“I see Richards has underestimated you,” Vance said.
“Hmm, now why would Richards have a former officer of the Federal Security Service at his side, one whose specialty was targeted killing?”
“Richards hates to lose. He had faith in Lars Gruber, but if the man failed, I was next in line for the job of eliminating Tanner. Unfortunately, Tanner died by other hands. I consider it a shame; I would have liked a chance to go up against Tanner. He was another man underestimated by Richards.” Vance stood. “I also underestimated you, Rossetti.”
Johnny placed his hand atop the desk and showed Vance the gun he was holding.
“But you won’t make that mistake again, will you, comrade?”
Vance laughed. “Rossetti, if I wanted to, I could take that gun away and force it up your ass.”
Johnny cocked his head. “That’s interesting. You know, there’s not a trace of an accent in your voice; still, the phrase should have been, ‘shove it up your ass’ not ‘force it up your ass.’”
Vance’s face reddened as he tensed up, and Johnny aimed the gun at his chest.
“I think we’re done, comrade.”
Vance stared at the gun, released a slow breath, then walked to the door and left the office.
Johnny laid the gun atop the desk and smirked.
“Dasvidaniya.”
137
Can Shadows Bleed?
Tanner and Sophia walked back to his car among a crowd of their fellow moviegoers. Tanner let Sophia pick the movie and groaned internally when she chose a romantic comedy.
He liked Sophia, admired her grit and spirit, and if things were different, he might even stay with her longer.
But he had plans to infiltrate the meeting of the Conglomerate’s ruling class and kill Frank Richards, and afterwards, he would disappear.
His hope was to kill the man without being seen and then Romeo would vanish. As Tanner, he was thought dead; as Romeo, he would disappear, and after that?
He had no idea, but would likely wind up somewhere else and start over.
“Did you like the movie?” Sophia asked, as she linked her arm through his.
“No comment, but I did like the company.”
They reached the car and Tanner walked around to the passenger side to let Sophia in.
She put her arms around him and gazed into his eyes. “I wish you didn’t have to leave tomorrow.”
“It’s best; we’d never last.”
She pouted. “Why do you say that?”
“I can’t stand romantic comedies.”
He closed the door once she was in, then caught the scent of tobacco. Without being obvious about it, Tanner searched the parking lot. Past the moving forms of a family of five walking toward their car, he saw the glow of a cigarette shining from the rear seat of a Jeep, along with the silhouettes of two men in front.
Tanner had seen that Jeep before. It had followed them off the highway and into the movie theater parking lot when they arrived, but Tanner had thought nothing of it at the time.
The family of five climbed into their vehicle and the father started the engine and turned on his lights. When the brake lights illuminated as he put the car in gear, Tanner could see the ground beside the Jeep, along with the five cigarette butts atop it.
Whoever was in the Jeep had sat there waiting while he and Sophia were watching the movie.
When he climbed behind the wheel, he checked on the Jeep via his rearview mirror. And when he pulled out of his space, he saw that the Jeep had moved as well. It was trailing behind them in the parking lot as they headed toward the exit and the Staten Island Expressway.
“Sophia, how certain are you that things have calmed down amongst your family?”
“We still have to settle on a new boss, but no one else wants me dead as far as I know, why?”
“There’s a Jeep behind us with at least three guys inside. They’re following us.”
Sophia slid down in her seat, turned and peeked one eye out past the side of her headrest.
“I see it and there are four of them, I got a look inside as they passed beneath the marquee. What should we do?”
“I’ll make a series of right turns up ahead before we get on the expressway. If they go around in circles with us, we’ll know they’re serious.”
“They’ll also know that we’re on to them.”
“Yeah, and it should force their hand. I’d rather face them now than wake to find them standing over us in your bedroom in the middle of the night, which was likely their plan.”
“That’s what we did with Adamo.”
“Yeah and it would have worked just as well on us if they hadn’t been sloppy. If the guy in the back seat wasn’t a smoker, I probably wouldn’t have noticed them and caught on.”
Sophia shivered, then she reached into her purse and took out her gun.
“We’re outnumbered,” she whispered.
Tanner sighed. “As usual.”
Johnny, along with Joe Pullo, entered the nursing home where Sam Giacconi resided.
They had arranged for the late visit the day before and would use it to talk strategy about the next day’s meeting of the Conglomerate’s elite.
As the security guard opened the door for them, he told them that the facility’s director would like to see them in his office.
When Johnny entered the office, he saw the lead doctor, along with the pharmaceutical executive who was responsible for the miracle drug that caused Sam Giacconi’s recovery from Alzheimer’s disease.
One look at the men’s dour expressions told him there was bad news.
“Oh crap, what is it?”
“They’re not coming,” Gary said, as he unwrapped the last of the sandwiches he had brought along for the stakeout.
Trent said nothing, but he knew that Gary was probably right. Madison wasn’t coming.
“I was hoping she’d show too, really hoping, since Richards offered a bonus for… finding her, but let’s face it. Nobody would come out here in the dark. You can’t see a thing.”
Trent looked out the side window of the van and caught a glimpse of the sky, past the branches of the tree they were parked beneath.
“The moon is nearly full.”
“It’s still dark as hell out here, and creepy. How much longer are we going to stay?”
Trent stared at Gary, who appeared to be just a shadow on the other side of the car.
“Creepy? Why do you say it’s creepy?”
The shadow shrugged. “I don’t like the outdoors, especially at night. Everything should be like Times Square, plenty of lights and people, even at night.”
“I want to stay another hour.”
“All right, but then we go.”
Trent mumbled his agreement, even though he hated to leave. He had wanted to see Madison again, to not only get answers and possibly clear his name, but he also wanted to see Madison, just to see Madison.
He had been infatuated with her since they were children. Despite everything, he still wanted her.
Come on, Madison, please show. One more chance, that’s all I want, just one more chance to make you see what we could be.
The shadow burped beside him in the dark, then spoke. “The girl’s not coming, no way she’d come this late. All of this was just a stupid waste of time.”
If Trent had been carrying a gun, he would have made the shadow bleed.
138
Crocodile
The Jeep stayed on their tail. Once the men inside it realized they had been made, they decided to move in for the kill.
Tanner drove onto the Staten Island Expressway and sped up, only to see the Jeep keeping pace.
Sophia was turned sideways in her seat, keeping watch on their pursuers. Tanner studied her and saw that her breathing had increased and that there was a sheen of perspiration covering her face, which glowed red in the taillights of the cars in front of them.
“We’ll get out of this, Sophia.”
She darted her eyes toward him, then stared. “You’re so calm, why are you always so calm? Have you been in combat, fought in a war or something?”
“Why is your hair red? It’s just something you were born with; steady nerves seem to be my gift. It’s not something I’ve earned or developed.”
“Nervous or not, this is bad, Romeo. We’re outnumbered, and we don’t even know what weapons they have.”
“True, but none of that will matter in the end.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m going to kill them.”
Tanner sped up, weaved recklessly through the thick Saturday night traffic, and gained valuable distance when the Jeep became stuck behind a slow big rig. Still, they were only a few dozen car lengths ahead, and the traffic in front of them was slowing.
Tanner pointed toward the line of trees running parallel with the highway.
“What’s on the other side of those trees up ahead, do you know?”
Sophia took a moment to realize where she was.
“Yes, there’s a small lake there, Lake something or other.”
“Are there houses around it?”
“Yeah, but they’re on the other side. Once you’re past those trees, there’s a slope that goes right to the water.”
Tanner smiled. “Can you swim?”
“Sure, but what does that… oh hell.”
Tanner saw a place on the side of the road where construction equipment was parked. It was just a gravel-paved area set atop the grass median, but there was room to park the car.
He flew into the small area going way too fast, but still managed to stop before slamming against the guardrail, as he sent gravel flying in all directions.
Before leaving the car, he popped the trunk to withdraw a bright orange breakdown kit. It once contained safety triangles and road flares, along with a cheap plastic hoodie. Tanner had turned it into a true emergency kit; the box held a spare gun and ammo, among other things.
“They’re coming!” Sophia said. She had already stepped over the guardrail and was near the side road that separated them from the trees.
The one-way road had traffic of its own. Sophia made it through a gap in the moving cars, but Tanner had to wait for three vehicles to pass before moving across to join her.
“Hurry!” Sophia called, and in an instant, Tanner was by her side, even as he heard the Jeep skid to a stop behind his car.
Sophia ran well, despite the heels and tight skirt she wore, and they were at the trees when the sound of slamming car doors carried to them.
The slope past the first group of trees was steep, but there were smaller trees along the way. They held onto the trees and used them to keep from falling.
Most of the homes across the lake were lit up, but there seemed to be no one sitting out on their decks.
Tanner reached the water, turned, and backed into it as quietly as he could. He still carried the kit, and he opened it and sat it near the edge of the water, just left of his position.
“Get in slowly, but quickly,” Tanner said, as he felt his feet sink into the mud of the bank and his clothes grew heavy from the weight of the water.
Sophia didn’t whine about her shoes being ruined or worried about her hair, she simply followed Tanner’s lead, while wincing from the shock of the cold water.
A deep, male voice cried out from the roadway in frustration.
“Fucking traffic. We can’t get across.”
Their pursuers were being delayed by the passing cars, but Tanner knew it wouldn’t last long.
“Take a deep breath and hold it until you hear gunfire,” he whispered to Sophia, whose eyes were wide from fear and the shock of the water.
Tanner watched Sophia submerge herself, saw the branches on the slope above them move, and lowered into the murky water like a crocodile lying in wait for prey.
139
What Are The Odds?
Johnny gazed with moist eyes at his mentor, Sam Giacconi, as he and Joe stood in the doorway of the elderly mob chieftain’s room, watching him sleep.
The drug was a failure.
Sam, along with the other participants who were in the clinical trials, had shown remarkable improvement, but one by one, they had lapsed back to their former state.
The doctors had hidden this from Sam, fearing the knowledge of his fellow sufferers’ setbacks would depress him, or possibly even affect him adversely, by causing him to fear the worst.
They had been hopeful that he might be the exception and that the drug would work in his case, but that hope was dashed tonight.
Pullo turned and looked at Sam’s doctor, an Indian man named Dr. Misra, who spoke with a British accent.
“So that’s it… he’s gone?”
Dr. Misra sent Pullo a subdued smile and shook his head.
“No, sir. If his condition deteriorates as the others have, he will seem like his old self quite often, particularly early in the day.”
“You’re saying that he’ll be all right in the morning? How is that possible, he didn’t recognize me or Johnny?”
“It’s the drug, or perhaps the disease itself interacting with the drug. You may recall in the earliest stages of the disease that your friend suffered from what we call ‘Sundown Syndrome,’ where the patient experiences confusion and agitation at the end of the day.”
Pullo nodded. “I do remember that, it was terrible, and then he’d be fine come morning. It was the symptom that made him go to the doctor in the first place.”
“This is similar, only his deterioration will be much faster this time.”
“How fast?” asked Johnny.
“I’m sorry to say that he will be as he was before the treatment within weeks, possibly even days.”
As they were walking back to Joe’s Hummer, Johnny and he talked about the upcoming meeting.
Pullo sighed. “I know that Sam planned to speak, but he can’t go now. If he had a relapse, or became confused, it would only help Richards.”
“I know, so I’ll go in Sam’s place, or do you want to do it? Officially, you are the new Don.”
Pullo pointed back at the nursing home. “Sam is Don, and after that, you’re the Underboss, but I’ll stand by your side as you speak, just as I would have stood near Sam.”
“Thanks, but the words would have carried so much more weight coming from Sam.”
They reached the vehicle. Instead of getting in, they both leaned across the hood and talked.
Pullo rubbed the back of his neck. “Damn disease, I know he’s not young, but hell, it’s a tough way to go.”
“I’ll meet you here before the meeting and we’ll talk to Sam, hopefully we’ll talk to him. If he’s lucid, I’ll explain the change in plans.”
“Yeah, you do it; I’d probably choke on the words.”
Johnny sighed. “Life is short, buddy.”
Pullo waved a hand at him. “You’re still young but look at me; I’m not a kid anymore.”
They climbed in and Pullo started the engine.
“You ever think of getting married, Johnny?”
“Sometimes.”
“I heard Sophia Verona stopped by the other day. Are you two starting up again?”
“No, she needed help handling Saul Adamo and I sent a guy to watch out for her.”
“Who did you send? I hope it wasn’t one of those hillbilly brothers.”
Johnny laughed. “No, I sent Romeo, and the word is he and Sophia planted Adamo for killing Jackie, and Vic Conti.”
“Romeo took out Adamo? The dude sounds like serious talent. Maybe we should build a crew around him.”
“We can’t, he likes to go solo and he’s heading back to California soon.”
“He sounds interesting; I hope to meet him before he leaves.”
“Yeah, I’ve a feeling that you two would get along.”
Trent was deep in thought planning his next move when Gary announced that there were headlights approaching.
“That’s Mad
ison, it’s got to be.”
“We’ll see,” Gary said, but there was a note of hope in his voice, because if it was Madison, he would be closing in on doubling his salary.
The car slowed as it approached their position, and when it drove by them going even slower, they could see two silhouettes through the car’s side window.
When it was ten yards from the tree, the car slowed to a walking pace, came to a stop in line with the tree, then turned the car’s front wheels toward it, as if to illuminate it.
Trent grabbed the binoculars off the dashboard and cursed at himself for not thinking to buy a pair that had night vision capability, but when the passenger door opened, and a woman stepped out into the moonlight, he knew right away that he was looking at Madison.
“We got them.”
“What about the guy, is that Tim whatshisname?”
Trent forced himself to move the binoculars away from Madison and place them on the face of the man who had his arm around her shoulders.
“It’s him,” Trent said, and there was disgust in his voice because there was no longer any doubt in Trent’s mind that Tim Jackson was Madison’s lover.
“She’s got flowers,” Gary said.
They watched as Madison laid a bouquet of flowers at the base of the tree, while Tim stood behind her giving emotional support.
Trent grinned. “We’ll follow them and find out where they’ve been hiding, and with you to threaten him, I’m going to have a nice long talk with Mr. Jackson.”
“Sure, but hey, how old was the girl’s mother? I heard she was real young when Richards married her.”
“He married her when she was still in her teens, but she had just turned forty when she died.”
“Wait, are you saying she died on her birthday?”
“That’s right.”
“Shit, no wonder the kid made the trip, even this late; it’s like a double anniversary. What are the odds, huh? They’ve got to be astronomical.”
The Tanner Series - Books 1-11: Tanner - The hit man with a heart Page 42