璇玑之心刃·冷血悍将-第125章

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wn　neighborhood　in　Indianapolis；　merely　ten　years　before；　was　vast。　How　had　things　changed　so　rapidly？　How　had　he　missed　it？　His　time　in　the　Navy；　his　life　on　the　island；　had　insulated　him　from　everything。　He　was　a　rube；　an　innocent；　a　tourist　in　his　own　country。
He　looked　over　at　Pam。　She　seemed　all　right；　though　a　little　tense。　Those　people　were　dangerous；　but　not　to　the　two　of　them。　He‘d　been　careful　to　remain　invisible；　to　drive　like　everyone　else；　meandering　around　the　few　blocks　of　the　‘business‘　area　in　an　irregular　pattern。　He　was　not　blind　to　the　dangers；　Kelly　told　himself。　In　searching　for　patterns　of　activity；　he　hadn‘t　made　any　of　his　own。　If　anyone　had　eyeballed　him　and　his　vehicle　especially　hard；　he　would　have　noticed。　And　besides；　he　still　had　his　Colt　。45　between　his　legs。　However　formidable　these　thugs　might　appear；　they　were　nothing　pared　to　the　North　Veitnamese　and　Vietcong　he‘d　faced。　They‘d　been　good。　He‘d　been　better。　There　was　danger　on　these　streets；　but　far　less　than　he　had　survived　already。
Fifty　yards　away　was　a　dealer　dressed　in　a　silk　shirt　that　might　have　been　brown　or　maroon。　It　was　hard　to　tell　the　color　in　the　poor　illumination；　but　it　had　to　be　silk　from　the　way　it　reflected　light。　Probably　real　silk；　Kelly　was　willing　to　bet。　There　was　a　flashiness　to　these　vermin。　It　wasn‘t　enough　for　them　merely　to　violate　the　law；　was　it？　Oh；　no；　they　had　to　let　people　know　how　bold　and　daring　they　were。
Dumb；　Kelly　thought。　Very　dumb　to　draw　attention　to　yourself　that　way。　When　you　do　dangerous　things；　you　conceal　your　identity；　conceal　your　very　presence；　and　always　leave　yourself　with　at　least　one　route　of　escape。
‘It‘s　amazing　they　can　get　away　with　this；‘　Kelly　whispered　to　himself。
‘Huh？‘　Pam‘s　head　turned。
‘They‘re　so　stupid。‘　Kelly　waved　at　the　dealer　near　the　corner。　‘Even　if　the　cops　don‘t　do　anything；　what　if　somebody　decides　to　…　I　mean；　he‘s　holding　a　lot　of　money；　right？‘
‘Probably　a　thousand；　maybe　two　thousand；‘　Pam　replied。
‘So　what　if　somebody　tries　to　rob　him？‘
‘It　happens；　but　he‘s　carrying　a　gun；　too；　and　if　anyone　tries　…　‘
‘Oh　…　the　guy　in　the　doorway？‘
‘He‘s　the　real　dealer；　Kelly。　Didn‘t　you　know　that？　They　guy　in　the　shirt　is　his　lieutenant。　He‘s　the　guy　who　does　the　actual　…　what　do　you　call　it？‘
‘Transaction；‘　Kelly　replied　dryly；　reminding　himself　that　he‘d　failed　to　spot　something；　knowing　that　he‘d　allowed　his　pride　to　overe　his　caution。　Not　a　good　habit；　he　told　himself。
Pam　nodded。　‘That‘s　right。　Watch　…　watch　him　now。‘
Sure　enough；　Kelly　saw　what　he　now　realized　was　the　full　transaction。　Someone　in　a　car　…　another　visitor　from　the　suburbs；　Kelly　thought　…　handed　over　his　money　（an　assumption；　since　Kelly　couldn‘t　really　see；　but　surely　it　wasn‘t　a　Bank　Americard）。　The　lieutenant　reached　inside　the　shirt　and　handed　something　back。　As　the　car　pulled　off；　the　one　in　the　flamboyant　shirt　moved　across　the　sidewalk；　and　in　shadows　that　Kelly‘s　eyes　could　not　quite　perate　there　was　another　exchange。
‘Oh；　I　get　it。　The　lieutenant　holds　the　drugs　and　makes　the　exchange；　but　he　gives　the　money　to　his　boss。　The　boss　holds　the　earnings；　but　he　also　has　a　gun　to　make　sure　nothing　goes　wrong。　They‘re　not　as　dumb　as　I　thought　they　were。‘　
‘They‘re　smart　enough。‘
Kelly　nodded　and　made　a　mental　note；　chastising　himself　for　having　made　at　least　two　wrong　assumptions。　But　that‘s　why　you　did　reconnaissance；　after　all。
Let‘s　not　get　too　fortable；　Kelly；　he　told　himself。　Now　you　know　that　there‘s　two　bad　guys　up　there；　one　armed　and　well　concealed　in　that　doorway。　He　settled　in　his　seat　and　locked　his　eyes　on　the　potential　threat；　watching　for　patterns　of　activity。　The　one　in　the　doorway　would　be　the　real　target。　The　misnamed　‘lieutenant‘　was　just　a　hireling；　maybe　an　apprentice；　undoubtedly　expendable；　living　on　crumbs　or　mission。　The　one　he　could　just　barely　see　was　the　real　enemy。　And　that　fit　the　time…honored　pattern；　didn‘t　it？　He　smiled；　remembering　a　regional　political　officer　for　the　NVA。　That　job　had　even　carried　a　code　name。　ERMINE　COAT。　Four　days　they‘d　stalked　that　bastard；　after　they‘d　positively　identified　him；　just　to　make　sure　he　was　the　one；　then　to　learn　his　habits；　and　determine　the　best　possible　way　to　punch　his　ticket。　Kelly　would　never　forget　the　look　on　the　man‘s　face　when　the　bullet　entered　his　chest。　Then　their　three…mile　run　to　the　LZ；　while　the　NVA‘s　reaction　team　headed　in　the　wrong　direction　because　of　the　misleading　pyro…charge　he‘d　set　up。
What　if　that　man　in　the　shadows　was　his　target？　How　would　he　do　it？　It　was　an　interesting　mental　game。　The　feeling　was　surprisingly　godlike。　He　felt　like　an　eagle；　watching；　cataloging；　but　above　it　all；　a　predator　at　the　top　of　the　food　chain；　not　hungry　now；　riding　the　thermals　over　them。
He　smiled；　ignoring　the　warnings　that　the　bat…experienced　part　of　his　brain　was　beginning　to　generate。
Hmm。　He　hadn‘t　seen　that　car　before。　It　was　a　muscle　car；　a　Plymouth　Roadrunner；　red　as　a　candy　apple；　half　a　block　away。　There　was　something　odd　about　the　way　it　…
‘Kelly　。。。‘　Pam　suddenly　tensed　in　her　seat。
‘What　is　it？‘　His　hand　found　the　。45　and　loosened　it　in　the　holster　just　a　millimeter　or　so；　taking　fort　from　the　worn　wooden　grips。　But　the　fact　that　he‘d　reached　for　it；　and　the　fact　that　he‘d　felt　a　sudden　need　for　that　fort；　were　a　message　that　his　mind　could　not　ignore。　The　cautious　part　of　his　brain　began　to　assert　itself；　his　bat　instincts　began　to　speak　more　loudly。　Even　that　brought　a　surge　of　reflective　pride。　It‘s　so　nice；　he　reflected　in　the　blink　of　an　eye；　that　I　still　have　it　when　I　need　it。
‘I　know　that　car　…　it‘s　…‘
Kelly‘s　voice　was　calm。　‘Okay；　I‘ll　get　us　out　of　here。　You‘re　right；　it‘s　time　to　leave。‘　He　increased　speed；　maneuvering　left　to　get　past　the　Roadrunner。　He　thought　to　tell　Pam　to　get　down；　but　that　really　wasn‘t　necessary。　In　less　than　a　minute　he‘d　be　gone；　and　…　damn！
It　was　one　of　the　gentry　customers；　someone　in　a　black　Karmann…Ghia　convertible　who‘d　just　made　his　transaction；　and；　eager　to　have　this　area　behind　him；　shot　left　from　beyond　the　Roadrunner　only　to　stop　suddenly　for　yet　another　car　doing　much　the　same　thing。　Kelly　stood　on　his　brakes　to　avoid　a　collision；　didn‘t　want　that　to　happen　right　now；　did　he？　But　the　timing　worked　out　badly；　and　he　stopped　almost　right　next　to　the　Roadrunner；　whose　driver　picked　that　moment　to　get　out。　Instead　of　going　forward；　he　opted　to　walk　around　the　back　of　the　car；　and　in　the　course　of　turning；　his　eyes　ended　up　not　three　feet　from　Pam‘s　cringing　face。　Kelly　was　looking　that　way　also；　knowing　that　the　man　was　a　potential　danger；　and　he　saw　the　look　in　the　man‘s　eyes。　He　recognized　Pam。
‘Okay；　I　see　it；‘　his　voice　announced　with　an　eerie　calm；　his　bat　voice。　He　turned　the　wheel　farther　to　the　left　and　stepped　on　the　gas；　bypassing　the　little　sports　car　and　its　invisible　driver。　Kelly　reached　the　corner　a　few　seconds　later；　and　after　the　briefest　pause　to　check　traffic；　executed　a　hard　left　turn　to　evacuate　the　area。
‘He　saw　me！‘　Her　voice　hovered　on　the　edge　of　a　scream。
‘It‘s　okay；　Pam；‘　Kelly　replied；　watching　the　road　and　his　mirror。　‘We　are　leaving　the　area。　You‘re　with　me　and　you‘re　safe。‘
Idiot；　his　instincts　swore　at　the　rest　of　his　consciousness。　You‘d　better　hope　they　don‘t　follow。　That　car　has　triple　your　horsepower　and　…
‘Okay。‘　Bright；　low…slung　headlights　made　the　same　turn　Kelly‘d　executed　twenty　seconds　earlier。　He　saw　them　wiggle　left　and　right。　The　car　was　accelerating　hard　and　fishtailing　on　the　wet　asphalt。　Double　headlights。　It　wasn‘t　the　Karmann…Ghia。
You　are　now　in　danger；　his　instincts　told　him　calmly。　We　don‘t　know　how　much　yet；　but　it‘s　time　to　wake　up。
Roger　that。
Kelly　put　both　hands　on　the　wheel。　The　gun　could　wait。　He　started　evaluating　the　situation；　and　not　much　of　it　was　good。　His　Scout　was　not　made　for　this　sort　of　thing。　It　wasn‘t　a　sports　car；　wasn‘t　a　muscle　car。　He　had　four　puny　cylinders　under　the　hood。　The　Plymouth　Roadrunner　had　eight；　each　one　of　them　bigger　than　what　Kelly　was　now　calling　on。　Even　worse；　the　Roadrunner　was　made　for　low…end　acceleration　and　cornering；　while　the　Scout　had　been　designed　for　plodding　across　unpaved　ground　at　a　hot　fifteen　miles　per　hour。　This　was　not　good。
Kelly‘s　eyes　divided　their　time　equally　between　the　windshield　and　the　rearview　mirror。　There　wasn‘t　much　of　a　gap；　and　the　Roadrunner　was　closing　it　rapidly。
Assets；　his　brain　started　cataloging。　The　car　isn‘t　pletely　useless；　she‘s　a　rugged　little　bitch。　You　have　big；　mean　bumpers；　and　that　high　ground…clearance　means　you　can　ram　effectively。　So　what　about　the　coachwork？　That　Plymouth　might　be　a　status　symbol　for　jerks；　but　this　little　baby　can　be　–　is　–　a　weapon；　and　you　know　how　to　use　weapons。　The　cobwebs　fell　pletely　from　his　mind。
‘Pam；‘　Kelly　said　as　quietly　as　he　could　manage；　‘you　want　to　get　down　on　the　floor；　honey？‘
‘Are　they　…‘　She　started　to　turn；　the　fear　still　manifest　in　her　voice；　but　Kelly‘s　right　hand　pushed　her　down　towards　the　floor。
‘Looks　like　they‘re　following　us；　yes。　Now；　you　let　me　handle　this；　okay？‘　The　last　unengaged　part　of　his　consciousness　was　proud　of