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aning. Johannesburg was a modem, well-tended city, for
I its scrial problems. The water supply in the city was
dequate by any modem standard and sanitation didn't ap-
ar to lacking. The bantustans might B)se health prob-
ems, but hardly insurmountable ones, given the control the
lice demonstrated at every opportunity.
can 't say. But Bron is sure that some horrible plague
ill soon destroy the major cities of South Africa.
In spite of the dry wind sucking away the moisture on my
ace, I shivered. Out here in the wilds of Africa, surrounded
y tEasts left over from the earliest eras of natural history,
ron Fatrr plotted to release a modem-day plague. And a
tter spot to perfect those plagues didn 't exist in the world.
e game preserve was patrolled regularly to keep out
achers. ne vast areas remained uncharted and, if one of
•s genetically engineered diseases did get out of hand, there
ouldntt tr any real damage. No one but a few hyenas and
ild&est would notice.
This continent had tren the cradle for humankind. It was
ow Ezing turned into the incubation spt for mankind 's
rave.
"Where is Doctor Fatrr now?"'
SSOut there someplace," Alleen said dispiritedly. "His
is hidden away so that snoops won it disturb him.
' 'That sounds like a good idea," I said. 'SHe shouldn't be
'sturbed in the middle of a vital experiment. When do I get
e chance to see his lab?"
' 'What?' She came out of her reverie. I had no idea where
er mind had wandered, but it had left Africa entirely.
erhaps she thought of her dead father, her once-bright hope
r mamage to Farrr, the bustling city of Amsterdam.
herever Aileen Kindt had she regretted returning to
e here and now of the African veldt.
"Sitting around bores me. I like to be working. I want to
t on with helping Doctor Fat*r. "
"He left no insüuctions other than you'd tr arriving to-
y. I 'm sorry, Herr Carter . .
"Please, call me Nick. "
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Her smile was weak. "And I am Alleen. Now. Nick, Bron
left no word on when or how you were to join him. Just
trcome acquainted with the staff around here. Take Chinua
with you and cruise about in the Land Rover. Get a feel for
the animals, the terrain. Outside of that, I can offer no more
advice. Again the shrug hinting at worlds of tx)redom she
carried with her all the time.
"Would you accompany me on the trip?"
Nick. I prefer to remain near
"Hardly, Herr Carter
the radio in case he calls. "
She left the room, a defeated woman. It seemed a pity to
waste such beauty on the barren glory of the African veldt.
Alleen belonged at a jet-set party or a royal ball. She held
herself as if money and pride had run through her family for
generations and now she coped with the loss of both. It
wouldn 't surprise me to find that Fatrr had proposed mar-
riage to tap into a very considerable family inheritance, then
had to corr with the problem of a lovely young woman
hanging around waiting for her wedding day.
Faber had a power over women I didn •t understand. Erica
der Klerk worshiped the ground he walked on. Alleen re-
mained on. obviously long past the point where she knew that
he'd never marry her. Even worse, she'd probably come to
the conclusion that he'd been after her money.
The only hint this wasn't the case came in his refusal to
allow her into the larger South African cities. He planned to
unleash a plague of Biblical magnitude, of that there seemed
little question, and he wanted Alleen safely distant. Or was
his motive in this more pragmatic? Did he simply want her
isolated so that she couldn't betray his plans before he was
ready to spring it on an unsuspecting world?
Too many questions plagued me. I needed answers.
Chinua and I roared around scaring lions and monkeys all
afternoon. I memorized the lay of the land, such as it was. A
river nearby, a tributary of the Orange River, held more than
its fair share of crocodiles and hippopotamuses. I didn 't want
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tangle with either for entirely different reasons. ne crocs
pr*ared to somnolent and perpetually hungry. The hip-
s could step on me and do little more than wonder what the
mall lump had tren under the back fcx)t.
g 'It's so dusty around here," I remarked to Chinua.
it ever rain?"
' 'Not much. Less than twenty inches a year. nis year, it
as rained less than ten. '
' 'That qualifies the veldt as a desert. 't I observed.
His answer: a shrug.
I leaned back and let Chinua drive the Land Rover across
ery bump and pothole in South Africa. It was safe enough
ith a hard metal a-uck around me but I didn 't want to
nsider the potenual for danger out on the plains, on foot,
ithout weapns. Fatrr worked unmolested in such a place.
exchange for a few animals saved from diseases he might
ave caused in the first place, the South African government
ad given him free rein. What would the govemment minis-
rs say if they found out they aided and atrtted the research
at had brought their country to its knees and frightened
em all into submission?
Again, I cursed under my breath. There was no clear-cut,
solutely damning evidence against So he treated his
ancée badly? What if he was a fortune hunter? Those
ren't nearly the heinous crimes mctor DNA plotted.
"We must return soon, " said Chinua. "Dinner is always
sunset. " ne cool wind whipping across the veldt told me
at night approached. The day had been warm but the dark
mised chilling cold. ne daily shift in temperature
med more like Colorado. Again the stereotype I 'd had of
frica smashed headlong into reality.
'Turn back." I ordered. "Unless we're near mctor
Err's lab. I'd like to see it as soon as rx»ssible."
"Never t*en to it," came the surprising answer.
"But how do you get supplies in? Aren't you the one
sponsible?"
work in the kraal and Fatrr takes care of the latx)ratory






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personally. He does not allow me to see it."
I frowned. This struck me as bizarre behavior on Fatrr's
part.
Alleen had never seen the lab, nor had the native serving as
major-domo for the compound. It was almost as if this were a
leper colony, a place where Fatrr kept unwanted visitors
until they tired and left.
As we pulled into the cornrk)und, the odor ofcooking meat
greeted me. I inhaled deeply, savoring the aroma.
"Braaivleis, Chinua said lacomcally. Seeing my puz-
zled expression, he added, ' 'Roasted meat, like American
barbecue. 's
The man hurried off to oversee supper while I wondered
him. No African native compared roast meat with
barbecue. Jhe idea forming in my head atx)ut this being a
miniature prison for FatEr's unwanted visitors solidifed into
certainty. Whoever Chinua was, he wasn •t "only" a Nige-
rian moved south.
We sat around a fire in the middle of the compound. I had
visions of the American West and cowboys on a roundup.
Only the lions roaring in the distance srx)iled the image.
"Did you enjoy your trip today. Nick?" asked Alleen,
sitting near me.She huddled in upon herself in such a fashion,
she shut out most of the world, as if denying its existence.
"Interesting. I'd never seen so many animals I think of as
zoo creatures roaming free. But the veldt's not a place I'd
want to be. " In the distance screeched a baboon. A lion's
roar answered. The twilight provided prime hunting for the
predators. Was Fal*r a predator? hoped to make him my
prey, if he turned out to the man I sought.
"The novelty wears off in a few days. "
"I h0F to be in Doctor Fatrr•s laboratory by then," I
said.
s SHe radioed after you left with Chinua, " she said, almost
as if this were an afterthought.
"What did he have to say?"
"He'll tx back at the end of the week. You're to remain
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A lerEr colony, a holding area for those Fatrr wanted out
ofcommission, that's where I was. That •s where we all were,
Alleen, Chinua, the others, myself. It wouldn't work. I
didn't have the time to wait. Somehow, I'd have to find that
lat»ratory and get the evidence I needed to prove or disprove
that Fat:rr was Doctor DNA.
S •Good night. Nick," Alleen said, rising.
' 'You go to bed this early?" I asked. surprised. ' 'It's
hardly eight o'clock."
"There's little else to do. " She vanished into the inky
night. I retired to my own room soon after. Hidden in my
suitcase was a small, radio for reporting in to
Hawk. I thought about using it, then decided I had nothing to
report.
That was a lucky break for me. Moving through the night
came a ghostlike figure. My room didn't have an electric
light. I hadn •t bothered to light the tiny propane lantern on the
bedside table. Wilhelmina slipped easily into my hand as the
door to my room opened with tiny, barely audible squeaks,
Ihe door closed and the dark figure moved slowly toward
me.
"Nick, came Aileen's soft voice. S 'Are you awake?"
I sighed and put away Wilhelmina. Hugo followed, going
under the bed.
"I'm here. " I knew what she wanted. I wasn't going to
turn her down. A warm body slid beside me on the bed. Her
filmy peignoir vanished as if it had been nothing more than
mist surrounding her supple, luscious txxiy. My guess about
her figure had correct. She was tmutifully
tioned. I knew. My hands told me what my eyes didn't see.
"Make love to me. Please. I need a man so badly. I'm so
I silenced her with a kiss. We rolled over on the t*d. She
ended up on top. Her fingers ripped orm my shirt. Buttons
went flying around the room, banging onto the floor. Her
cool, moist lips kissed my chest as she worked on my belt and
trousers. All the time she undressed me, I caressed her
magnificent breasts.
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nose mounds of succulent flesh pulsed with life. I
couldn 't Fatrr was so stupid that he alienated such a
lovely, loving woman. His loss was my gain.
I was hard by the time she got my pants pulled free of my
ankles. I remained under her, on my back. Straddling my
waist, the dark-haired woman moved so that her crotch was
above mine. I felt the heat EK)iling from her interior. She
lowered herself until moist nether lips lewdly kissed my
manhood.
"Oh, it's been so long. I've been going out of my mind,
Nick. "
I put my hands on her hips and pulled her down. As her
body sank, I shoved upward. We came together in a wet rush.
Alleen rotated her hips. stimng my shaft around inside her
like a srx)on in a mixing I ran my hands over her hips,
then up under her breasts to guide her in the motion I wanted
most.
She ignored my promptings. Her carnal desires were too
great for subtle pressures. She rose and fell, my erection
entering and leaving her hot berth. Alleen speeded up, her
hips moving in a sensuous circle even as she worked up and
down.
Her passions reached the breaking point long mine
did. But that was all right. She had a lot of energy. Her
lovemaking took on a frenzied air, as if she had t*en a virgin
all her life and had suddenly discovered the wonders of sex.
She seemed insatiable. For what seemed a blissful eternity,
we moved, the divine friction burning away at our genitals.
When I no longer withstood her soft aggressions and
wilted, she med to keep on. Finally admitting defeat, she
collapsed full length on my chest.
"It's been a long time for you, hasn't it?" I asked.
"Years. Centuries. I lost count. If only Bron didn't leave
me to go out and play with his damn test "
"He's a fool," I said.
"No, Bron's not a fool," she said. "He's driven. He has
to accomplish something—and I can •t help him achieve it. I
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It got tedious listening to Fatrr's women tell me all about
how much they lusted after him. But up to this point wasn "t
bad, not bad at all. Alleen left me in the middle of the night,
the edge taken off her frustrated desires.
I felt cold and cynical but knew I could use those frustra-
tions to my tmefit. I 'd have to do so to complete my mission.
So how did I differ from Bron Fatrr? I didn 't want to think
about the philosophical turnings of that question. I fought to
prevent death and destruction and human suffering.
That had to answer enough for me.










CHAPTER SEVEN
The next day, things in the kraal were tense. The way
Alleen treated me, I might as well have had every disease her
future husband had concocted in his laboratory. Chinua
stared at me with a strange mixture of curiosity and aloof.
ness, as if he wondered about me in the same way the public
wonders what goes through a condemned man's head sec-
onds before the switch is pulled.
I stopped Chinua and asked.
' 'It is nothing, " he replied. "I have no animosity toward
you."
"Somethingss happened. What?" I felt the way he drew
back slightly. Body language speaks louder than words. I'd
become an outcast. Finding out why meant the difference
between life and death.
"You know what has happened." he' said. ' •How you
spend the night is your own business. When you spend it with
Fatrr's wife-to-be, that is his business. s'
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"And how did Fatrr find that out so damned fast? A jungle
frum communication?"
"Gossip always spreads quickly in Africa." he said. The
man turned and walked off without another word. He hadn •t
been hostile. If anything, after discounting the cool way he
treated me, he had actually warned me of the danger. Chinua
wasn 't the one informing Fatrr of Alleen•s and my indiscre-
tion; if anything, Chinua had toid me it was another of those
in the compound. Who didn 't really matter. I was in hot water
over last night.
Sitting on the stoep and staring out over the veldt, I tried to
formulate new plans. Action forced itself on me, yet all I
could do was sit and wait. Going over my options didn't
improve my outlook. Ministers were dying from Doctor
DNA's diatx.)lical diseases. lhe shipments of the extorted
strategic materials continued unabated, going from Cape
Town to some unknown port, probably in Namibia. The
SWAPO guemllas were tied into the unloading and reship-
ping, but to what extent? I didn 't know. This was something
I 'd pieced together from Sam Uwanabe•s comments.
And Bron Farrr.
He was an even bigger enigma. Uwanat* mentioned him
favorably as aiding the SWAPO wounded. He sold marijuana
to street gangs in Johannesburg. His Cape Town office told of
extensive overseas shipping. He had the facilities and the
privacy to do any sort of DNA research he wanted—and
without anyone being the wiser. He had some attraction for
women I didn't understand. And I •d made love to both his
nurse in Johannesburg and his fiancée here.
Fatxr's communications network 0K*rated at the of
light, if he had really found out about Alleen and me. But
none of this proved he was Doctor DNA, the man with the
magical box that directed the disease-laden tsetse fly to its
human target.
As I gazed out over the veldt. hardly seeing any of it, a dust
cloud rose in the west. It grew until I heard the rumble of
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toward the kraal. I had the gut-level feeling that the confron-
tation between Fatrr and me was approaching quickly. I
went into my sleeping quarters and hastily donned both
Wilhelmina and Hugo. "Be prepared" isn't only the Boy
Scouts' motto. It's kept me alive over the years.
By the time I went back out on the porch, the lead truck had
ground to a halt. Bron Fatrr bailed out of the passenger side.
Natives climbed down from the back of the truck more
slowly. I noted they all carried spears. None had a firearm of
any sort. almost ran to the main part of the compound
and slammed through the door. I waited a few minutes, then
went over.
"Is it Üue?" blared at Alleen. The dark-haired
woman cried so much that the dust on her cheeks had turned
to mud. The way he intimidated her didn 't sit well with me.
"Hello, Doctor Fat*r," I said as pleasantly as I could.
"Glad to see you. to get to working on your project
soon. "
• 'You, " he said, spinning and facing me. I thought light-
ning bolts would sear from his eyes.
"Yes?" I said mildly.
"You forced yourself on my fiancée. You raped her!"
"Hardly, Ihtor. I want a job. I wouldn't do th——" He
took two quick steps toward me and swung. Various possible
actions flashed through my mind. I evaluated and discarded
most of them. If I let him hit me, he 'd do it again. If I decked
him, he'd go for the pistol holstered at his side.
My hand blocked his blow, turning it aside harmlessly. He
tried another punch. I blocked it, too. When I made no move
to strike back, Fatrr retreated. My eyes fixed on his in a
staring match. I felt the man tensing, ready to draw his pistol.
My right arm twitched slightly in anticipation of such a
move. Before his hand could touch the butt of his gun, Hugo
would drink his blood. But I didn't have to pull my stiletto.
Faber relaxed and backed off.
*'You bastard," he said in a murderously low tone.
hire you to help me and you rape my fiancée. "
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"No, Bron, it wasn't like that. I
"Shut up, " he snapped. He shoved the woman down into
a chair. I noted that he did it with one eye on me, as if seeing
how far he could push me. When I didn't move he went to
Alleen. grabbed her hair, and pulled her face up to look into
his. "You bitch. Tell me the truth. He forced himself on you,
didn't he? Didn't he? "
"Who gave you this bag of lies?" I demanded, my voice
rising to pull his attention from Alleen. "Someone has told
you things that just aren't true, Doctor My tone
softened a little. I remained alert to a possible attack from
him. I didn't miss the way the Bantus who'd come into the
compound on the truck edged into the room, either. Four
were me, two He had a small army
inside the room, even if they were armed only with svears and
knives.
*Who told me that you •ve been with my woman doesn't
matter. It's true. J know it. "
"Surely, a man of your stature can be forgiving. After
I said, "aren't you affectionately known as Ihctor
DNA to the natives?"
thought so, he said. "You 're no paramedic. You ire a
spy. You •ve been sent by them!"
"Why do you say that, Fatxr?" had the proof I needed
now. He hadn't denied it nor had he seemed too surprised
when I called him Doctor DNA. My job still had a lot of
details to filled in. Where was his damned lab? If I
destroyed it, would this destroy all his mutated diseases?
"A spy," he said firmly. "An American spy. CIA, proba-
Fly. I thought you might be, You •re trying to stop me from
unifying all of South Africa. I can rule, but those fools in
Cape Town and Pretoria stand in my way. Not for long.
They're weakening. Soon they will abdicate and allow me to
rule!
' 'Rule? You sound like a king. King Bron the First, is that
the way it's going to t*?"
"All of Africa will mine one day. I have the power. I
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I'd touched on his megalomania and set off a diatritr. I
hadn't thouoht his ambitions would stop with South Africa.
With pwer such as that wielded by anyone able to direct
virulent disease, nowhere in the world was safe. Even inside
the Arctic Circle mosquitcrs hatch. It wasn't that much of a
jump from tsetse fly to mosquito—I had no idea what Fatrr
worked on in his hidden laboratory. His tsetse fly might
survive even in the arctic cold; it certainly thrived in tropical
"Not even those Cuban stooges can halt my progress, " he
continued raving. s •ney might u-y. They'll fail because I
control the most potent weapon in the world. Nothing can
stop disease. And I'm the master of all diseases!"
"Bron, please." cried Alleen. He shoved her away.
I acted. As soon as he realized what he'd said, my death
would ordered. Whether or not he really thought I was a
CIA agent. he Sd have to get rid of me. It wouldn 't do having a
paramedic going around South Africa mouthing off atX)ut a
man able to control the course of diseases.
The Bantus between me and the door stood with spears
lowered. knew getting past them was impossible. The four
behind me were more at ease. They thought they had safety in
numtrrs. I proved them wrong. A long, looping kick broke
one's kneecap. He collapsed into a pile on the floor. moaning
and writhing in pain. I took the next one's spear away from
him with a sudden twist. The butt end smashed into his
doubling him up. A quick slash of the spear point took out the
third. By this time the fourth moved. I dodged past his spear
and rammed the shaft of my spear into his throat. Cartilage
broke and pink froth spewed from his gaping mouth. His eyes
rolled up and I knew I 'd killed him. I turned, threw the spear
at then dived out the window.
I hit the dust and rolled, coming to my feet. lhe trucks
were ringed by a dozen more Bantus, all leaning on their
spears and passing around a joint. The dulled their
senses but not enough to allow me to get into one of the trucks
and drive. The sounds of confusion inside the room t*hind
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I lit out running as fast as I could. Coming to a low ravine, I
into it and slowed my pace to an easy jog. At this
pace I could do twenty miles without stopping. I wondered if
that would necessary t*fore I eluded Farrr.
lhe roaring noise of the mick engines turning over rum-
bled down the ravine. As long as I stayed in the deep cut, they
couldn't spot me and their trucks would useless. But the
going got rough quickly. Roots triprEd me and the debris
proved treacherous. A spot that looked solid turned out to
cover a sinkhole and a smali brown rock wiggled away,
hissing and complaining in a loud snake protest.
I kept going. I had to. If Fater caught me now, the lions
would feed well tonight. And even if he didn 't catch me, they
might. This was the middle of the Kruger Game Preserve,
miles from another human outpost. In the wild, the animals
ruled supreme, all hunting for their meals. I wasn't a
pushover target, but stopping to fend off the King of Beasts
only set me up for Fatrr and his Bantu wamors.
I kept pounding away. slipping (Ecasionally but making
good time. When I found the tributary to the Orange River. I
slowed and caught my breath. The n ver hadn •t changed since
my earlier visit. Crocodiles swam idly, barely making ripples
in the scummy, sluggish flow. Hippos and an occasional
rhinoceros frolicked in the shallows, covering themselves in
mud. From further away I heard the trumpeting of a bull
elephant—and the coughing of a u•uck engine.
There were few places to hide. This was a flood plain,
washed clean every time it rained. Going back into the ravine
hardly seemed a good idea. Why backtrack? I was sure that
Bantus trailed me on foot. I'd run into them. Going out across
the veldt looked even less promising as a way to continued
survival. Fatpr•s eyesight was good; one clear shot from a
high-powered rifle would take me out of the game. That left
the river. with its muddy, murky water.
When the truck rattled into view, I dived. Hitting the water
at a shallow angle, I didn •t cause too many new ripples to
form. I swam along, blind from the mud, hoping I headed
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directly away from any hungry crcr's fang-laden mouth.
When my outstretched hand touched a slimy reed, I surfaced.
A small clump of waterplants near the shoreline provided a
small amount of cover. Peering out, I slK>tted atop a
truck, a heavy rifle in his hands.
While I might have been mistaken, I think he griprkd a
.610 Nitro Express rifle—an elephant gun. The passage of
the bullet near my head would kill me; he didn 't even need to
hit me with that cannon. The heavy-calitrr bullet kills from
hydraulic shock and air is as much a fluid according to
physics as is the blood in an elephant's arteries.
I winced as a leech decided to sample my leg. Ihen another
and another. Hugo came into my right hand. I stabtpd out,
spearing two of the offending bloodsuckers. A rush in the
water alerted me to incoming crocodiles scenting the fresh
blood. I found myself caught t*tween a rcx.•k and a hard
place. If I stayed in the water, I'd make a hungry crcx very
happy. On the other hand, if I left my sanctuary Fatrr would
spot me.
Taking my chances with the crocodile seemed less risky to
me. I saw a thick. loglike reptilian head peering up out of the
water, membrane slipping over the *Old yellow eyes. Then
the beast submerged. It made its death run.
I timed my leap perfectly. As it went for my legs, I surged
up and out of the water and onto its back. Being in the
shallows saved me, It twisted its seventeen-foot length with
more agility than I 'd thought possible for such a large I
hung on for dear life. I locked my legs around its leathery
body and managed to get my left hand around its snout. I
wanted to find out firsthand if the old tales about the muscles
on a croc's jaws were right or not.
If they were, it'd take very little pressure to hold the jaws
shut. If the tales were wrong, I would find out the hard way.
U•usted my instinct about the story being ü•ue. It was. My
left hand easily held the crocodile's jaws shut while I main-
tained my position on the twisting, thrashing txast with my
right hand and legs.
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'Careful now, " said softly to my unwilling steed. ' 'No
sudden moves. "
I heard Bantus muttering nearby on the shore. They didn 't
come to investigate the churning in the water. If I'd suc-
cumbed to a watery death. fine. If I hadn't, they didn't want
to tangle with me. FatEr•s truck rumbled on, away from
where I clung to my precarious l*rch. .crcx eventually
got off the muddy strip and into the water again. This time he
unwillingly carried a passenger. me.
I maneuvered my living upriver, staying as close to
the shore as possible. When I thought I 'd outpaced the Bantus
and left Faber way tehind, I reached across the croc's back
with my right hand , jabt:rd Hugo in far enough to draw blood
and a reaction. As the beast to the left, I kicked free
and went right. Mud sucked at my feet as I found the
shallows—and right trhind came the croc, looking for re-
venge and an easy meal.
He was damn near as fast on land as I was, and I had a big
incentive to move at top speed. I got up into a stand of trees
and shinnied aloft. •nie croc glared at me with those baleful
yellow eyes right out of hell. then flipped his ponderously
powerful tail and returrrd to the riverin search ofeasier prey
I clung to that tree for almost an hour before my strength
returned and I got all the blood leeches scraped off my legs
and body.
After Checking and cleaning Wilhelmina, I was ready for
my assault on Fatxr 's compound. No one ever accused me of
being predictable. That 's what has kept me alive so long. J
did an infiltration sneak back along the ravine I 'd used to get
away from his kraal to find a hidden position less than fifty
yards from the main building.
I saw Fatpr and Alleen arguing, but nothing like they had
before. It sounded as if she'd actually forgiven him all sins.
Alleen was a sensible enough woman. Why did she fawn all
over Fat*r? Surely, she didn •t entertain the same mad h0ERS
he did about conquering the world. I'd talked with her
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enough to know that her dreams were more modest. A home,
a family, happiness—and tranquility.
I melted back into shadow when one of Faber's Bantu
guards glided by. The man moved well. I'd had very little
warning of his approach. And whatever it was that alerted
him of my presence couldn •t have tEen very significant. He
stopcrd and held up his head, as if listening. My first thought
was that he scented me; in the jungle any European or
American would have a different odor.
Whatever his clue, I didn't allow him to use it. My knife
found his throat t*fore he uttered a single cry. I dragged the
dead man into the copse with me. Staying here didn 't seem
too wise anymore. I cleaned Hugo's blade in the dusty earth,
then made my way toward the compound buildings. I made
the sneak with my usual expertise—and it wasn't good
enough.
I 'd alerted the hunting-wise Bantus, and two of them
pinpointed my location and homed in on me. Struggling on
my belly along the airspace under the building, I knew only
seconds remained a fullscale outcry was raised.
Pushing up the floor boarding at*'ve me, I wiggled into the
room. A tiny gasp sounded and a light flickered. I 'd come up
inside Alleen 's bedroom.
' 'Nick!" she said. then lowered her voice. "He told me
you'd died. An accident in the river."
"Faber's out to kill me, Alleen. You know that. His
Bantus are after me right now. They 're trained hunters. Their
senses are too acute for me to elude them for long. t'
A banging on the door startled the dark-haired woman. She
sat up fully in bed, her pale yellow peignoir falling OFEn to
expose those tempting, firm breasts.
"Who is it?" she demanded, her voice on the point of
breaking with strain.
'Look for fugitive, " came the heavily accented voice of
one of the Bantus. "He's inside. "
"I'm trying to sleep. Go away and leave me alone."
I dropped the flooring and rolled under her bed. Suitcases
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and other boxes comrEted for room here, but I pushed my
way through them to burrow into the middle. Alleen 's weight
caused the tx:d to sag down unul the springs rubtrd into my
body. When I heard the door crash open, I drew my Luger. A
few bullets wouldn't solve my problem but it might buy
precious seconds to figure out some new plan.
' 'Get out!" screeched Aileen.
"Search the room, " came a cold command. Naked feet
with soles harder than any leather pounded toward the tkd.
From my vantage point, I saw only from the ankles on down.
Four of them. Shooting now only signed my death warrant. I
held off. For a few seconds.
Fate worked in my favor. A loud voice "What
are you doing in my fiancée's room?" Fat*r had noted the
disturbance and had come to investigate. "Get out. How dare
you intrude when she's dressed like that! "
I had to smile. Alleen ranked high on the trauty scale, no
matter what culture. Fatrr was livid over anyone seeing his
would& bride more naked than dressed. And, his
upbnnging in the Union made it all the worse when the eyes
doing the ogling trlonged to male natives.
"Doctor Faber, Doctor Faber!" came Chinua's voice.
Angolans!"
' 'Damn, " heard Fatrr grumble, then louder, "Out, all of
you get the hell out of here!" Footsteps vanished amid the
roar of voices and intermittent rifle fire. I wiggled free from
under the bed, Wilhelmina in hand.
"Nick, you're safe," cried Alleen. "I womed that he
would
. ohs what are we going to do?"
"Are the Angolans attacking? Inside South Africa?" It
hardly seemed possible. yet South African troops had boldly
raided deep into Angola last year, This might be a retaliatory
raid, but it didn't seem likely. The middle of an eight
thousand square mile game preserve is hardly vital temtory.
Whatever the attacking Angolans wanted, it was here and it
was FatEr•s.
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some experiments inside Angola. He said the Cuban-trained
troops there didn't like it. "
o 'I can imagine. What sort of Did he say?" I
guessed pretty quickly what those tests might have been. I
envisioned hundreds of guemllas dying from creepy diseases
that rotted the flesh from their burnt out their internal
thermometers with impssibly high tern}xratures, caused
their innards to leak blood until the poor victim choked and
drowned in his own juices. Yeah, I guessed why the Ango-
lans were here.
g 'He never said. But their government ordered him from
the country."
I went to the window and out. The Angolans
infiltrated well. At least a hundred of them surrounded the
compound. had fewer than twenty Bantus, and they
weren't armed with anything more modern than a steel-
tipped srrar. Guemllas don •t much care atx)ut excuses when
they attack. That Alleen and I were inside when they attacked
would be enough reason to kill us, along with Faber and bis
native allies. I checked Wilhelmina. A shell rested snugly in
the chamber.
"Watch them crawl, " I heard Fat*r yell. "Watch them
die! ' The laugh that echoed across the compound chilled me.
There wasn't a trace of sanity in it. Bron had gone off
the deep end if he figured he could personally kill a hundred
armed, Cuban-trained Angolan guemllas.
Yet that's exactly what he did.
First came the electronic humming. Then sounded the whir
of wings. A tsetse fly as large as my hand buzzed past the
window. I came within a split-second of sending a bullet into
it; it was too large to miss. But the tsetse fly intently drove
into the darkness, singleminded in its determination to infect
the guemllas with whatever disease Faber had given it to
carry.
Screams from the bush surrounding the compound trcame
more frequent. The rifle fire came sporadically, then ceased.
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moans. Some of the guerrillas turrrd their rifles on one
another—mercy killing. I watched as a camouflage-suited
guerrilla stumbled onto the porch not ten feet from me. His
face, normally black, had turned ashen. He ripr*d at his flesh
as if it had trcome infested with a billion fire ants. Only
terror and pain registered in his expression.
Walking dead. He was dead but his heart still pumped.
Dangerous bacteria chewed away at his guts and lungs and
brain, but he still lived and felt the agony of the disease.
I shot him through the head. Never have I seen a man's
face turn so knowing that swift death had taken him.
"God, Nick, what did Bron do to them? ney .
they ire
all infected with something."
"One of his diseases. Even faster acting than the others
I've seen. It takes almost ten minutes for his genetically
mutated yellow fever to kill. Whatever this is kills in less than
a minute. "
"Bron is doing this?" she said in a strangled voice.
"Look. " I forced her to the window and held her head so
she couldn't turn away. Fat*r gleefully twisted the dials on
his electronic unit. One of the Bantus held a long prote—the
magnetic homing device that rxyinted out the victims for the
tsetse flies. A particularly large tsetse fly hummed around in
the air in front of the man. Fatrr grabbed the device form the
native's hand, then turned and pointed it at an Angolan
weakly attempting to crawl away. Like an arrow the tsetse fly
flew straight to the man. The image of a vulture-finding
camon flashed through my mind as the fly landed in the
middle of the man 's back. I watched helplessly as genetically
altered mandibles ripped through the thick shirt and bare
flesh.
*Ihe fly lanced out with its protx)scis. The man arched
backward. his arms reaching up as if to implore an uncaring
god for mercy. Ihen the man's flesh seemed to churn and
ripple before it began flaking off in giant, grisly hunks.
Alleen made weak retching noises. put my arm around
her and tried to stop the quaking I felt. Tending to her needs
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came hard. Seeing such horrible misuse of science sickened
me more than I cared to admit.
"Let•s get the hell out of here. We might able to get a
tmck and find the park ranger. "
"No, Nick," she sniffled. 4 'I can't leave. I can't leave
him. Bron neede me."
"Needs you?" I yelled, both surprised and shocked. s The
man 's a butcher. You saw what he did out there. He's the one
who mutated those flies. He 's the one who's a lifetime
working on new and more virulent diseases. How can you say
he needs you?"
SSI've got to a-y and stop him. It's the only way." The
tremor had left her body. She firmed up and backed away. 1
saw that no amount of arguing would sway her, and there
wasn't time enough for me to even try. When the bloodlust
died down and Fatpr began thinking again, he'd remember
the dead Bantu guard found before the Angolans arrived.
He 'd rememt*r chasing out his men from Alleen 's txdroom.
He'd me.
"Stay here," she said. "I won't be long."
I didn 't get a chance to argue with her. She picked up a thin
robe, flung it around her shoulders and marched out into the
middle of the carnage like some Valkyrie descending from
Valhalla to pick up the valiant dead. She walked, straight to
head held high, her step firm and confident.
I crouched down and pressed my ear against the wall. I
heard what went on between them.
"Bron, you 're resm)nsible for all this, aren't you?"
"Alleen!" he cried. Another whoop of joy, then a loud,
almost demented laugh. s 'Yes, this is my doing! Isn't it
wonderful? I stopped an entire company of Angolans. In
minutes I stopped them. They are all dead, dead, dead!"
"You did it with your diseases, didn't you?" Her voice
trembled a little now. I fingered my Luger, wondering if I
could get a clear shot at the man. Peering up over the window
ledge, I saw it wasn 't possible. Alleen stood tEtween me and
my target.
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"Of course I did, " he said, calming. "l 've gotten twenty-
five million in tribute from the South African government
already. The Angolans will soon recognize me as their
leader. And then, then I shall King of South Africa! '
"King?"
S 'And you 'II my queen'. He turned and stared out over
the dark veldt. "It won 'tend here. rest of Afnca will fall.
Or perhaps I 'II let it rot. With the mineral wealth of southern
Africa to finance me, perhaps I'll skip over to the United
States or Yes. You shall Queen of
Europe, my dear. Queen Aileen!"
don't want to be queen, the dark-haired woman said.
just want you.
didn•t hear. He rattled on.
"Word will spread because of what's happened here to-
night. The Angolans will tell their Cuban masters. The Krem-
lin will learn of me. Then I shall crush Mother Russia. The
French tried and failed. The Germans died attempting to
conquer that country. I, Bron will succeed! Me and
my little allies."
'*Bron."
He went to the electronic box and turned a dial. Loud
humming filled the still night. He picked up the magnetic
aiming device and held it lovingly in his arms, as if it were a
baby.
"All I need to do is point. The flies do the rest. I select
which vector they shall carry. then they go forth at my
bidding and infect!"
I lined up Wilhelmina for a shot. *Ihe distance wasn't too
great but the angle was wrong and I never had a clear view.
But I had to try taking Faber out now. It might be the last
chance anyone would ever have,
My finger tightened. A shot rang out. I hesitated. The
Luger hadn't fired; someone else had shot Fatrr. The man
crumbled, then began rolling on the ground. Whoever had
shot him hadn 't scored clean. I rose, thinking I might finish
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actually thought about shooting her, getting her out of the
way, then emptying the clip into Fater. ne rush of Bantus
around their fallen leader put all those thoughts to an end. r
sank back under cover and watched.
Fatrr stuggled to a sitting the wand in his hand.
He IY)inted it out into the night, probably in the direction of
the unseen sniErr. A homd buzzing filled the air as a dozen of
the mutated tsetse flies roared to the attack. Even if it was a
communist I he made it safely back to Angola.
No one deserved to die the way Fater promised.
"I'll rule them all! " he ranted. ne Bantus picked him up
and carried him into the into what had been my
I let out the breath I hadn't known I was holding,
then slid to the back against the wall.
Alleen came in. She was as pale as a ghost and her hands
trembled visibly. I didn't have to ask her what she now
thought her precious Doctor Bron Fatrr, saviour of all
humanity.










CHAPTER EIGHT
she said in a choked voice. I •d won-
"He'll kill us
dered how long it would take Aileen to realize that no
longer had both oars in the water. "I saw it in his eyes.
he Ss
not the man I loved. that's not Bron. This one
"You 're not telling me anything I don 't already know," I
said. ' 'He tried to kill me earlier when I was on a ship making
its way down the western coast. He sent one of his Bantus
with that gadget Of his. I caught the tsetse fly."'
"But why would he want to kill you? I mean. " she said,
her eyes dropping and a hint of blush coming to her wan
cheeks. "before last night?"
"He's obviously got good communication throughout
southern Africa. My cover was blown almost immediately
after I got to Ratnt. "
"Cover?"
I sighed. The entire story was going to have to told
sooner or later. It had to be edited, though.
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' 'I work for the U.S. government."
"A spy!" she said. awe tingeing her voice.
"Something like that. I'm more in the enforcement line
than in intelligence gathering. That translated to a fancy
way of saying Killmaster.
"And you came to stop Bron.
"I came to stop someone called Doctor DNA. It turned out
he and Bron FatEr are one and the same."
"Nick!" she cried, gripping my arm. niere wasn't any
need for the warning. I 'd already seen the Bantus returning to
her quarters. ney hadn't finished their search. ms time I
didn 't think I could count on the Angolans to provide a handy
diversion. All the guerrillas lay rotting out under the bright
silver light ofa freshly-risen moon. It cast an eerie pallor over
the battleground. The corpses seemed to churn and move
with pseudo-life. I knew it was the voracious African insects
moving into the compound, despite genetically en-
gineered inderdict against them.
In this country, food took priority over even the most
frightful of dangers. If you didn't risk everything for a
mouthful of food, there wasn •t any other chance of surviving.
"There are three of them, Nick, " she said, staring out the
window. Alleen had frozen to the spot. The time had long
passed when I should have made a run for it. But the big
problem remained: run where?
The park rangers headquarters lay a full forty miles down
the road and, from what Chinua had said, none of the rangers
might there. They patrolled over a quarter of the eight
thousand square mile preserve. In Jeeps, that took a long
time. The chance of me making it to my radio ranked even
lower on the scale of things to happen. lay in my old
quarters, probably just inches away from the radio that could
bring in help from outside. Those were minor considerations,
however. My mission remained incomplete. Fat:rr lived and
his lat»ratory out in the veldt hadrCt been discovered yet.
And, as much as I hate to say it, I felt a respmsibility for
Alleen. She'd gotten herself into this, but if I could save her
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I'd have to do it. I silently prayed that it didn't come down to
a choice between saving her and finishing the mission.
That choice left her high, wide—and dead.
I spun and rolled so that I ended up under her bed again.
This time I pulled down the sheet in such a fashion that the
trio of Bantus entering the wouldn't see me im-
mediately. Wilhelmina was cocked and ready to take lives.
The door burst inward as the lead native kicked it I
waited. Alleen acted as I 'd thought she would. Backing
away, a homfied expression on her face, she drew their
attention. The other two crowded in behind the first. My
finger tightened three times. *Ihree bullets found their marks.
The first native hardly knew he 'd been hit before the last slug
ripped through the air, on its way into the heart of the last.
I came out, shook Aheen hard, and harshly ordered, "Get
dressed. We're getting out of here. They might not notice a
couple of shots t*ing fired, but when doesn 't see you
beside him, he'll send more of his natives. Now, get
dressed. " I had to shake her again.
In other circumstances watching the lovely, dark-haired
woman dress would have been pleasant. Now the clock
dictated too much. She moved with maddening slowness.
What seemed hours later, she stood completely outfitted for a
long stay in the bush. The safari jacket she'd worn when I
first saw her hung like a tent. She slurnFEd and had that
beaten, defeated posture that caused her to shrink in upon
herself.
"Do you have a gun? A rifle? Shotgun? Anything?"
The tiny shake of her head sent her hair slithering down
into her eyes. She brushed it back, hardly noticing she 'd done
so.
"If we steal a truck, can you get me to lab? The
one out in the veldt?"
. I don't know where it is. Bron never took me
there. "
I cursed, then forced myself to remain calm.
' 'You know what direction it is. Surely he didn 't try to hide
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that. Which way did he always drive in when he left her?"
Alleen pointed in a vague westerly direction. I ncxided. Fat*r
had come from that direction before this gruesome bloodbath
had started. I remembered sitting and seeing the dust clouds
kicked up by his trucks as they approached.
"Can we get away alive, Nick?"
"We can," I said firmly. "Trust me. I'm good at this."
For some reason that seemed to soothe her. I saw the
tenseness relieved in her facial muscles and the set of her
body became more confident. In a lot of situations, it pays to
self-assured. I hoped that I could deliver now that I'd
promised her things would go great. I wasn't half as sure as
I'd sounded.
"The trucks. Some are leaving."
I looked out the window. Alleen was right. I wondered if
those three Bantus lying dead on the floor had been sent to
take the woman to Fatxr=--or kill her. I watched as the natives
helped Fatxr out of the building and into the back of a tuck.
It roared off, kicking up a cloud of dust. Two other trucks
remained.
It was now or never.
"Come on, Aileen. Run for all you 're worth! " I jerked so
hard on her arm I thought I'd dislocated her shoulder. She
squawked in protest but I didn't let her think about what we
did,
The decisions had flashed through my mind in less than a
second. I could wait here and check to see If Fatrr had found
my radio in my quarters. If he had—and had destroyed
it—we'd be relatively safe for the moment. He obviously
intended to abandon this compound. If the radio worked,
reinforcements were only hours away.
I discarded that course of action almost instantly in favor of
running for the trailing truck. They were returning to Faber's
lab. I had a chance to destroy it and Fatrr. If they got too far
into the veldt, it might take weeks of searching to find them,
even knowing the general direction they'd taken.
The trucks had camed a full complement of natives when
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'Ihe last truck pulled out, empty in back. Alleen pounded
alongside me, her lungs gasping for air in the thick dust. That
worked for us more than against us by cloaking our desperate
bid to gain the tailgate.
I jurn'*d, caught hold of the tailgate chain and pulled
myself in. ne truck up. I turned and found Alleen 's
hand the instant a burst Of speed would have left her in
the center of the road. Heaving, I got her into the truck.
"Stay low, " 1 said. rattling of the üuck covered any
sounds we might make. All we had to worry was the
driver glancing into the rear-view mirror and spotting us. As
long as we huddled against the front end of the compartment,
there was little chance of t*ing discovered. I held Alleen 's
hand tightly. She managed a weak smile.
In my head I went over the battle plan when we arrived at
the hidden latx»ratory. Everything had to work perfectly the
first time. I would never get a second chance. Faber still had a
dozen natives with him. He might have that many more at the
lab. While Erica der Klerk in Johannesburg had said Fabe
needed a new assistant, she 'd first said he had already hired
one. The newly position might have come from
Faber's suspicions me. He might have wanted me to
stay where he could keep an eye on me—with Alleen,
Chinua, and any others who might poke around too much.
So, I faced twenty-five Bantus, Fatrr, and an assis-
tant.
Wilhelmina •s clip still held three rounds. I had another clip
in my pocket. Hugo rested coolly against my right forearm.
My gas tx)mb, Pierre, snuggled close to my groin. And I had
one ally of questionable use: Alleen.
"Are you doing okay?" I asked.
"Fine. Nick. "
' 'You're lying.
"Why did he have to do this to me?" she said. But there
weren't any tears. She was all cried out. loved him. I .
I guess I still love him, no matter what. But how could he do
this to me?"
"He •s been bitten by the worst bug of all—power. He used
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to be a good man, the man you loved. Then he tasted power
and addicted. It's haprrned to stronger men. " I lied
through my teeth. The ones like Bron Fatrr were never good
men. *Ihey always lusted after control over Aileen
had tren duped by him. lhe death of her father, the presence
of that magical control he seemed to have over
women, smcx)th talking and a cool manner—all had turned
her confusion into love. He had used her. Eventually Alleen
would realize this. If she lived long enough.
Right now I just wanted to ease her emotional pain.
*How long does it take to get to the latk)ratory?" I asked,
hoping the question would bring out information she didn't
know she lx»ssessed.
'He's never back sooner than three days."
I considered. Possibly eight or ten hours drive. lhe truck
hit a rx)thole that must have gone all the way to the earth's
core and tossed us together. We clung to one another like
frightened children. The prospect of time this close
to Aileen, under other circumstances, might have been de-
lightful. As it was, we were caked with dust and developing
bruises in places I didn't even realize could bruise.
' 'Bron said he wanted to make the world better for all
mankind. His research made disease obsolete. "
I said nothing, Let her talk it out. After a while, the
dark-haired woman ran down and contented herself with
resting her head against my chest. It presented a poor pillow
but neither of us complained.
The trip lasted a bone-jarring seven hours. By the time I
heard the horns of the uucks ahead honking, I was tired,
hungry, thirsty and almost comatose. Alleen presented a
figure hardly
SSOut. Now," I ordered. "We've got to stay clear of the
latx)ratory. They might have sentries on duty after the Ango-
Ian mess at the other compound. "
We dropped off. My legs buckled under me. They were
stiff and bruised and barely straightened. I helped Alleen to
her feet. Like a pair of aging cripples, we hobbled off for
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cover, lost in the dust cloud kicked up by the
trucks. We blended in well with the terrain. Our clothes were
completely covered in the brown grit and our faces
like dirt masks with eye. nose, and mouth holes.
"There it is," I said after the trucks had and the
dust settled. A series of low buildings near a heavily wooded
area housed the latx)ratory of Bron Doctor DNA.
I wiped off Wilhelmina 's toggles and checked the slides to
make sure they were free of grit, then prepared to make my
assault.
I advanced on the just before dawn.
'*Stay here," I told Alleen. From here on out, she'd only
get in the way. The last thing in the world I wanted was
someone stumbling along and alerting Fatrr•s guards. I'd
watched carefully and had the three sentry firmly in
mind. The Bantus hadn't been trained pror*rly. They left
gaps ih the defense.
After a brief recon, I decided that no one had attacked this
lab before and they didn 't expect anyone to do so now. With a
little luck, I 'd make it in, destroy the test tubes laden with
disease, bacteria and virus, get rid of the tsetse flies—and
remove Bron Fatxr. It seemed like a lot but I 'd already gone
through hell getting here.
I might even get a few answers to questions bothering me.
How had sm)tted me so fast on The Easy Ride? The
Bantu put aboard the ship at Walvis Bay had txen directed
straight for me. ney'd known I was an agent—but how?
What made it even stranger was the lack of recognition on
Faber's part when I'd applied for the job at his Johannesburg
Medical Research Center. If he 'd known of me on the ship,
why hadn't he known me then? Or had he only told an
agent working against him was aboard The Easy Ride?
If so, that partially answered the question. He'd thought
the Bantu had succeeded. There hadrCt been any failures up
to that IX)int, so why expect one against a man masquerading
as a sailor?
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But how had he found out I'd tEen assigned in the first
place?
If the rest of the mission went well, this might explain
itself. Enough pieces to the puzzle often gave a bigger picture
than anything imagirrd in more hectic times.
S 'Ih I have to stay here, Nick?" she asked.
' 'It 's going to get dangerous. If I make it, everything 'II be
fine. If I don 't, try to get back to the compound. ' ' I explained
about my radio and how to use it. I didn't bother telling her
who would be on the receiving end of the message or what
they'd do with her information. ' 'Ihey'll take care of FatEr
and make things work just fine for you. 's
'II kill him, won't they?"
"Not if I get to him first. Look, Alleen, I've been over
this. Fatrr•s a dangerous man, very dangerous. He •s killed
seven government ministers I know of with his genetically
altered diseases. He's going to wreck the balance of
and force us into war. The Soviets don't like
blackmailed any more than the U.S. does. And it's only a
matter of time trfore the South Africans figure out he 's one
of their own and crack down on him.
"l know." she said in a soft voice. "Still
"Wait here. I don •t know how long this will take. Possibly
an hour. I intend to make it less, if I can. " I kissed her on the
forehead and took off into the bush.
Then I changed from Nick Carter, concerned man, into
Nick Carter, Killmaster.
ICs taken me years to my infiltration techniques.
I •ve studied with the best and learned from the best. From
previous experience, I knew the Bantus had acute senses.
•mey lived or died on their daily hunting skills; they were
forrnidable opponents. But for all their empincal expertise,
they didn't match the combinauon of the technical and
theoretical I possessed.
I made my way through their defense perimeter without
being detected. At the nearest building, I rose and peered
inside. I 'd hit it lucky. An empty office. A quick wiggle got






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me through the window and into the room. I snaked
across the floor to the desk and began going through it for the
information I sought.
I •m no scientist but I do have enough education to know
the real thing when I see it. The folders in the drawers told of
Faber's expenments with the insects. He had discounted the
mosquito tmause of his inability to genetically change its
size. lhe tsetse fly proved a txtter subject for him. From one
dcxument, I noted that he 'd developed one strain larger than a
canary. I whistled long and low at that. It 'd take a baseball bat
to knock one of them out of the air.
Other information flowed when I pried a file cabinet.
The details of the disease experiments were excerpted, I
the important pages out of the not&oks and crammed
them into my pockets. AXE scientists would be interested.
The rest I humed through and failed to find anything that set
off the alarm in my head indicating importance.
Worst of all. I failed to find a detailed outline of
plans. How did he select the ministers to die? What extortion
demands had he made of them? Who were the connections
for the metals shipments in Namibia? I found this odd be-
cause everything else had been so carefully written down.
I began spilling the patRrs onto the floor. When I had a
nice pile, I flicked my cigarette lighter and ignited the corner
farthest from the door. In a few seconds, I had a hearty fire
roaring up toward the roof. Waiting a few seconds longer to
make sure the blaze fed properly almost cost me my life.
One of the Bantu guards outside raised an alarm.
I sped out the door—into the arms of one ot the natives.
He was as surprised as I was. I recovered first. Hugo
slipped out and sank into the man's chest, the stiletto point
angling up past the ribs and into the heart. He died without
another sound, But the confrontation had taken precious
seconds. The fire alarm brought others running from all over.
They saw me.
'Kill him ! " It was obvious they all wanted me very dead.
whined past my head as I ducked and moved away.
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They rushed. I turned, Hugo slashing one man's belly open.
He cried out in pain and surprise and then turned and fell into
the arms of the warriors behind him. This gave me enough
time to make a frontal assault on the next building. I horrd it
was the lab containing the living diseases and insects. One
good fire would destroy all of it, just as the other fire I'd
started burned Fatrr's records into ash.
"What's going on here?" demanded a man in the door-
way. I barreled into him and knocked him over. But he
moved well. Recovering, coming to his feet, he faced me.
"So, you're assistant," I said.
"Who are you?" he demanded. "What's happening
here
The man I faced had bushy brown hair, graying slightly at
the tempies, and the txginnings of a spare tire around the
middle. He had camed the yellow-fever-laden tsetse fly that
had killed Dieter Karlik. Ihis had to be Fatrr's assistant.
' 'Your death, 's I said, lunging. My knife slashed along the
man's ritxage. I missed a clean kill and produced only a
fountain of blood. If anything, a cut is virtually painless
because of the clean severing of the nerves. In a while,
though. the loss of blood would catch up with the man.
I didn't have time. The Bantus milled atK)ut, leaderless.
Some wanted to put out the fire. Others wanted to find me. As
a result of their indecision, neither got done. That wouldn •t
last long, though.
' 'You're Caner, " the man grated from t*tween clenched
teeth. I attacked and missed him entirely this time. He danced
back. one hand holding the wound and the other groping for
something on a shelf. I stepped back, gauged the distance
between us and started forward for the kill when he pulled
down a wand.
*'Die, Carter. See how the tsetse flies enjoy your flesh! "
He pointed one of the guidance sticks directly at me. It had
to be a newer model than the others I 'd seen. This required no
camera case-sized power pack. Self-containied, it was hardly
the thickness of my middle finger and about two feet long.
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in midair trfore burying itself to the hilt in the man 's throat.
The wand fell to the floor and clattered away. I went for it
instead of my knife. ne buzzing in the air alerted me to the
aerial danger confronting me.
lhe tsetse flies were immense. These weren't the canary-
sized ones I'd read atx)ut in Farrr's papers, but they came
close. I recovered the wand and stared at it. I had no idea how
to turn it off. I started to smash it when the sound of the
natives outside made me change my course of action.
I m)inted the wand at the doorway. The tsetse fly in the lead
raked mandibles across the first Bantu 's throat. I watched in
horror as the flesh seemed to boil away from the man 's bones
in a gray cascade. Killing is something I'm forced to do for
my country, but my weapons are more cleaner.
Knife, gun, bare hands, those are what I know
This type of killing sickened me.
Ihe flies poured from hidden compartments and swarmed
out into the group of now-terrified natives. I didn't worry
about them any more. They'd be off and into the bushes,
running for their lives, If I had any sense, lid join them.
Instead, I poked around. seeking out
He wasn 't in this lab. That left the third building, the one
most carefully hidden from aerial surveillance. Going out a
window, I made my way to the last lab building, keyed up
and ready to finish my mission. What I 'd done to the Bantus
shouldn •t have been done to any living creature, yet they'd
used that wand on others, too. In a way, they reaped what
ey'd sown. Still, the real genius behind the genetically
Itered insects and diseases remained at large.
Bron Fatxr had to die.
A bullet whined past the side of my head. I dodged. rolled,
d came up t*hind one of the trucks. Another bullet flat-
ned a tire. I crawled under the üuck and studied the build-
ng. Two windows, one door on my side. At least one
indow per side all around, I guessed. Another door on the
ar side. I had no idea of the odds against me now. At least
ne man with a rifle. I figured it was
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attacked. Straight on, feinting to one side, moving to the
other, running, ducking. constantly moving. ne bee's flight
of angry bullets never found n•r. Panting, I crouched against
the wall, the window just over my head. Wilhelmina rested
comfortably in my hand.
'"Let's compromise, Carter, • • came voice from
. "I can kill you. But you're a brave man. You've
inside
shown great courage. Now show great wisdom. Join me. I
can make you into a prince, a ruler, the wealthiest man on the
continent! "
i sidled along the wall, heading for the second window.
Fatrr was closer to the one I left and had a chance to get
him.
' 'Money? Do you want money, Carter? It's yours! Power?
Ask! I'll give it to you.
I called out; "You wouldn't understand what I want.
Faber. "
"Women? You 're quite a ladies" man. All the women you
want. Carter. nat •s an easy one for me. Join me and you can
have anything you want."
"Anything but self-respect.
' •you're a fool!"
I twisted and vaulted into the room, coming to a crouch,
Wilhelmina pointed. I hadn't counted on entering into a
separate room. I 'd mistakenly thought this building had been
laid out like the others-—one giant room inside. My gun
covered one Of the Bantus, not The scientist was in the
next room.
"Don't even breathe," I said softly. The native raised his
hands. But the widening of his eyes betrayed the fact that we
weren 't alone in the room. I sprang sideways, slamming hard
into the wall. My Luger swept around and fired. The native
sneaking up on me jerked, a bullet lodged in his brain.
The haft of a spear smashed into the back of my head. I
fell, half-stunned, paralyzed and only weakly kicking,
Through blurred vision saw the steel-tipped spear rise. both
of the man 's hands on the shaft. This was going to be a quick,
clean death.
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And I was going to béthe one dying. My muscles refu
to move. I struggled and was rewarded only with the look o
triumph on the Bantu 's face.
•me triumph changed into pain. The came forw
but it missed by body. It sank an inch deep in the hardw
flooring. The nauve toppled over me. By this time, limited
muscle contK)l had returned. I pushed the man off and saw a
knife protruding from his back. I off the last of th
stunning blow and focused my eyes.
Chinua stood at the far side of the room, his face split into
wide smile.
"I did better with him than I did with Fatrr. My knif
throwing has always tEen to my marksmanship with
a rifle. "
"Chinua? Why?" I asked. Wilhelmina appeared in m
hand, as if by magic, even as I uttered the last question.
"No need for that, Carter. We're EX)th on the same side.
Chinua explained as he came to me. "Nasty bump. You •ve
got a mild concussion. After I finish with Faber, you'll have
to have that examined. 9'
"What's your with him?"
s 'I said we're on the same side. Not the same team,
perhaps, but we go after the same thing. I am Nigerian. "
"And I am a member of a select group emm:ywered by the
m)lice our conti-
Organization of African States to
nent. "
"You're a spy. "
He laughed quietly. "Yes, I am that. We spotted one
another too quickly. We are both in the business too long. It
shows. became suspicious of me and kept me with
Alleen and others he distrusted. Not until you arrived did
events move swiftly enough for me to act. "
' 'That was a difficult shot. It was dark. "
should not have missed " Real wistfulness came
to the man's voice. ' 'It made the job much harder. I have had
no chance at him until this moment. "
"Then let's do it together. 'i
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Ginua smiled again. I didn 't know about any undercover
agents for the OAS, but it didn 't come as a shcxk. Africa has
produced some wild-eyed dictators with the potential for
shaming Hitler when it comes to outrage. The more moderate
states in the OAS might have decided that mere political
pressure didn 't alter the course of those dictators, so they Vd
gone to more covert practices.
Africa was becoming just like the civilized nations of the
world. I wasn't sure if this was an improvement or not.
' 'In there," said Qinua. I stopped, took a steadying
breath, then kicked the door
Neither Chinua nor I had a clean shot at He hunched
down near the window. A table loaded with glassware
blocked him from a quick bullet out of Wilhelmina 's barrel or
Chinua's flashing knife. Bron jerked his rifle around
and fired three quick shots in our direction. Glass went flying
everywhere. I ducked and went right while Chinua moved
left. I liked his style. He reacted in the proper way without
tring told.
Maybe he was nght. Maybe we were a lot alike. Maytr
we •d been in this business too long.
Fatrr let out a screech like a banshee, then stood and
pumped a half dozen rounds into the Ixnch on the opposite
side of the room. I froze inside. Chinua had gone trhind that
bench, The high-powered rifle easily shot through the wood.
Chinua half-rose clutching his chest. Blood spurted out,
indicating that an artery had nicked. Not even shock
would close it off before he bled to death.
"Drop it, Fatrr!i' I cried. I braced my Luger against a
table. ne man filled my gunsights.
He turned and dropped the rifle, saying in an oddly small
voice, "I'm out of bullets."
I saw red. AXE would have liked Fatxr alive to pick his
brains but everything the scientist had done came crashing in
on me then. He 'd killed Chinua, probably one of the cleanest
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man had caused couldn't reckoned. Disease, horrible,
awful disease that gnawed and tore at a man 's guts. The
he pushed to teen-agers in Johannesburg. ne demoniacal
glee he 'd exhibited when he 'd wirrd out the Angolan gueml-
las with his army of tsetse flies.
I stood and my finger tightened on the trigger. What ran
through my brain was that I should get a medal for killing
scum like Bron Fat*r. A body hurled toward me from my
blind side. A Ftite hand into my gunhand. The
Luger fired. The heavy slug blew splinters off the window
frame to the of head. I found myself su•uggling
with a wildcat.
I tossed her away. Alleen lay in a heap on the floor,
sobbing, "I love him, I still love him. God protect me."
Outside an engirr roared. I ran to the window and saw a
truck barreling down the road until the cloaking dust blcxked
it from view. I'd after him soon enough. I went to Chinua
to see if I could do anything for him.
He lay in a pool of his own blood. His hand felt cold and
barely twitched. His eyes and focused.
S'D-don 't be too harsh with her," he said in a whisrxr. "It
is not her fault."
'*She knows what a beast he is, " I snapped.
' 'She cannot help it. No woman can. "
"What do you mean?"
Chinua coughed. Blood dripped from the corners of his
mouth. He winced but fought for a few extra seconds of life.
"Fat*r's first Aphrodisiac for Bantus. He
has altered pheromones. Women find him irresistible
cause of his mutated pheromones. "
That's the last he said. I laid Chinua's head down gently
and stared at Alleen, who still sobbed. nings spun out of
control around me. She had stopped me from killing Fatrr
t*cause the man smelled good. Sure, I knew there was more
to it than that. Pheromones are tied strongly with sexual
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engineering. It explained Erica der Klerk; it explained Alleen
Kindt; it explained why the Bantus followed initially.
"The bastard smells good/" r raged. ' S That stinks!"
I left Alleen in the ruined latx)ratory and headed for the
truck. This time Bron Fat*r would die.









CHAPTER NINE
When things fall apart, they go to hell all the way. I'
mshed out, the bloodlust still in me. If I'd found a workin
mlCk, I would've overtaken Fater within minutes and use
my bare hands to strangle the life from his miserable carcass
If, if, if.
None of the remaining trucks was orrationar. One had a
flat tire. Another had taken several rifle bJllets through the
engine ne one parked in front of the office had
exploded from the fire I'd set, and a fourth, parked some
distance away, refused to start. A quick look under the hood
failed to reveal why.
Faber had gotten away and left me in the dust. He had
driven off and I had no idea where he might be heading.
Disgusted, I went back into the lab to search it more
thoroughly. My luck wasn 't holding up well; now was the
time to change it and find a working radio to call Hawk and
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No radio. No live disease virus or bacteria. ne tsetse
fly-breeding area in the second t»ilding vanished as soon as
sparks from die office fire jumpd over and tmtched the
thatch rcx)f. I ranted and rampaged like a bull in a china shop
trying to uncover the slightest of c}ues in the remaining lab.
Alleen still sniffed occasionally. She sat huddled on the
floor, her back against a wall as if me to strike her
at any instant. For a moment I thought she deserved it, but I
found I was as mad at myself as at her. Maybe even more so.
For a few minutes before she 'd entered the picture, I 'd had a
chance to take out failed. no one could
have done better.
But I'm not just anyone. I'm Nick Carter, Killmaster.
w SW-want me to help? I-if you tell me what you're
I-looking for, I 'II help. ' ' She stammered when I glared at her.
My mood softened. I recognized my own failings. She was
a civilian. There was no cause for me to blame her if I had
failed in my mission.
I sat txside her. my back against the wall as well. I took
her trembling hand and squeezed it reassuringly.
' 'I'm sorry, Alleen. Sory for getting you into this. What
Chinua said changes things a lot. Faber's got more tricks up
his sleeve than I realized. "
. I never knew about the pheo—whatever," she
said. "What was Chinua talking
"Insects attract their mates through the use of airtN)rne
hormones. Pheromones. Fak*r probably worked with them at
some time while developing his giant-sized bugs. He proba-
bly also realized the power he could wield over the Bantus if
he mutated human pheromones into aphrodisiacs. "
"Humans have them, too?"
"All animals have them. Why do women use perfume,
men aftershave and cologne? It's our way of replacing the
natural pheromones we wash off. "
"And this is what attracted me to Bron? r don 't believe it. '
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only added to his appeal. Erica der Klerk and he
fanatical attraction to him?"
"Yes," she said sullenly. "The slut's probably been to
bed with him more than I have. "
"She's never gorr to bed with him. Something at»ut th
pheromones he uses brings out her fantasies. Who can say
what's triggered in her head? This is a brand-ne
field. "
' 'A Frfume company would pay a lot for his secret, " s
said, as if slowly realizing the possibilities.
"l 'd pay a lot to alone with him for five seconds.
seconds. " It wouldn't take me longer than that to kill him.
"Nick, I'm sorry. Even after you explained all this to me
I'm sorry." She cried again. I put my arrn around her and
comforted her the trst I could. I needed her calm so she
rememtrr the little things the man had said to her.
"Where do you think he 's headed now?" I asked softly.
"l don't know. I.
• just .
don't . .
I saw it wouldn 't do any good pursuing the matter. She was
too shaken to give coherent answers. We went outside wherei
I got to work changing the bullet-punctured tire on the truck
nearest the lab. For two men it's hard work. For one it was
almost impossible. Alleen tried to help but she got in the wa
more than she aided. Finally, I got the massive tire replaced
and the engine turned over.
But where to go?
I turned off the engine and decided that tracking Fatxr in
the dust out on the veldt tx)rdered on the I had no
idea which direction he'd taken. Since I'd t*en marooned
here for almost three hours, the headstart he had was insur-
mountable.
' 'Nick," called Aileen, coming from the lab. "l've
searched the place looking for a radio. I . .
. I thought he
might have one hidden. nere 's nothing. I 'm so sorry. " She
burst into tears agaim
' Come on, let's get away from here. First, get some
blankets and food and put them in the back of the tuck. ' ' She
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did as I told her, trying to get a hold of herself while she
packed the truck. I torched the latxratory. We drove a half
mile into the veldt and l'»ked back. ne flames lashed high
above the sheltering trees. I that the dry grass of the
veldt wouldn't catch fire. Such an infemo would sweep
across a quarter of South Africa. Still, the flames purified the
festering breeding ground for the mutated tsetse flies.
Risking conflagration for such a worthwhile end seemed
justified to me.
' 'You rest in the back. I m drive us back to the
Maytr my radio's still there and workable. Mayt*
headed there, himself. " I doubted that. When he'd aban-
doned the kraal it was for gocxi. Whichever way he ran now,
it wouldn't be to an old haunt.
At least, not to an old haunt I knew anything
I turned to look at Alleen to make sure she was safely in
back of the truck. She had finally calmed down, but she
hadn it budged from the front seat. She seemed to sit there lost
in thought.
"What are you thinking about?" I asked, gently.
"Namibia," she sighed.
"Why Namibia?" I asked, suddenly alert. ne strange-
ness of her answer took me by storm.
' 'I don't know," she said, unaware of the change in my
attitude. "Itjustsort ofcame into my head, that's all. Why?"
' 'What Namibia?" I repeated.
She turned and stared at me.
"Was it something said? Something he did? Had
you overheard a conversation where Namibia was men-
tioned?"
s 'I might have. I don't know. I've never been there.
Except .
"Yes?"
' 'Mayt* it was something Bron said. He had shipping
interests in Namibia. Walvis Bay and Windhcrk. "
"Windh(kk?"
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' mat's the capital. And it's not a It's some mile
inland. Faber shipped through his Cape Town office. I thi
be shipFd the strategic metals he extorted into Namibia
where the SWAPO guemllas unloaded them. He moved the
metals to another port and shipped to smelters.
"SWAPO, " she said, as if rememt*ring a name that h
tormented her memory for long hours. "He did mentio
SWAPO. And Windhoek. ney were mentioned together.
overheard him talking long-distance to Town. He was
going to meet someone in SWAPO in
"Did he have another latMatory in Namibia?"
"What? I don't know. Why should he? He had the one
here. " She glarred out the window ofthe truck. The fire still
burned the flames had dropped telow tree level now.
Only a pillar of thick, oily smoke twisted upward to mar the
clear air over the veldt.
rwt the kind of man to put all his eggs in one
basket. I 'm txtting he had his little research empire scattered
throughout all of southern Africa. This was his breeding
ground for the tsetse flies. I found no evidence of his disease
research here, not the physical presence. " I instinctively
checked my The papers detailing the plasmid gene
splicing were still safely tucked away. "I think he carried on
that research somewhere else. ' '
' 'In Namibia!"
"Yeah," I said, warming to the topic. "Namibia is a
country in a state of intemal conflict. Not quite civil war, but
close. He made a deal with the SWAP() guemllas opposing
the South-Afnca-supported DTA. His money---coupled with
the potential for threatening the government with disease—
kept the officials off his neck. He shipped the metals into
Namibia, got payment there and kept his nearby.
In Windhoek."
"Would he put his lab in the capital?" Alleen asked.
' 'Mayt* not in the capital, but Namibia is like South
Africa. There's a lot of open country. t'
I didn 't continue my line of reasoning out loud. The Bantu
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who'd tried to kill me had already been in Walvis Bay. If
Fates headquarters was nearby, it explained much. A na-
tive didn't have the freedom to travel in Namibia any more
than he did in South Africa. Crossing the t*tween the
two countries was next to impossible without a ton of
work. The almost-starving •native on board The Easy Ride
hadn't come from too far off. Not more than a few miles.
I 'd never been in the country tktween Windhoek and
Walvis Bay, but it seemed the best place to start.
' 'Come on, Alleen, " I said, taking her by the hand and
dragging her out into the bright sunlight. • 'Let's make sure
this old bus has enough gas to get us across Africa. We're
going to Namibia. ' '
Some things are easier said than done. While we had
enough gasoline scavenged from the other u•ucks, I had no
real idea where to go. I had no maps and driving straight as an
arrow into the west rx)sed even more problems. Another
got in the way. Still, the entire trip amounted to only
eight hundred miles or so. A hard day's drive on good
pavement and no cops worrying at»ut speed limits, but two
or even three over the veldt.
We made good time, though. I maintained a pretty con-
stant forty, sometimes pushing it up to sixty. lhe mick
complained bitterly at this speed so I dropped back now and
then to keep it happy. Once out of the Kruger Game Preserve
we hit road, but I hesitated aiX)ut staying on the paved track.
South Africa was a M)lice state. We didn 't have the papers to
traveling, nor did I have a good feel for the kind of
explanation it would take to get us out of jail if word of the
massacre out in the veldt reached the authorities.
So, I had to choose. decided to hell with the police, stay
on the road.
And almost immediately, we ran into a police roadblock.
' 'What do we do now, Nick? Shoot our way through?"
don't have that kind of firepower," I said grimly.
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of rifles and some ammo for them, but I preferred my own
Luger for real fighting. "Besides, it's us against at least ten
of them. "
The B)lice swarmed around the roadblock as if we terrified
them. The battered uuck hardly psed the threat of an ar
mored camer and the sight of us inside the cab
should have made them laugh , not duck for cover. Something
was up. This wasn't just a random check on travel papers.
"Out! Get (Ait with your hands up," came the comma
issued over a bullhorn. All the policemen hunkered dow
tehind their Jeeps, rifles trained on us.
you have any idea what's going on?" I asked Alleen.
shrugged and said, ' 'l 'm from the Netherlands. This is
all new to me. Ask me dikes or "
"We'd tktter do as they say." I figured as long as they
hadn't opened fire first. they might amenable to a little
I 'd swung 01*n the protesting Üuck door when
single shot rang out. Ihcking, I thought one of the police ha
gotten uptight and put a round through the truck as a warning.
Then I saw the policeman stiffen and fall forward over the
barricade in the road. Seldom have I seen a man deader.
Confusion rippled through the ranks. They turned and
peered into the bmsh on either side of the road. Then all hell
broke loose. A fusilade of rifle and light machine-gun fire
raked the police Whoever fired on the cops, had the
and the firepower to make it stick.
'*Stay down. And keep the engine running, ' I told Alleen.
Dodging, moving swiftly, I got out of the u•uck and ran to the
barricade. Only three of the original ten police still fought.
All were wounded. In the distance I heard sirens. Someone
had radioed for backup. That the reinforcements were so
close told me this wasn 't a simple roadblock. I scooped up a
fallen rifle and worked my way back to the buck.
'What're we going to do, Nick?" asked Alleen. Her voice
came in a dull monotone as if the sh(Xks she 'd received in the
past few days had worn her out emotionally.
'You 're going to drive around the barricade and down the
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road like the devil was after you. " And she did.
She almost threw out of the cab with her sudden swings
around the bamcade in the road. I didn 't complain. I had my
hands full firing the rifle. I saw nothing in the brush so I
simply sprayed bullets at random. I thought I heard a cry of
anguish but it might have been the squeal of tires. Whatever it
was, it had to pure luck. The guemllas attacking the police
had never shown themselves.
"Nick!"
I twisted and sat down in the cab, looking forward to see
what the problem was. Men with machine guns bkxked the
mad. I had no doubt at all that they'd use tlrrn on us if we
didn't obey. It had to part of the band ambushing the
plice.
"Keep driving. Run them down. "
I leaned out the window and exhausted the clip in the rifle.
When it Ixcame apparent we weren 't going to stop, one of the
guerrillas leaped up onto the running board. I used the empty
rifle to smash him in the gut. He went tumbling off.
That was the signal for the others to fire. ne
windshield exploded in a hail of glass splinters. Alleen
squealed and tried to d«xlge all of them. I leaned over and kept
the truck steady on the road. It was a losing battle. The bullets
riddled the front end of the truck and eventually one found a
tire. ne explosion from behind as the tire went sent us into a
long, dangerous skid that threatened to overturn us. I let
Alleen handle the ü•uck and bailed out.
She cried for me not to leave her. I had work to do.
ITte tnack ended up against a giant Assegai tree. I hid in the
low undergrowth and waited for the guemllas to come
exploring.
One passed less than two feet from me. Hugo slit his
throat. I now had a bit more firepower. I took the dead
guemlla's Uzi and two spare clips. Another came. I waited.
Another and another. They were dressed in camouflage suits
and blended in well with their surroundings. However, no
matter how well they melted into the forest, they moved




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clumsily. I had the impression they were a rookie unit out
their first field maneuver. ney made a lot of noise crunchin
through the trees and several ccxked and reccrked the
weam)ns nervously wasting precious ammo and making
racket a deaf man could hear.
S out! " commanded one of the men as he tmk a positio
near the m.lck. "Out or we
Alleen tumbled from the truck, battered and a ne
set of bruises. Her once creamy flesh looked like a splotchy
pulpy fruit rind. But she still lived and, with any luc
at all, she'd continue to do so.
give up," she said in that tired, voice.
The guemllas were All but one came in to peer
their captive. ne one standing farthest from the gmup shoo
fris head, as if in disgust at such amateurish t*havior. I too
him out first. The carrying strap for the Uzi dropped aroun
his neck. A quick twist tightened the web strap and a knee i
the middle of his back kept him where I wanted him. He die
silendy.
That left eight amateurs who'd run like hell when thin
went wrong.
They were harrassing Alleen, making the usual threats o
raping or killing her unless she gave the information the
wanted. Her listlessness puzzled them. She spoke in a fla
voice and told them anything they wanted to know. The
hadn 't exrrrience yet to know if she told the ü•uth or lie
to get rid of them.
"You lie," prcxlaimed one, obviously destined to be a
leader from his in taking the initiative. noth
ing came from the man 'd already killed on the Irrimeter
this one decided to take over entirely. He handed his machine
gun to a flunky and dropped his pants. Such interrogation o
female prisoners obviously aroused him. Alleen looked
down at the erection and went a little whiter. "You will get
what you deserve, " he announced proudly.
He took one step toward Alleen. I squeezed off a single
round from my captured Uzi. He got what he deserved. He
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