Frenzy

Eichord had presented to Bud Leech saying, 'What's his name — Rebop? Your snitch?'

'Yeah — BeBop. Yeah?'

'Flaky little fucker's RIGHTEOUS. And give yourself a raise, by the way.'

Eichord patted the big fellow on the back and strode briskly back to his temporary desk, leaving Leech scratching his head and saying, 'A raise — what the hell is a RAISE?' But Jack hadn't seen that wide a smile from him in a while.

Eichord was taking care of the million and one loose ends that suddenly loomed large on his horizon. Checking out final details of his trap with Chief Adier, through the good offices of Victor Springer, playing it by the book now as he tried to think of everything. Stay one jump ahead. He had the last survivors of the Dagatina family picked up. He had people surveil Pat Spain's insurance hustler, the Dawkins and Nunnaly houses, everybody that manpower would allow. Covering the bases.

No sooner than the pictorial coverage of Tony Cipriot splashed onto the front pages than the switchboard plugged a call into the division and Springer was screaming at Jack, 'RUN!'

And Eichord came tearing down the hall and picked up the phone on the lieutenant's desk, conscious of the ubiquitous Realistic recorder plugged into a telephone adapter jack, the machine taping every breath and utterance as he said, 'Hello.'

'This the cop in charge of the gang-related assassinations?' Eichord made the voice instantly and his flesh crawled the moment he heard the distinctively enunciated, oddly precise speech pattern.

'Yep. And you must be the one and only Frank Spain, right?'

'Very clever. So what?'

'I was hoping we could make some sort of a deal. You know we're not altogether unsympathetic to your situation. Who cares if some worthless vermin get wasted? We're on your side, believe it or not.' He could hear his own voice selling too hard.

The very measured, precisely calm tones in his ear saying, 'I have no idea how stupid you are personally so I can only offer what I feel is sound advice and hope you take it. What you do not want to do is to bullshit me, can you comprehend this?' The voice overly precise. Frighteningly cool.

'I meant it about the vermin,' Eichord said in his quietest tone. 'We've got Ciprioni. We'd consider a trade for the innocent woman if we had certain assurances.'

'Will you take a fucking cab?' Spain snorted. 'You're either an idiot or you think I am to fall for such silly shit. Either way you're about to lose. What's your name — Officer Oehlert?'

'Eichord. But no, I don't think you're an idiot. I just think we have something mutually —'

'Whoa. Save us both time. Let me cut through. You have some barren, pitiful scheme to entrap me. Okay,' he sighed audibly, 'I know you have people at the phone company matching pairs and so on. Tell them to forget all that. I've been doing this for a lot longer than they have. By the time you figure out where I'm calling from I'll be long gone. You'll offer to swap that garbage you have in custody for the little lady. You have SWAT and tactical people ready and when I show up I get arrested. The music swells. You get the girl and ride off into the sunset, and the closing credits roll. I've SEEN those shows. No.'

'Don't you think I know it is impossible for local fuzz to swap out live bodies?' Eichord started to answer but he said, 'Put all that sophomoric DRECK out of your head. You with me?'

'Well, I don't know ...'

'Give it a rest.' Spain laughed coldly. 'CIA, now maybe THOSE assholes swap people but you guys don't. Well. So why I called you is, I'm going to tell you why your plan won't work and why you will do precisely what you just claimed. Why you WILL give me the scum Ciprioni. Because if you don't several more innocent people will die, not the least of whom is the buxom Miss Russo. Who, by the way, is not doing well at all. If I don't get what I want I don't believe she's going to pull through.' Laughing again. For the first time Eichord thought the caller sounded crazy.

'I just went into a grocery store and left a calling card. It's one of those old-time pineapple grenades from World War Two. People buy them for paperweights. Only this one isn't inert. It has the powder and the goodies and a nice short fuse. It's behind a stack of canned peaches or something — I forget what. It's just an illustration of one of my larger, uh, ideas. It's the IGA store on Olive. Also, I've shoved a couple of pineapples down into the cushions at Bielerman's furniture.'

And the cops listening to him give an address took off as Springer nodded and pantamimed, GO.

'See. I pull the pins, put the rings in my pocket, walk out nice 'n' easy. Somebody goes in and sits down on a sofa or pulls the wrong can of peaches off the shelf, or opens the wrong dresser drawer and — BA BOOM!'

'Where did —'

'I WANT you to find these, see. I mean, I know you guys are thick so I'm trying to teach you what it will be like. The same only different.

'Not pineapples next time. Something better. Not little shaped charges of explosives to take out one or two people but big surprises for lots of people. That's the sort of legacy I'll leave behind before I show up for any swap.

'I realize even I cannot predict the behavior of bureaucrats, not to mention imbeciles, so it's entirely possible you might attempt to sandbag me in spite of what you'll find at the grocery and furniture stores. The cop mentality being what it is. If that should be the case I will have left behind suitable payment. You will have deprived me of my vengeance, and I will have retaliated with commensurate force. Convey this to your superiors. If they try to outwit me by capturing me, all of us lose — and for what? For the life of that human garbage Ciprioni.

'Since you know me you also must know that in my field I am considered the best there is. As a professional you can appreciate what that means. So you understand that if I tell you I know demolition — let's say — inside out, you know I speak the truth.'

'I understand.'

'I hope so. You'll cost a lot of loss of life if you don't. I have considered how I would be treated after capture. I am a sophisticated and experienced man. I will have taken pains to . . . Well, what's the point of belaboring this. You'll either believe me or your actions will cause many, many persons to die unnecessarily. If I don't have Ciprioni handed over to me tonight, those deaths will be on the police's hands, and I have sent a brief summary of this situation to certain inquiring minds in the media. I think you'd be well advised to cooperate.'

'Obviously,' Eichord said, 'I'm going to have to talk to the people in charge. But I think I can say with some certainty that we'll be reasonable. We want to avoid any more bloodshed.'

'That's nice. But if it turns out to not be the case — or if your superiors don't believe me — I'll be glad to blow up a few dozen people just to show you I'm for real.'

'Come on, Mr. Spain. You know you don't want to do that. I'm sure we'll find a way to give you what you want. Ciprioni is nothing to us — just one more hoodlum.'

'Just stress that his life isn't worth the lives of hundreds of innocent civilians. That should do the trick. But, if not —'

'I think it will.'

'Tell them if my instructions aren't carried out, if you fail to bring that garbage to me tonight, I will begin a series of executions that will turn this town upside down and inside out. I'll begin taking lives in the most terrible and spectacular ways. Remember — if you need proof you'll get it, and lots of it.'

'When you say bring him to you tonight, what did you have in mind?'

'What did I have in mind? I just told you — bring me Ciprioni. Period.'

'I mean, where did you want him brought? We'll gladly comply with whatever precautions you might want to take to ensure your personal safety if we make the trade you propose —'

'It's YOUR personal safety you'd better concern yourself with, you understand?'

Leech signaled him no — meaning the tap had turned out to be another phone which Eichord knew would be the case.

'Absolutely.'

'We'll trade tonight. At midnight. You bring me Ciprioni and I'll guarantee not to kill again if I'm not threatened. Also I'll turn the Russo twat loose when our deal is consummated. If you cross me or try to capture me or you don't have the scumwad with you — a lot of people will have the bad luck to become very fucking dead.'

'You won't be double-crossed. Where do you want to meet, assuming we can go the deal.'