Rebirth (John Taylor #1)

Chapter 7

"Here she is," Albert said pointing at a beat up old sedan.

"Perfect," I told him.

It was. It wasn't so beat up that it would stand out on the road, but wasn't new enough to be noticed either. It looked like thousands of other cars driving America's roads, and it would blend in nicely.

"Will it trace back to you?"

"Nah, I was fixing it for a guy I know in town. I'll tell him something bad happened to it, and set him up in a nicer ride. He won't mind, as long as he gets the title in his name. I still have a few weeks 'till I need to talk to him about it, so the tags will be clean for that long."

"I owe you big time, Albert."

"Well you owe me for the cost of this car, that's for sure."

"Look at you, starting a business and getting all mercenary."

"Son, I was mercenary long before I left the Army. Doesn't pay to do favors for free."

I laughed and said, "True enough. And I still owe you even after I pay for the car."

"Sure as hell do."

"And I need one more thing."

"Jesus, Taylor, do you ever stop asking for favors."

"Eventually. I pulled a piece off one of the Russians, but I don't want to walk around with a hot gun on me when I go meet the feds."

"You need a weapon?"

"No, I have a gun, but I need some ammo. I prefer to make as few stops as possible while I have Renata with me."

"Yeah, I can fix you up."

"Thanks, Albert. I swear that's the last favor I need."

"Yeah, yeah. Come on, let me get you the keys and what not."

Inside, Albert took the Russian's gun from me, and handed me a box of 9mm rounds from a gun safe located at the back of his shop, along with a set of keys.

On the way out to my 'new' car he stopped me and said, "Watch your ass, Taylor. I remember these guys from that stint we did with the Russians. They can be nasty."

"I'll be careful."

We shook hands for a long moment before he let go and I started to walk away. I was surprised when Renata stepped past me and kissed Albert on the cheek.

"Thank you for helping us," she said before turning and walking to the car.

I swear a smiled creased that old curmudgeon's face. I gave him a nod and hopped into the car, pulling out of his lot. There was an off chance the Russians or someone was tracking that SUV; but if I knew Albert, he would have the thing pulled apart and scattered into pieces, in no time. If someone did show up, they would regret it.

I had grabbed our map before we left, and picked a random mid-sized town several hours drive to the north. I wanted somewhere we could disappear into the populace. I had agreed to not leave Renata with Albert, but she was still not coming with me to the meet. The odds of her getting grabbed there, were much greater than if I put her up in some no-named motel.

Once we got to whatever motel I was going to have her hole up in, I would need to get some sleep. It was mid-morning, and I was coming up on a day and a half since the last time I'd slept. Put on top of that, the come down from the adrenaline high of the firefights and the emotional drain of seeing Claire yesterday, and I was feeling pretty well spent.

While we drove, there was more information I needed from Renata. The conversation also would help keep me from nodding off.

"Tell me about what happened leading up to the ambush in the street," I asked her. "How did you two end up there?"