Vegas Vendetta

"Who the hell would know?" Sta

The other man took a nervous pull on a cigarette and said, "You mean the brothers are coming here personal?"

"That's what I said!" the Vegas enforcer muttered. "What's more, we're being invaded. From all directions. They're coming in from everywhere, taking over our action."

"So whatta we do, Joe?" another chief asked quietly.

"Whatta we do?y Sta

"He's still at it, Joe. Want me to check?"

"Yeah, check," the boss said.

The crew chief hurried out of the room and Sta

"How do you button down a whole damn desert, though?" he asked in a thick voice. "I bet that bastard's out there somewheres right now, looking at us through a scope. With a quarter million of the company's bucks to keep him warm. And laughing. How the hell does one guy stay so lucky?"

"I wouldn't call it luck," the remaining crew chief ventured. "Not with fourteen bodies laying out down there. I don't think this guy is working alone, Joe. I think he's got hisself a crew. Come to think of it, there might be a whole gang out there looking at us through scopes."

Sta

"He had a crew at L.A. that time," the gu

"Yeah but I..."

The enforcer broke off to receive the a

"All of 'em were dead," Sta

"Wait a minute, Joe. Ringer's talking to Mr. Aposti

Sta

"Well, Mr. Aposti

"Bullshit!" Sta

"He did just the same, Joe. He says it was a urgent..."

"Bullshit!" Joe the Monster snatched up the telephone and punched a button to join the conversation on the alternate line. "Pardon me," he a

A smooth but noticeably flustered voice flowed back in a nervous reply. "That's right, Joe. I know it's irregular but I had too many things on my hands at once here. I've had observers breathing on me all night, and I had to get this other shipment the hell out of here. Now you're saying that this YIP in black has crashed the party, and frankly I don't know what to think now."

Sta

The other man sighed and replied, "I'm telling you we found a fink, Joe, operating right under our noses. We did what we could to straighten him out here, but he just wouldn't straighten out. I sent him out there for you to handle. The men from up north have been here all night, nosing around, asking questions, everything short of an outright bust. I had to get that terminal the hell out of here, Joe. And now I'm wondering just which shipment your blackie was actually after up there. I mean "

"Yes sir, I know what you mean," Sta

"What's bothering me, more than the other shipment, is right now this Mr. Fink, Joe. If that guy is on the loose…"

Sta

"Yes, Ringer was telling me. Well listen, Joe." The purring voice had dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. "I realize that he men back east are going to be understandably upset over this financial loss, but listen, what's worrying me the most… we mtertained Mr. Fink here most all day. I mean, if this guy is a fed . . . well, Joe, some things money just can't buy. You know?"

"Yes sir, I know," Sta

"You're the expert in that department, Joe. Til do whatever you say."

"Then do what Ringer says," Sta

"Fuck 'em all," he snarled at his crew chiefs. "Load up a couple of cars."

"Where we going, Joe?"

"Where the hell you think? We're going to Vegas. To aail down that red carpet."

Joe the Monster's "red carpet" was actually a shroud.

And he meant to personally drape it over Mack Bolan's bleeding body.

Chapter Five

The ethnologist

Coming upon the Las Vegas Strip, especially at night, is an experience comparable to finding Oz while wandering through the-Sahara Desert. Begi

The city itself still shows the evidence of its humbler begi

Las Vegas and its Strip get most of this, with fifteen major resort hotels and some three hundred hotels and motels to accomodate this constant surge and flow of fun-seeking humanity.

Bolan was not overly concerned about "standing out" in such an environment nor did he have any particular respect for the ability of the mob's local forces to effectively limit his activities there. Later, of course, when the reinforcements began pouring in… later there would be plenty of cause for concern. At the moment, Bolan had a quiet and relatively safe chore to perform… at the request of an old friend.