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puppet lives."
"Yeah. But he's not out of the woods yet." Eyeing the lavender silk, Remo
said, "I hope you came with a few spare kimonos."
"You never hope that."
"Normally. But Smith is coming down. And he specifically asked that we avoid
attracting attention."
"It would be better if enemies knew that the House of Sinanju had come to
protect him."
"We can protect him in a quieter kimono than lavender."
When they reached the baggage carousel, the Master of Sinanju undertoned,
"There is the rude one."
Remo stared. "Isn't that Pepsie Dobbins?"
"I did not ask her unimportant name," sniffed Chiun.
"Yeah, that's her."
"She demanded my seat, claiming she was more important that me."
"Not since she blew the report on the President, from what I hear. People want
to see her strung up."
"I have put her in her place, do not fear."
"Good," said Remo, watching luggage start to drop down the chute.
"I have told her that I work for Emperor Smith and not the puppet President,"
added Chiun.
"That's good," said Remo, starting forward when he saw the first of a possible
fourteen lacquered steamer trunks come sliding down. Remo caught himself in
midstride.
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"Wait a minute! What did you say?"
"What I have just told you," said Chiun.
"You didn't?"
"I did."
"She's a freaking reporter."
"She is a freaking fool intoxicated on the smell of her own vanity. Now, do
not let my trunk be stolen by cretins."
Because the risk to the trunks was real, Remo started pulling them off the
belt as soon as they came by.
"Only three?" he asked when the conveyor belt finally stopped.
"I was in a hurry," said Chiun.
Remo looked up. There was no sign of Pepsie Dobbins.
But as he carried the three trunks out of the airport, Remo spotted her at a
cab stand. Unfortunately Pepsie spotted him, too.
She came up saying, "We meet again."
"I do not know you," said Chiun disdainfully.
Pepsie ignored the Master of Sinanju. "Who are you?" she asked Remo.
Noticing one hand stuffed in her big purse, Remo said, "Remo Wayne Bobbitt."
Pepsie made a notch with her eyebrows. "I know that name."
"I'm famous for my detached personality," said Remo. "It gets me on all the
talk shows."
Pepsie indicated Chiun. "Are you with him?"
"What's it to you?"
"He tells the most interesting stories."
"He has A-L-Z-H-I-M-E-R-S," said Remo, spelling out the word. When Pepsie
seemed slow getting it, he added. "You know, S-E-N-I-L-E."
"You left out the e, P-E-N-I-L-E one," sniffed Chiun.
Both Remo and Pepsie looked blank, and the Master of Sinanju cackled softly to
himself.
Pepsie said. "Want to share a ride to-"
"The White House," said Chiun.
"Pay no attention to him," Remo said hastily. "We are not going to the White
House."
"It is where we are headed," said Chiun.
"We're going to our hotel," insisted Remo, eyeing Pepsie.
"Which hotel is that?" asked Pepsie.
"Are you always this nosy?" asked Remo.
"I'm not nosy. I'm just trying to save a few dollars. Maybe we can split a
cab."
"You can have both halves of my cab," said Remo, setting down the three
steamer trunks and folding his arms stubbornly.
"What are you doing, Remo?" asked Chiun.
"Waiting for a cab I like."
Chiun gestured to the waiting line. "I see many cabs."
"I don't see one in a color I like," Remo said flatly, staring Pepsie Bobbins
full in the eye.
"What color are you looking for?" Pepsie wanted to know.
"One that doesn't clash with your hair," said Remo, turning his back on her.
After ten more minutes of fruitless conversation, Pepsie Bobbins got the
message and threw her traveling bag into the trunk of a cab and said, "ANC
Studios."
A man Remo mistook for a cabbie on break followed her into the cab and said to
the driver, "And take the direct route. I know how you guys rob unwary
tourists like us."
After the cab had departed, Remo turned to the Master of Sinanju and said,
"Nice move. Smith said to play it cool, and you practically tell the press
about the organization."
"No one would believe a woman who claims to be in one place while actually
standing in another."
The next cab in line slid up.
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"I thought you didn't recognize her," said Remo, opening the door.
"I did not want her to know that," said the Master of Sinanju as he slipped
into the rear of the cab.
DURING THE CAB RIDE to the studio, Pepsie Dobbins popped a fresh tape into her
cassette deck and said, "I've been dying to do this. Give me a crash course in
assassinology."
She clicked on the recorder and held it up to the cab driver's face. The
driver in the back of the cab, not the one driving.
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