Savant

yes—with long, slow dry spells in between.

He'd remained with the parent company for the whole time, taking contracts during the Seventies and Eighties, but basically just sitting on his butt most of the time. He had filled his life with expensive toys, cars, babes, hobbies, books, theater, films—and travel.

He'd lived on Ibetha before the hustlers moved in; St. Tropez before the tourists came; Barbados before the rowdies found it; Puerto Vallarta before the hippies arrived; Cancun before it became a spring-break shithole.

To many persons, Bobby Price's life would seem idyllic. But without work—the work—he was a lifeless shell inside. The operational challenge of the stalk infused him with energy and purpose. He would have paid them, truth be known, to retain his position as SAUCOG's senior sniper.

The weapon system had been his baby for a quarter of a century, and in all that time the R and D guys had been unable to come up with anything that could touch it. She was still the queen of long-range killers, and would probably reign so as long as she remained operative. A second model had been contemplated, but prices had gone through the ceiling, To build her a twin for the Persian Gulf War, for example, would have cost five million dollars. She was a unique piece.

Would SAVANT ever rust or break or fall apart with age? No. Not with Price's tender, loving care and normal maintenance. She was made to function for many more years. What of the remaining hundred-and-some special rounds? Would the old ammunition begin to malfunction with time? Nobody knew for sure, and the inventor of the system itself was long dead.

In the Eighties, the company had ordered a small run of SHARP-HEX and APEX ammo manufactured-just in case. And Shooter's stash had been upgraded with two cases of new Red Rock Match Grade (Silent/Extended Range) .50 sniper rounds, hand-delivered by the arsenal's courier, But Shooter, a professional worrier, never fully trusted the new stuff and continued to use the old rounds without incident. So far there hadn't been a cough in the carload.

It had been interesting to watch Chaingang in action during the first phase of this operation, which had taken place in a small Missouri farm town. Price had been kept busy, driving the country blacktops and gravel roads parallel to the primary target's movements, as he wound along his river routes or made his way across farmland. Petey had been a busy boy.

It was funny about the relationship between a sniper and his target. When you were hunting it was one thing, you took the target down at the first opportunity of a sure shot. When you conducted surveillance, it was a test of one's professionalism. You watched the same P.T. through that Laco 40X, or across the open blade sight, over and over, and pretty soon your trigger finger got very itchy.

That's why Shooter never watched Petey too long through the weapon. He'd follow him on the tracker, stay close enough to take a shot should the order ever be issued, and be pleased to 'blow him up real good,' but until that time he was a big, fat golden goose. Also there was a bonding, albeit one-way, that had gone on over the years. In an odd, ironic way it was almost as if Shooter viewed Chaingang as an old pal.

Sure, he thought, examining his reflection in the mirror, Bunkowski was a repulsive slob of a psychopathic killer but…since when was killing a crime? He broke himself up, laughing inside his mind, locking the door and slamming it behind him. He was heading for the rare bookshop, doing what he always did when he was bored— looking for ways to spend money.

'Hi.' The girl seated behind the bookstore counter smiled up at the face of the handsome guy who'd just walked in. What a hunk, she thought, suddenly feeling very hot. She'd been reading a romance and it was as if the guy in the book had come to life, blowing in off the scorching streets, ready to sweep her off her feet—the only difference being that the one in the novel had dark hair. She immediately scoped in on his ring fingers, and brightened at the absence of jewelry. 'Anything special?'

'Just looking,' he said. 'I have lots of interests.'

'Make yourself at home.' I'll bet you do, she thought. 'Feel free to browse.' She put a little laugh into her voice.

'Thanks.' He moved past her. Athletic-looking guy, maybe thirty-four, thirty-five. Unmarried. Probably not gay but you couldn't always tell. Really cute. She stood up and checked her image in the mirror, busying herself with a stack of books behind the counter. Touched her hair and adjusted the blouse she was wearing, a scoop-necked, off-the-shoulder peasant blouse which she wore demurely.

He zeroed in on familiar titles. Common stuff like Sniping on the Rhine and A Marksman's War Diaries. Immediately, he found a title he'd been looking for: Sniper's Journal: Bound Volumes XI-XIX. He'd heard of these but had never seen them. They were published by a small-press zine that had reproduced sections of lost material. He opened the leather- bound collection of magazines and thumbed through it. Most of it was stuff he'd seen or owned in the original, but he saw an article entitled 'An Authentic Account of Sharpshooting in Mexico.' Damn!

'How much is this one?' he asked the brunette girl with the nice chest.

She quoted him a price that he thought was way out of line and he let it show in his eyes.

'Wow!' he said, keeping his tone friendly. 'That's pretty high—I'll have to think on that one.'

'Sure,' she said. He went back to the bookshelf he'd been examining, and she watched him carefully put the volume back where he'd found it, 'I'm sorry about that. I don't own the shop or I'd make you a better price.'

'Oh? This isn't your place then?' he asked conversationally.

'No. I manage it for the owner.'

'I was in here once before—I don't think I saw you. I would have remembered,' he ad-libbed. 'What's your name?' He didn't care but he could never stop himself. He could smell it on them when they wanted him and it was always worth trying again.

'Melissa.'

'That's a nice name,'

'Thanks.'

'Mine's Bobby.'

'Hi, Bobby,' she said, thinking how inane she must be sounding. 'I don't remember seeing you in here before either.'

He bad tuned out on her. In between McBride's A Rifleman Went to War (1935) and McMullen's W.W.I Sniper (1918) was a book he never expected to see.

McLeod, W. D. Edward, Queen's Log. Jesus! Every collector wanted this one. Queen's Log: A Personal Narrative of Marksmanship Under Siege by the Zulu Nation, the full title. Five hand-drawn, tipped-in maps of the Roarke's Drift battlefield. His skin felt ice cold in the summer air conditioning.

'How much for this one?' he asked her.

'Um. That's uh—' She double-checked her typed inventory list to be sure. 'Twelve-fifty.' He didn't react, so to make certain he understood she said in a soft voice, 'One thousand, two hundred and fifty dollars.' Only the two of them were in the shop. She was sure he'd be irritated or amazed, but he nodded instead.

'Okay. I'll take this. I'll probably be getting some other books so—is it all right if I leave this here for the time being?' He had placed the book toward the back of the long counter.

'Sure. That's fine.'

'That's one I've been hunting,' the good-looking guy said, heading back toward the books. Obviously, he was a real collector. She wondered if he'd try to write a check and how she'd handle it when she had to tell him no.

He went back to the stacks with his heart beating. What a find, Twelve-fifty was way, way low. He was so pumped up he bought a dupe of Idriess's Sniping: With an Episode from the Author's Experiences During the War of 1914-18, a common little publication, because it was in perfect condition in the dust jacket. He was stoked.

'This is a great store. And I love the name of the place: Dog Soldiers!' He laughed and the girl made an appreciative chuckle.

'Thanks.' She felt tongue-tied. One of the sides of her blouse was riding a bit low on the shoulder. She didn't care.

He looked for another ten minutes and came back to the counter with an autographed first edition of