Chicago Wipe-Out

'No sir, nobody meant to.'

'I got my own damn hardmen,' the Caporegimehuffed.

'Yes sir, that's the idea. A double line. One obvious, one not — not even to you.'

Lavallo lost the clash of eyes. His went to the floor and he growled, 'It's your show, Turk. I, uh, won't be around long. I just dropped in for a look-see. I guess you got things pretty well in hand.'

'Thanks. Look, uh, it would be better if you went on natural-like. Bolan tried for you once tonight. We expect he'll try again. We want him to.' He slapped his hands together. 'Then pow'tEh?'

'I get the idea,' Lavallo said with a tired smile. 'I just ain't exactly used to being a sitting duck, a decoy at that.' He struggled to his feet. 'Uh, what're you doing, uh, about that dollie?'

Turk shrugged. 'The usual things. We got her name, her address, her hangouts. We know where she gets her teeth fixed and who gives her her pelvics. We know her momma and her poppa, and we've had a tap on their phone for over an hour, clear out in Montana. Don't you worry, Mr. Lavallo. When she comes out, we'll know it.'

'You don't forget, I got an interest, a right. I wanta know about her and Louis. You don't touch her until I say so.'

'My only interest is Bolan. Whatever I have to do to get to Bolan, Mr. Lavallo, I'll have to do. You know that. After that...' Turk sighed delicately. '... you're welcome to her.'

A lineman had hurried into the turret and was anxiously awaiting a chance to break into the conversation. Turk acknowledged his presence with a sliding glance. The man told him, 'Chollie Sanders, over at Neighborhood Protective, just gimme something. One of his pigeons, a dress shop on West Washington, called in a suspicious. About an hour late, but they didn't think anything about it until they got home and turned on the television. This guy's wife...'

Turk said impatiently, 'Just give me the tip.'

'Well this guy come into their shop just as they were closing. Bought a complete outfit for a woman, underwear and everything, gave the old lady the sizes and let her pick everything out.' He glanced at Lavallo. 'This was just a little while after the hit on L & A.'

Turk was giving the man a harsh gaze. Presently he said, 'So?'

'So the guy wasn't worrying about prices or styles or anything. He just wanted a complete outfit. And the sizes add up to that Foxy Lady. The guy adds up, too. Tall, kinda dark, wore sunglasses and they didn't get much of a look at his face. But he was dressed all in black, even his overcoat.'

Turk grabbed the lineman's elbow and steered him to a large map which was opened across a desk. 'Okay,' he said quietly. 'You just draw a circle where that dress shop is.'

The man did so, adding, 'Oh, and he was driving a white sports car. We didn't get no make or model but it was one of the big expensive jobs, foreign make.'

Turk asked Lavallo, 'Did you see his car?'

'No.'

'Was he wearing an overcoat when you saw him?'

The underboss shook his head decisively. 'No. I didn't get much of a look, we was just bangin' away at each other, but he wasn't in no overcoat. The black part fits, though.'

One of the crew chiefs idly asked. 'Wonder why the guy's so hung up on black. Does he think he's gonna psycho somebody?'

'He wears black,' Turk said grimly, 'for the same reason the commandos did. He works mostly at night, and you don't usually see 'im until he wants you to. And you better remember that.'

'Goddam clown,' Lavallo muttered.

'Pardon me, but he sure is notno clown,' Turk corrected the Caporegime. 'And we better all remember that.' His eyes snapped to a crew chief. 'Okay, Bernie. Maybe we got something here, maybe not. You got to find out what.' A blunt forefinger was tracing a path on the map. 'The way I'd read it, he come down off of the freeway right here, on his way in from the L & A hit. Mr. Lavallo says it was about five-thirty, the hit. That would give him time to... Sure, it fits. So I want a clean sweep of every hotel and motel in that area. You know what to look for.'

'It's snowing pretty bad outside right now,' Lavallo commented. 'I hear the roads are closing up north and storm warnings are flying all up and down the lake.'

'So what are you thinking?' Turk asked him.

'I'm thinking what you said awhile ago was exactly right. I bet the guy has crawled into a hole to ride out the storm. I'm thinking your chances of finding him tonight are about one in a million.'

Turk smiled and replied, 'I guess you're right, Mr. Lavallo. But we got to ride those odds, eh?'

'Right, yougot to,' Lavallo said. 'Me, I'm going home and sleeping out this million-to-one pass.'

'You do that, Mr. Lavallo,' Turk told him.

The underboss hurried out, waving quietly to familiar faces along the line.

Turk turned a relieved grin to a crew chief. 'Okay, get that hotel crew busy. There ain't nostorm, nowhere, going to keep me off of this Bolan's ass. We're going to nail this guy, Bernie. We're going to nail him tonight.'

The storm signals were flying, for everyone but Larry the turkey-maker. He was brewing a personal storm of his own making.

For that matter, so was Pete the Hauler.

5 Jungle lesson

Bolan sat cross-legged on the bed, staring thoughtfully at the still form beside him. He gently nudged a shiny hip and said, 'Hey... sleepyhead... time to rise and shine.'

Her eyelids fluttered half open and she peered out at him through curling lashes. 'Not asleep,' she murmured. 'Are you an angel?'

'Not hardly,' he replied, grinning. 'Do I look like one?'

She smiled back and gently stirred herself. 'Not hardly. But if this is heaven, then you must be an angel.'

He said, 'Wrong on both counts. This is hell, lady. Or it's likely to be if we don't get moving.'

Her eyes opened fully. 'But I thought...'

'That we were home clean?' He shook his head. 'This is just a rest area. We've got to be up and on. And the sooner the better.' He rolled off the bed and went into the bath, returning immediately with his clothing.

'Gosh, you're a beautiful thing,' she told him. 'I think men should be required to run around like that all the time. It would sure brighten us girls' lives.'

Bolan grinned and said, 'That's carrying women's lib a bit far, isn't it?' He reversed his thermal skinsuit, turning the white inner surface to the outside, and began getting into it. 'You'd better get it in gear. I'm leaving here in five minutes, with or without you.'

'Five minutesl'she squealed. She leapt off the bed and dashed into the bath, calling back, 'I thought you told me you had some sort of deal. About me, I mean.'

He replied, 'For what it's worth, yeah.'

'Well just what is it worth?'

'It's a confusion factor, that's about all. I figure it may have bought us a couple of hours, and maybe a temporarily divided enemy camp. But we can't bet on even that.'

'But surely we're safe herel'she cried. 'I mean, after all, they can't search every room in Chicago, can they. Canthey?'

Bolan strapped on the Beretta and told her, 'Sure they can. That's the whole game, at this point. I threw down the gauntlet, and it hit them right across the face. At the time, I hadn't planned...' He paused and changed