璇玑之心刃·冷血悍将-第144部分

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achinist‘s　mate。　Finished；　he　dismounted　the　barrel　and　reassembled　the　pistol；　heading　outside　with　a　box　of　。22　Long　Rifle　ammunition。
Kelly　had　never　been　intimidated　by　the　large；　heavy　Colt　automatic；　but　the　cost　of　。45　ACP　was　far　higher　than　that　of　。22　rimfire　cartridges；　and　so　the　previous　year　he‘d　purchased　a　conversion　kit　allowing　the　lighter　rounds　to　be　fired　through　the　pistol。　He　tossed　the　Coke　can　about　fifteen　feet　before　loading　three　rounds　in　the　magazine。　He　didn‘t　bother　with　ear　protection。　He　stood　as　he　always　did；　relaxed；　hands　at　his　sides；　then　brought　the　gun　up　fast；　dropping　into　a　crouching　two…hand　stance。　Kelly　stopped　cold；　realizing　that　the　can　screwed　onto　the　barrel　blanked　out　his　sights。　That　would　be　a　problem。　The　gun　went　back　down；　then　came　up　again；　and　Kelly　squeezed　off　the　first　round　without　actually　seeing　the　target。　With　the　predictable　results：　when　he　looked；　the　can　was　untouched。　That　was　the　bad　news。　The　good　news　was　that　the　suppressor　had　functioned　well。　Often　misrepresented　by　TV　and　movie　sound　editors　into　an　almost　musical　zing；　the　noise　radiated　by　a　really　good　silencer　is　much　like　that　made　by　swiping　a　metal　brush　along　a　piece　of　finished　lumber。　The　expanding　gas　from　the　cartridge　was　trapped　in　the　baffles　as　the　bullet　passed　through　the　holes；　largely　plugging　them　and　forcing　the　gas　to　expand　in　the　enclosed　spaces　inside　the　can。　With　five　internal　baffles　…　the　cover　plate　made　for　number　six　…　the　noise　of　the　firing　was　muted　to　a　whisper。
All　of　which　was　fine；　Kelly　thought；　but　if　you　missed　the　target；　he　would　probably　hear　the　even　louder　sound　of　the　pistol‘s　slide　racking　back　and　forth；　and　the　mechanical　sounds　of　a　firearm　were　impossible　to　mistake　for　anything　harmless。　Missing　a　soda　can　at　fifteen　feet　did　not　speak　well　of　his　marksmanship。　The　human　head　was　bigger；　of　course；　but　his　target　area　inside　the　human　head　was　not。　Kelly　relaxed　and　tried　again；　bringing　the　gun　up　from　his　side　in　a　smooth　and　quick　arc。　This　time　he　started　pulling　the　trigger　just　as　the　silencer　can　began　to　occult　the　target。　It　worked；　after　a　fashion。　The　can　went　down　with　a　；22…inch　hole　an　inch　from　the　bottom。　Kelly‘s　timing　wasn‘t　quite　right。　His　next　shot　was　roughly　in　the　center　of　the　can；　however；　evoking　a　smile。　He　ejected　the　magazine；　loading　five　hollow…point　rounds；　and　a　minute　later；　the　can　was　no　longer　usable　as　a　target；　with　seven　holes；　six　of　them　roughly　grouped　in　the　center。
‘Still　have　the　old　touch；　Johnnie…boy；‘　Kelly　said　to　himself；　safing　the　pistol。　But　this　was　in　daylight　against　a　stationary　piece　of　red　metal；　and　Kelly　knew　that。　He　walked　back　to　his　shop　and　stripped　the　pistol　down　again。　The　suppressor　had　tolerated　the　use　without　any　apparent　damage；　but　he　cleaned　it　anyway；　lightly　oiling　the　internal　parts。　One　more　thing；　he　thought。　With　a　small　brush　and　white　enamel　he　painted　a　straight　white　line　down　the　top　of　the　slide。　Now　it　was　two　in　the　afternoon。　Kelly　allowed　himself　a　light　lunch　before　starting　his　afternoon　exercises。
‘Wow；　that　much？‘
‘You　plaining？‘　Tucker　demanded。　‘What‘s　the　matter；　can‘t　you　handle　it？‘
‘Henry；　I　can　handle　whatever　you　deliver；‘　Piaggi　replied；　more　than　a　little　miffed　at　first　by　the　man‘s　arrogance；　then　wondering　what　might　e　next。
‘We‘re　going　to　be　here　three　days！‘　Eddie　Morello　whined　for　his　part。
‘Don‘t　trust　your　old　lady　that　long？‘　Tucker　grinned　at　the　man。　Eddie　would　have　to　be　next；　he　had　already　decided。　Morello　didn‘t　have　much　sense　of　humor　anyway。　His　face　flushed　red。
‘Look；　Henry…‘
‘Settle　down；　everybody。‘　Piaggi　looked　at　the　eight　kilos　of　material　on　the　table　before　turning　back　to　Tucker。　‘I‘d　love　to　know　where　you　get　this　stuff。‘
‘I‘m　sure　you　would；　Tony；　but　we　already　talked　about　that。　Can　you　handle　it？‘
‘You　gotta　remember；　once　you　start　this　sort　of　thing；　it‘s　kinda　hard　to　stop　it。　People　depend　on　you；　kinda　like　what　do　you　tell　the　bear　when　you‘re　outa　cookies；　y‘know？‘　Piaggi　was　already　thinking。　He　had　contacts　in　Philadelphia　and　New　York；　young　men　…　like　himself；　tired　of　working　for　a　mustache　with　old…fashioned　rules。　The　money　potential　here　was　stunning。　Henry　had　access　to　…　what？　he　wondered。　They　had　started　only　two　months　before；　with　two　kilograms　that　had　assayed　out　to　a　degree　of　purity　that　only　the　best　Sicilian　White　matched；　but　at　half　the　delivery　price。　And　the　problems　associated　with　delivery　were　Henry‘s；　not　his；　which　made　the　deal　doubly　attractive。　Finally；　the　physical　security　arrangements　were　what　most　impressed　Piaggi。　Henry　was　no　dummy；　not　some　upstart　with　big　ideas　and　small　brains。　He　was；　in　fact；　a　businessman；　calm　and　professional；　someone　who　might　make　a　serious　ally　and　associate；　Piaggi　thought　now。
‘My　supply　is　pretty　solid。　Let　me　worry　about　that；　paisan。‘
‘Okay。‘　Piaggi　nodded。　‘There　is　one　problem；　Henry。　It‘ll　take　me　a　while　to　get　the　cash　together　for　something　this　big。　You　should　have　warned　me；　man。‘
Tucker　allowed　himself　a　laugh。　‘I　didn‘t　want　to　scare　you　off；　Anthony。‘
‘Trust　me　on　the　money？‘
A　nod　and　a　look。　‘I　know　you‘re　a　serious　guy。‘　Which　was　the　smart　play。　Piaggi　wouldn‘t　walk　away　from　the　chance　to　establish　a　regular　supply　to　his　associates。　The　long…term　money　was　just　too　good。　Angelo　Vorano　might　not　have　grasped　that；　but　he　had　served　as　the　means　to　meet　Piaggi；　and　that　was　enough。　Besides；　Angelo　was　now　crab　shit。
‘This　is　pure　stuff；　same　as　before？‘　Morello　asked；　annoying　both　of　the　others。　。
‘Eddie；　the　man　isn‘t　going　to　trust　us　on　the　cash　and　fuck　us　at　the　same　time；　is　he？‘　Piaggi　asked。
‘Gentlemen；　let　me　tell　you　what‘s　happening　here；　okay？　I　got　a　big　supply　of　good　stuff。　Where　I　get　it；　how　I　get　it；　that‘s　my　business。　I　even　got　a　territory　I　don‘t　want　you　fooling　with；　but　we　ain‘t　bumped　heads　yet　on　the　street　and　we‘ll　keep　it　that　way。‘　Both　of　the　Italians　nodded；　Tucker　saw。　Eddie　dumbly；　but　Tony　with　understanding　and　respect。　Piaggi　spoke　the　same　way：
‘You　need　distribution。　We　can　handle　that。　You　have　your　own　territory；　and　we　can　respect　that；　too。‘
It　was　time　for　the　next　play。　‘I　didn‘t　get　this　far　by　being　stupid。　After　today；　you　guys　are　out　of　this　part　of　the　business。‘
‘What　do　you　mean？‘
‘I　mean；　no　more　boat　rides。　I　mean　you　guys　don‘t　handle　the　material　anymore。‘
Piaggi　smiled。　He‘d　done　this　four　times　now；　and　the　novelty　had　already　worn　off。　‘You　have　no　argument　from　me　on　that。　If　you　want；　I　can　have　my　people　take　deliveries　whenever　you　want。‘
‘We　separate　the　stuff　from　the　money。　We　handle　it　like　a　business；‘　Tucker　said。　‘Line　of　credit；　like。‘
‘The　stuff　es　over　first。‘
‘Fair　enough；　Tony。　You　pick　good　people；　okay？　The　idea　is　we　separate　you　and　me　from　the　drugs　as　much　as　possible。‘
‘People　get　caught；　they　talk；‘　Morello　pointed　out。　He　felt　excluded　from　the　conversation；　but　wasn‘t　quite　bright　enough　to　grasp　the　significance　of　that。
‘Mine　don‘t；‘　Tucker　said　evenly。　‘My　people　know　better。‘
‘That　was　you；　wasn‘t　it？‘　Piaggi　asked；　making　the　connection　and　getting　a　nod。　‘I　like　your　style；　Henry。　Try　to　be　more　careful　next　time；　okay？‘　。
‘I　spent　two　year‘s　getting　this　all　set　up；　cost　me　a　lot　of　money。　I　want　this　operation　to　run　for　a　long　time；　and　I‘m　not　taking　any　more　chances　than　I　have　to　anymore。　Now；　when　can　you　pay　me　off　for　this　load？‘
‘I　brought　an　even　hundred　with　me。‘　Tony　waved　towards　the　duffel　bag　on　the　deck。　This　little　operation　had　grown　with　surprising　rapidity　as　it　was；　but　the　first　three　loads　had　sold　off　for　fine　prices；　and　Tucker；　Piaggi　thought；　was　a　man　you　could　trust；　insofar　as　you　could　trust　anyone　in　this　line　of　work。　But；　he　figured；　a　rip　would　have　happened　already　if　that　was　what　Tucker　wanted；　and　this　much　drugs　was　too　much　for　a　guy　running　that　kind　of　setup。　‘It‘s　yours　to　take；　Henry。　Looks　like　we‘re　going　to　owe　you　another　。。。　five　hundred？　I‘ll　need　some　time；　like　a　week　or　so。　Sorry；　man；　but　you　kinda　sandbagged　me　this　way。　Takes　time　to　front　up　that　much　cash；　y‘know？‘
‘Call　it　four；　Tony。　No　sense　squeezing　your　friends　first　time　out。　Let‘s　generate　a　little　goodwill　at　first；　okay？‘
‘Special　introductory　offer？‘　Piaggi　laughed　at　that　and　tossed　Henry　a　beer。　‘You　gotta　have　some　Italian　blood　in　you；　boy。　Okay！　We‘ll　do　it　like　you　say；　man。‘　Just　how　good　is　that　sapply　of　yours；　Heary？　Piaggi　couldn‘t　ask。
‘And　now　there‘s　work　to　do。‘　Tucker　slit　open　the　first　plastic　bag　and　dumped　it　into　a　stainless…steel　mixing　bowl；　glad　that　he　wouldn‘t　have　to　trouble　himself　with　this　mess　again。　The　seventh　step　in　his　marketing　plan　was　now　plete。　From　now　on　he‘d　have　others　do　this　kitchen　stuff；　under　his　supervision　at　first；　of　course；　but　starting　today　Henry　Tucker　would　start　acting　like　the　executive　he　had　bee。　Mixing　the　inert　material　into　the　bowl；　he　congratulated　himself　on　his　intelligence。　He‘d　started　the　business　in　exactly　the　right　way；　taking　risks；　but　carefully　considered　ones；　bui