Samira ran up to embrace Jafar as if he’d been gone for a month. Ahhh… young love.
“Dev, you and Jess take the kids home. Have you heard from Lora about what’s on for tomorrow?”
“Yeah. Some bail bond firm in LA sent out a message that Katy Scarpatha skipped bail, and is heading our way. Jess and I have two airport escort gigs, but that’s it for Friday.”
“I know that name,” Lynn said. “She’s the one accused of being a contract killer working the Southern Coast, right? How the hell could they let her loose?”
“Probably the same way they let you loose.” My zinger elicited an indignant snort from Lynn and laughter from the crew.
Lynn giggled and shrugged her shoulders. “Okay… okay… I walked right into that one. You know of course, DL, there will be blood.”
“Yeah, I know. Anyway, you’re right. The DA didn’t have enough to make the judge hold Katy without bail because she’s been very careful – no priors, just rumors. We’ve been following the case, but Lora wanted to wait for an offer. I’ll find out what it is, and we’ll see what we can do. One mess at a time. We’ll get Laredo back, and then go from there. I’ll have Lora text you and Jess tomorrow if there’s any change in the schedule, Dev.”
Dev gestured toward the back. “Okay, brother. Our guests are in the holding cell. We fed them already.”
“Thanks. Denny’s on the way, and he always brings a few of his Praetorian Guard with him to collect any of our temporary house guests.”
As Dev, Jess, Jafar, and Samira moved toward our limo, Lynn ran up and put her arm through Jess’s. “Jess? Don’t you want to stay and watch my interrogation?”
The rest of us know Jesse wants nothing to do with anything Lynn does in an interrogation. He knows what she’s capable of. Although he’s heard us joking around about the fact she rarely has to do anything but talk to captives, Jess saw Lynn’s interrogation recording of the Harvard serial killers, where she found out all details of prior murders. It was not for the faint of heart. Lynn found out how upset the recording made Jess, and immediately memorized all her really good faces of death during the video to pull out on our hapless Mr. Brown. Jesse immediately stopped walking now, and plucked Lynn’s hand off of his arm as if it were a scorpion.
“Don’t touch me! C’mon, Lynn… that ain’t funny. I’m always right in place when you need me. Funnin’ me with your monster faces is gettin’ old, except of course to my supposed buddies.” Jess cocked a thumb at the crew who were enjoying his discomfiture to no end. “Besides, how do I know where that hand of yours has been? I know you have those guys stuffed in the suburban’s storage area. I bet you climbed in with them on the way back, and the good Lord only knows what you did with that hand?”
That cracked up everyone, except Lynn, who put hands on hips in pretend outraged fashion. “I’ll have you know I only climbed in with them over the bridge, Jesse Brown!”
Jess snorted in distaste. “Yeah, I’ll bet you did too. Goodnight, Lynn. C’mon, Dev, before she talks the rest of these clowns into putting me in the trunk for a demo.”
Lynn watched the four as they cleared the exit, before turning to the rest of us with a big smile. “Okay, boys, the Snow Whites are gone. Let’s have some fun.”
“I should never have let Dev and Jess talk me into letting them see your Harvard performance.”
“They wanted in all the way, John,” Clint said. “Tommy said no way, no how. They could have stayed on the periphery with him. Hell, you guys handle all the fight dates, escort gigs, and most of the bond enforcement. It’s great having Dev and Jess with us on a day like today though, and not have to explain a bunch of crap to them.”
“Jess knows I’m only messin’ with him anyway,” Lynn said.
The rest of us looked at each other and then walked to the suburban in silence.
“Hey! Did you guys just shun me?” Lynn jogged a few steps to catch up with us. “Oh, I get it. The boys’ club is now in session. Open up the back, Lucas, and let me have my peeps. I need to work out some control issues.”
“Don’t forget what we’re trying to find out, dear,” Clint said, as Lucas opened the suburban cargo area hatch, revealing two wide eyed, sweating, and struggling occupants.
The look Clint got from Lynn as a reply to his reminder had the rest of us backing away from him as if he just pegged the needle on a Geiger counter. He laughed and gave her the wave off. Yep. You have to be Clint to be with Lynn. Of that I have no doubt. Lynn turned to the rest of us.
“Take off, boys. We have this. We’ll let Denny know the moment I skin Manny and I have Laredo’s location confirmed. Denny-light can figure out a plan of attack from there.”
“Yeah, no sweat guys,” Clint agreed. “It’s not like we’re asking her to do some housework.”
Ms. Montoya launched with a deep throated growl. I removed the trunk jockeys while our two resident psychos practiced their unarmed combat skills. I was happy with Lynn’s progress on that front, but she was out of her league with Clint. In seconds she was tapping out from a painful jujitsu hold. Clint released her, but kept his defensive stance. He was no dummy.
“Truce?”
Lynn poked an angry finger in his direction. “You are so lucky I have work to do.”
Casey and I released Manny and his bodyguard from their ankle restraints. They groaned in audible distress as we helped them to their feet. Poor babies. I could tell Lynn was warmed up. She did knife tricks with either hand in tight lipped anticipation, which became more intense whenever she glanced over at the grinning Clint.
“Manny, my friend,” Lucas whispered to a very upset Silva as he pulled off the duct tape from Manny’s mouth. “If I were you, I’d forget the tough guy routine, and let us start recording everything you know right now. Believe me. You don’t want Lynn to start showing you her knife tricks in private.”
Manny cringed back against me as Lynn reached for him. “Do not let this woman touch me!”
“That’s not exactly the way this works, Mr. Silva,” I explained. “If you’d like to go with Lucas and record everything, we’ll put you on Lynn’s back burner while we check out your story. If we like what we get, my boss may want to keep you for future reference. If your info is bad, you get the full Monty in our suite she uses where everything is plastic coated for disposal purposes.”
Lynn shot forward and grabbed Manny’s shirtfront. He cried out like a lost in the woods campfire girl. “I know you’re going to lie, Manny. I want you to lie. Watch this, baby.”
Lynn moved her Balisong knife in a whisper soft pattern up Silva’s shirt. Manny swallowed hard when the material parted along the blade, unable to hold its form against the razor sharp knife. “When you’re through lying to Lucas, I’ll be waiting for you. After your last few days of life with me, the seventy-two virgins will run screaming from you, not that you’ll have to worry about that reception. We bury the bodies in pig guts.”
Silva jutted back against me in pure unadulterated terror, his head shaking in silently negative protestations. “I…I will not lie!”
Lynn smirked while whipping around on Silva’s bodyguard. Casey had already removed the duct tape from his mouth. “That’s what you guys all say. How about you, honey?”
“He knows all,” the bodyguard blurted out. “Your friend is being held in a Belize compound owned by Sadar Kopensky.”
“Yes… yes, that is the truth,” Manny affirmed when Lynn looked over at him.
“Good beginning.” Clint retrieved his satellite uplinked notebook from the suburban. “Go ahead and take them through their recording sessions, Lucas. I’ll get coordinates for this Kopensky’s place in Belize and then buzz Denny. He’ll be able to order us some satellite footage.”
“Take off, DL,” Casey ordered. “You need to get your chest iced up so you’re ready to rock when we go on a quick vacation to beautiful Belize. You have that ugly relic of a Chevy stored in the back. Take it and go home.”
No argume
nt from me. “I’ll see you all later.”
“Hey… Denny-light,” Lynn called out as I walked toward my old Chevy. “Clint and I want to know when we go on our honeymoon cruise on The Sea Wolf.”
“Never!” Lucas answered for me. “I’ve heard the house cleaning horror stories from Clint, girly. You ain’t ever going on board my baby.”
I made my getaway with a smile as the accusations began to find targets other than me.
* * *
Lora met me at the door. I couldn’t believe Samira’s speaking engagement and press conference had taken place only eight hours ago. It was going to be an easy morning with eight o’clock Samira talk, twenty minute press conference, and then home to play house with Lora while stepdaughter Alice attended school. Tommy was going to handle the office until noon. So much for that planned out day.
“I heard from Lynn you took three in the chest, and Casey added a picture. What happened, you leave your Dark Lord mask at home?”
Great. Another smartass. I put my arm around her and dropped my bag inside the doorway. “I take the first hit. You know that. With me coming at them, they aim center mass – my vest.”
“And when one of them goes for a headshot?”
“I didn’t say it was an exact science.” Lora’s appearance had temporarily erased the pain from my mind. Her long red hair tied in a ponytail, she wore a red halter top, white short-shorts, and medium black heels. I looked around. “Where’s Al?”
Lora sighed as she closed the door. Pulling me toward the bedroom, she began loosening the halter top at her waist. “She decided to go smartass, Dark Lord’s minion, on the teacher today about a history lesson.”
When she didn’t add anything as we neared the bedroom, I prompted her at my peril. “Okay, what witticism did she pop on the teacher you plan on blaming me for?”
Smiling up at me, Lora opened her halter top. “They were studying the Alamo, and Al was asked what she thought the Mexicans should have done rather than lay siege to the Alamo.”
“Uh oh.”
“Yep. She said they should have been more patient. They ended up in a war that cost them many lives, and all they had to do was bide their time until our government gave them the United States as Congress is in the process of doing now.”
I started laughing. Nothing like the truth to get you into trouble in today’s public school. “I thought joining history with current events was what they wanted now.”
“Very funny. Anyway, Tommy’s going to pick her up from school at 4:30.”
I moved my hands in a feather like stroke over her shoulders and arms. The Dark Lord was having trouble concentrating on anything other than the open halter top. “Good. Let’s fight the Alamo later.”
Chapter Three: The Destroyer
Lora was sucking wind like a marathon runner as she pulled on a one piece blue floral summer dress. “Hurry up, John! Tommy will be here…” she stopped talking abruptly, her lips tightening as I had already dressed in my jeans and t-shirt. “How the hell do you move like that with your chest nearly caved in?”
“A more apt question would be how did I make you cry out in something other than pain for the last half hour.”
She glanced up at me with her hair hanging over her shoulders and that open mouthed sultry look she knows drives me nuts. “I don’t know. Maybe you could teach it to me again.”
I headed around the bed with the intention of conducting that lesson immediately. Then I heard Tommy’s voice, and Alice answering as the front door closed. I smiled grimly at Lora before heading out and downstairs to greet my partner along with Ms. Detention.
Tommy gave me a little wave. My long time agent and partner is wearing his ‘Shaft’ outfit – black leather, black pants, and black open throated shirt. Take my word for it. If you need somebody to have your back, you’d leave Shaft in the bar, and head into the alley with Tommy. “Hey John. Heard you volunteered for target practice today. How’d that work out for you?”
Alice giggled.
“About as well as this young lady’s history class comments.”
“You would have said the same thing, John. I’m being brainwashed in there and you don’t care.”
Tommy and I laughed at that word picture. “The chances any teacher could brainwash you kid are something I don’t worry about. I have a feeling it wasn’t the words of your answer so much as it was the attitude you projected while saying them that landed you in detention.”
Al started a quick smartass remark, but swallowed it with a giggle as Lora joined us, a big frown on her face. “I bet Lynn would have said it.”
Uh oh. I’d have to be careful with this one. “You’re wrong, Al. Lynn learns at an accelerated level in everything she attempts. She also adapts to any situation instantly by blending in so well her presence attracts only respect. Why do you think she’s so valuable undercover. Lynn can become anyone. She speaks several languages fluently, and is proficient in math and the sciences. Lynn is not just a bad-ass. She is a well-educated bad-ass, because she knew classroom time would be invaluable for what she wanted to do. Lynn would have answered the question in a way to get her point across without provoking the teacher.”
Oh boy did I have little Alice with that one. Her eyes widened as I spoke, and her mouth dropped open. I could tell Lora and Tommy approved of my Lynn lesson for Alice. Score one for the Dark Lord, stepfather extraordinaire. Did the Dark Lord know if Lynn is everything he claimed? Hell no. For all I know, she was carving her teachers up by the time she was nine.
“I probably could have figured out a better way to say the same thing,” Al admitted. “I like Lynn. The way she and Clint argue is funny. They always act like they’re ready to hit each other. I don’t think I could do all that stuff she does. I like Mom’s job, bossing everyone around.”
“Hey!” Lora grabbed Alice’s ponytail. “I do a lot more than boss people around, missy.”
“She sure does, Al,” Tommy chirped in with a big smile that turned into a wavering line of confusion with knitted brows as he turned to me. “Remind me again what exactly Lora does other than boss people around, John.”
“Oh, very funny, T.” Lora reacted with her folded arms, tight lipped stare of death and dismemberment. “I see you over there snorting back a laughing fit, Dark Lord!”
I immediately straightened in energetic outrage at Tommy. “How dare you insult Lora the Magnificent, you lowly dog! I will have you flogged in the courtyard for this transgression!”
With Tommy laughing and Alice giggling, Lora stomped over to grab me by the ear. “You better watch it, DL. This disrespect will not be forgotten!”
“Perhaps you could return your attention to the original target. I didn’t get detention. I got shot. Beeper’s groupie is in trouble for giving attitude to her teacher. So, here I am with you pinching my ear like I’m a recalcitrant child while the real culprit skates.”
“Bieber! Justin Bieber!” Lora’s Minnie-me imitates Lora’s outraged stance perfectly. “You promised you wouldn’t call him Beeper anymore.”
“Did not.” Yeah, I probably did. Minnie-me put a huge poster of the great Beeper on her bedroom wall. I can’t help it. He looks like a Beeper.
“Did so!”
Lora and Tommy are both stifling enjoyment over our great Beeper dialogue. “Look. I like the Beeper. I’d rather listen to a chipmunk being castrated with a dull butter-knife than hear him sing, but he looks like a clean cut kid. If he can make a fortune wailing away in that claws scraping across the blackboard voice of his, then more power to him. Beep… beep.”
Al’s mouth is moving but no sound is coming out. I think I may have gone too far. Lora and Tommy are enjoying the moment… loudly. My few moments of being stepfather extraordinaire were ending abruptly. To describe Minnie-me as being in the grips of silent rage would be an incredible understatement. My stepdaughter had Beeper-fever worse than I thought. Her fists clenched at her sides.
“At least Justin doesn’t beat peopl
e up for a living!”
Ouch. “That’s true, Al. Maybe I should try to be more like the great Beeper.”
I started singing Alice’s favorite Beeper song ‘As Long As You Love Me’ which I’d heard so many times I’ve thought of yanking out my own eardrums with pliers. I did it of course in Dark Lord vocals, pantomiming the great Beeper’s moves from the many times Al had interrupted my few minutes of TV time to show me the latest Beeper music video. Tommy was howling and he hates the Dark Lord, while Lora had lost all motor functions as she flopped around on the floor screaming in laughter. Al tried valiantly to sear me with grim faced lasers of Beeper retribution, but she lost it. The smirk turned into a giggle, which snowballed into full blown laughter while yelling ‘I hate you Dark Lord’ over and over. I ended it with the great Beeper twisted face, hand reaching out gesture of teen angst. I glanced around at my helpless audience with Dark Lord satisfaction. My work here was done.
“I hate you, Dark Lord!” Minnie-me yelled out one final time, smacking my arm for emphasis. “I’m going to my room and listen to Justin.”
I patted her shoulder. “Okay, Al. Your Mom and I were thinking of grounding you, but listening to the great Beeper is punishment enough. Don’t overdo it though. We’re not that mad. Five minutes would be plenty to atone for your sins.”
Al smiled in an odd way that reminded me of those kids in movies taken over by the devil. “You know of course, Dark Lord, there will be blood.”
“You little snot. You just did a Lynn on me. Hey you. Where did you get that from?” I grinned as she turned to avoid my clutching hand with a little yelp and ran upstairs.”
Lora hugged me. Tommy stood there shaking his head. “That was insane brother. Will Lora the Magnificent allow you out for a little bit?”
Lora growled. “He has to ice his chest, T, and don’t start calling me that or there will be blood.”
“What’s up? I can grab an ice pack and go with you.”
“Our buddy, Alexi Fiialkov has a proposition he wants us to consider. He asked if we could meet with him over at The Warehouse today. I know the deal this morning is something that has to be taken care of right away, but Fiialkov told me it would only take about a half hour. Have you received word on what you’ll need to do for that?”
Hard Case: Boxed Set Books 1,2 & 3 (John Harding Books) Page 62