璇玑之心刃·冷血悍将-第105部分

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‘Damned　if　I　know！　Maybe　it‘s　your　tangled　hair　…　or　your　runny　nose。‘　He　touched　her　chest　through　the　shirt。　‘No；　I　think　it‘s　your　heart。　No　matter　what‘s　behind　you；　your　heart　is　just　fine。‘
‘You　mean　that；　don‘t　you？‘　she　asked；　looking　at　his　chest。　There　was　a　long　moment；　then　Pam　smiled　up　at　him；　and　that；　too；　was　like　a　dawn。　The　orange…yellow　glow　of　the　rising　sun　lit　up　her　face　and　highlighted　her　fair　hair。
Kelly　wiped　the　tears　from　her　face；　and　the　wet　feel　of　her　cheeks　eliminated　whatever　doubts　he　might　have　had。　‘We‘re　going　to　have　to　get　you　some　clothes。　This　is　no　way　for　a　lady　to　dress。‘
‘Who　says　I‘m　a　lady？‘
‘I　do。‘
‘I‘m　so　scared！‘
Kelly　pulled　her　against　his　chest。　‘It‘s　okay　to　be　scared。　I　was　scared　all　the　time。　The　important　part　is　to　know　that　you‘re　going　to　do　it。‘　His　hands　rubbed　up　and　down　her　back。　He　hadn‘t　intended　to　make　this　a　sexual　encounter；　but　he　found　himself　being　aroused　until　he　realized　that　his　hands　were　rubbing　over　scars　made　by　men　with　whips　or　ropes　or　belts　or　other　odious　things。　Then　his　eyes　looked　straight　out　over　the　water；　and　it　was　just　as　well　that　she　couldn‘t　see　his　face。
‘You　must　be　hungry；‘　he　said；　stepping　away　from　her；　holding　on　to　her　hands。
She　nodded。　‘Starving。‘
‘That　I　can　fix。‘　Kelly　led　her　by　the　hand　back　to　the　bunker。　Already　he　loved　her　touch。　They　met　Sam　and　Sarah　ing　from　the　other　side　of　the　island　after　a　morning‘s　walk　and　stretch。
‘How　are　our　two　lovebirds？‘　Sarah　asked　with　a　beaming　smile；　because　she‘d　already　seen　the　answer；　watching　from　two　hundred　yards　away。
‘Hungry！‘　Pam　replied。
‘And　we‘re　getting　a　couple　of　screws　today；‘　Kelly　added　with　a　wink。
‘What？‘　Pam　asked。
‘Propellers；‘　Kelly　explained。　‘For　Sam‘s　boat。‘
‘Screws？‘
‘Sailor　talk；　trust　me。‘　He　grinned　at　her；　and　she　wasn‘t　sure　if　she　could　believe　it　or　not。
‘That　took　long　enough；‘　Tony　observed；　sipping　coffee　from　a　paper　cup。
‘Where‘s　mine？‘　Eddie　demanded；　irritable　from　lack　of　sleep。
‘You　told　me　to　put　the　fucking　heater　outside；　remember？　Get　your　own。‘
‘You　think　I　want　all　that　smoke　and　shit　in　here？　You　can　die　from　that　monoxide　shit；‘　Eddie　Morello　said　irritably。
Tony　was　tired　as　well。　Too　tired　to　argue　with　this　loudmouth。　‘Okay；　man；　well；　the　coffeepot‘s　outside。　Cups　are　there　too。‘
Eddie　grumbled　and　went　outside。　Неnrу；　the　third　man；　was　bagging　the　product　and　kept　out　of　the　argument。　It　had　actually　worked　out　a　little　better　than　he‘d　planned。　They‘d　even　bought　his　story　about　Angelo；　thus　eliminating　one　potential　partner　and　problem。　There　was　at　least　three　hundred　thousand　dollars‘　worth　of　finished　drugs　now　being　weighed　and　sealed　in　plastic　bags　for　sale　to　dealers。　Things　hadn‘t　gone　quite　as　planned。　The　expected　‘few　hours‘　of　work　had　lingered　into　an　all…night　marathon　as　the　three　had　discovered　that　what　they　paid　for　others　to　do　wasn‘t　quite　as　easy　as　it　looked。　The　three　bottles　of　bourbon　they‘d　brought　along　hadn‘t　helped　either。　Still　and　all；　over　three　hundred　thousand　dollars　of　profit　from　sixteen　hours　of　work　wasn‘t　all　that　bad。　And　this　was　just　the　beginning。　Tucker　was　just　giving　them　a　taste。
Eddie　was　still　worried　about　the　repercussions　of　Angelo‘s　demise。　But　there　was　no　turning　back；　not　after　the　killing；　and　he‘d　been　forced　into　backing　Tony‘s　play。　He　grimaced　as　he　looked　out　of　a　vacant　porthole　towards　an　island　north　of　what　had　once　been　a　ship。　Sunlight　was　reflecting　off　the　windows；　of　what　was　probably　a　nice；　large　power　cruiser。　Wouldn‘t　it　be　nice　to　get　one　of　those？　Eddie　Morello　liked　to　fish；　and　maybe　he　could　take　his　kids　out　sometime。　It　would　be　a　good　cover　activity；　wouldn‘t　it？
Or　maybe　crab；　he　told　himself。　After　all；　he　knew　what　crabs　ate。　The　thought　evoked　a　quiet　bark　of　a　laugh；　followed　by　a　brief　shudder。　Was　he　safe；　linked　up　with　these　men？　They　…　he　…　had　just　killed　Angelo　Vorano；　not　twenty…four　hours　earlier。　But　Angelo　wasn‘t　part　of　the　outfit；　and　Tony　Piaggi　was。　He　was　their　legitimacy；　their　pipeline　to　the　street；　and　that　made　him　safe　…　for　a　while。　As　long　as　Eddie　stayed　smart　and　alert。
‘What　room　do　you　suppose　this　was？‘　Tucker　asked　Piaggi；　just　to　make　conversation。
‘What　do　you　mean？‘
‘When　this　was　a　ship；　looks　like　it　was　a　cabin　or　something；‘　he　said；　sealing　the　last　envelope　and　placing　it　inside　the　beer　cooler。　‘I　never　thought　about　that。‘　Which　was　actually　true。
‘Captain‘s　cabin；　you　think？‘　Tony　wondered。　It　was　something　to　pass　the　time；　and　he　was　thoroughly　sick　of　what　they‘d　done　all　night。
‘Could　be；　I　suppose。　It‘s　close　to　the　bridge。‘　The　man　stood；　stretching；　wondering　why　it　was　that　he　had　to　do　all　the　hard　work。　The　answer　came　easily　enough。　Tony　was　a　‘made‘　man。　Eddie　wanted　to　bee　one。　He　would　never　be；　and　neither　would　Angelo；　Henry　Tucker　reflected；　glad　for　it。　He‘d　never　trusted　Angelo；　and　now　he　was　no　longer　a　problem。　One　thing　about　these　people；　they　seemed　to　keep　their　word　…　and　they　would　continue　to；　as　long　as　he　was　their　connection　to　the　raw　material；　and　not　one　minute　longer。　Tucker　had　no　illusions　about　that。　It　had　been　good　of　Angelo　to　make　his　connection　with　Tony　and　Eddie；　and　Angelo‘s　death　had　had　exactly　the　effect　on　Henry　that　his　own　death　would　have　on　the　other　two：　none。　All　men　have　their　uses；　Tucker　told　himself；　closing　the　beer　cooler。　And　the　crabs　had　to　eat　too。
With　luck　that　would　be　the　last　killing　for　a　while。　Tucker　didn‘t　shrink　from　it；　but　he　disliked　plications　that　often　came　from　killing。　A　good　business　ran　smoothly；　without　fuss；　and　made　money　for　everyone；　which　kept　everyone　happy；　even　the　customers　at　the　far　end　of　the　process。　Certainly　this　load　would　keep　them　happy。　It　was　good　Asian　heroin；　scientifically　processed　and　moderately　cut　with　nontoxic　elements　that　would　give　the　users　a　rocketship　high　and　a　calm；　gentle　descent　back　to　whatever　reality　they　were　trying　to　escape。　The　sort　of　rush　they　would　want　to　experience　again；　and　so　they‘d　return　to　their　pushers；　who　could　charge　a　little　extra　for　this　very　good　stuff。　‘Asian　Sweet‘　was　already　the　trade　name。
There　was　danger；　having　a　street　name。　It　gave　the　police　something　to　target；　a　name　to　chase　after；　specific　questions　to　ask；　but　that　was　the　risk　in　having　a　hot　product；　and　for　that　reason　he‘d　selected　his　associates　for　their　experience；　connections；　and　security。　His　processing　site　had　also　been　selected　with　an　eye　to　security。　They　had　a　good　five　miles　of　visibility；　and　a　fast　boat　with　which　to　make　their　escape。　Yeah；　there　was　danger；　to　be　sure；　but　all　life　was　danger；　and　you　measured　risk　against　reward。　Henry　Tucker‘s　reward　for　less　than　a　single　day‘s　work　was　one　hundred　thousand　dollars　in　untaxed　cash；　and　he　was　willing　to　risk　a　lot　for　that。　He　was　willing　to　risk　far　more　for　what　Piaggi‘s　connections　could　do；　and　now　he　had　them　interested。　Soon　they‘d　bee　as　ambitious　as　he　was。
The　boat　from　Solomons　arrived　a　few　minutes　early；　with　the　propellers。　The　doctors　hadn‘t　told　Kelly　to　keep　Pam　busy；　but　it　was　a　simple　enough　prescription　for　her　problems。　Kelly　wheeled　the　portable　pressor　back　onto　the　dock　and　started　it　up；　telling　her　how　to　regulate　the　airflow　by　keeping　an　eye　on　a　gauge。　Next　he　got　the　wrenches　he　needed　and　set　them　on　the　dock　also。
‘One　finger；　this　one；　two　fingers；　that　one；　and　three　fingers；　this　one　here；　okay？‘
‘Right；‘　Pam　replied；　impressed　with　Kelly‘s　expertise。　He　was　hamming　things　up　a　little；　the　rest　of　them　knew；　but　that　was　okay　with　everyone。
Kelly　climbed　down　the　ladder　into　the　water；　and　his　first　job　was　to　check　the　threads　on　the　prop　shafts；　which　appeared　to　be　in　decent　shape。　He　reached　his　hand　out　of　the　water　with　one　finger　up　and　was　rewarded　with　the　right　wrench；　which　he　used　to　remove　the　retaining　nuts；　then　handed　them　up　one　at　a　time。　The　whole　operation　took　only　fifteen　minutes；　and　the　shiny　new　screws　were　fully　attached；　and　new　protective　anodes　set　in　place。　He　took　his　time　giving　the　rudders　a　look；　and　decided　that　they‘d　be　okay　for　the　rest　of　the　year；　though　Sam　should　keep　an　eye　on　them。　It　was　a　relief；　as　usual；　to　climb　out　of　the　water　and　breathe　air　that　didn‘t　taste　like　rubber。
‘What　do　I　owe　you？‘　Rosen　asked。
‘For　what？‘　Kelly　took　off　his　gear　and　switched　off　the　pressor。
‘I　always　pay　a　man　for　his　work；‘　the　surgeon　said　somewhat　self…righteously。
Kelly　had　to　laugh。　‘Tell　you　what；　if　I　ever　need　a　back　operation；　you　can　make　it　a　freebie。　What　is　it　you　docs　call　this　sort　of　thing？‘
‘Professional　courtesy　…　but　you‘re　not　a　physician；‘　Rosen　objected。
‘And　you‘re　not　a　diver。　You‘re　not　a　seaman　yet；　either；　but　we‘re　going　to　fix　that　today；　Sam。‘
‘I　was　at　the　top　of　my　Power　Squadron　class！‘　Rosen　boomed。
‘Doc；　when　we　got　kids　from　training　school；　we　used　to　say；　"；That‘s　fine；　sonny；　but　this　here‘s　the　fleet。"；　Let　me　get　the　gear　stowed　and　we‘ll　see　how　well　you　can　really　drive　this　thing。‘
‘I　bet　I‘m　a　better　fisherman　than　you　are；‘　Rosen　proclaimed。
‘Next　they‘re　going　to　see　who　can　pee　the　farthest；‘　Sarah　observed　acidly　to　Pam。
‘That；　too。‘　Kelly　laughed　on　his　way　back　inside。　Ten　minutes　later　he‘d　cleaned　off　and　changed　into　a　T…shirt　and　cutoffs。
He　took　a　place　on　the　flying　bridge　and　watched　Rosen　prepare　his　boat　for　getting　under　way。　The　surgeon　actually　impressed　Kelly；　particularly　with　his　line　handling。
‘Next　time　let　your　blowers　work　for　a　while　before　you　light　off　the　engines；‘　Kelly　said　after　Rosen　started　up。
‘But　it‘s　a　diesel。‘
‘Number　one；　"；it"；　is　a　"；she；"；　okay？　Number　two；　it‘s　a　good　habit　to　get　into。　The　next　boat　you　drive　might　be　gas。　Safety；　doc。　You　ever　take　a　vacation　and　rent　a　boat？‘
‘Well；　yes。‘
‘In　surgery　you　do　the　same　thing　the　same　way；　every　time？‘　Kelly　asked。　‘Even　when　you　don‘t　really　have　to？‘
Rosen　nodded　thoughtfully。　‘I　hear　you。‘
‘Take　her　out。‘　Kelly　waved。　This　Rosen　did；　and　rather　smartly；　the　surge