璇玑之心刃·冷血悍将-第134部分

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Kelly　got　off　and　toweled　his　face；　glad　to　see　that　she　hadn‘t　brought　a　wheelchair　or　something　similarly　insulting。　‘To　what　do　I　owe　this　honor；　ma‘am？‘
‘I‘m　supposed　to　keep　an　eye　on　you；‘　Sandy　replied。　‘Trying　to　show　us　how　tough　you　are？‘
Kelly　had　been　a　touch　lighthearted；　but　turned　serious。　‘Mrs　O‘Toole；　I‘m　supposed　to　get　my　mind　off　my　troubles；　right？　Exercise　does　that　for　me。　I　can‘t　run　with　one　arm　tied　up；　I　can‘t　do　push…ups；　and　I　can‘t　lift　weights。　I　can　ride　a　bike。　Okay？‘
‘You　have　me　there。　Okay。‘　She　pointed　to　the　door。　Out　in　the　bustling　anonymity　of　the　corridor；　she　said；　‘I‘m　very　sorry　about　your　friend。‘
‘Thank　you；　ma‘am。‘　He　turned　his　head；　slightly　dizzy　from　the　exertion；　as　they　walked　along　in　the　crowd。　‘We　have　rituals　in　uniform。　The　bugle；　the　flag；　the　guys　with　rifles。　It　works　fairly　well　for　the　men。　It　helps　you　to　believe　that　it　all　meant　something。　It　still　hurts；　but　it‘s　a　formal　way　to　say　goodbye。　We　learned　to　deal　with　it。　But　what　happened　to　you　is　different；　and　what　just　happened　to　me　is　different。　So　what　did　you　do？　Get　more　involved　in　work？‘
‘I　finished　my　masters。　I‘m　a　nurse…practitioner。　I　teach。　I　worry　about　patients。‘　And　that　was　her　whole　life　now。
‘Well；　you　don‘t　have　to　worry　about　me；　okay？　I　know　my　limits。‘
‘Where　are　the　limits？‘
‘A　long　way　off；‘　Kelly　said　with　the　beginnings　of　a　smile　that　he　quickly　extinguished。　‘How　am　I　doing？‘
‘Very　well。‘
It　hadn‘t　gone　all　that　smoothly；　and　both　knew　it。　Donald　Madden　had　flown　to　Baltimore　to　claim　the　body　of　his　daughter　from　the　coroner‘s　office；　leaving　his　wife　home；　never　meeting　with　anyone　despite　pleas　from　Sarah　Rosen。　He　wasn‘t　interested　in　talking　to　a　fornicator；　the　man　had　said　over　the　phone；　a　remark　that　Sandy　knew　about　but　which　neither　medic　had　passed　on。　The　surgeon　had　filled　her　in　on　the　background　of　the　girl；　and　it　was　merely　a　final　sad　chapter　to　a　brief　and　sad　life；　something　the　patient　didn‘t　need　to　know。　Kelly　had　asked　about　funeral　arrangements；　and　both　had　told　him　that　he　would　be　unable　to　leave　the　hospital　in　any　case。　Kelly　had　accepted　that　in　silence；　surprising　the　nurse。
His　left　shoulder　was　still　immobilized；　and　there　had　to　be　pain；　the　nurse　knew。　She　and　others　could　see　the　occasional　wince；　especially　close　to　the　time　for　a　new　pain　medication；　but　Kelly　wasn‘t　the　type　to　plain。　Even　now；　still　breathing　hard　from　a　murderous　thirty　minutes　on　the　bike；　he　was　making　quite　a　point　of　walking　as　rapidly　as　he　could；　cooling　himself　down　like　a　trained　athlete。
‘Why　the　big　show？‘　she　asked。
‘I　don‘t　know。　Does　there　have　to　be　a　reason　for　everything？　It‘s　the　way　I　am；　Sandy。‘
‘Well；　your　legs　are　longer　than　mine。　Slow　down；　okay？‘
‘Sure。‘　Kelly　eased　off　his　pace　as　they　reached　the　elevator。　‘How　many　girls　are　there　…　like　Pam　I　mean？‘
‘Too　many。‘　She　didn‘t　know　the　numbers。　There　were　enough　that　they　were　noticed　as　a　class　of　patient；　enough　that　you　knew　they　were　there。
‘Who　helps　them？‘
The　nurse　pushed　the　elevator　button。　‘Nobody。　They‘re　starting　up　programs　for　dealing　with　the　drug　habits；　but　the　real　problems；　the　abusive　backgrounds　and　what　es　from　it　…　there‘s　a　new　term　now；　"；behavioral　disorder。"；　If　you‘re　a　thief；　there　are　programs。　If　you　abuse　kids；　there‘s　a　program；　but　girls　like　that　are　outcasts。　Nobody　does　much　of　anything。　The　only　people　who　deal　with　that　are　church　groups。　If　somebody　said　it　was　a　disease；　maybe　people　would　pay　attention。‘
‘Is　it　a　disease？‘
‘John；　I‘m　not　a　doctor；　just　a　nurse…practitioner；　and　it‘s　outside　my　field　anyway。　I　do　post…op　care　for　surgical　patients。　Okay；　we　talk　over　lunch；　and　I　know　a　little。　It‘s　surprising　how　many　of　them　show　up　dead。　Drug　overdoses；　accidental　or　deliberate；　who　can　say？　Or　they　meet　the　wrong　person　or　their　pimp　gets　a　little　too　rough；　and　they　show　up　here；　and　their　underlying　medical　problems　don‘t　help　very　much；　and　a　lot　of　them　just　don‘t　make　it。　Hepatitis　from　bad　needles；　pneumonia；　add　that　to　a　major　injury　and　it‘s　a　deadly　bination。　But　is　anybody　going　to　do　anything　about　it？‘　O‘Toole　looked　down　as　the　elevator　arrived。　‘Young　people　aren‘t　supposed　to　die　that　way。‘
‘Yeah。‘　Kelly　gestured　for　her　to　get　in　the　elevator　first。
‘You‘re　the　patient；‘　she　objected。
‘You‘re　the　lady；‘　he　insisted。　‘Sorry；　it‘s　the　way　I　was　raised。‘
Who　is　this　guy？　Sandy　asked　herself。　She　was　managing　the　care　of　more　than　one　patient；　of　course；　but　the　professor　had　ordered　her　…　well；　not　exactly；　she　told　herself；　but　a　‘suggestion‘　from　Dr　Rosen　carried　a　lot　of　weight；　especially　since　she　had　great　respect　for　him　as　a　friend　and　counselor　…　to　keep　a　special　eye　on　him。　It　wasn‘t　matchmaking；　as　she‘d　initially　suspected。　He　was　still　too　hurt　…　and　so　was　she；　though　she　would　not　admit　it。　Such　a　strange　man。　So　like　Tim　in　many　ways；　but　much　more　guarded。　A　strange　mixture　of　the　gentle　and　the　rough。　She　hadn‘t　forgotten　what　she　had　seen　the　previous　week；　but　it　was　gone　now；　and　never　a　hint　of　it　had　returned。　He　treated　her　with　respect　and　good　humor；　never　once　menting　on　her　figure；　as　many　patients　did　（and　to　which　she　pretended　to　object）。　He　was　so　unlucky　and　yet　so　purposeful。　His　furious　effort　in　rehab。　His　outward　toughness。　How　to　reconcile　that　with　his　incongruous　good　manners？
‘When　will　I　get　out？‘　Kelly　asked　in　a　voice　that　was　light　but　not　light　enough。
‘Another　week；‘　O‘Toole　replied；　leading　him　off　the　elevator。　‘Tomorrow　we　unwrap　your　arm。‘　
‘Really？　Sam　didn‘t　tell　me。　Then　I　can　start　using　the　arm　again？‘
‘It‘s　going　to　hurt　when　you　do；‘　the　nurse　warned。
‘Hell；　Sandy；　it　hurts　already；‘　Kelly　grinned。　‘I　might　as　well　get　some　use　out　of　the　pain。‘
‘Lay　down；‘　the　nurse　ordered。　Before　he　could　object；　she　had　a　thermometer　in　his　mouth　and　was　taking　his　pulse。　Then　she　checked　his　blood　pressure。　The　numbers　she　put　on　the　chart　were　98。4；　64；　and　105/60。　The　last　two　were　especially　surprising；　she　thought。　Whatever　else　she　might　say　about　the　patient；　he　was　rapidly　getting　himself　back　into　shape。　She　wondered　what　the　urgency　was。
One　more　week；　Kelly　thought　after　she　left。　Got　to　get　this　damned　arm　working。
‘So　what　have　you　found　out　for　us？‘　Maxwell　asked。
‘Good　news　and　bad　news；‘　Greer　replied。　‘The　good　news　is　that　the　opposition　has　very　little　in　the　way　of　regular　ground　forces　within　response　distance　of　the　objective。　We　have　ID‘s　three　battalions。　Two　are　training　to　go　south。　One　just　returned　from　Eye　Corps。　It‘s　pretty　beat…up；　in　the　process　of　reconstituting。　The　usual　TO　and　E。　Not　much　in　the　way　of　heavy　weapons。　What　mechanized　formations　they　have　are　well　away　from　here。‘　
‘And　the　bad　news？‘　Admiral　Podulski　asked。
‘Do　I　have　to　tell　you？　Enough　triple…A　along　the　coast　to　turn　the　sky　black。　SA…2　batteries　here；　here；　and　probably　here；　too。　It‘s　dangerous　there　for　fast…movers；　Cas。　For　helicopters？　One　or　two　rescue　birds；　sure；　it‘s　doable；　but　a　large　lift　will　be　real　dicey。　We　went　all　over　this　when　we　scoped　our　KINGPIN；　remember？‘　
‘It‘s　only　thirty　miles　from　the　beach。‘
‘Fifteen　or　twenty　minutes　in　a　helo；　flying　in　a　straight　line；　which　they　will　not　be　able　to　do；　Cas。　I　went　over　the　threat　maps　myself。　The　best　route　I　can　identify　…　it‘s　your　area；　Cas；　but　I　do　know　a　little；　okay？　…　is　twenty…five　minutes；　and　I　wouldn‘t　want　to　fly　it　in　daylight。‘　
‘We　can　use　…52s　to　blast　a　corridor　through；‘　Podulski　suggested。　He‘d　never　been　the　most　subtle　man　in　the　world。
‘I　thought　you　wanted　to　keep　this　small；‘　Greer　observed。　‘Look；　the　real　bad　news　is　that　there　isn‘t　much　enthusiasm　for　this　kind　of　mission　anywhere。　KINGPIN　failed…‘　
‘That　wasn‘t　our　fault！‘　Podulski　objected。
‘I　know　that；　Cas；‘　Greer　said　patiently。　Podulski　had　always　been　a　passionate　advocate。
‘It　ought　to　be　doable；‘　Cas　growled。
All　three　men　hovered　over　the　reconnaisance　photos。　It　was　a　good　collection；　two　from　satellites；　two　from　SR…71　Blackbirds；　and　three　very　recent　low…obliques　from　Buffalo　Hunter　drones。　The　camp　was　two　hundred　metres　square；　an　exact　square　in　fact；　undoubtedly　fitting　exactly　the　diagram　in　some　East　Bloc　manual　for　building　secure　facilities。　Each　corner　had　a　guard　tower；　each　of　which　was　exactly　ten　meters　in　height。　Each　tower　had　a　tin　roof　to　keep　the　rain　off　the　NVA…standard…issue　RPD　light　machine　gun；　an　obsolete　Russian　design。　Inside　the　wire　were　three　large　buildings　and　two　small　ones。　Inside　one　of　the　large　buildings　were；　they　believed；　twenty　American　officers；　all　lieutenant…colonel/mander　rank　or　higher；　for　this　was　a　special　camp。
It　was　the　Buffalo　Hunter　photos　that　had　first　e　to　Greer‘s　attention。　One　was　good　enough　to　have　identified　a　face；　Colonel　Robin　Zacharias；　USAF。　His　F…I05G　Wild　Weasel　had　been　shot　down　eight　months　earlier；　he　and　his　weapons…systems　operator　had　been　reported　killed　by　the　North　Vietnamese。　Even　a　picture　of　his　body　had　been　published。　This　camp；　whose　code　name；　SENDER　GREEN；