璇玑之心刃·冷血悍将-第157章

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would　take　place；　and　instructions　for　those　arrangements　waited　for　each　body　identified　by　name　on　the　aircraft‘s　manifest。
Awaiting　the　bodies　in　the　receiving　center　were　civilian　morticians。　That　was　one　occupational　specialty　that　the　military　did　not　carry　in　its　multiplicity　of　training　regimens。　A　uniformed　officer　was　always　present　to　verify　identification；　for　that　was　a　responsibility　of　the　service；　to　make　sure　that　the　right　body　went　off　to　the　right　family；　even　though　the　caskets　that　left　this　place　were　in　almost　all　cases　sealed。　The　physical　insult　of　bat　death；　plus　the　ravages　of　often　late　recovery　in　a　tropical　climate；　were　not　things　families　wanted　or　needed　to　see　on　the　bodies　of　their　loved　ones。　As　a　result；　positive　identification　of　remains　wasn‘t　really　something　that　anyone　could　check；　and　for　that　very　reason；　it　was　something　the　military　took　as　seriously　as　it　could。
It　was　a　large　room　where　many　bodies　could　be　processed　at　once；　though　the　room　was　not　as　busy　as　it　had　been　in　the　past。　The　men　who　worked　here　were　not　above　grim　jokes；　and　some　even　watched　weather　reports　from　that　part　of　the　world　to　predict　what　the　next　week‘s　work　load　would　be　like。　The　smell　alone　was　enough　to　keep　the　casual　observer　away；　and　one　rarely　saw　a　senior　officer　here；　much　less　a　civilian　Defense　Department　official；　for　whose　equilibrium　the　sights　here　might　be　a　little　too　much　to　bear。　But　one　bees　accustomed　to　smells；　and　that　of　the　preserving　agents　was　much　preferred　over　the　other　odors　associated　with　death。　One　such　body；　that　of　Specialist　Fourth　Class　Duane　Kendall；　bore　numerous　wounds　to　the　torso。　He‘d　made　it　as　far　as　a　field　hospital；　the　mortician　saw。　Some　of　the　scarring　was　clearly　the　desperate　work　of　a　bat　surgeon　…　incisions　that　would　have　earned　the　wrath　of　a　chief　of　service　in　a　civilian　hospital　were　far　less　graphic　than　the　marks　made　by　fragments　from　an　explosive　booby…trap　device。　The　surgeon　had　spent　maybe　twenty　minutes　trying　to　save　this　one；　the　mortician　thought；　wondering　why　he　had　failed　…　probably　the　liver；　he　decided　from　the　location　and　size　of　the　incisions。　You　can‘t　live　without　one　of　those；　no　matter　how　good　the　doctor　was。　Of　more　interest　to　the　man　was　a　white　tag　located　between　the　right　arm　and　the　chest　which　confirmed　an　apparently　random　mark　on　the　card　on　the　outside　of　the　container　in　which　the　body　had　arrived。
‘Good　ID；‘　the　mortician　said　to　the　Captain　who　was　making　his　rounds　with　a　clipboard　and　a　sergeant。　The　officer　checked　the　required　data　against　his　own　records　and　moved　on　with　a　nod；　leaving　the　mortician　to　his　work。
There　was　the　usual　number　of　tasks　to　be　performed；　and　the　mortician　went　about　them　with　neither　haste　nor　indolence；　lifting　his　head　to　make　sure　the　Captain　was　at　the　other　end　of　the　room。　Then　he　pulled　a　thread　from　the　stitches　made　by　another　mortician　at　the　other　end　of　the　pipeline。　The　stitches　came　pletely　undone　almost　instantly；　allowing　him　to　reach　into　the　body　cavity　and　remove　four　clear…plastic　envelopes　of　white　powder；　which　he　quickly　put　into　his　bag　before　reclosing　the　gaping　hole　in　Duane　Kendall‘s　body。　It　was　his　third　and　last　such　recovery　of　the　day。　After　spending　half　an　hour　on　one　more　body；　it　was　the　end　of　his　working　day。　The　mortician　walked　off　to　his　car；　a　Mercury　Cougar；　and　drove　off　post。　He　stopped　off　at　a　Winn…Dixie　supermarket　to　pick　up　a　loaf　of　bread；　and　on　the　way　out　dropped　some　coins　into　a　public　phone。
‘Yeah？‘　Henry　Tucker　said；　picking　it　up　on　the　first　ring。
‘Eight。‘　The　phone　clicked　off。
‘Good；‘　Tucker　said；　really　to　himself；　putting　the　receiver　down。　Eight　kilos　from　this　one。　Seven　from　his　other　man；　neither　man　knew　that　the　other　was　there；　and　the　pickups　from　each　were　done　on　different　days　of　the　week。　Things　could　pick　up　rapidly　now　that　he　was　getting　his　distribution　problems　in　hand。
The　arithmetic　was　simple　enough。　Each　kilo　was　one　thousand　grams。　Each　kilo　would　be　diluted　with　non…toxic　agents　like　milk　sugar；　which　his　friends　obtained　from　a　grocery…supply　warehouse。　After　careful　mixing　to　ensure　uniformity　throughout　the　entire　batch；　others　would　divide　the　bulk　powder　into　smaller　‘bits‘　of　the　drugs　that　could　be　sold　in　smaller　batches。　The　quality　and　burgeoning　reputation　of　his　product　guaranteed　a　slightly　higher　than　normal　price　which　was　anticipated　by　the　wholesale　cost　he　received　from　his　white　friends。
The　problem　would　soon　bee　one　of　scale。　He‘d　started　his　operation　small；　since　Tucker　was　a　careful　man；　and　size　made　for　greed。　That　would　soon　bee　impossible。　His　supply　of　pure　refined　heroin　was　far　more　extensive　than　his　partners　knew。　They　were；　for　now；　happy　that　its　quality　was　so　high；　and　he　would　gradually　reveal　to　them　the　magnitude　of　his　supply；　while　never　giving　them　a　hint　of　his　method　of　shipment；　for　which　he　regularly　congratulated　himself。　The　sheer　elegance　of　it　was　striking；　even　to　him。　The　best　government　estimates　…　he　kept　track　of　such　things　…　of　heroin　imports　from　Europe；　the　‘French‘　or　‘Sicilian‘　connection；　since　they　could　never　seem　to　get　the　terminology　right；　amounted　to　roughly　one　metric　ton　of　pure　drugs　per　year。　That；　Tucker　judged；　would　have　to　grow；　because　drugs　were　the　ing　thing　in　American　vice。　If　he　could　bring　in　a　mere　twenty　kilos　of　drugs　per　week　…　and　his　shipment　modality　was　capable　of　more　than　that　…　he　had　that　number　beaten；　and　he　didn‘t　have　to　worry　about　customs　inspectors。　Tucker　had　set　up　his　organization　with　a　careful　eye　on　the　security　issue。　For　starters；　none　of　the　important　people　on　his　team　touched　drugs。　To　do　so　was　death；　a　fact　that　he　had　made　clear　early　on　in　the　simplest　and　clearest　possible　way。　The　distant　end　of　the　operation　required　only　six　people。　Two　procured　the　drugs　from　local　sources　whose　security　was　guaranteed　by　the　usual　means　…　large　sums　of　cash　paid　to　the　right　people。　The　four　on…site　morticians　were　also　very　well　paid　and　had　been　selected　for　their　businesslike　stability。　The　United　States　Air　Force　handled　transportation；　reducing　his　costs　and　headaches　for　what　was　usually　the　most　plicated　and　dangerous　part　of　the　import　process。　The　two　at　the　receiving　station　were　similarly　careful　men。　More　than　once；　they‘d　reported；　circumstances　had　pelled　them　to　leave　the　heroin　in　the　bodies；　which　had　been　duly　buried。　That　was　too　bad；　of　course；　but　a　good　business　was　a　careful　business；　and　the　street　markup　easily　pensated　for　the　loss。　Besides；　those　two　knew　what　would　happen　if　they　even　thought　about　diverting　a　few　kilos　for　their　own　enterprises。
From　there　it　was　merely　a　matter　of　transport　by　automobile　to　a　convenient　place；　and　that　was　handled　by　a　trusted　and　well…paid　man　who　never　once　exceeded　a　speed　limit。　Doing　things　on　the　Bay；　Tucker　thought；　sipping　on　his　beer　and　watching　a　baseball　game；　was　his　masterstroke。　In　addition　to　all　the　other　advantages　that　the　location　gave　him；　he‘d　given　his　new　partners　reason　to　believe　that　the　drugs　were　dropped　off　ships　heading　up　the　Chesapeake　Bay　to　the　Port　of　Baltimore　…　which　they　thought　wonderfully　clever　…　when　in　fact　he　transported　them　himself　from　a　covert　pickup　point。　Angelo　Vorano　had　proven　that　by　buying　his　dumb　little　sailboat　and　offering　to　make　a　pickup。　Convincing　Eddie　and　Tony　that　he‘d　burned　them　to　the　police　had　been　so　easy。
With　a　little　luck　he　could　take　over　the　entire　East　Coast　heroin　market　for　as　long　as　Americans　continued　to　die　in　Vietnam。　It　was　also　time；　he　told　himself；　to　plan　for　the　peace　that　would　probably　break　out　some　day。　In　the　meantime　he　needed　to　think　about　finding　a　way　to　expand　his　distribution　work。　What　he　had；　while　it　had　worked；　and　while　it　had　brought　him　to　the　attention　of　his　new　partners；　was　rapidly　being　outdated。　It　was　too　small　for　his　ambitions；　and　soon　it　would　have　to　be　restructured。　But　one　thing　at　a　time。
‘Okay；　it‘s　official。‘　Douglas　dropped　the　case　file　on　the　desk　and　looked　at　his　boss。
‘What‘s　that？‘　Lieutenant　Ryan　asked。
‘First；　nobody　saw　anything。　Second；　nobo