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must have been that of a stun rifle came next. Then a brief struggle,
followed by a stun gun After that, silence. Is the Professor
alive?"
"He is, yeah. What was he asking you about?"
"He, and the young woman, were apparently interested in the activities
over the past few months of the Yakuhin Pharmaceutical Company of
Kyoto. He had only just begun to inquire about the company, however,
when the intruders--"
"Put your gun aside, Mr. Cardigan," ordered a voice from the doorway.
"Then, if you'd be so kind, raise your hands."
:i36i:
he man with the lazgun in his left hand was Japanese. He was plump,
wore a pale-green suit and had a wide, dimpled smile. "Stand clear of
the desk, Mr. Cardigan." Stepping around the shattered tea things in
the hallway, he came into the room. He smelled strongly of
sandalwood.
Jake followed instructions. "That's an impressive perfume you're
wearing," he observed. "Who are you?"
"My favorite scent and, perhaps, I tend to overdo it," admitted the
plump Japanese, his smile growing wider. "Let us simply say that I'm
affiliated with the Hokori cartel."
"You stayed behind after they grabbed Beth, huh?"
"Yes, in the event that you were able to evade the trap set for you and
came here seeking your paramour. A wise move, as it turns out."
"So you guys have Beth?" "She's in our hands." "Why?"
"It was felt she'd make a useful hostage," he replied. "And there is
apparently some interest in consulting her on technical matters."
"About the plague?"
The smile stretched even wider. "I suggest you come along with me
now."
"To see Tora Hokori?"
William S hath r
"It will be best if you simply accompany me, reserving any further
questions for later." He gestured toward the doorway with his laz gun.
"My air car is parked in the lane behind the house." Shrugging one
shoulder, Jake started for the exit. The smiling Japanese moved in
close behind him.
Two steps beyond the threshold Jake said, "Damn." He seemed to slip on
the spilled tea and his right foot went sliding.
He twisted, made a grab for the Japanese to keep himself from
falling.
That only succeeded in sending them both crashing to the floor. Jake
then chopped the gun out of the other man's grasp, got himself quickly
upright and then planted a forceful kick square in his groin.
While the Japanese doubled in pain, Jake stepped over him and scooped
up the fallen lazgun. He then darted into the den to retrieve his
abandoned stun gun
Back in the hall he said to the fallen gunman, "Now you're going to
tell me where they have Beth."
Wincing, the Japanese made it to his feet. "Your conduct has been most
ungentlemanly," he said disapprovingly.
"Yeah, it has," admitted Jake, grinning. "Where is she?" "You and I
operate under entirely different codes of ethics." He all at once
brought his right hand up to his mouth. "I have no intention of
betraying the..."
The poison he'd gulped down was quick and efficient. He fell to the
floor and was dead in under ten seconds.
Jake frowned down at him. "Damn," he said again.
"Wrestlers yet again," observed Gomez, scowling, thrusting his hands
deep into his trouser pockets and coming in sideways out of the misty
afternoon alley.
"At least they're not hussies, like that batch you insisted on
liberating from The Casino," said Natalie as she shut the office door
after him. "We were, I might mention, extremely lucky to get this
abandoned facility for our use as a temporary base and if it weren't
for the fact that I have several highly helpful colleagues here in Oh,
Gomez, what happened to your face?"
He crossed over to the desk, which was piled high with gloposters
announcing long-ago events held here at the RoboSumo Palace. "I was
detained by a somewhat protracted discussion with several of Kyoto's
finest."
"But you're bruised and battered." She stood watching him,
hands clasped together in front of her.
"In its initial stages our chat was a trifle boisterous," he
admitted,
sitting down, gingerly, in the wobbly desk chair. "That's what happens
when the cops walk in and find you with the corpse of one of their own
inspectors."
"Which inspector was that?"
Gomez, his deep frown never deserting him, recounted for her what had
gone on at Jake and Beth's rooms at the inn.
"But finally the police must have listened to reason," Natalie said
after he concluded. "I mean, you're here."
"They mostly listened to threats, coming from Bascom's ]apan side
connections."
"What about Beth Kittridge--where is she?"
"Jake went hunting for her. Hasn't he showed up here yet?" Natalie
shook her head. "No, he hasn't," she replied. "However, a really
dreadful man showed up here a few moments ago claiming to be an
informant of Jake's."
"Yeah, Jake was going to tell the guy to meet him here."
"Well, he showed up."
Gomez got to his feet. "So where is he?" "Over there." The redhaired
reporter pointed. "I don't see him."
"On the floor with the robot wrestlers."
Stacked against the far wall were six fat robot sumo wrestlers in full
costume. Sprawled in front of the two neat piles was a thin young
Chinese in a long plaid overcoat.
"Hey, that's Timecheck. What did you do to the guy?"
"Well, he seemed very furtive and seedy-looking to me, so when he
persisted in--"
"Of course the lad is furtive, chiquita. That's one of the
characteristics of his trade."
"I only used my stun gun on its lowest setting, so he ought to be
coming around any second now."
Timecheck stirred and groaned. "Woops," murmured the Chinese as he sat
up and shook his head. "What time is it?" He rolled up the right
sleeve of his rumpled overcoat, revealing a silver plated metal arm
studded with over a dozen watch faces.
"That's another thing that annoyed me about him," Natalie whispered to
Gomez. "He kept offering to tell me what time it was in various dull
cities around the--"
"Exactly 4:16 here in Kyoto," said the thin young man as Gomez helped
him up. "Hiya, Sid, good to see you again. We had some great times
together when I was living in Greater LA, huh? Jake here yet?"
"He'll arrive shortly."
"If we were in Ethiopia now, it would be exactly--"
"Timecheck, do you have something important to pass along to Jake?"
The informant was looking sourly in Natalie's direction. "This quiff a
pal of yours?"
"Business associate merely."
"Jeez, you're not bailing her, are you?" asked Timecheck.
"No, no, nay." Gomez led him over, settled him in the desk chair.
"Sit down, collect your scattered wits."
"I'd really like to believe," continued Natalie, "that if you were
forced to choose between me and a shabby tipster from the lower depths
that you wouldn't hesitate to"
"Bastante, enough," Gomez warned her with a pleasant smile. "I got
only the fondest memories of providing information for you and Jake,"
said Timecheck, bringing one of the watches up close to his eyes.
"Huh... Poughkeepsie time is running about eighteen sees slow. Must be
an aftereffect of getting zozzled by this skirt's stunner.
Coing to have to add repair cos:s to your tab, Sid, unless I can patch
it myself Let me tell you, friend to friend, you maybe ought not to
hang out with any dame who is so quick to shoot down innocent
bystanders or--"
Someone had tapped on the door.
Checking a security monitor, Natalie announced, "Good, it's
Jake."
"About time," commented Timecheck. ":37:'..
he awoke in darkness.
Beth found herself lying on her back, staring up into thick blackness.
Wherever she was, it was cold and damp. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]