璇玑之心刃·冷血悍将-第119章

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‘Little　Amy；‘　Greer　said　quietly。　‘How　they　grow。‘　Maybe　she　wouldn‘t　have　drowned　that　hot　July　day；　but　it　was　one　more　thing　to　remember　about　his　son。　One　life　saved；　maybe　three？　That　was　something；　wasn‘t　it？　Greer　asked　himself。
The　three　men　turned　and　left　the　grave　without　a　word；　heading　slowly　back　to　the　driveway。　They　had　to　stop　there。　A　funeral　procession　was　ing　up　the　hill；　soldiers　of　the　Third　Infantry　Regiment；　‘The　Old　Guard；‘　doing　their　somber　duty；　laying　another　man　to　rest。　The　admirals　lined　up　again；　saluting　the　flag　draped　on　the　casket　and　the　man　within。　The　young　Lieutenant　manding　the　detail　did　the　same。　He　saw　that　one　of　the　flag　officers　wore　the　pale　blue　ribbon　denoting　the　Medal　of　Honor；　and　the　severity　of　his　gesture　conveyed　the　depth　of　his　respect。
‘Well；　there　goes　another　one；‘　Greer　said　with　quiet　bitterness　after　they　had　passed　by。　‘Dear　God；　what　are　we　burying　these　kids　for？‘
‘　"；Pay　any　price；　bear　any　burden；　meet　any　hardship；　support　any　friend；　oppose　any　foe　。。。"；　‘　Cas　quoted。　‘Wasn‘t　all　that　long　ago；　was　it？　But　when　it　came　time　to　put　the　chips　on　the　table；　where　were　the　bastards？‘
‘We　are　the　chips；　Cas；‘　Dutch　Maxwell　replied。　‘This　is　the　table。‘
Normal　men　might　have　wept；　but　these　were　not　normal　men。　Each　surveyed　the　land　dotted　with　white　stones。　This　had　been　the　front　lawn　of　Robert　E。　Lee　once　…　the　house　was　still　atop　the　hill　…　and　the　placement　of　the　cemetery　had　been　the　cruel　gesture　of　a　government　that　had　felt　itself　betrayed　by　the　officer。　And　yet　Lee　had　in　the　end　given　his　ancestral　home　to　the　service　of　those　men　whom　he　had　most　loved。　That　was　the　kindest　irony　of　this　day；　Maxwell　reflected。
‘How　do　things　look　up　the　river；　James？‘
‘Could　be　better；　Dutch。　I　have　orders　to　clean　house。　I　need　a　pretty　big　broom。‘
‘Have　you　been　briefed　in　on　BOXWOOD　GREEN？‘
‘No。‘　Greer　turned　and　cracked　his　first　smile　of　the　day。　It　wasn‘t　much；　but　it　was　something；　the　others　told　themselves。　‘Do　I　want　to　be？‘
‘We‘ll　probably　need　your　help。‘
‘Under　the　table？‘
‘You　know　what　happened　with　KINGPIN；‘　Casimir　Podulski　noted。
‘They　were　damned　lucky　to　get　out；‘　Greer　agreed。　‘Keeping　this　one　tight；　eh？‘
‘You　bet　we　are。‘
‘Let　me　know　what　you　need。　You‘ll　get　everything　I　can　find。　You　doing　the　"；three"；　work；　Cas？‘
‘That‘s　right。‘　Any　designator　with　a　…3　at　the　end　denoted　the　operations　and　planning　department；　and　Podulski　had　a　gift　for　that。　His　eyes　glittered　as　brightly　as　his　Wings　of　Gold　in　the　morning　sun。
‘Good；‘　Greer　observed。　‘How‘s　little　Dutch　doing？‘
‘Flying　for　Delta　now。　Copilot；　he‘ll　make　captain　in　due　course；　and　I‘ll　be　a　grandfather　in　another　month　or　so。‘
‘Really？　Congratulations；　my　friend。‘　
‘I　don‘t　blame　him　for　getting　out。　I　used　to；　but　not　now。‘
‘What‘s　the　name　of　the　SEAL　who　went　in　to　get　him？‘
‘Kelly。　He‘s　out；　too；‘　Maxwell　said。
‘You　should　have　gotten　the　Medal　for　him；　Dutch；‘　Podulski　said。　‘I　read　the　citation。　That　was　as　hairy　as　they　e。‘
‘I　made　him　a　chief。　I　couldn‘t　get　the　Medal　for　him。‘　Maxwell　shook　his　head。　‘Not　for　rescuing　the　son　of　an　admiral；　Cas。　You　know　the　politics。‘
‘Yeah。‘　Podulski　looked　up　the　hill。　The　funeral　procession　had　stopped；　and　the　casket　was　being　moved　off　the　gun　carriage。　A　young　widow　was　watching　her　husband‘s　time　on　earth　end。　‘Yeah；　I　know　about　politics。‘
Tucker　eased　the　boat　into　the　slip。　The　inboard…outboard　drive　made　that　easy。　He　cut　the　engine　and　grabbed　the　mooring　lines；　which　he　tied　off　quickly。　Tony　and　Eddie　lifted　the　beer　cooler　out　while　Tucker　collected　the　loose　gear　and　snapped　a　few　covers　into　place　before　joining　his　panions　on　the　parking　lot。　
‘Well；　that　was　pretty　easy；‘　Tony　noted。　The　cooler　was　already　in　the　back　of　his　Ford　Country　Squire　station　wagon。
‘Who　do　you　suppose　won　the　race　today？‘　Eddie　asked。　They‘d　neglected　to　take　a　radio　with　them　for　the　trip。
‘I　had　a　yard　bet　on　Foyt；　just　to　make　it　interesting。‘
‘Not　Andretti？‘　Tucker　asked。
‘He‘s　a　paisan；　but　he　ain‘t　lucky。　Betting　is　business；‘　Piaggi　pointed　out。　Angelo　was　a　thing　of　the　past　now；　and　the　manner　of　his　disposal　was；　after　all；　a　little　amusing；　though　the　man　might　never　eat　crab　cakes　again。
‘Well；‘　Tucker　said；　‘you　know　where　to　find　me。‘
‘You‘ll　get　your　money；‘　Eddie　said；　speaking　out　of　place。　‘End　of　the　week；　the　usual　place。‘　He　paused。　‘What　if　demand　goes　up？‘
‘I　can　handle　it；‘　Tucker　assured　him。　‘I　can　get　all　you　want。‘
‘What　the　hell　kind　of　pipeline　do　you　have？‘　Eddie　asked；　pushing　further。
‘Angelo　wanted　to　know　that；　too；　remember？　Gentlemen；　if　I　told　you　that；　you　wouldn‘t　need　me；　would　you？‘
Tony　Piaggi　smiled。　‘Don‘t　trust　us？‘
‘Sure。‘　Tucker　smiled。　‘I　trust　you　to　sell　the　stuff　and　share　the　money　with　me。‘
Piaggi　nodded　approval。　‘I　like　smart　partners。　Stay　that　way。　It‘s　good　for　all　of　us。　You　have　a　banker？‘
‘Not　yet；　haven‘t　thought　about　it　much；‘　Tucker　lied。
‘Start　thinking；　Henry。　We　can　help　set　you　up；　overseas　bank。　It‘s　secure；　numbered　account；　all　that　stuff。　You　can　have　somebody　you　know　check　it　out。　Remember；　they　can　track　money　if　you‘re　not　careful。　Don‘t　live　it　up　too　much。　We‘ve　lost　a　lot　of　friends　that　way。‘
‘I　don‘t　take　chances；　Tony。‘
Piaggi　nodded。　‘Good　way　to　think。　You　have　to　be　careful　in　this　business。　The　cops　are　getting　smart。‘
‘Not　smart　enough。‘　Neither　were　his　partners；　when　it　came　to　that；　but　one　thing　at　a　time。
C5
　　　　CHAPTER　5
mitments
The　package　arrived　with　a　very　jet…lagged　Captain　at　the　Navy‘s　intelligence　headquarters　in　Suitland；　Maryland。　On…staff　photo…interpretation　experts　were　supplemented　by　specialists　from　the　Air　Force‘s　1127th　Field　Activities　Group　at　Fort　Belvoir。　It　took　twenty　hours　to　go　through　the　entire　process；　but　the　frames　from　the　Buffalo　Hunter　were　unusually　good；　and　the　American　on　the　ground　had　done　what　he　was　supposed　to　do：　look　up　and　stare　at　the　passing　reconnaissance　drone。
‘Poor　bastard　paid　the　price　for　it；‘　a　Navy　chief　observed　to　his　Air　Force　counterpart。　Just　behind　him　the　photo　caught　an　NVA　soldier　with　his　rifle　up　and　reversed。　‘I‘d　like　to　meet　you　in　a　dark　alley；　you　little　fuck。‘
‘What　do　you　think？‘　The　Air　Force　senior　master　sergeant　slid　an　ID　photo　over。
‘Close　enough　I‘d　bet　money　on　it。‘　Both　intelligence　specialists　thought　it　odd　that　they　had　such　a　thin　collection　of　files　to　pare　with　these　photographs；　but　whoever　had　guessed　had　guessed　well。　They　had　a　match。　They　didn‘t　know　that　what　they　had　was　a　series　of　photographs　of　a　dead　man。
Kelly　let　her　sleep；　glad　that　she　was　able　to　without　any　chemical　help。　He　got　himself　dressed；　went　outside；　and　ran　around　his　island　twice　…　the　circumference　was　about　three　quarters　of　a　mile　…　to　work　up　a　sweat　in　the　still　morning　air。　Sam　and　Sarah；　early　risers　also；　bumped　into　him　while　he　was　cooling　down　on　the　dock。
‘The　change　in　you　is　remarkable；　too；‘　she　observed。　She　paused　for　a　moment。　‘How　was　Pam　last　night？‘
The　question　jarred　Kelly　into　a　brief　silence；　followed　by：　‘What？‘
‘Oh；　shit；　Sarah　。。。‘　Sam　looked　away　and　nearly　laughed。　His　wife　flushed　almost　as　crimson　as　the　dawn。
‘She　persuaded　me　not　to　medicate　her　last　night；‘　Sarah　explained。　‘She　was　a　little　nervous；　but　she　wanted　to　try　and　I　let　her　talk　me　out　of　it。　That‘s　what　I　meant；　John。　Sorry。‘
How　to　explain　last　night？　First　he‘d　been　afraid　to　touch　her；　afraid　to　seem　to　be　pressing　himself　on　her；　and　then　she‘d　taken　that　as　a　sign　that　he　didn‘t　like　her　anymore；　and　then　。。。　things　had　worked　out。
‘Mainly　she　has　some　damned…fool　idea　…　‘　Kelly　stopped　himself。　Pam　could　talk　to　her　about　this；　but　it　wasn‘t　proper　for　him　to　do　so；　was　it？　‘She　slept　fine；　Sarah。　She　really　wore　herself　out　yesterday。‘
‘I　don‘t　know　that　I‘ve　ever　had　a　more　determined　patient。‘　She　stabbed　a　hard　finger　into　Kelly‘s　chest。　‘You‘ve　helped　a　lot；　young　man。‘
Kelly　looked　away；　not　knowing　what　he　was　supposed　to　say。　The　pleasure　was　all　mine？　Part　of　him　still　believed　that　he　was　taking　advantage　of　her。　He‘d　stumbled　upon　a　troubled　girl　and　。。。　exploited　her？　No；　that　wasn‘t　true。　He　loved　her。　Amazing　as　that　seemed。　His　life　was　changing　into　something　recognizably　normal　…　probably。　He　was　healing　her；　but　she　was　healing　him　as　well。
‘She‘s　…　she‘s　worried　that　I　won‘t　…　the　stuff　in　her　past；　I　mean。　I　really　don‘t　care　much　about　that。　You‘re　right；　she‘s　a　very　strong　girl。　Hell；　I　have　a　somewhat　checkered　past；　too；　y‘know？　I　ain‘t　no　priest；　guys。‘
‘Let　her　talk　it　out；‘　Sam　said。　‘She　needs　that。　You　have　to　let　things　in　the　open　before　you　start　dealing　with　them。‘
‘You‘re　sure　it　won‘t　affect　you？　It　might　be　some　pretty　ugly　stuff；‘　Sarah　observed；　watching　his　eyes。
‘Uglier　than　war？‘　Kelly　shook　his　head。　Then　he　changed　the　subject。　‘What　about　the　medications？‘
The　question　relieved　everyone；　and　Sarah　was　talking　work　again。　‘She‘s　been　through　the　most　crucial