Sharky's Machine Read Online Free PDF Page B

enough.’
    ‘I was planning, I’d like to be outa here tonight, know what I mean? Can it be handled that quick?’
    ‘I feel certain, if there are not complications. Call back each hour. If there is no answer, I have nothing to report.’
    ‘That’s fine, just fine. Did you make the shipping arrangements?’
    ‘Uh, yes, uh, you understand, there is a risk in moving the object about. There will need to be an additional charge for, uh, packing and insurance.’
    ‘Of course. You get too greedy, I’ll let you know. Dor jeh.’
    ‘Dor-jeh.’
    There was no answer at 3:30. At 4:30 the line was busy and Burns began to get nervous. Another hour would be pushing the bank deadline. He. waited a minute and tried again. The phone rang several times before someone answered.
    ‘Jo sun,’ a high, whining voice said.
    ‘is this the Royal Oriental Rug Company’?’ Burns asked.
    ‘Um ying gok yung,’ the voice said.
    Jesus, he can’t speak English, Burns thought.
    ‘George Wan? You know, George Wan?’ he said, speaking the name slowly and distinctly.
    There was a disturbance on the other end, a flurry of Chinese words spoken in anger and then:
    ‘This is George Wan. Hold a moment, urn goy.’ Then he heard him snap out a stream of Chinese, followed by another flurry. Finally: ‘I am sorry. This man was using the booth for business calls. I had a small problem with him. Is this Mr. Johnson?’
    Burns paused. Then: ‘Where do you work?’ His voice was flat, harsh, and suspicious.
    ‘Royal Oriental Rug Company. It Is George Wan, believe me.’
    ‘Okay. what’ve you got?’
    ‘The eagle colonel Halford is with military Intelligence.
    He comes from Korea by way of Tokyo and is on rest leave. It required many calls. I had to prevail on a friend in Japan in the Yakuza and . . .‘
    ‘Forget the road map, okay? I don’t care where he came from, how he got here, all that. You got to understand, George, you and me we’re in the same business. You don’t have to jack up the price with all these details. All I want is essentials.’
    Wan paused, then he said, ‘Yes. Halford is at the Ambassador Hotel on Nathan Street in Kowloon. Everything is arranged for tonight.’
    ‘You got the shipping thing set up?
    “Hai, nin.’
    ‘I’m changing signals a little. It’ll be two.’
    ‘Two?’
    ‘Yeah, two.’
    ‘But I don’t understand, who...’
    ‘Think about it, George. You can figure it out. I said I wanted shipping and insurance, see?’
    This time the pause was longer. ‘That could make things very difficult for us, Mr. Johnson. It will really not be necessary to...’
    Burns cut him off. ‘Look, you come over on my turf, you got a job to do, we do it your way. This one we do my way. What happens afterwards, that’s your problem. Whatever it’s worth, okay?
    ‘I see,’ Wan said. ‘It will take a moment. . . uh, the price will. . . uh, I will have to ask sixty thousand Hong Kong dollars.’
    ‘That’s a little high, but I ain’t arguing. You know where to pick it up?
    ‘Hai’
    ‘Five-thirty, it’ll be there. Now, where do I go?
    ‘You have something with which to write?
    ‘I don’t write anything down. You gimme the details once, I’ll give it back to you word-for-word.’
    ‘It is a place known as the House of the Purple Azalea in New Kowloon ...‘
    Colonel Halford had fallen asleep on the balcony outside his room. He was still weak from dysentery. His nerves were shot. He was burned out. And even though his mental and physical condition were improving each day, It was easy to drift off in the hot afternoon sun.
    As usual, he dreamed.
    Violent nightmares.
    The dreams were never the same, but they were alike. Unrelated scenes, spliced together into subliminal nonsense rhymes.
    Fragments of fantasy and reality, leaping back and forth through time.
    He was in Italy. An olive grove, standing beside a long conference table under the trees, talking to a group of American and Italian officers, but the