璇玑之心刃·冷血悍将-第178章

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Brown。　Over　the　next　five　hours；　he　identified　and　classified　three　other　operations　within　his　field　of　view。　Then　the　selection　process　began。　Archie　and　Jughead　seemed　to　be　doing　the　most　business；　but　they　were　in　line　of　sight　to　two　others。　Charlie　Brown　seemed　to　have　his　block　entirely　to　himself；　but　there　was　a　bus　stop　only　a　few　yards　away。　Dagwood　was　right　across　the　street　from　the　Wizard。　Both　had　lieutenants；　and　that　took　care　of　that。　Big　Bob　was　even　larger　than　Kelly；　and　his　lieutenant　was　larger　still。　That　was　a　challenge。　Kelly　wasn‘t　really　looking　for　challenges　…　yet。
I　need　to　get　a　good　map　of　the　area　and　memorize　it。　Divide　it　into　discrete　areas；　Kelly　thought。　I　need　to　plot　bus　lines；　police　stations。　Learn　police　shift　times。　Patrol　patterns。　I　have　to　learn　this　area。　a　ten…block　radius　ought　to　be　enough。　I　can‘t　ever　park　the　car　in　the　same　place　twice；　no　one　parking　place　even　visible　from　another。
You　can　hunt　a　specific　area　only　once。　That　means　you　have　to　be　careful　whom　you　select。　No　movement　on　the　street　except　in　darkness。　Get　a　backup　weapon　。。。　not　a　gun　。。。　a　knife；　a　good　one。　A　couple　lengths　of　rope　or　wire。　Gloves；　rubber　ones　like　women　use　to　wash　dishes。　Another　thing　to　wear；　like　a　bush　jacket；　something　with　pockets　…　no；　something　with　pockets　on　the　inside。　A　water　bottle。　Something　to　eat；　candy　bars　for　energy。　More　chewing　gum　。。。　maybe　bubble　gum？　Kelly　thought；　allowing　himself　some　levity。　He　checked　his　watch：　three…twenty。
Things　were　slowing　down　out　there。　Wizard　and　his　number…two　walked　away　from　their　piece　of　sidewalk；　disappearing　around　a　corner。　Dagwood　soon　did　the　same；　getting　right　into　his　car　while　his　lieutenant　drove。　Charlie　was　gone　the　next　time　he　looked。　That　left　Archie　and　Jughead　to　his　south；　and　Big　Bob　to　the　west；　both　still　making　sporadic　sales；　many　of　them　still　to　upscale　clients。　Kelly　continued　to　watch　for　another　hour；　until　Arch　and　Jug　were　the　last　to　call　it　quits　for　the　night　。。。　and　they　disappeared　rather　fast；　Kelly　thought；　not　sure　how　they‘d　done　it。　Something　else　to　check。　He　was　stiff　when　he　rose；　and　made　another　note　on　that。　He　shouldn‘t　sit　still　so　much。　His　dark…accustomed　eyes　watched　the　stairs　as　he　descended；　as　quietly　as　he　could；　for　there　was　activity　in　the　house　next　door。　Fortunately；　the　rats　were　gone；　too。　Kelly　looked　out　the　back　door；　and　finding　the　alley　empty；　walked　away　from　the　house；　keeping　his　pace　to　that　of　a　drunk。　Ten　minutes　later　his　car　was　in　sight。　Fifty　yards　away；　Kelly　realized　that　he‘d　unthinkingly　parked　the　car　close　to　a　street…light。　That　was　a　mistake　not　to　be　repeated；　he　reproached　himself；　approaching　slowly　and　drunkenly　until　he　was　within　a　car　length。　Then；　first　checking　up　and　down　the　now…vacant　street；　he　got　in　quickly；　started　the　engine；　and　pulled　away。　He　didn‘t　flip　on　the　headlights　until　he　was　two　blocks　away；　turning　left　and　reentering　the　wide　vacant　corridor；　leaving　the　not…so…imaginary　jungle　and　heading　north　towards　his　apartment。
In　the　renewed　fort　and　safety　of　his　car　he　went　over　everything　he‘d　seen　in　the　past　nine　hours。　The　dealers　were　all　smokers；　igniting　their　cigarettes　with　what　seemed　to　be　Zippo　lighters　whose　bright　flames　would　injure　their　night　vision。　The　longer　the　night　got；　the　less　business　there　was　and　the　sloppier　they　seemed　to　bee。　They　were　human。　They　got　tired。　Some　stayed　out　longer　than　others。　Everything　he‘d　seen　was　useful　and　important。　In　their　operating　characteristics；　and　especially　in　their　differences；　were　their　vulnerabilities。
It　had　been　a　fine　night；　Kelly　thought；　passing　the　city‘s　baseball　stadium　and　turning　left　onto　Loch　Raven　Boulevard；　relaxing　finally。　He　even　considered　a　sip　of　the　wine；　but　this　wasn‘t　the　time　to　indulge　in　any　bad　habits。　He　removed　his　wig；　wiping　away　the　sweat　it　had　caused。　Jesus；　he　was　thirsty。
He　addressed　that　need　ten　minutes　later；　having　parked　his　car　in　the　proper　place　and　made　his　way　quietly　into　the　apartment。　He　looked　longingly　at　the　shower；　needing　the　clean　feeling　after　being　surrounded　by　dust　and　squalor　and　。。。　rats。　That　final　thought　made　him　shudder。　Fucking　rats；　he　thought；　filling　a　large　glass　with　ice；　then　adding　tap　water。　He　followed　it　with　several　more；　using　his　free　hand　to　strip　off　his　clothing。　The　air　conditioning　felt　wonderful；　and　he　stood　in　front　of　the　wall　unit；　letting　the　chilled　air　wash　over　his　body。　All　this　time；　and　he　didn‘t　need　to　urinate。　Had　to　take　water　with　him　from　now　on。　Kelly　took　a　package　of　lunch　meat　from　the　refrigerator　and　made　two　thick　sandwiches；　chased　down　by　another　pint　of　ice　water。
Need　a　shower　bad；　he　told　himself。　But　he　couldn‘t　allow　himself　one。　He‘d　have　to　get　used　to　the　feeling　of　a　sticky；　plasticlike　coating　all　over　his　body。　He‘d　have　to　like　it；　cultivate　it；　for　in　that　was　a　part　of　his　personal　safety。　His　grime　and　odor　were　part　of　his　disguise。　His　looks　and　smell　had　to　make　people　look　away　from　him；　to　avoid　ing　too　close。　He　couldn‘t　be　a　person　now。　He　had　to　be　a　street　creature；　shunned。　Invisible。　The　beard　was　even　darker　now；　he　saw　in　the　mirror　before　heading　to　the　bedroom；　and　his　last　decision　of　the　day　was　to　sleep　on　the　floor。　He　couldn‘t　dirty　up　new　sheets。
C14
　　　　CHAPTER　14
Lessons　Learned
The　early　flight　back　from　New　Orleans　to　Washington　National　was　too　short　for　a　movie；　and　Kelly　had　already　eaten　breakfast。　He　settled　on　a　glass　of　juice　at　his　window　seat　and　was　thankful　that　the　flight　was　only　about　a　third　full　as；　after　every　bat　action　of　his　life；　he　went　over　every　detail。　It　was　a　habit　that　had　begun　in　the　SEALs。　Following　every　training　exercise　there　had　been　an　event　called　various　things　by　his　various　manders。　‘Performance　Critique‘　seemed　most　appropriate　at　the　moment。
His　first　mistake　had　been　the　product　of　something　desired　and　something　forgotten。　In　wanting　to　see　Lamarck　die　in　the　darkness；　he‘d　stood　too　close；　simultaneously　forgetting　that　head　wounds　often　bleed　explosively。　He‘d　jumped　out　of　the　way　of　the　spouting　blood　like　a　child　avoiding　a　wasp　in　his　backyard；　but　had　still　not　escaped　it　entirely。　The　good　news　was　that　he‘d　made　only　that　one　mistake；　and　his　selection　of　dark　clothing　had　mitigated　the　danger　there。　Lamarck‘s　wounds　had　been　immediately　and　definitively　fatal。　The　pimp　had　fallen　to　the　ground　as　limp　as　a　rag　doll。　The　two　screws　that　Kelly　had　drilled　in　the　top　of　his　pistol　held　a　small　cloth　bag　he‘d　sewn　himself；　and　the　bag　had　caught　the　two　ejected　cartridge　cases；　leaving　the　police　who‘d　investigate　the　scene　without　that　valuable　bit　of　evidence。　His　stalk　had　been　effectively　carried　out；　just　one　more　anonymous　face　in　a　large　and　anonymous　bar。
His　hastily　selected　site　for　the　elimination　had　also　worked　well　enough。　He　remembered　walking　down　the　alley　and　blending　back　into　the　sidewalk　traffic；　walking　the　distance　to　his　car　and　driving　back　to　the　motel。　There；　he‘d　changed　clothes；　bundling　the　blood…splattered　slacks；　shirt；　and；　just　to　be　sure；　the　underwear　as　well；　into　a　plastic　cleaner　bag；　which　he‘d　walked　across　the　street　and　deposited　in　a　supermarket　Dumpster。　If　the　clothing　was　discovered；　it　might　well　be　taken　as　something　soiled　by　a　sloppy　meatcutter。　He　hadn‘t　met　with　Lamarck　in　the　open。　The　only　lighted　place　to　which　they‘d　spoken　was　the　bar‘s　men‘s　room；　and　there　fortune　…　and　planning　…　had　smiled　on　him。　The　sidewalk　they‘d　walked　on　was　too　dark　and　too　anonymous。　Perhaps　a　casual　observer　who　might　have　known　Lamarck　could　give　an　investigator　a　rough　idea　of　Kelly‘s　size；　but　little　else；　and　that　was　a　reasonable　gamble　to　have　taken；　Kelly　judged；　looking　down　at　the　wooded　hills　of　northern　Alabama。　It　had　been　an　apparent　robbery；　the　pimp‘s　one　thousand；　four　hundred　seventy　dollars　of　flash　money　tucked　away　in　his　bag。　Cash　was　cash；　after　all；　and　not　to　have　taken　it　would　have　shown　the　police　that　there　had　been　a　real　motive　in　the　elimination　aside　from　something　easily　understandable　and　agreeably　random。　The　physical　side　of　the　event　…　he