The Annihilators Read Online Free

tossed her head haughtily and gave a scornful little laugh that an aristocratic lady of revolutionary France might have, used when threatened with the guillotine. “So kill me now!” She made a sharp gesture. “I claimed the right to speak with you. I was not good for managing the abduction, that was work for the men, but I could do this. I could speak just as convincingly for my father as my brother Emilio, who calls himself Lobo. And the fact that I would put myself into your hands, and that my father would allow it, should prove to you how seriously we take this matter. So if you wish to kill me, kill. It will do your lady no good, I assure you. There will certainly be no trade, if that is what you are thinking. I would take my own life, first.”
    She was very impressive, so young and so dedicated; but they are always slightly incredible in their arrogance, these baby martyrs. They are so ready to sacrifice themselves for their beliefs, but it never occurs to them that they may not be unique; that there may be other folks around ready for sacrifice, too.
    “Sure,” I said. “It was just a thought.”
    Dolores Jimenez glanced at her watch. “There is a time limit. If I am not back soon…”
    It was time to play the last card, even though I had no faith in it, dealing with youthful fanatics like this one. “All right, listen closely… Sir,” I said into the phone.
    Mac’s voice said, “Yes, Matt?”
    “The classification on Jimenez?”
    “Available. I thought you might need to know, so I also asked that question. Although of course they do not condone violence over there in the halls of diplomacy—at least not publicly—nevertheless if violence should occur, I gather they would not be displeased to have it occur to Colonel Jimenez. Well, at least as long as the act cannot in any way be attributed to the present regime. There are softhearted elements of the administration, not to mention of the liberal press, who disapprove of our support of Armando Rael and would use any terrorist act of his in this country to discredit this policy and those who favor it. But if it can be accomplished discreetly, they will not be unhappy. The colonel’s repeated loud condemnation of their man, Rael, and his constant efforts to return to power, are becoming very annoying to certain of our policy makers.”
    “I see,” I said, and looked at the girl as I spoke. “The colonel is available. Very good. Then I request a complete cover on the whole Jimenez menage. In particular I want to know when Hector himself gets up in the morning and when he goes to bed at night. I want to know when he sleeps with his wife and if they both have satisfactory orgasms…”
    Mac broke in: “Señora Jimenez died about a year after escaping from Costa Verde, perhaps due to the hardships she suffered getting out of there. As far as the rest of the family is concerned, the older son Ricardo was captured while making an attempt on Rael’s life and disappeared into the political prison known as La Fortaleza. It is believed that he died there, not pleasantly. There is a younger son Emilio and a daughter Dolores.”
    “I have just had the pleasure of meeting Dolores,” I said. “I have even spoken with Emilio, unfortunately under rather unfavorable circumstances. But that’s beside the point. I want to know when the colonel goes to the can in the morning and whether his bowel movement is soft or hard. I particularly want to know his whereabouts at any hour of the day or night. And of course his security arrangements.”
    “We have a lot of that information, or we can obtain it,” Mac said. “As I indicated, his political activities have aroused some unfavorable interest. Surveillance will be arranged.”
    “Around-the-clock surveillance, excellent,” I said for Dolores’s benefit. “Next item: Please send somebody to my Washington apartment with the spare key they keep down in the office. At the back of the bedroom closet is a long