The Tanner Series - Books 1-11: Tanner - The hit man with a heart

by Remington Kane

  Tanner flipped the gun over and smashed it on the side of the punk’s head. The kid groaned, went limp, and slid down in his seat.

  After binding his wrists and ankles with zip ties, Tanner heaved Anton onto a shoulder and headed out the back door.

  There was a car sitting in the driveway with its trunk open, and behind it another body, which was lying near four 5-gallon gas cans. Tanner had killed the man before entering the house, which Pullo had told him was a known residence of several Russian street soldiers.

  The dead man had been removing the gas cans from the trunk of the car when Tanner came upon him. They were the same gas cans that had been used to start the fire at the Cabaret Strip Club.

  Tanner dropped the unconscious Anton into the trunk, slammed the lid shut, and then climbed behind the wheel. Once he reached Bedford Avenue, he gave Pullo a call.

  “Give me some good news, Tanner.”

  “Krupin is in the wind, but tell me, does the name Bohdan Volkov mean anything to you?”

  There was a pause on the line, and then Pullo spoke one word. “Yes.”

  “I have a kid here who says he knows where you can find him. He’s also one of the crew that killed your men and set fire to the club.”

  “He wants to deal, after trying to burn me to death?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Take him to the clinic; Laurel is there treating one of my guys who burnt his arm. Sophia is there too, and I’ll be along once I deal with this fire.”

  “The club is gone?”

  “It’s ashes, and it makes me miss Johnny even more.”

  “I’ll keep the kid on ice until you get to the clinic.”

  “Hey, Tanner.”

  “Yeah, Joe?”

  “We still need to talk… about you and Laurel.”

  “That’s all in the past.”

  “I love her as much as you do.”

  “No, Joe, you love her more. It’s why she chose you.”

  “All right, enough hearts and flowers, just tell Laurel that I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  “Right, but who is this Bohdan Volkov?”

  “He killed a friend of mine, Sam Giacconi’s son.”

  “Yeah, I remember hearing about him, but Bohdan Volkov called himself Bobby, Bobby Volks?”

  “That’s him, and once I find out where he is, he’s a dead man.”

  “That’s something I could help you with, unless you’d like to do it yourself?”

  “I’ve got something else in mind. I think it’s time Sammy earned his bones.”

  “The kid? Does he have it in him?”

  “That’s what I need to find out.”

  “Right, see you soon.”

  Tanner ended the call and headed for the clinic, and Laurel.

  312

  Friends?

  Tanner strapped Anton onto a gurney, then watched as Laurel examined the punk’s head wound.

  “What did you do to him? The capillaries in his left eye have burst.”

  “I slammed him on the side of the head with a gun, but he’ll wake up soon.”

  Once Laurel finished with Anton, Tanner reached out and took her hand, the hand with the engagement ring. “That is a very big diamond.”

  Laurel moved closer. “Say it. Say the words when there’s no gun in your face.”

  Tanner sighed. “I love you, Laurel Ivy.”

  Laurel grinned. “Do you love me enough to be happy for me?”

  “Are you talking about you and Joe?”

  “I love him, Tanner. I love you too, but with Joe, I know he’ll always be there.”

  “And I ran away?”

  “Yes.”

  Laurel removed her hand from his and took a step backwards. “This won’t cause trouble between you and Joe, will it?”

  Tanner leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “He’s a good man; you couldn’t do better.”

  “How long have you two been friends?”

  “Friends?”

  “He’s your friend and you know it. I think either one of you would risk your life for the other.”

  “Maybe so, but it wasn’t too long ago he tried to kill me.”

  “He told me about that; he was only following orders.”

  “He’d have killed me all the same.”

  Laurel shook her head. “I don’t think so. I think he would have wounded you the way you wounded him.”

  “I was having an off day.”

  “Liar. Why is it so hard for you to admit your feelings?”

  Tanner broke eye contact and looked down at the floor. “I’ve known Joe for about ten years.”

  “How did you meet?”

  “I handed him a box with a head in it.”

  Laurel made a pained expression. “I hope you’re kidding.”

  “Actually, Joe and I got to know each other when old Sam Giacconi sent the two of us on a road trip.”

  “A road trip? Where to?”

  “Wilmington, Delaware.”

  313

  Gut Feeling

  NEW YORK CITY, ELEVEN YEARS EARLIER

  Inside the Giacconi Funeral Home, Tanner entered the office with Joe Pullo and met with Sam Giacconi.

  Tanner thought the silver-haired old man was impressive-looking in a well-tailored black suit with a maroon tie. He waited as Giacconi looked him over as well. Tanner was also wearing a black suit, but he had no tie, and the collar of his white shirt was unfastened. There was a holster on his right hip, but only a discerning eye would have noticed the bulge beneath the tailored suit coat.

  Sam offered Tanner his hand, and they shook. “Tanner, that was good work you did in finding Vincenzo Rigoletto, and placing his head in a box was a nice touch. I was tempted to mount the damn thing and hang it over my fireplace.”

  “Now that you know my work, I hope you have more for me.”

  “I do, and I’m glad Joey was able to find you.”

  Pullo frowned at Tanner. “He found me. I came out of my place this morning and saw him leaning on my car.”

  Sam laughed. “You’re a pip, Tanner, but if I was you, I wouldn’t piss off Joey. My boy here is no one to mess with.”

  Tanner looked at the two men. “Your boy? Are you related?”

  “Joey’s as much a son to me as my own, but no, we’re not related. Still, that’s partly why you’re here. I want to hire you to back up Joey on a hit.”

  Tanner shook his head. “I work alone.”

  “It’s four grand whether you make the kill or not, but the bastard I’m sending you after is too dangerous for one man to handle.”

  “That depends on the man,” Tanner and Pullo said at the same time. Afterwards, they looked at each other in surprise.

  Sam laughed. “Yeah, I’ve got the right two guys. You’re both ready to take on anything alone, but I’m telling you, Carlo Conti is no punk.”

  Pullo straightened in his seat. “Carlo Conti, is that who I’m going after?”

  “That’s right. Do you remember him?”

  “Hell yeah, I was just a kid when he left here, but I remember him. I also remember all the stories about him. If they’re true, then yeah, Conti won’t be an easy kill.”

  “Who is this Conti?” Tanner asked, as curiosity peaked his interest. He liked working alone, but he also loved a challenge.

  “Conti was an enforcer for the Calvino Family out on Staten Island. We’ve gotten along well with them ever since Joey here planted old Albertino Calvino and put them in their place. Oh, and Tanner, Joey was only fifteen when he made his bones.”

  “Some start early,” Tanner said. He himself had first killed while only sixteen.

  “Anyway,” Sam said, “we were at peace, but Carlo Conti didn’t like that, so he went on a one-man war against us. Before he finally stopped, he had killed over a dozen of my guys, and when he left, he left with money he’d taken off a civilian. Some guy who was stupid enough to keep lots of cash in his house and then go around blabbing about it.”

&n
bsp; “How much did Conti get?” Tanner asked.

  “Does it matter?” Sam said, and Pullo answered him.

  “The more money he had, the farther he could run.”

  Tanner looked at Pullo and nodded. Pullo was sharp; he liked that.

  Sam sighed. “The cops figured he got about thirty grand, but remember, this was back in 1989, so that money could buy more then. And anyway, it doesn’t matter, because I know where the bastard is.”

  “How?” Tanner said.

  “One of my guys, a kid named Rossetti; he spotted Conti walking down the street while he was in Delaware on business. He said he was sure it was him, but by the time he turned the car around, Conti was gone.”

  Joe looked doubtful. “How could Johnny R be sure it was Conti? He had to be only about ten years old when Conti skipped.”

  “Carlo Conti and Johnny’s Uncle Al were tight before Al moved out to Vegas. The kid grew up seeing Conti a lot. He’d know him, and Johnny’s a smart one, like you, Joey.”

  “How old would Conti be now?” Tanner asked.

  Sam looked thoughtful as he spoke. “Let’s see, it’s been about oh, fifteen, sixteen years. Carlo was thirty-something back then, so late forties, early fifties. But if I had to guess, I’d bet he’s still the same hard case he always was.”

  “Why not farm the work out?” Tanner said. “You must know people in Delaware.”

  Sam leaned forward and locked eyes with Tanner. “This bastard killed my men. We’re going to be the ones to put him down.”

  Pullo looked over at Tanner. “Are you in or out?”

  Tanner spoke to Sam. “Just so I’m clear on this. You want me as backup, right?”

  “Yeah, Tanner, you watch Joey’s back and he calls the shots, but if you get the chance to put that animal Conti down, do it. That civilian he killed, he killed him in bed along with the guy’s wife. I want that sonofabitch dead.”

  The answer was no.

  Tanner wasn’t backup, he was a Tanner now, and Tanners worked alone. But then he remembered something that Tanner Six often said, and had said to him the day he passed the name on to him.

  “Trust your gut, Cody. Your eyes will play tricks on you, your heart will lead you astray, and your mind wants to believe whatever it’s told, but your gut, your gut always knows what to do.”

  Tanner turned his head and stared at Joe Pullo. “When do we leave?”

  314

  The Big Boys

  FBI Agent Tamir Ivanov made his way past the barricades surrounding the smoldering remains of the Cabaret Strip Club. After Pullo signaled his men to let him pass, Ivanov walked over to stand beside him.

  “I hear you had a close call tonight.”

  “Too close,” Pullo said. “And I’ve already given a statement to the cops.”

  “Chill, Pullo, I’m not here to hassle you. I just came to see what the damage was and to look at the two stiffs with the rifles. I recognized both of them. They worked for Krupin.”

  “You wouldn’t happen to know where I might find the kid, would you?”

  Ivanov laughed. “I don’t, and I wouldn’t be for sale if I did. But my guess is that Mikey Krupin is in the wind, at least for now.”

  Pullo looked around. “Where’s that partner of yours? She’s easy on the eyes.”

  “That she is, and she’s also busy. It seems that someone wasted a Russian crew in Brooklyn, and Agent Moretti is handling that scene. Would you happen to know anything about that, Pullo?”

  “Not a thing.”

  “Uh-huh, that’s what I thought you’d say. I bet you also don’t know anything about the Italian hoods who are overrunning Krupin’s territory as we speak.”

  “I know that when the boss is away, and his top two lieutenants are dead, that it’s a good time to strike.”

  “Mm-hmm, and it looks like you’re about to win this war.”

  Joe sighed deeply as he watched an ambulance drive away.

  “That’s right; you lost two men, didn’t you?”

  “Yeah, Victor and Sal.”

  “My condolences, and as I said the other day, this war has to end, so win it and end it.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Ivanov moved to stand in front of Pullo. “Enough of the denial bullshit, Pullo. I’m talking to you as one man to another. End this war. If you have to waste Krupin to do it, then so be it. This shit is getting out of hand.”

  Pullo smiled. “I’d offer you a drink, but as you can see, we’re closed for renovations.”

  “You’re going to rebuild?”

  “Damn right, and bigger and better, and this time it will be called Johnny R’s.”

  “For Rossetti? I’d heard you two were friends. You got class, Pullo, thug or not.”

  “You’re not so bad yourself for a Fed, and as far as what you were talking about before, consider it done.”

  “All right, but don’t underestimate Krupin. He’s a weasel, and weasels have a way of being tough to kill.”

  Pullo thought of Tanner.

  “I know a great exterminator.”

  At that moment, Michael Krupin was in a hotel suite in Miami. He had flown down there so that he would have an alibi when the Cabaret Strip Club went up in flames.

  When he couldn’t get ahold of either Vance or Fedor, he knew there had been trouble, but when the crew who had set the blaze also didn’t answer, that was when he started to sweat.

  After calling one of his other men and waking him, he waited for the man to report back. When the call came, Krupin felt like crying.

  Both Fedor and Vance were dead, while Pullo had survived the fire. Of the four young men who set the blaze, three were dead, and one, Fedor’s nephew, Anton, was missing. Pullo’s men had also taken over half of his territory, and if he didn’t do something soon, he’d have nothing to return to.

  Krupin plopped onto the sofa in the suite’s living room. As he thought about his options, he heard the words of FBI Agent Tamir Ivanov float through his mind; Ivanov, who had warned him that he’d be eaten alive if he kept playing with the big boys.

  “I’m as big as anyone,” Krupin said to himself. The words tasted like a lie. Then, he remembered an incident from his childhood.

  There was a kid at school during the fifth grade named Bruce who used to pick on Krupin mercilessly. The kid was a foot taller than Krupin and outweighed him by twenty pounds. When young Michael had come home with a black eye and told his father what had happened, the elder Krupin merely shrugged.

  “Kick his ass.”

  “But Dad, Bruce is bigger than me.”

  “Then find someone bigger than him and pay them to kick his ass, but just make sure that he learns never to touch you again.”

  Krupin followed the advice. Two days later, Bruce was rushed to the hospital with three broken ribs and a dislocated shoulder. Krupin had paid a friend’s older brother fifty dollars to do the deed, and it had been worth every penny. From that day forward, Bruce ran in the opposite direction whenever he saw Krupin coming his way.

  “Pullo might be a big boy, but there are bigger.”

  Michael Krupin grabbed his laptop and booked a flight. He was going to Mexico.

  315

  Bobby Volks

  Pullo arrived at the clinic, and after kissing Laurel he eyed Tanner.

  “Have you two talked?”

  “Yeah, Joe, and I told Laurel that she couldn’t do better.”

  “That’s a lie, but she’s stuck with me now that she took the ring.”

  “So, when is the wedding?”

  “As soon as the Russians are handled.”

  “Speaking of that, let’s go see if our guest is awake.”

  They went into the examination room, where Anton was still strapped to a gurney. Tanner slapped his face, which caused his eyes to flutter. Pullo saw that Laurel had followed them into the room, and he asked her to leave.

  Laurel stared down at Anton with cold eyes. “He’s one of the men
who set the fire and killed Victor and Sal, isn’t he?”

  “Yeah,” Tanner said.

  “You do what you want with him, but don’t make a mess in here.”

  “Yes ma’am,” Tanner said, and after Laurel walked out, he smiled at Pullo. “She’s tougher than she looks.”

  “Tell me about it,” Pullo said, and when he stared down at Anton, he saw that the kid was awake.

  “My head hurts.”

  “It could be worse,” Pullo said.

  “You’re Joe Pullo?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Who killed my crew?”

  “That would be me,” Tanner said.

  “Bobby Volks, where can I find him?” Pullo asked.

  “Who?”

  “Bohdan Volkov, he used to call himself Bobby Volks.”

  “Oh, well hey man, I just know the name Bohdan Volkov because my uncle once mentioned it while he was drunk. He said he helped him to get away when you were looking for him.”

  “Who’s your uncle?”

  “Fedor Tarnow.”

  “He’s dead; Vance killed him,” Pullo said.

  Anton’s breathing had been rapid due to fear, but it increased even more as his eyes grew moist.

  “I’m gonna kill that damn Rurik.”

  “You’re too late,” Tanner said.

  “He’s dead? Good! And hey, we can make a deal, right? I tell you where to find this Bobby Volks and you let me go?”

  Pullo leaned over and locked eyes with Anton. “You tell me, or you die slowly, and I’m talking weeks.”

  “What the hell, Pullo? Why you being such a prick about it?”

  “You nearly killed my fiancée with that fire you set.”

  Anton tried to shrug, but with the restraints upon him, it looked more like a twitch.

  “Shit, it wasn’t personal, man. Didn’t you ever follow orders that you didn’t like?”

  Pullo straightened up at those words and looked across the gurney at Tanner, knowing that like himself, Anton’s words had made Tanner recall the past.