Tank's Revenge Ch. 02

*Attention- This is a work of fiction, and all characters are fictional. Some facts may not be reasonable, but for the story, they had to be put in, so bear with me. Also, use your imagination a little please. Thanks for all the positive feedback including the positive constructive criticism. I am enjoying this series and have ideas with this character and where I can take him.-*

November 22nd, 2018

Panama City Fl.

Mark and Kelsey were across the street from a four-bedroom ranch watching people of all ages coming and going freely. Mark recognized a few of them, but some he only knew by pictures he had found on social media. He noticed his oldest nephew, now twenty-two years old was walking in with two women. One seemed to be his girlfriend, and the other was younger, and he recognized her as Allyssa, his niece he had never met. He felt emotional yet wouldn't let Kelsey see that side of him. She wasn't Maria and she would never understand his complexity or what made him tick. The past few months they had become close, but Mark was not looking for a relationship let alone a woman's touch; nobody could replace her.

Kelsey sat in the passenger seat; slightly curious what Mark was thinking about. She could see his jaw tightening sometimes when he noticed someone maybe he knew. He remained silent throughout the twenty or more minutes they parked. He had brought Kelsey to Florida to get the FBI, DEA, and the Chavez Tejada cartel off their trail. In one month's time, he had caused more chaos for the cartel then any agency had before. He wiped out the Dallas/Fort Worth chapter of Sureno 13, and as he drove across Louisiana he found out from his friend Scotty that on the dark web, Chavez had put a five million bounty on him and Kelsey. The catch was he wanted them alive.

Without saying a word, Mark started the specialized SUV Scotty made for him, and put it in drive, the destination was unknown to Kelsey. She softly put her pinky on the back of his hand that was cradling the center console. He never flinched and a smile formed in the corner of her mouth so he couldn't see. She felt she was winning small little battles with him lately. For the past few weeks, it was only the two of them, and they have learned how each other moved, or how they would counter in a fight. They complimented each other against the enemy; Mark had taught her well. For her something was missing, and she was thriving for it, but would be patient. He was worth being patient for if he would only trust her and love her like she did him.

They had driven for about fifteen minutes when they pulled into a resort called The Osprey on the Gulf. He pulled into a parking spot and finally spoke, "Get you gear Kelsey, we will be staying here for a couple of weeks."

As she gathered her things, she noticed the sound of the crashing waves against the shoreline, and there weren't many people there at least from the number of cars she noticed. As they entered the resort, she was amazed at how posh it was inside. The outside was very nice, but inside took her breath away.

"Welcome to the Osprey on the Gulf, do you have a reservation?" The young woman behind the counter smiled at the man standing before her, ignoring Kelsey.

"Yes, it should be under Cassidy." Mark spoke as he took out his ID for her.

The sound of disappointment was in her voice as she replied. "Oh yes, uhm... Mr. & Mrs. Cassidy, you have suite 514, ocean view. It is by far one of our best rooms as you requested sir." Kelsey came up and wrapped her arm around Marks and smiled at the young woman. She made the key cards for them and handed them to Mark, and a gentleman came over and grabbed their bags to escort them to their room.

When the door opened, again Kelsey was impressed with the layout of the room. It had a kitchenette, a private balcony and jacuzzi, and as she went into the bedroom, her heart fluttered. There was only one bedroom, and it had a king-sized bed. She smiled, and felt a tear form, but shook it off not knowing what would happen if anything. She was full of hope, and she would take whatever she could to be close to him, even if it meant not to be intimately close.

When she came back into the main lounge room, she hid her smile from Mark. He was standing at the large window facing the ocean, watching the waves crash upon the shoreline. "This is something I always wanted to do with Maria. She would have loved the beach here. We took the kids to the beach in Texas, but this is different, don't you think?"

Stunned Kelsey had to think about a reply, "I think she would have loved it; I know I do."

He turned to her and looked into her eyes showing no emotion, "I have the couch, you have the bed. There is much to do around here for fun. If you need money just ask, and if I am not here, I'll leave the credit card for you."

Kelsey nodded her head at him in defeat. She wanted to run to him and tell him she didn't want to sleep in such a big bed alone, deep inside though she knew he wouldn't budge on the subject. Now though she knew her name, Maria; his wife, and he had children. Her mind swirled a million miles an hour it seemed, wanting to know what happened to them. She wanted to run to him and comfort him. She wanted to ask him who lived in the house they were parked at. So many questions, but would they be answered.

***********

November 26th, 2020

Dallas, TX

Bobby Robbins was having lunch with Morris Reynolds. Both had been taken off the case due to the chaos that happened in El Paso. They knew that there was much more behind it and were told as such by ASA in charge Downey. Her job had been in jeopardy as well, but she knew how to play the game well enough, she kept the mortars of the political downfall from hitting her.

Both men were still working the case on their own time, with a little help from her. Robbins' girlfriend had left him due to the obsession for the case, so he had nothing but time on his hands besides his regular duties. All his friends called him crazy and started to shun him, not answering his texts or calls. His only friend he had was sitting across from him.

Reynolds had become a recluse at work. Being wary of who was on the cartels bankroll, he didn't trust anyone except Downey. Reynolds drank the last of his drink and became serious. Find anything interesting over the holidays?"

Robbins grinned, "You won't believe me, but I know who is doing all this vigilante shit. I have pictures of a man, and I ran it through facial recognition. It is Mark Lawson, alive and well."

Reynolds set his coffee cup down, folding his hands and placing his chin on top of them. Robbins continued, "I did another perimeter where the gangs had been hit in the Dallas area. I went house to house in the area, and even some of the smaller businesses asking to see the recordings for the days of the shootings." He opened a file and took out several black and white photos. "Recognize anyone?"

Reynolds started to slowly shuffle through the pictures and his eyes widened as he put one of his hands over his mouth. "It's Mark, what...we buried him. I thought you were crazy."

"Calm down big fella. I investigated his past, the redacted one. He was an expert shooter with any weapon they put in front of him, and for the team he was their overwatch, or sniper. Here is a picture of his old team. Each one of them has been saved multiple times by Mark, and they will never forget and always have each other back."

Reynolds rubbed his chin, "So what you want to do is question them? Wouldn't that tip them off that we know he is alive?"

Laughing, "That's the beauty of its Morris. Personally, I'd like to pin a medal on this guy's chest for the crap he has taken to the dump. After all he is leading us to one of the biggest busts in both of our lifetimes. We could go down in history as the ones who took down Chavez Tejada and his whole cartel.

Reynolds laughed now, "I hope you aren't serious. We can't help a vigilante, we took an oath, and I'm no hypocrite. Besides, Downey wouldn't go for it, she would turn us in. Well at least you." He laughed even louder.

"Who do you think came up with this plan, Morris? She wants to see this through just like we do. If we are right about this, then what are we going to lose?"

"You've lost everything, I still have a lot I could lose brother."

"Again!! Rubbing it in? Look, think it over and let me know soon. We must act on this. Either way, I'm doing it with or without you." He stood at the table and laid two twenties down on the table. "I've got some things to do, talk it over with her. Call me in the next couple of days."

Reynolds scooped up the pictures and file and walked out the door leaving Reynolds in deep thought. Could he forget his moral code, or was it really vigilante justice? Maybe this guy was doing what the law couldn't or wouldn't do. Picking up his phone he dialed and waited for it to answer. "Hey, can we meet soon, as in today?" Reynolds asked before hearing the answer and hanging up.

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

Meanwhile in Florida,

Kelsey had been able to buy a bikini, and plenty of sunscreen, yet was feeling the burn from the hot sun as she lay next to the ocean on the sandy beach. She had been to a few sights around the resort while he intensely studied on the laptop about Tejada's movements. He often would leave her and disappear for a couple of hours, she assumed it was to go to the house they had been to before. She wondered if Maria was an ex-wife and that was where she lived with his children.

Her thoughts went back to the first night at the resort. She went to him in the middle of the night just to check on him. He was having one of his nightmares, sweating through his clothes, moaning out words in agony, his hands balled into fists. She whispered in his ear that it was ok and ran her hand over his balled-up fists. She felt them relax some as his body jerked at her touch. The furrow of his brow relaxed as he listened to her voice. She knew she had to be there if he needed her, so she sat by the couch falling asleep holding his hand. Every night since, she would sneak into the room and hold his hand and fall asleep on the floor with her head on the edge of the couch, hoping to give him some comfort he didn't want.

Kelsey decided it was time to go inside and get the sand washed off her. She had no idea when he was going to be back from today's excursion, so she wanted to get cleaned up and maybe cook for him. As she walked through the back lobby of the hotel, she noticed a couple looking at her with a mix of sympathy, fear and disgust. She had never been one who was ashamed of her body. She was very average in all departments of the female anatomy. She knew her boobs weren't showing, nor were her nether regions.

She became shy once again and walked as fast as she could to the stairs and up to the fifth floor and to their suite door. Once inside she locked the door and ran into the bathroom and investigated the floor length mirror, maybe she was lobster red since she was so fair skinned. What was looking back at her was a beautiful girl with scars on her wrists and her upper arms. She had some scars on her legs as well, all from the torture and drugs that was administered from the sex traffickers. She was used to them, but others never would be. Was that the reason Mark wasn't interested in her? She fell to the floor crying as hard as she ever had.

She was distraught and blamed herself even though she never knew what was going to happen that night. She was the one who talked the family into going to the movies that night. She also knew the boy from college who liked her worked there that evening and was one of the main reasons she wanted to go. Her parents were very strict on Kelsey and her sister. They wanted them to get an education before getting involved with boys. It was her fault they were dead now, and her sister had been missing for so long, most likely dead also. She ran her fingers across her scars, with her thoughts about her own death coming hopefully soon.

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

"Senior' Tejada, we have not been able to find the gringo or the girl." The henchmen of Tejada's had been on Mark and Kelsey's tail for a few days through Texas and parts of Louisiana, until New Orleans. Mark was able to shake their tail through the streets of the French quarter. By that time there were four three-man teams tracking them.

Chavez Tejada was furious at the announcement of the men losing this man and woman who had taken him, tortured him, and wanted to kill him. He wanted them dead and hung from the highest tree so all the world would know not to fuck with Chavez Tejada. He pulled out his .45 and shot the two men standing in front of him. "No tolerará el fracaso en este!" He looked over at his lieutenant, "If you don't want to be like them," he nodded toward the dead men in front of him. "Find this gringo and bring him to me, me entiendes?"

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

November 28th, 2018

Mark had noticed a change in Kelsey over the last couple days and decided that he needed to stay nearby instead of going by his sister's house and watching his family's life. He hadn't been able to see his mom, and that worried him. He was able to investigate what looked to be his sister's husband, which had a clean background per Scotty. Why did Mark even care about his family who had abandoned him all those years ago? He knew it would most likely hurt him eventually, but with the death of Maria and the kids, he was lost. He needed something to come back to after all this was done. Otherwise he would lose what good was inside him.

Mark could see himself moving to Florida to be close to his sister, her kids, even his mom if they wanted him in their lives. Maybe he would go to the Midwest, he didn't know. He loved Texas, but as much as he did, after all the chaos he was about to bring, he would be a hunted man for eternity there.

Movement from the bedroom to the bathroom caught his attention, as he found Kelsey had been spending more time in the bedroom in seclusion. He decided to go over to the bathroom door, listening for a moment. He heard a sniffle, and the sink running, so he lightly knocked on the door. "Hey kid, everything all right? You're not getting sick on me, are you?"

Kelsey heard him and wanted to shout to get away from her. The guilt she was feeling so painful that she hadn't ate or taken care of herself for two days. She thought these feelings were blocked out of her mind. After the reaction from the couple, then looking at herself in the mirror had opened wounds she didn't know would ever heal. She looked at her swollen eyes and face in the mirror, quickly dropping her head back down to look away. She wanted to cry but no tears could form, it was almost like she had dried all her tear ducts.

Mark didn't push as he took her silence as a signal to leave her alone. He had been there himself, he just wished he knew what happened so he could understand. He decided to go pick up some takeout for both. "Hey, I'm going to get some Chinese for us, be back in about twenty minutes. I would like to spend some time with you. If you don't want to...I'll guess that will be fine."

Without saying anything she heard him walk away and heard the front door open and close. Looking into the mirror once again, she looked into her eyes, trying to find that confident woman that had been with Mark for the past few months, but only finding that scared little girl. She decided to get into the shower and dress. She was going to have a meal with him at least. Maybe spending some time with him will help her with her emotions.

**********

Meanwhile in Texas

Randall Patton sat across from two law officers, while his wife Sandra was in the kitchen making coffee for the men. Both men seemed legit to Patton, but he still eyed them with suspicion. Sandra came back into the room and offered the coffee to the men and sat next to her husband, but Patton leaned over and told her to go up to their room and lie down. She excused herself from the men and went to their room and closed the door. She was recording the conversation from the front room.

Robbins spoke first, "So you were Mark Lawson's team leader for how many years?"

"We served together from 1997 to 2004." Patton stated almost as if it was rehearsed.

'Look, we are not here to cause any troubles... We are both people who are on his side, who knows he is still alive, and would like to get into contact with him." Robbins was elbowed in the side by Reynolds as he spoke.

Patton leaned back into the sofa while chuckling under his breath. "Have either of you ever served in the military?" Both nodded their heads. "Then you both know that if he were alive, which we know he isn't, I would never turn my back on a brother. He was killed when his family was taken from him. He was just delayed getting to see them in the afterlife."

Both men looked at one another, before Reynolds spoke up. "Sir, I mean no disrespect to his memory or your team. We do know someone with the knowledge and motivation is behind a ton of gang and cartel killings. We were getting close to uncovering some dirty agents as well as some cops in the Texas area." He looked over at Robbins for any sign of him saying anything else, but then continued. "What we are looking for is information on your team. Who might be after the bastards who killed Mark and his family? We were almost fired for the same reason they went after his family; we were getting too close. My partner was dirty, and I didn't know it. We want to help, not hurt whoever is responsible."

Leaning forward, Patton took a drink from his coffee, then rubbed at the back of his head. "Well I have no idea who might be doing what you say they are, but when you find them, shake their hand for me. They killed my best friend, and that can never be replaced. Our relationship was bonded more than what you ever experienced; I guarantee you. He saved lives more than took them, and with a snap of someone's fingers with no regard to human life, they took what was most precious to him. The person or persons you are looking for are fucking heroes in my book."

"Sir, you are wrong about us not knowing what it is like to have that bond with someone which is unbreakable." He sat back in the chair, Patton noticing his body language showing he was being sincere and truthful. "I had a friend for several years that served with me in Afghanistan. We were like brothers, never too far from the other. We were on our way to a small village for relief, they said. It was in a supposed demilitarized zone and we were attacked. An RPG hit the tail rotor, causing the chopper to spin down into the sand below. There were twelve of us and four crew members, only three of us survived the crash. My friend, 'Cotton Top' was one of the casualties. So, yes I understand fully what you mean by standing with your brother and wanting revenge for them."

Patton looked over at Reynolds then at Robbins. "That's why you left, it made you lose your focus didn't it?"

"I guess you know we are much more similar than you thought sir."

Patton sighed, "I don't know anything, but I will fish around and call you if I do find out anything."

Reynolds stood, sticking out his hand with his card in it, "That's all we can ask of you sir."

Patton walked both men to the door, shook their hands and watched them get into their vehicle and drove off. He turned on his heels after locking the door and setting the alarm and went into the bedroom. "Did you get all that Sandra?"

She nodded and handed him the phone. "I guess you need to call him and warn him. Remember baby, you have a little one of your own on its way. I can't afford to lose you." Patton dialed the number and waited for the cold voice on the other end. He knew he would have to stay where he was and not get involved anymore.