“Even I’m getting creeped out by you looking so happy,” Remo said. “Now, Mutha, spill it.”
Mutha stopped screaming from the agony. “Okay! I’ll talk! What was the question?”
“Who put you up to it?” Remo asked impatiently.
“I don’t know.”
“Somebody is behind this. Somebody got you on board. Who is that somebody?”
“Oh. Easy. It was Sissy.”
“Convenient scapegoat, her being right here with us.”
“No, it was her, really. She’s my go-between with the Royals. That’s what she always called them. The Royals.”
Remo nodded. “You hush now.” He turned to Sissy Muh and adjusted her spine with a touch.
“Now, young lady,” was as far as Remo got.
When she had her voice back she began screeching at them. “You don’t scare me, freaks!”
Remo shrugged. “I can be bad cop, too. See?” He touched her on the elbow. She stopped screaming and started singing.
Remo thought that any self-respecting revolutionary with his or her own mobile command center ought to have a telephone. Chiun pointed out that there were various devices that could be used to communicate with the outside world. Sissy was eager to help them place their call.
‘To a delicatessen?”
“Not just a delicatessen—Oppheim’s is
“Yeah, we’re the best. Now what do you want?”
“What’s good today, Mr. Oppheim?”
‘It’s all good. You name it, it’s good. Now name it, bud.”
“My mouth’s watering for com beef on rye,” Remo said. “Extra, extra mustard. Chiun?”
“Fah!”
“Let’s have the usual for my dad. Pastrami on white bread. Pile it on high.”
“Pile what high?” Mark Howard asked.
“I think you know. Where’s Smitty?”
“He’s monitoring another situation. He asked me to get your report.”
Remo heard the hesitancy in the voice of the young assistant director of CURE. Remo was almost starting to like Mark, and he had come to respect the man’s capabilities. But Mark Howard wasn’t a good liar, even when it was a lie of omission.
Remo played along for the time being. “We managed to stop the recolonization of Jamaica,” he said.
“We’ve heard,” Howard said. “The Jamaicans are arresting mercenaries all over the island.”
“Quite a rainbow coalition,” Remo said. “He got Colombians, Haitians, Americans, you name it. But no Jamaicans. You wouldn’t believe this guy. Says his name is Mutha.”
“That would be Sir Muffa Muh Mutha,” Mark Howard said. “He was at the top of our list of possible ringleaders of the Jamaican coup attempt. Did he survive?”
“Oh, sure, he’s here with me now. Funny thing is, Jamaicans hate this guy, from what he says. I guess he’s some sort of hack reggae imitator who steals everybody else’s good bits and repackages them as his own. Says he was run out of the country when he tried to stage a show. Now he’s back to take over the place and exact a little revenge.”
Howard sounded impatient. “Yes, but what about the organizers? Who put him up to it? Who organized it?”
Remo reported the interrogation of Sissy Muh, who was the real brains behind the operation. It was she who recruited mercenaries from throughout the Americas, who purchased intelligence, who equipped the forces. Her instructions and her funding always came anonymously. “She calls them the Royals. Says her contact has an accent like a rich British type.”
“Have you questioned her thoroughly?” Howard asked, sounding impatient.
“Yeah. Thoroughly,” Remo replied, feeling a little annoyed. “We also thoroughly stopped the takeover of the government of Jamaica. Isn’t that a good thing? Didn’t we buy you some time?”
“Yes. Well, not really.” Mark Howard was flustered. “Another former colony is being taken over even as we speak.”
Remo looked at Chiun. Both of them heard the strange discomfort in Mark Howard’s voice.
“Which former colony?” Remo asked pleasantly.
“Nowhere near you. You’d never get there in time. It’ll be over within the hour.”
Remo asked again, slowly, “Junior,
How he loved this blessed land. Oscar Dowzall had devoted his adult life to the service of the green hills, the shining seashores, the powerful industries and the wonderful people of his beloved New Jersey.
New Jersey had loved him in return. He started out as a representative in the New Jersey state house, was appointed secretary of state and eventually ran for governor. He was put in the governor’s mansion by a landslide vote.
For seven glorious years he reigned supreme. He was a great leader because he adored the people and the land he led. He accomplished many victories and made a mark on history.
