Pushing against the desk for support, I leaned back with Su Lao Lin on top of me. The world exploded in a maelstrom of spinning sensation. Twisting, gyrating, we writhed around the sparsely furnished office in a feverishly hysterical dance, the two-backed beast upright, staggering into the furniture and against the wall. Finally, with a great shuddering spasm we crashed to the floor, driving, pounding, thrusting with every straining muscle until suddenly she screamed twice, two short, shrill yells, her back arched despite my weight pressing against her.
I pulled away and rolled over on my back on the floor, my chest heaving. With all the bedrooms in the world, I somehow had managed to end up on the floor of an office. I smiled and stretched. There are worse fates.
Then I became aware of a tiny hand on my hip. Delicate fingers traced a filigree pattern on the inside of my leg. Su Lao Lin, it was obvious, wasn't finished yet.
As a matter of fact, several hours passed before she was.
Then, once we had bathed, dressed and eaten the dinner I ordered sent up, she became all business.
"Let me see your passport."
I handed it over. She studied it thoughtfully for a moment "Well have to get you a new one," she said. "An entirely different name, I think."
I shrugged, and had to smile inwardly. It looked as if my life as Nick Cartano was going to be very short indeed — not even a week.
"I want you out of here in the morning," she said.
"Why so fast? I kind of like it around here." That was true. It was also true that I wanted to find out as much as possible about the Beirut end of the operation before I left for the States.
She looked at me expressionlessly and I was forcefully reminded that this was Su Lao Lin, the Red Chinese agent who had sent so many American G.I.'s through hell along Heroin Highway, and no longer the delicate little wildcat on the office floor.
"Well? It has been an interesting evening, you'll admit."
"This is a business," she said coldly. "While you're around, I might forget that I can't afford to…"
"So you want me out of here on the morning flight," I finished for her. "Okay. But can you fix up papers for me that fast?"
Charlie Harkins could, I knew. But I doubted if there were any more Charlies hanging around Beirut.
Su Lao Lin again permitted herself that ghost of a smile. "Would I suggest it if I couldn't?" Her logic was hard to fault. "I want you to go now," she said.
I looked at my watch. "It's already ten o'clock."
"I know, but it's going to take some time… you must return here before you leave. Understand?" That ghost of a smile again. Su Lao Lin placed one tiny hand on my forearm and led me to the door.
I smiled at her. "You're the boss," I conceded. "Where do I go?"
"One-seven-three Almendares Street. It's over on the fringe of the Quarter. See a man named Charles Harkins. He'll take care of you. Just tell him I sent you. He's on the third floor." She patted my arm gently. It was probably the closest she would ever come to making an affectionate gesture.
I was cursing myself for a fool as I strode down the corridor and rang for the elevator. I should have known her penman was Charlie Harkins, which meant I had a problem. There was no way Charlie was going to fix me up with an entire new set of papers and not inform the Dragon Lady that she was playing around with AXE's No. 1 field agent.
There was one way, of course. I felt the reassuring weight of Wilhelmina against my chest as I stepped into the elevator. Poor old Charlie was going to get leaned on again, and this time it was going to have to be a pretty bard lean.
Chapter 6
Number 173 Almendares Street. The odors, noises and activities in the building were external. Charlie answered the doorbell almost before I took my finger off the buzzer. Whoever he had been expecting, however, it wasn't me.
"Nick…! What are you doing here?"
It was a legitimate question. "Hi, Charlie," I said cheerfully as I pushed past him into the room. I sat down on one of the sofas in front of the coffee table, pulled a Galoise out of the half-crushed pack in my pocket and lit it with an ornate table lighter that looked as if it might have come from Hong Kong.
Charlie looked nervous as he closed the door, and after a moment of indecision, took a chair opposite me. "What's up, Nick?"
I grinned at him. "I've got another job for you, Charlie, and I want to talk to you a bit, too."
He assayed a small smile. It didn't come off too well. "I… uh… I can't talk much about things, Nick," he pleaded. "You know that."
He was right, of course. Half of Charlie's not inconsiderable value to the international underworld lay in his remarkable talents with a pen, a camera, a printing press, an airbrush, and an embossing kit. The other half lay in his absolute silence. If he ever talked about anything, he would be dead. Too many people in the Mideast would be too afraid that the next ones he talked about would be them. So silence was part of his stock in trade, and in my occasional brushes with Charlie I had never asked him to break it.
But life can be tough, I thought to myself. I had a moment's regret for what I was about to do, but I reminded myself that this was a presidential mission. The Charlie Harkinses of this world couldn't count for much.
"You should have told me you were working for the Dragon Lady, Charlie," I said conversationally.
He frowned as if he didn't know what the hell I was talking about "What do you mean… uh, Dragon Lady?"
"Come on, Charlie. Su Lao Lin."
"Su Lao Lin? Uh… who's she?" Fright played with his eyeballs.
"How long have you been working for her?"
"Me? Work for who?"
I sighed. I didn't have all night to play games. "Charlie," I said with exasperation. "She sent me over here. I need a whole new set of papers. I'm leaving for the States in the morning."
He stared at me, comprehension finally dawning on him. I watched his eyes as he worked it out in his mind. He knew I was an AXE agent. If Su Lao Lin had sent me over to get new papers, it meant that I had worked myself into the pipeline somehow. And if I had worked myself into the pipeline, it meant that that pipeline wouldn't be operating much longer. He looked around the room as if seeing the freshly painted walls, the green rug and the nice furniture all disappearing before his eyes.
He had figured things out correctly.
"You're sure?" he asked.
"I'm sure, Charlie."
He sighed deeply. The fates were contriving against Charlie Harkins and he knew it. He had to let Su Lao Lin know that an AXE agent had broken through her security. But the AXE agent was right there in the room with him.
I didn't envy him.
Finally he made up his mind and sighed again. He reached for the telephone on the coffee table.
I leaned across the coffee table and slammed the palm of my hand hard across the bridge of his nose.
Tears welled in his eyes as he jerked backward. A trickle of blood ran from his left nostril. "I… have to call," he gasped. "I have to confirm that she sent you. If I didn't, she would know something was wrong. It's standard procedure."
He was undoubtedly right. There had to be some confirmation system, and the phone was as good a way as any. Now I had my own dilemma to contend with. If Charlie didn't call Su Lao Lin, she would know there was trouble somewhere. On the other hand, the last thing I wanted at that moment was Charlie on the phone with Su Lao Lin. I took Wilhelmina out of her holster with one hand and handed Charlie the telephone receiver with the other. "Here. Call her up, just as you would if I were one of your average Siciliano customers. Right?"