Vegas Vendetta

Flames were licking up through a pall of dust and smoke, and Bolan could hear the shrieks and yells of panicky humanity trying to fight their way clear of the death trap. Then reeling figures began to emerge from the clouded wreckage.

Bolan again leaned into the Weatherby, then changed his mind and lifted off. It was enough, for the moment. The wailing alarms of emergency vehicles were being heard now and Bolan was crowding his time factor. It was okay; they'd gotten the message.

He sent a couple more sizzling rounds into the crew wagons, simply to sound a final discouraging note, then he quickly withdrew.

Welcome to the war — that was the message. A hot welcome — coldly sent, jarringly received.

And, at that very moment, another aircraft was landing at Nellis Air Force Base, just a few miles away. It bore decals of the United States' government and it carried a contingent of U.S. marshals and FBI agents. It carried, also, a very grimfaced justice department official and an executive order to end that very war.

The Executioner was crowding his time factor a bit more than he realized.

Chapter Ten

The problem

Guys were lying all over the ground. Some were sitting up and feeling around to see if anything was missing, and a few were standing around and dazedly watching the crash trucks trying to smother the fire in the demolished airplane.

Joe Sta

The monster pushed the crash chief out of the way and growled, "Go talk to th' pilot, he's laying over there by the ambulance."

The guy looked at Sta

Sta

One of the Taliferi, Joe never could tell which, replied, "It's a miracle that any of us got out alive, Joe."

The other was dabbing at a congealed cut on his forehead with a handkerchief. He said, "The chief here was just asking us about gunshots. He says some people here on the ground thought they heard something that sounded like gunshots just before the accident. What did you hear, Joe?"

Sta

"That's what I was just suggesting when you came up."

The crash chief said, "The towermen thought they heard shots after the crash… or during it."

Sta

The guy replied, "I'm just trying to ascertain the facts, that's all."

"The facts" Sta

The chief calmly replied, "Well, we'll see," but he got out of there.

The Tailferi watched the official walk away, then the one with the cut head asked, "Okay, what's the straight on those shots?"

"Straight as hell, sir," Sta

Someone sighed loudly and someont else said, "Well, what about Bolan?"

"I sent some boys down to roust 'im. He cut down Bingy Bigelow on about the third step I guess. The othei boys come ru

"How'd the guy know we were coming in?"

"Damned if I know," Sta

"He's been in contact with some fink."

"Well, I — yeah, by God you're right, he's been in contact. I come over here straight from th' Duster. The guy had busted in there and I..."

"What the hell do you mean? He busted into our own place?"

"Yessir, he went in there and rumbled Vito and..."

"I somehow find that impossible to understand, Joe."

"Yessir, me too, and anyway..."

"I told you to fold this town in squarely."

"Listen, sir, there ain't no folding that bastard in anywhere. I got more than two hundred boys ru

"What was that about Vito?"

"I don't know for sure. I didn't have time to get it all. Had to get this convoy out here to pick you up. Anyway, the guy comes in and talks to Vito. Vito manages to cold-deck him somehow, and the guy leaves."

Someone made a scoffing sound and someone else said, "Don't you believe it, Joe. Nobody cold-decks Bolan."

Sta

"I guess we should go talk to Vito, eh?" someone said.

Someone else said, "I can't understand such loose security. There should have been some boys covering this airport, Joe."

"Well, yessir, there is, but..."

"But not out here on the runways, eh, Joe? Why the hell not?"

Sta

Someone said, "I was under the impression that we were paying somebody to think about things like that."

Sta

"I don't, eh?" said one of the brothers. "Who the hell do you think was belly-flopping along the runway in a shot-up airplane? Huh?"

"I was right in there with you, sir," Sta

"We flew in here with sixty guns, Joe. We have about forty left, and half of those are bunged up. How many do you figure we'll be able to get into Vegas with?"

"Listen, don't worry," Joe the Monster growled. "That bastard won't..."

"You say you have a dead boy on your hands?"

"Yessir. We drug him into one of the cars. Don't worry, we're quieting it about the shooting."

A guy limped up, ignored Sta

"Get them into the cars over there, Charlie," the boss ordered. "Send someone to the hospital to grease for those thirteen boys, I want them to have the best. But first let's get those cars loaded. I want to take off before we get tied down with a lot of damned questions."

The other brother touched Sta

"I'm go

Someone chuckled and someone else said, "I wonder where I've heard that before."

That was okay, Joe was thinking. Let the look-alikes snicker. He'd show them who would come up with Bolan's head in a sack.

They weren't so goddamn tough. They were making big noises, yeah. But those brothers were shook, man they were shook.

In fact, Joe knew, they were scared outta their goddam gourds.

Harold Brognola stepped into the operations office at Nellis AFB and smilingly accepted the telephone from the duty officer.

"Brognola here," he a

The smile faded and he raised troubled eyes to the duty officer as a crisp voice rattled the telephone receiver.

"He didn't lose much time, did he?" the man from Washington muttered.

Rapidfire speech poured through the receiver. Brognola listened without interruption, his fingers drumming on the operations counter. Then he said, "Okay, let's not waste any time. We're on our way in — helicopters. Keep someone on their tail and meet me in town… say twenty minutes."