“Universal Services at your service,” he said, grabbing my arm. “Want a drink, pal?”
“I want transport for a nude blonde,” I said, hugging him, and took a slap on the back from Mike that staggered me. “What did you do—pull the house down?”
“Hooked a couple of chains to the window and yanked it out with a ten-ton truck,” Kerman said, grinning from ear to ear. “A little crude, but effective. Where’s the blonde?”
Where the mess-grill window had been there was now a gaping hole and shattered brickwork.
I hauled Kerman into Anona’s room while Finnegan guarded the corridor. It took us about ten seconds to wrap the unconscious girl in a sheet and carry her out of the room.
“Rear-guard action, Mike,” I said as we swept past him to the hole in the wall. “Shoot if you have to.”
“Sling her over my shoulder,” Kerman said, twittering with excitement. “There’s a ladder against the wall.”
I helped him climb up on the tottering brickwork. A naked arm and leg hung limply near his face.
“Now I know why guys join the Fire Service,” he said, as he began his cautious climb down the ladder.
Below I could see a large truck parked near the house and at the foot of the ladder I spotted Paula. She waved to me.