looked down at Hartline’s men. Hundreds of them, They looked like Tony imagined professional soldiers might look: lean and mean and menacing, capable of handling any situation that might confront them. He slowly turned to face Hartline.
“What choice do I have, Sam?”
Hartline smiled that totally disarming smile of his. “Well,” he laughed. “Actually, none. But consider this: Why should we fight each other? All that would accomplish is both of us taking physical losses. However, my way would guarantee us both enormous profit.”
Tony was anything but a fool. His mind was now racing hard. Hartline was right, of course. With the mercenary backing him, Tony could expand his operations tremendously. But could he trust the mercenary? His smile was hidden at that. Trust? Between two crooks?
Hartline seemed to pick upon the thought. “Trust is something one has to consider, isn’t it, Tony?”
“Yeah.”
“I am not really a trusting man,” Hartline admitted with a smile. “Except where women and power are the ultimate goal. Then one must trust. On the
other side of the coin, Tony, there is this: Can I trust you?”
“Just as long as you play it straight with me, yeah,” Tony said. “You do that, and I’ll play it straight with you.”
“That seems reasonable to me.”
“All right,” Tony said. “We have the cards on the table, face up. We have a deal.”
Hartline rose to his booted feet with the fluid movements of a man in the peak of physical condition. “Very good, Tony! A decision I am sure you will not regret. Now then, let’s discuss this slave revolt down south, and then I’ll take my men and settle matters on your-was he smiled- “our farms.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
When the code word came down the line and out of the speaker, Ben keyed his mic and said, “Confirmed. Report.”
The voice of Col. Dan Gray popped from the speaker. “Juan and Mark are moving into position, General. From the north. They left under darkness last night. It will be go at 0600 tomorrow.”
“We’ll be in position,” Ben said.
“Ten-four to that, sir. I have Rebels moving to beef up your contingent. They should rendezvous with you late this afternoon. The code word is Tiger.”
“I copy that. Luck to you, Dan.”
“And to you, sir. Base out.”
Nina and Ike stood just outside the door of the communications vehicle. Nina tugged at Ike’s sleeve. “What is to prevent the people of the Ninth Order from listening to that conversation?”
“The message is scrambled, Nina,” Ike told her.
She cocked her head and looked at him, confusion in her eyes.
“Both Colonel Gray’s and Ben’s words, while they are going through the air, are unintelligible until they come out of the speaker. There is a little-was he paused, choosing his words carefully-“box inside
the transmitter that puts the words all in the right order and then, a split second later, spits them out so the person on the receiving end can understand them.”
Nina’s mouth formed an O. “Like magic?” she asked, her eyes wide.
Ike’s eyes held a touch of sadness. He thought: She is so very much like a child. “Kinda like that, Nina. But it’s … well, I will explain it to you, I promise.”
“OK,” she said brightly. “But you sure have got a lot of expla*’ to do, Ike.”
Ben looked at Ike and he smiled. Turning to Nina, he said, “Feel free to ask any questions you like, Nina. For that is the only way anybody ever learns anything.”
“Yes, sir,” she said, standing very close to Ike, for she was still very much afraid of Ben.
Gale, sensing the young woman was fearful of Ben, put an arm around her shoulder. “He doesn’t bite, Nina. But he sure can snore.”
Nina looked horrified.
“I do not snore!” Ben said.
“Like an elephant trumpeting,” Gale countered.
“There are people in this world who would kill you for saying things like that, Miss Roth,” Nina told her.
That stopped Gale for a few seconds. She blinked and said, “You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“Yes, ma’am. There are places of worship all over the nation, built to honor General Raines.”
Ben smiled. “Now, then, woman. Show a bit more respect for me, will you?”
She looked at him. “I wonder if those people ever
read any of those cheap sex books of yours?”
“I did not write sex books! Well …” Ben was thoughtful for a moment. “Maybe one or two.”
“Uh-huh,” Gale said dryly. “And the truth shall set ye free.”
“You wrote books, too?” Nina blurted. “I love to read books. But I have a lot of trouble with real big words.”
“We’ll take care of that, Nina,” Ben assured her. “We’ll have schools operating in just a few weeks where you can learn all sorts of things.”
Ike and Nina walked away, holding hands. Gale watched them and said, “I think Ike is in love, Ben.”
“That and a guilty conscience, Gale. Sally’s death hit him a lot harder than he let on. He told me several months ago that it wasn’t working between them, but he didn’t know what to do about it.”
“I still say he’s in love.”
“Or in heat.”
“Raines …” She looked up at him. “I give up.” She walked off, Ben’s voice halting her. She turned around. “Raines, what do you want?”
“I said you’re going in the wrong direction,” Ben called with a smile. “The food truck is that way.” He pointed, then smiled at the gesture she flipped him.
“The one universal sign that will never die,” Ben said with a laugh.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
The guard, Lennie, unlocked the door to the girls’ bedrooms and stood for a moment, looking at them, an evil grin on his unshaven face. “Well, babies, I got news. Yes, indeed, this is gonna be a real kick. Tony just linked up with Sam Hartline, and I hear Hartline’s got him a dick like a horse. And he likes his chickie-babies young and tender. I sure would like to be around when he tries to get that salami of his’n up one of you babies’ pussy.”
Lilli began crying.
“Shut up, Lilli,” Ann told the young girl. “That won’t help none.” She looked at Lennie. He was the one who had made her perform oral sex on him the other night. “Fuck you!” Ann told the man.
Lennie laughed. “That’s the spirit, kid. Hey, what’s the matter, anyways? I thought you liked lickin’ my pole the other night?”
Ann stuck out her tongue at him and hissed her revulsion.
Lennie grinned. “I’m gonna be sure to suggest you to Sam Hartline, baby. Then I can listen to you scream.”
Ann spat at him.
Lennie laughed and closed the door, locking it
from the outside. His footsteps faded down the balcony floor.
“Please don’t let “em hurt me no more, Ann,” Lilli begged, tears running down her cheeks. “I can’t stand no more. One of them the other night tried to get his thing up my behind. I thought I was gonna die it hurt so bad.”
Ann sighed, wondering how all of a sudden she had been elected leader of the young group. Both Peg and Lilli looked to her for advice and leadership. It was a job she did not want.
“Look, kid,” she said to Lilli. “This is get tough or die time, now. I mean it. You heard what Lennie said about this guy Hartlink, or whatever the hell his name is. He likes his girls young. And the bastard probably likes to hurt
