Tao – The way to be followed, the right conduct, doctrine or method. (Oxford English Dictionary).

My thanks as always to Jan, Angie, Nelekke and Delia, who never fail to review, and drive me ever on.

And with special thanks to Jan who has helped so much.

Chapter 4

We spent about three hours going over everything Colonel Windsor thought we needed to know about what Traff was doin' in South America. Apparently he'd been asked to go down there to look at some explosive that'd been confiscated from a terrorist organisation. He'd been asked to go by the Argentinean military. They said they'd heard about his work and were impressed. That much was true. He'd gotten a bit of a reputation for himself and travelled the world advising armies and governments. So he went down to Buenos Aires and kept in touch with base for about ten days. But then, things went quiet. At first, Windsor thought there may be bad telephone links, or maybe Traff was out away from the city and not near a phone.

When three days had gone by and still no one had heard from him, Windsor started getting worried and tried to speak to the General in Argentina who had asked for Traff in the first place. The General said that Traff had been unwell with a bad head cold and was being looked after off base. Not to worry, everything was alright. But Windsor, to his credit wasn't buying it. Thing was, there wasn't really much he could do about it, so they had to sit back and wait.

After another two days of waiting, there was still no news, and when Windsor tried to get hold of the General, he was unavailable. By this time, Windsor knew something was wrong, but again, he couldn't do anything about it. Then they got the note from Traff. He showed it to me.

It was definitely Traff's writing. I'd recognise the scrawl anywhere. Looked like a drunken spider had danced across the page. But it also looked pretty shaky. All it said was:

GRIM HOUSE. SPARKING COMPANY EXCEPT TANGO MAN. GET CURLY.

Not a lot to go on, but whatever it all meant, it didn't sound too good. I realised he wouldn't have been able to put anything specific in there in case the person carrying the message got caught.

'Do we know what any of it means?' Hutch asked, looking at the crumpled piece of paper.

I looked at Sam an' he looked back at me. We knew what part of it meant.

'Sparking company. Know what that means' I told him. 'We used to use that term in 'Nam when someone got the electric shock treatment. Means they're torturin' him' I finished grimly.

I saw Hutch's fist curl round an' get whiter, but he was controlled. 'What about the rest?' he asked.

Sam shook his head. 'The only lead we have is the reference to Tango man. There's a priest down in Buenos Aires who we have reason to believe is helping dissidents and their families. He's called Father Arturo Gardel'.

I must have looked blank, coz that's how I felt. Sam saw the look and explained like I was a first grader.

'Carlos Gardel is regarded in Argentina as the father of the modern tango. So, this Gardel, we think, must be Tango man. As for the reference to the grim house, I can only surmise that Traff is being held somewhere and is being pumped for information. That's why we need to try to get him out as soon as possible'.

I shuddered. Wouldn't want anyone to be tortured, but when its one of your friends, well, I just wanted to get on the plane there and then. Hutch as usual was the cool headed one.

'Do we know how to find Gardel?' he asked.

Sam nodded. We have a contact name down there. Juanita Cortez. She runs a mission in the La Boca district of Buenos Aires. She knows where to find Gardel and we can let her know to expect you.

Windsor took over.

'Gentlemen, I know Colonel Trafford is your friend, but you may be in considerable danger if you go down there looking for him. I'm sure your superior at the police station has explained that you would have no back up from the American government while you are there. It just isn't possible.

I nodded, showing him we knew the score.

He went on. 'We can, however, make sure you get to Buenos Aires in style. I can arrange for two first class flights on Argentinean Airways to Buenos Aires. Under assumed names, of course! If and when you find Colonel Trafford, contact me and I will arrange the same passage back'.

I liked this guy more an' more. Wow, first class. Don't think a Starsky's ever flown first. Not even Nicky when he was running the drug scam.

'We can arrange to have a message sent to Juanita Cortez telling her when you will be arriving, and you can take it from there. But I must stress on you both to be careful. Miss Cortez will fill you in on the current political situation when you get there'.

And with that, Windsor stood, shuffled the papers he'd brought with him, doin' that newsreader type shuffle, then snapped us both a quick salute and left. That left Hutch me and Sam in the small room. We let out a collective sigh like we'd been holdin' our breath.

'Wow, some guy' Hutch said staring at the door Windsor had just gone through. For Hutch to say that was quite somethin' I've never seen him phased by anyone, 'cept my Ma, but then my Ma would make the President do as he's told.

'He's OK' Sam said. 'He's officious and loud, but he does care about his men. I have a lot of time for him. He never asks us to do something he won't do himself an' he's come up through the ranks'.

I nodded knowing that did mean a lot. There were so many guys who got a university education an' thought they could run the world. It takes guts to promote up through the ranks an' while some guys can make good officers, not all of 'em cut it as good leaders. Sounded like Windsor was a good leader.

'So what do we need to take down there?' I was thinking out loud. 'Passports, pesos, map of Buenos Aires, air tickets'.

'I'll get those booked for you' Sam said.

'What about directions and address to Cortez's mission?' Hutch asked, going with the flow.

Sam was way ahead of us. He handed us a piece of paper with both the address and directions on it. He grinned. 'Knew you'd do it' he said. 'Thanks, from me an' Traff, and his team. We miss him'.

I nodded. He was a likeable guy and after all he'd done for me, I'd do anything for him. And I knew Hutch would as well. Hutch said Traff an' me looked like twins. We're the same height, give or take an' the same build, although I need to gain back a few pounds. He has the same curly hair as me, but its black not brown. An' where my eyes are dark blue, his are the brightest green I've ever see. He called 'em Irish eyes. They sure got the girls attention when we were out. He just needed to smile at 'em an' flash those eyes an' they were like putty in his hands.

Before we left, Sam took a good hard look at me. 'You OK Curly? Ya look a little thinner than when we last met' he said. 'Ya been sick or somethin'?'

I shook my head perhaps a little too vigorously coz he gave me a disbelievin' look. 'Nah, the Blintz has had me on one of those desiccated liver 'n' wheat germ diets' I lied an' changed the subject quickly. Don't think he believed me for a heartbeat, but he didn't push the point.

We spent another hour getting' as much information and directions as we could, then said bye to Sam. He came with us to collect our guns again and helped check us out of the base. It was much easier getting' out than getting' in had been. Then we were away and on the road again.

Hutch was quiet for a while before he asked what I knew he'd ask.

'Why didn't you tell 'em you'd been injured? They could have got someone else. I'd have gone with someone else. Jeez Starsk, its not been quite six months yet. You're not even back to work full time'.

I wondered when he'd realise. 'An' if I'd told Windsor, d'ya think he'd have agreed for us to go? I saw Sam lookin' at me. He'd guessed somethin' was wrong, but he didn't say. An' he didn't push when I gave him the crap about the diet. In the Army if you're hurt it doesn't mean the same. If you're not bad enough to be in the hospital, it don't count. Hutch I gotta do this for Traff, you know that. We'll be OK an' I promise I'll be careful. I'll take all my meds with me an' ya can feed 'em to me when I need 'em. Besides I still can't go the night without the pain meds anyway, an' I know ya love playin' nursemaid'.

He knew I meant it an' what's more he'd known me long enough to know it wasn't any use arguing. I was goin' he was goin' and that was that.

'What are we gonna do for guns, weapons?' he asked getting' all practical again. 'We can't take ours on the plane, and even if we could, I'm not sure we'd get 'em through the security they're gonna have. If they're so hung up on checking folks out, they're not gonna say "sure you can bring your Colt in here"'.

I'd thought about that. 'We may not need 'em' I said, not really believing it. 'In any case they've gotta have guns down there. We just gotta get hold of a couple. I'm sure Juanita will know how to get hold of one or two. She seems that sort of gal'.

Hutch nodded. 'She sure seems interesting' he said and I had to agree.