crew."
He chuckled. "A great bunch of heads."
"Are you Soldier?"
"What if I am?"
"Nothing. Like I said, they told me to look you up."
"Okay, so you did. And I know now who you are."
"Yes?"
"It was in the papers here about them hitting that kid in Islamorada and you getting them off, right?"
I nodded.
"This guy is on the level then?" growled Tiny.
"Yeah, man. It's like I told you. This is the cat that got the Beaks off. Old Stud would still have his ass in jail if it wasn't for him. Right, Shaw?"
I nodded. Soldier was not what I might have expected.
There was a taut, self-contained, catlike quality about him that I found formidable. And he had been too easily convinced. He gave me the impression of a natural loner-a man who depended only on himself and who would probably have regarded his own mother with suspicion.
"So I got a busted nose for nothin'?" Tiny growled.
Soldier laughed. "Hell, he did you a favor. Any change at all in that beak of yours would be an improvement."
"Oh yeah? Well maybe I ought to improve yours too while we're at it."
Soldier settled back on his heels, thumbs hooked in his wide belt. He was still smiling, but his eyes had gone very cold. His special quality of tautness had become more pronounced. "You could try," he said.
Tiny hesitated. Despite his size he was not anxious to tangle with Soldier. From the street came the roar of motors and the crash of glass. "Sheet!" said Tiny. "Let's get where the action is!"
Soldier still held my .38.
"What about my gun?" I said.
"What about it?"
"I'd like it back."
"You won't need it here, Shaw. You're among friends. You carry a piece you're only liable to get hurt." He placed the revolver on the concrete floor and with a sudden movement brought the iron pry bar down on the chamber.
"Are you nuts?" said Tiny. "You busted up a perfectly good piece."
Soldier retrieved the ruined revolver and handed it back to me. "Like I said, you're among friends here. Anybody leans on you, Shaw, you just tell them you're ridin' with me."
THIRTEEN
We stepped out into the street. Kildare was coming apart at the seams. Someone had busted the window of the liquor store, and bottles were being passed from hand to hand. Tiny, nose forgotten, let out a whoop and made a dive for a fifth. When I looked for Soldier he was gone, swept away in the crowd.
So now I had to find him again. And then what? Kill him with my bare hands? Not bloody likely. He looked tough, that Soldier. Mean and competent as a snake. Even Tiny backed off when it came to Soldier.
But whatever I did would have to be done soon. Soldier was smart. He had not bought my cover story. Even before he smashed the revolver, I knew he had not bought it. Where had he sensed the hole? The fact that when I had aided the Beaks I had done something for nothing? Soldier was the product of a hard school. He knew damned well that no one does anything for nothing. So I must be getting mine one way or the other. It would be worth a phone call to Stud to find out. But Stud wasn't answering any phones, down there in the dark canal. So where was Stud? Gang leaders don't just split. He went to take a ride with that guy Shaw and hasn't been seen since. And now Shaw shows up in Kildare asking for Soldier…
A naked arm stole around my neck. Friend Pearly, she of the lovely boobs bare under the fishnet shirt.
"Gotcha, Shaw. Where you been? Hey, what's that on your shirt? Blood?"
"Tiny's."
"That mother. Did he beat up on you?"
"He and a few friends."
"Who?"
"Soldier, for one."
She hugged herself and shivered. "He scares me."
"Why?"
"Don't know. Just does. He's like a chunk of ice. They say he killed a
He chuckled. "A great bunch of heads."
"Are you Soldier?"
"What if I am?"
"Nothing. Like I said, they told me to look you up."
"Okay, so you did. And I know now who you are."
"Yes?"
"It was in the papers here about them hitting that kid in Islamorada and you getting them off, right?"
I nodded.
"This guy is on the level then?" growled Tiny.
"Yeah, man. It's like I told you. This is the cat that got the Beaks off. Old Stud would still have his ass in jail if it wasn't for him. Right, Shaw?"
I nodded. Soldier was not what I might have expected.
There was a taut, self-contained, catlike quality about him that I found formidable. And he had been too easily convinced. He gave me the impression of a natural loner-a man who depended only on himself and who would probably have regarded his own mother with suspicion.
"So I got a busted nose for nothin'?" Tiny growled.
Soldier laughed. "Hell, he did you a favor. Any change at all in that beak of yours would be an improvement."
"Oh yeah? Well maybe I ought to improve yours too while we're at it."
Soldier settled back on his heels, thumbs hooked in his wide belt. He was still smiling, but his eyes had gone very cold. His special quality of tautness had become more pronounced. "You could try," he said.
Tiny hesitated. Despite his size he was not anxious to tangle with Soldier. From the street came the roar of motors and the crash of glass. "Sheet!" said Tiny. "Let's get where the action is!"
Soldier still held my .38.
"What about my gun?" I said.
"What about it?"
"I'd like it back."
"You won't need it here, Shaw. You're among friends. You carry a piece you're only liable to get hurt." He placed the revolver on the concrete floor and with a sudden movement brought the iron pry bar down on the chamber.
"Are you nuts?" said Tiny. "You busted up a perfectly good piece."
Soldier retrieved the ruined revolver and handed it back to me. "Like I said, you're among friends here. Anybody leans on you, Shaw, you just tell them you're ridin' with me."
THIRTEEN
We stepped out into the street. Kildare was coming apart at the seams. Someone had busted the window of the liquor store, and bottles were being passed from hand to hand. Tiny, nose forgotten, let out a whoop and made a dive for a fifth. When I looked for Soldier he was gone, swept away in the crowd.
So now I had to find him again. And then what? Kill him with my bare hands? Not bloody likely. He looked tough, that Soldier. Mean and competent as a snake. Even Tiny backed off when it came to Soldier.
But whatever I did would have to be done soon. Soldier was smart. He had not bought my cover story. Even before he smashed the revolver, I knew he had not bought it. Where had he sensed the hole? The fact that when I had aided the Beaks I had done something for nothing? Soldier was the product of a hard school. He knew damned well that no one does anything for nothing. So I must be getting mine one way or the other. It would be worth a phone call to Stud to find out. But Stud wasn't answering any phones, down there in the dark canal. So where was Stud? Gang leaders don't just split. He went to take a ride with that guy Shaw and hasn't been seen since. And now Shaw shows up in Kildare asking for Soldier…
A naked arm stole around my neck. Friend Pearly, she of the lovely boobs bare under the fishnet shirt.
"Gotcha, Shaw. Where you been? Hey, what's that on your shirt? Blood?"
"Tiny's."
"That mother. Did he beat up on you?"
"He and a few friends."
"Who?"
"Soldier, for one."
She hugged herself and shivered. "He scares me."
"Why?"
"Don't know. Just does. He's like a chunk of ice. They say he killed a
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