Tomas sat back in the Limo and looked at his good friend. “Is Flynn ready to take full control?”
Claude met his friend’s eyes and shrugged. “Oui. He’s looking forward to it. I trust all is going well with you, my friend.”
“It’s going as planned,” replied Tomas with a confident voice. He knew better than to tell Claude about his side activity concerning Manning.
“You appeared to have everything set up. I’ve been sent to reinforce the programming of our young friend, Monsieur Zacchara. It is time for him to come clean about his part in the deaths of his grandfather and the two unfortunates that were in the wrong place the night you attempted to take out Anthony on the road. I’m trusting that his guilt over the death of the child will be the defining push.”
“I’m surprised. From what I saw, Zacchara is already filled with a great deal of guilt. Isn’t it a bit dangerous to get involved with him in the middle of our takedown of Sonny?”
“Monsieur Flynn felt a little reinforcement was needed. According to Monsieur, Mademoiselle Perkins was beginning to remember seeing Victor. He doesn’t want anything like that to occur with Monsieur Zacchara. There are a few things I must finish attending too. If you would be so kind as to drop me off at his apartment, I will wish you adieu. By tomorrow, all will be resolved.”
They soon pulled up to the brownstone where Johnny Zacchara lived. Tomas turned to Calmar before letting him out. “Claude, you’ve been ordered to reinforce Zacchara’s programming. What about Ms. Perkins’?”
“Ahh, such a tragedy. It seems Mademoiselle Perkins was leaving the country last night when her plane experienced trouble and crashed into the ocean. All on board perished.” The two men looked at each other for a moment, then Claude gave a slight bow and headed up the steps.
Tomas was thoughtful as he watched Claude enter Zacchara’s building. Flynn was taking no chances that anything would change his plan. With Alison Perkins’ death, he had already begun tying up loose ends. You were wise to keep your plans to yourself. Flynn’s a loose cannon, you don’t need to be on his bad side. “Driver, take me home.” It was time to finish things with Manning.
****
Todd looked around the room. Blair was having a conversation with Starr and Addie and was obviously upset. He knew why. Sam had stopped posting and Blair was fearing the worst. He didn’t blame her. When Sam had stopped writing, he had pictured Walker coming upon his son and the computer. His mind went back to the times he had done something that would infuriate Peter and he would then get punished for it. He didn’t want to think of Sam being punished that way. Lost in his thoughts, he was startled by a voice.
“We need to talk.”
John was standing right beside him and Todd suddenly felt a little claustrophobic. Todd backed away to put more space between them. “What about?”
“Let’s go into the other room. I don’t want to upset Blair or your kids.”
The only other rooms in the suite were bedrooms and Todd couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get a rise from the man. “John, I told you before I’m not that easy. I usually expect more before letting someone into my bedroom.” He smiled.
“I remember, and I repeat, you’re not my type. This is about Tomas Delgado.” John watched Todd’s smile fade. He had his attention. “Now will you go with me into the other room?”
Todd scowled but followed John into the bedroom where they could talk more privately. “Why the hell would you bring up Delgado right now?”
“Didn’t Starr and Jack tell you?”
“We’ve been a little distracted by other things if you hadn’t noticed. There hasn’t exactly been time for normal family chats. What do they know about Delgado?”
“He‘s in town and Dante informed me, he just received a shipment delivered by Calmar.”
“You mean the guns are here in Port Charles? What are you waiting for? Arrest the bastard and get him to tell us where Flynn has Sam.”
“We can’t, there is nothing to prove he’s doing anything wrong. According to Calmar, he’s here on assignment.”
“You really believe that after what Sam told us about the guns? Seriously, what the hell does Tomas need with assault rifles? You and I both know there’s more to it. The guy is dirty. He’s up to his neck in this thing with Flynn, and that guy sure as hell doesn’t work for the government.”
“I agree, but he’s already separated from the shipment. Right now, there’s nothing to tie him to it except the people who are taking it where he ordered. The Feds are getting ready to move in on the truck and its load. They’ll handle that, but we’re after Tomas, and not just for running the guns.”
“Who’s we?”
“Dante Falconeri and I. Dante is currently keeping a watch on Tomas as we wait for his next move. It’s a move I think will happen soon and it concerns you.”
“Why? I haven’t seen him since I left Llanview.”
“That’s right. He never meant for you to see him. He claims he’s in town on assignment. But according to Jack, he was seen watching you and Blair. He was pretty cozy with her until you were found not guilty. It wasn’t long after that, that you were shot. It’s not too much of a stretch to think he might want you out of the way.”
“You think he’s the one who took those shots at me down at the dock?” Todd stood there for a moment, not saying anything. He felt only white-hot anger roaring up through him.
John watched Todd carefully, he had heard stories of his temper but had never been privy to any of it. Todd moved so fast, that John was shocked and barely got out of the way as a glass missed him and exploded into a million pieces against the far bedroom wall.
“That son of a bitch! Yesterday...” Todd was putting it all together. He turned his anger on John. “You suspected him last night. My God, he could have killed Blair or the kids. I’ll kill him!” His head began to pound again, but Todd ignored it, all he could think of was leaving that room and getting his hands on Tomas. He started to leave, shaking off John’s hand as the man tried to stop him. He was so furious, that he almost bowled over Blair as she stepped into the doorway. He just managed to stop himself from colliding with her.
Blair had heard the crash of the glass and had immediately looked around for Todd. Then, she saw a look on his face she had only seen one other time, the night he had almost raped her. Something had set him off, she frowned “Todd, what is it? What happened?”
“Blair, get out of my way I need to go out for a while.”
She put her hand on his chest. “No way, Mister. You forget, I know you and you’re not going anywhere this angry. I don’t know what John told you to get you into this state, but you’ll have to walk over me to get out of this room.”
Todd took a deep breath, looking into Blair’s understanding eyes. He knew she would fight him all the way across the room if she had to. Suddenly the anger dropped away as if her touch took it from him. His hand went to her face. “You could have been the one he killed last night, and I’d be lost without you. Don’t you see, he deserves to die?”
“Who?” Blair could see the fear in Todd’s eyes and knew he had reacted because of the fear. “The shooter? But we don’t know who that is? How can you go after someone you don’t know?”
Todd’s eyes flashed angrily, as he frowned down into her face. “We know who it is. Tell her, John. Tell her who you suspect.” He turned his head and challenged John.
****
Tomas walked to the hidden panel and opened it. He took out his gun case and a box of shells and moved to a table to prepare his rifle. Donning a pair of gloves he proceeded to load it with the tainted ammunition. His thoughts swirled in his head. The conversation with McBain rising to the top. Damn it, Carly, why did you have to be so nosy? You weren’t supposed to be anywhere near that suite. “Her death is on your head, Todd. You just don’t know when to give it up and die. But that’s okay, it will all be over soon.” He set the safety and put the gun back in its case. “Come tomorrow, I’ll make an appearance, and Blair will run to me for comfort.” He smiled to himself as he thought of her slim body against his. There was no way she would turn him away once Todd was dead. A short time later, he walked out of the building and entered his Limo. He settled back into his seat and opened the second bag he was carrying. “Take me to the pier.”
Dante sat in his car and slowly pulled out to follow the Limo. His man had managed to tag the car with a tracking device. He was going to hang back, they didn’t want to alert Alcazar. It was important to catch him in the act. It soon became obvious that the car was headed to the docks. Dante continued to follow the Limo, but his mind wandered back to his conversation with the Feds about the truck’s final destination. The truck had been followed to his father’s coffee warehouse. According to Carlson, no one met it. Dante had given instructions to Carlson to stay put and wait for backup. Before heading out to follow Delgado, Dante had argued with Anna Devane about the warehouse.
“Agent Devane, Sonny has never dealt in guns. Why would he start now? McBain swears this guy Delgado is Lorenzo Alcazar. He’s the one who met the truck and Johnny Zacchara’s men are doing the delivery. It’s obvious that he and Zacchara intend to frame my father.”
“It might be obvious to you but I’m not so sure. We’re going to go see just what is taking place at that warehouse. We’ll see whether it’s just a delivery or whether it’s a setup. I assure you, we’ll do everything by the book. You do your part, Detective, if Mr. Delgado is Lorenzo Alcazar, prove it. Bring him in and we’ll find out who he really is.” Anna had left him with that statement and had gone to see to the raid on Sonny’s warehouse.
Dante reached for the radio and called his officer. “Carlson, give me an update. What’s going on at the warehouse?”
“Carlson here, the Feds are getting ready to go in. Zacchara’s men are up to no good. They broke into the warehouse and have started unloading the crates. But something is definitely going on, they seem to be spending an awful lot of time in there. It’s not just a drop. The Feds are moving in now. SHIT! We have automatic gunfire coming from the warehouse. Got to go!”
Dante’s hands clenched the wheel. Things had just escalated. He couldn’t help his man or the Feds. “Damn!” He was frustrated and more determined than ever to get Alcazar. The man had set this up, and now he was probably headed to finish off the other job he had started. There could only be one place Alcazar was headed, the boat rental. The man had shot at Manning the first time from the lake. If McBain was right, he would seek that avenue to take out Manning for the final time.
Dante parked and walked into the Coast Guard office. “I need your help in apprehending a possible assassin.” Within minutes, Dante and the Coast Guard Cruiser were headed out into the lake where they stopped and observed the activity at the rental docks. Now they waited for Alcazar’s next move.
Tomas exited the Limo and walked down the dock to rent another boat. Dressed now in jeans, a t-shirt, and a cap, to the average onlooker, he looked like a man headed out to fish for the day. He picked a different rental than the first time. As an assassin, he knew better than to go to the same place twice. Getting onto his boat, he set his rifle case down and the fishing rod he carried. He then pulled away from the dock and took off. His eyes were on his destination, he never saw the cruiser sitting out in the lake.
Tomas got to his vantage point and picked up the fishing rod. Unscrewing the handle, he took his long-range scope out of the hollowed-out interior and set it down on the bench next to him. He then opened another part of the rod and pulled the three legs from the compartment. A few adjustments later and he had his tripod in place. He set his rifle in place and sat down, counting the windows at the Metro-Court until he found the room he was looking for.
****
Inside Todd’s Suite, Blair was in John’s face. “Are you kidding me? You‘re standing there telling Todd you want him to be a target again. You know what he’s been through. Tomas almost killed him the first time. Why should he make your job easy for you? You have evidence, find a way to tie it to him, go arrest Tomas,”
“Blair, we don’t have enough to arrest him. It was you who told me he was an assassin for the CIA. He’s not going to make too many mistakes. The only thing that gave him away this morning was his reaction to Carly Jacks' killing. He has to try for Todd again, and I hate to say this but we have to let him make the attempt. Don’t worry, Todd’s in no danger. I brought along a bulletproof vest, and if Dante is doing his job, Tomas won’t even be able to fire off a shot.”
Todd had been listening to Blair and couldn’t help but love the fire he heard in her voice. Not even thinking, he moved to the window and stared out over the water. He had liked this suite because of the view, and after what had happened in the boys' room, he was glad there were no buildings for Tomas to hide in. He noted several boats out on the lake; a couple of speedboats zooming out into the lake, a fisherman, and the Coast Guard Cruiser sitting farther out. Blair was getting angrier, and it was time to step in and calm her down. He started to turn back to the conversation when out of the corner of his eyes something flashed from the boat holding the fisherman. Todd’s survival instincts kicked in, and he dove away from the window just as a shot broke through the window right where his head had been.
Blair screamed when Todd fell as the window exploded. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as she moved to check on him.
Out on the lake, the Coast Guard, and Dante had watched as Delgado had set up the rifle. Before they could get underway, they saw the gun flash and knew he had gotten a shot off. Immediately they were racing for the boat. Dante and a Coast Guard sharpshooter were both on deck as the bullhorn on the cruiser addressed Tomas’ boat. “Step away from the gun and stand down.”
Tomas had seen Todd fall and was just removing the gun from its perch when he heard the cruiser coming up fast. Not even thinking, he swung the rifle around, causing both Dante and the Coast Guard officer to open fire. Tomas was hit and collapsed to the deck of the boat. The cruiser pulled alongside, and Dante leaped onto the boat. He kicked the gun away from Delgado’s body and bent to check him. One of the bullets had ripped through his heart, and the second one had hit his lower chest. He would have probably survived the second hit, but not the first. Dante couldn’t find a pulse. Tomas stared up at him with a blank look in his eyes. It didn’t matter anymore if he was Alcazar or Delgado, he was dead.
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One dead, one more to go. Feel free to get rid of other Delgados as well.
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