Tsunami Connection by Michael James Gallagher

field
counted more here.
    Even though she fought against it, her feathers were a bit
ruffled. She settled back to her observation role while reaching under the sink
and sifting through the makings of a disguise. She propped up the makeup mirror
in the stage make-up kit and looked into eyes that shone with their first break
in the chase after MacAuley. The evening's watch passed without any more
interesting happenings.
    Around one thirty, Kefira started to don her get up to
seduce the bartender. She knew he had a big, black pickup with lots of work
done under it. The body sat way above normal traffic level. The team had talked
about the truck in their preparation remarks.
    As a result, she had an idea of the kind of woman he might
like. She wore a black tee shirt stamped with the lead guitarist from the '70s
British rock group, White Snake. She added a ponytail piece and used the makeup
kit to make some tattoos. She did her eyes with deep circles, a bit gothic, and
pinned five silver studs in her ear. Her tongue had a false piercing, too. Some
very tight reddish black stockings full of large round holes poked out of ultra
short black shorts. As a finishing touch, she cut the sleeves from the T-shirt
and etched a deep v-neck as well. A stuffed bra raised her cleavage where the
words, 'lick me', appeared in home-style tattoo-form, much like cellmates do to
each other in the 'joint'.
    She appraised herself in the full-length mirror behind the
door of the boat's head. Despite knowing that he might be wary, she looked
alluring and slutty enough to be a 'working girl'.
    She strolled along the wooden fence surrounding Creek Square
on Blackstone, from the empty vegetable bins of a small fruit store to the
alley beside the Millennium Hotel. Her target, shadowed carefully by Zak,
appeared as expected around two fifteen.
    He never did the clean-up. That was woman's work, according
to Rolly, and the female servers did it. Kefira eyed him and removed a lollipop
from her mouth, slowly, as he approached, walking toward her on the same side
of the street – having walked through the back entrance and out the front door
of the Haymarket all-night pizza joint, as was his habit. He nodded to her and
she took his arm, babbling some rubbish about metal music. His arm slipped
around her waist.
    Zak shook his head and crossed the street in order to be
able to beat them into the above ground parking lot. He waited on the second
floor, crouched in front of the car parked on the driver's side of the souped
up Ford Ranger. Zak had a strong feeling that Rolly, the bartender, would try
to get his hooker into the back door on the driver's side of the vehicle.
    When they walked by the car, Zak was hiding near the wall by
the adjacent car's nose. Rolly turned in between the two parked vehicles on the
driver's side. He had backed in before his shift. Zak whispered,
"Yes", under his breath. The door lock popped with a remote control
and big Rolly lifted a willing Kefira up after he opened the back door. He
plopped her down on the seat facing him and she opened her legs exposing torn
shorts with no g-string.
    "Whoa, slide in, sweetheart," he said, the minute
Zak struck the back of his head just above the neck.
    "Not so fast, big boy," she answered, as Rolly
fell into Zak's arms.
    The two of them manhandled him into the waiting back seat.
Zak took his wallet, removed the money, and spilled Rolly's cards all over the
pavement under the truck. He then took Rolly's iPhone and pocketed it. Kefira
went to the glove compartment and found a fully charged Taser M26c. Zak had
left it there earlier.
    Zak was taping the big man's mouth and securing his hands
with plastic tie wraps when Rolly stirred and moaned.
    "Climb out, Zak. I'll slow him down." The two
needles from the taser launched into Rolly's neck. He shook and passed out
cold, drool forming at the corners of his now open mouth.
    Sounding like the American wrestling announcer, Mike Buffer,
Zak said, "Let's