Hard Case IV: A Violent Life (John Harding Series Book 4)

by Bernard Lee DeLeo

  “Lynn. She thought the Denova takedown by the Hollywood Bounty Hunters would be a fun deal for the two of us to run on our own as consultants. We were going to get John’s thoughts on it, but then all hell broke loose with Reyes, and here we are.”

  “I guess you big timers aren’t going to let us minions go down and rain on Denova’s parade by ourselves, huh?” Lynn sighed in comical form. “Anyone else think my reputation’s taking a hit? Every time we dig a little deeper into this, we find something else that little skank Voltaire knows.”

  “After this boat trip, your reputation with me is beyond reproach for the rest of my lifetime,” Denny replied. “Voltaire’s a tough one… and a damn brilliant actress. She’s managed to stay alive when we were going to kill her the first day. As you say, Lynn, it sure seems she’s been holding back. We’re not moving out on anything until Monday. I want Laredo and Jafar to have a forty-eight hour cushion to dig up everything they can. In the meantime, would you mind having another go at Voltaire tomorrow, Lynn?”

  “I don’t mind a bit. In return, how about letting me run the gig down in LA with just me, John, and Clint. We’ll find something to work at with Kevin and the Buffster while we locate Denova. I know you guys are all tied up in knots over this crisis. Relax. Let’s have some fun. Clint will work the connections with Laredo and the kid, while I work over Voltaire. If you don’t need her alive anymore, I think I’ll work my new old school technique on her. She’s earned it.”

  Denny turned a grim face toward the ocean behind us while he sipped his fourth Bushmills. He knew what Lynn meant with her latest medieval torture technique “What you found out today from Reyes means Voltaire has been lying to us or feeding us bits and pieces. I don’t blame her. God knows how many deaths she’s ordered personally. She never figured to be caught by a bunch like us. She thought the worst case scenario would be her doing time in prison while running the joint like the cartel queen she is. We need to know if Victoria has any other item she’s been hiding about this weaponized anthrax threat, and she’s all out of deal making options.”

  “Then Vick and I will go over all the details tomorrow at Pain Central. I’m going to insist our deal maker, Mr. Quays Tannous, watch part of the interrogation, and remind him of what will happen if he even thinks about selling us out. I’ve had enough boating to last me until I head out to the City of Hope.”

  “You decided to come along on that, Lynn?” I asked plainly, because I didn’t want any misunderstandings.

  “Yep. I’m going, and I won’t let you guys down.”

  “We never thought for a second you would,” Denny replied. “If John thinks it’s okay, I’ll agree with the three of you heading to LA. Collect Denova, but take no chances. If it looks like he has an army down there backing him, hold position while I bring whatever it takes to get him. If he’s involved in this anthrax plot, his disappearing could tip off the shippers meeting City of Hope with the anthrax containers.”

  I saw something in Lynn’s eyes that made me a bit uneasy. “You have something in mind for LA. You’re not thinking of rigging up an actual Denova takedown by the Hollywood bunch, are you?”

  Lynn smiled.

  “Damn it! Listen to me. This guy is dangerous, Lynn!”

  “You worry too much, Cheese. Let’s go down there with open minds. I do have a plan. We have to locate and recon Denova anyway, along with figuring out the safest method to take him. Once we have his capture mapped out, we’ll guide the munchkins through the process. They’ll jump all over him under our guidance, plus the fact we’ll shoot a knockout dart into the wanker before the munchkins even see him. Then we’ll stage this dark alley prisoner hand over to FBI agents Clint and Cheese, all dressed in MIB mode. They won’t air the program until way after our anthrax bust goes down, so all will be well with the security end. Pretty neat, huh?”

  The three of us Montoya fan club members grinned at each other in what can only be described as stunned amusement. It was a pretty neat plan, but we’d be playing backstage games using amateurs to capture a deadly killer, possibly linked to a terrorist plot. Clint then summed it up best.

  “And to think only a little while ago our Cruella Deville was skinning a man alive. It kind of makes you wonder how this at sea harmonic convergence fits into the larger cosmic plan. I’m in no matter what. The plan is one step beyond, but so are we.”

  “I’ll leave it up to you, John,” Denny decided without a decision.

  “Way to pass the buck, Spawn,” I replied. “It’s all yours, Lynn. I’ll fly us down in the turbo prop Monday with anything we can think of we’ll need.”

  “Fine… but you know my flying motto.”

  “You barf, I bleed?”

  “That’s the one, Cheese. Don’t forget it.”

  * * *

  Tommy was at the house when I got home. No one noticed me walk in, because when T entertained people with his myriad stories of time as the partner to the Cheeseburger, his audience seldom paid attention to anything else. They were all seated in the kitchen laughing their asses off, including Tess. That talent alone made me want to force T to come over every night until the in-laws went home. Then I realized what story he was telling next: the Corey Stenz bond skip from a few years ago. Wonderful.

  Corey was a con man, who hustled people out of their life savings by running complicated pyramid schemes. He looked like one of those guys they pose in GQ magazine holding a suit coat over his shoulder, a nonchalant winner in the game of life. Black tousled hair, six feet, three inches tall, ripped, and with a killer smile. Corey had been working out of a very nice suite on Clay Street at the Oakland City Center. Tommy paused as I entered the kitchen with a wave.

  Al jumped into my arms. “You made it home! Uncle Tommy’s excited. He needs to talk to you, but we’re not going to let him until he finishes the story he’s been teasing us with.”

  Lora kissed and hugged me. “Grab a beer and sit down. Tommy’s inspired tonight. He just finished telling us about the first time bond pickup you guys did.”

  “Hurry up, Cheese,” Marion demanded. “I want to hear this one about the pyramid scheme guy.”

  I saluted on my way to get my beer, shaking hands with brother-in-law, Cal, and giving T the wave off. Beer in hand, I sat down between Al and Lora. “What the heck made you think of Corey Stinz?”

  Tommy hung his head for a moment. “My beloved wife made me take her to see ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ last night. Absolutely horrible. Anyway, that character in the movie reminded me of Corey. Everything go okay for you on the boat cruise?”

  “Reasonably well,” I answered carefully. I kept Tommy informed of any ocean jaunts so he can cover our play if needed. “I have to fly down to LA Monday. You’d be welcome to come along. I’ll explain it to you later.”

  Tommy grinned, gesturing at Tess. “I tried to get Tess to tell everyone about the first time she insisted on going with you for a ride along, but she’s not comfortable with that one yet.”

  Tess blushed. “Drop that line of bull right now, Mr. Sands.”

  “Yes, Ma’am. Just sayin’. John and I dressed up for our visit to the Oakland City Center in Wall Street regalia - dark suits, briefcases, and confident big-shot type looks. I admit we had Corey staked out. His bonding agent’s office is in Sacramento. There was a class action suit against this bozo from twenty families he’d conned in Sacramento on a past real estate investment scheme that blew up in their faces. They lost everything. Corey made a cool million.”

  “We’d contracted with the bonding agent, Seth Bronski before. He’s a good guy. He had been under the impression Corey had lost his investment too, and it was just one of those many real estate ventures gone bad. Seth didn’t do his homework on Corey’s collateral: a townhouse in Piedmont. So Seth’s sitting in court, on the tab for Corey’s two hundred grand bail bond, and no Corey. Seth gets cracking on doing what he should have been doing before issuing the bond: checking collateral more closely. Turns out Corey’s in debt
up to his eyeballs on the townhouse.”

  “Tommy had already zeroed in on Corey,” I added. “He watches for big ticket paydays like Stinz that show potential. That way when they skip bond, if the ticket gets issued, T knows right where the skip is.”

  Tommy nodded, leaning forward. “I’d been following the suit, and had John do some checking. Once John found out about the million Corey came out ahead, I knew he’d skip. He opened up a new front in the Oakland City Center under a fictitious name: Municipal Real Estate. Supposedly the lead man for a Fortune Five Hundred group of investors, Corey set himself up as a venture capitalist, with his own alternate identity: Grant Sanderson. He would act as the main contact for putting together an Oakland group of house flippers, brokering deals in the East Bay for the larger conglomerate.”

  I admit I was enjoying this, especially the enthralled looks on everyone’s face. Tommy was a talented storyteller. “We looked good. We traipsed right in and were immediately shuttled to Corey’s enterprise office.”

  “Even we had to take a moment when a secretary escorted us in,” Tommy reclaimed the lead. “The office was incredible. John and I forgot for a moment what the hell we were doing there. He had a number of partitioned off hype people talking on phones, checking computer data, and the mojo in that place excited me… and shit… I knew it was a con!”

  Tommy’s delivery provoked excited amusement. Al was gripping my arm in both her hands. I had to go southpaw to down a swallow of beer. Tess was glaring at me, an action I didn’t quite understand. Everyone else honed in on Tommy.

  “I led the way into Corey’s inner sanctum.” Tommy made gestures of awe with hands and features – very entertaining. “We noticed right away there were three big bodyguards hanging out in the inner sanctum. The office, darkened to the perfect degree with filtered music in the background had me enjoying the show until Cheeseburger here clocked two of the bodyguards the moment they walked up to bookend us, dropping his briefcase, and all pretenses of our disguise – very disturbing. Cheese then points at the only bodyguard left standing and says ‘get on your knees with hands laced behind your head’. The guy dropped immediately like he was a sock puppet to the Dark Lord here.”

  “Tommy’s leaving out the part where everyone was packing heat.” I felt I needed to add a little perspective. “I plastic tied the groaning victims of my assault, along with the kneeling unharmed bad guy while Tommy worked the room.

  “Corey stood there in stunned amazement.” Tommy snickered unbecomingly before continuing. “His eyes were like saucers, his mouth trying to form words, but nothing was coming out. John walks over after he’s done with the bodyguards and puts an arm around Corey, giving him a hug. He says, ‘Corey, the game’s up, my friend. We’re here to collect you for your court date.”

  Tommy starts howling in laughter, which triggers his audience into the same, unknowing what he’s enjoying so fervently. I knew of course. Tommy regains his composure, drains about half his beer, and continues. “Corey breaks away from John with attitude. He does a Bruce Lee ménage of kicks, punches, and barking, throaty kill exclamations. John starts laughing his ass off. I’m getting worried, because Cheese sometimes seems to be enjoying something, and then he snaps someone’s neck. I start trying to calm Corey down. I tell him with placating gestures that he needs to come with us, and not to do anything stupid.”

  “Corey takes on a dramatic Kung Fu pose, and says ‘I am ready to die… are you’? I took a deep breath, wondering how I could make this goofball simply give up the pretense, and come along quietly. Then, of course, Cheese stops laughing, and starts gesturing at me to back off. He’s smiling, but I don’t like it.”

  Everyone is already laughing at Tommy’s delivery. “Hey… in my defense, I did everything I could do in a nonviolent way to keep casualties at a minimum, especially us. Corey… he was just so entertaining… I may have let business fade into the background.”

  “I tried to coax the Cheese down, but he wasn’t having any. I said, look John, we have a room full of people out there beyond the door. If you wax the player here, we’ll be lucky to stay out of prison, and you can kiss our ticket money goodbye. My reasoning began to filter through, but then Corey signs the idiot’s pledge – thou shalt do the most stupid thing at the dumbest time imaginable. He does a ki-yi kick at John’s head. Game over. John slaps the kick aside, catches Corey dead center with his right fist coming in, and Corey drops into a credible pile of what looked like death. John loses it and starts-”

  “Bullshit!” I interrupted this highly imaginative version of Tommy’s with the simple truth. “He launched the kick. I dropped him. I may have given him a little boot to the side, testing whether he was playacting or not.”

  “A slight groan or grunt would issue forth from an adversary whom you are nudging in order to test consciousness. Corey elevated into the air, landing nearly fifteen feet from us, his squeal of agony a long way from a nudge… you monster.”

  “Did not.” Tommy owned his audience. I had enough imagination to realize nothing I said would be believed after T’s story setup. I did not kick Corey fifteen feet in the air, but I could tell no one at the table would accept my less dramatic version. “He could have surrendered.”

  “After you beat his buddies half to death?” Tommy questioned. “I think not.”

  “What… what happened, Dad?” Al listened to the whole thing in wide eyed concentration.

  “I picked Corey up, slapped him a little, and he regained consciousness. He immediately started demanding representatives from our employers be summoned immediately. Corey promised he’d sue, and drag our families and everything we loved into a trial, where he would be awarded damages in an amount we couldn’t pay if we lived to be a thousand. He was hilarious!”

  Tommy took over. “I start reasoning with Corey again, while explaining his options. This clown had a fake identity, a fake company, and had bilked millions from unknowing investors. Now, he was the victim. John grabs the little twerp, and drags him across the room. Then minutes later, Cory walked docilely over to have his hands restrained - since Cheese didn’t think to bring enough restraints, I had to do it.”

  Everyone stared at me. I’m smiling because no one knows what I said to Corey. Tommy already admitted I took him aside for a private conversation. I cleaned up a nice version and delivered. “I urged Corey to think it through. He needed to hire a lawyer to begin his defense right away, and the faster we delivered him to Sacramento, the faster he could work out a deal because it was an open and shut case.”

  “That’s not quite right, Cheese,” Tommy rebutted my statement immediately. “Remember when you took the three underlings out to my old van for transport while I stayed behind to explain the situation to the other office workers?”

  Uh oh. Now, everyone is smiling but me. “Don’t do it, T.”

  “So… I ask Corey what the big bad had said to him,” Tommy ignores me as usual. “Corey stares at his shoes and mumbles a litany of promises Cheese had made if he involved us in any way with his case, or if he somehow got free. It went like this – the first day Corey was out on bail or free, he’d wake up with Cheese at his side, gagging because his throat was slit from ear to ear.”

  Gasps of horror flowed over me from Tess and her Mom. Al giggled, Lora and Cal tried to look aghast, but failed. I tried a truthful misdirection. “It’s a movie line from ‘One-Eyed Jacks’ with Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson. I wanted Corey to shut up on the way to Sacramento.”

  “It worked,” Tommy answered unnecessarily. His ending punch line drew laughs again though. “Okay… I’ve ragged the Cheeseburger enough in front of family. Let me have him for a while to go over something I discovered.”

  “We’ll go watch a movie in the TV room. I promised Al we’d watch ‘Scrooged’ with her,” Lora said. “Mom and Tess haven’t seen it before.”

  “I could watch that one twenty times,” Cal said, freshening up his drink for movie time. “Great stories, Tommy. Please c
ome over again for another share.”

  “Yes… please come over for another share, you no good… rotten…” my partial reiteration kept up the amusement as the family journeyed out of the kitchen. Al hugged me from behind.

  “Will you watch the old version of ‘Miracle on 34th Street’ with me later?”

  “Count on it.” I watched her skip out to catch up to Lora with thoughts of anthrax attacks streaking through my head. Yep… some people alive now wouldn’t make it to Thanksgiving this year. Some would beg not to, starting tomorrow. There was a reason Denny assembled a team of monsters. It was so kids like Al could watch movies and enjoy holidays without fear. The politically correct morons in Washington, mouthing off about inhumane treatment, while praying for someone to do the dirty work in secret would have their prayers answered. The prayers wouldn’t be answered by angels. They would be answered by monsters.

  “I take it you have bad deeds needing done in LA.”

  I went to the refrigerator and retrieved a couple more beers for us. “It’s a convoluted mess Lynn wants to make into a game while helping out our favorite reality show stars.”

  The grin fled from Tommy’s face at the mention of Lynn. They were tight, particularly after Lynn Tased me before I could dunk her in the Bay. Tommy nearly went into convulsions enjoying that evil deed. He also had heard the gang whispering about Lynn’s uniquely hideous rehab of Danessa. That Danessa now stayed with Clint and Lynn still gave him chills.

  “I need a wheel man, T. You don’t have to go, but you know all the Hollywood Bounty Hunters, and they know you. At times, we may need you to keep them from interfering or doing something stupid while Lynn, Clint, and I play out this backstage set thing Lynn’s anxious to do. Don’t ask me why I’m letting her. Like she keeps saying, sometimes-”

  “It is what it is,” Tommy finished the Cruella Deville line for me. “I know this is important, so count me in. I don’t want any details though, especially anything Lynn comes up with. I know you and I have done some things, and it’s kind of hypocritical to act all disgusted about what Lynn does… but damn… that lady is on a whole different plain of bad.”