Peking & The Tulip Affair by Nick Carter

and close. It was stifling in the closet, and he started to sweat.
The
man's voice came to him, loud and guttural. A slur on words due to whisky, too much whisky. There was some laughter, forced laughter on Lotus's part. Then, finally, they came into the bedroom, and Nick had a clear view of the man.
    Tall, with wide shoulders. Handsome. Dark brown hair. Maximilian Able. A captain in Bormann's secret army. He started to take off his plain uniform. "A night made for love, my Chinese beauty. That couple was downstairs again. You should rent them your room. Make some money on the side. Five marks an hour." He laughed and removed his shirt. There was a scar above his left hip.
    Lotus took off her pajamas and, naked, she crawled into bed. The man stared at her greedily. He took off his shorts and followed her into bed.
    Nick took the pen from his jacket breast pocket. He watched the man fumble, paw, kiss, and prepare for the invasion of the girl's body.
    Nick selected the right moment — when the man was too engrossed in what he was doing to be on his guard — to step out of the closet and approach the bed. He jabbed at the man's neck and clicked the cap once. It was all over, and Lotus disengaged herself. She ran into the bathroom and Nick turned the man over. If he didn't know better he would have sworn the man was dead. Lotus came back and put on her pajamas.
    Nick stripped and put on the man s uniform.
    "What are you doing?" she wanted to know.
    "When he doesn't return they'll be looking for him. That couple downstairs saw him come up. And he may have told some of his buddies that he was coming here"
    Lotus nodded her head wisely. "So you are going to leave here, pretending to be him. If the couple downstairs are questioned they will say they saw him leave."
    "Right. I'll double back and come up the back way. Then well work on our friend here." Nick patted the man's belly. "I'll bet hell have a lot to say."
    Nick went down and walked out the front door. The couple were close together, whispering. He bumped into them, keeping his face down, mumbled something in German, and kept on going, pretending he was drunk. When he was two blocks away, he made a wide circle, hoping he wouldn't get lost in doubling back. The streets were narrow, and he threaded his way carefully till he was in back of the apartment house. He went up the back way and Lotus kissed him as if he had returned from a long journey.
    He stripped off the uniform and dressed the man and then put on his own clothes. "You'd better wait in the other room," he advised her. Without a word, Lotus went away.
    Nick found some cord and bound the man's wrists and ankles to the bed. He put the gun on the night table and then used the pen again, this time injecting the man with the antidote.
    The German started to breathe again. He opened his eyes in wonder and then anger.
    Nick picked up the gun and showed it to the officer. "I'll blow your brains out if there's an outcry. Do you understand me?"
    The man's eyes narrowed with hate.
    "I have some questions to ask you, and you're going to answer them. Do you understand?"
    Stubbornly, the man shook his head.
    Nick grinned wolfishly. He put the gun aside and then went to work on the German with his hands. The man gasped and blacked out.
    Nick went to the bathroom, filled a glass with water, went back to the bedroom and tossed the water in the man's face. The eyes opened slowly and stared up at Nick.
    "All you got was a sample," Nick said. "I'll teach you what pain really is." His hands got busy again. Once the man started to scream and Nick dug two fingers in his windpipe.
    Nick worked up a good sweat before the stubbornness left the German. The officer finally nodded his head and answered freely as Nick threw questions at him.
    Nick used the pen once again and the man went under. Nick went into the front room and sank into a chair. Lotus brought him a glass of rice wine. "I heard him groaning. It chilled my blood."
    Nick drained