Bay City Blast

Chapter nine

"Tell him Remo is here," Remo told Denise, the receptionist in the mayor's outer office.

"Yes sir," the young woman said. She smiled at Remo. "You want to stand here alongside me while I telephone him?" She motioned to a spot behind the desk, next to her right side.

"Sure," said Remo.

"Where will I stand?" Chiun asked the young woman. "I am here too."

"I thought you might prefer to sit, sir," Denise said.

"No. I want to hear too," Chiun said. "I will stand there." He pointed to her left side and came over to stand alongside her.

The pretty woman dialed three digits. "A Mr. Remo is here to see you, sir."

She nodded.

"Yes, sir." She replaced the telephone. She smiled up at Remo as she said, "You may go right in."

"Thank you." Remo turned away and the girl grabbed his left hand.

"Wait," she said. "I'll show you in." She stood up, "When you're done, would you like a tour of City Hall?"

"I don't think so," Remo said.

"I have time. It's almost my lunch hour," she said.

"It's three o'clock," Remo said.

"I take late lunches. Really. Honest. I could show you around. It'd be no trouble at all."

She pressed her chest against Remo.

"No trouble at all," she said.

"He does not want to go," Chiun said. "That should be obvious to you. But ask me. Perhaps I will take this wonderful tour."

"Yes, sir," the girl said unhappily. "This way, please."

She ushered them past the mayor's personal secretary and a man who sat outside the door, with his arms folded, leaning back in his chair against the wall. He looked at Remo and sneered as Remo walked by. Remo stuck out his tongue and crossed his eyes. The man's hand moved toward his right pocket. Chiun brushed against the man and his fingertips touched the man's right bicep. The man's right arm stopped moving toward his pocket, frozen in position as if it had just been sprayed with liquid hydrogen.

He looked at Chiun in surprise, then at his arm. He gritted his teeth as he tried to move his arm, but he could not. He grabbed his right wrist with his left hand and tried to force his arm down but it would not move. His eyes glittered with panic and he tried to calm himself because he had heard that if you stay still after having a stroke, your chances of survival are better.

The receptionist showed Remo and Chiun into the mayor's office. They stood inside the door and waited for the heavy oaken door to close behind her.

"I'm Remo."

Rocco Nobile put a finger to his lips in a shushing gesture. He reached behind him to a large walnut AM-FM radio and turned it to a rock station. He turned the volume up loud. "Lock the door," he told Remo. Remo locked the door and Nobile motioned them forward to his desk, and rose to come around to talk to them.

"The radio's in case anybody's got this office bugged. It messes them up. Glad to meet you, Remo."

"I am Chiun."

"And you, Chiun."

"You've been expecting us," Remo said.

"Right. I was told you'd be coming. You know what's going down here?"

Remo was surprised to hear the voice of Wardell Pinkerton the Third come out of the face and body of Rocco Nobile. The mayor looked like the head-waiter in a Greek restaurant but the voice that came out was Ivy League and soft.

"Yeah, we know," Remo said. "We were told to keep you alive."

"By whom?" asked Nobile.

"By Emperor..." Chiun began.

Remo interrupted him. "It's probably best, Mayor, if you don't know that"

Nobile nodded. "All right. What do you think?"

"I think we've got to stay as close to you as the smell of garlic," Remo said.

"I might have trouble with my other bodyguards," Nobile said.

"Was that one outside the door?" Chiun asked.

Nobile nodded.

"You will have no trouble with him," Chiun said. "He is very worried about his arm."

"Where's the other one?" Remo asked.

"He stays at the apartment to make sure nobody plants anything."

"He can keep doing that for a while," Remo said. "Just give us a cover story. Nobody has to know who we are."

"All right. I'll make you..." Nobile hesitated as he thought. "You can be from the West Coast, checking out the place before your bosses move any operations here. And Mr. Chiun can be a Chinese connection for cocaine."

"Good," said Remo.

"Not good," said Chiun. "That will never do."

"Why not?' Remo asked.

"I am not Chinese. I am Korean. Do I look Chinese? Would such a story fool anyone? Do I look Chinese?" He looked toward Mayor Nobile for an answer.

"Say no," Remo advised.

"No," said Nobile. "All right. We'll make you a Korean connection for cocaine."

"North Korean," said Chiun.

"North Korean," amended Nobile.

"Good," said Chiun. "Now that we have the important business out of the way, all that is left are mere details."