Jungle Of Steel And Stone

'Victor, it's Veil.'

'Veil! I've been trying to get hold of you! Who's that strange man answering your phone?'

'A friend holding down the fort. Listen, Victor, I—'

'Have you found out anything?'

'Not over the phone, Victor. I have a strong suspicion there may be heavy ears slapped on to a few phones in the city. But I do have to talk to you.'

'Okay,' the Russian said evenly. 'I understand. Say it the best way you can.'

'Things are warming up, and they may come to a boil soon. I will have a few things to report to you.'

'Excellent.'

'You and I discussed the matter of compensation for my services, you may recall. I believe it will be barter, if that's agreeable to you.'

'What do you need, my friend?'

'First let me give you some indication of what I want to do. I think you'd agree that even matters of vital importance can get tangled up in our legal system?'

'I agree.'

'Assuming I can find the package we're mutually interested in, I'd like to dump the whole bundle in the sand—a direct drop. Anyone else interested in the package can go look for it there.'

Raskolnikov's deep, booming laugh carried over the phone into the delicatessen, startling the man behind the counter, who had placed Veil's order on top of a glass display case. 'I love it!' Raskolnikov barked.

'At the moment you might say I'm trapped in the bush, and I'm up to my ass in alligators. I need someone to man a control center and coordinate things. It's specialized work and time-consuming. Can you give me the time?'

'The time is yours,' Raskolnikov answered uncertainly, 'but I don't know much about these things.'

'If you're agreeable, and if I get lucky with my quarters, a man with an ugly face, an ugly nickname, and a very beautiful heart will get in touch with you, perhaps as early as tonight. He'll know exactly what to do. You'll work together.'

'It will be done, Veil.'

'There's more. The ugly man will know how to take care of business, but the business may require some heavy financing. We're talking big bucks—cash—up front. I can see money down the road coming from the sale of exclusive rights to stories about the package, told by people who have been on the inside. It's exploitive, but I don't see any other way to buy all the sand we're going to need. In other words, I see no reason why you wouldn't be reimbursed, but the cash is going to be needed quickly.'

'It will be done, Veil. You just concern yourself with the proper wrapping of the package. What you want is precisely what I want.'

'I'll be in touch when I can, Victor. You'll stay by the phone?'

'I'm here.'

'Thanks, Victor,' Veil said, and hung up.

'Hey, pal!' the counterman called. 'Your stuff's ready.'

'In a minute,' Veil said without turning, and dropped another quarter in the slot.

He spoke to his personal physician, then spent fifteen minutes on the phone talking to a friend he had not seen in six years. When he hung up, Veil was barely able to suppress laughter. The last number he dialed was his own.

'Veil Kendry's residence.'

'It's me. Be careful what you say.'

'Veil, darling! We've all been worried about you. Where have you been?'

'How are things?'

'No problems.'

'Any calls? Be careful.'

'A couple of miscellaneous items, Veil, but nothing you'd be interested in at the moment. Victor called.'

'Got it.'

'Also a couple of mystery guests—although it could have been the same person both times.'

'Any clues?'

'The first mystery guest simply hung up. The phone rang again about five minutes later. There was music playing.'

'Did you recognize it?'

'Verdi's Requiem.'

* * *

Veil brought the food and coffee back to Reyna. A brief ripple of anxiety passed across her face when he told her that he had to leave for an hour or two and could not explain why, but she contented herself with asking him to return as quickly as possible.

Veil drove the rented car back into Manhattan, south to' Little Italy. He parked six blocks away from the church, in an underground garage. He left the garage through a rear emergency exit and walked two blocks before ducking into an alley and waiting. When he was satisfied that he was not being followed, he walked around the block, then headed toward the church as it began to grow dark. He entered the darkened sanctuary, paused, and listened. When he heard nothing, he slipped silently into the confessional booth.

'It's me,' Veil said as the wooden panel in the partition slid back.

'So you got my message,' the gravelly, broken voice said. 'I was hoping that you'd know it was me and realize that it was important enough for you to come down.'

'Yes. I'm sorry I took so long to get here. You've been waiting a long time.'

'It's all right. God and I are old friends, and we've been talking. You recall mentioning a man by the name of Gabriel Vahanian?'

'Yes,' Veil said, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck begin to rise. 'He's Nagle's partner.'

'Not anymore. He's dead.'

'Nagle?'

'Yes. Nagle shot him in the ear with a Magnum. There are a lot of rumors on the street. Somebody did or said something to Nagle that pushed him over the edge at about the same time he found out that Vahanian had been assigned to spy on him. Yesterday the families made a decision to execute him, and he may have found out about that too. Whatever; the point is that he's on the run and off the leash. There are no controls on him anymore.'

'I hear you, Father.'

'It's come out that the idol is filled with heroin.'

'Mm-hmm.'

'It's white and pure; there's talk of the package being worth six or seven million dollars, depending on how it's cut.

'Does Nagle know about the heroin?'

'Probably. The information is on the street. His former employers speculate that he'll go after it on his own, since that kind of money is the only chance he has to survive. Nagle makes even these people nervous. A mad dog is not to be taken lightly, and it's rumored that Nagle has a large collection of very powerful weapons. You must be very careful, Veil.'

'I will. Thank you very much, Father.'

'Go with God, Veil.'

* * *

'It s me.'

'Veil, darling!'

'Your watch is over, Chuck. You get out of there and take the other guys off the street. Just lock up and split.'

'What's the matter, Veil?' All traces of femininity had disappeared from the voice, replaced by the hard, tempered tone of a warrior.

'The guy I told you about is on the loose and over the edge. He doesn't have to play by any rules, and he's