always remain the same. Kill
quicker
than the other side. Hit and fade. Find another weak spot and
kill again,
then quickly withdraw. Maintain mobility and audacity and
the will to kill.
Forget philosophies, moralisms, and the accusing eyes of a frightened young woman.
Bolan's lips were clamped grimly upon the cigarette. A long ash fell into his lap. He brushed it away and, in that same motion, the girl also. Bolan had not come to Miami to examine his soul. He had come to
dispatch
a number of others. And the dispatcher had a busy schedule. Miami Beach was about to become a battleground. He had to hit again, and quickly, and keep hitting until they were falling apart and breaking ranks and fleeing into their sanctuaries — and The Executioner observed no rules of sanction, there would be no sanctuaries for the mob in Miami.
Chapter Eight
Channel deep and swift
Captain John Hannon had wasted no time in gearing the police machinery to the emergency. Queries had gone to every section of the nation which had experienced the private war of Mack Bolan, and every law office contacted to the effect of acquiring all available information which could be used to avert a Miami explosion. For several years the veteran policeman had headed a special unit which was designed to cope with the extraordinary situations in the Miami area, such as security for vacationing and transiting VIPs, providing intelligence for civil unrest and disturbance cases, and various other problems not usually associated with normal police routines. Referred to officially as "the Dade Force," the special unit was staffed by members of various police agencies in Dade County and held jurisdiction which crossed all law agencies in that area.
Robert Wilson, Lieutenant, Homicide, had worked on infrequent occasions with the special force. As investigating officer in the Sandbank incident, he had been assigned as direct liaison officer between the Dade Force and the metropolitan homicide division.
Assigned as a special advisor to the group was Stewart Dunlap of the U.S. Justice Department's Racketeering Investigative Branch, Miami Field Office. Dunlap was a regular member of the Dade Force, but on a standby basis only. He was known to have a strong interest in the Bolan case.
These three officers were sifting through the accumulation of joint data which had been developed during the short few hours of the Miami chapter of the Bolan story. Dunlap rubbed his chin reflectively and said, "I believe you have a bad situation here, John. Bolan is very obviously in town, and it just doesn't seem to be his way to go chasing specific targets around the country. He is just as obviously on the offensive . . . not running, I mean. I'd have to say that he's here for something big."
Hannon was studying an intelligence report from the metropolitan vice division. "You're probably right," he murmured. "According to the dossier on Balderone, he was Ciro Lavangetta's field man for the Miami area. If I could just tie this all together . . ."
Lt. Wilson commented, "I thought Lavangetta was Portocci's boss back in Arizona."
"That's true," Dunlap said. "But the
Cosa Nostra
isn't all that geographically oriented. Each family has a territory, right. But major resort centers have traditionally been regarded as open to all the families. Las Vegas, for instance,
and
Miami Beach. Some of the families are quite active in Miami, others have no interest whatever in the action here. It depends on their ties. Apparently the Arizona faction has very strong ties in this area." He smiled. "As a matter of fact, Justice has been watching them with great interest, and for some time."
"Just what was Balderone's function?" Wilson asked.
"Sort of ambassadorial," the federal man replied. "You might think of him as Chief of the Arizona Embassy in Miami. He made business contacts, arranged deals, kept the trade lanes open to the Caribbean and South America."
"What sort of trade lanes?"
"Just name it,