parked in a spot across the alley road. Pulling out his .44, he brought the girl across the cold, dark space. He checked the edges of the passenger door before he opened it for her.
“Get in,” he instructed. She complied, while he checked the rest of the car for wires and other assorted booby traps. With the Magnum still in his hand, it took him almost ten minutes.
“Do you think they’ll try to kill us?” she asked hesitantly as he got in.
“Not here,” he guessed, turning on the motor. “They can’t afford to make too much noise. It’ll wake up the neighbors.”
“They could have silencers,” Patterson worried.
“This doesn’t,” Harry said, holding up his big revolver. He pulled out of the spot and drove into the streets.
“We had all signed oaths of secrecy,” Patterson went on to explain. “I couldn’t tell you anything when you came that night. And then, when the shooting started, I realized that the Program now considered me a security risk. I thought the only way I could save myself was by getting to Dr. Carr and explaining.”
Here she paused, looking guiltily down at the cracked dashboard. “Explaining that I had no intention of telling anybody anything,” she confessed. “Our work is important, Inspector,” she said with sudden pride, sitting up straight. “We’re responsible for the security of this entire country. I’m not about to risk that because Dr. Carr got a little overzealous . . . !”
“Save it for the judge,” Harry suggested with sickened sarcasm as he scanned the streets carefully, looking for any hint of a tail. “Carr, with his Program, is obviously way beyond that point now. The only reason he decided to kill you gangland style was because I entered the picture. He wouldn’t risk your telling me anything. He obviously thinks no leak is too small to drop an elephant on.”
“If only I could get him . . .” she seethed.
“Don’t look at me,” Callahan said flatly. “I’m not going to ride through the gauntlet. You’d only be signing your own death warrant, anyway. Carr’s never going to trust you again, no matter what you say. He’s got it in mind that you’re a threat, and even worse, he’s already told his goons to do something about it.”
“Then,” Denise Patterson said in a frightened, faraway voice, “there’s nothing I can do . . . ?”
Harry was about to answer when he heard a ragged chopping sound outside the car. He looked in the rear-view mirror, seeing only the rolling hills of South San Francisco. He had driven that far off the beaten path to make sure they weren’t followed. But now, a whipping, humming sound was filling the inside of the car from outside the open window.
“Shit,” Callahan spat. “What is that?”
Patterson turned to look out of her own window as the noise got so loud it made the dashboard vibrate. Harry saw the wind whipping up the loose dirt on the hilly roadway. He realized what was happening just as the big metal bird dropped out of the sky and onto the car’s roof.
The helicopter smashed down on the auto’s roof with its landing struts. The worn vehicle’s roof was not strong enough to take that sort of punishment. It bent in the middle and cracked open, accompanied by Patterson’s scream.
The car sank on its ancient shocks, sliding across the mostly dirt road. Harry practically had to spin the wheel to keep in control. Then he figured, why bother trying to keep on the road?
“Hold on!” he warned her and whirled the wheel to the right. The heavy, tanklike auto pointed itself in that direction and took a dive. The helicopter swept by as the aged vehicle barreled down the grassy hill.
Patterson was screaming as the car seemed to gather momentum. Harry started by tapping the brake, then stomping on it, finally slamming both feet on the pedal and keeping them there.
“Get under the dashboard!” Harry demanded between his clamped teeth. “It’s going to be a bumpy ride!”
Just as she
“Get in,” he instructed. She complied, while he checked the rest of the car for wires and other assorted booby traps. With the Magnum still in his hand, it took him almost ten minutes.
“Do you think they’ll try to kill us?” she asked hesitantly as he got in.
“Not here,” he guessed, turning on the motor. “They can’t afford to make too much noise. It’ll wake up the neighbors.”
“They could have silencers,” Patterson worried.
“This doesn’t,” Harry said, holding up his big revolver. He pulled out of the spot and drove into the streets.
“We had all signed oaths of secrecy,” Patterson went on to explain. “I couldn’t tell you anything when you came that night. And then, when the shooting started, I realized that the Program now considered me a security risk. I thought the only way I could save myself was by getting to Dr. Carr and explaining.”
Here she paused, looking guiltily down at the cracked dashboard. “Explaining that I had no intention of telling anybody anything,” she confessed. “Our work is important, Inspector,” she said with sudden pride, sitting up straight. “We’re responsible for the security of this entire country. I’m not about to risk that because Dr. Carr got a little overzealous . . . !”
“Save it for the judge,” Harry suggested with sickened sarcasm as he scanned the streets carefully, looking for any hint of a tail. “Carr, with his Program, is obviously way beyond that point now. The only reason he decided to kill you gangland style was because I entered the picture. He wouldn’t risk your telling me anything. He obviously thinks no leak is too small to drop an elephant on.”
“If only I could get him . . .” she seethed.
“Don’t look at me,” Callahan said flatly. “I’m not going to ride through the gauntlet. You’d only be signing your own death warrant, anyway. Carr’s never going to trust you again, no matter what you say. He’s got it in mind that you’re a threat, and even worse, he’s already told his goons to do something about it.”
“Then,” Denise Patterson said in a frightened, faraway voice, “there’s nothing I can do . . . ?”
Harry was about to answer when he heard a ragged chopping sound outside the car. He looked in the rear-view mirror, seeing only the rolling hills of South San Francisco. He had driven that far off the beaten path to make sure they weren’t followed. But now, a whipping, humming sound was filling the inside of the car from outside the open window.
“Shit,” Callahan spat. “What is that?”
Patterson turned to look out of her own window as the noise got so loud it made the dashboard vibrate. Harry saw the wind whipping up the loose dirt on the hilly roadway. He realized what was happening just as the big metal bird dropped out of the sky and onto the car’s roof.
The helicopter smashed down on the auto’s roof with its landing struts. The worn vehicle’s roof was not strong enough to take that sort of punishment. It bent in the middle and cracked open, accompanied by Patterson’s scream.
The car sank on its ancient shocks, sliding across the mostly dirt road. Harry practically had to spin the wheel to keep in control. Then he figured, why bother trying to keep on the road?
“Hold on!” he warned her and whirled the wheel to the right. The heavy, tanklike auto pointed itself in that direction and took a dive. The helicopter swept by as the aged vehicle barreled down the grassy hill.
Patterson was screaming as the car seemed to gather momentum. Harry started by tapping the brake, then stomping on it, finally slamming both feet on the pedal and keeping them there.
“Get under the dashboard!” Harry demanded between his clamped teeth. “It’s going to be a bumpy ride!”
Just as she
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