璇玑之心刃·冷血悍将-第166章

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s　passed。　At　twelve…forty；　a　police　radio　car　traveled　one　of　the　cross　streets；　doing　nothing　more　than　showing　the　flag。　It　would　return　a　few　minutes　after　two；　probably。　The　city　buses　made　their　whirring　diesel　noises；　and　Kelly　recognized　the　one…ten；　with　the　brakes　that　needed　work。　Their　thin　screech　must　have　annoyed　every　person　who　tried　to　sleep　along　its　route。　Traffic　slowed　perceptibly　just　after　two。　The　dealers　were　smoking　more　now；　talking　more。　Big　Bob　crossed　the　street　to　say　something　to　the　Wizard；　and　their　relations　seemed　cordial　enough；　which　surprised　Kelly。　He　hadn‘t　seen　that　before。　Maybe　the　man　just　needed　change　for　a　hundred。　The　police　cruiser　made　its　scheduled　pass。　Kelly　finished　his　third　Snickers　bar　of　the　evening；　collecting　the　wrappers。　He　checked　the　area。　He‘d　left　nothing。　No　surface　he　had　touched　was　likely　to　retain　a　fingerprint。　There　was　just　too　much　dust　and　grit；　and　he‘d　been　very　careful　not　to　touch　a　windowpane。
Okay。
Kelly　made　his　way　down　the　stairs　and　out　the　back　door。　He　crossed　the　street　into　the　continuation　of　the　alley　that　paralleled　the　street；　still　keeping　to　the　shadows；　still　moving　in　a　shambling　but　now　exceedingly　quiet　gait。
The　mystery　of　the　first　night　had　turned　out　to　be　a　boon。　Archie　and　Jughead　had　vanished　from　his　sight　in　a　span　of　two　or　three　seconds。　He　hadn‘t　looked　away　from　them　any　longer　than　that。　They　hadn‘t　driven　away；　and　they　hadn‘t　had　time　to　walk　to　the　end　of　the　block。　Kelly　had　figured　it　out　the　previous　night。　These　overlong　blocks　of　row　houses　had　not　been　built　by　fools。　Halfway　down；　many　of　the　continuous　blocks　had　an　arched　passageway　so　that　people　could　get　to　the　alley　more　easily。　It　also　made　a　fine　escape　route　for　Arch　and　Jug；　and　when　conducting　business　they　never　strayed　more　than　twenty　feet　from　it。　But　they　never　really　appeared　to　watch　it　either。
Kelly　made　sure　of　that；　leaning　against　an　outbuilding　that　might　have　been　big　enough　to　contain　a　Model…T　Ford。　Finding　a　pair　of　beer　cans；　he　connected　them　with　a　piece　of　string　and　set　them　across　the　cement　walk　that　led　to　the　passage；　making　sure　that　no　one　could　approach　him　from　behind　without　making　noise。　Then　he　moved　in；　walking　very　lightly　on　his　feet　and　reaching　into　his　waistband　for　his　silenced　pistol。　It　was　only　thirty…five　feet　to　cover；　but　tunnels　transmitted　sound　better　than　telephones；　and　Kelly‘s　eyes　scanned　the　surface　for　anything　on　which　he　might　trip　or　make　noise。　He　avoided　some　newspaper　and　a　patch　of　broken　glass；　arriving　close　to　the　other　end　of　the　passageway。
They　looked　different　close…up；　human　almost。　Archie　was　leaning　back　against　the　brown　bricks　of　a　wall；　smoking　a　cigarette。　Jughead　was　also　smoking；　sitting　on　someone‘s　car　fender；　looking　down　the　street；　and　every　ten　seconds　the　flaring　of　their　cigarettes　attacked　and　degraded　their　vision。　Kelly　could　see　them；　but　even　ten　feet　away　they　couldn‘t　see　him。　It　didn‘t　get　much　better。
‘Don‘t　move；‘　he　whispered；　just　for　Archie。　The　man‘s　head　turned；　more　in　annoyance　than　alarm；　until　he　saw　the　pistol　with　the　large　cylinder　screwed　onto　the　end。　His　eyes　flickered　to　his　lieutenant；　who　was　still　facing　the　wrong　way；　humming　some　song　or　other；　waiting　for　a　customer　who　would　never　e。　Kelly　handled　the　notification。
‘Hey！‘　Still　a　whisper；　but　enough　to　carry　over　the　diminishing　street　sounds。　Jughead　turned　and　saw　the　gun　aimed　at　his　employer‘s　head。　He　froze　without　being　bidden。　Archie　had　the　gun　and　the　money　and　most　of　the　drugs。　He　also　saw　Kelly‘s　hand　wave　him　in；　and　not　knowing　what　else　to　do；　he　approached。
‘Business　good　tonight？‘　Kelly　asked。
‘Fair　‘nuf；‘　Archie　responded　quietly。　What　you　want？‘
‘Now　what　do　you　suppose？‘　Kelly　asked　with　a　smile。
‘You　a　cop？‘　Jughead　asked；　rather　stupidly；　the　other　two　thought。
‘No；　I‘m　not　here　to　arrest　anybody。‘　He　motioned　with　his　hand。　‘In　the　tunnel；　face　down；　quick。‘　Kelly　let　them　go　in　ten　feet　or　so；　just　enough　to　be　lost　to　outside　view；　not　so　far　that　he　didn‘t　have　some　exterior　light　to　see　by。　First　he　searched　them　for　weapons。　Archie　had　a　rusty　。32　revolver　that　went　into　a　pocket。　Kelly　next　took　the　electrical　wire　from　around　his　waist　and　wrapped　it　tightly　around　both　sets　of　hands。　Then　he　rolled　them　over。
‘You　boys　have　been　very　cooperative。‘
‘You　better　never　e　back　here；　man；‘　Archie　informed　him；　hardly　realizing　that　he　hadn‘t　been　robbed　at　all。　Jug　nodded　and　muttered。　The　response　puzzled　both　of　them。
‘Actually；　I　need　your　help。‘
‘What　with？‘　Archie　asked。
‘Looking　for　a　guy；　name　of　Billy；　drives　a　Roadrunner。‘
‘What？　You　dickin‘　my　ass？‘　Archie　asked　in　rather　a　disgusted　voice。
‘Answer　the　question；　please；‘　Kelly　said　reasonably。
‘You　get　you　fuckin‘　ass　outa　here；‘　Archie　suggested　spitefully。
Kelly　turned　the　gun　slightly　and　fired　two　rounds　into　Jug‘s　head。　The　body　spasmed　violently；　and　blood　flew；　but　not　on　Kelly　this　time。　Instead　it　showered　across　Archie‘s　face；　and　Kelly　could　see　the　pusher‘s　eyes　open　wide　in　horror　and　surprise；　like　little　lights　in　the　darkness。　Archie　had　not　expected　that。　Jughead　hadn‘t　seemed　much　of　a　conversationalist　anyway；　and　the　operation‘s　clock　was　ticking。　
‘I　said　please；　didn‘t　I？‘
‘Sweet　Jesus；　man！‘　the　voice　rasped；　knowing　that　to　make　any　more　noise　would　be　death。
‘Billy。　Red　Plymouth　Roadrunner；　loves　to　show　it　off。　He‘s　a　distributor。　I　want　to　know　where　he　hangs　out；‘　Kelly　said　quietly。　
‘If　I　tell　you　that　…‘
‘You　get　a　new　supplier。　Me；‘　Kelly　said。　‘And　if　you　tell　Billy　that　I‘m　out　here；　you‘ll　get　to　see　your　friend　again；‘　he　added；　gesturing　to　the　body　whose　warm　bulk　pressed　limply　against　Archie‘s　side。　He　had　to　offer　the　man　hope；　after　all。　Maybe　even　a　little　left…handed　truth；　Kelly　thought：　‘Do　you　understand？　Billy　and　his　friends　have　been　screwing　around　with　the　wrong　people；　and　it‘s　my　job　to　straighten　things　out。　Sorry　about　your　friend；　but　I　had　to　show　you　that　I‘m　serious；　like。‘
Archie‘s　voice　tried　to　calm　itself；　but　didn‘t　quite　make　it；　though　he　reached　for　the　hope　he‘d　been　offered。　‘Look；　man；　I　can‘t　…‘
‘I　can　always　ask　somebody　else。‘　Kelly　paused　significantly。　‘Do　you　understand　what　I　just　said？‘
Archie　did；　or　thought　he　did；　and　he　talked　freely　until　the　time　came　for　him　to　rejoin　Jughead。
A　quick　search　of　Archie‘s　pockets　turned　up　a　nice　wad　of　cash　and　a　collection　of　small　drug　envelopes　which　also　found　their　way　into　his　jacket　pockets。　Kelly　stepped　carefully　over　both　bodies　and　made　his　way　to　the　alley；　looking　back　to　make　sure　that　he　hadn‘t　stepped　in　any　blood。　He‘d　discard　the　shoes　in　any　case。　Kelly　untied　the　string　from　the　cans　and　replaced　them　where　he‘d　found　them；　before　renewing　his　drunken　gait；　taking　a　roundabout　path　back　to　his　car；　repeating　his　carefully　considered　routine　every　step　of　the　way。　Thank　God；　he　thought；　driving　north　again；　he‘d　be　able　to　shower　and　shave　tonight。　But　what　the　hell　would　he　do　with　the　drugs？　That　was　a　question　that　fate　would　answer。
*　*　*
The　cars　started　arriving　just　after　six；　not　so　incongruous　an　hour　for　activity　on　a　military　base。　Fifteen　of　them；　clunkers；　none　less　than　three　years　old；　and　all　of　them　had　been　totaled　in　auto　accidents　and　sold　for　scrap。　The　only　thing　unusual　about　them　was　that　though　they　were　no　longer　drivable；　they　almost　looked　as　though　they　were。　The　work　detail　was　posed　of　Marines；　supervised　by　a　gunnery　sergeant　who　had　no　idea　what　this　was　all　about。　But　he　didn‘t　have　to。　The　cars　were　worked　into　place；　haphazardly；　not　in　neat　military　rows；　but　more　the　way　real　people　parked。　The　job　took　niy　minutes；　and　the　work　detail　left。　At　eight　in　the　morning　another　such　detail　arrived；　this　one　with　mannequins。　They　came　in　several　sizes；　and　they　were　dressed　in　old　clothes。　The　child…size　ones　went　on　the　swings　and　in　the　sandbox。　The　adult　ones　were　stood　up；　using　the　metal　stands　that　came　with　them。　And　the　second　work　party　left；　to　return　twice　a　day　for　the　indefinite　future　and　move　the　mannequins　around　in　a　random　way　prescribed　by　a　set　of　instructions　thought　up　and　written　down　by　some　damned　fool　of　an　officer　who　didn‘t　have　anything　better　to　do。
Kelly‘s　notes　had　mented　on　the　fact　that　one　of　the　most　debilitating　and　time…consuming　aspects　of　Operation　KINGPIN　had　been　the　daily　necessity　of　setting　up　and　striking　down　the　mockup　of　their　objective。　He　hadn‘t　been　the　first　to　note　it。　If　any　Soviet　reconnaissance　satellites　took　note　of　this　place；　they　would　see　an　odd　collection　of　buildings　serving　no　readily　identifiable　purpose。　They　would　also　see　a　child‘s　playground；　plete　with　children；　parents；　and　parked　cars；　all　of　which　elements　would　move　every　day。　That　bit　of　information　would　counter　the　more　obvious　observation　…　that　this　recreational　facility　was　half　a　mile　off　any　paved　road　and　invisible　to　the　rest　of　the　installation。