Lit Fuse (A Tanner Novel Book 44)

by Remington Kane

  When he came across a man with blood running down his bright green face, he ignored him. Weirdness was running rampant during the riot and Sobol had seen stranger sights while stalking the streets looking for Franny. Hell, he himself was walking around with a rifle hanging from a sling while wearing a red ski mask.

  When the man with the green face muttered something about how he was going to “Find those bitches and kill them,” Sobol decided to talk to him.

  “A woman painted your face like that?”

  “Yeah, and she hit me with a gun.”

  “What did she look like? Did she have dark hair?”

  “Yeah, and there was a Chinese chick with her too.”

  “Where are they?”

  The man looked at the rifle hanging in front of Sobol. “What are you going to do to them?”

  “I’m going to kill them.”

  Green lips spread into a smile and the man pointed. “They were about two blocks back down Eighth Avenue. If you hurry you might catch up to them.”

  Sobol took off at a jog and heard a wheeze escape his open mouth. He felt like hell, but he could rest up and heal once he found the women and avenged Denny Martinez’s death.

  Franny saw a small, orange streak dart across the street and into an alley. Wendy caught a glimpse of it as well and wondered if it could be her cat, Garfield.

  “Is Garfield an orange tabby?”

  “Yeah, and I have to check and see if that’s my cat. I’ll call to him and see if he comes to me.”

  Wendy rushed ahead and entered the alleyway. Franny felt apprehensive about venturing into such a shadowy place, but when she reached the lip of the alley, she saw that the passageway wasn’t dark. It was illuminated by two streetlights, had been recently paved, and opened onto an avenue at its other end. Shiny green dumpsters stretched the length of the alley. They were positioned beside the rear entrance doors of the shops that made up the brick building on the right.

  Wendy was calling to her cat and looking behind dumpsters. To save time while that was happening, Franny decided to move past the alley’s entrance and paint another arrow on the ground. The can of spray paint made a loud rattle as she shook it and a hiss as she sprayed. The noises covered up any sounds Sobol made as he crept up behind Franny.

  While pursuing Franny, Sobol had pushed his injured diaphragm muscle as hard as he dared. His efforts left him leaning against a wall and wheezing like an old man with asthma. The pain in his abdomen had gotten worse and had him wondering if he needed to see a doctor.

  He recovered within minutes and the fact that he’d required rest turned out to be a good thing. He had run beyond the area where Franny and Wendy were because the man with the green face had been mistaken about what street the women had been on. Sobol had been heading north on Eighth Avenue, while Franny and Wendy were traveling north along Ninth Avenue.

  They had been on Eighth, but they traveled over to Ninth when they noticed the avenue appeared to be better lit and have more working streetlights.

  Sobol spotted the silhouettes of two female forms crossing a street a block away. He couldn’t see their faces, but knew they were the women he sought. He headed toward them at a pace that was greater than their own and ignored the ache in his gut. It was time to get payback.

  Franny felt the gun she had tucked at her back being yanked free at the same moment she was shoved roughly to the ground. She had been bent over and spraying an arrow when Sobol attacked her. At first, she didn’t recognize him, having only seen him wearing the red ski mask. Sobol had taken it off when he’d stopped to rest and was holding it in his left hand. In his right hand was her gun, and it was pointed at her.

  When Sobol held up the ski mask, Franny understood who she was looking at and knew he wanted her dead.

  She called out. “Run Wendy! Run and don’t look back!”

  Sobol used the gun to gesture for her to get to her feet. He was still breathing heavily from the effort to catch up to Franny.

  Franny rose slowly, while silently praying that Wendy had heard her and ran out the other side of the alley. When she attempted to spray Sobol in the face with paint as she had done to the other man, he reacted by slapping the spray can out of her hand.

  Sobol pointed at the alleyway’s entrance. “Walk in there and let’s see if your friend from the lawyer’s office stuck around.”

  Franny considered running away. Sobol would try to shoot her with the gun and waste time until he realized it was empty, allowing her to put distance between them. But he still had the rifle. She wouldn’t be able to run far enough away to avoid the bullets it would send after her.

  Sobol grew impatient with her and gave her a shove. “I said get into that alley. Do it now.”

  Franny did as she was told and was relieved to see that the alley was empty. When she turned to look at Sobol, hoping to see disappointment in the man’s eyes, she saw a smile.

  “I got a look at your driver’s licenses. Your friend is named Wendy Kim. I’ll find her someday. Right now, you’re the one I want. And lady, I’m going to make you pay for killing Denny.” Sobol prodded her with the gun, urging her to move deeper into the alley. Franny knew the gun was empty but followed his directions. She was hoping to find something in the alley that she could use as a weapon. Sobol was younger, bigger, and stronger than she was, and he had a rifle. There was also a knife hanging from his belt. Franny thought her only chance at survival was to take him by surprise.

  As Franny came even with the fourth dumpster, they were both startled when a huddled form shot out from the side of the trash receptacle. It was Wendy. She hadn’t run, she had hidden and waited for a chance to help Franny. In her hand was a brick she’d found sitting near one of the doors in the alleyway. Wendy smashed the brick against the side of Sobol’s head and the man went down to one knee while dropping the gun, which bounced away. Wendy, her face set in a rictus of fear, released a scream as she raised the brick high to bring it down on his head again. She was not a violent person by nature, and it aggrieved her to cause pain to someone else, even someone who wanted to harm her.

  Sobol shot out a fist that hit Wendy square on the chin. The brick fell from her hand as she staggered and fell back against the wall. She slid down the wall’s surface until she was on the ground, where she moaned and struggled to keep from slipping into unconsciousness.

  Franny charged at Sobol as he was raising the rifle that was hanging from straps. The rifle was an M4 carbine. During the struggle, her fingers inadvertently moved the selector switch from Safe, past Semi, and onto Auto. That was why the rifle discharged all its rounds when Sobol’s finger accidentally pressed the trigger. The rifle had been pointed upwards; several of the rounds shattered the streetlight at their end of the alley, plunging it into darkness.

  Franny let go of the weapon when she realized it was unloaded and shouted to Wendy to run. She was turning away to do that herself when she realized that Wendy was still down and leaning back against the wall. Her face was covered in shadow, and her head hung loosely as if she were in a daze.

  As Franny reached out to help Wendy to her feet, Sobol sent a booted foot against the back of Franny’s knee and sent her to the ground. When she rolled over to look up at him, she saw that Sobol was removing a serrated blade from the leather sheath on his belt.

  Tanner had been jogging along while looking for more painted arrows when he heard a scream come from somewhere ahead. That was followed by the cadence of shots being fired on full auto, then the faint sound of a woman’s voice. He couldn’t quite make out the words, but the voice was familiar.

  Franny!

  Tanner increased his speed and strained to listen for any sound, as up ahead he saw the mouth of an alley.

  Franny kept her eyes on the blade poised above her while she pleaded with Wendy to run away again. It was no use. The woman had nearly been knocked out by Sobol’s punch. Her head was lolling from side to side as she fought to stay conscious.

  Franny bega
n kicking at Sobol. He laughed at her as he batted away her blows. His laugh was a wheezing sound that had no mirth in it and was followed by a sneer.

  “I’m going to make you suffer, bitch.”

  Sobol lunged past her kicking feet and fell onto her. His weight drove the air from Franny, and she gasped. Sobol used his upper body to pin her to the ground while gripping her hair with his left hand. The knife rose high, but before it could be brought down, there came the sound of a gunshot.

  Franny watched as blood and brain matter erupted from the side of Sobol’s head. The hand holding the knife went limp along with the body it belonged to.

  Franny shoved the fresh corpse aside. As she stood, she saw a form emerge from the darkness, it was a form familiar to her, and the eyes were unmistakable.

  Tanner sent a concerned glance toward Wendy, who seemed to be regaining her senses, then he approached Franny.

  “Are you injured?”

  Franny hugged him. “I’m fine. And thank God you found us when you did.”

  Wendy made it to her feet on legs that looked unsteady. When she saw Sobol’s body and the damage done to his head, she made a strangled sound in her throat.

  Franny went to her and put an arm around her. “It’s okay. We’re safe now.”

  Wendy looked over at Tanner. “Is this your friend, Franny?”

  “Yes, this is Cody Parker. He saved both our lives.”

  Tanner studied Wendy. “Are you all right?”

  Wendy glanced at Sobol’s body. “That bastard punched me. He almost knocked me out.”

  “I ran into your boyfriend. He’s waiting for us back at the building where you met with the lawyer.”

  “You’ve seen Jake? Is he okay?”

  “His knee is injured, but he’s good. And I left him a gun so he could defend himself. But we’d better get out of the city before the National Guard shows up in force.”

  Wendy stared at him. “You have unusual eyes, Mr. Parker.”

  “Yes. Others have mentioned that to me.”

  Before leaving the alley, they gathered up the weapons. Wendy was given Sobol’s unloaded rifle to carry, and Franny retrieved the gun, which had wound up beneath a dumpster. It was still empty, of course, but no one other than the three of them had to know that.

  They moved out of the alley and Tanner headed back to where he’d left Jake. The sky was darker than ever except for the brilliant flashes of lightning that were growing more frequent, while the boom of thunder grew louder. The city of San Padre was soon to experience a massive rainstorm, but nothing short of Noah’s flood could wash away the evidence of its recent sins.

  13

  Idiot No More

  Joshua slipped into the beach house’s master bedroom while holding Miller’s gun. He had expected the room to be dark but matching lamps on the twin nightstands were on and were bright.

  Miller was lying in the middle of a king-size bed with Naya straddling him and gyrating away. Her back was to Joshua, and she blocked Miller’s view of the doorway.

  Joshua watched the action for a few moments before easing forward and pressing the tip of the gun against the back of Naya’s neck. Her soft moaning ceased as did her movements.

  Miller’s eyes had been closed as he enjoyed the pleasure he was experiencing. When Naya stopped moving, he opened his eyes and they kept widening as he saw the stranger holding the gun.

  “My wallet is in my pants over there on the chair. Take it. Take anything you want. There’s no need for anyone to get hurt.”

  Naya risked turning her head around, despite the steady pressure of the gun on her neck. When she saw Joshua, she visibly relaxed.

  “What the hell, Joshua? What are you doing here?”

  “Haley is hurt and needs help; I was looking for a phone to call an ambulance.”

  “You know this guy?” Miller asked.

  “He’s one of my people. He’s the one who led the group up here earlier instead of following me to Flat Town.”

  Joshua pressed the gun against Naya’s neck with more force. “I’m done being a follower. Or should I say, a useful idiot.”

  Miller understood Joshua’s meaning and cursed. “The whiteboard. Damn. I should have erased what was written on it.”

  Naya attempted to get off Miller. Joshua put a hand on her shoulder. “Stay right where you are, I’m sure this guy won’t mind a bit. By the way, what’s his name?”

  Miller forced a smile. “I’m Morgan Miller, Naya’s boss. You’re Joshua, right?”

  “That’s right.”

  “It looks like your talents have been wasted, Joshua. I could use a man with your um, resourcefulness. Let us get dressed and then we’ll talk things over.”

  Joshua was about to agree but then shook his head. He felt like a pervert with the two of them naked while he was dressed, but it gave him an advantage he wasn’t ready to give up.

  “We’ll talk like this, with my gun pointed at Naya and you unable to move because her weight is on you.”

  “We’re not going to tell you anything, Joshua,” Naya said. “And if you don’t hand over the gun, we’ll make sure the police find out that you broke in here.”

  Joshua was stymied for a moment. They were afraid of the gun, but it wasn’t enough to make them tell him what he wanted to know. He couldn’t shoot them to get them to talk; even a bullet to the arm might kill them if it severed an artery. He looked about the room and came up with an answer to his dilemma.

  After removing the gun from Naya’s neck he kept it aimed at her and told her not to move as he changed position to ease toward the head of the bed on the left side. His new angle gave him a view of Naya’s breasts and her taut midriff. Joshua couldn’t help but stare at the beauty of her.

  “Do you like what you see, pervert?” Naya asked.

  Joshua raised his eyes until he was looking at her face, then reached out a hand to grab the lamp on the nightstand. While using only one hand, it was a little awkward removing the lampshade and the harp, which was the metal piece the lampshade was attached to, but Joshua managed it. As he lifted the lamp off the table, he was pleased to see that it had a long cord. He pointed the lamp downward to bring the hot light bulb near Miller’s hip.

  “Tell me the truth about Die Fistulous or I’ll burn you with the bulb.”

  “What truth? It’s a protest organization that my employers funded to bring about positive social changes in the world.”

  Joshua pressed the bulb against Miller’s hip. Miller hissed from the pain then took a swat at the lamp.

  “Be careful,” Joshua said. “If you break that light bulb, you might electrocute yourself, and Naya too.” He then gave Miller another taste of the hot bulb. “Tell me the truth. What’s really going on?”

  Naya laughed at him. “Morgan’s not going to tell you anything and you’re not man enough to use that gun.”

  Joshua moved the lamp and pressed it against Naya’s stomach. She screamed and then cursed at Joshua. There was hate in her eyes. Joshua knew if he didn’t have the gun, she would have leapt off the bed and attacked him. She was angry. What Naya didn’t understand was that Joshua was furious. Under his calm exterior he was roiling with rage.

  He’d been a useful idiot to these people, a puppet. They were going to tell him the truth or he just might use the gun on them. He pressed the hot lightbulb against Naya’s left breast then burnt Miller on the thigh.

  “You two can start talking or you can suffer more pain; it’s your choice.”

  Miller spoke to Joshua then, telling him what Die Fistulous’s true purpose was. He explained in general the plans that were in place by the corporation he worked for and told Joshua how much money was at stake.

  “There will be billions made in the long run, Joshua, billions. And some of that could be yours.”

  “And Hexalcorp is behind this?”

  “How did you know that I work for Hexalcorp?”

  “I saw paperwork with the company name on it while I was downs
tairs in the office.”

  “All right, yes, it’s Hexalcorp. They’re huge, Joshua, and have thousands of employees worldwide. This is just one of their operations, a very profitable one. You could share in that wealth.”

  Joshua imagined all the lives Hexalcorp had changed for the worst and wondered how many fools like himself they had conned into helping them.

  He thought of Haley. She was the one who had awakened his social conscious and was a true believer in the cause to help the poor and rein in the rich. When she found out that she’d been used to cause grief to the poor while making the wealthy richer, she’d want to vomit. Miller’s last words entered Joshua’s thoughts.

  “What do you mean that I could share in the wealth?”

  “You could become a recruiter like Naya. Tell him how much you’ve made this year, Naya.”

  “Almost three hundred thousand,” Naya said. “And I’m up for an extra bonus for the work I did tonight. That will be another ten thousand.”

  “They pay you a bonus to burn down people’s homes?”

  Naya laughed. “They’ll make their money back a hundredfold once they control the land in Flat Town. Morgan says that there are plans to build a sports stadium there, or maybe a hospital.”

  “When that happens, I’ll get a piece of that money too,” Morgan said. “Naya makes six figures, but I pull in seven. There’s a lot of money to be made working with us, Joshua. What kind of work do you do now?”

  “I drive for People Pick-up; I’m a cab driver.”