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.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlwas sniffing the air.Remo, too, had detected something faint on the wind.Like twin bloodhounds, their heads swiveled slowly, tracing the scent back to the stalled drone.All at once their heads snapped back toward each other.Each man wore a look of alarm.And at the precise moment that Remo and Chiun recognized the scent, the explosives that were packed on board the drone detonated with a deafening blast.THE EXPLOSION WAS a burst of orange fire.It ripped a massive hole in the side of the hangar.The abandoned golf cart was flung up in the air by the force of the blast.It flipped end over end across the asphalt.As he watched the explosion on his monitor, Zipp Codwin flashed a row of sharp white teeth.Remo and Chiun were gone.Vanished in a burst of flame and a choking cloud of dust.Zipp glanced over his shoulder.Standing behind him was Pete Graham.As he watched the action, the scientist was chewing nervously on the end of his thumb."Now that's how NASA used to work," Codwin enthused."None of this namby-pamby pantywaist bullshit about weather delays and putting off launches 'cause a goddamn bird's built a nest in your launch tower.This is how we did it in the old days.See a problem, deal with the problem.In fact, we should include that in a press release." He glanced around the room."Hey, where's that idiot Beemer? I want him to write that one down."Graham shook his head."He was here a minute ago," the young man volunteered.When he looked back, he found that the only men in the room were the space cadets Codwin had kept to protect them from Mr.Gordons's enemies."Worthless PR hack," Codwin muttered."Probably in the can.I should have filleted him when he let Gordons get away in the first place.Speaking of which, we'd better tell that bucket of bolts we solved his little problem for him."He slapped his hands to his knees.He was just pushing himself to his feet when he spied something moving on his monitor.When he saw what it was, Codwin's face blanched.The dust cloud from the explosion was settling back to the hot ground.From the very edge of the collapsing cloud, two figures had just emerged.When he saw Remo and Chiun walking, unharmed, across the tarmac, Zipp dropped back to his seat, shocked."Dang," the colonel breathed.They were walking away from the buildings.The Banana River separated the main portion of Merritt Island, on which the space center was built, from the twin launching pads used for the space shuttles.Remo and Chiun were heading toward the shore.Pads A and B rose across the water.For Zipp Codwin, the minor momentary relief at the fact that they were at least heading in the opposite direction was eclipsed by fresh concern.Something else was moving on the monitor.It was a person.Whoever it was was in the process of dragging a boat across the rough shore toward the river."Who's that?" Pete Graham asked worriedly.Zipp squinted at the monitor.When he recognized the face of the distant figure, his sharp eyes grew wide."Beemer, you weasel!" he boomed.As soon as Codwin said the name, Graham recognized NASA's top PR man.The boat bounced off rocks as Clark Beemer yanked it desperately toward the waves.Colonel Codwin leaped to his feet, pounding a balled fist against the console."Damn you, you cowardly bastard!" the administrator roared.Ropy knots bulged in his purple neck.He wheeled on Graham."That man is a traitor to space and every man who's ever set foot in it! He has now officially become bait.Man your station and aim for the yellow stripe up his back.We'll take those other two out in the blast."As Graham scurried on weak legs over to a console, Zipp Codwin dropped back in his chair.Furious eyes flashed back to the screen.Page 102ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html"No one leaves NASA in the lurch," the colonel growled.REMO AND CHIUN WEATHERED the blast beneath their rental car.They had spotted the man dragging the boat as soon as they'd climbed out from under the charred car."I hate it when they blow us up," Remo complained.He brushed stone dust from his hair as they walked."If you had disposed of that flying contraption the correct way, we would not have been anywhere near it when it boomed," Chiun sniffed.With delicate hands he brushed puffs of dust from his sleeves.Remo gave him a baleful look."And what's the right way, Mr.Know-It-All?""Did it blow up?" Chiun asked blandly."Yeah," Remo replied."Then the right way would be the opposite of whatever it was you did."At the shore they stepped down the black rocks to the oily little man with slicked-back hair.Clark Beemer was straining hard to lug his motorboat into the water.He had nearly succeeded when he heard Remo's voice behind him."Where's Mr.Gordons?"Beemer whipped around.When he saw the young white man and the old Asian standing on the rocks before him, his jaw dropped wide."It wasn't me!" Beemer begged."It's Zipp Codwin.He's gone nuts.NASA used to stand for something, like dipping rocks in glitter paint and saying they were filled with Martian bugs or selling spaceshuttle posters to grammar schools.But now Zipp's got it in his crazy head that he can start exploring space again.All because of that bank-robbing psycho robot of his."Remo apparently wasn't happy with Beemer's nonanswer.Remo convinced him to be more forthcoming in his replies.He did this by shattering the PR man's right kneecap."Aahhhrrgg!" Beemer screamed as he tipped sideways onto the rocks of the shore.As the PR man grabbed his broken knee in both hands, Remo crouched beside him."Okay, let's try this again," he said coldly."Where is Mr.Gordons?""I don't know!" Beemer gasped."I think he said he didn't want to stay on the base while Zipp went after you guys.He didn't think it was safe.But I don't know where he is now." His eyes were watering from the pain in his leg.Remo stood."He didn't want to stay here, huh?" he said flatly.His eyes strayed across the stretch of water.A space shuttle sat on the nearest launching pad.It was nestled back on its thrusters, its black nose aimed skyward.Remo's eyes narrowed as he looked over at the shuttle."That time Gordons was launched into space, he got back home on board one of those things," Remo said, nodding toward the silent space shuttle."That thing-that-is-not-a-man has in the past equated safety with survival,"Chiun agreed.His hazel eyes were trained on the distant shape of the shuttle.Remo glanced down at Beemer."You're driving [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]