# Mctor Dna4444

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clutched at his destroyed groin and rolled over and over on

trr ground.

For long seconds, the others didn 't know what to do. They

exchanged glances. switched the Uzi to full automatic and

sprayed twenty rounds in their direction. They lit out like

frightened rabbits, those that still lived.

I rushed to Alleen, who had taken cover under the u-uck.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

e OCould Ih-.that was a good shot." Her eyes

went to the man moaning, softly now, and holding where his

balls had been.

"He had it coming. "

' 'What now?"

"l follow them. We transportation. I'm counting on

them having a Jeep or truck we can use. Here, keep this. It

doesn't have any recoil. Just it like you'd point your

finger and pull the trigger. I'll bæk as soon as I can. "

I picked up another Uzi from one of the three dead men

near the duck and started through the forest at an easy lope.

ne guemllas ran too fast to keep up their pace for long. I

overtook them less than a mile away. They crouched to-

gether. mumbling to otw another about their misfortune,

which slowly turned into their great skill in escaping a party

of police outnumtrring them ten to one.

If they ever got back to their suFriors, that story might

sail. After all, their training chief had died with my web strap

around his neck. No one else dared admit they didn't know

the size of the force they faced. To do so would bring out that

they'd run without even trying to fight.

I let them thrash about in the forest, hunting for their lost

mock. When one of them strayed too far from the pack, I took

him out. That left three.

*Ihey surprised me by actually finding their truck. nten

they argued over how to start it. One of the fallen guerrillas

had the keys; I guessed it to be the leader 'd already killed.

Finally, one of them dove under the dashboard and riPFEd a

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few wires free. I hoped he knew what he was doing. I di

want to have to rewire the damn thing if he'd screwed it u

But his mis$rnt youth paid off. The truck protested, th

turned over, the engine sounding as if it had seen trtter days

no longer rreded these three.

"Help me!" I called out from cover. They exchang

looks, did a slow count, and finally realized that one of

surviving four hadn't survived after all.

I circled and waited for them to their hurt in

forest. When they'd gone far enough so that even a stray sh

wouldn't tx»ther me, I got into•the uuck and drove off.

'That taught them still another lesson: never leave a vehic

unattended. Crime is rampant, even in the forest.

My sense of direction is just rMfect. I had a cle

mental picture of how to get back to Alleen. Eventually

found where our first truck had smashed itself against th

Assegai tree.

"Alleen!" I called. "Come on. I found us a brand ne

taxi. "

No answer. I slipped from the truck cab and circled. Allee

would never learn. She 'd gone to aid the man who'd been s

intent on raping her. He now had her Uzi stuffed hard again

her head.

-I moved closer, not making a sound. ne wind

through the forest, making more noise than I did. Alleen sa

me. Her eyes widened a little but she gave no other sign.

The man grunted out, "Kill you, bitch. You made me les

than a man. Never have children. No sons. Kill. " He was i

stark pain. I took care of that the instant he turned to find

more comfortable position tEfore he killed the woman.

My stiletto flashed in the sunlight filtering through the

trees. The guerrilla stiffened and fell to one side. ne blade

had entered between the second and third vertebrae at the

base of his neck. He twitched like a beheaded snake, then

ceased moving altogether.

I clearrd Wilhelmina, then checked Alleen. She looked as

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if she was in sh(Xk. With all she had had to endure, it was no

We left. Alleen needed some serious psychiatric care and I

couldn 't give it to her. All I could do was nursemaid her until

we got back to civilization.

And that wouldn •t be until after I eliminated Ihtor DNA.


CHAPTER TEN

My luck had changed for the better. Not only had I stolen a

tmck with a fair amount of gasoline in it, there were enough

maps to chart me around the entire continent.

We punded along making good time for over an hour. I

felt confident making the Namibia-South Africa

soon. According to the maps, we were less than twenty miles

away.

From there, I'd have to play it by ear. I doubted we could

sneak the truck across, which was a pity. Ihat meant finding

other transportation on the far side. We 'd cross on foot, make

our way the trst we could to Windhoek, and then I'd finish

my business with Faber. I only hoped my guesswork turned

out to right. Most of the time I have to orxrate on rumors,

tenuous clues, a lot of supposition, even more intuition.

Following my nose had led me directly to Bron Fatrr. As I'd

surmised, he was Ihtor DNA. Now all I could do was

continue on course.

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I had good feelings ab)ut Windhoek, though. Everything

pointed in this direction. was egomaniac enough to

ignore the fact I'd tracked him down once. He'd trlieve he

was safe and continue his or*rat.ion as if nothing had hap-

pened. The best chance I had of finding him quickly lay in

locating the shipping firm' he used to get the metals he

extorted out of Namibia and into In a country the size

of Namibia, there couldn't more than a handful of com-

panies able to deal in such shipments.

I had good feelings a&R1t everything now. Until the bullet

whined Alleen and me.

"Damn!" I cried, swerving off the road. ' 'Who is shoot-

ing at us now?"

' 'Guerrillas, ' s the woman said. Her raven-dark hair flew in

a halo around her face. She didn't even try to brush it back.

Alleen simply sat, staring out the window into the sparse

forest.

"You 're probably right. And if they catch us, we're dead.

nere 's no way to explain how we happen to driving one

of their bucks or how a couple of their Uzis just jumlkd into

our hands. "

I swung the a-uck in the other direction. The Hillets came

with unemng accuracy. This wasn't a fight we could drive

through. Sooner or later a bullet would stop tlr buck.

It came sooner.

Steam rose from under the hood. The one working gauge

on the dashboard—the temperature indicator—showed a

meltdown approaching. One of the bullets had ruptured the

radiator. I didn't care the truck any longer, except in

how it might save us. Shoving Alleen out the far side, I

quickly followed her while the auck careened into a small

stand of trees by the road.

I held her down in a low ditch trside the road. Aiming

carefully, I let loose a burst from my Uzi. The bullets

through the gasoline tank on the u•uck. It exploded with an

adequate amount of flame and noise. If the guerrillas hadn 't

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been watching closely, they might duped into thinkin

we'd teen in the truck.

ney weren't fooled for an instant.

' Come on, " I said, tugging at Aileen's arm. "We've g

to make tracks fast. "

' 'It's no use, Nick. Let me stay.'

"Run, dammit, " I whispered harshly. g 'We 've got to g

away from here. I can see them already closing in. '

n)ese weren't untrained troops. ney moved quickly

quietly, with confidence. I might esca'k them but I saw sca

chance of toth Alleen and me making it. Hiding the Uzis an

the spare clips with some regret, I jerked hard at the dark

haired woman 's arm again to snap her out of her fugue state.

doubted that she'd later rememtrr anything atx»ut thi

sojourn across South Africa.

If there was a later for either of us.

' 'Down in the ditch, back the way we came. They won'

think to look in that direction for us. Not fora few minutes.

We scooted along on our trllies, then took the chance o

rising and running in a half-crouching position. No bullet

into my spine. I almost felt atx)ut it until I heard

the metallic smck of a rifle bolt closing and chambering a

shell.

lhe mind is a wonderful computer. Mine calculated direc-

tion, distance, the way the guemlla moved, everything. As I

dived forward, Wilhelmina slipped into my hand. I twisted in

midair, aimed and fired in a smooth motion. The 9mm slug

found a target. The man rolled backwards, dead. His finger

tensed on the trigger of his machine gun and sent a burst

harmlessly into the air.

We escaped leaden death but that burst alerted the others.

Fight and die, or try to surrender and die, apFared to

the only options

I carried the fight to the guerrillas. Nick Carter wasn't

going out with a bullet in his back while he ran.

"Stay here for a second. This might work outjust fine, " I

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said. Out of the comer Of my eye I'd caught sight of the

band's leader. Tiny red epaulettes marked him as the man in

charge. I used Aileen as bait while I a psition near the

lea&r's probable approach path.

As he walked by where I hid in the tall, dry grass, I sprang.

My slender-bladed knife crossed his throat, enough to let him

know how close death was.

"Either use it or let me go, • ' he said after a moment. "You

have no qualms killing. " His Ecent came Eross as

heavily British. I wondered if all the guerrillas had

educated at Cambridge. I asked.

"Hardly," said. 'Oxford. "

"You and Sam must get along famously. Row-

ing on the Orange River."

"He was a ofthe crew , wasn 't he?" said the man,

who finally laughed at the incongruity of the situation.

put down the knife. Or use it. Your companion will die, Of

course, if you prefer the latter course of action. "

I stepped back. He rubt*d Eross the line where Hugo had

indented the skin. He turned and stared at me. The wide,

round eyes missed nothing.

"You do not look as if you caused all the furor at the

roadblock. Am I mistaken?"

"We got caught in the cross fire, noüling more. We want

into Namibia, without having to fool around with a lot of silly

regulations. ' '

"Like travel permits?"

"Something like that, yes. "

"l should kill you."

"I'm not sure Sam Uwanatr would like that. "

g 'I'm not sure you know Sam. Using a name is easy. It

means nothing. Even the police know the narne. "

I detailed how i Sd met Uwanatx in the location outside

Johannesburg.

' Clhat changes nothing. Uwanak*'s concerns are not

mine."

"No, but our mission into Namibia might be.


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"Explain." By this time the forty guer-

rillas-—-had gathered around. Alleen blank-faced and

uncaring. These were confident, able men. Only topflight

mckery would get me out of their hands and into Namibia

safely.

"D«xtor DNA," I said slowly.

"So?" But I saw the leader's reaction. I hit the right chord

with him. Now all I had to do was push the advantage.

'Tis is a very good

friend," said, indicating

Alleen. "She and D(Xtor are to married. "

"Fat*r? And who is this?"

I laughed. • 'Don't coy. We know who mctor

DNA is. Without him, you wouldn 't get half the you

inside Namibia. What's the take off the strategic metals

shipments? Ten million? Twenty? nat kind of Etion

eeps SWAN) going. "

"We receive arms and explosives, not money. "

had him hooked.

'*Will you take us to Bron?" asked Alleen, her voice

uaking the smallest amount. I couldn't tell if it came from

ing captured or the that we might again meet

ith her precious Bron Farm.

"We shall see. Into the brush. It will not do to seen by

lice patrols."

smiled as they herded us off. We might not in

amiYa, but it was almost as good. We were still alive and

ad the chance to argue some more.

"Take cover! Plane!"

We scattered and hit the dirt. The land around here looked

lot like that in the Kruger Game Preserve. dry grassland

xtended nat and dusty in all directions. An aerial recon

lane should able to spot us in a second. But the guemllas

arried tarps. We ducked under them. Peering out from under

e edge, I barely discerned the outlines of men huddling

nder another tarpaulin not ten feet away. The plane roared

n its way without us.

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"We had not planned on returning to Namibia so soon,' '

said Michael Z.ahid, the Oxford-educated guemlla leader.

'*Still, aiding friends of Doctor Fatrr's cannot be wrong. "

No emotion crossed his broad face as he stared at me, and I

had to wonder if he was testing me again.

"SWAPO won't out anything by helping us,

" 1 told

him.

"But will we gain?"

I shrugged.

"The border is less than a mile from here. Once you are

across and into Namitia, you must find your own way. We

return to patrol deep into the Union."

' 'I understand. And your aid is appreciated. I won 't forget

it. "

"No, 'i he said slowly, a smile finally crossing his lips. ' 'I

don't think you will forget this favor. "

We hiked hard for twenty minutes over the uneven land-

and finally reached a ravine that had cut naturally under

a tall fence. Aileen walked on the tX)ttom of the ravine, her

black hair never once touching the tk)ttom strand of wire on

the fence. I had to duck slightly. Otherwise, this was all it

took getting into Namibia.

"Tell the good doctor that we can use more of the Uzis.

The last shipment contained only two dozen. We can use

twice that. "

"All nght, Michael. And be careful. "

"I'd rather be lucky. "

With that, the guemlla leader waved his men to return into

the bowels of South Africa. I wondered how much h

guessed, how deep the countercurrents ran. If my hunc

at»ut SWAPO's relationship with Doctor DNA was correct

they might not want his aid much longer. Faber's pwer

madness shone out brightly in his every move now. He migh

pose grave problems for SWAPO; its leaders might decide h

had become a liability to their cause.

If so, eliminating him from the garne ranked high on th

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things-to-do list. Michael Zahid was no one's fool. He read

me perfectly. He knew my trade. If an American agent killed

Fatrr, no rerrrcussions could come back to haunt SWAP()

from Fatrr's contacts. Things had worked out great for them.

Not only was a threat to their rx)wer gone, it provided an

oprxmunity to point out America •s most recent covert activ-

ity, should the need arise.

Propaganda, double-dealing, duplicity, all those are part

and parcel of my trade, too.

Let SWAK) take whatever propaganda coup they wanted.

Removing Fater took precedence.

"Do we have to walk, Nick? My feet hurt. We've been on

the go since sunrise."

"We have to it until we find a likely source of

And out here, I doubt that will soon. "

I hate it when I'm right. We walked almost a day t*fore a

ative picked us up. But the bad luck of taking so long to find

echanized was offset by the man's destina-

•on. He headed for Windh(Ek.

Exactly where I wanted to go.

Windhoek proved a city of tedious neatness. ne streets

ere clean enough to eat off and not a single cigarette butt or

andy marred European perfection of this

indup toy of a city. We alighted on the main street and

Odged the traffic. Kaiserstrasse throbbed with the lifeblood

f the city: commerce. Everywhere I looked was a small

hop, a pushcart selling food of all varieties, and larger stores

ore like those I was accustomed to seeing in Europe. The

avor of the city reminded me a great deal of Johannesburg.

or all the underneath, the veneer came off as

turmdously wealthy.

And it should. nis was one of the richest nations on earth.

oprrr, uranium, and diamonds provided a positive balance

f trade little disrupted by the vagaries of the world economic

ondition. When the U.S. and other countries boomed, the

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copper and uranium sold well. When those metals didn 't sell

due to a downturn, people trgan panicking and the diamonds

tuame the hedge against disaster.

Either way, Namibia And Windh(Ek was the

hub of that prosperity.

"Where do we go, Nick?" asked Alleen.

e •nat•s a tough question. First we find a hotel and check

in. I need a shower and some food. "

c 'I have no money."

"l •ve got some," I said. What I didn't tell her was my

need to get in touch with Hawk. The papers in my pcket

outlined how Bron Fatrr performed his miracles of genetic

engineering on the diseases. That information had to

delivered as soon as possible. I had no contacts in Namibia

and my communication gear remained in South Af-

rica, but AXE has other avenues of getting vital data

delivered.

"Look, Nick. look at the diamonds. " She'd stopped and

stared into a thick-glassed window at an array of diamond

rings. "Such nice mooi klip, " she sighed.

"What's that?' •

' 'Pretty The first native finding a diamond, an

enormous diamond, called it a pretty pebble. Bron told me

my wedding ring would be the size of the Koh-i-Noor

diamond. It wouldn't have of course, but any size

would have suited me. "

From the way she slowed to look in every window, I knew

getting the hotel room first would be a mistake. The

had to passed along. And while I had some money, a sheaf

more than eased the burden of checking into a hotel without

luggage. I took Alleen's arm and guided her down

Kaiserstrasse and away from the Beers Diamond head-

quarters. At a cross street—Goeringstrasse, named after

morphine addict and World War flying ace, Hermann—we

started off at right angles to the main street.

"Composers," Aileen said in a dreamy voice. J'AII the

R DNA

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streets parallel to Kaiserstrasse are named after German

compses. "

At Brahmstrasse, I turned again and went to the contact

point. It was a CIA &op, Hit in this instance I was sure they

wouldn't mind. Some glory reflected off them if I ran a

successful mission. Next to a church noted for its neocolonial

and reactionary stand, even to the point of declaring the DTA

revisionist, found tlr small white clapt»ard store I sought.

A few trinkets were scattered üie store. A tiny case

of diamonds glinted in the sunlight in front. As we entered, a

trll tinkled and a wizened old man emerged from a

faded purple curtain in tie back of the store.

' 'May I help you?" Aileen started. ne man had spoken in

s 'Thanks, you can," 1 replied, also in g 'I would

like to see what you have in the way of Bavarian cuckoo

clocks. "

He hesitated, eyeing me.

"Black Forest or Alpine?"

"Neither. I 'd prefer to see one designed by an artist from

Stuttgart. "

"l have nothing iike that on display. However, if you will

corne into the back rc»om, there are several you might ap-

preciate. " He looked past me to Aileen, who still studied the

diamonds, as if her life depended on it. Ihis fixation kept her

busy, although it hinted that her head was even more scram-

bled than I'd thought.

'She 'II all right alotE, " I said. "If we're not too long. "

He held back the faded curtain for me. I almost sneezed

from the dust as he opened a door little used in recent months.

We sat in a room hardly larger than a closet.

"You're not CIA," he said. "You used a variation on the

recognition signal. "

"AXE," I said, confirming his suspicion. "I need these

transmitted to David Hawk as quickly as pssible. ' ' I shoved

Fat*r's palxrs across the table to the nameless German

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shopkeeper. The papers vanished into his voluminous, over-

sized jacket, as if by magic. "And I need some 9mm am-

munition for my Luger. " The faint smile on his lips told me

this wouldn't be any problem. "And some money."

' 'How much? Our t»dget has been cut back."

g 'They tell me the same thing. Call it five hundred dollars,

American. "

can let you have it in D-marks. I have some South

African rands, but with their inflation the way it is, European

currency is t*tter."

"Fire. "

He shuffled off and returned less than a minute later with

both ammunition for Wilhelmina and the money. I shoved

the bullets and morry into my pocket.

need a codename," he said.

S'N3. "

His posture straightened slightly. He nodded, made a

notation in a small book, and motioned for me to leave. I did.

lhere wasn't anything else to say. He knew whom he dealt

with now. He didn't offend me by offering assistance. We

tx»th knew whatever he could deliver would insignificant

compared to my own abilities alone.

Sometimes the CIA and AXE can get along.

I retrieved Alleen and we went to find a hotel.

I had the uneasy feeling someone was following me. For a

moment I considered a CIA tail, then decided against the

idea. The old man in the store might have several (Fatives

within Namibia, but this wasn't a large enough station to

spare men to follow even a top AXE agent. What strwk me as

being even worse, I thought someone was following us but I

never them at it.

Either my paranoia ran wild or whoever trailed me was

damn good. I didn 't like either alternative.

I'd left Aileen sleeping, heavily sedated, in a small hotel

off Kaiserstrasse. The room was small, neat, and the clerk

hadn 't asked questions when we checked in. This might a


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country under the control of South Africa, but the reins rsted

a little looser here. The clerk hadn't even asked to see our

something that occurs all the time even in Europe.

i carefully checked my list copied from the telephone

directory. Three companies aM*ared to hot prosrrcts for

shipping the metals extorted by Fatrr in South Africa to

European prts. Two hadn't panned out. ne third

more to my liking.

A frontal assault on the had gotten me little

informauon other than the layout of the offices. Afro-

European I ines, Limited, closed shop around four-thirty

local time. I waited until the hard workers and brownnosers

left after five. Ihen I went to .work.

A rear window admitted me. A quick jimmy got me

through to the hall. Hardly any effort at all allowed me to

enter the main office. Ihen things got rough. ne massive

safe couldn't easily opened with anything less than ten

pounds of plastic explosive. I left it for last. What I needed

were hints connecting the company to Fatrr.

I found plenty of hints in office memos and letters to the

home office. I knew now that some shipping company

fronted for Fat*r. The others I'd checked on hadn 't seemed

right. Afro-European did. And from the travel vouchers in

front of me, that feeling had a lot of basis in reality. One of

the company executives made regular trips to Walvis Bay. In

and of itself, this meant nothing. Walvis Bay is the main prt

for Namibia.

ne good pan came in rental for a four-wheel vehicle while

in Walvis Bay. He went to the port city three times a

month—every ten days. mctor DNA's shipments from

South Africa came at that same interval. The distance be-

tween Windhoek and Walvis Bay was something less than

two hundred miles. At a 4uess, my traveling executive

worked his way twenty miles from Walvis Bay in his

four-wheeler. That covered a lot of territory, but it reduced

the area considerably. I had a gcx)d shot at finding where

F&r's metals shipments entered Namibia. From here, I'd


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have to track down the payment to him and then—bang. He'd

die.

I sat in the office manager's chair as worked through

other unraveling Afro-Eurorran's part in all this.

While many of the details weren't available, I decided I had a

clear enough picture for Hawk to put our E.uror*an agents

onto them.

Afro-European shipped strategic metals of all kinds.

Enough hinted that they smuggled in vast quantities of illicit

arms and supplies to interest all the governments involved.

The stopovers at Antwerp gave it away. Belgium is one ofthe

larger small arms producers in the world. No one had ever

questioned Afro-European's shipping routes t*fore.

Everything t*gan to fall into place nicely. I knew who

handled the metals. I knew what the payoffs were. The

distance of the loading and unloading was within twenty

miles of Walvis Bay. And I doubted if Fatw was far away.

As I leaned back in the swivel chair, I heard a floortx)ard in

the outer office creak. In one smooth motion, I dropped to the

floor and pulled Wilhelmina from her holster. A meaty thunk

echoed through the quiet room. A knife handle protruded

from the middle of the leather chairback. I would've been

skewered if I'd moved a fraction of a second later.

I slithered around the desk. All I saw was a shadow

receding. Moving cautiously. I made it to the outer office.

The door to the hallway hadn 't Ihe would-be assas-

sin remained in the room with me.

A small noise came from behind me.

r didn 't turn. If I had been fooled by the ruse, I 'd be &ad.

But the other man had committed himself. He rose and

trained a gun on me. I fired first. report almost deafened

me. The man slumped forward onto the secretary's desk.

' 'Let's see who you are," I said, turning him over. My

marksmanship is sometimes too good. I'd killed him cleanly.

More information can be gained from living, breathing,

talking men. Searching his pockets told me nothing. He had a

7.65mm Tokarov. I frowned. A Russian-made pistol? l'he


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man looked vaguely Balkan to me, thit this meant nothing. In

this country where virtually everyone came and went on

foreign passports, he might be from anywhere.

"You sure do make things rough for me," I said. Grunt-

ing, I heaved the limp form over my shoulders and took him

out of the office. It wouldn 't do having a corpse found the

next morning. I wanted them to prxeed with twsiness as

usual.

Of course, the office manager might wonder how the

two-inch cut in his chairback got there. But this was the only

evidence I left behind.


CHAPTER ELEVEN

Getting rid of the body proved more hazardous than I'd

thought. The city didn't have the roving police patrols I'd

noticed in Town and Johannesburg, but regular

ing txgan on the streets after sunset. Explaining how I just

happened to have a dead Balkan citizen slung over my shoul-

der might be on the difficult side.

What made matters even worse, the feeling of tping

watched, of being tailed, still persisted. I'd thought•the dead

man had tren the one so hot to follow. Now I couldn't be

sure.

I dropped him in an alley trhind the offices of Afro-

European Lines and stepped into the street. Glancing up and

down told me there wasrft any way I'd get the body out

unless I wanted to create an international incident. Izaving

him in the alley might equally as dangerous, too. The

lice checked regularly, probably looking for SWAPO ter-

orists or

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Tapping out a cigarette, turned and pretended to study the

contents of a nearby shop window as I lit it. A man walked

by, not giving me a second glance. However, his face rang all

sorts of trlls in my mind. His last name was Korchov. The

first name eluded me at the moment, he definitely tE-

longed in the Third Directorate of the KGB-—one of their

agents assigned to England.

Or had tEen. Now he walked the streets of

The dead Balkan, Korchov—what wa.s going on? It looked

like a spy convention in Namibia.

g 'Ihn' worry, he didn' se you," came the quiet words

from l*hind. I in surprise. I hadn't paying

attention, and the man had simply walked up on me.

"Achmed!" I cried. ' 'You know him?"

' 'Bela Korchov? Yes, of course I do. Recently transferred

here from London. He feels it is a demotion. I 've approached

him."

"For what organization?" I asked suspiciously.

' 'Why MI-5. ofcourse. We Britishers haven't totally dug a

hole and pulled it in after us when the sun set on our Empire. '

British intelligence. Achmed ben-Gorra. Other pieces to

the puzzle fell into place.

"You're lucky to alive," I said.

' 'I know. Many thanks for that tX)ffo performance

The Easy Ride. I'm not sure I could have captured the tsetse

fly as easily as you, old chap."

The Bantu the ship had been sent to kill an under-

cover agent, all right. Only he'd been sent to eliminate

Achmed, not me. My cover had tren intact Achmed's

had been blown. That explained why Faber didn 't recognize

me when we met in Johannesburg. He thought the foreign

agent after him had tren eliminated—and I hardly fit Ach-

med •s description. Fat*r had me, but not as being

the agent atm.rd The Easy Ride.

"Seems one of our chaps got careless in contacting me.

Faber's men are damn fine. A shame wasting them on him. "

"You don't even sound like a sailor now," I marveled.


161

"Hard work. I think I'll put in for a bit of desk work after

this is over. " He cocked his head and studied me. *'You need

help getting rid of surplus baggage?"

I nodded in the direction of the alley.

Achmed motioned. A large black cab swung up to the

curb. He opned the back door and said, help your

friend in."

I struggled with the now stiff body. Rigor mortis makes it

almost impssible to handle a body easily. I finally dumped

die corpse in the bæk. Achmed restrained me from getting

in. He slammed tie door and the cab roared off into the

twilight.

"Let me handle this. This makes us even. You saved my

life atx»ard ship, whether you knew it or not, and now I am

a favor for you. "

"Done. I hands on it.

' 'Ihis is getting to be a quite crowded place, " he said, as

we walked slowly in the direction opposite to that taken by

Komhov. "I •ve sm)tted a veritable stew of agents boiling

about. Seems Fatrr has stirred up an anthill with his extortion

scheme. "

"And?" I pressed.

' 'And?" Achmed said, one eyetrow arching slightly.

"You haven't heard, then? I doubt there's a government

leader in the world he hasn 't threatened with rather horrible

death if they don't obey his every command. He has carried

through with a few minor officials, much to their displeasure,

might say. "

Fatrr had finally gone off the deep end. As long as he

stricted his activities to South Africa, not many of the world

aders would have cared much, at least in private. If any-

ing, it might have meant trtter bargaining levers with the

ountry. Now that he'd carried his mad dreams of world

onquest into the international arena, he became a prize

get for any and all.

"At least five different countries have agents wandering

d Windhckk looking for him. "


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NICK CARTER

"Why here?" I asked.

"You're here," pointed out Achmed. shipping com-

pany has hardly maintained a low profile. You discovered it

in less than a day's effort. Don't discount the rest of us."

I debated merit of working with Achmed on this. His

contacts might prove beneficial, but something held me

back. The British were as staunch an ally as we had in the

world. But that didn't mean their interests coincided

with those of the United States.

"Then again, " Achmed went on, "my back in

London might not let me stick around here much longer.

Seems they want to pull in the horns. Protect all the good

folks. "

"They 've been doing that quite a while against the IRA. "

But I saw what Achmed was doing. He gave me an out if I

wanted to pursue Doctor DNA on my own.

I did.

In this business you should never get personal. Grudges

lead to mistakes. Revenge is something without sanction by

the higher-ups. And I still wanted Bron for my own.

Something about him got to me. What he'd done to Alleen

was only put of it. The woman wouldn't be the same again,

not without a considerable amount of time with a shrink. At

this point, I'd better off professionally letting Achmed

carry on. I was the one who should thinking about cashing

in and going home, not the tall British agent.

"I'll work alone on this," I heard myself saying. In spite

of all the rational, logical, good reasons against it, I heard

myself telling him I'd forge on ahead.

' 'Do keep in toucht old boy. If you need any backup, let

me know."

' 'Thanks. One last thing, Achmed. i'

"Yes?"

g 'How many other KGB agents are in Windhoek right

now? Korchov is topnotch. Have the Soviets run in an-

other?"

"You mean the one you snuffed in the Afro-European


163

omces? No, he was an independent. I he represented

Turkey or Cyryus, one of those middlin small powers in that

'Turkey?"

' 'Fatrr left out no one when he issued his demand to the

new king of the world. "

"l see. I'd get back to see how Alleen is doing."

I ignored the question. He knew damn well who she was.

"Be seeing you, Achmed. And thanks again."

I made a few moves designed to throw off anyone follow-

ing me, more out of hatit than conviction. If Achmed had

tEen the one trailing me trfore, he already knew what hotel I

stayed in. The man might know even more than that, in fact. I

figured he wanted to go it alone. Agents have egos, too. From

what I 'd seen of Achmed, he was a big man and probably had

needs to match.

I looked in on Alleen. She still slept her drugged sleep. I

silently closed the door and sat in the t*St chair in the sitting

room. ne suite had cost much less than I'd thought and the

service here matched what I'd found in South Africa. So

much for the good news. I leaned my head back and rested it

the top edge.

Before I realized it, I was asleep.

A sharp on the door jarred me awake.

I called out, "Who's there?"

"Mail, sir," came the reply.

I checked Hugo's position on my right forearm, sure that

e wouldn 't fail me. Then I opened the door. It's trtter to tr

afe than sorry. In this case, my preparations amounted to

verly cautious t*havior. 'Ihe small, fair, sandy-haired bell-

op had a small package sent to me from my "uncle" in

outh Africa. I thanked the man and gave him a couple of

marks. He smiled and left.

Ripping off the paper revealed what I'd h0FEd to find.


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NICK CARTER

Hawk had sent a television communicator device. Afte

checking to see that Alleen still slept, I attached the evice

knowing I could talk for some time yet. The se

warmed up, the picture scrambled, and then flowed int

familiar outlines.

Hawk sat with his Frennial cigar firmly •locked in th

comer of his mouth. His jaw set at an angle that told me th•

call hadn't gone through an instant scxm. If I hadn

called. I might have found the man banging on m

door. Over the years I've learned to spt the ominous signs.

This orE wasn't a good ME, of that I was psitive.

' 'Yes, sir?" I asked.

g 'It's Doctor DNA, N3, " he said without preamble. "He

-moved against the government leaders in four

countries. feel this isn't a serious attempt on his part. "

"What's 'not serious' rnean, Siro "

'Only four ministers were killed. He-could have taken ou

the echelons. Instead, he opted to remove lower

ranking Hireaucrats as a show of his Two died fro

sleeping sickness, one from yellow fever, and one simpl

rotted away in front of a crowd of reporters. He was a pres

secretary. "

"And called all the deaths?"

' 'He released word to the world press. Up till now, o

had heard of him. They assumed he was just another

and ignored him. Now he gets front page coverage every tim

be says I want him stoppd now, N3.

"Who has he contacted in the United States?"

' 'Ihe ranking officer in each branch of our armed forces

the Speaker of the House. the Vice President, and the Presi

dent himself. None is amused, N3. "

I took a deep treath. Things had moved faster than

thought, but I had a few aces up my sleeve. Faber couldn

know I'd gotten on his trail again so quickly. Ihen again,

might not matter if he knew I was here or not. ne entire ci

of Windhoek swarmed with agents. Agents of Korchov'

caliber wouldn •t take long to find the clues I already had

my pssession.


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DOCTOR DNA

c 'Is there any way of protecting them, sir?"

'Of course. "

When Hawk didn't say any more. I knew that matters

indeed serious. I didn 't have 'a need to know ' ' so h

wasn't going to even mention it. Still, I had to smile.

vision of the White House adomed with stuck me

ludicrous.

need some supprt, sir. The CIA drop was fine in

emergency, I don't wish to . .

' 'Catainly If understand your report correctly, th

Irst plæe for additional aid is not in Windrx»k tilt in Walvi

Bay. Is that correct. N3?"

"Yes, sir, it is. I want to take Alleen along. m. "

"As a lightning rod? You might draw more fire than

ploy is worth, Nick. "

"I realize risk I'm taking. But she seems attuned

Fatrr in sorne way I don't understand. Her entire world ha

tren shattered by the man, yet she keeps on with her fantas

of him marrying her. "

"She is unstable. nat SIElls even more trouble for you

Leave her in the hotel. Our men will attend to her."

"I'd prefer to keep her on, as I've outlined. I know

base Farer uses is within twenty miles or so of Walvis Bay

Alleen might able to give me a clue as to where within that

tre is. "

"By the way, N3," Hawk said in a low voice. "Ou

agents have examined the lat»ratory out on the veldt in the

Kruger Game Preserve. Good work. All the flies were killed

and no shred of evidence remained. as well with t

recombinant DNA/disease lab and I ill see that you get a nice,

long R & R."

"Ihanks," I said dryly. Whenever Hawk dished out

promises like that, it meant the job had little chance of being

easy. The AXE computers had been cranking out projections;

while Hawk would never reveal them to me, I guess they

gave me small hork of success. Not only did I compete with

agents from other countries, I might find myself up to my hip

pockets in other AXE agents.

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NICK CARTER

Or then again maytr not. Hawk had confidence in me and

might not want me hindered with others. I wouldn 't ask what

his decision was either way.

The last glimpse I had of Hawk was him tossing away his

cigar stub and lighting up a fresh stogie. The blue-green

clouds of noxious vapor swirled around his face just as the

television screen went to all-white.

I sighed and leaned back in my chair. It was time to rouse

Alleen and go to work again.

Ihe return to Walvis Bay was as inauspicious as my first

trip here. Ihis time, instead of teing a sailor, I as a

tourist from Germany. My fluent German stood me in good

stead and away some of the anti-American sting I 'd felt

from my inquiries. Traveling with Alleen, who was obvi-

ously Ditch, hell*d immeasurably. I've long since learned

the easy way to get through a customs line in any country is to

be immediately in front of a beautiful woman.

lhe customs agents are so much in a hurry to get to the

woman that they 'II miss small items. In my case, those small

items were my Luger and stiletto, plus a powerful little radio

for communicating with AXE headquarters half the world

away.

Alleen followed me through the customs line. It took me

less than two minutes to clear. They held her up for over

fifteen minutes. In other circumstances the ingratiating,

sistent official might have wrangled the name of her hotel or

some local address from her, but the dark-haired woman still

just . . dnfted

The psychiatrists call it a fugue state. She lived and

breathed and acted, but only if pushed into it by someone

else. By herself, Alleen was little more than a lifelike

department-store dummy. Occasional flashes of animation

occurred, notably when she saw something that triggered

memories concerning Bron Fat*r.

Diamonds. That did it. White dresses. Ihat did it, too. But

otherwise she just existed, never volunteering anything and

talking only when I directed a question sr*cifically at her.


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mcroR DNA

16

In the taxi, I sat close to her, holding her hand. It hung limp

and dry as if it belonged to a lizard rather than a human tring.

"We're going to find the office for Afro-Europe

Lines," I told her as as we'd gotten out of the custom

shed. No resm:mse. 'm hoping from there we can get a line

on Bron."

"Bronis there?" she asked. "He never mentioned an

Company to me. "

"What about his shipping? You said something once abou

him having a lot of shipments from Car Town to Walvis

Bay."

"Yes, he mentioned that. "

' 'And?" I tired easily of having to force every syllable

from her shell-shcxked mind.

"Swakopmund," she said, as if the word tasted bitter on

her lips.

I leaned back in the seat and thought. Swakopmund was a

small IX)rt city just to the north of Walvis Bay. Walvis Bay

was hardly the biggest deep-water port in the world.

Swakopmund trat it out on the list for world's smallest.

Without a lot of government insrrctors, it might tr

for Farrr's metal shipments.

I sighed. The South African govemment had done very

little right in this matter. They might have stopvkd Faber a lot

than I could have if they 'd played their cards right:

given in to the extortion demands , planted transmitters in the

shipment, followed it, and then used their plitical clout to

crack down on Afro-EuroFan Lines and others involved in

getting the metals to a smelter in ney'd panicked,

tried to keep the plague a secret, had tried to be all things to all

people. As a result, ministers died, went on un-

checked, and it an outsider—me——to find out the details

of the scheme.

The South Africans didn 't even know AXE had come onto

the case, either. That was for the t*St. I wondered if they

realized the British, the Russians, and the agents of probably

a half-dozen other countries were filtering into their territory

to take care of I doubted it. The more a state relieson


168

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NICK CARTER

its police, the less likely it is to admit that anything can go

wrong.

I had to admit to being lucky in having Aileen along with

me. This eliminated a lot of the legwork that I 'd planned on.

The name "Swakopmund" alone told me the of

illicit trafficking. A twenty-mile radius of Walvis

Bay would have taken a good length of time to explore. Now

all I had to cover was a small sector.

"Here's the place you want, mister," called out the cab-

bie. I handed him five marks for the ride and helped Alleen

out. Leaning in the window, I gave the cabbie another ten,

saying, "Take our bags to the Hotel Dreifontein. "

"You betcha," he said. I cringed at the Americanism,

then smiled. He roared off. I had a brief pang of suspicion

that the cabbie might keep t»th the money and our luggage,

then I put it from my mind. I had all I needed to survive on.

Wilhelmina rested snugly under my arm and my stiletto

sheathed firmly on my right forearm.

"What are we doing here?" asked Alleen, staring at the

plain front of Afro-European Lines, Limited. She

didn 't seem to remember any of the trip in the taxi, and the

taxi was ba.rely out of sight down the street.

"Just getting an added line on Bron. I want you

saying anything while I'm inside, okay?"

"Yes, Nick.

I had the feeling she would otry as long as I promised her a

chance to see again. I shook my head. She'd been

abused in every way possible and something still

lurked inside her that cared for, even loved, Bron Fat*r.

He didn •t deserve it.

"l 'm Herr Steiner from the home office, ' ' I said, introduc-

ing myself to the receptionist. The woman's expression told

me that I was not expected, which figured. I hadn't intended

on trying this unless I was really sure of myself. With Al-

leen's lead to Swakopmund, any small confirmation would

do me.

' 'From Dusseldorf?" the woman asked, her face turning

even whiter. "But you were not Were you?"


169

not. This is a snap The chairman of the

feels it to maintain gc»d field discipline.

will see your travel vouchers now.

"Yes, ofcourse, right away. " wanted to laugh at the way

she the files to me. I had armat five minutes t*fore the

initial shcxk wore off and she found orr of her •mat

might tr about all it'd take to run down the travel vouchers

filed on this end by the executive from Windhoek. "And get

me a cup of coffee right away. "

My tone cart* out harsher than I expected, but brow-

tuting the woman got me what I wanted. Before she had

returned with coffee, I had my information.

ne four-wheel vehicle rental company, the duration of

rental destination reprt.

Aileen had teen right. used Swakopmund as his

trans-shipment point.

coffee is bitter. Is your surrrior in?"

"Herr Richter? He. that is . . . "

"Never mind. I shall return in one hour. Exactly one hour.

At that time I desire a meeting with Richter and all of his

assistants. Arrange it." With that, took Alleen's arm,

guided her out of the offce and away from the Afro-

European offices.

"What are we doing, Nick?" she asked. '*Is diis helping

us find Bron?"

"Yes. "

"Can we go to tie hotel now? I . .

. I'd like to freshen

up. "

We went back to the hotel while I arranged fora Jeep. I was

on my way to tracking down Doctor DNA and permanently

removing him and the threat he posed to the world. I didn 't

burden Alleen with that knowledge, though. I let her shower,

dress for bush country, and think her reunion with her

would all sweetness and light.

It amazed rne how well she forgot everything bad that had

happened to her. I hadn't. And that's what counted.

Ihe cargo ship creaked under the strains put on its hull by

the immense load of ore it carried. I poshed Alleen down

170


170

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NICK CARTER

behind a Hish not a hundred yards from the docking area.

Inngshoremen moved with lazy grace, tX)th anticipating and

dreading the work ahead. When the ship had finally d(Xked

and men swarmed like ants around it, I lcx)king

elsewhere, hoping to catch sight of Faber. I didn 't know if he

rersonally the shipment or whether he left it to the

SWAPO guerrillas.

Apparently, he left it to the guemllas. Men with Uzis sto«xi

around watching every approach to the dock. If any govern-

ment inspætor chanced on this small transaction, he'd die

quickly. I had no doubt his body would be dumped at sea as

the cargo ship returned to Town.

"Is he here, Nick? you see him anywhere?"

Aileen had fanatical atnut seeing Bron again. I

quietly told her that only his assistants worked here tonight.

"But will we find him?"

'61 think we will. See that man over there? The one smok-

ing the cigarette?" A tiny orange coal gleamed in the black-

ness of shadows cast by a bailding. g 'He's the overseeer. "

S 'How can you tell?"

just can." I didn't want to get into a long, involved

description of how he held his body, how he talked to the

others, and how they talked to him. He was the leader.

It took almost two hours to unload the ore. I couldn 't tell

from here what type of strategic metal ore it was, and it didn 't

matter. I needed to see the next portion of the transaction.

Over an hour elapsed before the cargo ship left this makeshift

and another, even larger ship docked. This time the

unloading consisted of small crates.

Small arms. Ammunition. Explosives. lhe way the man I

pegged as leader came forward told me all I needed to know

the contents of the boxes. He quickly dispatched his

men to loading them onto battered u•ucks similar to the ones

I Vd already seen used by SWAPO out in the forests and on the

veldt. Then he talked with the cargomaster. Money changed

hands. And was almost taken by surprise when the guemlla

spun and suddenly left.


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DOCTOR DNA

He'd been paid off. Heid gotten his pound of flesh. Load-

ing the ore onto this ship was something the sailors had to do.

ne SWAB) guerrillas were done for the evening, weapons

and money in hand.

"Stay here," I said to Alleen. As silently as a shadow, I

pursued the guemlla leader. He stood with several of his men

next to a ouck, chatting, smoking cigarettes, and divvying up

the money.

Four of them. And the one I needed most—-the leader—

wasn't likely to go off by himself so I could get at him. I felt

the pressure of time and decided to make the move now. In

any mission one key action puts everything into motion, for

or for worse. This was it.

I walked boldly up to the guerrillas. Rifles came up. I

heard the of the leader's Uzi snapping shut. I kept

walking until was less than five feet from the tiny group.

"Pardon rrr, chaps, I'm looking for someone to put me in

touch with mctor DNA. " lhe fraction of a second that went

by as surprise took hold gave me the time I needed for action.

My foot found a groin. Hugo slipped between another's ribs.

I batted away a rifle barrel aimed for my head, and drove my

fist into an expsed throat. And then I faced the leader.

His machine gun came up. Everything moved in slow

motion then. If only the rest of the world had turned into

molasses, I 'd 've been firw But no matter how hard I pushed,

my own limbs felt as if I forced them through water. The

adrenaline rush #eeded up my rrrceptions but did nothing to

aid my reflexes.

I watched as his lips pulled back in a grimace. His knuckle

tumed white as it tightened on the trigger. But I noticed his

stance wasn't square, braced, ready for swift movement.

I lunged to one side. Again, I felt as if imr»ssible weights

held me back. But the slugs ripped air just inches over my

head. And I 'd dodged in the right direction. The Uzi has little

recoil, but it's an automatic weapon with all the faults physics

gives to automatics. lhe muzzle lifted up and to the right as I

faced it—I'd gone left.

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NICK CARIER

Getting inside the guerrilla leader's guard was easy then.

Off balance, he couldn't move. My knife slashed across his

wrists. 'Ihe machine gun fell from lifeless, useless hands.

Hugo's sharp blade had severed arteries and tendons.

"Aieee!" he shrieked. "Allah merciful! My hands!"

' 'Your throat will go next if you make even one small

noise. ' ' I pressed the sharp tip of the stiletto into his Adam 's

apple. A tiny strangled noise emerged from his lips. That was

all. S 'Good," I said. "Let's get out of here. If you want to

keep on living, don't make a sound."

He obeyed well. He clutched his severed wrists the trst he

could, then realizing neither hand staunched the flow of the

other, thrust them under his arms and squeezed down.

leaked out and down the sides of his tK>dy, soaking his dirty

khaki shirt.

am dying," he protested. ' 'I will bleed to death."

"Just stay like that. It takes a while to bleed to death from

cut wrists. First you get cold, then sleepy. You still look

feverish to me. You've got a ways to go. Mayt* you even

survive the night—if you "

He sat in a huddled lump in the alley I'd chosen. Piles of

garbage and excrement belied knowledge of any modem

sanitation system. 'Ihe Germanic efficiency shown in Wind-

hoek and even Walvis Bay didn't extend this far out into the

it seemed. But this made a perfect to inter-

rogate my captive.

' 'You're SWAPO," I said.

€ 'You are not with the police?"

' 'I couldn't care less about Namibia's internal policies. Or

South Africa's. want information about your boss, Doctor

DNA."

"He is not my I am a freedom fighter." For a

moment, the recited propaganda gave him the adrenaline

rush needed to wave his hands atx)ut. •me shower of blood

convinced him against any more outtNrsts.

don't care what you call him or what you think you 're

doing. In exchange for unloading his ore shipments and

seeing that they 're on an Afro-European Lines ship bound for


173

Europe, you get paid off in arms and money. I want to talk

with him. "

No answer.

€ 'Getting cold yet? Your color's not too good. • ' guer-

nlla had turned a pasty gray color under his natural ch(xolate

skin. The effect was not pleasant.

know nothing of this tkx:tor DNA."

e 'I can afford to wait on this one, " I said, leaning casually

against a dirty, graffiti-written wall. "You can't.

He glared at me. lhe anger drove out his fear, but only for

a few seconds. Then he worked his wrists up and down

against his body. A fresh stream of blood leaked out to

dampen his chest.

"You will kill me anyway. No matter what I say, you will

kill me."

' 'Ihat might the way the Ikmocratic Turnhalle Al-

hance police leamed from their South African friends, but

it's not the way I orrrate. If you give me the information I

want, I'll see that an ambulance is sent for you."

kill "

"You're going to die here and now. Maytr you can get

away from them. I don't know. Want to match one hundred

percent chance of dying with me against some unknown

Frcent with the authorities?"

"What do you want to know?" I swear his teeth rattled.

didn 't think it was fear; it had to be the coldness of bleeding to

death setting in.

g 'Where's Doctor DNA's headquarters? They're some-

where nearby. I need to know exactly where. "

s 'The You won't forget?"

"Forget? Tell me and I'll contact the hospital imme-

diately. ' '

' 'I •m cold," he said, shaking. ' 'And so tired."

g 'Ihtor DNA," I prodded. "Where?"

"In the jungle. Outside of town. Ten miles, no more. Go

east. Marked road to Windhoek. Ten miles, no more. No

. . " He slumrrd over, unconscious.

more .

I considered what he'd said. It fit the pattern I'd noticed


174

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NICK CARTER

with On the road to Windh(Ek provided ground trans-

port. So near Swakomnund gave him access to the shipping

lanes. Yeah, it all fit.

Dropping the man, I tore off bloody strips from his

shirt and his cut wrists to close the wounds. On my

way back to where I'd left Alleen, I found a pay telephone

and called the nearest hospital, giving them directions and

what had happened. Whether or not they respnded, don 't

know. I didn't stay around to find out.

Doctor Bron Fat*r and his disease lab were only ten miles

away. wanted to finish this mission as quickly and effi-

ciently as pssible.


CHAPTER TWELVE

I parked the Jeep atx)ut five hundred yards down the road

from the small white sign I •ci seen declaring, "Medical

Research Center." Faber's egomania roared out again. No

one intent on conquering the world would advertise his pre-

sence with a sign unless totally separated from his senses. In a

way, he was as out oftouch with reality as Aileen. They made

a pretty pair.

I glanced at the woman. She sat quietly, hands folded in

her lap. She hadn't seen the sign. She hardly noticed I'd

stopped the Jeep and gotten out. I debated atx)ut my best

course of action. Leaving her was the only logical thing to do.

couldn •t have her looking over my shoulder, yet it hardly

seemed prc:F to let her sit alone like that in the Jeep. If

anything out of the ordinary she might go flying

off into a panic from which she might not return.

Still, I had my job to think atk)ut. It came first. Killing

Bron Fatxr was top priority.

176

175


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NICK CARTER

"I won't long, Aileen, " I said, resting my hand on her

arm. She tumed to face me, a tiny smile lurking on her lips.

' 'What? Oh, yes, of course, Nick. You won't tr long."

"You'll stay here, won't you?"

"Yes, Nick. "

ms time was sure I Sd made a mistake about the raven-

tressed trauty. She was off in or Walvis

Bay, yet I couldn't take the time to send her And

allowing her to travel alone had too many problems attached

to it. Not only wasn't in any to left alone, the

foreign agents rattling around Namibia would pick up on her

in an instant. They weren •t stupid; they 'd have good deErip-

tions of her as tring connected with Some. like

Achmed, would seize on the to upstage me. NO.

Alleen would stay where she was.

I cast one last look back at her entering the wcx:xis.

The ironwood trees sparsely covered the land. ne sræeze-

wood trees were more prevalent and caused me no end of

trouble. By the time I'd gotten to a small clearing with a

single building in the center, my nose was up and my

eyes watered continuously. Dabbing at the allergic reactions

did no good.

I blew my nose and wiped my eyes clear.

And saw victory ahead.

In the doorway of the building Bron wearing a

white lab smock that gently flapped in the soft breeze blow-

ing through the clearing. He held one of his magic wands for

controlling his tsetse flies. He didnst seem to aim it in my

direction, which meant I had at least one good shot at the

man.

Wilhelmina came into my hand. I quickly pulled back the

toggles. The slide jacked up into d"te air, arching its metallic

back, then slid forward in a smooth action that carried a 9mm

Parakrllum round into the I sighted.

And I didn't like the sight-picture.

Fatrr stared directly at me. And he smiled. My finger

came back on the Luger's hair trigger. The shot went wide by

a fcx)t when a powerful blow landed on the back of my neck. I


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went down, stunned, tilt somehow kept the automatic in m

grip. The world wildly spun around me and stars glowed i

hazy, constellations. It hardly seemed

what had hapr*ned to me.

I'd been attacked by a gorilla. It tk)unced up and down n

five feet away.

nose beasts have gotten lousy press. They 're vegetarians

shy, and run whenever man comes near. In fact, this shyne

has led to their virtual extinction throughout Africa. Ve

seldom do they use those prodigious muscles to fight. The

run—and are run off their temtorial breeding grounds.

"Wha-—?" was all I managed to say trfore the gorill

lumbered forward, long, incredibly pwerful arms out

stretched. I hardly t*lieved this was happening to me. 'Ihi

normally shy animal wanted my scalp.

I fired point-blank. Again. And again. Then a mighty han

batted Wilhelmina from my grip.

I heard Fatrr's distant laughter. Turning to look at him

slow understanding dawned. He held his guidance wand and

B)inted it in my direction. He controlled the gorilla with it

ne man had experimented on more than simple insects

He 'd managed to genetically alter a mountain gorilla and turn

it into a killer.

Even worse, it killed at his command.

"Die, Carter," came the mocking words. ' 'My little pet

will even ease you into a shallow grave. He's quite handy

around here—for getting rid of the garbage!"

Three 9mm slugs hadn 't even inconvenienced the animal.

Tiny spts on its chest oozed blood where the bullets had

entered, but not so anyone would notice. lhe impact of the

slugs went unnoticed, m, of the creature's bulk. It

could take incredible shocks and keep on going. I prayed that

one of the bullets had found its way into a vital organ, a liver,

a kidney, across an artery. I hoped for internal damage. The

t*ast certainly didn't pay any attention to its wounds as it

swung toward me, its tiny red eyes radiating a hatred that

bordered on the human.

"Nice, gorilla," I said, inching away. I got to my feet.


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Tensing my right arm I sent Hugo racing down into my hand.

I stabbed out just as the giant gorilla lunged. Ihe sharp blade

slashed through a furry arm. The gorilla recoiled and trl-

lowed in pain. I wasn't so sure I'd done the right thing after

all. I'd only enraged him.

It lunged again.

Humans have survived in the worst of conditions against

stronger predators through agility and intelligence. I used

agility now. mcking those powerful, crushing arms, I darted

out and into the forest. There was no way in hell I could

outmuscle that trast.

"Don't quit on me now, feet," I muttered, as my legs

pumped to put distance between the gorilla and myself.

When I'd put enough distance t*tween us, I stopped and

panted like a dog in the sun. I hadn 't counted on the gorilla 's

strong arms and Iring in terrain custom-made for it. The

simian had swung through the trees using Long, powerful

arms. ne creature was so well-adapted to this kind of coun-

try it had easily outmatched my fleet pace on the ground.

I again faced the beast.

"Easy, now," said, beginning to circle. I held my knife

in front of me, knowing this was little more than a crutch for

me now. Still, it was my tBt weapon. I tried to talk to the

beast in a low, soothing voice, hoping to lull him a bit.

Whatever magic wand did to the animal, it did too

damned well. The gorilla attacked.

I kept Hugo between us—then the blade went into the

beast's chest. Arms twice as long as mine circled my body

and held me firmly to that hard, hairy chest. Ihe grip on my

knife slipped; the blade remained inside the animal as he

applying more and more power to the back-breaking

grip he held me in.

I felt the breath gusting from my lungs. ne gorilla fought

like a boa constrictor. As soon as I exhaled, it tightened up a

little more on its crushing embrace. I slowly suffocated

because my chest muscles weren 't strong enough to allow me

to draw a good lungful of air against the inexorable tighten-

mCTOR DNA

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ing. Struggling, wiggling, kicking, I fought to get one arm

Even as I did, I felt the world turning black. Everything

spun crazily atX)ut me. My pulse B)unded harshly in my

temples. No oxygen made it into my lungs.

I rx)ked my thumb directly into the gorilla 's left eye. With

an agonized howl, the animal dropped me. I kicked free and

rolled and kept rolling. The world changed from black to red

as my tortured lungs fought to suck in as much oxygen as

possible. I was getting too much air. Brain came into control

over body. I held my breath until I felt the red curtain I 'd seen

being pulled away. Then I panted again, letting the life-

giving oxygen my lungs once more.

I hardly had time to regain my breath trfore the gorilla

attacked again. In my weakened condition, one more lover's

hug from the gorilla would kill me. My spine ached and

popped in protest every time I moved. I have a strong back;

but compared to the strength mustered by the gorilla, I was

like a newborn baby.

I slipped backward into the woods. I wanted a sturdy tree

Gunk trtween us. Out-dodging it seemed a likely tactic to

u•y. Nothing else I could do had a ghost of a chance of

working for very long. I had nothing to lose but my life by

trying it.

The resounding roar as he attacked shook me. Animals

don 't usually cry when on the attack. That's either before or

after the hunt. Still, I had to rememt*r that Fatrr had geneti-

cany engineered friis animal to his own specifications. He 'd

wanted a killer. nere wasn't any need for that juggernaut to

silent.

I kicked at precisely the right instant. I caught the gorilla

on a kneecap. It went down, rolled easily, and came up again,

unhurt. Hugo still stuck in the animal's ribs. As soon as it

charged again, I dashed around a tree, ducked down, and

spun. I grabtrd hold of the knife handle and twisted.

Rage.

I regained possession of my knife.


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Ihis time I played a very dangerous game. I allowed the

gorilla to encircle my tX)dy with those long, deadly arms. I •d

sucked in as much air as J could in hopes of

What I had to do might take more than a single lungful of air.

"Aieee!" I shrieked as the gorilla's arms smashed down

into my tX)dy. For a moment. all thought Of my battle plan

sliFFi away in pain. Then I brought my eltxvws down into

the gorilla 's shoulders. It felt as if I smashed into stone. The

muscles overlaying the back and shoul&rs

tensed into steely immobility.

I felt the world going away again. Not encnlgh oxygen. I

out with Hugo. The sharp bla& cut down into tlr

gorilla •s shoulders. Nothing. I cut and slashed and hacked

like some apprentice butcher. Blcx»d spattered all over now

but nothing lessened the bone-mangling grip around my

body.

Inexorably, life fled my txydy. I jabbed again, the

point striking the juncture head and torso. I couldn 't

find a neck. Blackness welled up and swept over me. I feebly

over and over. It might as well have teen a mos-

quito•s sting against a dinosaur.

I don't rememtrr passing out.

I barely remember coming to, the heavy weight pressing

down onto my Breathing was almost impssible. I

checked to make sure that the word "impssible" wasn't

absolutely mie. My mouth and nostils were filled with a

stinking fur coat. Turning my head, fresh air came in again.

It took long minutes for rrr to understand what had hap-

Even as I blacked out, I had stabbed down with my

knife. One of those thrusts had found the gorilla's carotid

artery. It had bled to death in less time than it took for the

gonlla to crush the life from me. Obviously. I still lived, it

didn't.

As it collapsed, it camed me forward. Its weight held me

down. Its dead weight.

Another minute passed before I found the strength to work


181

out from under that mountain of dead nrat. I was covered in

blood—not mine.

But lived.

And, all things considered, wasn't in tCX) bad shaF. M

ribs hurt like hell. Mayte one or two were cracked but

nothing broken, no compund fractures with naked white

promlding through the skin. My lungs wheezed and

protested a steady, regular, constant flow of air. They'd

adjust back to normal enough. And while other muscles

Ehed horribly, I was in one

Bron had just a bit more to pay for now.

backtracked the path of my wild retreat from the gorilla. I

found crushed grass and broken limbs on low-hanging trees.

nen I found Wilhelmina. I checked the action to make sure

no dirt had gotten into the works. Lugers are precision

machines. They work reliably and well under adverse condi-

dons, but dirt or sand in the slide will cause one to jam. The

last thing in the world I wanted now was for my gun to jam at

a critical moment.

I'd missed Fatrr once I wouldn't miss twice, no

matter what he sent against me.

I advanced on the building, doing a sneak-up to keep from

alerting him. And again it didn't work.

Fat*r appared in the doorway, his wand in hand.

"Carter? You amaze me," he said in a mildly agitated

tone. "You got away from the gorilla. Well, never mind.

come inside. I think you'll find what I have to show you very

instuctive. "

I raised my Luger for the shot that would take him out.

stopped in time to keep from missing once more. He'd

vanished into the building. I followed.

In my haste to dispatch ttr mad scientist, got careless. I

stalked into the room, my pistol leading the way. If anything

had moved, it would have gotten a couple of slugs instantly.

But nothing living moved. The door slammed tEhind me,

pulled shut with a slender wire leading outside. In a flash,

realized there wasn't a doorknob inside. The windows were


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NICK CARTER

screened over with heavy metal wire-mesh, and the only

other door to the room was on the far side—and closing.

"Good-bye for good this time, Carter. My faithful allies

will not make the same mistake the gorilla did." Fatrr's

taunting voice came from outside. He'd tugged on the wire

that closed the door, trapping me in this crackerbox of a

room. Given enough time, I 'd be out of here and after him.

Fatxr didn't give me that time.

Swarms of the tsetse flies gushed up from a the man

had opened t*fore leaving the room. nere was no way I

could get through the heavy screens over the windows fast

enough to keep from perishing. Doubtlessly, these flies were

infested with the worst diseases could concoct.

.lnstinct saved me. I didn't have time to logically think it

through. I simply acted. Slashing through my pants leg

revealed Pierre. The tiny gas bomb hung intact on my inner

thigh. I sucked in a deep breath, then mashed the grenade.

Odorless, invisible nerve gas billowed forth. I felt the gre-

nade turning cold against my skin; the gas is highly com-

pressed. As it gushed forth. it expanded and ccx)led to the

point that tiny ice crystals formed on my flesh.

But I didn •t worry atX)ut a little frostbite. I worried that the

tsetse flies would not be affected by the gas quickly enough to

. keep them from swarming on me, biting me, killing me.

I swatted one and crushed it. Gingerly, I its blood

off my skin using a rag I found on a nearby wooden work

table. All the while my ears filled with the buzzing of deadly

insects, 1 felt my lungs protesting. All AXE agents can hold

their breaths for four minutes—-under normal conditions.

I felt as if someone had taken baseball bats to my

The gas released from Pierre dissipates in three min-

utes. I'd only gone two and already felt dizzy. My lungs

threatened to explode unless took a nice, deep breath.

If I did, Pierre would kill me. My own faithful companion

would slay me even faster than a bullet through the brain.

ne buzzing sounded louder, more insistent. *Ihe nerve

gas didn't work against tsetse flies. I fought to reach a


183

window, to begin ripping out the heavy mesh screening.

Sinking to my knees, I knew couldn 't go on any longer. Not

even three minutes had elapsed and the buzzing sounded like

the roar Of a huge crowd.

"Nooo! I And nothing happened. I pressed my

nose close to the screen and inhaled. Fresh air. All of Pierre is

nerve gas had dissipated. Ihe cross-ventilation had cleared it

out sooner than I'd thought.

As I sucked in life-giving air, I noticed the buzzing went

away. The gas had killed the tsetse flies; all I Sd heard buzzing

was the blood roaring in my own head.

1 didn 't move for several minutes. I wanted to tr sure r was

back into fighting trim-—-or something close to it. I'd run

æross two of F&r's genetically mutated inventions today

and had bested But the cost to me physically was great.

Settling my mind helped. I pictured myself sinking into a pool

of warm, clear water. The ripples expanded outward and

soothed, calmed, renewed. By the time I pulled myself erect

and faced the middle of the I felt like I could take on

both a gorilla and a swarm of tsetse flies at the same time.

' 'You bastard, " ' muttered softly. I walked to the door and

studied it. The doorknob had removed and a plate

welded over the receptacle. I checked out the other door.

Same thing. Carefully studying the entire door frame, I

decided against forcing my way out this route. nte way

appeared to be cutting into the screen and pulling it back far

enough to snake through.

My knife nicked and dulled as I sawed through the tough

wire over the windows. Eventually I made it. A hole large

enough for my tX)dy awaited me. Something held me back. I

sat on the floor and stared at the hole, thinking hard.

What me? I frust my instincts. I have to; they've

kept me alive for a long time.

Then it hit me. I'd barely gonen to the edge of the clearing

the first time when Faber apFared and turned on his magic

wand. The gorilla had come after me even though FatEr

couldn 't have seen me. After I'd dispatched the gorilla to its


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eternal banana republic in the sky , Fat*r had t*en waiting for

me again, this time with a gimmicked room and the flight of

tsetse flies.

I didn't think he'd prepared this srxcial rcx)rn sans

doorknobs just for me. He hadn't had the tirne. nis was a

regular part of his paranoid world, a trap for the unwary,

perhaps even a test for the voracious flies. I envisioned

a native tricked into this room while watched to see

what results his latest disease had on his unsuspecting victim.

It wasn't a pretty picture, yet it was something I could see

Fatrr enthusing over.

But he had known i had finished off the gorilla and then

had lured me here. How had he known? I stared out the hole

the wire mesh again, this time studying the area around the

building more carefully.

' 'I'll be damned," I muttered to myself. On the prch

t*hind a post stood a small home alarm unit like those sold by

the big department stores in the U.S. Faber had outfitted his

buildings with a monon sensor. I tripped it both times. I

hadn't figured he would rely On mechanical or electronic

gizmos; he was a biologist and, had he run true to form,

would have been totally ignorant of such things.

I Wd underestimated the man.

It wouldn't happen again.

Moving slower than molasses flowing uphill on a cold day,

I edged through the screen. The mouon sensors can

circumvented if movement is gradual enough. *Ihe designers

didn't want a stray breeze moving a plant leaf to set off an

alarm. Ever so carefully, I sliplkd through the wire mesh,

onto the porch, and under the electronic umbrella put out by

the alarm device.

Reaching up, taking pains to be sure my hand didn't enter

the field, I switched off the machine.

"Now, Faber, we're down to a one-on-one."

I drew my Luger and went hunting.

Circling the building gave me no clues as u) Faber's

The sealed room—I was convinced now it was

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185

a test for flying untouched. Drop-

ping, I checked the dust outside the tuilding for footprints. I

found only small, indistinct indentations. But they led off

into the forest. Following slowly, I made sure I didn't walk

into another trap.

Instead, I found a small shed hidden among the trees. This

had to Fatmis real The expansive windows

were with fine-mesh screens all the screens had

tren pulled up and away for tktter ventilation. I walked

around the entire building, making sure that hadn't missed

anything. I was esFcially watchful for any more dime-store

alarm systems.

The last one I'd come æross had worked all well.

I moved in for the kill.

The wcxxien creaked as my weight descended on it.

•m light on my feet but could do nothing atX)ut the protesting

lanks. I kept going until I cart* to the first window.

utiously rising, I rrered inside the lab.

The structure seemed larger insi& than I'd've thought

ssible. It was one huge room lined with several rows of

orkt*ncbes, all black-tomxd and stained with Eids. An

drifted forth from the lab that reminded me of the

iology lab r 'd taken in school. Fonnaldehyde. My nose

rinkled at the memories brought back by that pungent

hemical smell.

A clinking of glassware caught my attention. I swiveled

nd and finally sptted Bron Fatrr. He worked with total

oncentration on some project, his back toward me. As he

rned I got a good profile view. Wilhelmina came up but I

eld my fire. I saw what the man did and it chilled me to the

In a test buzzed a tsetse fly. He stuck a syringe

gh the rubter in the test tutr. A bright, reflecting

op of a clear liquid onto the fly. He shook the test

to agitate the fly and soak it thoroughly in the liquid. I

•dn 't need a Ph.D.-in biology to know what was happening.

at harmless-appearing clear liquid contained a bacteria or


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NICK CARTER

virus capable Of wiping out a human life in a matter o

seconds.

If I killed now, he'd drop the syringe. It might

might not break. That didn't matter. A quick fire erase

everything. But the test tube would break when it fell and

disease-carrying messenger of &ath would wing forth.

It was stupid of me to hesitate for even a second. What w

one lousy tsetse fly compared to the infinite misery this

might cause? Still, the idea of that much death ptential

close by had held me back for a second. No longer. I

been given a dangerous mission. It was time to complete it.

I waited for Fatrr to put down the test tut* with the tl

inside. My finger tensed. I fired just as Alleen yanked m

•hand up and away, ruining the shot. Glass tinkled insi& th

telling me that I'd missed Faber completely.

"Alleen, you I shouted. Shoving her out of m

way, I kicked in the door and stood crouched, waiting f

movement inside the mom. If Fatrr so much as sneezed, I '

have him cold.

' 'Nick, don't hurt him. Please! I love him!"

"Stay back, Aileen, " I snaprrd, my eyes never stoppin

their slow scan of the lal»ratory. "After what he's done

you. I'd think you'd want the son-of-a-bitch dead.

"You don't understand, do you, Carter?" came FatEr'

rncrking voice. s 'She can't help herself. My first experi

ments were on insect control using pheromones. I adap

that to humans. My pheromones are absolutely irresistible

women. The diabolical laugh that followed told me to mov

out of the doorway. I silhouetted myself too much there. H

might have a gun hidden away. Underestimating him agai

might prove fatal. I circled to the right, constantly on th

alert.

' • nere's got to more to it than that, You don'

just smell good. "

"It's sex-linked, Carter. Absolutely nonrational. Goe

right to the most primitive instincts of humanity."

"With something like that, why with the tsetse flie


187

nd the disease? You have what all men dream "

*'Power. I want power. And you won't stop me. Carter.

o one will. I 've issued an ultimatum to all the world leaders.

f course, they didn't trlieve me. But they do now.

il!ed off ten of them. Told the press the exact time and

thod, then killed those fools. "

had him pinpointed now. He crouched t*hind one of the

lack-topped work tables. Caution overrode my instinct to

up onto another table and start firing. If I missed him and

it any of the stoppered vials on the table, one of the horse-

en of the homemade plague—would

ly released to gallop forth into the world.

I wanted to live to take the well-deserved R & R Hawk had

mised me.

S 'Bron, I love you so!" cried Alleen from the doorway.

'Please. I-Rt me stay with you. "

'He 'II kill you, Alleen, " I said. I hord she would distract

im. If he exposed even one small portion of his I'd

ave him then. A bullet doesn 't have much cross-section and

'm a good shot. Damn good.

"No, he won't. Please, Bron, let me . . . • '

"Stay back!" he cried.

As he rose up I changed plans again. He held a large glass

aker literally swarming with tsetse flies. Hundreds of them

ere inside. My eyes flashed to the large windows with the

•sed screens. nose flies would out the windows and

one in seconds. if they bred in the wild, it might impossi-

le to stop the spread of a dozen different virulent diseases.

I dived straight for Farrr, not even thinking of putting a

ullet through him. My hand closed on the wrist holding the

aker. The angry buzzing of the flies inside told me what the

akes were.

' 'You won •t win, Carter, ' ' he snarled, punching at me and

•ng to get his hand free from the traker. "They 're infected

ith my own disease. No antidote, no treatment—it

orks too fast."

I'd seen the results of his specially created disea«e. The


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NICK CARTER

flesh rotted away from the body in minutes. Death w

horrible. Hawk would have to order the entire area nuked t

keep the flies from spreading the disease worldwide.

Walvis Bay was a port for the west coast of Africa. On

pair of the tsetse flies could wipe out the entire condnent

they got aboard a freighter moving up the coast.

Or what if a ship bound for South America in

fested? From there up through Central America and int

North America. I saw entire continents dying. And the so

of all that death and misery rubtrd against my arm as I f0i8h

to get it away from Fatrr.

He kneed me in the groin. I doubled up in pain, but e

move I made came as the result of long training. I t*nt over

yes, but Hugo also free from his sheath. My knif

drove upward into Fatrr's guts. The surprised look on hi

face told me he 'd died almost instantly.

I regretted that he hadn't suffered like so many of hi

victims. lhen regretted killing him at all. The t*ak

containing the disease-carving flies sliPFEd from his hand.

grabbed for it but the blood spurting out of his belly made m

hands too slick. I felt like a pnze receiver for a football te

as I juggled the beaker.

As I closed my fingers on the neck of it, it up

away from me. A loud crash sounded. The crash of doo

The flies buzzed angrily. They'd out the windows i

seconds.

Ihey would have tEen except for Aileen Kindt. She ha

watched my sü•uggle with her lover. When the beaker brok

on the floor, she threw herself on top of it.

"God, Alleen," I said.

"The screens. Nick. drop the screens. Must, oh, m

stomach, the glass! M-must stop them from escaping. O

the flies!"

I knew the glass cut unmercifully into her body, but wh

she said was right. Running like a madman, I slammed eve

screen and then, when all were down, made the rounds agai


189

to securely lock them in place. Not one of those damned flies

would leave here.

"Done, Aileen. . .

My throat constricted at the sight. Bron Fatrr had nurtured

the disease. Quick acting, it had already claimed

Alleen in the most gruesome manner possible. She lay half-

turrrd on the floor, clutching at the beaker cutting into her

stomach. Her once t*autiful features had twisted in unteara-

ble pain. She hadnt been more than twenty-one. She now

looked a hundred. Her skin wrinkled and fell from her bones.

There wasn't any blood. Somehow, the fast-acting disease

had sucked up her life's juices. I watched in mute horror as

she aged another hundred years in seconds. Aileen had turned

into a mummy.

ne pain and terror she'd felt in those last seconds of life

remained on her face, etched there forever.

' 'Aileen, " I said, my throat dry and voice choked. I saw

the tsetse flies working their way out from under her body.

Shock wore off and I sprang into action. found a metal tin of

methyl alcohol. I it over her and lit the volatile liquid

from a nearby Bunsen burner. bright blue flames licked

at her once-gorgeous txxiy.

The flies were caught in the intense flame and cremated. I

swatted a few escaping in other directions. For over an hour I

patrolled that latx)ratory, not to look at the ravaged

corpse on the floor, as I hunted down every m)ssible fly. Only

when I was positive that every single one of the

killers had perished did I search the lab.

I found not&oks. I carefully ripped the pages

out and crumpled them. Then I found more alcohol and

doused the A last bit of bright, cleansing flame

from the Bunsen burner ignited the notes, the floor, and the

trnches.

I left then and stood outside watching, until only charred

supports remained of the building. Even then, I waited and

listened, dreading the sound of the normal African insects


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NICK CARTER

buzzing around my head, praying that I wouldn •t hear a tsetse

fly.

Only when I assured myself that I'd eliminated every

single fly did I leave. It was a long drive back to Walvis Bay.

' 'It is a shame, N3, that you couldn't have found Fatrr's

not&oks, " said Hawk. "lhey might have given us great

insight into prevention of disease. "

"He only caused it," 1 said glumly. I sat across from

Hawk, his immense desk between us. After getting back to

Walvis Bay, I'd the States, told Hawk all that had

haplkned-—with a few major changes—and then waited for

pickup. fiat night a Sea Stallion helicopter landed, me

out to a camer in the Atlantic, and from there I was flown into

Washington, D.C. I'd teen back less than three hours.

'*Being able to cause a disease is an impnant step in

finding ways to prevent and cure them, N3. You know that. ' '

He studied me with those piercing, cold eyes of his. "It's a

temble isn't it?" he said more softly.

"You had to see it for yourself to trlieve it, sir, " I said. In

my mind I still pictured Alleen aging so quickly, eaten alive

by the voracious disease spawned by Fatpr.

"And it wouldn 't do to letjust anyone have this power. We

might all turn into Bron Fatrrs. Isn't that what you're

thinking, Nick?"

S' What?" The use of my first name surprised me. mring

debriefings, Hawk is usually all business. "Yes, you're

right. "

' 'Well, that 's not right. The United States would never use

such a But we have to have the weapon, nonethe-

less. Sticking our heads in the sand won't stop others from

developing biowarfare weapons even more dangerous."

"It might. "

• 'It won•t. Stop sounding like an idioti Nick. You're upset

right now over this woman's death. You gave a very graphic

description. But think on this. If we 'd had 's knowledge'

ofdiseases, he would have been against anyone. If


191

we could cure as easily as he infected, we could have laughed

at him. "

"Would we have Eeen so free with the antidote?" I asked.

"To a counry whose policies we don't fully support?"

e 'I can 't answer that, Nick, in any way that will satisfy you

at this moment. Ugly things hapFn in the world. ne U.S. is

usually left with the unenviable task of tidying them up. We

don't cause too many of those ugly things, but we have to

deal with them. "

'Garbageman to the world. ' ' r snorted and sh€»k my head

sadly.

"Call it what you will. You did a good job. The world

owes you a of gratitude—and no one outside this office

will ever know." He paused for a moment, then added,

' 'Isn 't the knowledge of a job well dotr, a necessary job well

done, reward enough?"

He knew that wasn't what ate away at me.

could have saved her. I shouldn 't have let her come with

me. Not that last time. "

"She had valuable information, N3. By your own stan-

dards, she died as good a death as anyone-could hope for. She

saved countless lives by sacrificing her own. She stopped a

plague for which there might not have been a quick cure. She

died; your burden is continuing to live. "

I thought about what Hawk said. He was right, of course.

That's what I envy him. Winning an argument is hard

he usually comes out on top. Alleen had given her

'fe for millions, millions who would never know that she had

ven lived, much less saved them from awful death. She had

n honest and decent and, when it counted most, brave.

And there hadn 't Iren anything I could have done to stop

er from accompanying me. She had a single-minded deter-

nation to find Fatrr. Even if I'd left her in Walvis Bay,

he 'd have somehow found him. It might even forthe best,

is way. Fatrr's genetic engineering had twisted her

unci. Now she was free of his influence—-forever.

g 'Go on your vacation, Nick. You've earned it. "


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NICK CARTER

I stood and went to the

' 'Nick?" he called.

"Sir?"

"Any idea where you •re going to take that R & R?"

g 'Somewhere without flies, " I said

But Hawk wasn't listening. He already turrrd to the next

crisis brewing. I left, uhing in t»dy and spirit, thit finally

sure that things had returned to normal.