“Where is Reese now?”
“He’s here, unconscious; I smashed the toilet lid over his head.”
“How much does he know?”
“He knows we’re phonies, but not our real names.”
“Was he armed?”
“Yeah, he had a gun. I took it from him.”
“Tie him up. I’ll be right there.”
“What are you going to do with him?”
“I’m going to stick him in the trunk of an old Pontiac.”
“What?”
“Never mind.”
Tim took the time to sip some of the strong coffee before going back to the bedroom. Madison was mumbling, and her eyes fluttered, as the effects of the drug waned.
Tim used scarves found in Madison’s dresser drawer to tie Reese’s hands together and lashed them to the headboard.
When he was finished, he glared down at Reese and kicked the unconscious man hard in the balls.
Tim didn’t know if Reese would feel it when he regained consciousness, but it made him feel better to do it.
98
Marone!
Tanner arrived in, of all things, a stolen flatbed truck with six portable toilets on the back. He parked it a block from the apartment and made his way there on foot.
He bent down and examined Reese, whose head sported a large lump.
“He’ll be out for a while.”
He then noticed the bandage on Tim’s forehead and the cut on his lip.
“He hit you?”
“The lip, yeah, but I cut my head falling into the tub.”
Madison came out of the bathroom wearing a pink terrycloth robe and Tim handed her a second cup of coffee. Madison kissed him.
“My hero.”
“You’re my hero; thank God you spiked his drink.”
Tanner held out his hand. “That text you sent me earlier said you downloaded Richards’ files. Let me have the flash drive.”
“Here, and I’ve got the whole thing in cloud storage too, but Tanner, I can’t break the encryption.”
“Try anyway, and you did good work, Tim. You and Madison both.”
“We’re heading to the place I told you about. I sent you the directions, but why don’t you join us?”
“I can’t. Not yet, I have to finish things here first.”
“Are you talking about my father?” Madison asked, as she dried her hair with a towel.
Tanner shook his head. “Not yet. Tonight, I’m going to a club.”
Inside Johnny Rossetti’s strip club, Merle and Earl huddled in a bathroom stall together as they placed a call to Sara.
She was back home after being treated at the hospital for her head wound. The doctor had wanted her to stay for a day of observation, but she refused and decided to rest at home instead.
“Lars Gruber? Are you certain that’s his name?”
“Yeah, why, you know him?” Merle asked.
“I know he’s wanted by the FBI and Interpol for questioning in several murders. He’s a hit man just like Tanner. I guess they’ve decided to fight fire with fire.”
“Gruber’s an asshole, but they say he’s good and Gruber thinks Tanner is comin’ to the club.”
“Thank you, guys, this news is worth a bonus, and be careful there. Just stay out of Tanner’s way.”
“That’s our plan,” Merle said.
When the call ended, Sara left her bed and got dressed; she too was going to a club.
At New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Johnny R visited with Joe Pullo.
Pullo sat up in bed with the right side of his chest bandaged and an IV bag attached to his arm.
“How bad are you, buddy?”
“Shitty, but I’ll heal, and I’m sorry, Johnny, but Tanner just outsmarted us.”
“Don’t be sorry. I know you, you did your best, but Tanner, he’s inhuman.”
“You should go away. If you want to live, you should hide.”
“I don’t hide from anybody, but there’s something I want to discuss.”
“What’s that?”
“First, how long are you going to be in here?”
“The docs want me to stay for a few days, but I’m bored out of my mind in here already.”
“I hear you, but it sounds like you’re lucky to be alive.”
“Tanner could have easily killed me with the shotgun he had, but instead, he shot me with a pistol.”
“Why?”
“We’re friends.”
“Hell, with friends like him…”
“Yeah.”
“Listen up. Richards hired Lars Gruber to take out Tanner, but I’m not convinced he’s up to it.”
Pullo sighed. “That’s a toss-up; Gruber’s the best, at least he was. I think Tanner is going for that title.”
“If Tanner kills Gruber, I’ll be next in line, and I don’t want to die.”
“Richards will never cancel the contract on Tanner, and I don’t think Richards would care if you were out of the picture too.”
“I know that, Joe, and I’ve got a plan. Is there any way to contact Tanner?”
“He’s contacted me before, but I don’t know how to reach him.”
“Shit. I need to contact him, see if he’ll deal.”
“What do you have to offer?”
“I’ll make sure he gets to Richards. That bastard is hunkered down in the country at his mansion.”
“Tanner might take that deal if I vouched for you, but you’d have to give your word not to touch him. At least for that one time.”
“I’d do it.”
“Even though he killed your Uncle Al?”
“Yeah, because that hit was ordered by Richards. This whole mess lands at his feet.”
“Let me think about it, maybe something will come to mind. I guess I know Tanner better than anyone, if that’s even his real name.”
Johnny patted Joe on his good shoulder and headed toward the door.
“You know, Gino Tonti is one floor below you. He lost part of his right arm last night.”
“Damn. Was it Tanner?”
“Yeah, but get this, Tanner tied off the wound with his belt. The docs say it saved Gino’s life.”
“I can see that. Tanner likes Gino.”
Johnny R made a gesture toward heaven with his hands.
“Marone! If you and Gino are examples of what he does to people he likes, God help those he hates. See ya around, Joe.”
Pullo said goodbye, then stared at the wall while he thought about Tanner.
When he recalled something from years ago, he made a call.
“Hello?”
“Laurel Ivy, how are you, honey? This is Joe Pullo again.”
99
O Romeo, Romeo
As the sun sank below the horizon, Lars Gruber gave instructions to the street soldiers gathered inside Johnny’s strip club.
They were all men that the arrogant German gazed upon with contempt.
What a motley-looking crew.
Merle and Earl were toward the front. They were dressed in bulletproof vests, which they wore under hoodies, and were carrying guns in hip holsters. Of the eighty-one men present, they were two of only six given vests.
Gruber’s trap relied on Tanner being able to enter the club, so that Gruber himself could kill him. To that end, he was going to lure Tanner in by understating their manpower. Merle and Earl would guard one end of the alleyway behind the club, while Mario, along with Carl the bartender, manned the other end.
Carl had been drafted because he knew Tanner on sight. However, he was even less of a street soldier than Merle and Earl were. Carl looked to be on the verge of fainting as he sweated through his clothing.
Frank Richards was counting heavily on Johnny Rossetti being Tanner’s next target, so he gave the green light to Lars Gruber’s plan.
For the next few nights, they would essentially control the city blocks surrounding the strip club, although to the uninitiated, nothing would look any different.
Most of the men would be scattered away from the club in doorways and cars, awaiting the sound of gunfire. Once they heard it, the entire area surrounding the club would be shut down and no one would be allowed to leave until they were checked out.
To accomplish this, they had help from the cops. Their cops, the ones they had owned for years. They had also stolen two work trucks from the gas company and dressed several men in coveralls and hardhats.
At the sound of gunfire, these trucks would block off the street leading to the club and tell anyone who asked that there was a gas leak.
They also had a van standing by, along with a freshly dug grave. Once Gruber killed Tanner, the corpse would be taken away within minutes.
Gruber’s assessment of a motley crew wasn’t far from the mark, because Tanner had single-handedly killed or wounded the best men Johnny had. The word went out for replacements and a variety of would-be tough guys showed up.
Several of the men in the club appeared to be street punks looking to make a reputation.
One in particular was a guy in a leather vest who wore a black bolo tie with a silver clasp in the shape of an R. His spiky hair was dyed a white-blond and he had full-sleeve tattoos on both arms. He seemed to be dancing to music no one else could hear, and was annoying not only the other men, but also Gruber.
He popped his gum loudly and asked yet another question. He was no kid, but a man who had apparently never grown up.
“Those dudes with the vests, man, you’re just using them as like… what do they call it, sacrificial sheep? I mean, you trying to get those dudes whacked or what?”
Gruber’s face reddened as several men in the crowd mumbled their agreement with the punk’s assessment, Merle and Earl among them, who were assigned to the east end of the alley. Other than a full-on frontal assault, the east end of the alley was the most likely place for Tanner to enter from.
Gruber raised his hands to indicate he wanted silence and the gathering quieted down.
“The positions at the alley entrances and the front door are most vulnerable, yes, but that is why these men were supplied with vests.”
The blond punk adjusted his mirrored sunglasses and let out a laugh.
“Them vests ain’t gonna do shit for a head shot, yo!”
The crowd laughed, save for those wearing the vests, and Carl the bartender stumbled over to a stool, while feeling the need to sit before his knees gave out.
Gruber pointed at the mouthy punk. “What’s your name?”
“They call me Romeo, because I’m lucky with the ladies. By the way, where’s all the bitches?”
“The strip club is closed, Mr. Romeo, but you are lucky.”
“Why’s that?”
Gruber smiled. It was a nice smile, and for more than a few, it had been their last sight on earth.
“We have one more vest left in the office. You’ll be joining these two brothers here on the east end of the alley.”
“Yo, that’s bullshit, man!”
Gruber removed his silenced gun from the custom-made holster on his hip and held it loosely.
“Take it or leave it.”
The punk sulked, but he stayed quiet.
“All right, now that we have settled that, everyone get into their positions, and remember, only these six—” Gruber smiled. “Only these seven men with vests stay near the club, the rest of you will be keeping back. When the shooting starts, you’re to get into your designated positions and keep anyone from leaving the area. That way if Tanner attempts to flee, he’ll be trapped, and I’ll finish him off.”
He gazed down at the men he had picked to guard the front door.
“If you hear trouble coming from the alleyway, ignore it and stay at your post. It could just be a diversion. I will handle the alley and the club alone. Now, everyone get going.”
Sara parked her car five blocks from Johnny’s club and began walking there on foot. Her head still hurt from Tanner’s assault, but the dizziness had abated. If she walked slowly, she didn’t weave.
Without knowing it, she passed by over a dozen men waiting to pounce on Tanner if he happened their way. And when she neared the strip club, she walked down a side street and huddled in the doorway of an abandoned factory, where she had difficulty finding a place to stand because of all the empty liquor bottles and trash in the shallow alcove.
The smell of urine was present as well, but Sara stayed, because from where she was standing, she could see the gate set in the fence. The fence was at the east end of the alley that ran behind the club. A spot she also believed Tanner might pick as a point of entry.
Reaching into her purse, Sara removed her gun and hoped for a chance at getting revenge.
On the other side of the gate, Merle and Earl found themselves standing in the well-lighted alley with Romeo, who insisted on showing the brothers his quick draw technique, as he drew and holstered his gun like a Wild West gunslinger.
“I ain’t afraid of Tanner. Shit, let him come. I could use the reward money.”
Merle spoke to Romeo as he looked about, his eyes searching up, down, left and right for signs of trouble.
“Tanner is no joke, dude. We met him in Vegas and he almost killed us.”
“Yeah, well, no offense, but you ain’t me,” Romeo said, as he danced to a tune only he heard.
Earl kicked a portable toilet that sat against the chain-link fence. There was a thick padlock securing the door.
“They dropped this thing here and then forgot to take the damn lock off.”
Romeo stopped dancing in place and ran back toward the club.
“I’ll go see if Gruber has the key.”
As Romeo neared the rear door of the club, he hollered to Gruber.
“Yo, Mr. G, we need the key for the portable shitter you had placed out here.”
There was silence for several seconds, but then the door opened slowly. Along with new lighting, Gruber had Mario place convex mirrors on poles in the alley, so that he could see in either direction without exposing himself to a line of fire.
To the west, the alley curved toward the avenue, while eastward, it stayed straight and dead-ended across from the rear of a warehouse.
The warehouse was made of red brick and had no windows at the rear. Inside were two men hiding in the shadows, just in case Tanner sought to use the building’s roof as a shooting post.
Gruber checked the mirrors. When he saw Romeo standing alone, he peeked his head out.
“What are you talking about?”
Romeo pointed back the way he had come, where Merle and Earl were.
“The portable shitter down there, it’s locked. You got the key?”
Gruber squinted as he considered Romeo’s words. He then disappeared back inside, only to return wearing his own vest and carrying a silenced pistol.
“Come with me, and for once, keep your mouth shut.”
Romeo looked down at the gun in Gruber’s hand and nodded.
Gruber moved down the alley at a steady pace. As he neared their position, he waved Merle and Earl toward him.
“Come here, men, we have to talk strategy.”
The brothers approached warily, as they too stared at the gun in Gruber’s hand.
When they were standing a foot in front of him, Gruber charged past them while firing shot after shot into the portable toilet. The Clap, Clap, Clap, Clap, Clap, Clap of his silenced shots making no more noise than a loud cough.
Gruber shot high and low, but seldom in the middle and after emptying one magazine, he reloaded in a blur of skilled motion and fired again.
After reloading once more, he approached the shredded plastic box at an angle, while walking sideways, his gun held at the ready. When he saw the lock on the door, he grabbed it with his bare hand and gave it a hard tug, causing it to come loose from the door. The lock had been cut and then glued back together.
Gruber ripped open the door and a bloody figure clad in black fell to the concrete of the alley. It had b
een a man and he too had a vest, but it gave the man no protection against the numerous head and leg wounds acquired from Gruber’s shots.
When Merle, Earl, and Romeo gathered around Gruber, he holstered his weapon and gestured grandly at the corpse.
“Take a good look, you worthless shits. There’s your bogeyman Tanner, and now you know why I’m the best.”
Romeo, who was actually Tanner in disguise, gazed down at the twice-killed corpse of Jackie Verona, as he prepared to show Gruber the error of his ways.
100
Always The Loner
Laurel Ivy took a seat by Joe Pullo’s hospital bed, after giving him a kiss on the cheek and checking out his wound.
“That looks like good work. Who’s your doctor?”
“You are, but the dude that sewed me up this time is named Patel. Don’t ask me the first name, I can’t pronounce it.”
“I’m glad you called. I was wondering how you were.”
“I called for a reason.”
Laurel sighed. “I figured as much, but if this is about Tanner again, I still have no idea where he is.”
“And even if you did know, you wouldn’t tell me, right?”
“Yes,” Laurel said and then she gazed over her shoulder.
“It’s just you and me, Laurel, so don’t be nervous. Besides, I would never let anyone hurt you.”
“Why would you think I’d know where Tanner is?”
“There was a period of time there when I thought something was going on between you two, am I wrong?”
“Tanner said something to you?”
Pullo laughed, but then winced at the pain of his wound.
“Oh, that’s a good one, Tanner gossiping about his love life. No, he never said a thing, but like I said, I had a hunch.”
“It’s been over for a long time.”
“I understand that, honey, but here’s the thing. If, only if, you can somehow get a message to Tanner, do so. It could help him.”
The Tanner Series - Books 1-11: Tanner - The hit man with a heart Page 28