Violent Streets Read Online Free PDF Page B

could have let Mutt and Jeff finish what they started."
    There was a trace of uncertainty in the lady cop's eyes now, and the stubby muzzle of her weapon slipped a notch lower, freezing somewhere on a level with the Executioner's groin.
    "So... who are you?" she asked at last "What are you?"
    Bolan moved a cautious step forward before the .38 snapped up again to freeze him in his tracks.
    "An ally, Fran. Perhaps a friend."
    For the first time that night, the lady cop looked not frightened or exhausted, but honestly surprised.
    "I didn't drop in here tonight by accident," Bolan assured her. "I came looking for you."
    The gun was slipping lower again, and Bolan sidled another step closer, farther into the room.
    "So did those two in there," Fran Traynor retorted. "Are they both... dead?"
    Bolan nodded. "We have to start thinking about who sent them after you, and why."
    "We?"
    She clearly was having a hard time accepting this dark stranger as a friend, even though he had just saved her life.
    "I'm an ally," Bolan repeated patently. "For the moment, your enemies are mine."
    "Who are you?" she asked again. She was sounding increasingly desperate.
    "We can talk about that after I finish cleaning up and get you safely out of here," he said.
    The .38's hammer snapped back into full cock under her thumb.
    "I'm not going anywhere, and neither are they," she said sharply. Her gun flicked away in a swift gesture toward the bathroom and its lifeless tenants.
    Bolan forced a casual shrug. "Suit yourself. If you'd rather wait here for the backup team..."
    Fran Traynor tossed her head defiantly, flinging wet strands of hair back from her face.
    "I can take care of myself, Mr... whatever. And I can have a police squad here within minutes."
    Bolan nodded toward the bathroom. "Those guys were puppets, Fran. Think about it. I wouldn't make any calls until I found out who's been pulling the strings."
    That shocked her, and the .38's muzzle did a rapid slide in the direction of Bolan's ankles. He knew that he could take it from her easily, but he let her keep it.
    "What do you suggest?" she asked after a long pause.
    "First, you get dressed. Meanwhile, I take out the trash, and then together we find you a safe place to stay. After that, we must talk."
    Bolan left her to get dressed, and returned to the bathroom and the two corpses laid out headfirst in the garbage bags. He carried them out to the waiting Caddy one at a time, slung over his shoulder in the traditional fireman's carry. Outside, the ignition yielded up a key, and he dumped each man in turn into the trunk. Joey the driver joined them in that ignominious pile.
    Trusting that Fran was confused and frightened enough to heed his advice and stay off the telephone, Bolan spared more precious numbers to fire up the Cadillac's engine and pilot the big crew wagon down the block to the next intersection. He left it sitting beside the trash dumpers of an all-night quick-stop market, and locked the keys inside.
    Walking back, he retrieved his rental car and parked it in the Caddy's former place in Fran Traynor's driveway. A quick glance down the street showed him lights newly turned on in two of the houses, but there was no other sign of activity.
    They wouldn't have much time to waste, even so. He meant to be out of there with the lady cop before being observed by any of the early-rising neighbors, or police cruisers.
    When he reentered the house, Bolan found Fran Traynor dressed and ready to go. She was waiting for him in the bedroom, a purse and overnight bag on the bed beside her. The snubby .38 was nowhere in evidence.
    "I didn't know when I'd be coming back, so..." She gestured toward the bags, leaving the sentence unfinished.
    "Good idea," Bolan agreed. "And I hope it won't be for long."
    "Let's go," she said, sounding suddenly disinterested, preoccupied. "It doesn't feel homey here right now."

6
    Bolan and Fran Traynor drove in mutual silence to a comfortable motel set back several