Save the Children by Don Pendleton

hell do you want?"
    "I'm supposed to take a look at the heating unit."
    "There's nothing wrong with the heating."
    "All I know is what my boss told me." Bolan shrugged. He pulled a blank scrap of paper from his pocket and pretended to refer to it. "A Mr. Parelli, I think it was. Wants the heating checked over. Guess he's fixing to live on board a while, huh?" Bolan glanced toward the choppy night waters of Lake Michigan. "Sure hope he ain't planning on going yachting tonight."
    The frown on the goon's face got deeper as he was forced to think. He turned to the cabin.
    "Hey, Jake," he called inside. "Come up here a minute, willya?"
    Another muscleman plodded up the steps and emerged onto the deck. Though cut from the same mold, Jake looked a little more intelligent. His gaze moved from his buddy to the mechanic and back again.
    "Who's this guy?" he asked Jake.
    "Says he's here to look at the heating."
    "The boss didn't say nothing to me about it. And why at nine at night?"
    At the foot of the gangplank the man in the coveralls spread his hands.
    "Hey, you don't want me on board, it's no big deal to me. I'll just go back and tell 'em to tell Mr. Parelli you said to forget it."
    "Wait a minute, wait a minute," Jake said hurriedly. "I didn't say you couldn't check out the heating, f'chrissake. Come on aboard."
    Bolan hid a slight grin.
    Nothing scared guys like this more than the idea of inadvertently offending their boss.
    He strode up the gangplank to the deck.
    Jake put out a big hand to stop him.
    "If you're a mechanic, where the hell are your tools? You ain't got no toolbox."
    "I'm not a mechanic, pal. I'm a technical diagnostician. I listen to the gizmos and look 'em over and then I tell the mechanics what to fix. My tools are all up here." Bolan tapped his temple with a forefinger.
    "Oh."
    Clearly, Jake did not know what to make of Bolan but he was not going to disagree yet, either.
    Bolan walked confidently to the companionway.
    Jake and the other hood followed close behind.
    "We're going to have to keep an eye on you," Jake growled.
    "Suit yourself," Bolan grunted. "What's the matter, afraid I'm going to plant a bomb or something?"
    Ominous silence from the two hoods was their only response.
    He cast a last glance around before descending into the cabin. There was practically no activity around the yacht club at this time of the year, at this time of night.
    A speedboat was moored on one side of the
Lady Denise
but it was empty. The slip on the other side was deserted.
    Good enough, thought Bolan.
    No civilians in the immediate vicinity.
    He glanced over his shoulder at the two hardguys, who were crowding down the steps behind him.
    "One of you flick up the thermostat for me," he said.
    "You do it, Hughie," said Jake. "I'll watch this guy."
    "Gotcha," Hughie rumbled.
    Bolan figured his strategy. When they reached the cabin, he would take care of these two, then search the yacht.
    He was now sure he would not find Parelli here.
    Boarding the yacht had been too easy.
    But he might find something that would clear up the strange feeling he had about what was happening tonight in Chicago.
    Hughie said to Bolan, conversationally, "You know, when you came up to the boat, I thought for a second you might be that Bolan guy. I heard he was around."
    Jake stopped short on the steps, causing Hughie to bump into him.
    "Why don't you keep your friggin' mouth shut?" he grated.
    Two steps below, the Executioner also stopped and turned toward the two with a querulous look on his face.
    "Bolan? You mean the Mafia guy?"
    "Nah, he fights the Mafia," Hughie corrected.
    "Will you shut up?" Jake snarled. "This dope's here to work on the boat, not to keep us company."
    "Hell, I didn't mean nothin'..." Hughie began.
    The sound of an approaching engine cut him off.
    Jake and Hughie exchanged puzzled glances, then turned around to head back up the steps.
    Jake paused long enough to glance at Bolan.
    "You go ahead to the engine room. We'll go see