JC2 The Raiders Read Online Free PDF Page A

call and
find out where you are. Besides, whatta you wanta bet they got your
home phones tapped by now?"
    "How am I going to talk to my offices?"
    "Trust Chandler. He'll put scramblers on your phones, too. I
talked to him about it. I told him you'd have to be able to reach the
people that work for you. Hey! You're not the first guy that's holed
up on the top floor of The Seven Voyages."
    " 'Trust Chandler'?"
    " I do."
    As they talked, Jonas watched the tractor pull a Twin Beech out of
the hangar. Shortly two black cars drove onto the ramp. Five men got
out and climbed into the Beech. It taxied to the end of the runway,
turned, and came roaring back. It needed all the runway available to
take off and rose into the air just before the pavement ended.
    "We're staking a lot on this Morris Chandler," said Jonas.
    "Don't worry about it," said Nevada. "Maurie and I go
back a long way."

3

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    THE DESERT SETTING OF LAS VEGAS INSPIRED SOME OF the men who came to
invest to give their hotels fanciful names from the Arabian Nights —
fanciful Arabian Nights films being a Hollywood fad in those years.
The Seven Voyages was a reference to the Seven Magic Voyages of
Sinbad the Sailor. The hotel was built in a Moorish style, actually
in what Morris Chandler's architects had adapted from the style of a
dozen movie sets. It was in the middle of a vast irrigated green lawn
where twenty luxuriant palm trees swayed on the desert wind. Long
three-story wings angled away from the five-story central building.
    Water played an important role in the character of The Seven Voyages.
Jets of bubbling water shot up from fountains in front. A swimming
pool dominated the rear. As Jonas was to see when they were inside,
fountains and pools were important elements of the interior decor.
    At night everything outdoors was lighted. Underwater lights gleamed
in the pool. White lights shone on the palms. Colored lights played
on the fountains. Warm-yellow floodlights lit the facade of the
hotel.
    Jonas parked the car in the lot behind the hotel, and he and Nevada
entered through a rear door. Nevada knew his way around in The Seven
Voyages and led Jonas directly to Chandler's executive office on the
second floor.
    A dark-visaged man in a black suit stopped them for a moment but only
for a moment, since he recognized Nevada. He opened the door to the
inner office and said he would go and find Mr. Chandler, and they
should be comfortable in the meantime.
    The style there was not Arabian Nights. To the contrary. Chandler's
office reminded Jonas of his father's office — his own for many
years now — at the Cord Explosives plant. The furniture was
heavy dark oak, the chairs upholstered with black leather fastened
down with ornate nails; the drapes and carpet were green; and a brass
banker's lamp with a green glass shade sat on the desk. The office
was old-fashioned, functional, and unglamorous.
    Morris Chandler was not the man Jonas had expected to meet. He was
about seventy years old, at a guess — about the same age as
Nevada. Though he was erect and looked well put together, he was
short and thin — a little man. Silver-gray streaked his black
hair. His brows arched above weary brown eyes. His nose might once
have been long and sharp, but it was flat now, undoubtedly broken at
some time in his life. His face was asymmetrical; his eyes didn't
match; and Jonas guessed his right cheekbone had been fractured. His
mouth was wide, and the lower lip was heavy. Deep wrinkles scored his
flesh at the bridge of his nose, under his eyes, and around his
mouth. The skin on his neck sagged. He wore a conservative dark-blue
pinstriped double-breasted suit, precisely tailored to fit him
perfectly.
    As he entered the office and extended his hand to be shaken, he
pulled a thick black cigar from his mouth with his left hand. The
sharp, strong smoke swirled around him and reached Jonas's nose. The
cigar was not just strong but cheap.
    "Mr. Cord," he said, taking Jonas's hand in a