Romina had looked down at the paper in her hand. “Who else has this number?”
“Only you.”
That made her grin, and she gave Tanner a peck on the lips.
She kissed him once more now, as tears fell from her eyes, and Tanner felt something for her that he had only felt for his sisters and believed he would never feel again. It was a familial protectiveness. Despite the strangeness of it after so many years of absence, he liked the feeling.
Maria hugged him as she thanked him, and she told him he would always be welcome in her home.
“That means more than you know, Maria, thank you.”
Javier stepped forward with an offered hand. Tanner shook it while locking eyes with him.
“You don’t have to worry about me, dude. I’ll be cool.”
“Or else,” Tanner said. Javier swallowed hard, released his hand, and took a step backwards, as Doc moved forward and pointed at the car.
“You’re leaving in better style than when you arrived.”
“You’re also doing better; and you’ve found that place to settle down that you were looking for.”
“That I did, but what about you, are you ever going to find a home?”
Tanner looked at the Reyes’ house, which occupied the very spot of the home he grew up in. For just a moment, he could see it again, along with the people who had lived within it, including his long-dead mother.
“For now, I’m sustained by memories.”
A minute later and he was driving away with a sense of something lost, as well as a feeling of something gained, perhaps even reclaimed.
227
Shades Of The Future
THE PARKER RANCH, STARK, TEXAS, NOVEMBER 1997
A few days earlier, on what would have been his seventeenth birthday, Cody Parker had been given documents that gave him a new identity and raised his age to nineteen.
He was now Xavier Zane. It was the first of many false identities he would use over the years, and the one he would be known by as he pursued his apprenticeship with Tanner.
He and Tanner stepped out of the car, the one taken from Jack Sheer, and both stood before the rubble that was all that remained of his home.
There were dead flowers everywhere, along with teddy bears left as remembrance for baby James. The community had held a memorial service for the Parkers weeks earlier, but now the wilted petals drifted in the breeze like withered memories. The teddy bears, once bright with color, were faded from exposure to the sun, and streaked with sand and grime.
Cody stood there in the light of a new day as he thought about all he had lost. Taking his cue from the boy, Tanner remained silent as well. After several minutes passed, Cody wiped at his eyes, then turned to Tanner.
“I’m ready to go.”
They picked up their bags and walked past Sheer’s car, abandoning it, as they would be using another vehicle, which was to be delivered to them by a young man.
It was part of the deal Tanner had made with Mr. Mastriani, to let someone tag along to see how he worked. So, Tanner temporarily had two apprentices. As he walked out to the road, he saw that the other one had arrived on time. That was a good sign.
What was also a good sign was that the kid had moved into the back seat after parking the car, knowing that Tanner would want to take the wheel.
One of Mr. Mastriani’s men in Dallas was skimming off the take. Tanner was going to make sure that it stopped, permanently.
After stowing their bags in the trunk, Tanner introduced the two teens.
“Xavier, say hello to Romeo.”
Cody looked into the back seat and saw a boy who was about his age. He had spiked blond hair, mirrored sunglasses, and several tattoos on each arm. When the boy spoke, he sounded as if he had been raised in Malibu rather than Dallas.
“Hi, Romeo,” Cody said.
“Hey dude, I’m glad you’re coming along, because Tanner is boring as shit, but he sure can shoot.”
“That he can,” Cody said, as he climbed into the passenger seat.
As they began the drive, Tanner loaded a CD. The compact disc didn’t hold music, but rather a language course to learn German.
Romeo groaned. “Oh, not that shit again. Hey Xavier, do you believe this dude? And those CDs work too, Tanner speaks like three languages or something.”
“Four,” Tanner said. “And it wouldn’t hurt you to learn something.”
“Screw that, I got my Walkman and I’m gonna listen to some tunes.”
Cody looked into the back seat and saw Romeo with the headphones on. He was bopping in place to a tune that only he could hear.
The language disc seemed interesting, so Cody turned it up a little.
“Do you really speak four languages?”
Tanner nodded. “I sure do, and it comes in handy sometimes.”
They drove along with the CD playing, as they both repeated the new language they were learning. Once the CD played through, Tanner shut it off and the car grew quiet, as Romeo had fallen asleep in the back.
“Tanner.”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you. Without you… I don’t know what I’d do.”
“You’ll make it, Cody; you’re as tough as they come.”
And as the town of Stark, Texas fell farther and farther behind him, Cody Parker headed toward his future.
228
Rabid Bitch
After scouting out the area on foot and watching the house for hours, Tanner felt it safe to drive onto the property.
He was back at the farm in Ridge Creek, Pennsylvania, where he had to check on things and thank someone for helping out.
Edwin “Buck” Seevers opened the door before Tanner could knock, then gestured for him to come inside.
“Tanner, imagine how surprised I was when that guy Tim called and mentioned your name. I thought he was a Vegas cop at first.”
“Thanks for coming. I needed someone to play a part and I immediately thought of you.”
“No problem, and everything went smoothly. I pretended to be the horrified property owner and now the Feds and the state police have moved on. But keep an eye out for that new police chief, she’s a sharp one.”
The interior of the farmhouse had been cleaned of all traces of violence, and a new refrigerator sat where the old one had been.
Instead of placing the farm up for sale again, Madison suggested to Tim that he should donate it to a worthy charity, many of which could put the land and home to good use. They were in the process of choosing one.
Tanner spoke to Buck as the actor started his rental.
“Where to now, back to LA?”
Buck made a face of disgust. “I spent years wanting to go there and found out that I hated it. Besides, I’m more of a theater guy. I’m going to New York and try to get a part in an off-Broadway play. And after that, who knows.”
“I wish you luck.”
A sense of sadness came over Buck and he looked up at Tanner and sighed. “I heard what happened to those kids, Cindy and Billy. It made me sick to my stomach.”
Tanner just nodded in agreement.
“There’s something you should know, Tanner. I ran into a buddy of mine who left Colorado after O’Grady was killed. He said that O’Grady’s daughter is on the warpath to find whoever killed her father. I remember Ariana O’Grady, and that’s one mean bitch. Watch your back.”
“Why do you assume it was me who killed O’Grady?”
Buck smiled. “I heard it was a professional hit, and for some reason you came to mind.”
“If I ever find myself in Colorado again I’ll be extra careful, but if O’Grady’s daughter wants me dead, she’s going to have to get in line.”
Buck placed the car in gear. “It’s off to fame and fortune I go.”
Tanner watched the car drive away, then prepared to leave as well.
In the back of his mind, Tanner wondered if Sara Blake would still be in Ridge Creek on the off chance that he would return.
When the attack came and she charged at him from the bushes, he was ready. Tanner shot her in the chest twice, and still she almost managed to reach him.
It was the dog, Madison’s dog, and it was out of its mind with rabies.
Tanner grimaced as he watched the animal die, although he knew he had only put it out of its misery.
The hound had lost considerable weight during the short time he was gone. He reasoned that the disease must have taken root since the last time he saw her, or perhaps even earlier.
There were still tools in the barn, so he wrapped her in a blanket and buried her near the line of trees at the rear of the farmhouse.
Her tombstone was a simple one since the dog had never had a name. Tanner marked the spot with a cross made from white fence pickets.
With the grim task completed, he walked to his car, left the farm for the last time, and headed for New York City.
There was another rabid bitch that had to be put down, and her name was Sara Blake.
BOOK 6
WAR – A TANNER NOVEL – BOOK 6
Tanner returns to New York City intent on killing Sara Blake and ending her threat, but a new ally convinces them to come to terms and to end their conflict.
However, not everyone is seeking peace, as German Conglomerate boss Bruno Heinz looks to take over Manhattan by wresting control away from the Giacconi Family. With Tanner’s aid, the war goes well, until an unseen tragedy strikes, then all bets are off.
Also, it looks like Merle and Earl’s luck has finally run out, as the brothers are marked for death.
229
It Begins!
12:14 a.m.
Tanner lay on his stomach atop a Midtown Manhattan roof and sighted in on the back of Sara Blake’s head.
He was over half a mile away from Sara’s apartment and peering through the rifle scope of a Barrett 98B sniper rifle. As he did so, he lay concealed from sight beneath the base of a large pigeon coop.
It was one of three shooting positions he had scouted out in the days since his return to New York City. He had made careful plans for both his assassination of Sara Blake and his escape from the scene, whether he be successful or not.
He had underestimated the woman once and it almost cost him his life; he would not make that mistake again and was prepared.
Sara was seated on the sofa inside her living room with the drapes drawn shut. However, Tanner had taken note that whenever the central air system cycled on, it did so with an exuberant rush of air. The current stirred the drapes and caused them to separate as much as a quarter inch; a quarter inch gap that happened to line up with Sara’s accustomed position on her sofa.
Tanner had been lying inside the shooting blind for over five hours. He was hot; he was sweaty, thirsty, and quite sick of smelling bird shit.
Still, he was waiting for the perfect shot, for that ideal confluence of events when Sara would be seated in the right spot at the exact moment the central air kicked on, and when the gap between the drapes was at its widest, to allow viewing.
And one more factor needed to be present—confirmation. He wanted to see her profile at the very least, to confirm that he was killing the right woman.
Through the scope, Tanner saw the flutter of the drapes as a gap appeared, through which he could spy Sara’s skull, the dark hair luminescent beneath the ceiling lights inside her apartment. The head turned just as the gap was closing and Tanner saw the left side of her face.
He fired, and the .338 Lapua Magnum cartridge round left the barrel of the rifle at more than double the speed of sound and entered Sara’s apartment.
However, the window didn’t shatter, despite the wispy spiderweb of cracks that emanated outward from where the supersonic round entered.
Tanner sighed. This was one tough woman to kill.
He knew from the failure of the window to shatter that it must be made of ballistic glass, and given that, it meant that the view seen through the material was likely altered to be a distorted one.
Sara Blake wasn’t sitting where she had appeared to be, but rather, up to a foot to the right or the left. Tanner smiled grudgingly. The woman was good.
The drapes on the apartment window flew open. In the light of a setting sun, Tanner saw a man wearing a bulletproof vest place an instrument to the glass directly over the hole his round had made. He then saw the red beam of a laser and knew that the device was designed to pinpoint where the shot had originated.
Tanner sighed again. It was time to move.
He crawled out from under the pigeon coop and used the scope on the rifle to look across at Sara’s building. The man with the laser tracker, an older man with a crooked nose, was speaking into a two-way radio. He was undoubtedly relaying Tanner’s position to troops in the area.
They would come and take over the building as they attempted to hunt him down. That meant that the guard in the lobby would be knocked out, killed, or detained, and that Tanner would have to leave by the alley exit. That was fine, because he had planned for such a contingency.
How many and of what breed were the troops, Tanner didn’t know, but he had decided ahead of time to use non-lethal force to aid in his escape.
The men coming for him could be paid mercenaries but might as easily be cops or Feds. In any event, they were coming. From what Tanner now knew of Sara Blake, he expected the woman to send an army after him.
Let them come, Tanner thought. He was ready.
Tanner was dressed in lightweight body armor and carried two Glocks with magazines packed with rubber bullets.
The bullets were ones that he had fashioned himself and each round held two spheres of hard rubber. The rounds would sting and, at their worst, break a bone, but anyone struck by them should live.
Tanner had no desire to kill a cop. If his adversaries were instead mercenaries, he also didn’t want to kill them and give birth to an official investigation.
His goal was to escape, so that he could make another attempt at Sara. She was the true threat to him, and he was impressed by her, despite the risk she represented.
Tanner entered the stairway that led down from the roof and paused to secure a helmet on his head. It too was armored, although a round of any significance would pierce it with scant difficulty.
Over the body armor, Tanner wore a harness, such as the type used by mountain climbers. As he headed down the stairs with a gun held in his right hand, there was a length of climbing rope draped over one shoulder. He also wore a tactical belt that had large pouches located at its sides.
Tanner proceeded down while moving swiftly but paused at every other landing to listen.
When he was on the 17th floor of the 40-story building, he heard footsteps slapping against the concrete stairs, as what sounded like a dozen men came running up the steps.
Tanner peeked over the railing and saw that his count had been off. There were sixteen of them, all armed, and they were advancing in four groups of four, while leaving a gap of half a flight of stairs between them.
As they drew closer, Tanner saw that there were no insignias on their clothes and only a few bulletproof vests, so he surmised they were mercenaries.
That meant that Sara hadn’t gone to the authorities. Tanner knew then that she wanted him dead, not captured, and if captured, he would be tortured.
The sound of running feet came from above as well, as more men entered the stairwell from an upper floor, after riding the elevator to the top. From the sound of them, their force was as great as the men advancing from below. Tanner smiled. It seemed Sara wasn’t underestimating him either.
When he was ready, Tanner removed an item from a side pants pocket. It was a remote-control detonator.
As both groups of men closed in on his position, Tanner flipped down and activated the night vision optics attached to his helmet. Then he pressed down on a button, and inside the electrical control box that operated the building’s lights, a small charge went off which destroyed the circuit breakers. T
he entire building was plunged into darkness.
Inside her apartment, Sara cursed as she watched the lights go out in a building blocks away.
“He was prepared.”
A man walked over to stand beside her. His name was Duke. Duke had a beefy build, salt-and- pepper hair cropped short, and a nose made crooked by virtue of having been broken many times.
“They’ll get him, Sara. He’s walked into the trap, literally taken his best shot, and now it’s our turn. I’ve got three dozen trained men over there all loaded for bear. Tanner doesn’t stand a chance.”
The short bark of a laugh came from the sofa, where Johnny Rossetti was drinking a beer.
Duke turned and glared at him. “Is something funny, Rossetti?”
“Not really. It’s just that Tanner has escaped certain death so many times that I would never count him out, and I’ve already learned the hard way not to attack him.”
Sara walked over and stood before Johnny. “You’ve just given up? Is that why you wouldn’t add your men to Duke’s?”
Johnny reached out and took her hand. “Of course, I haven’t given up, but I know Tanner now. I thought he was Romeo, but I still know the man. I’m hoping to find a peaceful solution to this.”
Sara ripped her hand away. “There won’t be peace until he’s dead.”
Johnny sighed. “Baby, if you don’t make peace with this man, he’ll kill you, and I think you know that.”
This time it was Duke’s turn to laugh. “My men have Tanner trapped inside that building. The only way he’s coming out of there is feet first.”
Johnny shrugged. “I sent my best men against him and he went through them like a hot knife through butter, including Lars Gruber. You don’t beat Tanner; you survive him. The man has no weaknesses.”
The Tanner Series - Books 1-11: Tanner - The hit man with a heart Page 72