璇玑之心刃·冷血悍将-第146章

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ht…out　diet　or　something　fortuitously　resulting　from　mere　barbarity。　Political　prisoners　in　the　Gulag　ate　better；　but　the　diet　of　these　Americans　lowered　their　resistance　to　disease；　debilitated　them　to　the　point　that　the　act　of　escape　would　be　doomed　by　inadequate　stamina。　Rather　like　what　the　fascisti　did　to　Soviet　prisoners；　distasteful　or　not；　it　was　useful　to　Grishanov。　Resistance；　physical　and　mental；　required　energy；　and　you　could　watch　these　men　lose　their　strength　during　the　hours　of　interrogation；　watch　their　courage　wane　as　their　physical　needs　drew　more　and　more　upon　their　supply　of　psychological　resolve。　He　was　learning　how　to　do　this。　It　was　time…consuming；　but　it　was　a　diverting　process；　learning　to　pick　apart　the　brains　of　men　not　unlike　himself。
‘The　skiing；　is　it　good？‘
Zacharias‘s　eyes　blinked；　as　though　the　question　took　him　away　to　a　different　time　and　place。　‘Yeah；　it　is。‘
‘That　is　something　one　will　never　do　here；　Colonel。　I　like　cross…country　skiing　for　exercise；　and　to　get　away　from　things。　I　had　wooden　skis；　but　in　my　last　regiment　my　maintenance　officer　made　me　steel　skis　from　aircraft　parts。‘
‘Steel？‘
‘Stainless　steel；　heavier　than　aluminum　but　more　flexible。　I　prefer　it。　From；　a　wing　panel　on　our　new　interceptor；　project　E…266。‘
‘What‘s　that？‘　Zacharias　knew　nothing　of　the　new　MiG…25。
‘Your　people　now　call　it　Foxbat。　Very　fast；　designed　to　catch　one　of　your　B…70　bombers。‘
‘But　we　stopped　that　project；‘　Zacharias　objected。
‘Yes；　I　know　that。　But　your　project　got　me　a　wonderfully　fast　fighter　to　fly。　When　I　return　home；　I　will　mand　the　first　regiment　of　them。‘
‘Fighter　planes　made　of　steel？　Why？‘
‘It　resists　aerodynamic　heating　much　better　than　aluminum；‘　Grishanov　explained。　‘And　you　can　make　good　skis　from　discarded　parts。‘　Zacharias　was　very　confused　now。　‘So　how　well　do　you　think　we　would　do　with　my　steel　fighters　and　your　aluminum　bombers？‘
‘I　guess　that　depends　on　…‘　Zacharias　started　to　say；　then　stopped　himself　cold。　His　eyes　looked　across　the　table；　first　with　confusion　at　what　he‘d　almost　said；　then　with　resolve。
Too　soon；　Grishanov　told　himself　with　disappointment。　He‘d　pushed　a　little　too　soon。　This　one　had　courage。　Enough　to　take　his　Wild　Weasel　‘downtown；‘　the　phrase　the　Americans　used；　over　eighty　times。　Enough　to　resist　for　a　long　time。　But　Grishanov　had　plenty　of　time。
C12
　　　　CHAPTER　12
Outfitters
63　VW；　LOW　MLGE；　RAD；　HTR　。　。　。
Kelly　dropped　a　dime　in　the　pay　phone　and　called　the　number。　It　was　a　blazing　hot　Saturday；　temperature　and　humidity　in　a　neck…and…neck　race　for　triple　digits　while　Kelly　fumed　at　his　own　stupidity。　Some　things　were　so　blatantly　obvious　that　you　didn‘t　see　them　until　your　nose　split　open　and　started　bleeding。
‘Hello？　I‘m　calling　about　the　ad　for　the　car　。。。　that‘s　right；‘　Kelly　said。　‘Right　now　if　you　want　。。。　Okay；　say　about　fifteen　minutes？　Fine；　thank　you；　ma‘am。　I‘ll　be　right　there。　‘Bye。‘　He　hung　up。　At　least　something　had　gone　right。　Kelly　grimaced　at　the　inside　of　the　phone　booth。　Springer　was　tied　up　in　a　guest　slip　at　one　of　the　marinas　on　the　Potomac。　He　had　to　buy　a　new　car；　but　how　did　you　get　to　where　the　new　car　was？　If　you　drove　there；　then　you　could　drive　the　new　car　back；　but　what　about　the　one　you　took？　It　was　funny　enough　that　he　started　laughing　at　himself。　Then　fate　intervened；　and　an　empty　cab　went　driving　past　the　manna‘s　entrance；　allowing　him　to　keep　his　promise　to　a　little　old　lady。
"；The　4500　block；　Essex　Avenue；‘　he　told　the　driver。
‘Where‘s　that；　man？‘
‘Bethesda。‘
‘Gonna　cost　extra；　man；‘　the　driver　pointed　out；　turning　north。
Kelly　handed　a　ten…dollar　bill　across。　‘Another　one　if　you　get　me　there　in　fifteen　minutes。‘
‘Cool。‘　And　the　acceleration　dropped　Kelly　back　in　his　seat。　The　taxi　avoided　Wisconsin　Avenue　most　of　the　way。　At　a　red　light　the　driver　found　Essex　Avenue　on　his　map；　and　he　ended　up　collecting　the　extra　ten　with　about　twenty　seconds　to　spare。
It　was　an　upscale　residential　neighborhood；　and　the　house　was　easy　to　spot。　There　it　was；　a　VW　Beetle；　an　awful　peanut…butter　color　speckled　with　a　little　body　rust。　It　could　not　have　been　much　better。　Kelly　hopped　up　the　four　wooden　front　steps　and　knocked　on　the　door。
‘Hello？‘　It　was　a　face　to　match　the　voice。　She　had　to　be　eighty　or　so；　small　and　frail；　but　with　fey　green　eyes　that　hinted　at　what　had　been；　enlarged　by　the　thick　glasses　she　wore。　Her　hair　still　had　some　yellow　in　the　gray。
‘Mrs　Boyd？　I　called　a　little　while　ago　about　the　car。‘
‘What‘s　your　name？‘
‘Bill　Murphy；　ma‘am。‘　Kelly　smiled　benignly。　‘Awful　hot；　isn‘t　it？‘
‘T‘rble；‘　she　said；　meaning　terrible。　‘Wait　a　minute。‘　Gloria　Boyd　disappeared　and　then　came　back　a　moment　later　with　the　keys。　She　even　came　out　to　walk　him　to　the　car。　Kelly　took　her　arm　to　help　her　down　the　steps。
‘Thank　you；　young　man。‘
‘My　pleasure；　ma‘am；‘　he　replied　gallantly。
‘We　got　the　car　for　my　granddaughter。　When　she　went　to　college；　then　Ken　used　it；‘　she　said；　expecting　Kelly　to　know　who　Ken　was。
‘Excuse　me？‘
‘My　husband；‘　Gloria　said　without　turning。　‘He　died　a　month　ago。‘
‘I‘m　very　sorry　to　hear　that；　ma‘am。‘
‘He　was　sick　a　long　time；‘　said　the　woman；　not　yet　recovered　from　the　shock　of　her　loss　but　accepting　the　fact　of　it。　She　handed　him　the　keys。　‘Here；　take　a　look。‘
Kelly　unlocked　the　door。　It　looked　like　the　car　used　by　a　college　student　and　then　by　an　elderly　man。　The　seats　were　well　worn；　and　one　had　a　long　slash　in　it；　probably　by　a　packing　box　of　clothes　or　books。　He　turned　the　key　in　the　lock　and　the　engine　started　immediately。　There　was　even　a　full　tank　of　gas。　The　ad　hadn‘t　lied　about　the　mileage；　only　52；000　miles　on　the　odometer。　He　asked　for　and　got　permission　to　take　it　around　the　block。　The　car　was　mechanically　sound；　he　decided；　bringing　it　back　to　the　waiting　owner。
‘Where　did　all　the　rust　e　from？‘　he　asked　her；　giving　the　keys　back。
‘She　went　to　school　in　Chicago；　at　Northwestern；　all　that　terrible　snow　and　salt。‘
‘That‘s　a　good　school。　Let‘s　get　you　back　inside；‘　Kelly　took　her　arm　and　directed　her　back　to　the　house。　It　smelled　like　an　old　person‘s　house；　the　air　heavy　with　dust　that　she　was　too　tired　to　wipe；　and　stale　food；　for　the　meals　she　still　fixed　were　for　two；　not　one。
‘Are　you　thirsty？‘
‘Yes；　ma‘am；　thank　you。　Water　will　be　just　fine。‘　Kelly　looked　around　while　she　went　to　the　kitchen。　There　was　a　photo　on　the　wall；　a　man　in　a　high…necked　uniform　and　Sam　Browne　belt；　holding　the　arm　of　a　young　woman　in　a　very　tight；　almost　cylindrical；　white　wedding　dress。　Other　photos　cataloged　the　married　life　of　Kenh　and　Gloria　Boyd。　Two　daughters　and　a　son；　a　trip　to　the　ocean；　an　old　car；　grandchildren；　all　the　things　earned　in　a　full　and　useful　life。
‘Here　you　go。‘　She　handed　over　a　glass。
‘Thank　you。　What　did　your　husband　do？‘
‘He　worked　for　the　merce　Department　for　forty…two　years。　We　were　going　to　move　to　Florida；　but　then　he　got　sick　so　now　I‘m　going　alone。　My　sister　lives　in　Fort　Pierce；　she‘s　a　widow　too；　her　husband　was　a　policeman　。。。‘　Her　voice　trailed　off　as　the　cat　came　in　to　examine　the　new　visitor。　That　seemed　to　invigorate　Mrs　Boyd。　‘I‘m　moving　down　there　next　week。　The　house　is　already　sold；　have　to　get　out　next　Thursday。　I　sold　it　to　a　nice　young　doctor。‘
‘I　hope　you　like　it　down　there；　ma‘am。　How　much　do　you　want　for　the　car？‘
‘I　can‘t　drive　anymore　because　of　my　eyes；　cataracts。　People　have　to　drive　me　everywhere　I　go。　My　grandson　says　it‘s　worth　one　thousand　five　hundred　dollars。‘
Your　grandson　must　be　a　lawyer　to　be　that　greedy；　Kelly　thought。　‘How　about　twelve　hundred？　I　can　pay　cash。‘
‘Cash？‘　Her　eyes　became　fey　again。
‘Yes；　ma‘am。‘
‘Then　you　can　have　the　car。‘　She　held　out　her　hand　and　Kelly　took　it　carefully。
‘Do　you　have　the　paperwork？‘　It　made　Kelly　feel　guilty　that　she　had　to　get　up　again；　this　time　heading　upstairs；　slowly；　holding　on　to　the　banister　while　Kelly　took　out　his　wallet　and　counted　off　twelve　crisp　bills。
It　should　have　taken　only　another　ten　minutes；　but　instead　it　was　thirty。　Kelly　had　already　checked　up　on　how　to　do　the　mechanics　of　a　title　transfer；　and　besides；　he　wasn‘t　going　to　do　all　of　that。　The　auto…insurance　policy　was　tucked　into　the　same　cardboard　envelope　as　the　title；　in　the　name　of　Kenh　W。　Boyd。　Kelly　promised　to　take　care　of　that　for　her；　and　the　tags；　too；　of　course。　But　it　turned　out　that　all　the　cash　made　Mrs　Boyd　nervous；　and　so　Kelly　helped　her　fill　out　a　deposit　ticket；　and　then　drove　her　to　her　bank；　where　she　could　drop　it　into　the　night　depository。　Then　he　stopped　off　at　the　supermarket　for　milk　and　cat　food　before　bringing　her　home　and　walking　her　to　the　door　again。
‘Thank　you　for　the　car；　Mrs　Boyd；‘　he　said　in　parting。
‘What　are　you　going　to　use　it　for？‘
‘Business。‘　Kelly　smiled　and　left。
At　quarter　of　nine　that　night；　two　cars　pulled　into　the　service　area　on　Interstate　95。　The　one　in　front　was　a　Dodge　Dart　and　the　one　behind　it　a　red　Plymouth　Roadrunner。　Roughly　fifty　feet　apart；　they　picked　a　half…full　area　north　of　Maryland　House；　a　rest　stop　set　in　the　median　of　the　John　F。　Kennedy　Highway；　offering　full　restaurant　services　along　with　gas　and　oil