Hard Case VI: The Killer Inside (John Harding Book 6) (13 page)

I had stupidly turned my attention to Tommy, nearly running into the figurative ‘Red Witch’ now standing with arms crossed.

“I get it. Please go on, Cheese. You were saying?”

“It’s not funny if I need cue cards, Crue. It was a small play on words, so heave ho the fantail, and get aboard the Snow White Sands cruise into danger.”

Lynn snorted in derision. “Some danger. It will take all of five seconds once those two hit the bricks outside. You should let me send Agent Tonto in to drag them out one by one.”

“You do realize they may be heavily armed, right Crue?” We reached Tommy’s SUV, and Crue went for the passenger side front. “Hey… I have shotgun.”

“Not since you disrespected me,” Crue replied getting in the front. “You’re in the back with Tonto. I’d put you in the cargo area, but you’re too damn big.”

Scratch the wordplay in the future. I let Tonto jump in first, and slid in carefully after him. “I’m not getting more respectful if you keep treating as if you were the actual ‘Wake of the Red Witch’.”

Lynn turned to smile at me. “We’ll see how much of that big talk’s left when I get you into the pool Tuesday.”

“I already told Lucas we’re yanking your ticket. No more Bay cruising for you Crue.”

Lynn enjoyed that statement far too much. “I’ll bring Clint and Clint Jr with me. Pappy won’t even blink when I walk on board. Tommy told me he had a special pole made after I gave him the idea. We’re going to take it on the cruise this Tuesday.”

I stared at the back of Tommy’s head while Lynn chortled away. Tommy said nothing. The back of his head heated up though. He turned slightly as he drove, giving me a helpless gesture. “Thanks, T. The ‘Wake of the Red Witch’ wasn’t enough for me to deal with. You had to make her pole dreams come true. What exactly will I be playing with on Tuesday, Snow White Sands?”

“Crue had a great idea,” Tommy replied defensively. “Counterstrikes are important, and nothing gets the speed training in high gear like the pole poke with the banana suit on. Crue saw your arm bars and triangle choke moves on the videos Jess and Dev have. She wondered if while swimming we could either poke you or hook you, and if doing so would improve your chances at an arm bar.”

Lynn became animated, leaning across the seat, her hands and arms flying around. “Tommy and I can either poke you or hook you like a big Tuna. When we try to poke, you reverse with the strikes you’ve been practicing, including that deadly side hand strike. You’ve nearly attained a speed on that sucker where there’s not much danger of a bad counterstrike. What if you could snake your hands and feet around the pole cat quick when we tried to hook you, instantly assuming that arm bar position where you stretch, bend, and mangle the opponent’s arm until he has to tap out.”

I leaned back in the seat, putting an arm around Tonto, my only friend. “Wonderful. I’m so excited about this, words fail me. If it weren’t for Tonto, I’d snuff both of you. Where the hell do you have time to invent this stuff, Crue?”

“Admit it, you Cheeseburger wanker. It’s a great idea. You’ll need every tool in the box to take on the Viking, and he’s still going to clean your clock. I’ve been schooling on mixed martial arts. The Viking is weak on his ground and pound because no one can put him down. The only time he goes to ground is to pummel the poor schmuck he’s knocked or kicked down. When you fight the Vike, you’re going to ground with a weapon… that is if you’re conscious when you get to the mat.”

“In favor of full disclosure, we’re going to be in sync with Lucas driving the Wolf,” Tommy said.

“Yeah, Cheese, the moment we hook you, Lucas puts the brakes on,” Lynn added. “If it was my choice, I’d spear you, but that would mean too much blood in the water for your swimming pals to ignore. By the time we reeled you in, we’d only have a slice of onion left of the great Cheeseburger – so no spearing.”

“How thoughtful.” Tonto put his head against my chest as if sensing my plight. The dog has empathy. Unfortunately, his female human has not a shred of either empathy or decency. “Just so the challenge gets real, now that you’re not pregnant, how about I get to put you in the water? Let’s both ride into danger. We’ll get the theme music from ‘Top Gun’ rocking, and see if I can make rough waters for ‘The Wake of the Red Witch’.”

“Heh…heh… I’m way ahead of you, Cheese. We’re going to have a chain on the pole, so you’ll have some great resistance to fight against once Lucas pulls back on the throttle. You’ll shoot ahead on the hook like a wounded barracuda, slamming against our wonderful new invention.”

“The fact you’ve gone along with this in secret, Tommy, means a lot to me. There will be blood!”

“Listen, Dark Lord!” Tommy wasn’t having any of my whining or threats. “It was a hell of an idea, and I didn’t know until today if my guys could make something with enough padding so we didn’t rip your stupid head off. They did, and it’s a beauty. I didn’t want to worry you with it until we were out on the water. Like Crue was saying, you’ll need an edge even greater than with the Rattler. You wouldn’t retire as I urged you to do, so that means war.”

“The battlefield is set, boys. Tuesday… we go to war!” Lynn was just a bit overjoyed about this. I think it has something to do with her being in excellent shape, not pregnant, and hell on wheels. I am so screwed.

“Fine. Let’s talk about the takedown. I see on your screen our targets are holding position.” Tommy had one of those navigation screens that doubled as a texting tool. “The way I see this going down is Lynn takes them on with Tonto. You and I will back her play, T. I know if there are no surprises, you and Tonto will take care of business in short order, Crue.”

“There has been one small problem with our happy hour prices for Bonnie and Clyde,” Tommy related. “Darry says they’ve got quite the crowd around them. They’re buying drinks, and might have some friends who met them there or are being attracted by the free booze.”

“You’re just saying that to get me all excited,” Crue said. “Who cares if they come out of the bar with a dozen hangers on? Tonto got a little blood tonight, and I know he’s in the mood for more.”

“Tommy and I have been at the Cinebar, Crue. The entrance is a single door in the rather small front stucco entrance way. The street is four full lanes plus bike paths and parking. When Darry gives us the word, Tommy will be at the wheel, I’ll be lurking a door down from the entrance, and you’ll be playing seeing-eye dog near the entrance. We won’t need anything complicated. You and Tonto get close, and give Tonto the go. I’ll watch your backs for drunk helpers. Tommy drives next to us. We restrain the chewed Bonnie and Clyde. I throw them in the back cargo hatch. We make a clean getaway.”

“Good plan,” Crue admitted. “It doesn’t take into consideration the bad Karma our Cheeseburger brings to the table, making all manner of horrible outcomes possible, but it’s a start.”

Crue sort of snorted and laughed, shaking her head. “I saw you put the black tarp covering everything in the cargo hold, Snow Sands. You’re figuring on a bleedin’.”

“I know you,” Tommy answered. “One cross-eyed look, and someone loses an ear or gets their nose cut in two. Then there’s the tidy Tonto, who won’t bleed them unnecessarily, but will still quite possibly draw a pint without malice. I didn’t have time to get a company vehicle, so I insulated mine.”

Lynn shrugged. “Good thinking. I may have to get their attention at first, but Tonto has a way of prompting even the most reluctant prisoners into seeing the error of their ways. I got your text as did Tommy, I expect, Cheese. You already had a good time at Lake Merritt, and now we have another apple dumpling to take care of. Those nasty 38
th
Locos, and their new leader committed a mortal sin. We can’t have gangsters thinking they can put prices on the heads of our Monster Squad. What were they thinking? Are we doing a full extermination? That would be my recommendation.”

“Too much fallout,” I replied, watching the text screen. Darry uploaded a few pictures because Tommy texted him about whether they had met any friends at the bar. They looked like they were having way too much fun for a couple of bank robbing murderers. It also seemed they had friends, and not just booze hounds. Three guys standing at the bar with them appeared ready for action, and I don’t mean a party.

“Anyone else think they may be meeting to discuss their next job,” Tommy asked.

“It looks that way to me,” Lynn replied. “Bonnie and Clyde seem to be happy go lucky, but their partners are sipping beer. With the amount the main two have been slugging down they aren’t going out tonight to rob anything, but they must have something in mind.”

“It’s too bad we can’t nail the partners, but if they’re locals, I doubt they’ve been in on anything else out of the area. We never received a report of B and C taking on partners.” I plugged my phone into his USB port, and transferred the photos. “I uploaded them to Clint and Jafar. They’re just babysitting anyway. Maybe they can find a local wanted sheet on them.”

Ten minutes later I’m laughing. Clint sends me a picture of him, Clint Jr, Jafar, the new baby Chrystal all together, photobombing Samira sleeping soundly with rabbit ears supplied by her soon to be departed husband if she wakes up. I shared the picture for great entertainment value. Jafar sent me the rap sheets after putting the faces through our facial recognition database.

“They’re all local thugs with records, but no warrants. Maybe I should try to get backup.”

“I think that’s a great idea if you’d also like me to add hooking electricity to the training pole on Tuesday,” Cruella surfaced to say. It’s good that even pictures with her baby boy have no effect on her mental confrontation attitude.

I’m no dummy. “We’re going in alone. No backup.”

“Good choice. I see that look, Snow White Sands. Do you have something to say, Snow?”

“Don’t try that crap on me, Psycho. John and I always did these bonds in a safe, orderly manner. I knew if you came along our asses would be hanging out in the breeze. If Tonto could vote, he’d call for backup.”

Lynn snorted. “If Tonto understood what you just said, he’d rip a piece out of your shoulder. Tonto is a balls out dog. He’s more of a werewolf. Snow Whites disgust him.”

Chapter Five

Takedown and Storage

Even Tommy chuckled at that assessment. At nearly midnight, Darry texted us they paid their bar bill, and were gathering their belongings to leave. I put Tonto’s harness on while Lynn put on the shades and stepped out with her cane. Less than a minute later Tonto was watering the tree in front of the Cinebar with Lynn doing a very credible performance of a blind woman. I stood close to the shops next door on the right with awnings. Lynn would tap her cane twice the moment Bonnie and Clyde exited. Lynn was to walk slightly behind them until we knew if they had an entourage. If they didn’t, we’d do a quick takedown. If they did, Tommy would arrive next to where we were, and I would intercept the entourage. That would be the tricky takedown. I had no doubt Tommy would back Lynn’s play without hesitation, which would largely prove unnecessary because of Tonto’s expertise. I could tell from the smile on her face, she planned on a one woman show with her pet werewolf.

She tapped the cane twice. Our Bonnie and Clyde, Metger Sampson and Clare Booth, walked out of the Cinebar in a heated discussion about something. Then Tommy was in my ear.

“The three guys are following them, but they’ve turned your way. Crue is on the move along where the trees are. She’s getting curious looks, but that’s all.”

“I see them.”

Crue moved forward and cut off Metger and Clare. I cut off the three followers. I had already decided on my own one man show. I never show a weapon unless I plan on using it. I don’t bluff. I showed my .45 Colt, and gestured the three gentlemen against the shop windows, showing them my FBI identification. “Stay still, and no one gets hurt.”

I moved where I could watch them and Crue. Metger and Clare were busily trying to brush by Crue and Tonto. A hand gesture was all it took to activate Tonto into herding mode. With small growls, and jutting muzzle, Tonto stopped the two in their tracks. Crue dropped the act, but got theatrical.

“Metger Sampson and Clare Booth. You are under arrest for murder, mayhem, and bank robbery. If you move, Agent Tonto and I will take you down hard.”

“What is this some kind of joke?” Clare tried to push Lynn to the side, only to grow a butterfly knife tip under her chin.

“Guard.”

Tonto ripped Metger to the sidewalk like he was a bacon sandwich. He waited with snarls and teeth at Metger’s neck. Tommy drove beside us, parked, and rushed behind Clare, ready with plastic restraints.

“I warned you. Now clasp your hands behind your back or I cut your Adam’s Apple out.”

Clare had been on tiptoes looking into Lynn’s death face. She clasped her hands behind her, and Tommy put on the restraints. He then positioned himself near Metger.

Lynn gestured at Tonto, and her pet werewolf moved to the side. “Slowly turn on your stomach and put your hands behind you, Metger.”

Metger did as he was told instantly. A moment later Tommy frisked Metger, collecting an assortment of two handguns, a 9mm auto at his waist, and a small revolver at his ankle. Lynn did the search honors on Clare. I’m certain she felt violated by the time Lynn finished with her, but as usual, Lynn’s gut feeling about the woman proved valuable. Clare sewed a few hideaway spots in her jacket where Lynn found a thin blade and lock pick secreted in them. Her discoveries led Lynn to intensify the rest of the examination. On the inside of Clare’s thigh, Lynn ripped off a flesh toned Band-aid with a razor blade and protective sleeve taped inside. Watching her, Tommy redid his search of Metger, but without anything new found. While they bagged the evidence before a crowd gathered with Tonto darting from Clare to Metger with snarling interest, I engaged my homeys by the storefront.