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"The building burned down. Generally, that indicates a fire," the man said.
"Yeah, but we set it to destroy the heroin. After we got rid of those drug dealers who are poisoning America's bodies and minds."
"Hang on a moment. There was a two-minute wait and the man came back to the telephone. "By dirty drug dealers, you mean Suzie Wo Fat, 13, Tommy Wo Fat, 14, and Eddie Wo Fat, 11?"
"They were all part of it," Gregory said.
"Go fuck yourself."
Only the New York Post was interested, in keeping with the paper's long-term policy of being interested in everything a day late.
The city editor gave the assignment to a twenty-three-year-old reporter who had finished first in his class at college, majoring in cultural anthropology, aspects of abnormality in the white mind, social repression in America, and making revolutions work, and had convinced the publisher that all these were good substitutes for the ability to write a simple declarative English sentence.
Remo was in Rocco Nobile's office when the Post reporter's call came through.
"Mayor Nobile? This is Peter Plennary of the Post."
Nobile nodded to Remo and pressed a button which turned the telephone into a loudspeaker so Remo could listen in.
"Yes, this is Mayor Nobile."
"We received a telephone call from someone claiming to be responsible for the fire yesterday. The fortune-cookie fire?"
"I see. Did he say who he was?"
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"He said he was The Eraser and that those Chinese were in the heroin trade and he was declaring war against the Mafia, and I want to know why you're protecting the Mafia, because I know all about you New Jersey politicians, working over here in New York."
"Isn't that awful?" Mayor Nobile said.
"What's awful? What do you mean?" the reporter asked suspiciously.
~ "It's awful how tragedies like this have a way of bringing out the bedbugs."
"He said he shot the members of that family."
"Well, that should prove to you that the poor man was deranged. That family died in the fire. There were no gunshot wounds."
"Oh, I see."
"And just for your information, the Wo Fat family had lived in Bay City for thirty years. They had operated that bakery all that time. They were never arrested for anything."
"Oh, I see," said the reporter.
"Anything else?" Nobile asked.
"No, I guess not," Peter Plennary said.
"I hope you're not going to run a story on this," Nobile said.
"Why not?"
"Because these things have a ripple effect. One lunatic gets some publicity out of a tragedy and it encourages him to really try to create a tragedy. Or imitators try to do the same. It would be awful if some poor demented person actually did start a fire to kill someone."
"I see," the reporter said.
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"Did this Eraser person say who he was?"
"No. Why?"
"I just wanted to let my police know so they could keep alert for demented persons who might fit his description."
"Oh, I see," said Peter Plennary, but he did not see at all. He just couldn't understand why anybody would want to call in the fascist police establishment to deal with an arson case. If Rocco Nobile wasn't a fascist, he would have asked the fire department to watch out for the suspected fire-setter. Anyone knew that.
When Peter Plennary hung up, he was convinced he was on to something. He had a big story. A Mafia mayor and that was obvious because he had an Italian name. Some wonderful person risking his own life to try to fight the Mafia. A gang of Chinese heroin-peddlers. The children probably were not children at all but cleverly disguised midgets. It could be a really exciting story. Peter Plennary started work on it right away. He wrote two hundred and fourteen pages. When he turned it in seven weeks later, his editor had forgotten what it was about and threw it in the garbage. Plennary retrieved it late at night when the editor had gone home and decided to use it as his doctoral thesis: "Crime and Corruption în a Typical Racist Right Wing Hate-Filled Amercan Slum City Ruined by Rampant Capitalism and Suppressing Minorities."
After he had gotten the reporter off the phone, Nobile shook his head as he turned to Remo.
"It's getting too close," he said. "We've got to find this nut-case before he blows everything. I need
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a couple more weeks, without trouble, and I'll have every goddam big Mafia fish in the country in here."
"And when that's all done, what'11 you do?" Remo asked.
Rocco Nobile shrugged.
"You know your life's not worth a can of warm beer," Remo said.
"I know," Nobile said. He rubbed his hand through his thick bushy hair. "Oh, I know. They're going to give me a new identity and send me somewhere else, but that's bullshit. Some clown with a hard-on for the government and a peek at the files is going to make himself rich by handing me up. I give myself three months. At least, it's three months I won't have to dye my hair or wear pinky rings or pin-stripe suits." He paused and thought. "Maybe less than three months."
"Then why do you do it?" Remo asked.
"Wouldn't you?"
"I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not. But if I did it, I'd do it for me, not for the government."
"That's the difference between us," Nobile said. He turned around and looked out the window at the tired dull streets of Bay City. He turned down the roar of the rock station which always filled the office. "I guess you could call it a generation gap. But I grew up believing America was worth a life. Even my own."
Remo sat up in his chair. He recognized that. He thought back to Conrad MacCleary, a one-handed man who had brought him into the secret organization CURE. When he lay dying and asked
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Remo to kill him, he had said the same thing: "America is worth a life."
"I know somebody who said that once," Remo said.
"Federal man?" Nobile asked.
Remo nodded.
"We were taught it," Nobile said. "Can you tell me your friend's name?"
"No. Hell, why not? Conrad MacCleary."
"MacCleary? That one-armed drunken whoremonger?" The words were hard but the face of Rocco Nobile was soft, exuding good memories as he thought back over his life.
Remo nodded.
"Conn and I went through O.S.S. training together." Nobile chuckled. We both learned that line from one of our meanest, tight-assed bastard instructors that ever lived. We used to make fun of him. Then one day he vanished."
"What happened to him?" Remo asked casually.
"We lost track of him," Nobile said. "And it was World War II, and we had other things to think about. Then I found myself in Germany, doing spy work, and I was captured. They had me in the cellar of an old castle and they were going to kill me. Suddenly, this guy comes into the cellar and orders everybody out. It was my old instructor. What it was was that he'd become a spy behind German lines. He was supposed to be a high-ranking Nazi. Well, he got me out of there. He killed six people on the way. And when he put me on a plane to get me out of Germany, I asked him, 'Aren't you coming?' He said no. He had more work
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to do. And that was the last I saw of him. That was his line. 'America is worth a Ufe.' Old Graham-Cracker Smith. Dry as dust but a helluva man."
"What was his name?" Remo asked.
"Smith. Harold W. Smith."
"What happened to him?"
"Don't know. He switched to the CIA when it was first set Up. He was one of those gray people that you don't notice much but you always get the feeling that he's running things while somebody else takes the credit. Then he just kind of vanished and I heard he had put in his papers. He's probably dead now. Or maybe farming rocks some place up in New Hampshire. Bravest man I ever met."
He looked out the window over his city, musing about old times, then he looked back at Remo, almost in surprise, as if noticing him for the first time.
"Wh
at were we talking about? Oh, yeah, Mac-Cleary. He still alive?"
"No," Remo said.
"What happened to him?"
"They' sent me to kill him," Remo said.
"Did you?"
"No. I couldn't do it."
"Neither could I. But Harold Smith could've. That was the difference between us. I guess that was the bravery he had that I didn't."
"Sounds like a good man," Remo said. "Someday I'd like to meet him."
When there was no story in the Post the next day, Sam Gregory slammed the paper to the floor of his motel room.
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"That's it," he snarled.
"What's it?" asked Al Baker nervously. Mort Tolan was at the window, pointing his trigger finger at passing cars. He smiled only when a pedestrian came into range. He practiced seeing how many shots he could squeeze off mentally before the body crumpled and hit the sidewalk. The Lizzard sat at the dressing table, looking at his face for pimples. In front of him was a tumbler rilled with Vodka.
"We're going to have to make a different hit," said Gregory. "Something the papers can't ignore."
"It passeth understanding," said Lizzard. "Do we do this thing because 'tis right or because we look for plaudits from the world? That thing is noblest done that is done with no one there to cheer."
"Dammit, I don't want cheers. I want press coverage," Gregory said. "I want the word to go out: we're taking on the Mafia."
"When do we get paid?" asked Baker. "I don't have two cents."
"Nor do I and empty pockets impel a man to dangerous acts," said Lizzard.
"Today," Gregory said in disgust. "I've got money for you all."
"Keep your money," said Tolan from the window.
"Not so fast," said Baker. "It's about time we got paid."
"Truly spoken," said Lizzard. "Truly spoken."
"What do we do next?" Tolan asked.
Gregory looked at the tall husky man. "We're going to hit the Bay City Improvement Association. Rocco Nobile's own club."
"When?"
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"Tonight. When those crooked cops drop off their gambling protection money. The press can't ignore that."
"Good," said Tolan. "I'm tired of marking time like this." Yeah, he thought, looking out the window. Life was important and money was important but death was more important, especially when it was the death of bad people. And if there weren't any bad people, yeah, well, then he'd settle for any people. Yeah.
"Marking time?" said Baker. "You shot five people yesterday. Three of them kids."
"Just a warm-up," Tolan said. "Don't you know we're warring on the evil-doers, no matter what disguises they may wear?" He turned toward Baker's eyes. "Bang, bang," he said softly.
"Stop that, will you, looney?" Baker said. "Sam, make him stop doing that."
"Don't call me Sam. I'm The Eraser. You're The Baker. He's The Lizzard."
"And I'm The Exterminator," Tolan said. "Bang, bang." He moved his index finger to point at Liz-zard's left temple. "Bang, bang." He pointed his ringer at Gregory's forehead. "Bang, bang."
"A looney," said Baker. "A freaking refugee from the rubber room."
"Stop the bickering," Gregory said. "I've got to draw a plan of attack for tonight." He reached for a large yellow pad. From a dresser drawer, he took a box of yellow wooden pencils.
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CHAPTER TWELVE
Denise looked up from her receptionist's desk as Remo came through the door from the mayor's office.
"Lunch?" she said.
He shook his head.
"Dinner? Breakfast in bed?"
"Sorry," Remo said. "Work."
"For that, I need you?"
"An assignment from the Mayor," Remo said.
Denise sat up straighter in her chair.
"He said for you to get as much help as you need. Then get the addresses of all the apartment buildings in town and the phone numbers of the superintendents. Start calling them. Tell them you're from the mayor's office or you're calling for the county nuthouse or whatever you want to tell them. But find out if they've rented an apartment recently to a tall man—way over six feet tall—wearing woman's clothes."
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She looked up, nodding her understanding. "The TV who delivered that envelope?"
"You got it," Remo said. "Now this is important. If you find the address, you call me. I'm at the motel over in Jersey City." "• "Better than that. When I get it, I'll deliver the address to you."
"I've got a roommate," Remo said.
"Awwww."
"But he goes to bed early," Remo said.
"Ooooh."
"But he's a light sleeper."
"Awwww."
"But I can always rent another room for our conference," Remo said.
"Stop it," she giggled. "You're making me crazy. I'll deliver that address. If I have to visit every apartment in Bay City myself."
Remo touched her on the shoulder. He felt her tingle. "Thanks. It's important."
Her smile almost warmed his back as he left her office. Inside, Rocco Nobile was hanging up the telephone. He shook his head at Remo.
"You can control the news but you can't control the rumors."
"What was that?" Remo asked.
"One of my contacts in California. He'd heard that we were having some trouble."
"What'd you tell him?"
"Just a fire. The usual thing in an old city."
"He buy it?"
"I think so, but we've got to get that lunatic Eraser off the streets."
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That afternoon, Remo rented another motel room next to his own and that night, when Rocco Nobile was finished at the office, Remo drove his limousine to the Bay City Arms penthouse apartment. In case anyone was watching, they went into the lobby and entered the elevator. But they stopped at the second floor and walked down a back stairway to the basement, and out a back door where they got into Remo's car.
After Remo had Nobile safe in his motel room, he went to his own room where Chiun was sitting on the floor, waiting. In front of him was the box of ping pong balls.
"Not again, Chiun."
"Again and again until you move correctly. Small errors left unchecked grow into large errors and large errors are what fatalities are made of. And if you are killed, what will people think of me? Hah, there is Chiun who trained someone so badly that he was killed. I do not deserve that, Remo."
"Gee, Chiun, I'm really sorry for your troubles."
"Thank you. Just do not add to them. You have moved badly lately, and we will correct it now."
Chiun was up and put the box of balls on the table alongside him. Remo took his stance ten feet away. Chiun threw. The ball started out far to the right, then hooked sharply just before it reached the wall and swerved back toward Remo's head. Remo put his hand up, edge first, caught the ball and slashed down through it with a hacking motion. The ball split neatly down the center and both halves slammed against the wall with two sharp cracking sounds.
"Good?" said Remo.
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"Better," said Chiun. "Again."
He tossed another ball at Remo, this time with an easy deceptive underhand motion. The ball started out low, traveling no more than eight inches above the carpeted floor.
Remo watched the ball, waiting, but it did not rise and he glanced at Chiun with a look of superiority on his face. He looked back down just as the ball swooped and caught Remo under the chin. It fell softly to the rug. Remo rubbed his chin, which smarted from the pain. He bent over, picked up the ball and angrily slammed it with his hand. The ball split. Its two halves slammed against the plywood wall, where their ragged-cut edges bit and stuck.
"Very good," Chiun said. "Get angry at the ball. But not at yourself who is the fool who allowed yourself to be hit."
Two rooms away, the rapping of the ping pong balls against the wall was not lost on Mark Tolan.
"That's it," he said. He pulled a T-shirt over his heavily muscled torso.
"Where are you going?" Sam Gregory asked.
"I'm going over to stick those ping pong paddles up some asses," Tolan said as he walked toward the door. "I already warned them about that racket."
"We've got work to do," Gregory said. "We're going out soon to hit that headquarters."
"I'll be back. Don't start the war without me," Tolan said. As he walked through the door, he thought, yeah, start the war without me and you've got nobody to fight it. Nobody except a drunk and a fake and a millionaire chart-maker. But when
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you need the purity of killing, you need Mark Tolan. Yeah.
He pounded on Remo's door with his heavy fist.
"Open up this goddam door."
"It's open," a soft voice replied. Tolan pushed the door open. Inside, he saw a small Oriental man, holding a ping pong ball. The man was wearing a dark green kimono. He was smiling.
"Yes?" the Oriental said.
"Where is he?" Tolan demanded.
"Who?" asked Chiun.
"This wiseass I told to stop playing or else I'd give him his."
Rerao stepped forward from the end of the room. "You mean me, ugly?" he said.
Tolan looked around the room. He saw no weapons. And this white guy was skinny. Tolan had him by forty pounds.
"You playing ping pong again?"
"Yeah. You want lessons?"
"No, I come to give you a lesson. I thought I told you to knock it off."
"That was yesterday," Remo said. "This is today."
"Yeah?"
Remo looked at Chiun who shrugged, shaking his head, unable to understand the western mind which did not want people to practice their balance using ping pong balls. If they did not want that, why did westerners bother to invent ping pong balls, Chiun wondered.
"Yeah, sweetheart," Remo. said. "Yesterday was yesterday and today is today."
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"I told you to stop. I meant for good," Tolan said.
"We'll keep it in mind," Remo said. "Now go away. You're annoying me."
"Yeah?"
"You're really good at dialogue," Remo said.
"Yeah? Well, you're pretty good at lipping off. You want to step outside?"
"Why? Is it nicer out there than in here?"
"More room to mop you up in," Tolan said.
"That's good," said Remo. "I'd give you about a sixty-seven on that one."
"You coming outside or do I mop you up in here?"
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