The Death’s Head Conspiracy

Twenty-Two

When we had hustled up to the top of the hill, crouching low, dashing from rock to rock, we began to circle toward the helicopter pad. Just ahead of us the terrain above the buildings was alive with soldiers searching for us. Guns had been passed out to some of the workmen, and they, too, were hunting us. It was impossible to get through so we hid in a small pocket between two outsized boulders shaped like crouching, prehistoric monsters.

The girls sat with dazed expressions, weapons in their laps.

“I don’t see how you got away with it,” I said. “Why didn’t the soldiers see your guns?”

“Because,” said Terri, “when we were down below and we saw the workman coming, I stuck my pistol under the band of my skirt and closed my jacket around it. I motioned to Jerri and she did the same. Those clods couldn’t hurt us, but I thought if they saw the guns, they’d spread the alarm. So when the officer and his flunky popped out with their rifles and began to talk in Russian, I whispered to Jerri and said, ‘pull your gun and shoot when I poke you.’ ”

Terri sighed, “But she didn’t go through with it. She chickened out, didn’t you sis?”

“I probably couldn’t shoot a snake if it was coiled to fang me,” Jerri answered.

“Anyway,” I said, “it was a gutsy play, and damn clever. You’re both very smart cats. So why do you pretend you’re dumb blondes?”

It was Jerri who answered with a wry smile. “Well,” she said, “we found out long ago that men love to feel superior. And if you’re a sexy little blonde, you can get a lot more mileage out of a guy by giving him the cute but dumb routine.”

“That’s not the half of it,” said Terri. “If you hide behind that kind of smoke screen, you can look and listen and figure and come out on top every time. Because when you seem empty-headed, you fade into the background. You come on about as dangerous as a stick of furniture. And so the big wheels who would try to screw you in more ways than one, let all their secrets hang out”

“Did you ever think of becoming spies?” I asked with a chuckle.

Their heads nodded, almost in unison.

“In our own way,” said Jerri, “we do a bit of spying. For corporation executives. Business stuff. But it’s a hard, ruthless game and we want out We thought this charade would be a regular vacation.” She glanced up at the steep overhang of stone. “Some vacation. We could join the WACS, get more rest and be a lot safer.”

Nodding, I loaded a fresh clip into the Luger. “If we ever get out of here alive, I’ll remember you gals,” I said. “You have many talents,” I added with a grin.

“You don’t think well get out alive?” said Terri, chewing her lip.

“I’ll be honest with you. It doesn’t look good Just now.” I studied my watch. “I have a feeling that if we aren’t looking down on this stone-age fortress from that copter in exactly twenty-five minutes, we’ll be looking down from heaven. Or up — from hell.”

“What does that mean?” said Jerri, her eyebrows soaring. “Listen, I’m far from happy in this world. But I’m not ready to die.”

“I think you’d be better off not knowing what it means,” I answered. “It’s only an educated guess, anyway. And if I’m right, being warned in advance wouldn’t do you a bit of good.”

“Can you fly a helicopter?” Terri said.

“Yes. I can fly almost anything. And my memory of the topography would get us to the nearest city. But if all goes well, we’ll have a pilot who knows every inch of this country.”

I glanced down obliquely through a space between the rocks. Off to my left, the copter sat away from the center of its pad. It had been moved a short distance, close to a storage tank. And I hoped to God this meant that Ingram had gassed the bird up. Where was he? Where was Pilar? The pad and the surrounding area was deserted. The body of the dead guard had been removed.

Pilar must be in hiding. Or had she been captured? And finally, I asked myself, how did the soldiers know they were hunting for Nick Carter? With Warnow dead, who could pass the word?

The logical choice of explanations appeared to be that either Pilar had been captured and the truth tortured out of her, or that Ingram had escaped and had spilled the beans.

“I’m going down to check the situation at the copter pad,” I said. “And I want you girls to stay here. The three of us might never make it together. On the other hand, if you were caught alone you could play dumb and say that you were Just frightened and were hiding out until the shooting was over.”

I grinned. “You won’t have trouble playing dumb, will you?”

They chuckled weakly and sent me a pair of diluted smiles.

“Now,” I continued, “from this little spy hole between the rocks, you can see the pad clearly. And I want one of you to keep an eye on it at all times. When I get down there, if all is clear, I’ll peel off these coveralls and stand waiting in the suit I’m wearing underneath. That will be your signal to come down on the double. And I do mean on the double.”

Both nodded gravely.

“If you see that I’m in trouble down there, stay put Until I give the signal its over. I could also be quite dead. If that’s obvious to you, come out and go into your innocent act. And don’t get caught with the guns. Get rid of them.”

I moved to leave, paused. I winked and gave them a small salute.

“Goodbye, Nick,” said Jerri.

“So long, and God’s luck to you, Nick,” said Terri.

I turned and ducked out