“I simply meant” The Major made vague hand motions, then gathered himself together and said, “What I meant was that you have no callon our services. Only young Formutesca is left to help you, and since you have no call on us I could not orderhim to work with you. But if he is willing to, I certainly would not stand in his way. The morality of the situation, it seems to me, is clearly on the side of”
“What about you?”
The Major stopped his speech and said, “Me? I don’t understand.”
“You can stay, too,” Parker told him. “That ‘major’ on your name means you’re a military man, doesn’t it?”
The Major shook his head in astonishment. “Me? That’s out of the question!”
“Why?”
“Mr Parker, if all goes well I will be the next president of Dhaba. I cannot afford to risk myself in a gun battle here; it would be pointless and ridiculous.”
Formutesca had come in with the fresh coffee while the Major was speaking.
Parker said, “In other words, you’re too valuable.”
Formutesca, holding the cup out, said, “Sir?” He was looking slightly confused.
“Thank you.” The Major took the cup, then looked levelly at Parker. “If you want to phrase it that way, yes. I am too valuable. I believe Formutesca here will agree with me on that.”
Formutesca, looking at the two of them, said, “Too valuable for what?”
The Major said, “Mr Parker wants us to stay here and help him against the three that are coming here. I told him if you wanted to stay it would be your own choice, I couldn’t order you to do it. He wanted me to stay as well, and I told him I could not afford to risk myself in such a way. I believe that I am too valuable.” He turned to Parker. “To Dhaba, Mr Parker. Not to myself, to Dhaba.”
“Of course, sir,” said Formutesca. Turning to Parker he said, “The Major is the only hope we have, Mr Parker. If anything happens to him, there won’t be anyone to stop Goma. Colonel Lubudi can’t last long, not now, and if the Major isn’t there to step in and take his place, General Goma will walk right in and take over the country.”
Parker said, “A General. A Colonel. A Major.”
With a thin smile, the Major said, “Do you mean we’re all alike, Mr Parker?”
“I don’t know anything about your politics,” Parker told him. “Or anybody’s politics. It’s four minutes to five. Formutesca, I could use you. If you want to stay.”
“Well, sure,” Formutesca said. “Naturally.”
“Good,” Parker said. “Major, you’d better get out of here. You have a car out front?”
“Yes.”
“Formutesca, help him move Manado.”
The Major said, “Is it necessary? It would be better”
“We might lose,” Parker said. “Leave him here if you want.”
“No.” The Major looked more and more troubled.
Parker turned back to Formutesca. “Where are the bodies?”
“In the basement. We just stacked them there, and some things that got bloodied. We were going to come back tomorrow night and bury them.”
“They had guns?”
“They’re down there, too.”
“All right. You people use the elevator, I’ll use the stairs. Formutesca, when you’re done helping the Major I’ll be on the first floor. Leave the lights on up here.”
Formutesca nodded. “I will.”
Parker headed for the door, but the Major said, “Mr Parker.”
He turned. “What?”
The Major was having trouble compressing his thoughts again. “I” he said, then shook his head and started again. “I do appreciate, I understand your position. I sympathize with your position”. I want you to know if there weren’t so many other factors to consider, I would”
“That’s good,” Parker said. “It’s three minutes to five.” He left the room.
5
Parker looked at the armaments on the display case. The ground-floor lights were off, but illumination came in the barred windows from a streetlight just out front. To Parker’s right, through an archway, was the main entrance foyer, with a long rectangle of white light on the floor from the open doorway.
The display case contained knives and axes, mostly of stone. On the glass top Parker had put all the guns he’d found downstairs: six pistols, two machine guns, one shotgun with the barrels sawed off back to the stock. Parker looked at them and then looked at his watch. Five o’clock. Formutesca was still outside with the Major.
Were Marten and the others on the scene? It wouldn’t change anything in their minds for them to see the Major and Formutesca carry Manado out of the building. They could incorporate that into the story Parker had given them with no trouble: Manado must have been wounded during the battle on Long Island, too seriously to be left in the museum. With the fourth-floor lights burning, that must mean Gonor was still upstairs.
