“Check your account, Tanner; you’ll find that you’ve been paid.”
“Fine, but before I can kill Adams I have to locate him, and to do that, I’ll need to make his contact Omar Ali Rashid talk.”
“Rashid is in Boston,” Sara said.
“I’ll fly there as soon as I can get a flight.”
“There’s a jet at your disposal,” Burke said.
“Even better,” Tanner said. “We’ll leave in two hours; Alexa has to change.”
Sara stood.
“I’ll be accompanying you.”
“Why?”
“It’s my job, Tanner, and if you need anything while we’re in Boston, just call me.”
Alexa took Tanner’s hand.
“He won’t need anything from you.”
Sara sighed softly.
“I meant in a professional sense.”
“In any sense,” Alexa said.
Burke watched this exchange with a worried expression.
“Is there a problem, Miss Blake?”
“No sir, just a small clash of personalities. It will work itself out.”
Burke caught Tanner’s eye.
“Would you like someone else assigned to help you, Tanner?”
Tanner stared at Sara before answering.
“No, Blake and I have a history, and better the devil I know than one that I don’t know.”
“Yes, you two worked well together in Guambi; I hope that continues here.”
“We’ll see,” Tanner said.
Sara stared back at him with an enigmatic smile.
CHAPTER 7 – A fresh start
To save time, Alexa returned to their hotel to change clothes and pack while Tanner received a briefing from Sara.
The two of them were alone in a conference room where Sara brought Tanner up to speed on the latest intel concerning Omar Ali Rashid, whom Tanner would interrogate to learn the whereabouts of Julien Adams.
Sara and Tanner were seated on opposite sides of a large conference table and facing a huge video screen, which was mounted on the wall. Sara pushed a button on a remote control and gave Tanner a slideshow presentation of the condo apartment house where Rashid lived.
“He’s guarded by two men at all times and travels in a limo. Nothing major has changed in the man’s life since the last information I gave you concerning him. However, as you can see, I arranged to have more pictures of the underground parking garage taken, and from different angles.”
“Why did you do that?”
Sara blinked in a show of surprise at Tanner’s question before answering it.
“Looking over the data, I thought that the underground garage would be the best place to grab the man. If I was mistaken, I can arrange to have any other areas photographed in detail before we land in Boston.”
“No, your assumption was correct. I’ll be taking Rashid in the garage.”
“What sort of vehicle will you need?”
“I’ll steal a van when I get there.”
“I thought so, and I arranged to have one waiting for our arrival. It’s white, with clean plates. There are also restraints attached to the wall.”
“It sounds like the van you once had me in.”
Sara stood and moved around the table to take a seat beside Tanner.
“I’m not out to hurt you, Tanner. I’m here to help. That’s my job now and I plan to do it well.”
Tanner locked eyes with her. When Sara met his gaze without flinching, he nodded.
“Fair enough. We’ll call this a fresh start. Is there anything else you need to tell me about Rashid?”
“Yes. That underground parking garage has a number of cameras. If needed, I can arrange to have them disabled before you arrive.”
“That won’t be necessary. I’ll handle it.”
“Okay, but I have a request. Don’t kill Rashid’s guards. That would escalate things in the diplomatic arena where Rashid’s brother operates. The men guarding Rashid aren’t simply thugs, but former soldiers.”
“That won’t be a problem either, but now I have a question for you.”
“Yes?”
“Deke Mercer, what’s his story?”
“As I understand it, Mercer is an ex-Marine and a gifted gunsmith. He was recommended by our government contact and was excited to hear that he’d be working with you.”
“Why?”
Sara smiled.
“He said that you would probably give him a chance to stretch his skills, and in fact, he would like to see you before we leave for Boston.”
Tanner stood.
“Why don’t we see him now?”
***
As they were leaving the conference room, Conrad Burke approached them, while walking with his bodyguards, who eyed Tanner carefully. Burke told the men to stay back a few feet before joining Tanner and Sara.
“Tanner, there was something I forgot to inform you about. It’s probably nothing, but Brad Grant mentioning the man earlier brought it to mind.”
“What man?” Tanner asked.
“A Sicilian assassin named Maurice Scallato, the first time I heard that name was from my ex-brother-in-law, Robert Martinez.”
Tanner knew Martinez, the man had been an ally and advisor to Alonso Alvarado.
“What does Martinez have to do with Scallato?”
“Nothing really, but Alvarado had asked Robert to try to contact him. Alvarado wanted to use Scallato as a sort of dead man’s switch. From what Robert said, Alvarado wanted to hire Scallato to kill you, but only in the event that you first killed Alvarado. It was to be Alvarado’s way of getting revenge from the grave, however, Robert said that Scallato never made contact with Alvarado, and thus no money changed hands.”
“What about Grant, is he in contact with Scallato?”
Sara made a sound of derision.
“Brad Grant probably read about Scallato in one of those soldiers of fortune and mercenary magazines he’s always quoting from. It’s just talk.”
“Thanks for the info, Burke, although I doubt that anything will come of it.”
“Neither do I, but I’ve learned its better to have as much knowledge about a possible threat as you can. Besides, I wouldn’t want you killed before you earn your money.”
Burke excused himself as Sara’s phone rang, and she was informed that Alexa had returned from her trip to the hotel.
***
After greeting Alexa with a kiss in the lobby, Tanner commented on how quickly her trip back to the hotel went.
“I was taken there and back inside a Burke company van and the driver helped with the luggage.”
Tanner turned and looked at Sara.
“That was your doing?”
Sara smiled.
“I’m here to help in any way I can.”
“It was helpful, thank you,” Alexa said, but the words came out in a begrudging tone.
Sara told Alexa that she was welcome. After taking the elevator to the basement, Sara led the way down a white-walled corridor, as her heels clacked on the polished tile floor.
“Where are we headed?” Alexa asked.
“I’m taking Tanner to see Deke Mercer,” Sara said.
“That’s the man who helped me clean off the paint?” Alexa asked.
“Yes.”
“And he’ll be working with Tanner as an armorer?”
“That’s correct,” Sara said.
“Good, he seemed like a nice man.”
Sara laughed.
“He may be nice, but I’m told that he’s also deadly and has forgotten more about weaponry than the three of us will ever know. It’s my understanding that he’s from a family of gunsmiths.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Alexa said. “The man seemed... very confident.”
“Um-hmm,” Sara said, as she detected a note of more than admiration for Deke Mercer in Alexa’s comment. Sara filed that observation away and headed towards the armory.
CHAPTER 8 – A smile is worth a t
housand words
When Tanner, Sara, and Alexa, entered the armory, they found Deke Mercer talking with a man named Garber.
Garber was responsible for the distribution and care of the weapons carried by the Burke Corporation’s worldwide security force.
Every armed member of Burke’s security team was issued a Glock 19, and it was Garber’s job to keep them in good working order. Worldwide, Burke employed over four thousand security personnel, and so the task of keeping every weapon accounted for and in good working order was formidable.
Garber, who had a British accent and was a former elite soldier, had three very competent assistants who handled their jobs well, and that left him with enough free time to explore his passion, which was designing and improving weapons, it was a passion that Deke Mercer shared, and he and Garber had become fast friends.
After entering the armory, Garber decided to give Tanner, Sara, and Alexa a tour of his workshop, when Alexa noticed a weapon hung on the wall, she made an “Ooohhh,” sound and headed straight for it.
The weapon looked like a sword with a blade on each end of its handle. The blades were both double-edged and over a foot long, while the handle was made of the same metal as the blades, but fitted for a sure grip.
“That’s Deke’s,” Garber said, “He made it in the workshop.”
Alexa looked back at Deke with a smile lighting her face.
“This is a Haladie.”
Deke’s eyes flickered with surprise.
“You know what a Haladie is?”
“Yes, they were used by the Rajput, India’s ancient warriors. This looks like a real one, like the one I once saw in a museum.”
“It’s a copy, but real enough, would you like to hold it?”
“Of course.”
Deke disengaged the straps that held the weapon to the pegboard, he then handed it to Alexa in a gentle manner.
Alexa held the weapon in her right hand as she grew accustomed to the weight of it, and its considerable heft. A few seconds later, she was making graceful thrusts at the air with it, as if she had practiced with the weapon for weeks.
Deke laughed.
“You’re a natural with that, have you handled one before?”
“When I was younger I made one by welding two curved knives together. It was nothing as sleek and well-balanced as this. I found it impractical, because I could find no safe way to wear it in a sheath.”
“You have a passion for edged weapons?” Deke asked.
“I do,” Alexa said.
As Deke and Alexa talked, Sara was watching Tanner. The hit man showed no signs of jealousy or annoyance, but only watched the exchange with an interested gaze. Sara cleared her throat.
“Deke, I believe that you had something to show Tanner, yes?”
Deke nodded at Sara and reached out to take the Haladie back from Alexa. Once the weapon was secured, Deke led them all to an indoor firing range, after Garber excused himself and returned to his desk.
Atop a table in the firing range was a gun carrier that was about the size of a briefcase. Deke pressed a thumb against the bio reader and the case popped open. Inside it were two guns that strongly resembled Glock 19’s, but Tanner saw subtle differences that told him that they weren’t. The guns had matching sound suppressors and three spare magazines each. All of it sat in fitted black foam, and the guns gleamed with their newness.
“These are for me?” Tanner asked.
“They are, but try them out. You’ll find that they’re different,” Deke said.
“I’ve fired silenced guns before, Mercer.”
“Not these you haven’t,” Deke said. “I created them myself.”
Tanner removed one of the guns, checked it to see that it was unloaded, and then fed a fresh magazine into it. After threading on a sound suppressor, he took a shooting stance and aimed at the paper target that was hanging far down the range.
Tanner fired a shot that hit the target dead center, then turned and gave Deke a smile.
“The gun barely made a sound. How the hell did you do that?”
“It’s a combination of the gun, the rounds, and the suppressor. They’re all custom made to work together and were designed with silence in mind.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning that you’ll be sacrificing distance and stopping power by using that weapon and its accompanying ammo, but anything you shoot within ten yards will die just the same.”
Tanner looked down at the gun and then back at Deke.
“You’re an artist. I admire that.”
“It’s mutual, Tanner. Your killing of Alonso Alvarado was masterful, and I would love to hear that whole story someday.”
“Maybe Alexa will tell it to you, she killed the man alongside me. We both owed the bastard a debt of blood.”
Deke stared at Alexa.
“You are one interesting woman, Senorita Lucia,” Deke said.
“You can call me Alexa, Mr. Mercer.”
“And I’m Deke.”
Sara cleared her throat once more.
“Do you have anything else for Tanner, Deke?”
“No, but I would like to talk to him more; I’m sure that there are items he could use. It’s nice to have a real assassin to design for. It’s the reason I agreed to take this position.”
“I have a few ideas we could discuss,” Tanner said.
Sara looked at Alexa.
“Deke, why not travel to Boston with us? We’ll only be there overnight and it will give you and Tanner a chance to talk.”
“Sounds good to me,” Deke said.
Tanner nodded in agreement, while Alexa smiled, obviously happy to have Deke joining them on their trip.
Sara liked that smile and filed it away as another observation.
CHAPTER 9 – Ask a stupid question...
At the start of the plane ride to Boston, Tanner and Alexa sat across from Deke and Sara.
Tanner asked Deke about his knowledge of firearms and found that it far surpassed his own, which was by no means meager. When he learned that Deke Mercer was also an explosives expert, Tanner asked him if he could put together a small charge once they were on the ground.
“I’ll need to make a few purchases, but I can build you a bomb. How big a blast are we talking about?”
“Small,” Tanner said. “I’ll need it to blow the main circuit breaker in the underground garage.”
“That’s easy. I can also add a remote control so that you can detonate when you’re ready.”
Tanner looked over at Sara.
“Recruiting Deke was your idea?”
“Yes,” Sara said warily, as she wondered about Tanner’s reaction.
“Excellent choice, Blake, particularly given the target I’m going after. If Adams is as hard to kill as he seems to be, I may need to use an explosives expert.”
Sara smiled at him.
“I’m here to help, Tanner. Remember that.”
***
A short time later, Tanner decided to catch a nap and shut his eyes, after Deke and Sara moved off separately to take other seats on the private jet.
Sara watched with interest as Alexa left Tanner’s side and settled across from Deke. From snatches of the conversation, she could hear that Alexa and Deke were discussing swords and other edged weaponry.
Sara looked for signs that Alexa was flirting, but saw none. Alexa only seemed pleased to have met another enthusiast of blades.
Sara frowned. She wanted Alexa gone, as she considered her to be a distraction that Tanner didn’t need.
Feeling sleepy, Sara closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, she found that Alexa was seated across from her. Alexa’s sudden, and silent, appearance startled Sara, and it showed as she let out a gasp of surprise. After recovering, she asked Alexa a question.
“Can I help you?”
“Why were you staring at me?”
“You interest me.”
Alexa looked Sara over as she cocked her head.
> “How do you mean that?”
Sara laughed.
“Not sexually, although you are very attractive. My interest lies more in what Tanner sees in you. It’s been my experience that the man doesn’t form many close ties. Although, he has changed some in the time I’ve studied him.”
“Studied him? You make him sound like an insect.”
“When Tanner and I were enemies I studied him in order to find a weakness in the man. Once I found that weakness, I used it against him and saved myself in the process.”
“Tanner told me everything that went on between the two of you.”
“Including the times we’ve slept together?” Sara asked.
When Alexa’s mouth dropped open in shock, Sara stifled a laugh and explained.
“We shared a bed out of necessity while we were in Guambi, but of course nothing happened.”
“Why do you say, ‘of course?’” Alexa asked.
Sara smiled bitterly.
“It’s obvious isn’t it? The man hates me.”
“Tanner doesn’t hate you. He wisely doesn’t trust you, and for some reason he respects you, but there’s no hate in his heart for you. If Tanner hated you, you’d be dead.”
“Perhaps, but by becoming useful to him, I hope to end any animosity between us.”
“Why does that matter to you?”
Sara shrugged.
“You said that Tanner respects me; I also respect him.”
Alexa stared at Sara and shook her head slightly.
“Do you want Tanner?”
Sara smiled.
“Tanner said that you were psychic. If that’s true, then you already know the answer to that question.”
“Normally I would, but I have trouble reading you, and I don’t trust you at all.”
“I don’t want to sleep with Tanner, Alexa.”
“You want him dead.”
“No, not anymore. I’m just trying to make a new life for myself inside the Burke Corporation. Working as a go-between for Tanner and the corporation is a part of my duties. Now, if you don’t mind, I have work to do.”
Sara opened her laptop and looked down at the screen, essentially dismissing Alexa.
Alexa stared at her a few seconds longer and then took her seat back beside Tanner, which caused him to open his eyes.
The TANNER Series - Books 10 -12 (Tanner Box Set Book 4) Page 30
