Hard Case: Boxed Set Books 1,2 & 3 (John Harding Books)

by Bernard Lee DeLeo

  “You must be getting used to people blaming you for everything, John.”

  “We won this round, Gus. No one can change that. I wish Joan would have confided in you about this clown on the floor. You would have never let him in the door.”

  Gus shook his head. “I’m getting dull around the edges. I expect to keep the kids safe from gangbangers foolin’ around outside or a parent getting a little crazy. Guys coming in to kill, strapped with dual autos would have been a long shot for me. You playin’ him here in the office was the best thing that could have happened. Who you got comin’ over, Earl and ‘Rique?”

  “Yep. They were already in the area on patrol.”

  That’s when Vergues woke up moaning and groaning. He looked around blearily, and focused on me. “You…you hit me. Why am I in handcuffs? Let me go or I will sue your asses to hell and gone!”

  I walked over and jerked Stevie boy up in the air with his feet an inch or two clear of the floor. I had his clothing so bunched in my fist, it was beginning to shut off his air. I shook him gently while I Mirandized him, and then let him down onto his feet. I could hear Gus chuckling behind me, accompanied by startled gasps from Lomax and Donaldson.

  “Do you understand these rights as I have explained them? Think carefully before answering, Mr. Vergues. Take a deep breath.”

  I didn’t really need to tell the jerk to take a breath. He was already sucking wind. After his breathing returned somewhat to normal, I repeated the question.

  “Yes…yes, I understand… damn it! Why am I being held?”

  “You’re carrying two .45 caliber handguns in a grammar school. What did you think was going to happen?” This guy was really playing the dumbass card through the last hand.

  “I can explain that. I have a permit. If you-”

  “No you don’t. What you do have is a warrant for your arrest from Chicago. They plan on trying your ass for killing your last girlfriend. From what I understand, they have all the evidence they need. All they need now is you.”!

  “This is a mistake! My name is Carlos Rodgers. I’m an investment banker. I carry large amounts of currency, which is why I must be armed at all times.”

  “Save your breath. The police will be here to pick you up any minute. You won’t be going anywhere but jail.” I made a shushing sound as the dingbat began protesting again.

  Earl and ‘Rique came in about three minutes later. They both shook hands with Gus, who then handed over our makeshift evidence bags. “I want my cuffs back youngsters. Use your own.”

  I began to get into a position where I could disable the dummy if he tried anything, but ‘Rique pulled out his piece and aimed it at Vergeus’s chest. “He has a vest on ‘Rique.”

  “Thanks John.” ‘Rique aimed at his head. “Okay, get your cuffs back, Gus.”

  Gus did so, and Earl replaced them with his own. Only then did his partner put his piece away. “Jafar sent us the whole packet on him, John. Your boy called Chicago already. They’re sending people to get him even as we speak.”

  “He also made threats to blow up the school. The kindergarten teacher here, Ms. Abel, was the target of the threat. She will testify. Do you have people going to his home?”

  “The moment we looked over the packet Jafar sent us, we sent the file to the DA while in route to you. He found a judge immediately to issue a search warrant. It’s a blanket warrant, covering computers, and vehicles. We’ll get everything. There will be a team there shortly to conduct it.”

  I saw Vergues’s face when Earl mentioned a blanket warrant. “Thanks, that should turn up some interesting and incriminating material. One of the evidence bags has his car keys. It’s a late model Mercedes if the fancy key-fob is any indicator. Just going outside and hitting the lock/unlock should locate it for you. I’m betting he brought a lot more lethal items in his car.”

  ‘Rique was also watching our suspect’s face. “I believe you’re right, considering the look on his face. You’re not much of a gambler, Mr. Vergues. That is not a good poker face. Did you remember your FBI credentials, John?”

  “I showed them, and I gave him his Miranda warning in front of witnesses here. I had to subdue him without warning because of Ms. Abel’s informing me of him threatening to blow up the school.”

  Vergues laughed. “You assholes are going to be sorry you ever fucked with me.”

  Uh oh. Everyone looked at me. This is not good. I see that petty look on Vergues’s face I don’t like, dumb enough to brag about knowing something we don’t. “Hit the fire alarm, Ms. Lomax, right now! I’ll take custody of our suspect while you all help get the kids out of this building!”

  Lomax ran over and hit the fire alarm without a question.

  “Call the fire department. Tell them it’s a drill, but to bring emergency vehicles. Call the bomb squad, Earl. Can I have this guy?”

  “He’s all yours, John. ‘Rique said. “Let’s go folks. This is not a drill. Let’s help get these kids clear of this area. We’ll hunt for his car while we’re out there, John. Good luck.”

  “It’s official. The FBI has custody of this bombing suspect. Hurry folks.” I grabbed Vergues by the neck, hustling him out of the office, while calling for the pros from Dover. Surprisingly, Lynn answered on the first ring.

  “Please tell me you have an emergency! I just lost a bet with Clint. I have to have the house spotless before he gets back with Tonto from having coffee at Laredo’s place. I’m-”

  “Lynn! I have a school bomber in custody. I don’t know how much time we have, but I need you to make a play for it! I’m at the Allendale School where I take Al to school. Do you two still have the big SUV.”

  “I’m running to it right now, John. It will still be ten minutes. Warm him up.”

  “Acknowledged. I’m moving him to the corner of 38th and Penniman. ” I took a deep breath while watching teachers and students rushing out of classrooms for the street with all the adults taking and guiding the kids toward adjacent streets. I called Jafar. “Come over to the school and pick up Al. We have an emergency. The kids will be milling around. Help the cops and teachers move the kids away. Stay with Al and the Sparks twins until it’s over.”

  “Got it, John. Be there shortly.”

  Vergues barked out a short laugh. “You fucked with the wrong guy! You can’t do shit to me! Burn, baby, burn!”

  I plucked him up on his tiptoes while ramming him into the wall. “If that were true, asshole, you’d already be dead. I have a special friend coming over to help you remember what you’ve done and how to undo it. How you end up after she’s done will be up to you. Prison will look like a picnic, and death an old friend, when she gets through with you. We have a sound proofed SUV she’s speeding here with as I speak. Right now, you’re intact. No kids or adults have been hurt. You have a onetime only chance to end up in the Chicago PD’s hands with only prison as your punishment. Take the tough guy route, and nothing in heaven, hell, or earth will keep you from a legendary death.”

  Vergues’s eyes are dancing around in his skull. He’s beginning to have doubts. I don’t blame him, because if the school blows up, I’m going to spend some quality time with my monster, Lynn, in the desert somewhere. “You… you can’t touch me! I’ve been arrested. I refuse to answer anything by my Fifth Amendment rights!”

  “The Constitution is not a suicide pact. We have an organization that handles special circumstances like this. The suspects guilty by our ‘caught red handed’ parameters undo their threat or we torture, maim, and kill them. Congratulations, Stevie, you’ve qualified for special circumstances.

  “Fuck you, Harding!” Vergues spits at me. “I don’t believe you. This bullshit ‘24’ threat comic routine to scare me as if you can actually do anything like Jack Bauer is a crock! Get to it, pussy. You and I know you can’t do shit!”

  He’s pulling the Jack Bauer card. He’s watched ‘24’, and thinks it’s all fiction. Well, not quite, you piece of shit. I’m beginning to think I can handle th
is without Lynn, but she brings the game to a higher level: no marks. I’m thinking of taking him to an empty classroom, and breaking pieces of his body one at a time. I’ll wait for Lynn though. She is becoming an expert at interrogation without marks or deaths, not that in this instance I care.

  I grip Vergues’s jaw in my hand. “Oh, Stevie… you know so little about the new ‘Protect America’ plan. We get it done. If that means cutting your nuts out and sticking them in your mouth while we question you… well… we hired people who can do it, and actually smile while they do it. You’re going to meet her soon. My advice… tell me everything now. If you don’t, my associate will make you tell, but she won’t stop there. She will take you to a plateau of pain you thought was imaginary.”

  Vergues grinned inappropriately. ”I have no fear of you people.”

  I almost let go a chuckle on that one. I clamp him by the back of the neck, so if he even squeaks I’ll be able to shut off the sound completely “You will, chum. Let’s go out front and wait for her.”

  When we get out front, I move Vergues down the sidewalk toward 38th, moving quickly through the students and adults. We reached the corner only a minute before Lynn. She stopped, and I loaded Vergues into the cargo area. I jumped in after him.

  “Tie him to the backdoor on his knees, John. I’ll be back in a moment. I brought extra ties in my bag back there.”

  I propped Vergues against the door. He struggled, so I gave him a quick solar plexus punch that rendered him quiet and cooperative. After undoing the handcuffs with the key Earl turned over to me, I fastened one hand up on the cargo framework to the left, and the other to the right. I did the same to his feet on the lower framework, which kept his knees spread. By then, my red-faced gasper was getting his voice back.

  Lynn parked and slipped into the back. Man, she looked good. She had tied her long hair back tightly away from her face. With black eye shadow, lipstick, black spandex bottoms, and black halter top, Lynn made that ‘Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’ look like a girl scout leader. It’s her face. She doesn’t need her face to be a pincushion, or tats everywhere. When Lynn puts on her death mask, only Clint is invulnerable to its effect. Hell, I wanted to shoot her. She went face to face with Stevie boy, and he looked away.

  “Hello, meat. I’m Lynn Montoya. Maybe you’ve heard of me. I cut the hearts out of a whole bunch of tough guys like you.”

  That got his attention. He looked back at her with his eyes nearly squeezed shut. “Mon…Montoya? That’s impossible! I read you were taken by the Zeta Cartel in Mexico.”

  “This bunch needed a monster, so they came down and got me out. Let’s not talk about me. Let me give you a little demo of what’s to come. I hear you like blowing up schools with kids and ex-girlfriends inside. Well, I’m here to sign you into my ten minute reeducation camp.”

  “Wait! I-”

  Lynn jammed the piece of duct tape she had in her hand over his mouth. “Bored now. You don’t get to talk yet tough guy. I need you to understand this isn’t the police department. This is hell on earth, and I’m your guide. How deeply you want to go on this journey will be up to you… but not right now.”

  Lynn and I moved to opposite end of the cargo area where she took out a Taser and aimed it at Vergues’s nuts. The needles cut off his muffled scream. Then Lynn got into a full lotus position and began cranking up the juice ever so slowly. I was glad we had reinforced glass in the SUV, because Vergues’s high pitched muffled squeal would surely have cracked it otherwise. Vergues writhed and pissed himself, which was great for conduction. Each time his jerking body seemed to indicate Vergues would pass out, Lynn dialed back for ten seconds, before starting again. His eyes bulged out at his torturer, but Lynn simply smiled. I could and have done this and worse when needed, but something’s added to the mix when she does it. After five full minutes, Lynn turned off the juice.

  “Okay, bad boy, stop squealing or I’ll crank it up again. Go ahead, John. Peel off the tape, and see if tough guy wants to be helpful. One other thing – if the school goes boom while we’re playing, you are going to have a very bad three days. That’s how long I made my last bad boy keep me company until he gasped out his last breath.”

  It was chilling listening to her tell him what would happen. I saw in his eyes he believed her. I carefully removed the duct tape. Vergues sobbed, cried, and mouthed words with no sound for the next twenty seconds until Lynn made a clucking sound of dissatisfaction.

  “Momma gonna punish!”

  Vergues cried out, getting his voice back. “Wha…what time…what time is it?”

  “It’s nearly ten,” I told him. The relief in his face was obvious. Tears streamed down his face.

  “It’s in the center ceiling panel above Joan’s classroom! Hurry! It’s set to go off at eleven!”

  “I’ll FaceTime you the moment I get into position, Lynn. What disables it, asshole?”

  “Red wire… Green wire… that order!”

  Lynn slipped in near Vergues. Her butterfly knife click-clacked into the open position. “Best start praying to whatever demon you have séances with that John disarms it with no surprises. If not, I’m going to skin you before we head for an open desert somewhere.”

  “It’ll work! It will…”

  I was out of the van and running full speed for the school only a block away. Earl and ‘Rique spotted me. A bomb squad member, fully decked out in a bodysuit met me in front of the school. “I’ve got it. Follow me with your squad. Do you have side cutters on you?”

  The bomb squad guy with Jenkins on his nametag handed the tool over to me from his pouch. I ran through the entrance and down to Abel’s classroom. I pulled a chair out of the classroom and stood on it under the center panel. I could tell right away it had been moved recently. Jenkins took up a position next to me as his squad arrived with a containment box. I shoved the tile to the side, and spotted the blinking lights right away. It was a cake of C4, wired to a timer. I FaceTimed Lynn.

  “I’m here, Lynn, and showing you the bomb.” I moved the bomb to the opening, turning it until I spotted the wires. I hear Vergues scream as I held my i-thingy up so he could see it.

  “Yes…yes… Red wire… then Green wire within five seconds.”

  “You left that five second shit out,” Lynn informed him. There was another scream.

  I separated the wires. I clipped the red and then the green. The timer shut off. Neato. No boom. I handed the side-cutters down to Jenkins. “Open the box. I’ll bring it down.”

  Just like that, it was over. I watched them close up the containment box. Jenkins removed his helmet and glove, holding his hand out. I shook it.

  “Thanks for trusting me with this.”

  “We all know you, John. I didn’t know you disarmed bombs along with throwing bombs in the cage.”

  I laughed. “It helps to know the sequence. That took a lot of guts for you and your crew to come in, not knowing if you’d get blown to hell and gone. By the looks of that C4 cake, we would have been spread out over the block in tiny pieces.”

  Jenkins nodded, as he turned to follow his team. “It would have been quick. See ya’.”

  I stood on the chair again, straightened the panel into place, and then put the chair back where I had found it. I went into one of the bathrooms and washed my hands and face. Yeah, I may have sweated a little. I FaceTimed Lynn once again. She smiled at me from my i-thingy.

  “It’s done, Lynn. I’ll be there shortly, as soon as I can clear things with the PD.”

  “Take your time, John. Bad boy and I are bonding. He’s telling me all about the bad things he’s done, all of it being recorded.”

  “That will help. How’s he look other than pissing himself?”

  “We’ll have to take him with us for a time.”

  I heard Vergues start to cry, and Lynn’s soothing voice telling him he was a good boy now, that we just had to get him cleaned up. Lynn came back on. “Stevie is a little emotional right now.”

 
“You’re the best, Lynn. That was quite an outfit you had on. Did you change that quickly before you came over to the school?”

  Montoya chuckled. “No. I was waiting for Clint to get back. We were watching the foreign language versions of ‘The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’. I decided to play dress up for him. How’d I do?”

  “That was the first movie I thought of when I saw you. Nice choice. I have to ask Clint later what he thinks. Be there in a few.”

  I slipped out the side and to the street. It took me a few minutes to find Jafar, Al, and the twins. Al cried out and ran into my arms. “It’s all over, Al. Did you call your Mom?”

  Al nodded. “Jafar hooked us up. We thought the building would explode like in the movies. How did you get the bomb out, John?”

  “The guy who put it there told me exactly where and how to do it. Lynn talked him into being very helpful.”

  “You mean scary Lynn?”

  “Yeah, he needed to see scary Lynn first. She’s back to nice Lynn now. She and I have to get our bad guy in shape to turn him over to the police. J will stay here with all of you until they decide whether to close the school as a precaution or not. I’ll see you at home later, because I think they’ll probably close up. I love you, Al.”

  Al hugged me with all her might. “I love you too, DS.”

  “You little Beeper tool! J, call me if you need me.”

  “I will, DS.”

  All of my minions were laughing at me as I shook my finger at Jafar, and headed over to the police line. Earl waved and came over. It looked as if they had everything under control. I saw ‘Rique questioning Joan Abel, and the bomb squad going back in with their dogs.

  “Are we ever going to see Vergues, John?”

  “Give me about an hour, and I’ll turn him in good as new, complete with a confession.”

  Earl lowered his voice to a whisper. “That guy who says torture doesn’t work is out of his fucking mind.”

  “No doubt about that, brother. There won’t be a mark on him though. He may be a bit mental for a while because he’s really, really sorry about what he did. Will you still be here, or should I drop him at the station?”