Part 66 (1/2)

dali-dee dali-dee dee-dee dali-dee dee-dee. she knelt to pray...”

A bulky figure eased itself off the wall ahead of him. It was Kelso.

'Hi.”

Steve stopped just beyond the reach of the big Tracker.

Kelso had treated him with grudging camaraderie ever since his hop over the wall, but Jodi had been with them.

Now that they were on their own there was no telling which way it might go. 'Haven't heard anyone sing that song in a long time,' he said.

Kelso responded with a dry laugh. 'Not many people know it. Trouble is, I keep forgetting the words.” He hummed a few bars. 'How does the last bit go?”

'The mission bells told me, I couldn't stay -' Kelso chimed in, 'South of the border, down Mexico way... Yeah, that's it.”

The song, and the exchange of half-remembered lines was one of the secret signals AMEXICO operatives employed to announce their presence to any fellow mexicans who happened to be around. Steve fingered the back of his ear, pressing on the tiny, implanted transceiver but there was no response to his Morse-coded call-sign. There was always the possibility that Kelso had heard the routine at one time or another but even so . . .

Watch your step, Stevie . . .

Kelso, his arms folded, moved closer to Steve and laid his right shoulder against the wall. 'I hear you're not planning on staying long either...”

'Who told you that?”

Kaz.”

'Oh, yeah?”

'Yeah. I've been reading you wrong, Brickman. I had you figured for a lump-sucker, but you're all right. You did well today.”

'It wasn't any big deal. Any True Blue could've done it.”

'Don't bulls.h.i.+t me, Brickman. Modesty doesn't become you.”

Steve let it pa.s.s.

'These crates we're building. If a guy knew which way to head, he could go a long way in one of those things.”

'Depends on where he was aiming for...”

'Yeah, well, the first thing is to get the h.e.l.l out of here - then work out the rest later.”

'You're probably right,' said Steve. 'Just how much did Jodi tell you?”

'Just how much does she know?”

'Come on, Dave. You can do better than that.”

'She told me someone was leaning on your kin-sister, that you been sent to pick up a couple of badhats, and

*.. that she's going back in with you.”