ARIZONA, TWO DAYS LATER
Tanner was lying on a hill and scanning his surroundings with a pair of powerful binoculars. He could see for miles in all directions and was pleased to view only the man he had ventured into the desert to meet.
The man went by the single name of Harper. He had been recommended to Tanner by Duke. Duke was the supplier whom Tanner normally used when he needed to procure equipment and specialized weapons, but Duke was over two-thousand miles away in New York City.
Harper was reputed to be as reliable as Duke, and would be paying Duke a referral fee for sending Tanner his way.
Tanner wasn’t concerned with the cost. His only interest was in getting what he needed. He was going to war with a gang of organized criminals who were involved in the manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine. He needed weapons, ammo, and most of all, information.
Once he was convinced he wasn’t walking into a trap or a police bust, Tanner joined Harper near the man’s white van. Harper was in his thirties and looked fit. He was dressed in tan work boots, jeans, and a black T-shirt. Tanner was similarly dressed, only his boots were black and his T-shirt was a tan color.
Harper offered a tentative smile as he nodded.
“You’re Tanner. Duke said I would know you by your eyes.”
“What about my eyes?”
Harper’s smile faded.
“No offense. It’s just that you do not look like a dude who should be fucked with, and your eyes say it all.”
“Do you have what I asked for?”
Harper’s smile returned.
“I was able to get everything, but that rifle will cost you dearly.”
“How much?”
Harper named a price that made Tanner grimace.
“I know, I know,” Harper said. “But that includes the carrying case, scope, spare box magazines, and all that special ammo you wanted.”
Tanner’s grimace disappeared.
“The price is acceptable. Now, fill me in while I check out the equipment.”
Harper took out his phone, brought up a file, then read from it.
“Meagan Armstrong, the thirteen-year-old daughter of Professor Whittier Washington Branson Armstrong is believed to have been kidnapped and held ransom for her father’s continued silence about a murder he witnessed.” Harper grinned. “Whittier Washington Branson Armstrong, that’s a mouthful. Anyway, the gang holding Professor Armstrong’s daughter is feared, but also respected by some people, because it funds soup kitchens and daycare centers for the poor. Its leader is Daryl McCall, who once beat a murder rap.”
“How did he beat the murder charge?” Tanner asked.
“That happened because he paid off a juror, a juror who went missing right after the trial. The cops couldn’t prove a thing, but that’s what happened. Daryl McCall’s brother, Lionel, is being held for questioning in the murder of the ex-prosecutor killed in an underground garage. Professor Armstrong witnessed the murder, and claimed to have seen the killer’s face, but once his daughter went missing, he shut up. Armstrong knows that if he names Lionel McCall his daughter will be history.”
“Is Armstrong being held by the police?”
“Yeah, and you can be sure the cops are pressuring him to talk, but if he fingers Lionel McCall, the gang would have no reason to keep his daughter alive. Professor Armstrong knows that, and he’s hoping the cops will find her and rescue her.”
“They don’t have enough time, not the way they work,” Tanner said. “The gang’s lawyers will keep their clients from talking and then the cops will have to kick Lionel McCall free or charge him with a crime. If the professor won’t talk, they have nothing on McCall.”
“Right,” Harper said. “And they can’t even locate Daryl McCall. His lawyer says he’s unable to contact him, and that Daryl McCall isn’t returning messages.”
“The lawyer doesn’t want to know where McCall is hiding. Wherever Daryl McCall is, that’s where they’re holding the girl. He’s just waiting for his brother to be released from custody.”
“You think he’ll let the girl go once his brother is free?”
“No,” Tanner said. “They’ll kill her.”
“I guess you’re right. Once McCall’s brother is released, he’ll run and go into hiding. If that happens, the gang will no longer need to keep Armstrong’s daughter alive, and once the police are done protecting Armstrong, he’ll be killed as well, so that Lionel can come back.”
“Do you have the photos I asked for?”
“They’re on one of the cell phones you wanted. Daryl and Lionel look like the thugs you’d expect them to be, and the professor’s kid is cute. I hope McCall’s men aren’t messing with her, you know… that way.”
Tanner continued checking out his equipment. When he was done, he looked at the photos of Daryl and Lionel McCall, who were both in their forties. The two light-skinned black men were versions of each other, but there was a glint of intelligence in the elder Daryl’s eyes. As Harper said, Megan Armstrong was cute. Tanner could see the resemblance to her father.
“I’ll need a vehicle. Can you help with that, Harper?”
“You can have the van for three-thousand, just follow me into the city.”
“It’s not stolen, I hope?”
“It’s clean, and if I get it back when you leave, I’ll refund two grand.”
Tanner paid Harper for the equipment. As they prepared to get behind the wheel and drive back to the city, Harper gave Tanner one more bit of news.
“This McCall, he’s a hard-ass, Tanner, and his gang is estimated to have over fifty members. That’s not counting the kids he uses to push the drugs.”
“You’re saying he has over fifty men with guns?”
“Oh yeah, and they’re all hard-core gangbangers.”
“McCall will need to hold a recruitment drive when I’m done, that’s if he’s still alive.”
“If? I was guessing someone hired you to kill McCall?”
“I don’t care about Daryl McCall. I’m here to get that girl back to her father.”
Harper’s face twisted in confusion.
“Nobody is paying you? Then, why do it?”
“I have my reasons,” Tanner said, and as he spoke, he recalled the past.
3
Baby Hitmen
ARIZONA, MARCH 1998
Cody Parker, who was living under the alias of Xavier Zane, drove along a sleepy two-lane road in a red convertible. Seated beside Cody was his friend and fellow apprentice, an eighteen-year-old named Romeo.
The two teens had spent the last four months training to become assassins under the tutelage of a man named Tanner. Tanner’s real name was Spenser Hawke, and Cody and Romeo were driving to meet up with him.
The two boys had killed before, both while defending their families. In Romeo’s case, he had used a shotgun to kill three armed men who were out to get revenge on his father. Romeo’s father was a leg breaker for the Dallas mob.
After Romeo’s father broke the arm of a man who paid his employer late, the man sold his house to come up with the money. That man’s wife contacted her older brothers, and the three men were foolish enough to go after Romeo’s father, a man named Carlo.
They jumped Carlo in his driveway and duct taped his ankles and wrists together. They then loaded him into the back of a van. After the men closed the rear doors of the vehicle, they turned to see a kid holding a sawed-off shotgun.
Twelve-year-old Romeo had long blond hair, and blue eyes. The eyes looked moist, as if tears were threatening to spill down his cheeks. The three men abducting his father had faced armed children before, while in the army and on foreign soil.
One of the men stepped forward and spoke to the boy. He and the others were dressed in black and wore ski masks. His appearance made young Romeo take a step backwards.
“Put the shotgun on the ground, kid. We don’t want to hurt you.”
“Take my dad out of the van.”
“That’s
not going to happen.”
“I’ll kill you if you don’t.”
The guy took another step forward, then another.
“Have you ever fired a shotgun, kid? I bet it’s not even loaded.”
“Get my dad out of the van!”
The man rushed forward. “Give me that gun, you little shit.”
Romeo fired, and the man’s black ski mask filled with the pieces of his shattered skull as steel pellets obliterated his face.
The man had been rushing forward, but then the energy from the blast snapped his head back. The result was that the lifeless body tottered on its heels for a moment, before falling backwards. As it hit the ground, Romeo fired again.
It was his shotgun he was using. It had been a gift from his father on his tenth birthday and Romeo had fired it many times since.
The second man died as he reached for a weapon, while the third man managed to get off a shot. The round sailed over Romeo’s head, and he fired and killed the third man with a blast to the chest.
Despite the carnage, no police reports were ever filled out. Luckily, the first cops on the scene were owned by Carlo’s boss, a Mr. Mastriani.
Romeo never felt guilt over slaying the men. After all, they had come there to kidnap, torture, and kill his father.
Romeo had just finished relaying this story to Cody. The only other person he had told the tale to was Spenser.
Cody was quiet as he thought about Romeo. As aspirants to succeed Spenser as the next Tanner, they should be natural rivals, but in actuality, they had become best friends. Cody trusted Romeo, and Romeo had confided in Cody by telling him about his past. After pulling the car over to the side of the road, Cody decided to reciprocate. He told Romeo about the massacre that destroyed his family and his home.
“So, your real name is Cody, Cody Parker?”
“Yeah.”
“But you can’t use it, because Cody Parker is supposed to be dead?”
“Spenser gave me the name Xavier Zane, and I’m not nineteen either, I’m seventeen.”
“You weren’t supposed to tell me any of this, were you?”
“Spenser said it was my choice.”
“Dude, thanks for trusting me with this, and hey man, I’m really sorry about what happened to your family. I can’t imagine going through that shit.”
“Thanks, Romeo, and I do trust you. I didn’t want to keep lying to you.”
“Can I call you Cody? You know, when it’s just us. I would never tell anybody else your real name.”
Cody smiled.
“I’d like that. At least I can be myself around you and Spenser.”
After they were back on the road, they grew quiet, as each one mulled over what they had learned about the other.
Romeo broke the silence several miles later.
“Yo, Cody, I don’t have any brothers, but I kinda think of you that way. If you ever need anything, dude, I’ll be there for you.”
“Same here,” Cody said. “Rivals or not, I’ve got your back.”
Romeo extended his arm, and the two boys shared a fist bump.
“What about Spenser,” Romeo said. “Is Spenser Hawke his real name?”
“That’s what he told me.”
“Cool name,” Romeo said. “It makes him sound like a spy.”
Cody laughed, and was glad to have Romeo by his side.
4
Climb The Ladder
SOUTH PHOENIX
Tanner approached three gangbangers who were sharing a joint in the rear parking lot of a Mexican restaurant. They were wearing the colors of Daryl McCall’s gang, purple and red, and were street dealers. They were on the lowest rung of McCall’s operation, but they were a starting point.
The camera over the rear door of the restaurant had been destroyed by vandals long ago, but Tanner still kept his head lowered and wore a black baseball cap.
After tossing the joint over the wooden fence they’d been leaning on, the three watched Tanner, and he could see them wondering if he was a cop.
Two of the punks looked to be in their twenties, but the third one was no more than fifteen. He would be the one Tanner would leave alive.
Tanner grabbed the young one by the back of his shirt and slammed him up against the fence at the rear of the property.
“I’d better never see you three assholes around here again. Now get the hell out of here.”
The boy twisted free of Tanner’s grip and glared at him.
“You a cop?”
Tanner laughed.
“I’m your competition. We’re taking over this area.”
One of the other punks shook his head.
“You must be crazy, bitch. Everybody knows we own this whole hood. Now get out of here before we—”
Tanner didn’t wait to hear the rest of the threat. He took out his gun and shot the gangbanger in the chest twice, then did the same to the punk on his left, who had been reaching for a gun. A backhanded swipe with a fist sent the youngest gangbanger to the ground, and Tanner kicked away the weapon the boy had been bringing up to fire at him.
The kid scrambled to his feet and Tanner aimed at the boy’s face.
“Tell your boss there’s a new gang taking over.”
The kid nodded, but stood frozen. Tanner placed the gun against his chest.
“Go deliver the message.”
“You ain’t gonna shoot me?”
“Go!” Tanner said.
The kid sprinted away, then Tanner climbed the wooden fence, which placed him on the other side of the block, and at the rear of a warehouse that was used for storage.
A minute later, Tanner was driving away in the van he’d acquired from Harper. When he was certain he was in the clear, he pulled into the parking lot of a strip mall and brought out the tracker.
The punk he had let go was carrying a tracking device that Tanner had planted on him when he’d grabbed him.
The punk led Tanner to a convenience store. The kid had pounded on the rear door, then been let inside by a Hispanic man wearing a white dress shirt and jeans.
Ten minutes passed, before a silver SUV pulled up at the rear of the convenience store and blew its horn once. The Hispanic man came out with the young punk and climbed into the rear of the SUV. The tracking device was still in place, so Tanner followed loosely and kept an eye on the tracker, which had GPS capability.
Twenty-three minutes later, the SUV parked at the rear of a restaurant, where a man in a suit came out along with a Native American who was armed muscle. He was a bodybuilder type with a holster on his hip, and he was wearing a tight gray T-shirt.
Tanner used his binoculars to see what was happening, and saw that the young punk was telling his story once again.
When the kid was done with the tale, the hood in the suit sent the SUV away, but had the kid stay with him. After a brief exchange, the armed muscle walked back into the restaurant, while the man in the suit asked the young punk more questions.
The muscleman returned, this time behind the wheel of a black Mercedes, and the guy in the suit got in the rear with the punk.
Tanner was tempted to make his move, but decided to climb yet another rung up the ladder that was the McCall crime syndicate. None of the people he’d seen so far would have a clue where Daryl McCall was keeping Professor Armstrong’s daughter.
He needed someone higher up, someone with clout, and he got his wish when the Mercedes came to a stop outside an office building downtown.
No one left the vehicle, but a few minutes later, an older white man left the building and walked over to the Mercedes. He was wearing a stylish suit made for a man half his age, and his dyed hair was worn long and tied back in a ponytail. There were also glittering rings, and a gold chain around his neck. Through the binoculars, Tanner saw the aging hipster shake his head in answer to a question, but then he nodded in the affirmative.
Tanner left the van as the Mercedes drove off, and followed the older man into the building. Tanner had expecte
d him to head to the elevators, instead, the man walked down a hallway and exited out a back door. After lighting a cigarette, the guy took out his phone. That was when Tanner jammed the barrel of a gun against his back.
“Let’s take a walk,” Tanner said.
“Who… who are you?”
“I’m the man holding a gun at the base of your spine. If you don’t want me to fire it, do as I say.”
The hipster nodded wildly as the cigarette slipped from between his fingers. Tanner grabbed the phone from his other hand, even as he wrinkled his nose. The man’s cologne had been applied liberally, and it was not a fragrance Tanner enjoyed.
“We’re walking back to the front of the building and getting in a van that’s parked in a corner of the parking lot.”
“Are you the one who killed those dealers earlier?”
“You don’t ask the questions. I ask the questions. Now, start walking.”
The man with the ponytail did as he was told, and as he walked, Tanner saw that he had begun to sweat, while also swallowing frequently. The man was terrified, so much so, that his knees buckled slightly when Tanner opened the side door on the van.
Tanner shoved him inside and followed him in. A punch to the stomach doubled the guy over, while making him go limp. Tanner grabbed a roll of duct tape, and soon had the man’s wrists and ankles bound.
After placing tape over his mouth, Tanner studied him and thought he might faint. Tanner spoke softly to the man, hoping to calm him down.
“If you tell me what I want to know, everything will be all right, understand?”
The guy nodded, but looked just as scared as he had before. Tanner climbed into the front seat and headed for the highway.
5
Damsel
ARIZONA, MARCH 1998
Cody and Romeo were headed toward Tucson, where they were to join up with Tanner. They had spent the last few days with a friend of Tanner’s who was an expert gunsmith. The old man lived in Carson City, Nevada. He had schooled the boys on handguns and rifles and taught them several ways to make homemade silencers.
Young Guns Box Set - Books 1-4: A Tanner Series (Young Gun Box Sets) Page 2
