, “Sorry if I bothered you.”

  “Nah, we got back a little while ago and the guys have all gone for the night. And I don’t normally go to bed this early but I figured you would be on the phone with Jessie or sleeping.”

  “I can’t sleep, I’m too wired. Jessie's on his way here and it’ll be late, so I figured I would wait up for him and let him in. He’s supposed to call when he turns on the street.”

  He turns toward the television and watches a commercial selling a microwavable bacon holder then says, “I’m sure I’ll be up, I’ll let him in, and you should try and get some rest.”

  I take another bite of cereal and have to use the bottom of my pajama top to wipe milk running down my chin where it has dripped off the spoon. Then I ask, “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you something. How much is Alexander costing me? I mean, I know my parents will help pay but I feel like the hours and dollars are adding up quickly.”

  Tank sits on the loveseat and leans back, then put his head back and looks toward the ceiling. “He’s not costing you anything. He works with me. In the beginning he probably would’ve charged you something but when this nutcase screwed with his equipment and messed it up, not to mention he ruined his two outside cameras and those weren’t the kind you go buy at your local store, it became a little personal. Plus he retired to be home with his family and I think he misses the thrill of the chase.”

  I turn the bowl up and drink the sugary sweet milk, emptying it. “So he’s not just a camera installer?”

  Tank laughs. “No, he was in an elite group, the kind that comes in and cleans up the problem when the other guys can’t handle it.”

  “Oh, so he was like F.B.I or C.I.A. or something?”

  “Yeah, something like that. You remember that guy, Ambrose?”

  I nod then realize he’s still looking at the ceiling. “Yeah.”

  “He named one of his twins he just had after Ambrose. They’ve been through some real shit together. Anyway after he retired, he came to work with me. And honestly, I don’t know why.” The last part seems to be an afterthought not directed toward me.

  I slide the empty bowl onto the coffee table then pull the towel off my head and run my fingers through my tangled wet hair. I grab a couch pillow then lie over and curl up on the couch. We sit in silence for a long time before I decide to ask another question. “Can I ask you something else?”

  He finally lifts his head and his eyes are tired but there’s also something else floating behind them, a hint of sadness again. “McKinsey you don’t have to ask me if you can ask me a question, just ask it.”

  “Well I know, but I also know sometimes it’s none of my business.”

  “And if it is none of your business, I’ll tell you it’s none of your business.”

  I smile at him. “Deal. Where do you sleep?”

  He sighs, then he leans over and lays his head on the arm of the love seat, his feet hung off the other end. “On a couch upstairs.”

  “Why?” I ask in shock, probably too quickly.

  He continues, “I just sleep better on a couch.” I could tell I was on the verge of none of my business so I let it go, even though I know you never sleep better on a couch.

  I change the subject and we end up chatting about different things for the next hour. When I yawn again for the tenth time Tank says, “Go on to bed McKinsey. I’ll let him in. Just text him my number to call me when he gets here.”

  I nod sleepily then scoot off the couch and go to bed. When I wake up the next morning I can’t help but smile. It’s the first time in a long time I don’t feel alone. I grab my glasses and roll over to face him. Jessie is already awake looking at me, “Girl, it would be you with a serial killer after her.”

  And he opens his mouth and ruins my happy feeling. I roll back over on my back and stare at the ceiling. “Sunshine, I was only kidding.” I shrug my shoulders but don’t answer. He reaches over and I feel some of my hair move. “Hey, let's go make a day of it, hair and nails, the works.”

  I lift my hand to show him my pretty pink nails that I had done the other day. “What color is that?”

  I look back over at him and glare at him, deadpan. I know this is his gimmick to get me to talk to him and of course it works. “It’s a new color they just got in, Strawberry Margarita.”

  He smiles and puts my hand in between both of his and massages it. “We can go get our hair done, and it’s been a while. I’m sure Harry will work us in.”

  “He’s moving.”

  “What! Where? When did this happen?”

  “Some little town south of here. He met a girl and they’re getting married.”

  “That’s it. I’m quitting. Everything happens when I’m away!”

  “That sounds good to me.”

  His stomach growls loudly and we both laugh. “Is there anything here to eat?” he asks.

  “I got some snacks and my mother made all kinds of meals, but let’s go get some waffles from somewhere. I really want a waffle.”

  Jessie sits up first and stretches then climbs out of bed. I sit up and look around “Where’s Prima?”

  “She jumped out of bed when Tank came through earlier.”

  “He came through here?”

  “Yeah, he came into the room for a second. I guess
he was just checking on us. I don’t know, if you think about it, it’s kinda sweet.” He winks at me.

  “Alright June, you can go ahead and shut up now please. You ought to have seen her at dinner the other night. I had to wrap my foot around the chair leg so I didn’t kick her under the table. She told Tank it had been too long since I had a boyfriend.” He snorts with laughter while he changes his undershirt then puts on a white button-up shirt on top. It’s one of my favorite shirts he owns. When he rolls the sleeves up the cuff is leopard print, and I continue, “This is after she accused me of being pregnant when I told her I had a serial killer after me.”

  “Wow!”

  “Yes, she even brought up Birmingham.”

  He smiles broadly, and then sarcastically replies, “I thought we weren’t allowed to talk about it ever again.”

  “I know, right?”

  “Sunshine, are you going to get up or not?”

  “Oh. Yeah, I guess I need to.”

  After we are both dressed, we go upstairs to find Tank and talk to him about our plans for the day. I can hear voices coming from the back but I’m not sure who they belong to so we follow the voices and find Tank and Alexander in Tank’s office. Alexander is bent down pulling things out of a cabinet that looks like a safe and setting them on Tank’s desk. Alexander looks at both of us. He slightly nods then bends back down and stays there like he’s looking for something else. “Good morning fella's”, Jessie purrs.