Dr. Death by Nick Carter - [Killmaster 100] Page B

was a cracking sound, but the hinges held. Again. The cracking sound was louder. Again. The door shot from its hinges and we were sprinting over it, out into the courtyard, disfigured hands reaching out for us, brushing our gowns, the odor of dying flesh close in our nostrils.
    "The door to the office!" I heard Li Chin shout. "It's open!"
    I could hear the thud of running feet on the parched earth of the courtyard as the lepers pursued us in a group. We were hampered by our surgeons gowns and they were closing in on us fast. I put every last reserve of energy into a final burst of speed, saw Li Chin do the same inches behind me, and hurled myself through the open door into the office. Li Chin's figure was a blur of speed behind me as I swung the door shut, pressing brutally against the weight of oncoming bodies. For an instant I felt that the door was being forced open again. Then, suddenly, it was closed and I was shooting the bolt. On the other side of the door was a clamor of voices, then silence.
    Li Chin stood beside me.
    "Look," she said, pointing to one corner of the room.
    The woman who had admitted me lay crumpled in a heap, motionless. It was easy to see why. Her throat had been slit from ear to ear. Beside her lay a telephone set, its wire wrenched from the wall.
    "The lepers who attacked us must have been paid off by the OAS," I said. "This woman apparently wasn't paid off. She may have known nothing about it. When she heard the melee in the contagious wing, she must have tried to phone for the police, and…"
    "And made the mistake of leaving the door to the courtyard open when she did," Li Chin finished for me.
    I nodded.
    "But there's no guarantee one of the lepers didn't use the phone to call for OAS reinforcements. And I have no intention of being here when they arrive. We're going to get out of here now. And together. You've got some explaining to do."
    "Of course," said Li Chin calmly. "But what about our clothes?"
    Both of our surgeons gowns had been ripped. The clothes underneath were contaminated. It was pretty obvious what had to be done.
    "Strip," I ordered, suiting my actions to my words.
    "Everything?" asked Li Chin, looking a little suspicious.
    "Everything," I said. "Unless you'd like to wake up one day to find your fingers falling off."
    "But where will we go? Without clothes…"
    "There's somebody waiting for me in a car. Just a few blocks away," I reassured her.
    Li Chin looked up from unstrapping her bra.
    "A few blocks!" she said. "You don't mean we're going to…"
    I nodded, stepping out of my shorts and moving toward the front door.
    "Ready?"
    Li Chin, tossing aside a wisp of panties, looked dubious, but she nodded. I grabbed her by the hand and flung open the front door.
    "Go!"
    I like to think we were San Juan's first streakers.

Eight
    Gonzalez had been dozing. When he woke, at my rapping on the window, to find a naked Nick Carter standing hand-in-hand with a beautiful and extremely naked Chinese girl, his jaw dropped to his shoes. For a moment he did nothing but stare. And not at me. I couldn't really blame him. Li Chin was small, almost tiny, but every inch of her body was in perfect proportion. Jet black hair fell down to her small, firm breasts, with the large aureole and erect nipples. Her thighs and legs were sleek, the belly lean and curving. Her face was punctuated by a perfect little doll's nose, and when she drew aside finely defined lips, her teeth dazzled. It was hard to believe this girl was a Kung Fu master — or should I say mistress — who could take on any number of men in unarmed combat. Not that I had any intention of forgetting it.
    I rapped on the window again, startling Gonzalez out of his trancelike stare.
    "Gonzalez," I said, "if you don't mind interrupting your study of physical culture, I'd appreciate your unlocking the door. And I think the lady would appreciate your jacket."
    Gonzalez scrambled for the door handle.
    "Door," he said. "Yes. Of course. Door.