If they had any thoughts on trying to kill Tanner, they didn’t act on them.
With Gruber dead, Tanner released his body and let it fall into the grime of the alley, while freeing the silver R from the garrote and pocketing it.
“Well boys, what do you say?”
Tanner stood relaxed, but looked like something from a Slasher movie, as Gruber’s blood dripped off him and covered half his neck and chest. He was armed, but his gun was holstered.
Merle and Earl looked at the guns on their own hips and shook their heads.
“We ain’t killers, Tanner,” Merle said. “It’s why we didn’t kill you back in Vegas, and we could have, ya know?”
“Give me your guns, slowly.”
They did as commanded, and after checking to see that a round was chambered in each gun, Tanner removed and pocketed the clips, then, he handed them back with the empty clips that Gruber had used. After that, he picked up Gruber’s gun and removed the silencer.
“What now?” Earl said.
“Now you boys get to be heroes, just shoot where I aim.”
Tanner began firing into the soft dirt at the base of the wooden fence, which ran the length of the alley.
Merle and Earl followed Tanner’s lead by firing off their chambered rounds and emptying their guns.
The clips Tanner had taken from Merle and Earl’s guns were compatible, and Tanner removed the empty clip from Gruber’s gun and fed in a fresh one before placing it near Gruber’s body.
The sound of running feet came from the other end of the alley and Tanner whispered to Merle and Earl.
“Let me do the talking.”
He placed the mirrored sunglasses back on just as Mario and Carl appeared.
Mario spoke in a breathless gasp.
“Did we get him?”
Tanner was “Romeo” again and as Romeo, he jumped up and down excitedly while pointing about.
“Oh shit man, shit man, shit man, he was hiding in the damn crapper, Tanner was hiding in there and he and he popped out and wrapped that wire around Gruber’s neck. I didn’t have a shot cuz Gruber was in front of me, but I tried to get him free and that’s when all the blood sprayed. Tanner tossed Gruber at me and I kicked the door shut on him, and that’s when these two lit his ass up inside the box.”
Mario stared about at the carnage and then locked eyes on Merle and Earl.
“Wow, you guys killed Tanner?”
A noise came from behind them, and they saw that Carl had fainted; he lay in the alley on his back. The sight of blood and death had been too much for him.
Mario checked him, and saw that he was okay.
“He’ll wake up soon, but stay here while I go get the dudes guarding the front door.” Mario took three steps and then turned back. “Holy shit, Tanner and Gruber both, wow!”
Mario disappeared from sight and the gate in the fence creaked open. Tanner held his gun at his side, but at the ready, and saw Sara Blake peek in.
When Sara saw the bodies on the ground, she walked in, her mouth agape, her eyes locked on the bullet-riddled corpse clad in black.
“Tanner...?”
Tanner said, “Who’s the bitch?” in his Romeo voice, which he pitched higher than his own, while also imbuing it with a singsong quality.
Merle and Earl moved towards Sara.
“You have to go now,” Merle said, and he tried to push Sara back through the gate.
She broke free of him and bent closer to the bodies.
“Lars Gruber, Tanner killed him?”
“Yeah,” Merle said. “But lady, Sara, you have to leave.”
He looked over at Tanner and shook his head in a silent plea that he not kill her.
“This other body, the one with all the head wounds, is it really Tanner? Is he really dead?”
Tanner went into full Romeo mode and began prancing around.
“Hell yeah he’s dead, my boys here blew his punk ass away after he killed Gruber.”
Sara looked over at Romeo, who was turned sideways, and then she stared at Merle and Earl.
“You two killed Tanner?”
The boys said nothing and Romeo filled the silence.
“They blasted his ass.”
Sara huffed in surprise and took out her phone. Tanner thought she might call the police, the real police, and not The Conglomerate’s paid puppets, but instead, she was readying her camera.
Voices approached from down the alley and Merle and Earl grabbed her arms and dragged her outside the gate.
“You gotta go now or they’ll hurt you,” Merle said in a desperate whisper.
Sara took one last look at what she believed was Tanner’s body, and then she fled.
Mario returned with the guards from the front, and Johnny was with them. They came upon Carl first and Johnny pointed at him.
“Oh no, Carl got killed too?”
Mario laughed.
“Nah, Carl just passed out from the sight of the blood.”
Johnny smiled at that and continued on, where he bent down and examined the bodies.
“That damn Tanner finally ran out of luck, and Gruber, whew, Tanner almost decapitated him.”
He looked up at Romeo and saw all the blood covering him.
“Did you get wounded?”
“No man, but that German dude went off like a fountain when I was trying to help him get free.”
Johnny took out a phone.
“Bring in the van. We got two to go, but keep the street closed until I say different.”
When he was done with the call, Johnny went over and stood before Merle and Earl.
“Boys, you just earned a fat reward, plus I’ll give you a night in the club you’ll never forget.”
Someone groaned and everyone turned to see Carl sitting up.
Mario walked over and helped him to stand.
“Come on, tough guy, let’s get you inside.”
Johnny’s phone rang and he answered it.
“Say that name again?” A pause, “Yeah, bring her here. I’m in the alley.”
He closed his phone and sighed.
“It looks like we may be planting three tonight. That so-called reporter is back, Sara Blake.”
And while Merle and Earl blanched at the news of Sara’s capture and coming demise, Tanner smiled.
CHAPTER 52 - It’s been a hell of a night
The gate opened and Sara was shoved back into the alley by two thugs, one of whom passed her purse over to Johnny.
“There’s a piece in there, Boss,”
Johnny reached inside the bag.
“I’m more interested in her phone.”
Tanner was leaning near the open gate in the fence, ready to move if necessary, and he wondered what Johnny would think if Sara had managed to take a picture earlier.
Johnny pushed several buttons on the phone, became frustrated, and tossed it over to Tanner.
“You look like you know how to search this thing, let me know if she’s made any recent calls.”
“You got it, Boss,” Tanner said, and then he popped the gum he had in his mouth. He glanced at Sara over the tops of his shades, but saw that she was watching Johnny.
Tanner searched through her phone and the results surprised him.
“There’s nothing here. It’s wiped clean, no call history, no photos, nuthin.”
Johnny gave a little laugh.
“No, not nothing, she called someone and then erased it. Smart,”
The van pulled up outside, and Johnny told Mario and one of the men who came with Sara to tote the bodies into the van.
“But before you go...” Johnny said and took out a knife, a switchblade. He knelt beside the body he believed to be Tanner’s and cut open the left pant leg.
Tanner knew what he was looking for and congratulated himself for having the foresight to prepare for it.
Jackie Verona’s left leg had received several shots, but among the carnage they caused, Johnny could discern an earlier wound that l
aid beneath a bandage, a wound that was narrow and horizontal.
“Gino said he got the bastard with a knife in the thigh yesterday, and there’s the mark. This was definitely Tanner. All right, take them away.”
Mario pointed at Sara.
“What about her?”
“I’m sure her ride will be along soon. Who’d you call, honey, your Fed buddies?”
Sara tried to hide her surprise at Johnny’s knowledge.
“Yes, I’m a former Fed and Special Agent Jake Garner will be here any minute.”
Johnny let out a sigh.
“Somebody turn on that hose by the wall and wash away this blood, after that, soak everything down with bleach.”
Johnny took Sara by the arm and guided her towards the club.
“Take off Mario, the Feds are coming.”
Mario pointed at Tanner and the Carter brothers,
“You’re with me guys, you too blood boy.”
“Let me use the hose first,” Tanner said.
After stripping down to the waist, he sprayed his neck and chest. He had to be careful about cleaning his arms, for fear that he might smear the temporary tattoos he wore.
Seconds later, he was in the back of the van with a pair of body bags, a perforated Porta-potty, and two very scared brothers, as Mario drove them towards the tunnel.
Tanner grinned.
“It’s been a hell of a night, hmm boys?”
Merle and Earl returned his smile with frowns.
CHAPTER 53 - Flirting with the enemy
Inside the strip club, Johnny R went behind the bar and poured himself a whiskey.
“What will you have, honey?”
Sara looked surprised by the offer, but said she’d have the same, only on the rocks.
With the drinks made, Johnny leaned on the bar and smiled at her.
“You’re a real looker, you got guts and you’re smart, a rare combination.”
“Are you talking about me, or yourself?”
Johnny nearly spit out the sip of whiskey he had just taken.
“Ha, ex-Fed or not, I like you, and hey, that shit with Vince, that wasn’t me.”
“I settled with him.”
This time Johnny nearly choked on his drink, and after coughing and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he pointed at her.
“That was you? You ordered that? There’s a real dark side under all that beauty, isn’t there?”
“Look who’s talking.”
“Are you trying to flatter me, honey?”
Sara said nothing, as she looked Johnny over and smiled. He returned her smile and the silence between them stretched, as they admired each other.
The front door of the club banged open and Jake Garner walked in with two New York City police officers.
“Are you all right, Sara?”
“I’m good, but I’d like to leave.”
“Where are the bodies?”
“They’re gone. They were carted off in a white van that looks like a thousand others and I never saw the plate numbers.”
Johnny’s face paled.
“Wait, what’s he talking about?”
Sara smiled.
“You’re thinking how could I have told him about the bodies when I didn’t see them until after your men grabbed me, right? Well, it’s very simple; I saw them earlier through a gap in that wooden fence.”
Johnny finished his drink in one gulp.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I know nothing about any bodies and I run a legitimate business here.”
Garner laughed.
“I bet you’ve said those same words on many occasions.”
Sara held out her hand.
“I’ll take my purse now.”
Johnny reached under the bar and came up with her purse. As he handed it to her, their hands touched, eliciting an inner sigh in each of them.
As Sara was leaving the club, Johnny called to her.
“Come back anytime, Sara, minus the Fed boyfriend of course,”
Sara smiled.
“Maybe I’ll come see you on visiting days after your arrest.”
Garner glared at Johnny, not liking the banter between him and Sara.
“She’s leaving, but I’ll be staying and there’s an FBI forensic crew on its way.”
Johnny sent him a blank look.
“Whatever you say, Mr. Fed, but may I see the search warrants?”
“Those are on their way here as well.”
Johnny had poured a second drink and he held it up in a toast.
“Goodnight, Sara Blake,”
“Goodnight, Johnny R,” Sara said, and out into the night she went, filled with a strange sense of loss, believing Tanner dead, and thus, leaving her devoid of her obsession.
CHAPTER 54 - Kiss or kill
Bass River, New Jersey 1:26 a.m.
Tanner watched Merle shovel the last pile of dirt atop the bodies, as Mario dragged over several branches to cover the grave.
Tanner was dressed in a T-shirt that advertised the strip club, and with his spiked blond hair, tight jeans, and tattoos, he looked younger than he was.
Soon, they were on the road headed back, but later, as they approached one of the rest stops on the Garden State Parkway, Mario pulled in and parked.
“I’ve got to take a leak, anyone else?”
The others said no and Mario climbed out of the van.
“I’ll bring back coffee.”
Mario went inside to use the bathroom, and while he was in there, Tanner spoke with Merle and Earl.
“You two are heroes now, but if you tell anybody that I’m still alive you’ll be dead heroes, understand?”
Merle scowled at him.
“Hell, we ain’t saying shit, Tanner, if they figured out we lied, they’d kill us.”
“Tanner?” Earl said.
“What?”
“Are you gonna stay dead?”
“Who knows, I might grow to like it.”
As he said he would, Mario returned with coffee, and they stood outside the van, stretching their legs while sipping their drinks.
Mario removed his wallet, counted out several bills and passed them to Tanner.
“I called Johnny while I was inside and he said to pay you. As for Butch and Sundance here, Johnny’s going to give them the hundred K reward, along with one hell of a night at the club.”
“We get the reward?” Merle said.
“Of course you do,” Tanner said in his Romeo voice, but with an edge to it. “You killed Tanner, duh.”
Mario looked at him and smiled.
“I haven’t seen you around before Romeo, but you’re all right. Come to the club sometime, I’m always there with Johnny and we’ll play some pool.”
“I will, but next time have some women there too.”
Mario laughed and slapped him on the shoulder.
“Come on guys, let’s get back.”
***
Tanner had Mario drop him off in midtown and then walked off towards Times Square.
Mario returned Tanner’s wave goodbye and then pulled away from the curb.
Afterwards, he looked at Merle and Earl by using the rear view mirror.
“That dude is flaky, but he seems all right, hmm?”
“I hope I never see him again,” Merle said.
“Amen to that,” Earl said, “Amen to that.”
***
Tanner watched the van disappear and headed for the subway.
Tim had given him all the info he had on Al Trent, and thirty minutes later, Tanner was breaking into Trent’s Mercedes, where he left something hidden in the trunk.
When he walked away, he was headed back towards the subway, and limping noticeably.
He had given himself a cortisone shot before going to the club, but his hours of playing the dancing, prancing Romeo had made his leg hurt more than ever, and he needed to rest it. He also needed time to think.
Tanner sighed as he settled into a sea
t on the subway.
There’s plenty of time to think about things when you’re dead, plenty of time.
***
In the office of Street View, Sara clicked on the icon marked POST and watched her blog entry go live, along with the single photo she’d been able to take in the alley, the one that appeared to show Tanner dead, while lying alongside Lars Gruber.
Behind her, Emily and Amy Sharpe let out a cheer.
“This is a huge exclusive, but we still haven’t tied all this chaos back to MegaZenith,” Emily said.
“I know,” Sara said. “But I’ve become convinced that Frank Richards is involved. Too many things point to it.”
Emily smiled.
“When do we get to meet those two brothers you told us about, the ones working undercover for you?”
“Maybe someday, but they can’t be seen with us, not yet.”
“Are they cute?” Amy asked.
“Merle and Earl?”
The sisters nodded.
Sara grinned.
“I’ll let you decide that when you meet them.”
“They sound so brave, so smart,” Emily said, and then she wondered why Sara was laughing.
***
The blog post spread across the Internet within hours.
By noon, the twenty-four hour news stations were discussing the photo, and debating if the mystery man named Tanner had really waged a one-man war on the mob, or was the dead man in the photo a scapegoat for a rival gang.
One thing was clear however, the blog and independent newspaper named Street View was once again worth reading.
***
Laurel Ivy opened the door of her illegal clinic and found Joe Pullo staring at her.
Pullo took one look at her red eyes and puffy face and knew he had guessed right about the depth of feelings she had for Tanner.
“I’m so sorry, honey, I know you cared for him.”
Laurel opened his jacket and looked at his bandages.
“You should still be in the hospital.”
“For what it’s worth, Laurel, I think Tanner had feelings for you too. It’s how I guessed that something was going on.”
Laurel sobbed, as tears spilled down her cheeks.
“I loved him, Joe.”
Pullo offered his good shoulder and Laurel leaned in and cried on it.
The TANNER Series - Books 1-3 (Tanner Box Set) Page 28