At the top of the hill, past the winding driveway, a pickup truck slowed to a stop out on the roadway.
A few seconds passed and then the driver came out and raised a pair of binoculars to his eyes. The man was tall and lean and wore jeans with a flannel shirt that was too warm for the weather.
Merle cursed.
“I think that’s one of O'Grady’s men, the dude looks like he’s checking the place out.”
The man with the binoculars lowered them and let them hang from the strap around his neck, before taking out a cell phone and making a call. Nearly a minute passed, and then three more pickup trucks parked behind the first one.
“Earl?”
“Yeah?”
“When nobody’s looking, we run.”
“Hell yeah,” Earl said, and once more wished that he had killed Tanner when he had the chance.
CHAPTER 36 - Ten is more than six
O'Grady’s man, Drake, took the binoculars from the man in the flannel shirt and trained them on the cars parked at the side of Rossetti’s house.
“Preston!”
Cindy’s father got out of one of the pickup trucks and walked over to stand by Drake.
“What is it?”
“I thought you said that Rossetti had only six guys guarding him?”
“That’s what Buck told me.”
“Buck is a bartender and a wannabe actor, not a soldier, hell, I see at least ten cars down there, and ten is more than six, and you can be damn sure they didn’t all drive here alone.”
“That device Hank gave us says that Cindy’s phone is in there, which means she’s in there and we can’t go back without her, or we’ll all be out of a job.”
Drake spat at the ground. He was an ex-soldier, had fought in Iraq, been wounded, and barely survived. He was no coward, but he wasn’t looking to get killed in Vegas. What happens in Vegas might stay in Vegas, but not his ass, not six feet under.
“Let’s get back in the trucks. I want to think this over.”
***
Sara watched O'Grady’s men through her own set of binoculars.
“They’ve climbed back in their trucks and now they’re just sitting there.”
“Maybe they’ve come to their senses,” Garner said and then he looked around. “Hey, if Tanner is waiting for the fireworks to begin, then where is he?”
Sara lowered the binoculars.
“He’s here somewhere, or he soon will be.”
“Maybe he’s coming from the rear, but no, there’s nothing past that ridge but scrubland.”
“He doesn’t need to be close enough to see anything. He just has to be near enough to hear, and if they start fighting, they’ll make a racket, especially those two at the front door with the shotguns.”
“So you think he’ll make a frontal assault?”
Sara made a face.
“I have no idea what Tanner might do, but he’s coming, you can be sure he’s coming.”
***
Tanner was four hundred yards away, bumping along in the motorhome across desert scrubland that damn near bogged down the tires. The engine was running hot, which told Tanner that he was losing oil, but he only needed to drive for a few more seconds and he’d be in position.
He remembered the exterior layout of Rossetti’s home from having scouted it weeks ago, before going to prison, and so he knew exactly where to position the motorhome.
Before driving towards the house, Tanner had wiped down the RV for prints, although, he was certain that once the propane tank blew, that the fire would erase any DNA evidence. The owners had also stored several extra 20lb. canisters aboard.
He’d been watching O'Grady’s men, and had spied Merle and Earl at the front door, but as he had guessed, neither O'Grady’s men or Rossetti’s thugs were eager to engage each other, but that was all right, he’d give things a push.
He parked the motorhome on an incline atop the sandy ridge that bordered Rossetti’s home on three sides, and then vacated his seat, only to fill it with one of the mannequins he had taken from the clothing store in the mall.
The other dummy was already positioned in the passenger seat, and both mannequins wore hoodies pulled up, with sunglasses glued in place.
Up close, they’d fool no one, but from a distance, they’d look like men, and since he had replaced the RV’s Nevada plates with the Colorado ones he’d taken off the white pickup, Rossetti was sure to figure that O'Grady had brought in more troops.
Tanner gathered the bags of ice he’d bought earlier and tossed them out the back window, then, he climbed out, jammed the bags under the rear wheels, and poked holes in them so they would drain once melted.
After climbing back in and staying low, he released the parking brake and felt the motorhome lurch forward.
Just as he thought he would have to engage the parking brake again, the vehicle stopped moving.
After opening the valve on the propane tank, Tanner climbed out once again and saw that the ice was working as a wheel chock, as he had hoped. However, the ice was a temporary chock, one that would melt in the heat of the day, and send the RV careening down the slope and into the side of Rossetti’s home. Then, once the gas blew, the fire would begin.
The fat man would be driven from his home by not only gunfire, but also flames, and when he used his tunnel to escape, Tanner would be waiting, waiting and ready to kill.
Tanner moved away from the vehicle, staying low and circling around to the rear of the house, his shotgun at the ready, his heart filled with murder.
CHAPTER 37 - One rotten, sneaky bastard
Ramone held the curtain aside in the dining room and pointed out the Motorhome to Rossetti.
Rossetti’s eyebrows knitted together.
“How many guys are in that thing?”
“I don’t know. You can see two shapes in the front there, but I can’t make out much else because of the glare.”
Up on the ridge, the ice bags drained water, causing the heavy vehicle to shift, and Rossetti pointed at it.
“Did you see that? It just moved, like there’s a lot of guys inside milling about. Let’s not wait for them to come to us, let’s go to them. Send those two idiot brothers to check it out.”
Ramone smiled.
“If there are as many guys up there as we think, those two will get perforated.”
“I know, but with that FBI bitch keeping an eye on the place, we can’t start anything. Let Tweedledee and Tweedledum act as bait, but make sure they know not to start shooting first.”
“I’ll make sure they know.”
***
Drake dropped the binoculars and let them hang around his neck.
All he could see of the driver in the RV was a side view of a hooded head, due to the glare from the setting sun. He jogged back down the road a couple hundred feet and that’s when he saw that the vehicle had plates from his home state.
“Preston, did Hank say anything about sending more guys?”
“No, why?”
Drake ignored the question and rubbed a hand over his beard.
“What the hell is going on?”
***
From her viewpoint, further down and across the road, Sara squinted into her binoculars.
“It’s got Colorado plates, so it must be more of O'Grady’s men.”
“More men? He must not have anyone left on the ranch,” Garner said.
Sara raised up the binoculars and focused on the driver. After adjusting the lens to make certain that what she was seeing was real, she laughed.
“Oh, Tanner, you are one rotten, sneaky bastard.”
“What are you looking at?”
Sara passed the binoculars to Garner and told him to take a good look at the driver.
After a few seconds, Garner lowered them as his mouth dropped open.
“Mannequins?”
“That’s right. He’s diverting everyone’s attention. Rossetti is probably thinking he’s outnumbered and the Colorado bunch mus
t be wondering who the new guys are.”
Sara opened her door and walked around to the trunk.
“It’s time to put on the vests and get ready to move, Tanner is here.”
CHAPTER 38 - Oh, now I get it
Merle pointed up at the motorhome.
“You want us to go up there?”
Ramone nodded to him. He had walked Merle and Earl to the side of the home and explained what Rossetti wanted them to do.
“Like I said, just go over and take a look. Try to figure out how many guys are on board and what weapons they have.”
“What if they shoot at us?” Earl said.
“I suggest you duck,” Ramone said.
“You want us to go now?” Merle asked.
“Wait five minutes, and if they don’t make a move, you go up there and take a look.”
“Are we getting paid for this?” Earl said.
“Of course and when it’s over, you’ll get your money.”
“If we’re still alive,” Merle said.
“I could have Vinny place you back in the basement if that’s what you want.”
Merle swallowed hard.
“No sir, we’ll do what you say.”
“Good, I knew we could count on you.”
***
Ramone went back inside, and was headed towards the office when an idea occurred to him,
He stopped in the foyer and took out the phone that Tanner had given him.
He had never even mentioned the phone to Rossetti, because he knew that there was no way the man would agree to pay a million dollars in extortion.
Ramone thought this dispute with O'Grady was stupid, and he was not looking forward to dying in a battle that would gain them nothing. What the hell was there for them to take from O'Grady, cattle? This whole mess was just O'Grady and Rossetti trying to see whose dick was bigger.
As Tanner had said, there was only one number in the phone’s address book, and Ramone heard it ring five times before a gruff voice answered.
“Cindy? Where are you?”
“This uh, this isn’t Cindy? My name is Ramone and I’m trying to reach Hank O'Grady.”
“Ramone? You sound different.”
“O'Grady, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but we never spoke to each other before. The only one of your people I ever talked to was Joe Preston.”
There was silence on the line, but then O'Grady spoke.
“Describe Preston to me.”
“White guy, about thirty, kind of handsome, full head of hair,”
“Joe Preston is in his forties with a bald spot and he isn’t handsome.”
“What is going on here?” Ramone said, more to himself than to O'Grady.
“Listen here, Ramone, or whoever you are, Joe Preston, the real Joe Preston met with a guy named Ramone and gave him fifty thousand dollars to get back his daughter, Cindy.”
“I never heard of a Cindy, but I gave a guy named Joe Preston fifty grand when we met at the mall here, he was with a man named Tanner.”
“I never heard of anyone named Tanner, but Preston handed someone named Ramone money at a mall in Vegas. What the hell is going on out there?”
Ramone waved his left arm in a wide gesture, as if to disburse the confusion.
“Just tell me one thing, O'Grady, do you have a beef with Al Rossetti?”
“I do if he’s holding Cindy hostage.”
“I told you, we don’t know anything about a Cindy.”
“You’re using her phone right now, her name came up on the caller ID, and my men tracked her to that location by tracing her phone.”
“Tanner gave me this phone.”
“Tanner? Who’s this Tanner you keep talking about, one of your guys?”
“No, but I think he’s behind everything. Listen, O'Grady, call your guys and tell them to stand down. I think you and Rossetti need to talk.”
“First I’ll talk to Rossetti, and then we’ll see.”
“Fair enough, hold on, I have to go find him.”
Ramone rushed through the house, while silently cursing Tanner every step of the way.
CHAPTER 39 - Duck and cover
“They’re dummies,” Earl said, as he and his brother stood twenty feet in front of the RV.
Merle cocked his head.
“Maybe it’s run by remote control, like those cars we stole when we were kids.”
Earl wrinkled his nose.
“You smell that?”
Merle sniffed the air
“Yeah, it smells like rotten eggs.”
“Nah, I know that smell, that’s propane.”
“Somebody must be having a cookout.”
“Probably Rossetti, you know that fat fuck can throw down some food.”
Merle laughed.
“Don’t let him hear you say that.”
“So what should we do, take a look inside?”
“I guess,” Merle said and took a step forward.
***
Ramone was halfway back to the office when he remembered the orders he’d given Merle and Earl. He turned around, but then stopped, as a revelation struck him.
Merle and Earl were the ones who first mentioned O’Grady, and they said that O’Grady’s men snatched Tanner from them, but O’Grady never heard of Tanner.
Those bastards are working for Tanner.
Ramone cursed under his breath and ran back outside, where he found Merle and Earl approaching the motor home.
“Hey! Get back here.”
The brothers turned at the sound of Ramone’s voice, but then whipped back around, as the motorhome lurched forward and rolled towards them, after more water leaked from the bags of ice beneath the rear wheels.
The brothers gave each other a stricken look and then dropped to the ground. The huge vehicle rumbled over them and identical bolts fastened on both sides of the undercarriage caught their collars and ripped the shirts right off them. The hard tug also jerked their heads up and they received solid whacks to the back of their skulls.
After the RV passed, they rolled over, sat up looking dazed, and watched the vehicle pick up speed as it headed for the house.
***
Ramone watched the motorhome roll over the Carter brothers and figured they were dead. He also knew that he had been too late to stop the war, and now the only thing to do was to win it.
He whipped his gun off his hip, flipped off the safety, and took aim at the driver, whose hood had fallen back from its face.
In the same instant Ramone realized the driver was a mannequin, he had also applied pressure to his weapon’s trigger, which sent a bullet into the RV, ignited a spark, and blew him to hell.
CHAPTER 40 - The missionary position
Sara shut her eyes tight against the stinging sand, as the blast of the motorhome spread debris over a wide area.
In the next instant, she was slammed to the ground, hitting her head and becoming rattled, but when she opened her eyes and focused, Garner was lying atop her like a lover.
“What the hell, Jake?”
Garner sighed with relief, rolled off of her, and pointed back towards where she’d been standing. That’s when Sara saw that a large chunk of the motorhome’s roof was sizzling in that very spot, and had landed in the car’s trunk.
“Oh my God, you saved me.”
“What are partners for,” Garner said, as he helped her up from the ground, before taking out his cell. “I’ll call this in.”
Sara galloped towards the house.
“I’ll get Tanner.”
Garner shouted, “Sara wait!” but she was already gone.
***
At the house, four pickup trucks came to a stop, and Drake and the rest of O’Grady’s men piled out.
Drake pointed at the doors, which Ramone had left open in his haste to reach Merle and Earl.
“The doors are wide open. Let’s go show these Vegas punks that they messed with the wrong guys.”
The men shouted and followed
Drake inside, all but one that is, as Cindy’s father, Joe Preston, looked down at the device in his hand and saw that Cindy’s phone no longer registered as coming from inside the house, but rather, from across the road.
Preston climbed back into the last of the trucks, which still had the key in the ignition. He turned it around and drove out towards the road, as the sounds of a firefight raged behind him, and smoke billowed into the sky.
When he reached the top of the driveway, he slammed on the brakes, after nearly running Sara down, as she rushed towards the house. They exchanged brief glances and then Preston drove across the road and into a field of scrub brush.
He found the phone almost immediately, where it had landed in the sand, and when he saw the streak of blood on it, he felt his world slipping away. This feeling wasn’t caused by the possible loss of his daughter, but rather by the fear of losing his job.
Preston rode away from the house, away from his comrades, while racking his brain over what to do next.
***
Tanner had made it around to the rear of the house but was hidden from view behind the ridge,
When the motorhome blew, he was surprised by the force of the explosion, but knew that after viewing the carnage, Rossetti would be heading for his tunnel.
Tanner was outside the tunnel’s exit, where Dwight Sorrell had said it would be, inside a decrepit wooden shack with a missing door. The shack sat yards away from an old well and there was an ATV parked nearby, an All-Terrain Vehicle. That told Tanner that Rossetti had planned to flee all along.
Inside the house, something boomed loudly and Tanner listened and heard several different weapons firing at once, as outside, smoke rose skyward from the fire at the side of the house.
After tossing the Mossberg atop the roof of the shack, Tanner pulled himself up onto the structure, and when he stood, he could just see over the bunkhouse and pool to the rear of the home.
The sun was setting, and night was on its way.
Tanner lay flat atop the roof, grabbed the shotgun, and waited for Rossetti to exit the tunnel. Night was coming, but for Rossetti, there would be no dawn.
CHAPTER 41 - Inevitable
The TANNER Series - Books 1-3 (Tanner Box Set) Page 11