“Wait one day, but if Tanner slips away it will be on your head.”
“Even if everything looks right, it could still go wrong. I would not send the men in until we’re certain.”
“Speaking of things going wrong, what the hell happened to my men, Rico?”
“We still do not know, Krupin; it’s as if they’ve vanished.”
“Do you think it was Tanner?”
“I have no doubt that it was, and I would love to get my hands on the bastard.”
“Forget those men, they’re dead,” Alvarado said. “And Rico, I’ll give you one day to watch that hotel. If you can’t prove it’s a trap then I’ll send the new men in tomorrow night and wipe Pullo and Tanner from the planet.”
“A day may not be enough time.”
“Too bad, it’s all I’m giving you, or do I have to call my father and have him explain to you which of us is in charge?”
Rico tapped down his rage and forced himself to smile.
“As you say, Juan, but tell me, will you be leading the men or would you like me to do it?”
Rico had asked the question in as innocent a tone as he could muster, but he knew, that Juan knew, that he was taunting him, even insinuating that he was a coward. After staring at Rico with a sneer forming on his lips, Juan answered him.
“I will let you lead the men; that way you can personally avenge your friend, Mateo.”
“You are too gracious,” Rico said.
“Are we sure that Tanner is in that hotel too?” Krupin asked.
“No, but if he is, I will kill him,” Rico said.
“Take him alive if you can; he would make a perfect gift for my father.”
“I’ll try,” Rico said, but he knew that Tanner was too dangerous to leave alive, and in fact, he realized that he needed a way to ensure his own survival. He excused himself and went off to make a call to Mike Conti.
CHAPTER 21 – Who watches the watchers?
That night, Alexa approached the south wall of the Alvarado Compound by crawling through the sand on her stomach.
She was covered in camouflage material that blended in with the landscape, and had gone undetected when a searchlight passed over her.
She stopped thirty feet from the wall, as she waited for the perimeter guard to drive by in his jeep.
She had watched the compound on numerous occasions and had even gotten to the wall twice before, as she gathered information about the compound’s security measures.
However, tonight she planned to go over the wall, to scale the twenty feet of reinforced concrete and gather Intel on Alvarado’s home.
She considered finding the man, tracking him down in his own home and killing him. If she did such a thing, she would surely be killed before she could escape, and as much as she wanted revenge for her dead family, Alexa wanted to go on living even more.
And then there was Rodrigo. Her death would devastate him, she knew it would, and she could not bring such pain upon him, not her blessed Papa.
She removed her backpack, and after taking a drink of water, she put together the homemade rope she had fashioned to get over the twenty-foot high wall.
The rope had knots tied every foot, while at its end, Alexa attached a U-shaped device made from PVC pipe. One end of the U was longer than the other was and had burrs sticking out of it that would dig into the wall. The rest of the pipe was wrapped in a soft fabric, and so it shouldn’t make any sound as it attached itself atop the wall.
Alexa had tested the contraption on other walls, and was so practiced with it that she could climb up the rope in a matter of seconds.
Once she was ready, she still had to wait for the van to come, the van transporting the whores for the men who guarded the compound.
When the women arrived, the guards in the tower would not only be watching the gate, but might also be distracted by thinking of the pleasure that awaited them when they got off their shifts.
From what Alexa had seen on other occasions, the guards worked shorter shifts when the women were there, so that each man could have his time with a woman. Alvarado only allowed his men this pleasure once a month, and Alexa believed it was the perfect time to strike.
Headlights cut through the blackness of the desert less than an hour later, and Alexa made her way over to the wall.
It was good timing, because the outside perimeter guard had just passed the area and shouldn’t be back again. The wall surrounding the compound was miles long but was checked every night.
Alexa had to get in and out and leave no trace that she had been there. She was prepared for a confrontation, but she would be vastly outnumbered, and if caught, she would be tortured.
Alvarado would never believe that she was there on her own, but would likely think that she was working for his rival, Damián Sandoval.
As the gate opened, four guards stood ready to fire on anyone trying to use the opportunity to sneak in with the van.
Alexa used the time to toss her rope device atop the wall. The first try failed, but the second toss was successful, and the U-shaped tubing straddled the thick wall.
Once she was satisfied that the rope was secured, Alexa climbed up. She was lying flat atop the wall in seconds, and after pulling the rope up and over, she refit the U to face in the opposite direction and climbed down on the other side.
When no lights flashed on, it assured her that the motion detectors had yet to be reactivated, and she sprinted for the house.
The daughter of a thief, Alexa was skilled at bypassing alarm systems and locks, and so she was inside the home in less than a minute, where she found herself in what appeared to be the laundry room, with several washers and dryers.
Alvarado’s compound was like a small community of its own, and received its food supplies by tractor-trailer. Alexa had considered entering the compound by hiding inside one of the food crates, but nixed the idea in favor of going over the wall.
She smiled. She was inside, possibly less than a hundred feet from Alvarado, and if fate smiled on her, she might even get to kill the evil bastard.
***
In New York City, several of Alvarado’s men were watching the Hotel Rutherford from the rooftop of a warehouse across the street. Tanner had once used the same spot when he was spying on Bruno Heinz’s men.
The four cartel members were leaning back against a brick chimney and discussing the situation.
There were obviously men moving around inside the hotel, as they had seen shadows pass before windows many times.
What they hoped to see was Tanner. If they could confirm that he was in there, they would call in the rest of the troops and move in.
The men all knew that Tanner was worth half a million dollars and the thought of having that much money fueled the men’s dreams. Nevermind that they nearly earned that much money already, by reinvesting their pay in product and moving it with Alvarado, but that was work, business, while the bounty on Tanner was more like a dream.
Not only would the money be theirs, but so would the fame. Tanner’s exploits at killing were spreading throughout Mexico they all agreed, and to be the one who killed such a man would make you just as famous.
One of the men took out the artist’s rendition of Tanner and made an unkind comment about his eyes, while another claimed that they looked queer.
The other men laughed along, even as they all stared at the eyes in the drawing and felt unease. The artist, by using Rico’s description, had captured Tanner’s eyes perfectly.
They were the eyes of a killer, and even though the men had killed many times themselves, they knew an Alpha Predator when they saw one, and although there are many beasts in the jungle, only one can lead the pack.
Tanner, if the tales were true, was a killing machine, and it eased the men’s minds and bolstered their pride to demean him.
The man folded the flyer away as a last chuckle escaped his lips.
“This Tanner, he’s just been lucky... that’s all it is.”
The other men agreed, and then they moved on to the far end of the roof to get a look at the windows in that section of the hotel.
Inside the chimney, sitting atop a platform he himself installed, Tanner thought about the men’s conversation, and smiled.
CHAPTER 22 – Don’t just stand there...
At the Alvarado compound, Alonso Alvarado watched as his brother-in-law entered his office.
As usual, the man looked worried.
Carlos Ayala was Malena’s older brother and the head accountant for the cartel. If the cartel made or spent so much as a centavo, Carlos knew about it, and worried over it.
The recent war in New York had been nothing but a money drain, and Alvarado knew it was what was on the man’s mind.
“Don’t even say it,” Alvarado said.
Carlos tried to look innocent.
“Say what?”
“You were going to tell me how much money the New York expansion has cost us so far, correct?”
Carlos gave a little shrug.
“I may have brought it up.”
Alvarado grinned. He liked his brother-in-law, trusted him, and the man had once saved his life while risking his own.
“Don’t worry, Carlos, things are improving in New York; I have Juan’s assurance.”
“Juan is still a boy. Are you sure that he can handle the responsibility?”
“He is a man, and also my son, there is nothing he can’t do.”
Carlos shook his head sadly.
“The jet that was destroyed, do you know how much that thing cost?”
“No, but I know that the cartel has already earned enough to buy one to replace it three times over, and, there’s something else you should consider.”
“What’s that?”
“The men that died on that jet all had money in our keeping, to buy and sell product for them.”
Carlos demeanor brightened.
“Yes, and now the cartel gets to keep those funds. Still, it likely won’t add up to enough to replace the jet, and so we’ve still lost money.”
“As usual, you worry too much.”
“And what about you? You can’t tell me that you’re not worried about Juan, and I know that Malena is. Maybe Juan should come home; Rico is more than qualified to handle things there.”
“Ah, so that’s why you’re really here. Malena asked you to talk to me, didn’t she?”
“No, but she is worried and so am I. This man Tanner, he’s too unpredictable. He reminds me of the man who attacked you years ago.”
Alvarado sat up straighter, as he just remembered something. He handed a copy of Tanner’s flyer across the desk to Carlos.
“That is Tanner; does he look familiar to you?”
Carlos took out a pair of glasses and studied the artist’s sketch.
“No, not really, why, do you know him?”
“I have seen that face before, but I’ll be damned if I can remember where or when.”
“It will come to you when you stop thinking about it, you know how that goes.”
Alvarado tossed the flyer into a drawer of the desk.
“I guess you’re right. By the way, the whores are here, would you like one sent to your room?”
Carlos sighed.
“No, I suppose not, and I guess that means I’m growing old. It’s been months since I’ve felt the urge.”
Alvarado smiled.
“That’s not old my friend, that’s dead.”
***
Alexa shed her camouflage outfit and stuffed it inside one of the dryers. Afterwards, she went back outside, on the assumption that it would be a safer way to travel to the front end of the house, rather than risk being seen inside.
As long as she stayed close to the walls, she should be clear of the motion detectors, which were likely reactivated, because she had seen no sign of the guard dogs that normally prowled the compound at night.
She made it towards the front of the home where she came upon a side door. The door had a small window in it, and she could see what looked like a narrow staircase. Once inside, she could use that staircase to explore upstairs.
She had just placed her hand on the doorknob, to see if perhaps it was unlocked before she kneeled down to pick it, and that’s when a voice called to her.
“You! Stay right where you are or I’ll shoot you dead.”
Alexa turned her head and saw a guard aiming a rifle at her, and she knew that if she reached for her weapons, she’d be killed.
***
In New York City, Tanner left his perch inside the chimney and made it back to street level.
Mike Conti had informed Krupin and Alvarado of their location inside the Hotel Rutherford, and now it was only a matter of time until they were attacked.
That was good. It meant that all was going according to plan.
Still, Alvarado and Krupin were being cautious, and that had to end.
Tanner moved towards the hotel while staying in the shadows. From an alleyway, he looked up and saw the men from earlier discussing something passionately.
Although he couldn’t make out their words, he could hear their whispered voices all the way down to the street, and had he wanted to kill them earlier on the roof, they would have gone easy.
He left the shadows and headed for the Rutherford’s front doors, after stepping inside the building, Tanner made certain to look in the men’s general direction while his face was lit by the light in the hotel’s lobby. One of the men had been carrying binoculars, and should have gotten a good look at him.
Tanner locked the doors and went to get into position. They would be coming soon, and they would be an army. He idly wondered who would be digging all their graves.
***
Alexa tried to look vacant, as a smile spread across her pretty face.
“I’m sorry, I just got lost, that’s all.”
The guard lowered his rifle as he took in her appearance. Beneath the camouflage, Alexa had dressed so that she would appear to be one of the whores that had been shipped in. She wore a skirt that was so short it was barely there, along with a blouse that gapped to reveal her breasts.
The guard shook his head at her. He was a tall man with a scraggly beard and bloodshot eyes.
“You’re not supposed to leave the barracks area, didn’t they tell you?”
Alexa giggled.
“No, and it’s my first time here. I just wanted to get a look at the house.”
The guard smiled at her, as he slung his rifle across his back to free his hands. He then stepped towards her and fondled her breasts.
“I don’t get off for another few hours, but there’s no harm in me getting a preview of things to come.”
Alexa kept the grin plastered on her face even as the urge to kill the pig was rising inside her. The skirt she wore had less material than most scarves, but it was adorned with a thick white belt, and the belt held her knives.
As the man was feeling her up, she slipped her hand down to the belt, and was about free a knife when the side door opened.
It was Carlos, Alvarado’s friend and brother-in law. Alexa recognized him from photos she had seen and thought that the man looked old.
“What’s happening here?”
The guard released Alexa and came to attention.
“Hello sir, I was just telling the girl that she belonged back at the barracks; I’ll take her there now.”
The guard gripped Alexa’s right wrist and began pulling her along, but they had only gone a few steps when Carlos called them back.
***
Carlos remembered Alvarado’s offer to take one of the girls as he looked at Alexa. He hadn’t felt the urge for sex, but seeing Alexa had... stirred things.
She was definitely the type he liked with her long legs, light brown skin, and large luminous eyes.
After calling the guard back, he spoke to Alexa.
“You haven’t been used tonight yet, have you?”
“No sir, I am c
lean, very clean,” Alexa said.
Carlos licked his lips in anticipation as he stepped back inside the house.
“Guard, bring the girl to my room.”
The three of them climbed up the staircase Alexa had seen earlier. When they reached the top, they traveled left, and then made a quick right into an alcove that had double doors at the end of it. When Carlos opened the doors, Alexa saw his room.
Carlos’ living quarters were huge. It had seating up front, like a living room, and there was even a fireplace. She could see the bathroom through a doorway. It had a shower, bathtub, and a Jacuzzi, while the bedroom doubled as an office. There was an L-shaped desk in one corner with several laptops spread atop it, while in another corner was a seating area with an enormous television on the wall.
Carlos had told the guard to stand outside, and after the man left, he escorted Alexa to his bedroom. Specifically, he led her to stand beside his king-size bed.
When she simply stood looking about, he gestured at her.
“Don’t just stand there, get naked.”
Alexa smiled at Carlos as her hands freed the knives from her belt.
CHAPTER 23 – Woof!
Laurel checked the sheet that Tanner had given her, and when she saw that the number displayed on the phone matched one of the numbers on the sheet, she grinned and answered the call.
“Joe?”
“Hi baby, how’s life on the ranch?”
“It’s nice here, but I really miss you. When can I come back?”
“It’s in the works, and if all goes well, you’ll be back in a day or two.”
“Really, that’s great, and is everyone okay?”
“We’re all good, Tanner included, but I’m a little worried about Sammy. The kid just isn’t the same.”
“He suffered a loss, was injured, and received quite a shock; it’s bound to have affected him.”
“I know, there’s just... I don’t know, it’s like the kid has lost his heart. I think if he hadn’t broken his leg he’d be out there looking for revenge.”
“He’ll be his old self someday; he just needs time to heal.”
“Yeah, I hope that’s it, but listen baby, I can’t talk for long. I’m in the middle of a meeting.”
The TANNER Series - Books 7-9 (Tanner Box Set Book 3) Page 33