Hard Case V: Blood and Fear (A John Harding Novel Book 5) (4 page)

“Jess and I will see what we can find out about the fighter,” Devon said. “At least you’ll get to meet the guy first. When do we start training on the Lora?”

“That kind of talk will get you killed, Dev. Anyone else thinking about an at sea training regimen involving poles and Tasers better leave the room now.”

“It helped you win the fight against Rattler,” Tommy pointed out.

I put up my hands. “Stop with the result oriented regurgitation of fact. I beat Rattler: period. It’s in the past. I am never donning the banana suit again or going anywhere but over the Bay waters on a boat. Like I said, anyone forcing that issue needs to say goodnight, and find their way home. Otherwise, let’s keep our heads in the game. Alexi is an ex-mobster we trust through hard won past issues. Yuri is a mobster force moving into our territory. Denny’s on his way over now with some added news about our new turf invader. Any ideas about handling this Kornev guy before Denny arrives?”

“I sense a direct approach spiking through your mind,” Lynn said. “I think you’re wondering what the fastest way is for returning to nothing other than coaching girls’ softball, and drinking Bud and Beam at The Warehouse.”

Much enjoyment and toasting went on for a few moments over that assessment. “I admit it. I’m into this small window of time without weapons of mass destruction threats, and playing bump the banana with the sharks. I’ve indulged in a couple of the Bud and Beam brothers, so this might be a good time to get into specifics, Crue.”

Lynn stood to address my concern. “We have a tip about a new gang moving into our territory by an extremely reliable source. Why fuck around the edges. Let’s hit this nail with a hammer and be done with it. Why play footsie with the locals who’ll get drawn into it no matter what we do? When you meet with this Yuri tomorrow, we’ll all be there too as Warehouse Bar customers. When he leaves, we’ll take him out along with his assassin. It’ll be a springtime feeding for the sharks in place of bumping the big banana.”

“I like your thinking, Crue.” Man, I’m overthinking this shit. I was considering local feedback, which would be minimal. Hell, we’re all professional killers with a shadowy government cover. Lora had stayed silent, but I could tell she liked Lynn’s plan. Then the doorbell rang. “I’ll get it. I smell the Spawn of Satan at my doorstep.”

“Hey… my BFF is married to him, and having his baby.” Lynn shook her finger at me warningly. “Ease up, or we will put you in the Bay with poles and Taser training.”

I smiled, glancing around the room. “First off, there ain’t enough of you. Secondly, I will hear what Spawn has to say in the matter.”

Lora touched my arm as I answered the door, her hand gliding lightly over it. I noticed. At the door, I saw it was indeed Denny and his wife Maria. She’s a billionaire backer of our endeavors if we feel something occurs beyond the coffers our reticent government provides. Maria Brannigan is a singular case, rough handled by Lynn when we took down her brother, but now a no holds barred best friend of the most dangerous woman alive. I respect that, as do all my cohorts. Denny, on the other hand, is on a case by case basis. We’d do quite a bit for him on command, but we would delve deeper. He knows it, and tries to keep himself in check.

I opened the door. “Hi Maria. You look wonderful. Denny… not so much.”

While Maria hugged me, giggling at my jab at Denny, he never lost his mission face. “Thank God Alexi called me right away. This Kornev move into the Bay Area means a hell of a lot more than a fight, and the usual gangster action. He’s being forceful with Alexi because he has no shipping contacts on the West Coast. He’s targeted Alexi’s deep water port possessions for something more than smuggling trinkets. Yuri’s in link with a Bulgarian arms dealer. He calls himself The Ghost. Lately, the bastard’s been supplying not only rogue Isis factions, but also Boko Haram in Nigeria. He’s the perfect money laundering outlet for both to clean their robbing and kidnapping money, while supplying them with everything he can get his hands on.”

I admit I’d never seen Denny this on edge. Maybe Fatherhood is lighting his paternal instincts. “Lynn already instinctively came up with a kill plan in advance of ground gained in useless ploys with the locals. I meet with Yuri, and his fighter tomorrow night, and we nuke them all, including any names Lynn tortures out of them. Easy pickings.”

Maria liked Lynn’s idea. “Yes! Lynn has found a perfect solution to these people.”

Denny hugged her to him with real emotion. “I wish it could be that easy. John’s crew would go through whoever Yuri has like a hot knife through butter. The parameters have changed in that we can get a lead on the most notorious arms dealer on the planet. It will mean, with John’s permission, that we allow Alexi and Kornev to vie against each other head to head. We know Alexi’s holdings are legal now, but for the sporadic backstreet fights he’s taken over from those two prior termites, Bonasera and Alexander. I hear they’re working for him full time now.”

“Yeah, Alexi’s not greedy. He gives the people he displaces a helping hand. He owns that sweat-bag’s soul, Ray Alexander. Ray’s into Alexi for so much money, none of us may live to see the day he gets clear of that debt. Boo hoo… I’ll light a candle for him… the asshole. Alexi keeps everything on the up and up since taking over the fights. Jim and Ray could be bought. It made people uneasy about the fights. You know yourself Tommy and I would play the marks. I would hold off dropping a guy to not piss off the losers.

Denny smiled, closing my door behind him. “Like you did to Jesse?”

“Don’t go there, Den. It won’t go well for you. Mr. Brown lost fair and square. If I did some playacting, it was to smooth over the loss with the crowd. Partnering with me and Tommy has made him a fortune. I take care of my people, unlike some other gasbags who like to shoot their mouths off about other people’s failings. Hell… you ordered me killed. The only thing stopping you was the fact you had no one else but Lucas, Casey, and Clint that could get the job done. You only rescinded the order because Clint told you if anything happened to me, he’d be at your bedside one night.”

Denny shrugged with an engaging smile. “Who’s perfect? We all make mistakes. I’ve learned from mine. That’s why you have final say over anything we do. I’m not some blind newbie. I know who your crew swears allegiance to, and it ain’t me. I facilitate what needs to be done. Yuri Kornev needs to be yesterday’s news, but so does the Bulgarian arm’s dealer. I admit I haven’t thought of a way you could get that done without possibly kicking the crap out of his fighter, ‘The Assassin’. I figure if you can scramble Assassin’s marbles, Yuri may want to buy you on a steady basis. He already knows you’re a freelancer. What do you think of that angle, John?”

“I like it,” I admitted. “It may be the only way to get in on the operation Yuri’s trying to steal from Alexi. We’d have to make it up to Alexi some time down the way though.”

“We saved his granddaughter’s life,” Denny lanced into the conversation. “He owes us until time stops, damn it!”

“No, he doesn’t. You need to take a step back. Let me handle the details. You come on in, and I’ll lay out our initial operation and why. That way, the gang can unload on me. You only input positive comments. We need you as our facilitator. I don’t want any evil thoughts directed at you for the operational phase. Things have changed since you, Lucas, Casey, and I worked this end of the street. You backed Clint to get his honey, Lynn Montoya, out of a bad spot, and recruited the worst nightmare anyone ever dreamed of to our side. Trust me to run this the way you want.”

Denny gripped my wrist. “I trust you with my life, Maria’s life, and my unborn child’s life, John. I give you direction, sometimes a gamble, to aim our resources at a threat to the USA. I have no intention of botching the groundwork we’ve laid into place… ever. Let’s go face our friends. I’ll give them the basics with the facts about taking down Yuri Kornev and why. I’ll allow you to explain the course for altering his plans while gaining the name and whereabouts of ‘The Ghost’.”

“Understood. You’ve made me so dry talking to you, even the Bud and Beam brothers will have to be sipped to get through this caper.”

“I think I’ll have one with you, John.” Denny took Maria’s arm and followed me into our meeting.

It didn’t take long after the usual greetings to explain the situation. I had replenished everyone’s drinks, including mine. Tommy of course decided to harpoon me again.

“I understand everything now,” Tommy said. “This is for the sake of the nation to get this ‘Ghost’ guy. Playing the angles with Yuri can be done easily if John beats this Assassin fighter Yuri’s promoting through the ranks. All the more reason for you to order Mellow Yellow into the Bay, Denny. Issue the order now.”

With everyone laughing, Denny shook his head. “I’m afraid not, T. I want to see my kid born and raised if I can. What would be my chances of survival if I order you into the Bay, John?”

“Uh… possibly ten seconds after it leaves your mouth. Pay no attention to T. His eyes lit up when I explained the meeting with Alexi. He pictured being on the side of The Lora with a pole in one hand, and a Taser in the other. What Tommy needs to understand is the only thing for him off the side of The Lora is another swimming lesson. Anyone have input as to this Kornev business?”

“We could still pluck the two of them from The Warehouse Bar, and take them for a cruise. I’d get the Bulgarian Ghost’s name in thirty seconds,” Lynn offered. “You wouldn’t have to take a chance on getting your ass kicked at all.”

Not bad. “Nice input, Lynn. How about it, Denny?”

Denny took a moment. He didn’t want to word what he had to say wrongly. “In different circumstances I’d jump at that one, Lynn. It will take John at least another month to recover completely from his fight with ‘Rattler’. In that time, I’m hoping Yuri will be in contact with the Bulgarian, and possibly host him here in the area to look over shipping arrangements he hopes to gain control of. We need to wipe this guy out of existence along with any Boko Haram connections we can find. It would be a much easier outcome to control if he popped into our area.”

“That makes sense, Denny,” Lynn replied. “It still hinges on John and Tommy making a fight deal with Kornev. I like the Las Vegas fights at the Mandalay Bay. Does John’s street-fighting screw our chances of getting him into another UFC fight at the Mandalay, Tommy?”

“If he loses, it could permanently wreck his chances.”

“That does it, John. It’s into the Bay for you, oh great banana.”

“I’ll tell you what. Anyone thinking to put me in the Bay next to my beloved’s named boat put your money where your mouth is. I’m giving 20 to 1 odds. Any takers?”

Lots of smiles, but only silence to accompany them. Good choice.

* * *

Tommy and I walked into The Warehouse Bar for the first time since before I introduced Rattler to the canvas on Valentine’s Day. Being an Oakland police officer hangout separates our ‘Warehouse’ from anywhere else. It’s the safest place in Oakland to have a drink or good food. I love the place. Plus, many of my Oakland PD friends hang out here, along with the best barkeep ever: Marla.

“Champ!” Marla rushed around the bar to hug me. “Where the hell have you been? Ditched your friends after the big win, huh?”

“Never. I’m coaching Al’s girls’ softball team, and time away has been short.”

“Alexi called to let me know you have another fight meeting. I would have figured with the exchanges I saw, you’d be fighting again next year. You don’t look so bad. I made a bundle on that fight, John. Best of all… you were never really in danger. I’ve seen some hard ass features on peoples’ features before, but the look you were wearing that night had me feeling sorry for Rattler. So, a girls’ softball coach, huh? Al’s lovin’ it with your crew pitching in, I’ll bet.”

“We won our first game today. Al pitched, and played great. My crew is really into it. Lynn’s my assistant coach, if you can believe it.”

“Cruella Deville coaching.” Marla paused, shaking her head. “That girl-”

“Hey! Can I get some service around here?” A big blustery asshole at the bar wearing jeans and a gray muscle shirt called out loud enough for people down the block to hear. “Quit stroking Coach Pervert, and bring me another round, Marla!”

Before Tommy could reach out to corral me, I had Mr. Muscle up on his toes at the bar, my hand clamped around his chin in a tightening press leading to destruction. “What did you say about me, Pussy? I hope I heard you wrong, pal.”

My close buddies from Oakland PD, Enrique Rodriguez and Earl Taylor rushed out of the gaming room. Earl wound around to grab my wrist. He’d been a Marine the same time I was. Now he’s an Oakland police officer, but he and I were still Marines. “Don’t kill him, John.”

“He’s a newbie, Hard Case,” Marla added. “I’ll kick his butt to the street.”

I stared into the newbie’s eyes, while blocking any action from his legs. His hands were busily trying to separate me from his neck. It wasn’t working well for him. “You’d best make an apology right now before I force my Oakland PD friends to arrest me for your killing. No one jokes or calls me a child predator unless they’re too stupid to live. Repeat what you said ass-wipe, and I crush your throat!”

“I…I’m done! I’m sorry,” the turd said.

Seeing in my face we were not done, Marla jumped me, clinging to me in an effort to thwart my base tendencies. I didn’t like this guy’s tone. He thought there would never come a time in his wasted life where someone with violent tendencies would erase him. Lesson coming up. I’d had enough of these tulips, bullying and conning ‘the young and the restless’. Then something appeared in behind those beady eyes – something strange. I let him go, patting Marla’s hands wrapped around me.