"You think they're connected?" Remo asked.
"It certainly seems that way," Smith said. "Three people with skulls shattered like walnut shells. It's no coincidence."
"Good," Remo said. "Let all the gang guys get killed off. It saves us work."
"We can't assume that that's what is going on," Smith said.
"Of course, we cannot assume that," Chiun chided Remo. "What a dopey assumption." He looked pleased that he had finally been able to slip "dopey" into the conversation.
Smith nodded. "Considering our present situation—the nation's situation—we can't afford to make any assumptions at all."
"What situation?" Remo asked suspiciously.
"The presence of the former Emir of Bislami."
"Oh, him," Remo said.
"He comes from a good family," Chiun said. "Bislami was always one of the favorites of our house. Did I ever tell you about the time during the year of the great wind when ... ?"
Smith interrupted and was rewarded with a glare. "The new rulers of Bislami have placed a ten-million-dollar price tag on his head."
phant." I "Where is he now?" Remo said.
36 1 37
"He's on an island off the coast of New Jersey were he's hoping to stay until he dies a natural death. Privately, his doctors say that shouldn't be too long. But that isn't all. There are left-wing groups in America who want to kill him. The Russians want to prove to the world that the United States can't protect its own friends. The total price on his head might be twenty million dollars."
"What has this got to do with our skull-crusher?" Remo said.
"Well, suppose this. Suppose the man who killed Romeo was a contract killer, hired by those thugs in Brooklyn. And suppose he killed them afterwards to guard his identity."
"Yeah? So what?"
"Well, if he is a contract killer, how long do you think it's going to be before he takes a contract on the Emir?"
"I know what this is leading up to," Remo said.
"Yes, you do."
"We have to keep the Emir alive until he dies," Remo said.
"Exactly," Smith said.
"That makes marvelous sense," Remo said disgustedly. "You know . . . twenty million dollars could hire a Kamikaze squad, who'd sacrifice themselves to get the Emir. An attack like that couldn't miss."
"Maybe," said Smith.
"You want Chiun and me to protect him?"
"Not exactly," Smith said. "First, I want you to go and check his security."
"I hope it's better than the security on Romeo, or the Emir's probably already dead."
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Smith winced. "Don't even joke about that. The President wants the Emir of Bislami kept alive at all costs."
"Until he dies," Remo said.
"That's correct," said Smith.
"Remo," said Chiun. "I don't understand why you have such trouble following even simple things. The Emperor is being perfectly clear."
"Thank you, Chiun," said Smith. He turned back to Remo. "Go check the Emir's security. See if you can find any holes. And then I want you to get this skull-crusher killer. We can't wait for him to come to take his shot at the Emir. Find him first."
"It shall be as you wish, Emperor," said Chiun.
Remo nodded. "But if he's dead when we get there, it's not our fault."
"Just go," said Smith, wincing again.
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CHAPTER FIVE
They sat in the open cockpit of a Coast Guard launch carrying them from Sandy Hook to the Emir's island hideaway. Remo said, "You're very quiet, Chiun."
"I see," Chiun said. "When I am speaking, you interrupt me. Then, when I am quiet, you wish me to speak. So you may interrupt me again?"
"Don't bicker," Remo said. "Something's nibbling at you. What is it?"
"You are correct. Something is bothering me. It is an unpaid debt, owed to my village by the ancestors of this Emir of Bislami. His ancestors were among the most frugal . . ."
"They were cheap? With all their wealth?" "Interrupting me is getting to be a way of life with you," Chiun said.
"I'm sorry, Little Father. Please continue." "Thank you. It is a simple story. One I tried to tell back in Emperor Smith's office. But no one would listen."
"I'm listening already," Remo said. 'This happened many years ago, by your reckoning, when the Greekling ruled much of the East." "The Greekling?"
"Yes. Alexander, I believe his name was. Anyway, Master Ding of Sinanju was commissioned by the Bislamic throne to remove its most dangerous of
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enemies. Master Ding did so, but when he returned to collect his payment, he found that the Emir, who had retained him, had died peaceably in his sleep. His son, the new Emir, refused to pay, saying the debt died with his father. It has been owed ever since. Why do you look so surprised?"
"It was really a simple story," Remo said.