Part 27 (2/2)

There was a second of silence.

”All right,” Lynch said. ”So I recorded the conversation. Kill me.

Crucify me. I'm stealing FBI secrets. I'm a spy secretly working for a foreign power. Take me out and electrocute me.”

”I don't want to fight you,” Malone said wearily. ”So you've got the stuff recorded. That's your business.”

”My business?”

”Sure,” Malone said cheerfully. ”As long as you don't try to use it.”

”Now, Malone--” Lynch began.

”This is touchy stuff,” Malone said. ”We're going to have to take a lot of care in handling it. And I don't want you throwing raids all over the place and mixing everything up.”

”Malone, I--”

”Eventually,” Malone said, ”I'm going to need your help with these kids. But for right now, I want to handle this my way, without any interference.”

”I wouldn't think of--”

”You wanted information,” Malone said. ”Fine. That's all right with me. You got the information, and that's okay too. But if you try to use it before I say the word, I'll--I'll talk to good old Uncle John Henry Fernack. And he'll help me out; he'll give you a refresher course on How To Be A Beat Cop. In Kew Gardens. It's nice and lonely out there now, Lynch, You'd love it.”

”Malone,” Lynch said tiredly.

”Don't give me any arguments,” Malone said. ”I don't want any arguments.”

”I won't argue with you, Malone,” Lynch said. ”I've been trying to tell you something.”

Malone stepped away from the desk. ”All right,” he said. ”Go ahead.”

Lynch took a deep breath. ”Malone, I'm not trying to queer your pitch,” he said. ”If I were going to pull a raid, here's what I'd have to do: get my own cops together, then call the precinct that covers that old warehouse. We don't cover the warehouse from here, Malone, and we'd need the responsible precinct's aid in anything we did down there.”

Malone said, ”Well, all I--”

”Not only that,” Lynch said. ”I'd have to call Safe and Loft, and get them in on it. A warehouse raid would probably be their baby first of all. That means it takes this precinct, the warehouse precinct, and the Safe and Loft Squad, all together, to raid that warehouse. Malone, would I pull a raid at this stage, if I had to go through all that, without knowing what the h.e.l.l I was going to find down there?”

”Oh,” Malone said.

”If those kids can just appear and disappear at will,” Lynch said, ”I'm not going to pull a raid on them, and end up looking like a d.a.m.n fool, until I've got some way of making sure they're there when the raid goes through.”

Malone coughed gently. ”Okay,” he said at last. ”Sorry.”

”There's only one thing I want,” Lynch said. ”I want to be able to move as soon as possible.”

”Well, sure,” Malone said apologetically.

”And that means I'm going to have to be informed,” Lynch said. ”I want to know what's going on, as fast as possible.”

Malone nodded gently. ”Sure,” he said. ”I'll tell you everything that happens--as soon as I know myself. But right now, I haven't got a thing for you. All I have is a kind of theory, and it's pretty screwy.”

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