Hard Case IV: A Violent Life (John Harding Series Book 4) Page 8

  The gang of hoodies, stunned at what had happened froze. Dev was the first to break the time warp moment. He didn’t do anything fancy. Dev grabbed Rose’s attacker and body slammed him to the mall floor. He punched straight down into his face, breaking everything in that poor old hoodie’s mug. I smiled when I saw him only barely restrain himself from a second lethal blow. We would have covered him. This shit is an inexact science. Jess picked his guy up like a rag doll, shook him, and pointed a finger at him. The guy dropped to his knees, hands clasped behind his head. Samira did not hesitate. In true Cruella Deville form, she zapped her guy right to the floor without mercy. Jafar plastic tied him. Denny, Lucas, and Casey took their guys down with expertise so smooth as to go unnoticeable. Their guys were on their knees restrained so fast, it was like watching a calf roping competition.

  Then I spotted them. Gray hoodies moving around the perimeter of the action, trying to figure out what they could do. After watching my crew take down the ‘knockout’ bunch, they were not too thrilled about interceding. One got a different thought, as I worked my way right behind them. He pulled a piece, holding it sideways in gangster stupid form. I hit him so hard in the small of his neck, it probably killed at least one member of his family. I scooped up the Glock from the floor and began yelling and pistol whipping his five companions onto their knees. Clint arrived at my side in a split second as a big dude pushed off of me ready to bang.

  “I have these guys covered, Hamburger,” Clint said. “Go ahead and school the idiot.”

  Big boy was a bit heavier, and about an inch taller than me. I could tell at a glance, he was the crew’s enforcer. Who cares? We were aces on this ‘knockout’ sting. We had them all, and Danessa ready to testify against them. I liked this guy. He smiled at me. He knew he wasn’t going to be running off or trying any gunplay. He didn’t give a shit.

  “C’mon, big man! I show you a little-”

  I hit him with a left hook that lifted my big rebel thug off the floor and in an unconscious pile at my feet. I figured the ‘knockout’ gangbangers might be interested in one not done on an innocent unprepared victim. Clint busted out laughing.

  “Oh yeah! Thanksgiving turkey with all the fixings. This was sweet, John.”

  I looked around at the crowd of mall shoppers stopping, taking pictures, and actually applauding, and I figured maybe he was right. “It was the right thing to do, brother. I see Earl, ‘Rique, and a squad of San Leandro police heading our way. We’ll soon see how the wheels of justice turn here.”

  Danessa walked over by Lynn, staying behind her while pulling her hood back. She was almost walking normally after her interrogation. The rest of her thugs were staring at her in disbelief. Danessa didn’t look away as the police began taking our detainees into custody. Earl and ‘Rique walked over to my bunch Clint and I were watching.

  “What happened here?”

  I held up the Glock I’d confiscated in my gloved hand. “The one face down was about to make this a gunfight. The big guy on his back decided to resist. It didn’t work out for him. I’m betting these guys are all packing something. I think we hit the jackpot, Earl. You’re still going to do a media share with Dev and Jess, aren’t you?”

  “Damn right. I want people to not only see who is doing this shit, but who stepped up to stop it and why. We need this, John. Your informant is rock solid. I don’t know how you turned her, but she’s a gem.”

  “I didn’t turn her. She’s staying with Clint and Lynn for now until these guys go into jail today. Lynn helped her see the light.”

  Knowing quite a bit about Lynn, Earl’s lips tightened. “Damn… that couldn’t have gone well for her. No wonder she doesn’t hide from the hoodies’ sight. She’s already met Ms. Worse Than Death.”

  “Yeah, she has. I doubt anything they say or do would scare her out of testifying. Dev adjusted the one who put his friend in a coma. Lynn accounted for her attacker, and then we have these two sleepers. Those were the only casualties, other than I did a little freelance pistol whippin’ amongst these clowns so they’d do what they were told. I saved them for your guys to disarm. They’re okay except for a few cuts.”

  “Hey, are you ever going to fight that Rattler guy again, John?” ‘Rique was smiling, while cocking his head to the side, inspecting my face. He held out an evidence bag for the Glock.

  I turned over the Glock, before kneeling down next to the big guy who was starting to stir. “There are fights that should never be repeated. My last cage brawl with Rattler is one of them.”

  Clint gave me a hand. We managed to get big boy up groggily to his feet, where he noticed his hands were handcuffed behind his back. Two San Leandro policemen frisked and took him. He glowered at me the whole time. They turned up an HK 9mm, a bag of pills, and some money.

  “He doesn’t like you anymore,” Clint observed. “Too bad we’re in the mall. You could give him a rematch.”

  “I see you later,” big boy told me with a very menacing tone that smoothed the smile away from Clint’s face.

  “You’d best shut your pie hole, idiot.” Clint met big boy’s menacing stare with one of his own. No contest. Big boy looked away. “We have a rogue’s gallery of wise guys like you who all thought they were bad asses. You won’t ever meet any of them, but I bet you’re too dumb to figure out why.”

  Earl and ‘Rique helped my other casualty onto his feet and restrained him. We attracted quite a crowd of onlookers, which my guys were watching carefully now that the police had charge of our bad guys. I signaled for Dev and Jess to come over with us.

  “Thank Lynn for me,” Earl said. “This will be a real public statement. You guys okay to travel with us and get some screen time?”

  “That’s what we’re here for, Earl,” Dev replied. “Jess and I are just as anxious as you to keep this ‘knockout’ game from becoming the first thing people think when they see a black face. John already gave us the go ahead to mention our sting with the PD’s backing.”

  “Good. ‘Rique knows some of the media types pretty well. They’re going to do an interview about the bust at the station, and they want statements from a few of us. That will be you, me, and Jess for sure. I want you to tell them about your friend Rose too, so it’s all in context.”

  “Absolutely,” Dev agreed. He smiled. “Jafar texted me, just before the sting went down that Rose came out of her coma. Jess and I will go see her right after the press conference.”

  “That’s great news,” ‘Rique said. “Let’s get this show on the road so you guys can see her. It won’t be much comfort that we got the one who did it, but I hope you took a picture of what he looks like now for her.”

  Dev and Jess grinned at each other. “Oh yeah we did,” Jess said. “We’re not going to mess her head up with it, but if she’s feeling strong, we might let her know how the striker made out in a match with Dev. I’ll make it funny.”

  “These guys are dumber than rocks with no compassion, and no mercy,” Dev stated seriously. “We’re going to make sure they know we’ll deal with them in the same way. It’s the only method to get out in front of this. They’re not afraid of jail, but we’ll make them afraid of us.”

  Earl smiled. “And we’ll give you guys the space to do it, even if we get busted down to parking. This is the way it’s supposed to be. C’mon.”

  Clint and I watched them go, herding the hoodie crew through the crowd. ‘Rique stopped near Lynn and Danessa. Lynn patted Danessa’s shoulder and nodded. Danessa went along with ‘Rique. The West Coast Avengers assembled then around Lynn. She was all smiles. I could tell right away what a charge she got out of pulling this off without a hitch. Lynn held out her hands in welcoming form.

  “Well, boys, that’s how it’s done.”

  “No one could have pulled that off any better, Lynn,” Denny said. “I’m thinking of making you Denny light in place of Hamburger Face.”

  Oh yeah, there was a lot of rude enjoyment from that statement. “I think we should go over to
the Warehouse. I’ve had my appearance disrespected so many times today, I may have to drown my sorrow.”

  “Sounds good, John,” Denny said. “I’ll call Maria and have her meet us there, so Lynn won’t be trapped having a wine with the boy’s club.”

  “I already texted her, Dexter,” Lynn said. “Maria’s coming, but Lora texted she’d have to pass, and see you later, Hamburger. She has to do some final adjustments to the house before Tess and Mom arrive for a Thanksgiving visit.”

  The utter shock that immediately flowed over my face provoked hilarity unmatched in Hamburger history. I had forgotten completely about Tess and Mom coming for a visit. That was disturbing in itself. Man… I was in denial big time. It’s not like I cared what the hell either Tess or her Mom thought of me, and I liked Tess’s husband. He was a good guy. I had to think of Al. She was my anchor with the family. I’m human. I dismissed the visit in my head, because I obviously have a chicken problem I would have to face in regard to my in-laws. Big bad, recon Marine, assassin, enforcer, and cage fighter was afraid of his interaction with Mommy and Tess. Good lord… I needed a drink.

  Lynn watched me the whole time. I think the bitch reads my mind… not a good thing. She grinned over at me with a very non-Mommy type smile.

  “Uh oh… look who has problems with holiday visits. The real funny part of this is Lora knew you had erased the visit from your memory banks, Hamburger. That’s why Samira has videoed our interaction here. Surprise.”

  I glanced over at Samira, and sure enough, the little Lynn wannabe had recorded my reaction I’m sure for Lora’s viewing later. “Now… I really need a drink. I may drive over to the Warehouse, but I have a feeling I’ll need a cab back home.”

  Lynn walked over to take the video recorder from Samira. “I’ll take it from here, little Sis. I know you don’t want to go over to the Warehouse. I will be on top of this for your viewing pleasure later.”

  “That is most entertaining,” Samira replied. “Did you see me zap the bad guy, Lynn?”

  Lynn chuckled. “Yeah, kid, you were perfect. Good delivery of the juice.”

  Jafar put his arm around his wife with a big grin. “I have the operation on HD. The police will have all the footage within an hour. Samira and I will celebrate at home a bit. It was a very good night, my friends.”

  “See you tomorrow, brother,” I told Jafar. “We’ll go over all of it together in the morning.”

  “Okay, John. See you then.” Jafar took Samira’s hand and they walked away, leaving the rest of us degenerates to our sinful ways.

  “I think Hamburger Face should be the designated driver tonight,” Lucas said.

  “I’ll second that,” Casey raised his hand.

  “Third,” Denny added.

  “Okay… okay… I’ll call the limo for us.” What was the use arguing with my disrespectful entourage? I should start doing my drinking alone like the old days. “I think since I’m providing the ride, my new nickname should disappear.”

  “In your dreams, Hamburger,” Lynn declared. “Let’s get going before we charbroil the burger to the point he screws us out of a good time.”

  “Don’t worry, I see the Bud and Beam brothers tearing him apart,” Denny said.

  Yeah… they were.”

  * * *

  It was my first excursion back into The Warehouse Bar, the Oakland PD’s official bar, and our unofficial one, since the fight. Marla, my all-time favorite bartending hostess took one look at me, and ran around the bar for a hug. That wasn’t good.

  “That fight was awesome, John. You look like shit.”

  I held Marla out away from me while my companions tittered disrespectfully at her one liner. “I thought I was all better until you shattered my looking glass.”

  Marla patted my cheek, a motherly display of affection for me on her face. “Yeah, I bet you thought you looked just like new. Sorry John, you didn’t quite make it back from the cage this time. Hell of an ending though.”

  There was a smattering of applause from the Warehouse patrons who were paying close attention to our interaction. Most were cops I had a nodding relationship with, good people with very little backing from either the city, or its citizens. They knew what side I was on. I put my arm around Marla’s shoulders, guiding her back around the bar.

  “I’m mighty thirsty for the Bud and Beam brothers, Marla. Set my companions up with anything they want too. I also want to buy a round for my beloved enforcers of the law here, working a thankless job in one of the roughest cities around.”

  There were hoots and hollers at my buy, of course. I loved this place, and very seldom did I not love all the patrons who came here. We congregated at the far end of the bar, our spot lately. Marla hurriedly filled everyone’s order with the help of the two other waitresses working that night. We clinked our glasses together in silence. We all knew there was no need to get overjoyed about busting a bunch of rat bastards terrorizing unarmed and unaware people in the wrong place at the wrong time. Then again… it sure felt good. The Bud and Beam brothers immediately lightened my mood, and I drank deeply.

  Marla refilled me on the spot. “I hope you didn’t lose anything on the match, Mar.”

  “Funny thing, John, your buddy Alexi warned us all to avoid betting on your fight a couple days before the match while you were in Las Vegas. He told us he’d watched the Rattler train, and it was not a good bet. I wasn’t going to listen, but I did. He had dinner here during the fight. I could tell he was rooting for you. The first round had us all in the middle of dead silence. When the brawl got going in the second round, Alexi was bouncing up and down like the rest of us. Good Lord, when you knocked that sucker into next week with the last blow of the fight, we all thought you won, but Alexi shook his head. He said, ‘too late’.”

  Fiialkov knew the cage fighting business inside and out, along with the fighters. Although an old school Russian mobster, Alexi had changed his empire to more legitimate enterprises. Only the back alley brawls at the Oakland warehouse remained of his illegal doings. Even the Oakland political hierarchy showed up for those. “I’m glad Alexi warned you away from betting. When he says something, it’s always best to listen closely.”

  “Something else he said on the phone only fifteen minutes ago.” Marla grinned. “He told me to tell you your money is no good here, and he would be over to join you shortly. Want to tell me how the old coot always knows where you are, Champ?”

  Damned if I know. That’s just disturbing, unless maybe the news hit already, and he picked it up off the wire. Denny was giving me the arched brow look over that too. “When I ever find out, you’ll be the first to know, Mar. Oh yeah… you don’t have to call me Champ anymore. Since Rattler rattled my cage, you can call me Hamburger Face like my crew now does.”

  Mar chuckled, and made a sweeping accusatory gesture at my crew. “That’s just mean… funny… but mean.”

  “We call him Hamburger for short, Mar,” Lynn said. “In Hamburger’s defense, old Rattler ain’t lookin’ too good either, or talkin’ either for that matter.”

  That addition was met with laughter, and instructions to also use the HF initials. Maria Brannigan walked in during our Hamburger send up. She saw us, waved, and headed our way. It was hard to believe the heiress to her brother, Terrance Brannigan’s empire, had been able to completely undo the terrorist threads Terrance had built up around the world. We helped of course, with her now fiancé Denny as her sidekick. Lynn, who at the time of Terrance’s takedown was on the verge of torturing her, and had given Maria an attitude adjustment never to be forgotten, was now her BFF. It’s a strange bunch of bedfellows here at West Coast Avenger central.

  Maria hugged the BFF Lynn first. “I’m so happy for you! The sting at the Palms, and now this ‘knockout’ caper. You are on a roll, girl!”

  Lynn actually blushed. Yep, the pregnancy hormones were kicking in big time. “Thanks for coming. Lora couldn’t make it, and I would have been the only one with a brain at the bar.”


  “Hey… I think I resent that,” Casey said, nudging Lucas. “Should I resent that, Lucas?”

  Lucas shrugged. “Damned if I know. What were we talkin’ about anyway?”

  “You guys…” Maria hugged both of them. “The wedding will be up at Lake Tahoe, right in the estate at Emerald Bay. There’s room there for everyone, and we can go gamble at night. It won’t be fancy, but it will be fun. I’m so excited. Denny and I are going to try to get pregnant right away.”

  “You can’t do that,” Casey said, getting off his stool, and looking with horror down at the end of the bar, where Denny already was hanging his head waiting for the zing. “The cosmos has to have at least a century adjusting to the offspring of Clint and Cruella. Denny Strobert producing an offspring could mean the end of all life as we know it. Dogs and cats… living together… possibly even the zombie apocalypse!”

  Maria slapped Casey’s shoulder. “Oh you… I’ve heard rumors you’re planning for a little addition this next year.”

  “Guilty,” Casey admitted, sitting down with his shoulders slumped. “The mission has been assigned by my very significant other. If it is not fulfilled, I could be looking at another kind of apocalypse. Lucas is the lucky one. He’s already gone through it all and survived.”

  “Oh yes! I will be taking movies and pictures of every frantic scene in the coming years. Just seeing Al working over Hamburger has me anxiously awaiting more offspring. I only wish to pass on to my heavenly reward before Lynn’s kid hits his teens.”

  “I’ll just send him over to your house when he starts acting up,” Lynn announced.

  “Like hell you will,” Lucas retorted. “Clint can handle him. In fact I think Clint should start a daycare center for all the new babies. He needs toughening.”

  I could tell Maria was enjoying every second of the unofficial roast. “I’ll be right back, Lynn. I need to say hello to my fiancé and his pal Hamburger.”

  “I’ll order you a White Zin while you’re consorting with the enemy,” Lynn said, getting one of the waitress’s attention.