Tank's Revenge Ch. 01

His thoughts were brought back to the present as a small hand touched his shoulder. He looked up and over toward the bed where the girl was lying but was no longer there. "I.... I'm sorry.... if I bothered you." Mark turned and looked into her wide beautiful green eyes. For the first time they were not bloodshot. The sound of her voice was soft and very timid, almost childlike as he heard her speak for the first time.

Mark was lost for words for just a second as he noticed she had not moved her hand from his shoulder. "I was beginning to wonder if you talked." She half smirked before taking her hand off his shoulder then putting her hands in the pockets of her jeans. "What's your name little lady? Can you tell me how old you are, where you're from?"

She looked down to the floor then back up to Marks cold eyes. "My name is Kelsey." Mark held his hand out and said it was nice to meet her. She refused his hand her smile disappeared. "I'm from Chicago......well before they did what they did." She fought to keep the tears from falling down her cheeks.

"What do you mean Kelsey? You can trust me; I'd never hurt you." Mark replied trying to get her to tell him what happened to her.

She lifted her head meeting his eyes once again, this time they were filled with sincerity. "When they took me and my sister...." She started to cry but quickly composed herself as she sat next to Mark to steady herself. "My parents were dead when they pulled us out of the car."

Mark had so many questions, but he didn't want to push her too much. "Where's your sister Kelsey?"

She put her head in her hands, crying harder, "I.... don't know...... I'm sorry."

Mark wanted to comfort her, so he very gently put his hands on her shoulders and rubbed up and down her arms. She leaned into him putting her head on his chest letting the tears fall onto his shirt, causing a wet spot. His right hand went to the back of her head and stroked her hair. He didn't say anything, just letting her release the emotions and trying to make her feel safe.

After a few minutes, she broke away from Mark, grabbing a napkin from the table dabbing the tears from her face. "I'm twenty by the way. My sister, Lilly is sixteen. We were just going home from a movie, why did they want us?" She looked at Mark like he might have the right answers.

"I really don't know how these bastards think, all I know is they're sick." Mark put his hand on her cheek, as she covered his with her own. "I will look for Lilly, and we will try to find her, OK?" She nodded her head.

"Thank you for trusting me Kelsey to tell me this. My friends will help find her as well. I need to find somewhere safe for you. I know Patton's wife would take......."

"WHAT!!! You are not abandoning me. You need me because you have no idea what my sister looks like. Besides, I heard things, and I could tell you what I heard, but I refuse to leave your side." Her whole attitude changing from a shy abused girl to a strong, confident woman in a matter of seconds.

Mark laughs, "Kelsey, you can't go where I'm going. I will be doing things that a young girl like you should ever see or do."

"Mark, I've already seen and done things someone my age should never have, you don't get to choose right now." Leaning forward putting one arm on his shoulder, "I don't trust anyone but you, so deal with it." Raising herself from her chair, she looked down into his eyes, her hand caressed his face. "I'm taking a shower, so if you will excuse me." Mark watched her walk away and could have sworn she put a little extra sway in her walk.

**********

Meanwhile in Dallas/Fort Worth, Detective Robbins was working late into the evening combing through files that Agent Dawson gave him. Sitting in the corner booth of his favorite diner where the server on duty kept other patrons away so he could do work. The files were done very well, but Robbins could tell there were a few inconsistencies. The report that Dawson typed had vast differences than Reynolds report. The main differences were the neighbor's statements for both the family murders and the apparent suicide of Agent Lawson.

Reynolds statement said they had noticed a black SUV parked in front of the Lawson home several days with a woman behind the wheel. Dawson's statement said they only had seen the gang members running from the home to the park across the street. As he looked over the statements, and wondered why they were so different, he looked at the crime scene photos of the Lawson family murders. The crime scene didn't look like a typical robbery turned homicide. He had been to such scenes and the home invaders wouldn't take time to tie up people and beat them to death like they did Ms. Lawson.

He also noticed the way the two children were murdered, with one bullet in the head. They would have needed silencers, and most gangs don't have the need for them. He closed those files and opened Agent Lawson's file and noticed many of his documents were redacted. What he could tell was that he had been loaned out to several organizations such as the DEA, ATF, and the Dallas Swat. Knowing from his own experience with these organizations, his thoughts were that Lawson had either put a cartel member away or he was close. Maybe the killing of his family was a warning to back off, as the brutality of the murders were more of a calling card of the cartels.

He closed the file and looked at his watch, realizing it was almost midnight. He hadn't been home for over thirty-two hours and was tired. He gathered the items up off the table and stuffed it in his satchel, then finished the coffee he had been playing with for over an hour. As he stood up, shots rang out in the restaurant, with Robbins going to the floor immediately. Glass shattered around him, with wood and plates exploding with contact from the hot lead. A few blood curling screams were heard by Robbins as the melee continued.

Finally, the shooting stopped, and silence took over around the diner. The server lying in a pool of her own blood against the counter. The cook down in the kitchen area, unconscious from his wound. All the diners that had been in the diner were either injured or dead. Robbins fought to open his eyes, as he drew his weapon. Looking up toward the door still lying on his side, he noticed a dark figure walking through what would have been the front door. With each footstep the crunch of glass could be heard, and they were getting louder, so he could tell they were coming right for him.

As the figure was about two feet away from him, they raised their gun to fire again, but Robbins raised his faster and shot them four times, dropping them. His breathing was slightly labored, as he struggled to reach the phone in his front pocket. As he dialed central dispatch, he noticed the older blond-haired woman whom he had just killed, dressed all in black holding a police-issued machine gun. As he started to black out, he knew who had shot him; it was Agent Dawson.

**********

After a long night of sleep, Mark awoke to the smell of fresh coffee. He raised himself from the bed and noticed Kelsey watching something on the TV in the kitchen area as she cooked what looked to be eggs. He also noticed the fresh pot of brew sitting there waiting on him to devour. As he walked into the small area, he took in the sight before him. She was enjoying herself making breakfast as she hummed, her clothes she wore today were different. He had to shake his head to get out of the trance he caught himself in.

Suddenly over the TV the program was interrupted by the news anchor. 'Breaking news out of Dallas, an FBI agent has been killed and a Dallas detective is critically injured in an apparent gang fight. We will have more after these words from your local weather.' Mark sat at the table in the kitchen and wondered who the agent had been killed. He wanted nothing more than to call Dawson and Reynolds, but knew if he did, they would know he was indeed alive.

When the broadcast came back on, the picture of Stella Dawson was plastered on it. The broadcaster announced she was dead, and then they showed a picture of a Detective Robbins. Mark was silent, cupping his chin in his hand, listening intently to the Tv. Kelsey came over with a plate of scrambled eggs and noticed the grim look on his face.

He was trying to make sense of everything when he felt those hands from the night before on his shoulders. He felt a shiver up his spine as the feeling was something he didn't want to feel anymore. He felt he deserved nothing more than misery in life. This young lady was trying to corrupt him and get him off his game. It had to be the case, because why else is she sticking around. His thoughts went even darker, thinking maybe she is part of the cartel, put into his life to infiltrate his operation.

Once again, the hands massaged his shoulders as she asked him, "Was she someone you knew?"

"Yeah, a good friend." He didn't want to reveal is identity, especially if she was part of the cartel.

"I'm so sorry Mark, if there is anything, I can do let me know." With that she stopped massaging him, leaned down and kissed the back of his head. Returning to the stove area, she poured a cup of coffee and put it in front of him. She then poured herself one, sitting across from him, taking a sip of the hot brew, looking into his eyes, straight to his soul.

***********

October 31st, 2018

'I have such a headache.' Detective Robbins slowly opened his eyes, the lights above him blinding him. He heard someone beside him 'Call the doctor, he just opened his eyes.' Robbins tried to open his eyes again, this time a woman was standing over him. He recognized her and smiled a half smirk at her. His throat felt like the Sahara Desert, and talking seemed out of the question.

A doctor and two nurses bounded into the room and gently pushed the woman away from Robbins. They started to examine him and ask him questions. He could only nod or shake his head. This seemed to go on for about twenty minutes, and finally the doctor spoke to the woman. "It looks like he is finally out of the woods. His BP and heart rate are back to normal and he is coherent. I am astounded at the recovery he has made with his injuries and blood loss."

She spoke, "You're telling me that Bobby will be 100% Doc?"

He looked at her and put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her. "Miss Sanders, it is hard for me to say, we will do some tests and see what the prognosis is first. We will get on that right away."

The doctor and one of the nurses left them alone, while the other nurse gave him some ice chips. His throat was thankful for the liquid as he felt the coldness go all the way to his stomach. Elizabeth Sanders, Detective Robbins girlfriend never left his side while he was in the coma, but he didn't know that. Elizabeth took over the duty of feeding him ice chips, and it helped his throat.

He was feeling up to trying to talk, so he tried for the first time. "Lizzy, I'm so glad to see you." It came out more than a whisper, but not loud enough for anyone but her to hear.

She rubbed his forehead and ran her fingers through his black hair. "I am so glad you came back to me Bobby. Nothing will separate us, please promise me."

He chuckled and looked at her disheveled state. "You want to give me a sponge bath and I'll give you one?"

She smiled and laughed. "I know you will be just fine Bobby. I love you, don't ever do this to me again."

He looked at her seriously now, "Promise me that nobody comes to talk to me except the Captain or Sgt. Silva. I can't trust anyone right now." He could tell her demeanor took a dark turn. "Don't worry sweetheart, I just don't know what happened that night. Until I do, I only want to see them." She nodded, held his hand as she leaned down and kissed him. His thoughts were like an old movie, seemingly vague in black and white. Some details were blurry, but he couldn't get the face of Agent Dawson out of his mind. What was she trying to do that night? He had so many questions he felt he would never get answers to.

**********

November 2nd, 2018

Hitting the target center mass became easier for the young girl. She had been practicing in the desert with Mark for almost a month now. He taught her how to breathe, and to gently squeeze the trigger instead of jerking it. Just this past week, she was able to hit center mass on a consistent basis. Working through the training course as smoothly as she had learned, Mark became impressed on how she was handling herself.

She emptied her clip, and put the gun on safety, walking back toward him. As she reloaded the clip, his cell started ringing. Looking at it, he noticed it was Mario calling him. Picking it up, "Hello."

"Amigos hope I caught you at a good time. I have some information for you." Mario's voice seemed on the happy side today, so Mark was hoping for good news.

Mark responded with as much emotion as he could muster at the time. "Mario, spit it out, Amigo!"

Mario was able to chuckle but knew that Mark was being serious. "I'll get to it then; Chavez will be in Texas next week. He is supposed to go to Fort Worth to visit the leaders of Latin Kings, Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), Mexican Mafia, Sureños, and the Texas Syndicate. These are the five top gangs in Texas, and they have connections throughout the United States. The intel I received says this is a meeting to find more agents to corrupt and find more ways to cross the border since the hurt you put on them a month back."

Mark was silent for a minute, taking in all this intel, also calculating what it might mean to take down Chavez and these leaders at the same time. "Do we know when, where, and how many guns to expect?"

"It's suicide to do this when they are meeting Amigo. There will be over fifty, maybe more armed guards just on the outside of the meeting place." Mario was reasoning with him as much as he could.

"Let me worry about the details Mario, just give me what you know, and I will take it from there. What do you say?" Mark asked while watching Kelsey slap the clips in the twin Glock .40 calibers, he just bought her.

There was silence for a few seconds, "The meeting is set for next Friday at ten in the morning at the Stockyards in Fort Worth. If you want Chavez, maybe hit him where he is staying, he will be at the Hilton Thursday evening. I can tell you though he has much firepower with him in tow."

Mark looked over at Kelsey as she fired off both of her Glocks hitting in a tight group on one target. "Thanks for the info, it's nothing we can't handle." With that he hung up and as he walked over to Kelsey, he put his ear plugs back in. She had completed her shooting and was re-loading some more ammo in her clips. Mark looked at her and asked her if she was ready for live targets, which she just smiled, both lifting their weapons firing at the same time.

***********

November 5th, 2018

Agent Reynolds sat at his desk looking through the files of his now dead colleague Agent Dawson. He noticed discrepancies throughout most reports relating to drug cases, and some kidnapping cases involving young girls. He was curious, so he looked up cases he worked on with her and noticed that most were the same except any involving gang or cartel activity. He rubbed his chin, looking at the screen trying to make sense without drawing to the wrong conclusion.

He took the information he encountered and saved it into a file. He emailed it to his superior ASA in charge Agent Downey. He walked the short distance to her office and knocked, and as she confirmed him to enter, he heard the familiar ding that she had an email waiting,

"Agent Reynolds, how may I help you." She asked the tall agent whom she thought was very attractive.

"Ma'am, I sent you a file I'd like to go over with you. It involved Agent Dawson." His tone and mannerisms told her he was being extremely serious and had no flirting under tones like he sometimes did.

She looked over at her computer, "Please sit Morris, and remember I told you to call me Maria." She looked over at him still standing. "Please close the door and sit." As he came over and settled into the chair across the desk, she opened the file. "So, what am I looking at Agent?"

"Ma'am....... uh, Maria, these are files that I noticed discrepancies reported by Agent Dawson. All these cases have connections to cartel and gang activity. I don't want to draw to the wrong conclusions without someone else looking into it." He watched as she scanned the files.

Her expression changed from when he first walked in the door. He noticed her brows furrowed together. She took her time reading the file, her fingers tapping on the desk. This lasted a few minutes until she looked out the corner of her eye to Reynolds. "Have you shared this with anyone else Morris?"

He answered quickly, "No Maria, I haven't. I brought it to you first."

She turned toward him and leaned into the desk. "I don't want to talk ill of someone who is dead, but it seems that we had a corrupted agent. I do have to ask; did you know before today?"

Reynolds looked at her with curious eyes. "No Maria, that's why I brought it to you. She was the lead agent, and I only questioned her a few times, but she always had an answer for me. How would I know that she was writing conflicting reports, and tearing mine up?"

Maria looked out her window to the rows of cubicles of agents working. Her mind whirling with her thoughts, also doubts about those thoughts. She looked back over her desk at the tall dark handsome agent across from her. In a tone lower than the rest of their conversation, she told him, "Agent Morris Reynolds, do not discuss this with anyone else in the bureau. We will check into this as quietly as we can. I'm not sure who might be in on this as well."

Reynolds leaned forward, "I know one person who could help us, and I know definitely isn't on it."

"Who is that?" Maria asked.

"Detective Robbins of the Dallas Police Department. He was the one involved in the shooting that killed Dawson. He is out of the hospital now but is refusing to see anyone but his commanding officer. Seems to me he knows something we should know." He looked at her for direction.

"Make it happen, but again be quiet snooping on this case."

******************

November 8th, 2018

Patton watched the men escort Chavez into the SUV from the hotel he had been staying at in El Paso. Still being early morning, he knew it would be a few hours before they made Abilene where Mark, Justin, and Kelsey were waiting. He put the car in drive and followed the black SUV as he called Mark.

"Patton?" Mark answered.

"Package is on the move Tank. I'm three car links back, they are in a Black Expedition, package is in back with four armed guards." Patton reported as he watched the vehicle and his surroundings.

"Any other vehicles following or seem to be traveling with package?" Kasey looked at the man who had saved her with admiration as his jaw tightened, his eyes looking like cold steel daggers.

Patton looked around his mirrors and around all the vehicles that were traveling along the roadway for anyone else who might have joined. "I see none."

Mark smirked, "Ok, keep me updated. We are heading toward Midland so let us know when you get there, we will hit them about fifteen miles past there."

Patton replied, "Will do," hanging up with Mark, and then he called Sandra. He just wanted to make sure she was doing well with being a couple of months pregnant. She told him the last time he had come home, and he was so thrilled.

Patton's thoughts went to how Maria and Mark's dreams had been halted so abruptly with a decision by one man. He couldn't fathom what he would do if he lost his wife. The more he became involved in this crusade of Mark's, he felt his entire family's lives were in danger. He wondered how long he would be able to keep going along with this personal vengeance of Mark's before something happened to him. He knew deep inside this had to be the last time he could help him.