The Defector

CHAPTER TWELVE

Kathy and Mike were waiting among the trees as Nick climbed onto the bank. Once he was on dry land, Nick took several deep breaths of air, trying to clear his ringing head.

“Can I help you carry something?” Mike asked.

Kathy took his hand. “I’m glad you’re all right.”

For an instant their eyes locked, and Nick almost said something he knew he’d regret. Her beauty was almost too much for him. To keep his mind off her, he checked his tiny arsenal. He had lost all but four grenades in the river; there were about one-fourth of a clip left in the Tommy gun and five shots left in Wilhelmina. Not good, but it would have to do.

“What happens now?” Kathy asked.

Nick rubbed the stubble of his chin. “There are railroad tracks somewhere close by. It would take too long for us to get another boat. Besides, the river would be too slow. I think we’ll try to find those railroad tracks. Let’s head out in this direction.”

He led the way through forest and bush. The going was slow because of the thickness of growth, and they had to stop many times for Kathy and Mike to rest. The sun was hot, and insects pestered them. They walked all through the morning, moving farther and farther away from the river, down small valleys and over short peaks until finally, shortly after noon, they came to the railroad tracks. The tracks themselves seemed to cut a wide path through the growth. The land was clear for at least ten feet on each side of them. They glistened in the afternoon sun, so Nick knew they were well used.

Kathy and Mike flopped to the ground at the edge of the deep growth. They stretched out, panting. Nick walked up and down the tracks a short distance, studying the area. He was wet with sweat. There was no way of telling when the next train would come by. It could be any minute, or it could be several hours. And he didn’t have many hours left. He walked back to join Kathy and Mike.

Kathy was sitting with her legs tucked under her. She looked up at Nick, shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand. “Well?” she said.

Nick knelt and picked up a few of the pebbles scattered on both side of the tracks. “Looks pretty good,” he said. “If we can get a train to stop.”

“Why does it have to stop?”

Nick looked up and down the tracks. “It’s fairly level along here. When and if a train comes by it’s going to be moving along at quite a clip.”

Kathy stood, brushed off the clinging shift, and put her hands on her hips. “Okay, how do we stop it?”

Nick had to smile. “Sure you feel up to it?”

Kathy put one leg slightly in front of the other, striking a very fetching pose. “I’m no frail little flower to be kept in a teapot. Neither is Mike. We both come from good stock. You’ve shown me you’re a violent man of ingenious invention. Well, I’m pretty good stuff myself. The way I see it we’ve got one goal, to get to Hong Kong before midnight. I think you’ve carried us long enough. I don’t see how you’re still on your feet the way you look. It’s time we started carrying our own share of the load. Do you agree, Mike?”

Mike jumped to his feet. “You tell him, Mom.”

Kathy winked at Mike, then looked at Nick, her hand shielding her eyes again. “So I have only one question for you, Mr. Nick Carter. How do we stop that train?”

Nick chuckled softly to himself. “Tough as nails, aren’t you? Sounds, like mutiny to me.”

Katby walked up to him, her hands at her sides. There was an earnest, pleading look on her lovely face. Softly, she said, “Not a mutiny, sir. An offer of help, out of respect, admiration and devotion to our leader. You destroy villages and blow up boats. Now show us how you stop trains.”

Nick felt an ache in his chest that he didn’t fully understand. And there was a feeling growing inside him, a deep feeling for her.

But it was impossible, he knew that. She was a married woman with a family. No, it was just that he was sleepy, hungry and thirsty. Her loveliness had hit him at a time when he was not his strongest.

“All right,” he said, matching her stare. He pulled Hugo from his waistband. “As I cut branches and bushes, I want you to pile them on the railroad tracks. We’ll need a big pile, one they can see from quite a distance.” He walked back to the heavy growth with Kathy and Mike following him. “They may not stop,” he said as he began cutting. “But maybe they’ll slow enough for us to jump on.”

It took almost two hours before Nick was satisfied with the height. It looked like a green, sappy mound, about four feet around and almost six feet tall. From a distance it looked as though it would completely block any train.

Kathy stood after placing the last branch on the pile and wiped her brow with the back of her hand. “Now what happens?” she asked.

Nick shrugged. “Now we wait.”

Mike began picking up pebbles and pitching them into the trees.

Nick walked up behind the boy. “You’ve got a good arm there, Mike. You play Little League?”

Mike stopped pitching and started shaking the pebbles in his hand. “Pitched four shutouts last year.”

“Four? That’s good. How did you end up in the league?”

Mike threw the pebbles down with disgust. “Lost in the playoffs. We ended up in second place.”

Nick smiled. He could see the father in the boy, the way the straight black hair lay over one side of the forehead, the piercing black eyes. “Well,” he said. “There’s always next year.” He started to walk away. Mike held his arm and looked into his eyes.

“Nick, I’m worried about Mother.”

Nick shot a glance at Kathy. She sat with her legs under her, pulling weeds from between the pebbles, just as though she were in her front yard. “Why are you worried?” he asked.

“Give it to me straight,” Mike said. “We aren’t going to make it, are we?”

“Of course we’re going to make it. We’ve got a few hours of daylight plus half the night. The time to start worrying is ten minutes to midnight if we’re not in Hong Kong. We’ve only got sixty miles to go. If we don’t get there, then I’ll worry with you. But until then, keep saying we’ll make it.”

“What about Mother? She’s not like you and me — I mean being a woman and all.”

“You and me, Mike,” Nick said with feeling. “We’ll take care of her.”

The boy smiled. Nick walked over to where Kathy was sitting.

She looked up at him and shook her head. “I wish you’d try to get some sleep.”

“I don’t want to miss my train,” Nick said.

Then Mike shouted. “Listen, Nick!”

Nick whirled. Sure enough, the tracks were buzzing. He grabbed Kathy’s hand and yanked her to her feet. “Come on.”

Kathy was already running beside him. Mike joined them and all three began running along the tracks. They ran until the pile they had built was almost out of sight behind them. Then Nick pulled Kathy and Mike about five feet into the forest. Then they stopped.

They panted for awhile until they could breathe normally. “This should be far enough down,” Nick said. “Now don’t go for it until I tell you.”

They could hear a dim clacking sound steadily growing louder. Then they heard the lumbering noise of a fast-moving train. Nick had his right arm around Kathy, his left around Mike. Kathy’s cheek was on his chest. Mike had the Tommy gun in his left hand. The noise grew louder; then they could see the huge black engine passing in front of them. In a second it was past them, and the boxcars blurred by. Slow down, Nick thought. Easy.

There was a loud screech that grew louder as the cars became easier to see. Nick noticed one out of four had the doors open. The screeching kept on, slowing the huge snake of connected cars. There was a loud thud that Nick guessed was the engine hitting the pile of shrubs. Then the screeching stopped. The cars were moving by slowly now. Then they began to pick up speed.

“They aren’t going to stop,” Nick said. “Come on. It’s now or never.”

He ran ahead of Kathy and Mike. The cars were picking up speed quickly. He put all his strength in his tired legs, and ran alongside the open doorway of a boxcar. With his hand on the floor of the car, he jumped and twisted, landing in a sitting position on the doorway. Kathy was right behind him. He reached down for her but she started falling back. Her breath was giving out, she was slowing. Nick got to his knees. Holding the door-post for support, he leaned out, wrapped his left arm around her tiny waist, and swept her off her feet and into the car behind him. Then he reached down for Mike. But Mike was quick on his feet. He grabbed Nick’s hand and swung himself into the car. The Tommy gun clanged beside him. They lay back, breathing hard, feeling the side-to-side sway of the car, listening to the clackety-clack of the wheels on the tracks. The car smelled of stale straw and old cow dung, but Nick couldn’t keep from smiling. They were on their way at about sixty miles an hour.

The train ride lasted for a little more than half an hour. Kathy and Mike were sleeping. Even Nick was dozing. He had dried all the shells in Wilhelmina and the Tommy gun, and swayed back and forth with the car, his head nodding. The first thing he noticed was a longer space between the clackety-clack of the wheels. When he opened his eyes, he saw the scenery was passing by much more slowly. He quickly got to his feet and moved to the open doorway. The train was entering a village. Ahead of the engine, the tracks were blocked by more than fifteen soldiers. It was dusk; the sun had almost set. Nick counted ten cars between his and the engine. The engine hissed and squeaked as it slowed to a stop.

“Mike,” Nick called.

Mike woke immediately. He sat up rubbing his eyes. “What is it?”

“Soldiers. They’ve stopped the train. Get your mother up. We’re going to have to leave.”

Mike shook Kathy’s shoulder. Her shift was split almost to her waist from running to the train. She sat up without a word, then both she and Mike got to their feet.

Nick said, “I think there’s a highway close by leading to a border town called Shench’ Uan. We’re going to have to steal some kind of vehicle.”

“How far is it to this town?” Kathy asked.

“Probably twenty to thirty miles. We still might make it if we can get a car.”

“Look,” Mike said. “The soldiers are around the engine.”

Nick said, “They’ll start searching the boxcars next. The shadows are on this side. I think we can make it to that shack over there. I’ll go first. I’ll keep an eye on the soldiers, then motion for you to follow one at a time.”

Nick took the Tommy gun. He dropped from the car, then waited in a crouch watching the front of the train. The soldiers were talking with the engineer. Keeping low, he ran a distance of about fifteen feet to an old way-station shack. He rounded the corner, then stopped. Watching the soldiers closely, he motioned for Mike and Kathy. Kathy dropped down first, and as she ran across the clearing, Mike left the car. Kathy reached Nick with Mike right behind her.

They moved behind buildings toward the front of the train. When they were far enough ahead of the soldiers, they crossed the tracks.

It was dark by the time Nick found the highway. He stood on the edge of it with Kathy and Mike behind him.

To his left was the village they had just come from, to his right was the way to Shench’ Uan.

“Do we hitchhike?” Kathy asked.

Nick rubbed his heavily bearded chin. “Too many soldiers move along this highway. We sure as hell don’t want to stop a truckload of them. The border guards probably spend some evenings and leaves in that village. It’s for sure no soldier is going to stop for me.”

“They would for me” Kathy said. “Soldiers are the same everywhere. They like girls. And let’s face it, that’s what I am.”

Nick said, “You don’t have to sell me.” He turned to look at the gully running along the highway, then back at her. “Sure you can handle it?”

She smiled and struck that fetching pose again. “What do you think?”

Nick returned the smile. “All right. Here’s how we’ll work it. Mike, stretch out along the highway here.” He pointed to Kathy. “Your story is your car ran into the gully. Your boy is hurt. You need help. It’s a lame story, but the best I can do on such short notice.”

Kathy was still smiling. “If they’re soldiers, I don’t think they’ll be too interested in any story I tell them.”

Nick pointed a warning finger at her. “You just be careful.”

She hung her head. “Yes, sir.”

“Let’s get in the gully until we see a likely prospect.”

As they jumped down into the gully, a pair of headlights appeared coming from the village.

Nick said, “Too high for a car. Looks like a truck. Stay put.”

It was a troop truck. The soldiers were singing as it passed. It went by and on down the highway. Then a second pair of headlights appeared.

“This is a car,” Nick said. “Get out there, Mike.”

Mike jumped out of the gully and stretched out. Kathy was right behind him. She smoothed her shift and patted her hair. Then she struck that pose again. As the car approached, she began waving her arms, making sure she held that pose. Tires squealed on the pavement as the car shuddered to a halt Still it passed Kathy about seven feet before it completely stopped.

There were three soldiers in it. They were drunk. Two got out immediately and started back to Kathy. The driver got out, staggered to the rear of the car and stopped, watching the other two. They were laughing. Kathy started to tell her story, but she had been right. All they wanted was her. One took her arm and mentioned something about how she looked. The other started patting her breast, making noises of approval. Nick moved quickly along the gully to the front of the car. When he was ahead of it, he climbed out of the gully and started for the driver. Hugo was in his right hand. He moved along the side of the car and came up behind the soldier. His left hand went over the mouth, and with one swift movement he sliced Hugo across the man’s throat. He felt warm blood on his hand as the soldier sank to the ground.

Kathy was pleading with the other two. They had hep shift above her waist, and while one pawed and rubbed her, the other was pulling her toward the car. Nick went for the one pulling her. He came up behind him, grabbed a handful of hair, yanked the soldier’s head back, and sliced Hugo across his throat. The last soldier saw him. He shoved Kathy aside, and pulled out a wicked-looking dagger. Nick had no time for a prolonged knife fight. The soldier’s beady eyes were dull with drink. Nick tock four steps back, switched Hugo to his left hand, pulled Wilhelmina from his waistband and shot the man’s face from his head. Kathy screamed. She doubled over, holding her stomach, and staggered to the car. Mike had jumped to his feet. He stood stiff, staring at the scene. Nick hadn’t wanted either of them to see anything like this, but he knew it had to happen. They were in his world, not theirs, and although Nick did not care for this part of his job, he accepted it. He hoped they would. Without hesitating, Nick rolled the three dead bodies into the gully.

“Get in the car, Mike,” he ordered.

Mike didn’t move. He stared at the ground, his eyes wide.

Nick went to him, slapped him twice across the face, and pushed him to the car. Mike went reluctantly at first, then he seemed to snap out of it and climbed into the back seat. Kathy was still bent over, holding onto the car for support. Nick put his arm around her shoulder and helped her into the front seat. He ran around the front of the car and got behind the wheel. He fired up the engine and started driving down the highway.

The car was a banged-up, tired, 1950 Austin. The gauge showed half a tank of gas. The silence in the car was almost deafening. He could feel Kathy’s eyes boring into the side of his face. The car smelled of stale wine. Nick wished he had one of his cigarettes. Finally Kathy spoke. “This is just a job to you, isn’t it? You don’t care anything about me or Mike. Just get us to Hong Kong before midnight, no matter what. And kill whoever gets in your way.”

“Mother,” Mike said. “He’s doing it for Dad, too.” He put his hand on Nick’s shoulder. “I understand now.”

Kathy looked down at her fingers twisted together in her lap. “I’m sorry, Nick,” she said.

Nick kept his eyes on the road. “It’s been rough on all of us. You’ve both been fine so far. Don’t come apart on me now. We’ve still got to get across that border.”

She touched his hand on the steering wheel. “Your crew won’t mutiny,” she said.

Suddenly Nick heard the roar of an airplane engine. It sounded soft at first, then steadily grew louder. It came from behind them. All at once the highway around the Austin was being chewed up by gunfire. Nick turned the wheel first to the right then to the left, zigzagging the car. There was a whoosh as the plane passed overhead, then it turned to the left, climbing for another pass. Nick had been moving at fifty miles an hour. Up ahead he could faintly make out the taillights of a troop truck.

“How did they know so soon?” Kathy asked.

Nick said, “Another truck must have found the bodies and radioed in. Since it sounds like an old prop plane, they probably grabbed whatever was flyable. I’m going to try something. I’ve got a hunch that pilot is going strictly by headlights.”

The plane hadn’t completed its pass yet. Nick switched off the lights of the Austin, then pulled off the highway and stopped. He could hear Mike’s heavy breathing from the back seat. There were no trees or anything he could park under. If he was wrong, they would be sitting ducks. Then he faintly heard the airplane engine. The engine noise grew louder. Nick felt himself beginning to sweat. The plane was low. It zoomed over them and kept dropping. Then Nick saw fire spitting from the front of its wings. From that distance he couldn’t see the truck. But he saw the orange ball of flame roll into the air and he heard the deep thunder of explosion. The plane climbed to make another pass.

“We’d better sit tight for awhile,” Nick said.

Kathy had buried her face in her hands. They could all see the truck burning just over the horizon.

The plane was higher as it made its final pass. It flew past the Austin, then the burning truck, and kept going. Nick moved the Austin slowly forward. He stayed to the side of the highway, driving at under thirty. He kept the lights off. They moved painfully slowly until they approached the burning truck. Bodies were scattered all over the highway and along the sides. Some had already burned black, others were still burning. Kathy kept her face in her hands so she couldn’t see. Mike leaned on the front seat, looking with Nick through the windshield. Nick crisscrossed the Austin back and forth across the highway, trying to get through the area without running over any of the bodies. He made it through, then picked up speed, keeping the headlights off. Up ahead he could see the blinking lights of Shench’ Uan.

As they drove closer to the city, Nick tried to visualize what the border would be like. It would be senseless to try to bluff their way through. Every soldier in China was probably looking for them. They would have to crash through. If he remembered right, this border was merely a large gate in the fence. There would be a barrier, of course, but on the other side of the gate there would be nothing, at least not until they got to Fan Ling on the Hong Kong side. That would be six or seven miles from the gate.

They were approaching Shench’ Uan now. It contained one main street, and at the end of it Nick could see a guard rail across it. He pulled over to the side and stopped. There were about ten soldiers milling around the gate, their rifles hung on their shoulders. A machine gun was set up in front of the guard hut. Because of the late hour, the street through town was dark and deserted, but the area around the gate was well lighted.

Nick rubbed his tired eyes. “This is it,” he said. “We don’t have much in the way of weapons.”

“Nick.” It was Mike. “There are three rifles on the back seat here.”

Nick turned in his seat. “Good boy, Mike. They will help.” He looked at Kathy. She was still watching the guard rail. “Are you all right?” he asked.

She turned to him. Her lower lip was between her teeth, her eyes started to fill with tears. Moving her head from side to side, she said, “Nick, I… I don’t think I can go through with it.”

Killmaster took her hand. “Listen, Kathy, this is the end of it. Once we get through that gate it will be over. You’ll be with John again. You can go home.”

She closed her eyes and nodded.

“Can you drive?” he asked.

She nodded again.

Nick climbed over to the back seat. He checked the three rifles. They were ancient Russian-made but looked in good condition. He turned to Mike. “Roll down the windows on the left side there.” Mike did it. Meanwhile Kathy slid behind the wheel. Nick said, “I want you to sit on the floor, Mike, with your back against the door.” Mike did as he was told. “Keep your head under that window.” Killmaster untied the shirt-sack from around his waist. He set the four grenades side-by-side between Mike’s legs. “Here’s what you do, Mike,” he said. “When I give you the word, you pull the pin on the first grenade, count to five, then toss it over your shoulder and out the window, count to ten, pick up the second one, and do it again until they’re ah gone. Have you got that straight?”

“Yes, sir.”

Killmaster turned to Kathy. He put a hand gently on her shoulder. “You see,” he said, “It’s a straight line from here to the gate. I want you to start off in low, then shift to second. When the car is heading straight for the gate, I’ll give you the word. Then I want you to hold the steering wheel steady at the bottom, push the gas pedal to the floor and lay your head on the seat. Remember, both of you, keep down!”

Kathy nodded.

Nick stationed himself at the window opposite Mike with the Tommy gun. He made sure the three rifles were within easy reach. “Everybody ready?” he asked.

He got nods from both of them.

“All right, then, let’s go!”

Kathy jerked slightly starting off. She pulled into the middle of the street and started for the gate. Then she shifted into second.

“You look good,” Nick said. “Now hit it!”

The Austin seemed to lurch as Kathy pushed down the gas pedal, then it quickly started picking up speed. Kathy’s head went down out of sight.

The guards at the gate watched, curious, as the car approached them. Nick didn’t want to open fire quite yet. As the guards saw the Austin was picking up speed, they knew what was being tried. The rifles came off their shoulders. Two of them ran quickly for the machine gun. One fired with his rifle, the bullet plinking a star pattern in the windshield. Nick leaned out the window and with a short spray from the Tommy gun cut down one of the guards at the machine gun. More rifle shots came, shattering the windshield. Nick gave two more short sprays, the bullets finding their marks. Then the Tommy gun was out of ammunition. “Now, Mike!” he shouted.

Mike fumbled with the grenades for a few seconds, then got down to business. They were within yards of the cross-bar. The first grenade exploded, killing one guard. The machine gun started chattering, its bullets thudding like hailstones into the car. A front side window was cut in half and fell out. Nick had Wilhelmina out. He fired, missed, and fired again, dropping one guard. The second grenade exploded, close to the machine gun, but not close enough to hurt those operating it. It chattered away, chewing the car apart. The windshield became fragments, then opened as the last of the glass was shot away. Nick kept firing, sometimes hitting, sometimes missing, until finally all he got was a click when he pulled the trigger. The third grenade exploded near the guard shack, leveling it to the ground. One of the machine-gun operators was hit by something and fell. A tire exploded as the chattering machine gun chewed away at it. The Austin started veering to the left. “Pull the wheel to the right!” Nick shouted to Kathy. She pulled, the car straightened, smashed through the guard rail, shuddered, kept moving. The fourth grenade wiped out a large section of fence. Nick was firing with one of the Russian rifles. Its accuracy left much to be desired. The guards closed in behind the car. The rifles were to their shoulders; they fired at the back of the car. The back window was plinked and starred, with their bullets. They kept on firing even after their bullets could no longer hit the car.

“Are we through?” Kathy asked.

Killmaster threw the Russian rifle out the window. “You can sit up, but keep that gas pedal to the floor.”

Kathy sat up. The Austin started to misfire, then cough. Finally the engine just quit running, the car slowed to a stop.

Mike had a green tinge to his face. “Let me out,” he cried. “I think I’m going to be sick!” He crawled out of the car and disappeared into the bushes lining the road.

Glass was everywhere. Nick crawled over to the front seat. Kathy was staring through a window that didn’t exist. Her shoulders started to shake; then she began to cry. She didn’t try to hide the tears, she let them come from somewhere deep inside her. They rolled down her cheeks and dropped from her chin. Her whole body shook. Nick put his arm around her and pulled her close to him.

Her face went to his chest In a muffled voice, she sobbed, “Can… can I come apart now?”

Nick stroked her hair. “Let them come, Kathy,” he said softly. He knew it wasn’t his hunger or thirst or lack of sleep. His feeling for her ran deep inside him, deeper than he wanted it to. Her crying had diminished to sobs. Her head came away slightly from his chest, to lay in the crook of his arm. She sniffled, looking up at him, her eyelashes wet, her lips slightly apart. Gently Nick moved strands of hair from her forehead. He softly put his lips on hers. She returned the kiss, then moved her head away from his.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” she whispered.

“I know,” Nick said. “I’m sorry.”

She gave him a weak smile. “I’m not.”

Nick helped her out of the car. Mike joined them.

“Feel better,” Nick asked him.

He nodded, then waved a hand at the car. “What do we do now?”

Nick started off. “We walk to Fan Ling.”

They hadn’t gone far when Nick heard the slapping of helicopter blades. He looked up and saw the chopper approaching them. “Into the bushes!” he shouted.

They crouched down among the brush. The helicopter circled above them. It dropped down slightly as though to make sure, then flew off in the direction from which it had come.

“Did they see us?” Kathy asked.

“Probably.” Nick’s teeth were clamped tight together.

Kathy sighed. “I thought we would be safe now.”

“You are safe,” Nick said through his clenched teeth. “I got you out, and you belong to me.” He regretted saying it immediately afterward. His mind felt like oatmeal. He was tired of planning, of thinking; he couldn’t even remember when he had last slept. He noticed Kathy was looking at him strangely. It was a secret womanly look he had seen only twice before in his lifetime. It told reams of unspoken words which always trimmed down to one word “if.” If he wasn’t what he was, if she wasn’t what she was, if they didn’t come from such completely separate worlds, if he wasn’t devoted to his work and she to her family — if, if. Such things were always impossible, they both knew it.

Two pairs of headlights appeared on the highway. Wilhelmina was empty; all Nick had was Hugo. He pulled the stiletto from his waistband. The cars approached them, and he stood. They were Jaguar sedans, and the driver of the front car was Hawk. The cars stopped. The rear door of the second one opened and John Loo stepped out, his right arm in a sling.

“Dad!” Mike shouted and started toward him at a run.

“John,” Kathy whispered. “John!” She too ran to him.

They hugged each other, all three crying. Nick put Hugo away. Hawk got out of the lead car, a black stub of cigar between his teeth. Nick walked up to him. He could see the loose-fitting suit, the creased, leathery face.

“You look like hell, Carter,” Hawk said.

Nick nodded. “Did you happen to bring a pack of cigarettes?”

Hawk reached into his coat pocket and tossed a pack at Nick. “You’re cleared with the police,” he said.

Nick lit a cigarette. John Loo came toward them with Kathy and Mike on each side. He reached out his left hand. “Thank you, Nick,” he said. His eyes were filled with tears.

Nick took the hand. “Take care of them.”

Mike broke from his father and hugged Nick around the waist. He too was crying.

Killmaster ran his hand through the boy’s hair. “Almost time for spring practice, isn’t it?”

Mike nodded, then joined his father. Kathy was hugging the professor; she ignored Nick. They walked back to the second car. The door was held open for them. Mike climbed in, then John. Kathy started to, then halted, her foot almost inside. She said something to John, then came back to Nick. There was a white knitted sweater around her shoulders. She looked, somehow, more like a housewife now. She stood in front of Nick, looking up at him. “I don’t suppose we’ll ever see you again.”

“Ever is an awful long time,” he said.

She stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. “I wish… I…”

“Your family is waiting.”

She sucked her lower lip between her teeth and ran to the car. The door was shut, the car started, and the Loo family drove out of sight.

Nick was alone with Hawk. “What happened to the professor’s arm?” he asked.

Hawk said, “That’s how they got your name out of him. Pulled a few fingernails, broke a couple of bones. This was a rough one.”

Nick was still watching the taillights of the Loo car.

Hawk opened the door. “You’ve got a couple of weeks. I guess you’ll be heading back to Acapulco.”

Killmaster turned to Hawk then. “Right now all I want is hours and hours of uninterrupted sleep.” He thought of Laura Best and how it had been in Acapulco, then he thought of Sharon Russell, the pretty airline stewardess. “I think I’ll try Barcelona this time,” he said.

“Later,” Hawk told him. “You get your sleep. Then I’m going to buy you a good steak dinner, and while we get drunk you can tell me what happened. Barcelona will come later.”

Nick raised his eyebrows in surprise, and he wasn’t sure, but he thought he felt Hawk pat his back as he got into the car.