'Oh my god Steve!' Tanis shouted.
He was lying on the floor, blood gushing from a wound on his upper arm. In front of him Ron Wagnor and Ross Cainen were feverishly grappling, each struggling to get a better hold on the other. As she watched, Ron's superior size and strength began to tell. Finally the FBI agent landed a brutal punch, striking Cainen hard across the face. Cainen staggered back dizzily, blackness encroaching on his vision from both sides. He crashed into a chair, which splintered beneath his weight. As he fell forwards, his hands automatically reached for the table in front of him, to break his fall. In doing so, he lost his grip on his gun.
Ron had gained the upper hand now and he quickly kicked Cainen's gun out of reach and roughly yanked his arms behind his back, using his knee to force the shorter man face down on the table. Coffee cups went flying and Julio Elzeni surreptitiously stepped back out of the fracca. His own gun had disappeared as swiftly as it had appeared and he now seemed no more than an innocent bystander. Cainen was taking the heat as the fall guy and the Elzenis would be forgotten, for now at least.
'Archer get over here and give me a hand' Ron roared breathlessly and Tanis, broken out of her shock, ran forward to help. With Cainen pinned down and an extra pair of hands, Ron was quickly able to subdue him and get the cuffs on.
'Get his gun and then check on Steve' he brusquely ordered Tanis.
'I'm fine' Steve said weakly from the floor 'although I don't think I'll be able to wear this jacket again.'
'Lie still and don't try to talk' Tanis instructed, as she holstered Cainen's gun and set off towards Steve 'You've lost quite a bit of blood'.
'It's just a scratch' he said blithely, 'I've seen more blood shaving.' He looked at her imploringly 'but I could probably use a hand getting up off this floor'.
Against her better judgement, she reached down for his good arm and helped steady him as he got to his feet. He cradled his right arm across his chest and leaned heavily against the bar behind him. His face was pale and covered in a thin film of sweat.
'You got it Ron?' he asked wearily.
Ron nodded. Grabbing Cainen by the scruff of the neck, he hauled him up and turned him around. Blood was dripping from Cainen's nose and his left eye was already swelling.
'Ross Cainen' Ron said 'I'm arresting you for the attempted murder of a police officer'.
He pushed Cainen in front of him towards the door. Cainen stumbled and almost went down, but managed to regain his footing.
'Move it slimeball' Ron said, his voice gruff. Behind them, Steve and Tanis followed more slowly. As he reached the door, Steve looked back over his shoulder 'Pass on our condolences to Mr Elzeni' he said. Looking around he noticed the blood and the broken furniture 'and we're sorry about the mess'.
Back at the beach house Mark sighed. He was no closer to working out this puzzle than he had been this morning. Taking off his glasses he dropped them on to the table and rubbed his eyes tiredly. He'd expected Steve back hours ago and his son's dinner had now been burnt to a crisp. He yawned widely as Amanda entered the room with two cups of coffee. Spotting the yawn she frowned
'Mark you're exhausted' she said 'Why don't you go take a nap. I can wait here for Steve'. I'll wake you as soon as he gets in'.
'That's awful sweet of you honey' he said accepting the coffee from her, but I don't think I'd be able to sleep'.
Amanda sat down opposite him and kicked off her high-heeled shoes 'Worried about Steve?' she asked gently.
Mark smiled guiltily 'A little' he said, knowing it was useless to lie to her 'I know he's a grown man, but it doesn't seem to make any difference'.
Amanda nodded 'I'm sure I'll be the same with CJ' she offered sympathetically.
Mark sighed 'Plus, I can't sleep until I've cracked this puzzle'. He held up a piece of paper 'the answer is here somewhere, I know it'.
She looked at it. He'd scribbled the names of the victims on it – Sam Wallis, Ernie Evans, Nikki Elzeni. Around the names he'd arranged a series of interconnecting lines. They all linked to Sol Elzeni.
'I thought you'd left that with Jesse' Amanda said 'give him a change from his word searches'.
Mark nodded 'I did, I've just written it again' he sighed 'and it still doesn't help'.
She shrugged 'Then I guess we just have to wait for Steve and Ron'.
Mark smiled 'I guess so'.
Tanis caught up with Ron and Cainen just around the corner from the Paradiso Club. Steve was moving more slowly and couldn't keep pace with the others. She grabbed Ron's arm, pulling him to a stop and dragging him into the alleyway. Cainen followed, leaning against the wall for support. Both Wagnor and Cainen turned and looked at her. Cainen looked wiped out, almost as pale as Steve, Wagnor looked triumphant.
She glared at them both 'What the hell just happened in there?' she demanded.
Steve came up behind her, also putting a hand against the wall for support 'Your buddy Cainen just shot me, that's what happened'.
'I just saved your god damn life is what I just did' Cainen shot back angrily, spitting blood on to the sidewalk as he spoke.
Ron cuffed him across the face 'I don't remember telling you, you could talk' he said menacingly.
Cainen staggered back against the wall more blood trailing down his nose and dripping off his chin 'You have no idea how close it was in there' he said bitterly.
'Oh I think I do' Steve snapped 'If you weren't such a lousy shot you'd have gotten me in the heart and then taken out Ron'.
'If I hadn't shot you, you'd be dead' Cainen retorted.
'I've heard enough of this' Ron said. He turned to Steve 'I'll take this scumball to the station while you go get patched up'.
'So what, you're not even gonna listen?' Cainen said angrily 'Boy you must be even dumber than you look'.
Ron pulled his arm back to take another swing, but Tanis stopped him.
'What happened Ross?' she asked 'And make it quick, cause from where I'm standing things don't look too good for you right now'.
He spat out more blood and took a shaky breath
'Sol Elzeni wanted you dead' he said looking from Steve to Ron and back again 'I was in his office when he gave the order. He was gonna cut the brake cable on your car; make it look like you'd had an accident on your way back to the station. The only thing I could think of was to offer to kill you myself'.
'Yeah' Steve interrupted 'and you almost succeeded'.
'Wait a minute Steve' Tanis said 'Let him finish'.
Cainen coughed harshly. The blood from his nose was running down his throat and was beginning to make him feel nauseous. 'I thought that if I could get you to focus on me instead of the Elzenis, then I could get us all out of there before anything had to happen'. He paused 'but you wouldn't take the bait. You were pushing too hard.'
'So you decided that to save your cover you'd kill us? That's it isn't it Cainen?' Steve said. He was leaning against the wall more heavily now, and Tanis could see his legs shaking, with the effort of standing upright, but his voice was tight with anger.
'Julio Elzeni had a gun to your head' Cainen said quietly. Looking up he met Steve's eyes and didn't blink. 'If I hadn't shot you, Julio would have. I thought you'd prefer a bullet in the shoulder from me than one in the head from him'.
Steve looked at Tanis 'Did Elzeni have a gun?'
She bit her lip 'By the time I'd gotten there you were already down'.
'Listen' Cainen said wearily 'Before I took this gig I was a sharp shooter. If I'd wanted to kill you I would have. If you don't believe me why don't you just check my records with the chief?'
'You know what, why don't we do just that?' Ron said easily 'We can do it whilst I'm booking you in at the station'. He grabbed Cainen by the arm and flung him forcibly out of the alley. Cainen fell forwards, landing heavily and skinning both knees on the sidewalk. Catching up to him Ron hauled him to his feet and pushed him towards the limo 'We'll take your car' Ron said 'less chance of the brakes being cut, although may be you'd prefer that to death by lethal injection'.
As he was dragged away, Cainen's eyes locked on to Tanis. She could see the urgent desperation
'Tanis please' he said 'You know I'm on the level'.
Steve smirked 'Don't bet on it pal, I think the lady just came to her senses'.
Cainen looked at her, his eyes sad 'I thought you knew me better than that' he said hollowly 'I thought that we were getting close. You're the first person I've opened up to since I started this gig'.
'Cainen you're making my heart bleed' Steve said dryly 'A few nights sharing cold Chinese food and you think that makes the two of you soul mates?'
Tanis swallowed 'We shared a little more than that' she said. Her voice was so low that Steve had to strain to hear.
'We slept together'.
TO BE CONTINUED ……..