The TANNER Series - Books 13-15 (Tanner Box Set)

by Remington Kane

  Sara shouted into her microphone.

  “Tanner! Are you all right? The two men from the other side must be headed your way.”

  There was no answer, just the screams from the men who were set ablaze.

  “Tanner, the fire is set. You have to get out of there.”

  “Look!” Mike said, as he pointed at the monitor. He had taken the drone higher to try to avoid the wind currents, and the view showed dozens of men pouring from the other houses. Having heard the gunshot, they were all running towards the home that was now surrounded by flames on all sides.

  One of the men from the porch had jumped down and ran into the alley, headed for the stream in back, but he fell before getting there as the flames blinded him. He set the alley side of the home on fire, as he came in contact with the trash that was heaped there. The trash consisted of the belongings of Burt and Dexter, including their clothing. Had it not been dumped there, the men inside might have found a way out.

  Dozens of armed men converged on the home, but there was no sign of Tanner, and no answer to Sara’s pleas.

  “Tanner, say something. Are you injured? Tanner?”

  There was still no answer, but then Mike zoomed in to a bit of color that had caught his eye. It was the water gun. It was melted and still ablaze. Laying beside it was a body, and it too was burned.

  Sara pointed at the right side of the figure’s smoldering scalp, where something white could be seen lying on the ground.

  “Can you zoom in closer?” she asked Mike.

  He did so, and Sara gasped.

  “No.”

  “What is it? What is that thing?”

  “It’s Tanner’s earpiece.”

  “Oh shit, I’m sorry, Sara.”

  Sara lowered herself to the grass, as a range of emotions passed through her, one of them shocked her, as she realized how much she cared for Tanner.

  Tanner? Yes, this was Tanner, she reminded herself.

  Sara stood and pointed at the screen.

  “Pull back again, we have to find him. We have to know if he needs help.”

  “But I thought that was him we just saw?”

  Sara shook her head.

  “No, not Tanner. He’s alive.”

  Mike sighed.

  “Whatever you say, Sara.”

  Sara wiped away tears.

  “He’s alive. Tanner is alive.”

  CHAPTER 23 – Obscene fire and obscene rain

  Chang caught the flicker of flames outside the windows of the makeshift conference room only an instant before the screaming began.

  The members of The Brotherhood Council all jumped to their feet at once. Williamson, who was already standing near the door, opened it to shout orders to all the different bodyguards who were awaiting their masters.

  “Go see what all that damn screaming is about.”

  That was when the single shot sounded off as one of the men on the porch fired his weapon at Tanner.

  The bodyguards all rushed down the short hallway to the door. When one of them opened it, he revealed a scene from hell. The entire front of the house was ablaze and men were on fire and writhing in agony.

  “There’s a damn fire!” the guard said uselessly, as the truth of his statement was in plain view for everyone to see. He had turned to talk, and never saw the flaming form coming at him. The figure knocked him down and set him on fire as well.

  He pushed the dying man off and ripped his burning shirt from his body, to toss it away. The shirt landed at the base of a wall and set the curtains ablaze. Meanwhile, the burning man who had run inside had ignited the carpet. The material was designed to be flame resistant, but the man had tracked gasoline into the house, which fueled the blaze.

  “We have to get the fuck out of here!” someone cried.

  What followed was a mad rush as The Brotherhood Council fled about the home looking for a way out. But there was none, there were only flames, and the smoke that grew thicker with each second that passed.

  Someone thought of the roof, and the pull-down stairs that allowed access to the attic were located and engaged. The stairs were old and folded down on a pair of weak hinges. They were not meant to be used by several men at once.

  Six men made it up into the attic before the stairs collapsed and broke into pieces. Among the men who had made it into the attic were Chang and Williamson.

  Those still below in the hallway struggled to climb through the hole left behind, but were succumbing to the smoke one by one. Had they worked together, most of them would have made it.

  The attic was filling with smoke as well, but Williamson shoved open a window and climbed outside. He was followed by the others, including Chang.

  All six men made it up to one side of the slanted roof and gazed over at a safe haven, the roof of the home across from them.

  “We have to jump,” Williamson said.

  One of the other men pointed.

  “It’s too far; we’ll fall.”

  Another man pushed by the pointing man, climbed up higher, and stood with bended knees while trying to maintain his balance.

  “It’s jump or die,” the man said, and he took off running.

  He died.

  His leap was a yard short and he fell thirty-six feet to the ground below, while screaming.

  The scream ended abruptly.

  ***

  “Not another fire,” Ellison moaned.

  He and the others had seen the smoke as they grew closer to the area. They were growing close and Ellison called for the fire department.

  Olivia took her father’s hand.

  “Do you think it’s Tom Myers getting revenge?”

  “I don’t know, but he might be denied.”

  “What do you mean?” Olivia said, but then she heard it. The sky, which had looked threatening all morning, was making good on its threat, and a steady rain began to fall.

  ***

  Sara huddled miserably beside Mike as the rain began soaking them to the skin. She was about to give up hope again, and seek shelter, when she saw a figure moving around behind the homes.

  “Zoom in on that house right there. I just saw someone running.”

  “All right, but I have to bring the drone back soon or this rain will ruin it. The wind is getting rough too.”

  “There!” Sara said, as the figure darted into the open and along to the next house. It was Tanner, and he was holding a makeshift torch and setting the other homes on fire.

  “He’s alive!” Sara said, as she hugged Mike.

  “You were right, and it looks like he’s not done causing mayhem.”

  They kept the camera on Tanner until the rain finally doused the torch. By the time that occurred, he had already set a dozen homes ablaze.

  When Tanner headed back towards the park, Sara told Mike to bring the drone in. She looked like a wet mop with her hair hanging down, but a smile lit her face.

  Tanner was alive, and that fact made her happier than imagining him dead ever had.

  ***

  The crowd of thugs gathered in the street were watching the blaze, several of them had their heads tilted back to catch the sudden rain in their mouths. One of them spotted Tanner out of the corner of his eye, and then noticed that there was smoke drifting out of some of the other homes.

  The man was about to cry out and go in pursuit when the sound of sirens blared. The FBI and the police had approached silently, but only after first dropping agents and officers out to move into position. When the police vehicles came in sight of the crowd, they hit the lights and sirens.

  The men tried to scatter, but found that there were already law-enforcement agents moving in with their weapons drawn.

  Chief Ellison leveled his shotgun at a biker holding a gun.

  “Drop your weapon and get down on the ground!”

  The man hesitated, but then fell to his knees. Olivia had come up behind him and kicked his feet out from under him.

  “Hands behind your back!” she sai
d, and father and daughter went to work rounding up the members of The Brotherhood.

  ***

  On the roof, Chang and the others had grinned when the rain began, but then realized that it wasn’t the boon they had hoped it would be. The house below them was too far gone for a simple bout of heavy rain to extinguish the flames consuming it.

  Meanwhile, the roofing tiles had become slick, while the heat of the fire was intense and had buckled in one section of the roof. There were flames and smoke escaping from the hole.

  Chang wiped the sweat and rain from his eyes and came to the same conclusion that Williamson had.

  “We have to jump. There’s no other way.”

  “We’ll fall,” one of the other men said, like Chang, he was Chinese, and an original member of The Brotherhood.

  The man next to him gritted his teeth as he spoke.

  “I’d rather fall than burn.”

  The man looked to his left, where his friend stood. They were from the same gang of thieves.

  “On three,” the other man said.

  When the count was done, the pair took off. The first man missed the roof, but just barely. The other man landed on its edge, but the rain-slick surface made it too difficult to keep his footing and he tumbled backwards and followed his friend to the ground.

  One of the two men had survived the fall, but was screaming in agony.

  Chang’s friend covered his ears and walked a few steps. There was a groaning noise, the sound of wood splintering, and then the roof opened with a spout of flame and swallowed the man.

  “Shit!” Williamson said.

  “I’m jumping!” Chang said.

  Williamson moved back near Chang as both men tried to get as much sprinting room as they could. It was difficult because of the roof’s slant and the slickness caused by the rain.

  The two men sent each other a nod, and ran for the edge.

  Both of them made it onto the other roof, but as the other man had done, they slid backwards. Unlike the other man, Williamson and Chang fell forward. Then clawed at the roof tiles for purchase.

  Their slide continued, but then stopped, as their feet slammed into a section of the home’s rain gutter.

  Amid laughter, they realized that they had made it.

  Their rejoicing ended abruptly. The rain gutter had given way on one side. The sudden shift threw Williamson off balance, and he reached out a hand to Chang.

  Chang kept his hands firmly attached to the edge of the roofing tiles he still held onto, and watched with dispassion as Williamson tumbled away. Williamson’s fall ended the screaming coming from the man below, and Chang assumed that Williamson had fallen on the man.

  It took over a minute, but Chang clawed his way atop the new roof and sat with his back against a chimney. Each of his feet touched one side of the roof, which was as slanted as the home he’d escaped from.

  The rain was chilling Chang on the left side, even as the fire was roasting him on the right, but he was alive, and smiled when he realized that he was the only member of The Brotherhood Council to survive.

  Down below, the street soldiers of The Brotherhood were being herded into vans and police vehicles.

  Chang was undaunted by the scene. He would see that those men were freed and then would gather them together again. The Brotherhood was wounded, but not destroyed, and when it rose from the ashes, he alone would be in charge.

  Chang had no doubt that Tanner was behind the fire. Adán had burnt the man’s home to the ground and he had returned the favor. Chang vowed to himself that he would destroy Tanner, Pullo, and anyone else who stood in his way. He would teach them the folly of daring to cross him, and The Brotherhood would grow stronger.

  A fire engine appeared and fought its way to the burning house. Chang took off his white dress shirt and began waving it in the air, to attract attention and summon help.

  When Chang first heard the noise, he thought it was an insect, but it grew too loud for that. He swiveled his head about, thinking it was the noise from some sort of rescue equipment. He never saw it coming until it hit him in the face.

  It was the drone, and the force of the impact made Chang lose his balance. He let out a scream as he slid face first off the roof and down into the driveway, where his skull shattered upon impact with one of Williamson’s knees.

  ***

  In the park, Tanner handed the remote control for the drone back to Mike.

  “That was fun. Thanks for letting me take it for a spin.”

  Mike laughed, and then appeared surprised as he looked at the monitor.

  “Holy crap, the thing is still flying. I’ll bring it in for a landing.”

  Tanner turned around and saw that Sara was soaked to the skin.

  “We need to get you somewhere dry,” he said.

  “I’m good, and you two are as wet as I am.”

  “Being wet from the stream saved me. One of the men on the porch shot the water gun from my hand. The gas splashed onto me, but my clothes were too wet to ignite.”

  “You lost your earpiece too... it concerned us.”

  Tanner pointed towards Gentry Court, where the remains of his home sat.

  “I’d invite you both in to get dry, but I don’t think I have a roof anymore.”

  Sara beamed at Tanner.

  He cocked his head.

  “What’s with the smile?”

  “I’m just happy.”

  “Well good, I’m happy that you’re happy.”

  Mike brought the drone in for a landing.

  “Let’s get out of here. We’ll go to my daughter’s house; it’s not far and we can all get dry.”

  “That drone idea made things much easier, Mike,” Tanner said. “I was glad to have your help.”

  “Thanks, I did it for Burt and Dexter.”

  ***

  Tanner and Sara followed Mike as Tanner drove Sara’s rental. The rain had stopped as suddenly as it had begun, and the sun was fighting its way past the clouds.

  “Tanner.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Do you think The Brotherhood is done?”

  “I don’t know, but they won’t be bothering Joe anytime soon.”

  “Speaking of New York, I received a call from Jacques Durand. He said he may be in New York soon.”

  “Did he have any news about Maurice Scallato?”

  “No, but there’s a possibility he’ll have an offer for you.”

  “A contract?”

  “Yes.”

  “I hope the target is interesting, and I’ve been meaning to go back to New York City soon.”

  “Manhattan holds a lot of bad memories for me.”

  “Really? Or is it more like a mixed bag?”

  Sara thought about it and gave a little nod.

  “I guess you’re right; it is a mixed bag.”

  “Nothing is all bad, Sara.”

  She gave Tanner a sideways glance and smiled to herself.

  “Yes, I’ve figured that out.”

  CHAPTER 24 – No comment

  Tanner returned to the RV to find that Alexa had been shopping.

  The cabinets were full of food and she had already cooked something for dinner on the tiny stove.

  Alexa hugged him fiercely when he walked in the door and asked him why he was wearing a matching sweat shirt and sweat pants. He explained that they were given to him by Mike Hodges, after his own clothes were ruined by gasoline.

  “Gasoline? Did someone try to set you on fire?”

  “No, just the opposite, and The Brotherhood are no longer a problem.”

  “You killed them all?”

  “I killed their leaders, which is just as good.”

  Alexa settled on the sofa and Tanner followed and sat beside her.

  “Does this mean that you can never go back to Killburry, or use the Tom Myers identity again?”

  “Sara is working on that. She had to leave her car behind yesterday, knowing Chief Ellison, he’s aware that the vehicle belong
s to her. He must be looking for both of us.”

  “I want to see our house. I want to see what’s become of it.”

  Tanner kissed her lightly on the mouth.

  “Maybe you shouldn’t.”

  “Was it that bad?”

  “I didn’t mention this part yesterday, but... the men that attacked, they shot the home up before setting it on fire. There are hundreds of bullet holes, unless it burned to the ground.”

  Alexa turned towards him and searched his face.

  “Was it like when your family was killed?”

  Tanner nodded, and Alexa hugged him.

  “Oh Cody, that must have been horrible for you.”

  “Yes,” Tanner said, and then he cleared his throat. “We’ll rebuild. I’ll contact an architect and you can design the home the way you want it.”

  Alexa shook her head.

  “I don’t want that, and you know it.”

  Tanner fell back against the sofa.

  “You want us to move to Mexico and you want me to give up being a Tanner.”

  “Yes, and yes, I know it’s incredibly selfish of me, but it’s what I want, and I’m tired of pretending that I don’t.”

  “I want to continue doing what I do, Alexa, and I want you by my side. How do those two worlds meet?”

  They stared at each other, both of them knowing the answer to that question.

  Alexa stood, reached down, and when Tanner took her hand, she tugged, urging him to his feet.

  After a kiss, she smiled.

  “Whatever happens, I love you.”

  “And I love you,” Tanner said.

  They disappeared into the bedroom, to put their differences on hold, for just a little while.

  ***

  Tanner and Sara walked into the Killburry police station the following afternoon.

  The deputies on duty looked up from their desks as conversations ceased. Olivia was at the coffeemaker and had just pushed the BREW button. When she spotted Tanner, she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him, then, she looked Sara over.

  “Mr. Myers, I would say that it’s nice to see that you’re well, but I have a feeling that you’re very capable of taking care of yourself.”

  “As are you,” Tanner said. “I read about your heroics in the paper.”