The food came. It was delivered by a chubby young man. His uniform shirt would have looked better on someone who was twenty pounds lighter. Morelos thanked him with a tip and sent him on his way.
After eating dinner, Morelos sipped on coffee while Amber indulged in her rich dessert. A jogger, Amber complained afterwards that she would have to pay for eating so much by running an extra mile for days.
Morelos told her that she could start early the next morning. He was a runner as well, and planned to exercise before they got back on the road by seven a.m.
“How early were you planning to get up?” Amber asked.
“I’ll be dressed and going out for a run before six.”
“Damn, Morelos. Can’t we sleep in a little?”
“Don’t act surprised. You know how I like to do things.”
Amber pouted. “I know, and I’ll come running too. I don’t want to get fat.”
“You can sleep in the car anyway.”
Amber smiled. “Oh yeah.” She then leaned over and kissed Morelos. “Let’s go to bed. And I’m not talking about sleep.”
Morelos stood and led Amber into the bedroom. He was unaware that someone inside the hotel had an interest in them.
The chubby room service waiter had managed to take a photo of Amber unobtrusively. It had been at the request of an ex-border patrol agent named O’Leary.
O’Leary had been on the take and was caught accepting bribes to let drugs cross the border from Mexico. He’d served four years in prison and became an alcoholic once he was free again. He currently made a modest living selling pot.
He had been entering the hotel’s lobby to deliver weed to a customer on the fifth floor when he’d spotted Amber stepping onto an elevator with Morelos. At least, he thought it was Amber. O’Leary hadn’t seen her in years. Back in the days when he’d known her, Amber had been a mule hauling cocaine across the border. If she was still doing that, she either had the drugs on her, or a fat payment for delivering them. Either way, she would be worth robbing.
O’Leary paid the room service waiter fifty bucks for the photo he took. As he stared at it on his phone’s screen, he was certain that it was Amber he was looking at. The woman hadn’t changed much in nine years. The same could not be said for him. The booze had aged him. At forty, O’Leary could pass for a much older man. That was good. Maybe Amber wouldn’t even recognize him. If so, that would mean he might not have to kill her.
But no, she’d have to die. He couldn’t take the chance that she might give his name to the cartel. O’Leary left the hotel and returned to his car in the parking lot, where he removed a bottle of Jim Beam from his glove box. There was another bottle in there, along with a loaded gun.
O’Leary fell asleep in his car after draining the bottle. While dreaming, he imagined himself rich after having stolen six kilos of cocaine from Amber. O’Leary had barely thought about having to deal with Morelos, and figured he’d be easy to handle. That assessment would prove to be wrong.
7
Cojones
Manuel Ventura never made it to Florida. His pride had overridden his sense of self-preservation and he’d gotten off the bus and traveled back to New York City.
Tanner had killed his friends and he had run away like a child. He wouldn’t have been able to live with himself if he hadn’t returned to give aid to his gang. Besides, being a Primero was the only life he knew. If Tanner did kill him, he would die a man and not a coward.
Despite his change of heart, Manuel didn’t reach out to his gang. If he did so, they might punish him for having run off the way he had. Instead, he planned to make up for his spinelessness in a big way. He was going to kill Joe Pullo.
Manuel hung out in the doorway of a retail shop that had a For Lease sign in the window. From there, he could keep an eye on the office building Pullo owned. When the mob leader showed himself, Manuel would gun him down. After that, the Primeros would have to forgive him. Killing such an important enemy would move him up the ranks, and he might even be allowed to stay in New York and be given a position of authority once the gang took over. Yeah, he could make things right again by killing Pullo. And if he failed, he’d be better off dead.
Manuel pulled his hood tighter around him and stuck his hands in his pockets. There was a chill in the air, and he could use a hot drink to warm him up. After looking around, he spotted the pizza parlor down the block and headed for it. A slice of pizza and a cup of hot chocolate sounded like a good idea. And once he’d eaten, he’d go back to keeping an eye on the entrance to the office building. It was time for Joe Pullo to die.
Tanner entered the coffee shop owned by Duke and made his way to a door at the rear. It was where Duke did his real business. After Tanner had knocked, Duke buzzed him in. The hidden camera above the door had shown him who his visitor was.
Tanner walked into the room. It wasn’t a large area, but it was filled with useful items such as weapons, ammo, and bulletproof vests and night vision equipment. Usually, there were also more exotic items for sale. More often than not, they were things that Tanner had ordered. Tanner saw none of that, but there was one odd sight. Opposite the doorway, there were several sheets of curved glass leaning up against the wall. Tanner wondered why they were there, then figured that the glass was bullet resistant. It was clear enough to make out the wall behind it, but too translucent to use as a windshield.
“How have you been, Tanner?”
“I’m curious about this way to become invisible that you mentioned.”
Duke grinned. He was around sixty, bald, with a gruff voice and an appearance to match. Duke could get you just about anything you needed off the black market. He did draw the line at human trafficking and organ sales. He was a criminal, not a heartless monster.
“I thought of you the minute it was offered to me.”
“Where is it and how does it work?”
Duke’s grin widened as he pointed at the sheets of glass. “Say hi to Tanner, Lisa.”
Lisa was Duke’s daughter. She had dark hair and blue eyes. She’d been crouched behind one of the pieces of glass. Her head appeared above it as she straightened up, but her body remained unseen. Tanner was not a man who was easily surprised or impressed, but his face displayed that he was experiencing both as he stared at Lisa.
She stepped out from behind the glass to reveal herself, then returned behind it, and her lower body disappeared from view. Through the glass, Tanner could make out the wall behind it.
“That’s incredible,” Tanner said. “How does it work?”
Duke threw up a hand. “The ex-CIA toymaker that sold them to me explained it, but it was all over my head. He did say something about lenticular lenses.”
Lisa stepped out again and explained. “It’s a collection of magnifying lenses. They’re arranged so that you can see various images magnified when observed from a definite angle. If a person or object is in a dead spot of a vertical lens, then the light doesn’t hit them and they become invisible, sort of. Looking at them from the front, the lenticular lenses distort and stretch the images to either side of the object, then squeeze them together.” She laughed. “It’s really cool, isn’t it?”
“And damn useful,” Tanner said. He took out his phone, activated the camera, and propped it up against an ammo can that was on a table. The phone was aimed at the sheets of glass. He then walked over and picked one up. It had handles at its rear made of clear Plexiglas. Looking over at his phone, he could see his face and the bottom parts of his legs, but his middle was unseen. Now that he was looking closer, he could discern a faint shadow through the glass, but the view was of the wall behind him. He shook his head in amazement as he thought of the uses he could make of the glass.
“I think we have a sale, Lisa,” Duke told his daughter.
“I’ll take all of them. And I’ll probably put in an order for more in a custom size.”
“I haven’t told you the price yet,” Duke said.
“I’ll pay what yo
u want. These things will be worth it.”
When Duke named a figure, it was lower than Tanner had expected.
“Why so cheap?”
“Marvin—the ex-CIA guy—said the materials weren’t expensive, but that the finished product did take time to make.”
Tanner viewed the video that showed himself disappearing behind the glass. He was looking forward to showing it to Sara. He would also be giving one of the shields to Romeo and sending another of them to Spenser in Wyoming. A find like this was too good to keep to himself.
Lisa excused herself and left to help out in the coffee shop, where three couples had just entered. Along with the shields, Tanner had a list of other items he wanted, most of which was ammunition.
“How’s Sara doing, Tanner?” Duke asked.
“She’s good, and she said to tell you hello from her.”
“That is one tough lady. I’m not surprised that you two wound up together.”
“You’re the only one I’ve ever heard say that.”
“Lisa’s mother, God rest her soul, wanted nothing to do with me when we first met. I didn’t blame her. She was a beauty and let’s face it, I’m more of a beast. Over time, she got to know me and realized that I wasn’t so bad. I think it was the same with you and Sara. That time you saved her sister’s life gave her a new perspective on you. It made her realize that you weren’t the devil she thought you were. After that, she got to see the real you.”
“The real me?”
Duke shook his head, as if in wonder. “You’re something else. I would bet you’ve killed a thousand men, but you’re still a good guy. That’s rare as hell, Tanner. In my business, I deal with all types, but there’s only one like you.”
“Are you trying to make me blush?”
Duke laughed. “Now that I’d like to see. I’m guessing you don’t do embarrassed.”
Tanner held out his hand for Duke to shake. “You’re all right too.”
After they shook hands, Duke reached beneath a counter and brought out a small wooden crate. When he lifted the top off, Tanner could see that there were six discs inside. He knew that they were explosives, because he had used them before.
“These are on the house,” Duke said. “If you’re going up against the Primeros, you’ll need all the help you can get.”
“Thanks. They could come in handy.”
“That gang won’t back off.”
“Maybe not, but they’re trying a new tactic. Instead of an invading force, they’re sending one man here to deal with me and Pullo.”
Duke looked incredulous. “One man? Does he wear a red cape?”
“No cape, but someone must think he’s super or they wouldn’t be sending him here.”
“Watch your back, Tanner. If you make Sara a widow, we won’t be friends anymore.”
“I wouldn’t want that,” Tanner said.
He made arrangements to have the invisible shields shipped out with the other supplies, as it was all too bulky to lug around Manhattan.
As he was leaving the coffee shop, Lisa sent him a wink. Then he was headed back to the penthouse to have dinner with his family and friends.
8
Ambush
Manuel would have a long wait before he got a chance to kill Joe Pullo. The mob boss was a dozen city blocks away having dinner with Tyrese Vann inside an Italian restaurant. They were in a private dining area away from the general public and the prying eyes of any federal agents that had been assigned to follow Pullo. The restaurant was a longtime favorite of Pullo’s, and he ate there on a regular basis.
Tyrese had asked to meet with Pullo because he had come up with an idea that might result in them averting an all-out war with the Primeros.
“You want to start a war with someone else?” Pullo asked.
“No. I want to cause the Primeros to go to war with someone else. There’s always been bad blood between the Primeros and the Crips.”
“They made peace years ago.”
“It wouldn’t take much to get them fighting each other again. I’m going to Los Angeles with a few of my men to stir up some trouble. The Crips are a huge gang, and they border the Primeros’ territory in L.A. If a war starts there, the Primeros will place us on a back burner. If we’re real lucky, the Crips might wipe the bastards out for us.”
“It’s a hell of a plan, Tyrese, and dangerous. Let me send some of my people along to help.”
Tyrese laughed. “Thanks, but no thanks, Joe. A bunch of New York City goombahs in suits wouldn’t fit in as well as my people will.”
Pullo grinned. “That’s a good point.”
“We’re going to wear the Crips’ colors while we kill a few Primeros, then wear the Primeros’ purple rags while doing the same to the Crips. After that, they’ll go at each other in retaliation.”
“If anyone figures out what you’re doing, we might be going to war with both gangs.”
“I know. But shit, it’s worth the risk. Anyway, it’s just a matter of time before the other huge gangs come at us the way the Primeros have. They outnumber us and they know it. But if they have a serious war before that happens, there will be less of them around to mess with us.”
“I have contacts out there. I’ll arrange a place for you and your men to stay while you’re there. They’ll also supply you with weapons.”
“That’s cool. If I had to buy guns on the street, I might leave a trail behind that the Primeros could trace back here. And oh yeah, I’m leaving Keith in charge of the Bloods. I told him to call you if he needed to.”
“Keith’s a good man.”
“Hell yeah, he is. I wish I had more like him.”
“When are you leaving for L.A.?”
“Tomorrow. The sooner we give the Primeros something else to think about, the better off we’ll be.”
After they ate, Pullo and Tyrese left through a back door that led to an alley. Pullo’s limo was there, with Tyrese’s vehicle parked behind it. Their men had been bullshitting together while they waited for them.
As he walked toward his limo, Pullo spotted something glinting from the shadows behind a dumpster. An instant later he realized that he was looking at the barrel of a gun.
One of his two bodyguards had been reaching out to open a rear door on the limo. Pullo yelled, “Get down!” and shoved his man to the ground and fell beside him, as a barrage of shots passed through the air where they’d been standing. There was more than one shooter. Pullo peered beneath the limo and saw two sets of feet coming out from behind the dumpster. They were joined by four other sets who were running toward them from the lip of the alley.
A glance over his shoulder revealed two more men sprinting toward them from the other alley entrance. They were both holding shotguns and wearing the purple colors of Primeros. The taller of the two men went down from a round that had struck him in the face. The round that killed him had come from Tyrese’s gun. Pullo took aim and shot the other man three times. The first two struck the man’s bulletproof vest, but the third was a mortal wound to his throat.
The remaining six men laid down a steady stream of firepower. Most of it bounced off the limo’s bullet resistant frame and glass. Tyrese’s vehicle wasn’t so equipped. He had to take cover behind the car’s engine block and wait for a chance to fight back. In the meantime, one of his men was down with a chest wound and his windshield had been destroyed.
Pullo’s driver had managed to open a door on the limo and was urging him to get inside where it was safe. Pullo ignored him, crawled beneath the limo, and took aim at the feet of one of his attackers. He was rewarded with a howl of pain and the ceasing of enemy fire. Having watched their companion have his foot blown apart had caused the other attackers to act to protect their own feet. Four of the remaining five men had taken shelter behind the dumpster, which sat low to the ground. As for the fifth man, he had decided to make a bold move by taking a running leap onto the roof of the limo.
Pullo had crawled out from under the vehicle and
was still lying on his stomach, as his men were busy firing toward the dumpster. There was the thud of a body landing on the limo’s roof. Pullo looked up to see a dark-complected man with a thin mustache grinning down at him. The gangbanger’s gun arm was extended, and his finger was on the trigger.
A red mist of blood rained down on Pullo as the side of the man’s head erupted from the creation of an exit wound. The round that killed the man had come from Tyrese’s gun.
Pullo’s men stopped firing and helped their boss up.
“Are the keys in the limo?” Pullo asked.
“Yeah boss.”
“You two get in the back. I’ll drive.”
Tyrese watched Pullo climb into his limo and wondered if he and his remaining man were being left to fend for themselves. It shocked him that Pullo would do such a thing.
The limo was placed in gear, rushed down the alley, then came to a sudden stop. When the reverse indicators came on, Tyrese understood what Pullo was up to and grinned.
Pullo sped backwards and smashed the rear of the limo against the dumpster the Primeros were using for cover. Instead of protecting them, the two-ton chunk of steel crushed them, while leaving only minor damage to the limo.
One of the gangbangers crawled out from behind the dumpster with a face contorted by agony. He was a young guy with dreadlocks. Tyrese’s remaining man placed a bullet in his head. The man who had been wounded in the foot was still alive but had lost his gun. He held up a hand to plead for mercy and received a bullet instead.
Tyrese was crouched over his wounded man when Pullo joined him. The guy was conscious but having trouble breathing and was in great pain.
Stalking Horse (A Tanner Novel Book 40) Page 6