The TANNER Series - Books 10 -12 (Tanner Box Set Book 4)

by Remington Kane

  “I guess we’ll see, Burke.”

  “You have nothing to lose by the attempt; I can see that, given that Alvarado won’t rest until you’re dead.”

  “That’s right.”

  “I guess there’s nothing else to say except to wish you luck, and if by some miracle you do kill Alvarado, my job offer still stands.”

  “Good, as long as you remember that I’ll remain an independent.”

  “I understand, and good luck.”

  Burke ended the call, and, after checking, Tanner saw that he had a new email. When he opened it, he found a set of detailed satellite maps that displayed the Alvarado compound.

  He was impressed.

  Working for Burke could have advantages when it came to Intel, and when planning a hit, accurate information about a target could make all the difference between success or failure.

  Tanner pushed Burke from his mind and thought about Alonso Alvarado, a man he wanted to kill more than any other.

  “I’m coming, Alvarado,” he whispered, and then he went off to find Alexa.

  CHAPTER 6 – Atrocity

  Alexa had moved onto the porch with her laptop to contact Damián Sandoval’s man, Dante Cardoso.

  When the connection went through, she saw Dante’s mustached face smiling back at her. Dante knew her as Anna Sanchez, and he looked genuinely pleased to hear from her.

  “Anna, it’s good to see you, and I hope this means that you have news.”

  “I do. I’ve found Tanner and the two of us will be coming back to Mexico in a few days.”

  “Why the delay?”

  “Tanner has injuries that need to heal first, but once we reach Mexico, we’ll be headed straight for Alvarado’s compound.”

  Dante laughed.

  “If you do that you’ll be slaughtered before you reach the gates. Alvarado has tightened security and hired more guards; in fact, you now have to pass through two separate gates to enter the place.”

  Alexa cocked her head.

  “How could you know all that? Does Sandoval have another spy inside?”

  All traces of humor left Dante’s face. When he spoke again, there was the sound of sadness in his voice.

  “Do you remember Joaquin?”

  “The young guard you let live? Yes, of course I remember him.”

  “He got word to me. I must have slipped once and told him about a bar in Mexico City that I liked to drink in. He left a message for me there, and I met him outside the compound while he was out on a patrol. After you breached the compound, Alvarado expanded the perimeter guard, and now there are men on patrol nearly a mile out.”

  “So Joaquin switched sides?” Alexa asked. “Did he say why?”

  On the laptop screen, Dante nodded his head slowly.

  “It was the whores. The ones that were brought in the night you breached the compound. In order to maintain the belief that the compound was impenetrable... Alvarado ordered them all killed, to silence them.”

  Alexa blinked rapidly, as her stomach roiled.

  “He... he killed those women... because of me?”

  “No!” Dante shouted. “Alvarado killed those women because he is a monster, and while he managed to keep news of the breach from spreading, he also turned the local people against him. Those women were whores, yes, but they were also sisters, daughters, and some were even young mothers.”

  Alexa covered her mouth with her hands, while fearing that she might be sick.

  “Poor Joaquin,” Dante said. “He was one of the men sent out to dig the graves, and he was forced to watch the slaughter as well. He has no more love for Alvarado after witnessing that, and he’s been giving us news from inside the compound.”

  Alexa took several deep breaths, wiped away tears, and asked another question.

  “How does he make contact? Do you still meet him in the desert?”

  “No, there are too many men with scoped rifles checking the desert now, but Joaquin found a cell phone in the room that was Carlos Ayala’s, and he uses it to make contact.”

  “What has he told you?”

  “There is an American helping Alvarado, a man named—”

  “—Martinez,” Alexa said, and watched as Dante arched an eyebrow in surprise.

  “How do you know about Martinez?”

  “Tanner and I have our own spies, and we also have a new ally. This ally is the same man who crippled Alvarado years ago.”

  “Ah, you are full of surprises, Anna, and I will tell Sandoval what you have told me. I think he may be willing to lend assistance.”

  “That’s good, because we need a favor.”

  “And what would that be?” Dante said, and Alexa told him about their plan to make Alvarado believe that she and Tanner were in Texas.

  “I think Sandoval will go for it, and in any event, there’s a man in the West End area of Dallas that we need to eliminate.”

  “Thank you,” Alexa said. “And the sooner the better,”

  “Anna?”

  “Yes?”

  “You’re not to blame for what Alvarado did to those whores, you know that, right?”

  “All I know is that there are more deaths that I owe Alvarado for, and the day is coming when I’ll make him pay.”

  Alexa ended the call and turned off her laptop. Afterwards, she stood at the top of the porch steps and watched the Bighorn Mountains grow shadows and become less distinct as night grew closer.

  When her mind turned again to the women that Alvarado had killed in order to keep her breach of his compound a secret, a wave of guilt came over her. It was followed by disgust, was given imagination, and she could almost feel the fear of those women as they knew they were about to die.

  She made it to a tree near the side of the house before her stomach betrayed her, and she vomited.

  Alvarado was a monster in human form, and if it cost Alexa her very life, she knew that she would give it gladly to kill the man.

  She grabbed a breath mint from the cup holder in her van, straightened her clothes, and went back inside the house to talk to Tanner.

  CHAPTER 7 – Cheat sheet

  Alvarado agreed with Martinez’ plan to place more emphasis on finding out who Alexa really was.

  Once they knew her identity, they could then use her loved ones against her, and hopefully persuade her to betray Tanner.

  Martinez was with Alvarado inside the man’s office as he discussed the search with Alvarado and Alvarado’s wife, Malena.

  Malena studied the drawing of Alexa and made an observation to Martinez.

  “If this drawing is accurate, she’s not very old,” Malena said. “We should have someone check the schools and colleges. Maybe a teacher will recognize her. You can say that you’re looking for her because of an inheritance.”

  Martinez smiled in agreement.

  “Yes, that’s a good idea, and we’ll concentrate on Mexico City.”

  “And what are you doing about finding Tanner?” Alvarado said. “I thought that damn Strike Team of yours would have tracked him down by now.”

  “If you’ll recall, I sent them to search for the other man you’re after, and I should be hearing back from them soon on that.”

  Alvarado made a face of disgust.

  “I hate that man even more than I hate Tanner, but I’ve nearly given up on finding the son of a bitch.”

  Martinez smiled, and his even white teeth broadcast sincerity.

  “At Hexalcorp we never give up, and we will never stop until you’re satisfied.”

  Malena balled up the drawing of Alexa and tossed it at Martinez. It smacked him in the face and made him flinch. When Martinez looked over at her, he saw the fury in her eyes.

  “We don’t want soundbites or slogans, Mr. Martinez, we want results, and maybe my husband is willing to give you more time, but my patience has ended. Find the woman who killed my brother or find Tanner, but if you make another false promise in my presence you’ll regret it.”

  Malena left the
room without saying another word, and when Martinez looked over at Alvarado, he saw that he was staring at him.

  “Maybe you should call your strike team and tell them the situation here. It looks like your time is about up.”

  Martinez took out his phone, and said a silent prayer that Scar would have good news for him.

  ***

  Scar jumped when the phone in his pocket rang, because he knew it was Martinez calling him for an update.

  Tanner and Spenser had coached him on what to say, and had even written several things down on a cheat sheet for Scar to refer to.

  Scar looked nervously about the room as everyone stared back at him. When he answered the call, he placed it on the speakerphone setting so that the others could hear.

  “Um, Bennett here,” Scar said, while pitching his voice lower. He was pretending to be Steve Bennett, just in case Alvarado was also on speakerphone.

  “This is Martinez, Bennett, along with the client. What’s your status?”

  Martinez use of the word, status, confused Scar, and Tanner reached over and pointed to one of the things written on the cheat sheet.

  “Oh, we checked out that house in Cody, Wyoming. It was empty. There must have been a fire recently, because the place was gutted.”

  “What about the man that was living there?”

  “We found people that knew him, and they all said that he matched the sketch.”

  “Excellent, and do you know where to find him now?”

  “Yeah, we finally found him today, but uh, this guy, he looks like the sketch, yeah, but he’s only about five feet tall.”

  “He’s short?”

  “Yeah, short and fat, and we asked around and people say that he doesn’t have a brother.”

  The sound of Martinez cursing came over the speakerphone, and Tanner pointed to another line of words on the cheat sheet.

  “We have new information on Tanner. A friend of mine says that he saw him in Texas. We’re on our way there now.”

  Before Martinez could answer, a different voice could be heard, it was the voice of Alonso Alvarado. The voice was soft, but gruff, and spoke English with a strong Mexican accent.

  “This is the client speaking. What part of Texas was Tanner spotted in?” Alvarado asked.

  Tanner looked at Alexa and saw her flinch, even as her face darkened with anger, and then he pointed at the sheet again, to give Scar his cue.

  “Dallas,” Scar said. “My buddy spotted him in the West End area.”

  This time it was Alvarado’s turn to curse, and after doing so, he relayed news to Martinez, and his words carried over the phone.

  “I received a call right before our meeting. The man who runs my distribution into Texas was shot to death in his West End apartment. I believed that it was Sandoval’s doing, but it must have been Tanner.”

  Martinez asked Scar a question.

  “Bennett, this friend of yours, did he see the woman, was she with Tanner?”

  Scar searched the sheet and found nothing there that could help. When he looked up at Tanner, he saw him nod yes, and then hold up three fingers and point at Spenser.

  “Um, yeah, the woman was with him... and so was someone else?”

  Scar had phrased the answer as a question, because he was unsure what Tanner had meant by holding up three fingers, but when Tanner nodded his approval, Scar knew that he had gotten it right.

  “Tanner has two companions now?”

  “Yeah... a man and a woman,” Scar said, and again, Tanner nodded his approval.

  An idea struck Spenser at that moment, and he rushed to Scar’s side and whispered something in his ear.

  “My friend managed to get a picture of the other man. I’ll have him send you a copy.”

  “There’s a picture?” Martinez said.

  “Yeah, but just one.”

  “Call the man and have him send it now,” Alvarado said.

  “All right, and we’re headed for Texas,” Scar said, as he read from the cheat sheet. “That asshole Tanner is a dead man.”

  Martinez told Scar to forward the picture as soon as possible, and then he ended the call.

  After shutting his phone off, Scar looked up at Tanner.

  “I wasn’t calling you an asshole, dude, that’s what was written on the sheet.”

  “I know,” Tanner said. “I’m the one who wrote it, and you did good.”

  Spenser had opened his laptop and was looking through old photos. When he found one that was taken with Amy and only showed himself from the right side, he asked Amy if she could crop it and send it to one of the throwaway cell phones.

  Amy was seated beside Spenser on a sofa, and she slid the laptop over and went to work on the picture.

  “This is one from our last trip to New Orleans.”

  “Right, and I need it cropped so that your face isn’t showing.”

  Amy’s fingers flew over the keyboard, in a short time, she had the picture cropped, and then she sent it to a cell phone.

  Abrasion smiled at her.

  “You know computers?”

  “Just some basic stuff,” Amy said, and Abrasion kept smiling at her.

  Spenser snapped his fingers, breaking Abrasion’s trance, and then held up the phone.

  “Hand that to Johnny.”

  “Who?”

  “Scar, his real name is Johnny,” Spenser said.

  Abrasion took the phone, and walked it over to Scar, who then sent the photo to Martinez.

  Alexa smiled.

  “Once Alvarado sees that photo he’ll be twice as worried as he already is.”

  Tanner went over to her and brushed back her hair.

  “It was difficult to hear his voice again, wasn’t it?”

  “Yes, although I barely remember the sound of it. What fills my mind are the images of him killing my family.”

  Bruise appeared startled.

  “That dude Alvarado killed your family?”

  Alexa nodded. She had been wary of the Horsemen, but she had come to see that they were a group of aimless boys and not hardened men.

  Bruise looked over at Scar.

  “You were right to help them, and that dude Martinez must be a dirtbag too.”

  Wound let out a yawn, and then he looked over at Spenser.

  “Can we crash in here tonight or do we have to sleep out in the truck?”

  Amy stood.

  “There are blankets and pillows upstairs, along with a couple of sleeping bags. Between the sofa and the sleeping bags you’ll be comfortable right here in the living room.”

  Amy headed for the stairs, and Abrasion followed her.

  “I’ll help you carry stuff.”

  Amy started to protest, but then shrugged.

  “Thank you, Lionel, I could use the help.”

  As Amy and Abrasion headed up the stairs, Tanner walked over to Spenser.

  “Sending that picture was risky. Now, Alvarado will know that you’re still alive.”

  Spenser grinned.

  “That’s right, and as soon as you’re healed, we’ll head straight for him.”

  “Give me two more days to let my ribs heal and I’ll be ready.”

  “We’ll all be ready,” Alexa said. “And then Alvarado will die.”

  CHAPTER 8 – A Tanner never fails

  Try as he might, Alvarado couldn’t keep his hand from shaking as he looked at the picture of Spenser Hawke.

  The photo only showed Spenser from the right side, and he was more than a dozen years older than the last time Alvarado had seen him. However, his face was burned into Alvarado’s memory, and he knew right away that he was the man who had crippled him and left him for dead in Matamoros.

  “It’s him,” Alvarado said to Martinez. “This is the bastard who attacked me years ago.”

  Martinez let out a sigh of relief as he stood before Alvarado’s desk. His results so far had been less than stellar, thanks to Tanner and Alexa’s destruction of his strike team, but now it looked a
s if his luck had changed, and he was going to make the most of it.

  “How long have you been looking for that man?”

  From where he sat in his special chair, Alvarado tore his eyes away from the photo and stared up at Martinez.

  “Eighteen years, this bastard crippled me eighteen years ago.”

  “And now I’ve found him for you, and not only that, but we’ve also established that he has a link to Tanner. I think you’ll agree that I’ve shown I can be valuable to you, yes?”

  Alvarado let out a chuckle.

  “You’ve earned a reprieve, yes, but I want more. I want this man in the photo along with Tanner and the woman.”

  “I’ve already sent people to Dallas to track them down, and of course, my strike team is headed there as well, but it appears to me that Tanner has decided to adopt a plan of lashing out and then going into hiding. If that’s true, he may not surface for a while, but it would also mean that the three of them are still in Dallas, which is great news, because if they’re there, we’ll find them.”

  Alvarado held up Spenser’s picture.

  “I’ll take him dead, but if you can bring this man to me alive I will give you anything you want, and I do mean anything.”

  Martinez’ dark eyes flashed with pure avarice.

  “I’ll do my best, sir, count on it.”

  ***

  Spenser lay beside Amy in bed and set his alarm for four a.m.

  Although they believed that the Tin Horsemen were on their side and essentially harmless, they weren’t yet ready to trust them fully, and so Spenser and Tanner were taking shifts on keeping watch throughout the night.

  After Spenser turned off the light, Amy snuggled against him.

  “I really think it’s unnecessary for you to get up early to keep an eye on those boys, they seem harmless,” Amy said.

  “I agree, but I’d hate to be wrong and wake up to find one of them standing over us with a knife.”

  “Lionel would never do something like that, and neither would the others.”

  “That kid, Abrasion, or Lionel as you call him, he’d like to stick you, but not with a knife.”

  Amy laughed and gave Spenser a playful punch on his arm.

  “Lionel’s sweet, and yes, I think he has a crush on me.”