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.""Perhaps the bread is poisoned," Chiun said as he followed Remo from theoffice."We've got to get to the embassy," Remo informed Lupe."I will drive you," she said."Thanks, but no thanks.Just call us a cab.""I am your host and protector while you are in Mexico," Lupe said stiffly."Thanks again, but we don't need protection."Lupe's hard eyes flicked toward the Master of Sinanju."The old one.He lookspale.""Don't let that fool you," Remo retorted."He's healthier than I am.Right,Chiun?"The Master of Sinanju said nothing.He sniffed the air with concern.Remo looked more closely."You do look a little pale, at that.""I do not like this place," Chiun said again."Fine," Remo returned."Let's be on our way."Officer Guadalupe Mazatl led them out to the drop-off area, where she flaggeda cab."No official vehicle?" Remo asked as they got in."An FJP jeep might arrive in five minutes or five hours.This taxi is herenow."They pulled into traffic a moment later, and were soon traveling through arundown area of scabrous stucco buildings; there was a general air of forlornhopelessness about the people walking along the streets.Remo kept an eye on the traffic, looking for bread trucks.Smith had told himthe brand name.What was it again?"You ever heard of Bimbo Bread?" he asked Lupe suddenly."Si.It is a well-known brand here in the Distrito Federal.Why?""Oh, nothing," Remo said evasively.They turned on an artery called Viaducto.Remo wondered if it was Spanish for"viaduct," and if it was, why it was called that.After a while the avenue sank into the ground and their view of the city wascut off by ugly gray concrete walls lifting on either side, like a viaductthat carried traffic instead of water.The city was incredibly congested, Remo saw.Noxious exhaust poured from thetailpipe of every car and truck.It was worse than New York or L.A.But therePage 50ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlwas something different about it, too.As they turned off Viaducto, under a huge electric pinwheel of a sign-"TOMECOCA-COLA"-back into ground-level traffic, a blue VW Beetle slithered out oftheir way, causing a chain reaction of near-collisions.Their cabdriver kept going as if this were an everyday occurrence.Remo lookedback.Miraculously, no one was hurt.Then it hit him."Don't the cars have horns down here?""Si," Lupe said."Why do you ask?""In New York, you'd hear a million car horns during a near-disaster likethat."A faint smile touched the corners of Lupe's lips."Perhaps we are more civilized in Mexico than you would think," she said."Matter of fact," Remo added, "I don't hear any horns.It's unnatural."The cabdriver spoke up."Many drivers, senior, they carry pistolas.""So much for civilization," Remo said smugly.Lupe Mazatl said nothing.In the front seat, beside the driver, the Master ofSinanju was equally silent.Remo looked around for trucks.He saw none that said "Bimbo Bread." Then herealized that it might not say "bread" at all."What's the Spanish for 'bread'?" he asked Lupe."Pan.""How about 'bimbo'?"" 'Bimbo'?""Yeah.'Bimbo.' What's that in English?"Lupe shrugged her uniformed shoulders." 'Bimbo' is.'bimbo.' ""In the U.S.a bimbo is a girl who's not very bright."Lupe's brown forehead puckered."She is dark?""No, unintelligent.Dumb.You know, stupid.""Ah, senorita estupida.'Stupid girl.' That is what you wish to know?""Maybe," Remo said, frowning.He didn't think that anyone would invent a brandname that meant "stupid girl." Maybe Lupe was right.Maybe "bimbo" was just"bimbo." He decided on another tack."What color are the Bimbo Bread trucks down here?"A dark notch formed between Guadalupe's thick brows."Why this concern with Bimbo Bread?" she asked suspiciously."Nothing special," Remo said innocently."Just trying to soak up localcustoms.""Why do you not ask about our fine culture, then? Our great city? Do you knowthat Mexico City is the most populous in the world?"" I can believe it," Remo said, looking out at the congestion.They werestopped at an intersection where a traffic cop in a chocolate-and-creamuniform was attempting to unsnarl traffic with a white baton.It lookedhopeless.The red "ALTO" signs were being ignored in both directions."We have the longest avenue in the world here in Mexico City," Lupe saidproudly."It is called the Avenida Insurgentes.And our Chapultepec Park isunrivaled for its magnificence.""Skip the tourist-brochure stuff;" Remo said."I'm already here."When they got going again, Remo noticed that the Master of Sinanju was staringout the window, his face a frown of wrinkles, like a parchment death mask lefttoo long in the sun."You've been awful quiet, Little Father," he said solicitously." I have a headache," Chiun's voice was muted."You!" Remo said aghast, and the shock in his face was not lost on GuadalupeMazatl."Is this serious?" she asked."Is it?" Remo asked Chiun solicitously."This is a foul place," Chiun said brittlely." I have a headache and mybreathing rhythms are not properly centered.""Does it hurt behind the eyes?" Lupe asked.Chiun turned."Yes.What do you know of this?"Page 51ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html"It is a pollution headache," Lupe explained."Many turistas get these things.They are not used to the thin air or the smog.Our smog, I regret to say, isalso famous.Mexico lies in a high valley and the mountains that surround itform a natural-how you say-cop.""Cup, not cop," Remo said absently.He was looking at Chiun.He had never seenhis teacher ill a day in his life.As old and frail as the Master of Sinanjuappeared, under the wrinkles and semitranslucent skin, he was a human dynamo."Are you going to be all right, Little Father?""We must leave this place as soon as we can," Chiun croaked."The air is badand the oxygen thinner than Tibet's.""Soon as we accomplish our mission," Remo assured him."Mission?" Lupe asked."Did I ask you what color a Bimbo Bread truck is?" Remo said quickly."Si.And you would not tell me why you thought this important.""Forget it," Remo said."An idle question.""Blue," said the Master of Sinanju."Blue and white."Remo leaned forward."How do you know that?""Because there is one in front of us."Remo followed Chiun's pointing finger-it trembled almost imperceptibly-and sawthe back of a blue-and-white bread truck.The word "Bimbo" was plainlyvisible, as were a loaf of bread and a fluffy white cartoon bear."Driver," Remo said urgently, "try to pull up on the driver's side of thattruck.""What is this?" Lupe demanded."Later," Remo said."Driver, do it!"The traffic was thick, but the driver tried.He jockeyed in and out of thetraffic flow with a kind of wild precision.At a traffic light, they pulled up alongside the truck.Remo rolled down the window, getting a faceful of noxious warm air.He put hishead out, but all he could see was a patch of sky reflected in the breadtruckdriver's mirror."Can you see anything, little Father?" he demanded.The Master of Sinanju put his head out.He looked up, and Remo saw his beardhair tremble.His tiny mouth dropped open.And before Remo could react, Chiun burst out of the car, shaking a tinyfurious fist."You!" he shrieked."Traitor!"Remo started to open his door, calling, "Chiun, what are you doing?"The bread truck surged ahead, cutting off the taxi.The Master of Sinanjuleapt after it
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