Read Online Wrong Town: A Mark Landry Novel by Randall H Miller - Free Book Online Page A

unexpected invitation. A faint smile occupied his face, and Mark saw a brief flicker in his eyes before he redirected his gaze to his feet and slouched again.
    “No, thanks. I can’t stay. If father notices he’s alone, it’ll scare him.”
    Mark maintained his smile but squinted slightly.
    “Father has dementia. Mother died three years ago so it’s just us now.”
    Mark searched for the right words but knew he’d never find them. Instead he offered the typical anodyne response.
    “I’m sorry to hear that, Kenny. Let me know if I can ever help.”
    Kenny nodded his head and awkwardly shifted his focus left and right, then resumed speaking.
    “Father and I were sorry to hear about Agnes. She was a big help to us these past few months. Always checking on us and bringing home-cooked meals when she could. We’re sorry she’s gone.”
    Mark smiled and nodded politely.
    “Me too, Kenny. Me too. What can I do for you?” he replied politely but in a tone that indicated it was time to move on from the topic of dead matriarchs. 
    “I don’t know how long you’ll be home, but if you need Internet you can connect to my Wi-Fi. Agnes never had Internet here for some reason.”
    “Okay, thanks. I appreciate that.”
    Kenny continued after several seconds of awkward silence.
    “The network is called theshire , all one word. And the password is Bilbo , with a capital B.”
    The Shire. Bilbo. Right. Seventh-grade English. Tolkien.
    “Okay, that should be easy to remember,” Mark said with a chuckle.
    “Do you remember that class? Reading that book? Mr. Marcell?”
    “Of course I do, Kenny. It’s still one of my favorites too,” Mark said unconvincingly.
    “Yeah, he died last year too.”
    Jesus, you’re full of great news tonight, Kenny.
    Mark couldn’t think of anything to say, so he stood silently, hoping that Kenny would wrap things up on his own.
    “Was that Luci who just left?” Kenny continued.
    “Yup, that was her,” Mark answered, glancing at his watch.
    “Okay, well, tell her I said hi … she was always nice,” Kenny said. He turned and firmly grabbed the handrail with his right hand, carefully lowering his left foot to the next step down. After lowering his right foot, he paused briefly before carefully stepping off again with his left foot. He repeated the same set of motions until both feet reached the safety of the driveway.
    Mark watched him walk to the end of the driveway and turn right toward his house before calling out to him, “Kenny, feel free to cut across the lawn next time. No big deal, man.”

Seventeen
    Thirty miles south, ATF agent Frank Tagala was getting slammed against the hood of an unmarked police car while three cops struggled to get handcuffs on him. This was the fun part for Frank, because it meant he was no longer in grave danger. But he was still in character and needed to make things look authentic.
    The arms deal had gone down as planned. Within seconds of the exchange, a flood of federal agents and Boston policemen covered by rooftop snipers had taken control of the area and everyone in it. As Frank struggled, he screamed across the hood at the three Russian mobsters he had spent the past six months setting up.
    “You fucking stupid pieces of Russian shit! You set me up. You’re all dead men. You fucked with the wrong guinea!”
    He tried to kick, punch, bite, and smack the three young officers as they scuffled. Their explicit instructions were to meet force with force, but they had not expected such resistance from another lawman, and Frank showed no signs of letting up. Frustrated and scared, the youngest of the three stepped back, drew his Taser, and lit Frank up like a Christmas tree. The other two stood wide-eyed as Frank howled.
    “Motherrrr Fuckerrrr! Fuck, fuck, fuck! Ahhhhhhhhhhh!”
    After he collapsed to the ground, they had him cuffed and in the back of the cruiser in less than fifteen seconds. With their lights flashing and sirens screaming, they headed