“I didn’t hear you!”
She jerked around, looking at him as if he’d struck her. “I said, yes, sir!”
Lucas nodded, “Right. Let’s not waste any more time. Finn, I want you to clock back to Plus Time and get Colonel Cooper back here. He’s to bring no more than two men with him. Use your room over at the boarding house as the transition point. Tell him he’s to stay them and not budge from that room, no matter what, till we get back. If we’re not back by morning, or if he’s attacked, then he’s in charge. Brief him on the situation and get back here as quickly as you can.”
“I’m on my way.”
Delaney got up and popped the cover on his warp disc, then clocked out.
“Andre…” Lucas said gently
She got up, turned away from him, walked over to the window and stood there looking out, not saying a word.
10
“I count six,” said Ben Stone, standing in the vacant lot next to Fly’s Boarding House on Fremont Street.” How many do you make?”
“That’s what I’ve got, sir,” said Lieutenant Victor Capiletti, of the Special Operations Group. “Two across the street. two over on Third, around the corner, and the two that just ducked inside the alley. What do you think, Captain?”
“I’m not sure,” said Stone. using the corner of Harwood’s house, on the west side of the lot, as a cover from which to check the street. They were looking toward the Aztec Rooming House. “It looks like a loose security perimeter to me. They don’t want to attract attention, but they’ve got the place prett
y well covered. They could be getting ready to clock in a strike force, using Delaney’s room upstairs as a transition point.”
“Can’t have that.” said Capiletti.
“No. we can’t, can we?” Stone replied. “Our timing couldn’t have been more perfect. We set out to take one T.I.A. agent and we may just wind up getting their entire strike force. All we have to do is secure the transition point and take them out as they clock in. It’ll be like shooting fish in a barrel.”
“We’ll have to take out-their external security first, without alerting whoever’s inside.” said Capiletti.
“I want your team to handle it without making any noise,” said Stone. “The last thing I want is interference from the locals.”
“Leave it to me.” Capiletti spoke into his radio. “Okay, people, we’re gonna take ’em. No noise. Repeat, no noise. And I want the bodies disposed of. Robbins. Mattick, Howard, Stein, you take the two in the alley. Andrushack, Washburn, Kent and Sagretti. you take the two on Third. Donninger and Miller, you stand by. On my signal, repeat, on my signal, use stingers to drop the two out front. Lethal dose. Okay, everybody got it? Move out!”
It was just a short walk down Allen Street to the hotel, but they hadn’t gone more than a few steps past the corner of Allen and Fifth, where the Oriental Saloon was located, when Scott heard the ominous clicking of a hammer being cocked.
“Don’t move, Kid,” said Curly Bill Brocius. “Keep your hands out at your sides and turn around, real slow.”
Scott stood perfectly still. Beside him, Jenny stiffened with a gasp and looked over her shoulder.
“Curly Bill! What are you doing? Have you gone crazy?”
“You step away from him now, Jenny. This is between the Kid and me.”
“Do as he says, Jen,” Scott said.
“But-”
“ Do as he says!”
She moved away from his side,
“Why didn’t you just shoot me in the back, Brocius?” said Scott, tensing.
“I don’t think I want to do that,” Curly Bill replied. “You’re gonna get it from the front, so everyone will know I can beat you to the draw when it counts.”
“I see,” said Scott, not turning around. “Only you’ve already got your pistol out. That’s not exactly beating me, is it?”
“Bill, don’t-”