The Tanner Series - Books 1-11: Tanner - The hit man with a heart

by Remington Kane

Richards made a show of releasing a great sigh as he shook his head sadly.

  “If you had only handled Tanner in a timely fashion, I wouldn’t be forced to demote you. However, as things stand, the board feels that it’s time for fresh blood at the helm.”

  Johnny looked over at Gary and saw the bulge of a shoulder holster beneath the suit jacket he was wearing.

  “Fresh blood at the helm, or spilled here in the office?”

  “You won’t be harmed, just demoted.”

  “Sam Giacconi is on the board and as his proxy I should have been allowed to vote.”

  “Your vote would have resulted in a tie and no action would have been taken against you, but you’re an Underboss, not a Don, so we didn’t bother to count it.”

  “That’s bullshit and you know it. Ever since Sam went into the nursing home I’ve been acting in his place.”

  “In any event, the deed is done, and you’ve been removed as leader.”

  “All right then, who is my replacement?”

  “I’ve chosen Joe Pullo. He’s a man who has proven himself loyal time and again and I’m sure he’ll continue to do so as Underboss of The Giacconi Crime Family.”

  “Joe?”

  “You disagree with the choice?”

  “I disagree with the decision, but… Pullo’s a good man, and smart too.”

  “You are to act as his adviser, his Consigliere, as you people like to call it. Will you do it?”

  Johnny sneered. “I want to keep living, so yes, I’ll do it.”

  Richards grinned. “Excellent, and as the new boss, Pullo will be taking your place at the meeting Sunday as well. That’s all, and from now on, my new man, Vance, will make contact if I need to speak to Mr. Pullo. Oh, and by the way, the Cabaret Strip Club now belongs to Pullo; let’s call it a perk of leadership.”

  Johnny stood up in a rush and Gary brought his gun out. “That club is mine! I built it from the ground up.”

  Richards grinned again. “You’ll sign it over by the day of the board meeting or blood will be spilled, your choice.”

  Johnny balled his hands into fists as he struggled to keep calm; when he could speak again, he asked a question.

  “Anything else?”

  The grin had left Richards’ face, only to be replaced by a smug look of satisfaction.

  “We’re done. However, I want to say one more thing. You’ve only yourself to blame for this. Your ineptitude at handling the Tanner situation was epic, including the loss of Lars Gruber.”

  “Tanner was the best. It’s as simple as that, but in the end, my men handled him.”

  “Tanner was a bug, and let me remind you that you no longer have men. From now on you’ll simply follow orders from Pullo.”

  “Yeah and those orders come from you.”

  Richards dismissed him with a wave. “As I said before, we’re done.”

  Johnny headed for the door, eager to leave.

  Johnny left the office without another word and strode off toward the freight elevator, as Richards watched him leave.

  “Gary.”

  “Yes, sir?”

  “Make certain that Mr. Rossetti has left the premises. Afterwards, go find Al Trent and bring him back here.”

  “Yes, sir,” Gary said, and left the office.

  Richards rose from his seat and gazed out at the city, which was spread before him.

  This is a good day to tie up loose ends. And once the meeting of the board is over, I’ll be the only one left standing.

  Richards poured himself a drink and smiled as he thought about what was to come.

  109

  Never Insult A Man’s Ride

  Tanner returned to the farm and found Tim rushing toward him while holding a newspaper. They were standing on the farmhouse’s wide front porch. The house sat in a clearing surrounded by trees, with a barn to the left of it and a graveled driveway leading in from the road.

  “Tanner, I think I know how to access Richards’ files.”

  “You’ve cracked the encryption?”

  “No, but look here. Al Trent was indicted on two counts of murder. I’ll bet you anything he could get into those files.”

  “Yes, but we discussed this and agreed that he wouldn’t give that info up even under threat of death.”

  “That’s true, he wouldn’t give it up to you, because he would believe that you’d kill him anyway, but he would give it up to me.”

  “And why would he do that? Are you planning to torture him?”

  “Of course not, but I don’t have to. I can give him something he wants, something he desperately needs; a new identity, one that he can use to escape the law.”

  Tanner stared at Tim. “How’s Madison feel about that plan?”

  Tim’s enthusiasm deflated. “I… haven’t mentioned it to her.”

  “I framed Trent for her, so that Trent would pay for killing her mother. I think this plan should be her call.”

  “Yeah, you’re right.”

  “There’s another thing, even if she agrees, there’s no guarantee that Al Trent will take the deal. Plus, once he knows he’s dealing with you, he might try to trade you to the Conglomerate and use their help to disappear.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that, but it’s worth the risk and you’ll be there to back me up, or rather, Romeo will.”

  “Speaking of Romeo, I’ll be heading back to New York tonight. I need to get an inside view of what’s been going on.”

  “That’s risky, isn’t it?”

  Tanner gave a slight shrug. “No risk, no reward.”

  Tim smiled at him. “I noticed you didn’t come back last night. I guess you made friends with one of the locals.”

  “You could say that, but it’s too risky to stay in this area long term, so start thinking about where you want to relocate to when all this is over.”

  Tim waved an arm around. “We have been thinking of relocating, but it’s as safe as can be here. There’s no way anybody can track us down.”

  “I’ve killed more than a few men who had that very same thought when they tried to hide from me. Anybody can be found, Tim. It just depends on how badly the person looking wants to find you.”

  At that very moment in southern New Jersey, Al Trent was speaking with a man named Eric, who ran the personnel office for Tri-State Janitorial Services.

  Tri-State Janitorial Services employed the late Carl Reese, one of two men that Trent had been indicted of killing. Tri-State was also the company whose computers Tim hacked into, to infiltrate MegaZenith.

  Trent came to Tri-State looking for the answer to who framed him. He believed the trip would likely be a waste of time, but when Eric whispered to him that he would like to speak to Trent in private, Trent knew he had been right to come there.

  Trent left Tri-State, and now he and Eric were meeting for lunch at a diner on Route 70, one that was two towns away from Tri-State’s headquarters.

  Trent had arrived first and ordered coffee for both of them. He hadn’t touched his and he spoke to Eric as soon as the man slid across from him in the booth. Trent also took note of the envelope Eric was carrying.

  “What is it you know?”

  Eric was in his mid-thirties with brown hair and brown eyes. His height was average, but he had the beginnings of a gut.

  “I know that I want to be paid for the information I have.”

  “All I’ve got on me is three hundred and change.”

  “What about that watch you’re wearing? It looks expensive.”

  “It’s an Omega and worth more than that car you drove up in.”

  Eric laughed. “You’re a snotty bastard, aren’t you? Give me the watch and I’ll tell you what I know; otherwise, I walk away and deny we ever met.”

  Trent’s gaze flicked to the envelope. “What’s in there?”

  “Something that might help you. You see, I don’t think you killed Carl, but inside this envelope are pictures of the people who I think did kill him.”

  “
I don’t understand.”

  A waitress appeared and asked if they wanted anything else. When they both declined, she walked away, and Eric continued.

  “Carl came here for training and it was a day or two before he was killed. That’s when we discovered that a couple of corporate spies had infiltrated our company to gain access to MegaZenith. Carl told me he was going to blackmail them and now he’s dead.”

  “Why didn’t you tell the police about this?”

  “And confess to being part of a blackmail plot? No thanks. Plus, I’d probably get fired, and it might put me on the killer’s radar, so when I give this to you, use it however you want, but keep me out of it.”

  “Are there names to go with those pictures?”

  “Yeah, but they’re fakes. And when I checked again, after I heard that Carl got killed, all their info was gone from our system. The only reason I have these photos is because I printed them out the day Carl was here, actually, right after he left.”

  Trent played with his watchband. “I’ll give you all the money I have in my wallet and five thousand more. I can transfer it to you today.”

  Eric shook his head. “Uh-uh, I like that watch. And besides, you insulted my car.”

  Trent ripped the watch from his wrist and slid it across the table, then he yanked the envelope from Eric’s hand and opened it.

  Inside were two photos, showing a man and a woman each.

  Trent recognized both of them. They were the photos that Tim had used to set-up his and Madison’s fake IDs at MegaZenith.

  Madison’s involvement both perplexed and angered Trent, while learning that she was involved with the hacker, Tim Jackson, left him mystified.

  “What did Reese say about these two?”

  “Carl said that they were a couple. He had a thing for the girl. My guess is that he tried to pressure them too much and they killed him, but why frame you? Do you know them?”

  Trent said nothing more; he just rose from the booth and walked out to his car. He had to get back to the city and find Madison. Once he did, he’d have answers. He also planned to make her pay for using him. And as far as Tim Jackson was concerned, Trent considered him a dead man.

  110

  He’s Back

  Sara checked her appearance one more time before leaving her apartment and hailing a taxi.

  The last week of her life had been one of the strangest to her.

  She had always been a woman driven by passion, by goals, and some would say, by obsession.

  For years, her obsession was the Bureau, and her goal was to be its first female Director. That desire became meaningless to her when the man she loved was killed. From that day forward, only revenge fueled her.

  With Tanner believed to be dead, she had been feeling like a rudderless ship, that is, until she found a new target for her wrath.

  While it was true that Tanner had killed her lover, he did so on orders, and by his own admission, those orders came from Frank Richards, the CEO of MegaZenith, who covertly was a ruling member of a criminal organization named the Conglomerate.

  So now, she had a new target with new goals fueled by the same sense of revenge.

  She would use anything and anyone to get to Richards, but all her bridges to the FBI had been burned when she left. All but one that is.

  Her former partner, Jake Garner, was attracted to her. Through him, she could gain information that might aid her and, if she were truthful about it, she was attracted to Garner as well.

  She knew from their past association that Garner often stopped for drinks after work at a restaurant in Midtown. Sara decided that it would be good to run into him again.

  Her plan was to have a late lunch at the restaurant and linger over drinks until Garner finally showed.

  She was dressed casually, but still with an eye toward seduction and had no qualms about using Garner to get information. The man had broken a hundred hearts if he’d broken one and might not even be capable of having a serious relationship. He wouldn’t lose his heart to her and she believed that she no longer had one to give. No, her heart died along with her lover, Brian Ames.

  The restaurant was named Martino’s and it served Italian cuisine.

  Sara spotted Garner as he was leaving and was surprised he had been drinking so early in the afternoon. She was about to call out to him when she noticed his companion.

  The woman was blonde, beautiful, and looking at Garner with great interest as he spoke.

  Garner must have said something humorous, because the woman let out a laugh and touched him on the arm. Seconds later, the two of them climbed into a taxi and sped off. If Sara had to guess, they were headed to bed.

  It didn’t surprise her to find Garner with a woman, but she was still filled with anger and felt betrayed. The blonde had been her sister, Jennifer. Sara had warned Garner away from her because she knew that he would break Jenny’s heart with his love ‘em and leave ‘em approach.

  Sara was pissed, and the anger came not only from the fact that she believed her sister was headed for heartache, but also from another emotion, jealousy.

  Although she wouldn’t admit it to herself, she wanted Jake Garner, and not just as a source of information. She was jealous that her sister was sleeping with him and it was a feeling she didn’t like one bit.

  Johnny arrived at the club and was so lost in thought that he hadn’t noticed the redhead rushing toward him as he stepped from the limo.

  “I need to speak with you, Johnny.”

  Johnny looked up with a start, but then smiled. “Hello Sophia, any news about your father?”

  Sophia Verona pushed past Mario and got up in Johnny’s face. She was the daughter of Jackie Verona, and a member of The Calvino Crime Family.

  “The word is that the Conglomerate had my father hit. What would you know about that?”

  “I don’t know a thing, honey, really. But if I had to guess, I’d say he was killed by Lars Gruber.”

  “Gruber is dead.”

  “Yeah, but Jackie went missing the day Gruber arrived here.”

  Sophia looked thoughtful. She was a beautiful woman in her early thirties who ran a squad of cyber thieves. She was the top earner for the Calvino Family, but because she was a woman, she wouldn’t even be considered to take her father’s place as Underboss, but in truth, she was well liked by the troops and tough enough to lead them.

  “Sophia?”

  “Hmm?”

  “What’s Vic Conti say about all this? He runs the Calvino’s. Does he think Jackie is dead?”

  “No one really knows what to think, but Saul Adamo keeps pushing to take his place.”

  “Adamo? He’s not smart enough to step into Jackie’s shoes.”

  “Frank Richards had the board appoint him, and yeah, you’re not the only one not happy about it. I think it means he had something to do with my father’s disappearance.”

  “Saul and your father do hate each other, so how is he treating you?”

  “Not good, he sent one of his men over to learn our system. I think he’s getting ready to push me out… or worse. I also think he wants to push Vic out and take over.”

  Johnny placed a hand under her chin. “If there’s any trouble, come here, and I’ll make sure you’re safe.”

  “I can handle myself, you know?”

  “Believe me I know it, but I want you to know that you can come to me.”

  Sophia smiled. “Why? For old time sake?”

  “Yeah, it’s been years since we broke up, but I still care about you.”

  “I know that and it’s why I came here. I knew you wouldn’t bullshit me, and if Gruber did kill my father, then it was Frank Richards that ordered the hit.”

  Johnny gripped her arm. “Don’t do anything stupid like going after Richards; you wouldn’t live through it.”

  Sophia wrenched her arm free as anger lit her green eyes. “I’m more worried about Richards coming after me,” she said, then marched back toward her car.


  Johnny entered his office and found Joe Pullo sitting before the desk.

  “I’ve been told that your rightful place is behind that desk now, Joe, or would you rather I started calling you Mr. Pullo?”

  Pullo stood. He was wearing a black suit with the jacket hanging open and the holster on his left hip was visible, as was the gun it held, while his right arm was in a white sling because of his shoulder injury.

  Pullo’s brown hair, which had receded, was cut short, but his eyebrows were bushy and compensated for the hairline, while the eyes beneath them broadcast his intelligence.

  Johnny was standing in the center of the office and Pullo walked over and stood before him.

  “My grandfather worked with Sam Giacconi when they were both just a couple of button men for the old Tarsi Family, did you know that?”

  Johnny nodded. “Yeah, I heard Sam mention it.”

  “My father did collections, broke the bones of the late payers, and whacked the ones who needed it. He did that right up until the time he was killed by the Calvino Family, back before we made peace with them. Old Albertino Calvino himself shot my father to death when I was just eight years old, did you also know that?”

  “Yes, I did,” Johnny said, and he also heard that it was Joe Pullo who made the crime boss disappear and that Pullo had only been fifteen at the time.

  “The day after my father died, Sam Giacconi comes to the house and tells my mother that she didn’t have to worry about anything. He had been shot too, a leg wound, but he took the time in the middle of a war to come and comfort my mother. I never forgot that.”

  Johnny said nothing, but he nodded again. That was the Sam Giacconi he knew, a real leader and a class act.

  “The next day, I showed up at that candy store he used to own and told him I wanted to work. He paid me to sweep the floors and stock shelves. By the time I was ten, I was running numbers and I made my bones just a few years later.”

  “I get it, Joe. You’re saying that you’ve earned the right to lead the Family.”