Read A Jungle of Stars (1976) for Free Online Page A

Christ, Lieutenant, we was all spooked and sure we was all dead men by the time we hit the LZ."
    "What about after? What happened then?"
    "Well, McNally made his report in debriefing, then we both went over to the mess and had some coffee. He didn't talk much then. Well, hell, you know, after what happened and all. Just told me to stick to the story, and all.
    Pretty soon this small chopper puts down and he says good-bye and goes over and gets in it. Zow, they're gone! Last I saw of him. I thought it was pretty weird at the time, but haven't thought about it since. Never saw or heard about him again. One thing bugged me at the time and keeps buggin' me, though."
    "What's that?" Savage prompted.
    "Well, if he was so set on killin' you, how come he pushes your body into the chopper bay instead of out of the way? I mean, if you'd rotted you couldn'ta come round like you did and. maybe show the bullet was a frag."
    Savage's eyes seemed to glow in the darkness. "He did what?"
    "Pushed ya in, he did. A couple of the boys saw this, and figurin'
    McNally had a change of heart or somethin' they pulled you all the way in. If it hadn'ta been for McNally, you'd be worm bait in the 'Nam jungle right now."
    Savage stood for almost a minute in total silence, lost in thought.
    Then, deep inside, something seemed to snap. His head, which had started to droop, shot up, and a glazed look was in his eyes.
    "Tell me something, Joe," he said very quietly, without a trace of emotion. "That time you stuck that knife into my back -- would you have used it on me if I hadn't given in?"
    Santori thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Hell, I really don't know.
    I wasn't gonna walk any five miles through Charley country."
    "Thanks, Joe," Savage acknowledged. "I think it's time we parted company."
    With that, the big man reached out and grabbed the little man in a bear hug. Santori had not survived the streets of Newark to be taken that easily.
    Groaning, straining for breath, he still managed to get his pocketknife out and stab the larger man in the abdomen. Savage cried out in shock and pain and momentarily released his grip. Before he could recover, Santori was back at him, stabbing him repeatedly. In shock, Savage lost his balance and dropped to the ground. Santori efficiently cut his throat, and blood spurted all around.
    The victor sat down on the grassy plot between the barracks getting his breath back. Suddenly it occurred to him that Savage had survived worse, and he reached over and checked the fallen man's pulse, even though blood still flowed and the body's eyes were open and glazed. Nothing. Savage, he thought with satisfaction, was finally dead.
    He slowly rose and walked unsteadily to the barracks door. No one had heard. They would find the lieutenant in the morning, of course -- but he would ditch the knife and burn the clothes. Tomorrow he'd be out of here, and there was nothing but that one bastard patrol to connect him to--
    "It's not that easy, Joe. You should have known that," came a voice behind him, and he whirled suddenly around.
    Savage struck him with the metal right hand, in the Adam's apple. Joe Santori died, eyes wide in disbelief.
    Except for some blood on his clothes, there wasn't a mark on his killer.
    Savage had barely gotten back to his motel roomwhen his telephone started ringing. Since he had taken a great deal of care to make certain nobody knew he was there, his first thought was that it was the desk, on some matter. That anyone had connected Santori with "Robert Sanderson" in a motel forty miles away hardly even occurred to him.
    He picked up the phone and said, "Hello?"
    "Now that you've tended to personal business, Savage, are you ready to go to work?" a familiar voice asked cynically.
    Savage almost dropped the phone. Although he'd never actually physically heard the voice before, there Was no doubting who it was.
    "Go ahead, Hunter," he said dryly.
    "Okay," The Hunter began cheerfully. "First, you go into town and