"All right, Pete," said Scorio, glaring at the man, "your job is the
heavy work, so just keep your mind on it. You've got the two heaters and
the kit."
Pete grinned lopsidedly again. "Yeah, my own kit. I can open anything
hollow with this rig."
"You got a real job tonight," snarled Scorio. "Two doors and a safe.
Sure you can do it?"
"Just leave it to me," Pete growled.
"Chizzy, you're to pilot," Scorio snapped. "Know the coordinates?"
"Sure," said Chizzy, "know them by heart. Do it with my eyes shut."
"Keep your eyes open. We can't have anything go wrong. This is too
important. You swoop in at top speed and land on the roof. Stand by the
controls and keep a hand on the big heater just in case of trouble.
Pete, Max and Reg will go to the lockdoor. Reg will stay there with the
buzzer and three drums of ammunition."
He whirled on Reg. "You got that ammunition?"
Reg nodded emphatically. "Four drums of it," he said. "One solid round
in the gun. Another drum of solid and two explosive."
"There's a thousand rounds in each drum," snapped Scorio, "but they last
only a minute, so do your firing in bursts."
"I ain't handled buzzers all these years without knowing something about
them."
"There's only two men there," said Scorio, "and they'll probably be
asleep. Come down with your motor dead. The lab roof is thick and the
plane landing on those thick tires won't wake them. But be on your guard
all the time. Pete and Max will go through the lockdoor into the
laboratory and open the safe. Dump all the papers and money and whatever
else you find into the bags and then get out fast. Hop into the plane
and take off. When you're clear of the building, turn the heaters on it.
I want it melted down and the men and stuff inside with it. Don't leave
even a button unmelted. Get it?"
* * * * *
"Sure, chief," said Pete. He dusted his hands together.
"Now get going. Beat it."
The four men turned and filed out of the room, through the door leading
to the tumbledown warehouse where was hidden the streamlined metal ship.
Swiftly they entered it and the ship nosed gently upward, blasting out
through a broken, frameless skylight, climbing up and up, over the
gleaming spires of New York.
Back in the room hung with steel-cloth curtains, alone, Scorio lit a
cigarette and chuckled. "They won't have a chance," he said.
"Who won't?" asked a tiny voice from almost in front of him.
"Why, Manning and Page ..." said Scorio, and then stopped. The fire of
the match burned down and scorched his fingers. He dropped it. "Who
asked that?" he roared.
"I did," said the piping voice.
Scorio looked down. A three-inch man sat on a matchbox on the desk!
"Who are you?" the gangster shouted.
"I'm Manning," said the little man. "The one you're going to kill. Don't
you remember?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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