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Authors: Harold Robbins

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BOOK: Descent from Xanadu
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Sofia turned to him. “Nicolai, he might think I am too young.”

Nicolai smiled. “Don’t be stupid, Sofia. Thirty isn’t young. Besides you are a beautiful woman and you know how to use that. You’ve done it before. Just grab him by his cock.”

“He’s not that stupid,” Sofia said, annoyed.

“We have his apartment at the hotel completely bugged,” he said. “There are three whores waiting downstairs in his secretary’s room for him. Of course, they are all employees of ours, but he does not know that.”

“Is that all you think of me?” Sofia asked coldly. “Just another professional whore?”

Nicolai turned away brusquely. “I suggest that you meet with Crane as soon as possible,” he said to Dr. Zabiski.

“I will do that, Comrade Nicolai,” Zabiski said.

Nicolai looked down at her. “That crazy idea of his about cloning. Do you think it could ever happen?”

The little doctor held out her hands, palms out in question. “Who knows? One thing I know: We have many things to learn from him. Certain of our colleagues who have been in the States have told me that the Crane DNA Engineering Corporation is light-years ahead of us in DNA clone-copying and manufacturing.”

Nicolai turned to Sofia. “See,” he said. “That makes it even more important that you get close to him.”

Sofia glanced at him contemptuously and then, silently, left the doctor’s office.

***

Sofia crossed the corridor and went upstairs to her room. She stood looking out the window, smoking a cigarette. She was staring at the sparkling fountain when the door opened behind her. She didn’t turn around.

She felt his hands rest on her shoulders. She still didn’t turn. “What the hell got into you?” he asked angrily.

“Eight years,” Sofia said bitterly. “But you still stay married to Ekaterina.”

“I’ve explained that many times, Sofia,” he answered, trying to mollify her. “Her father is still in the Politburo. If I divorce her, my career goes down the drain. We have to wait until Andropov makes his move, then I’ll be my own man and we can be together.”

She dragged at her cigarette, still silent.

His hands moved quickly behind her. Holding one arm around her waist, he pulled her back against him, with his other hand hoisting up the back of her skirt. Her thighs and buttocks were naked above the stockings. He cupped his hand over her pubis. “You’re dripping wet,” he said huskily.

She still didn’t move. “I’m always wet,” she said.

She heard the buttons of his fly snap open, then with one hand in the center of her back, he bent her over the windowsill. A moment later she felt him large and hard inside her. She gasped, the cigarette fell out the window, her hands resting against the windowsill for support. She gasped again. A mewlike groan came from her throat.

His hands grasped like vises against her hips as he rammed himself like a trip hammer behind, shoving back and forth inside her. His voice was strong with triumph. “You still love it!”

She didn’t answer, gasping for breath and moaning.

His fingernails dug into the skin of her hips. “Damn you!” he growled. “Tell me. You still love it!”

“Yes, yes!” she was almost screaming with pain and pleasure. “I love it!”

2

He came from the elevator and walked to the wide double doors of the penthouse and pressed the button. The chimes echoed through the closed doors. A moment later, Fast Eddie opened the door, a blue-black Colt .45 automatic in his hand.

Judd looked at the little black man as he followed him into the apartment. “Someday you’re going to get a hernia, lifting a piece like that.”

Fast Eddie locked the safety and shoved the gun in his belt. “Yugoslavia is the asshole of the world,” he said. “Even got cockroaches under the toilet seats.”

Judd nodded. “That’s life,” he said. “Some people have no class.” He walked into the living room and stopped in front of the attaché case lying on the desk. He turned the combination locks and opened it. The bronze plaque inside was covered with red and green diodes. “Looks like a Christmas tree.”

Fast Eddie nodded.

Judd turned a switch on the plaque, then pressed three buttons. Suddenly all the diodes turned to yellow. Judd smiled. “I wonder if cockroaches have broken eardrums?”

Fast Eddie laughed. “That’s not my department, boss. I’m just your valet, remember?”

“Then get me a drink,” Judd said.

“The usual?”

“Atlanta cherry Coca-Cola with a lot of ice,” Judd said.

He watched the little man walk behind the bar. “What made you so nervous?” he asked, still wondering about the automatic.

“Too much service.” The little man filled the glass with ice cubes. “Three maids, one man with the vacuum cleaner, two window-washing men, an electrician, two telephone men. It was beginning to seem like O’Hare Airport.” He opened a bottle of Coca-Cola and filled up the glass, then brought it over carefully. “Toot?” he asked.

“Not yet,” Judd said. He sipped the drink thoughtfully. He glanced at Fast Eddie. “How many rooms in this suite?”

“Five.”

“Been in all of them?”

“Yes.”

“The closets too?”

“No.”

Judd placed his drink on the desk and lifted a small transformer-like box from the attaché case. He pressed the button on its side and cupped it in his hand. “Get your piece,” he said.

Fast Eddie pulled his gun from his belt. He followed Judd through the rooms. At each closet door, Judd held the box against the door.

“That’s a new one,” Fast Eddie said.

“Brand-new,” Judd said. “It’s a heat scanner tuned to body heat. Anybody in there, we’ll know about it without opening the door.”

“Gadgets,” Fast Eddie said. “You’re cuckoo about them. Just like a kid.”

It was at the room farthest from the entrance to the suite. Judd looked at the tiny quivering needle. “In there,” he said.

“What do we do now?” Fast Eddie asked.

“Wait a minute,” Judd said. He watched the needle for a moment. “We do nothing. This guy is already 98.2. Stupid for them to place an agent in a confined area like a closet. And even more stupid to assign an agent with a heart problem where only the slightest sonar shock would kill him.”

He turned back into the living room and put the heat scanner into the attaché case, then turned off the buttons and switched off the power. The yellow diodes turned back to a red and green Christmas tree. He closed the case and turned the combination locks. He looked at Fast Eddie. “Now.”

Fast Eddie pulled the gold chain from his neck and out of his shirt. He opened the gold vial with the gold spoon and held it out carefully to Judd. Judd took two healthy snorts.

Fast Eddie looked at him. “I could use one too,” he said. “I’m still shaking.”

“Be my guest.”

Fast Eddie lived up to his name. He looked better in a second. Quickly the vial and chain disappeared. “Thanks.” He looked at his boss. “Another Coca-Cola?”

“I think so,” Judd said. “I think this one got a little bit flat.” The telephone rang as the little man went back to the bar. “I’ll get it,” Judd said, picking it up. “Crane here.”

“Mr. Crane, this is Dr. Zabiski.” Her voice sounded more accented on the telephone. “I have had some further thoughts about our conversation.”

“Yes, Doctor,” he said.

“I can meet you at your hotel at twenty-one hours if that’s convenient for you.” Her voice echoed in the phone.

He glanced at his watch. It was six o’clock. “That would be convenient, Doctor. Perhaps you could join me at dinner?”

“I’ll have my assistant with me.”

“That’s okay with me.”

“Fine, Mr. Crane. I’ll see you then. Thank you.”

“Thank
you
, Doctor.” He put down the receiver and looked at Fast Eddie. “What room is Merlin in?”

“Ten-oh-nine. The floor below ours.”

Judd called the room. His assistant answered. “Yes, Mr. Crane?”

“Could you come right up and bring the portophone with you,” Judd said.

“I still have three secretaries waiting here to be interviewed.”

“We won’t have the time for them,” Judd said. “Pay them off and get rid of them.”

“Yes, Mr. Crane. I’ll take care of it right away.”

Fast Eddie brought the fresh drink. He shook his head. “Too bad, Mr. Crane. That Yugoslavian pussy looked like it was prime.”

Judd sipped the cold drink and laughed. “Can’t win ’em all.”

The portophone was in an attaché case similar to the one on the desk in front of Judd. Merlin held it as Fast Eddie opened the door for him. The little black man closed the door behind him and gestured before he could speak. Fast Eddie held an index finger across his lips, then pointed to the ceiling lights and to the telephones. Merlin nodded his head in understanding, then crossed the room to Judd.

“I have your messages, Mr. Crane,” he said.

“Thank you, Merlin.” Judd placed the portophone on the desk and returned the other briefcase to Merlin. He took the sheaf of messages from his assistant. “Tell the captain that we should be ready to leave shortly after midnight.”

“Yes, Mr. Crane.” Merlin opened the attaché case and picked up the portophone while Judd read the messages. Merlin listened to the captain and then turned to Judd. “The captain says that we’ll have to make a refuel stop on the way.”

“See if he can arrange it in flight,” Judd said. “If we stop we could lose two, maybe three hours.”

Merlin relayed his message and put down the portophone. “The captain says he’ll try to arrange it.”

“Good,” Judd said. He returned the messages to Merlin. “We’ll go over these in flight tomorrow. I have a dinner appointment with Dr. Zabiski at nine. Would you book a table at the restaurant in the hotel for us? I’ll try to get in a nap and a shower before then.”

“You have a seven o’clock appointment here with the undersecretary of tourism,” Merlin said.

Judd made a wry smile. “There goes my nap. Guess I’ll have to settle for just a shower.”

“Is there anything else, sir?” Merlin said.

“I think that should cover it all. You can go back to the plane with Fast Eddie when I go down to dinner.”

“Shall I check out then, sir?”

“Good idea,” Judd said. “Then I could leave right from the restaurant.”

“White shirt, black tie and suit, Mr. Crane?” Fast Eddie asked.

“Do we have any others?” Judd smiled.

“No, sir. But I can dream, can’t I?” Even Merlin smiled. Judd had called those clothes his battle uniform. There had to be over a hundred identical black suits in Judd’s closets, wherever he lived, anywhere in the world.

It was ten minutes to nine as they waited in the lobby for Dr. Zabiski. Merlin and Fast Eddie watched the bellboy carry the valises out to the limousine. “I’ll keep the portophone with me,” Judd said. Merlin nodded, the other attaché case in his hand.

Fast Eddie looked at his boss. “I’m worried about the suite you left behind,” he said. “I think you should come to the plane with us.”

“Twelve million says there won’t be any problems,” Judd said. “The tourism department was very happy with the four Club Adriatics and the two new hotels.”

“Maybe it’s not their ball game at all,” Fast Eddie said. “It’s some other department.”

“There is only one department,” Judd said. “That’s the government itself. They’re calling all the shots. Why do you think Zabiski called so promptly? She’s been given her orders to negotiate with me. I’m not worried.” He watched the revolving door at the entrance. “She’s coming in now,” he said. “I’ll see you both at the plane.” He left them standing as he walked to meet the doctor at the entrance.

A tall young woman with blond-brown hair, wearing a bad copy of a Chanel suit, came through the revolving door after the doctor. Even the bad copy of the suit could not conceal the body under it. Fast Eddie’s words flashed through Crane’s mind—Yugoslavian prime.

3

The little doctor came directly to the point the moment the maître d’ had taken the dinner orders. “Dr. Ivancich has been my first assistant for the past two years,” she said. “Before that she was two years an assistant professor of gerontology at the Georgian Academy of Sciences, two years before that Doctor of Geriatric Studies at the Soviet Academy of Sciences in Moscow, before that two years in special studies at the National Institute on Aging in Baltimore. She is a graduate of Columbia University Medical School in New York.”

Judd looked at the young woman. “I’m impressed,” he said sincerely. “Dr. Ivancich has accomplished a great deal for someone so young.”

She spoke in an American-accented English. “I’m not quite that young, Mr. Crane,” she said softly. “I’m thirty.”

“That’s young,” Judd said.

The waiter served the consommé. Judd waited until the man left the table before he began again. He looked at Dr. Zabiski. “You mentioned you had some further thoughts after our conversation.”

Dr. Zabiski nodded. “If you’re interested in my treatments, perhaps we could shorten the first two months to two weeks.”

“How?”

“I can arrange a leave of absence for Dr. Ivancich to travel with you. In that way she could undertake the preliminary examinations and tests and could find out whether or not you will respond to our treatment.”

As she was speaking, she passed a tiny piece of paper to him. Judd read it unobtrusively. It was in small handwritten pencil letters. “Destroy after reading. Dr. I is completely trustworthy. I am very interested in your proposition.”

Judd looked at her without speaking. He crumpled the paper in his palm then popped it in his mouth. Slowly he chewed it for a moment then added several spoonfuls of his consommé and swallowed it. He smiled. “I’ve always enjoyed croutons.”

Dr. Zabiski smiled for the first time. She nodded approvingly.

“I’m leaving this evening,” Judd said. “If you let me know when Dr. Ivancich is ready, I’ll arrange for us to meet wherever I’ll be.”

“Tonight, if you like, Mr. Crane,” the little doctor said. “Her valises are in my car. I’ve already made my arrangements.”

Judd smiled. “I knew the moment we met you were my kind of doctor.” He turned to Dr. Ivancich. “I hope you enjoy travel, Doctor.”

“I love it, Mr. Crane.”

BOOK: Descent from Xanadu
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