'Real American of you.'

He shrugged. 'Look, I don't defend everything about this business. But there are plenty worse. IBM, Exxon, Union Carbide - these are the real monsters, the real exploiters. I don't steal. I don't lie. I satisfy a societal need.'

Myron had a quick comeback, but Win stopped him with a shake of his head. He was right. What was the point in antagonizing the guy? 'Could we have the name and address, please?' Myron asked.

Nickler opened a drawer behind him and pulled out a file. 'Is he in some sort of trouble?'

'We just need to talk to him.'

'Can you tell me why?'

Win spoke to Nickler for the first time. 'You don't want to know.'

Fred Nickler hesitated, saw Win's steady gaze, then nodded. 'The company is called ABC. They have a p.o. box in Hoboken, number 785.

The guy's name is Jerry. I don't know anything else about him.'

'Thanks,' Myron said, standing. 'One more question if you don't mind:

Have you ever seen the girl in the ad?'

'No.'

'You're sure?'

'Positive.'

If you do or if you think of anything else, will you give me a call?' Myron handed him a card.

Nickler looked as if he wanted to ask a question, his gaze continually drifting back to Kathy's photograph, but he settled for saying 'Sure.'

Once outside, Win asked, 'What do you think?'

'He's lying,' Myron said.

Back in the car Myron asked, 'Can I use the phone?'

Win nodded, his foot not slackening on the pedal. The speedometer was hovering at seventy-five. Myron watched it as if it were a taxi meter on a long ride, keeping his gaze averted from the blur of a street.

Myron dialed the office. Esperanza answered the phone after one ring.

'MB SportReps.'

MB SportReps. The M stood for Myron, the B for Bolitar. Myron had thought of the name himself, though he rarely bragged about it. 'Did Otto Burke or Larry Hanson call?'

'No. But you have lots of messages.'

'Nothing from Burke or Hanson?'

'You deaf?'

I'll be back in a little while.'

Myron hung up. Otto and Larry should have called by now. They were avoiding him. The question was, why? 'Trouble?' Win asked.

'Maybe.'

'I believe we need a rejuvenation.'

Myron looked up. He recognized the street immediately. 'Not now, Win.'

'Now.'

The have to get back to the office.'

'It'll keep. You need inner energy. You need focus. You need balance.'

'I hate it when you talk like that.'

Win smiled, pulling into the parking lot. 'Come along now. I'd hate to kick your ass right here in the car.'

The sign read master kwan's tab kwon do school. Kwan was nearing seventy now and rarely conducted classes any longer, choosing instead to hire well-tutored underlings to handle that work. Master Kwan stayed in his high-tech office, surrounded by four television screens so he could monitor the classes. Occasionally he leaned forward and barked something into a microphone, scaring some poor student into attention.

Like something out of The Wizard of Oz.

If Master Kwan's English improved a bit, it might reach the level of pidgin. Win had brought him over from Korea fourteen years ago, when Win was only seventeen. It seemed to Myron that Master Kwan had spoken better English back then.

Win and Myron changed into their white uniforms called dobok. Both men wrapped black belts around their stomachs. Win was a sixth-degree black belt, about as high a ranking as anybody in the United States. He had been studying tai kwon do since the age of seven. Myron had picked it up in college, giving him a dozen years of studying and a third-degree black belt.

They approached Master Kwan's door, paused in the doorway until he acknowledged their presence, then bowed at the waist. 'Good afternoon, Master Kwan,' they said in unison.

Kwan smiled toothlessly. 'You here early.'

'Yes, sir,' Win replied.

'Need help?'

'No, sir.'

Kwan dismissed them by spinning back to his television screens. Myron

and Win bowed once more and moved into the private dojang for the upper-ranked black belts. They began with meditation, something Myron had never quite gotten the full grasp of. Win loved it. He did it for at least an hour a day. Win folded himself into a lotus position. Myron settled for sitting Indian style. Both men closed their eyes, placed their thumbs on the palm directly below the pinkie, and tilted their palms toward the ceiling.

They rested their hands on their knees. Instructions echoed through Myron's mind like a mantra. Back straight. Bottom of tongue curled up against the back of the upper teeth. He breathed in through his nose for six seconds, concentrating on pushing the air down into the pit of his gut, making sure that his chest did not move, that only his abdomen expanded. Then he held the air down deep, counting to himself to prevent his mind from wandering. After seven seconds he slowly released the air through the mouth for a ten count, making sure to empty completely his contracting gut. Then he waited four seconds before breathing in again.

Win did this painlessly. He did not count. His mind went black. Myron always counted, needing it to keep his mind from wandering back to the problems of the day - especially on a day like today. But in spite of himself he began to relax, to feel the tension leave his body with every long exhalation. It almost tingled.

They meditated for ten minutes before Win opened his eyes and said, 'Barro.' Korean for stop.

They performed deep stretching exercises for the next twenty minutes.

Win had the flexibility of a ballet dancer, performing full splits effortlessly.

Myron had gained a lot of flexibility since taking up tai kwon do. He believed it had helped him gain six inches on his vertical leap in college. He could almost do a full split, but he couldn't hold it long.

In short Myron was flexible; Win was Gumby.

They went through their forms or poomse next, a complicated set of moves not unlike a violent dance step. What many exercise-crazed junkies never realized is that the martial arts are the ultimate aerobic workout. You are in constant motion -jumping, turning, spinning - propelling both arms and both legs nonstop for a half-hour at a time. Low block and front kick, high block and punch, middle block and round-house kick. Inside blocks, outside blocks, knife-hand, fists, palm strikes, knees and elbows. It was an exhausting and exhilarating workout.

Win moved through his routine flawlessly - ever the contradiction and deception. See Win on the street, and people said arrogant WASPy wimp who couldn't bruise a peach with his best punch. See him in a dojang, and he struck fear and awe. Tai kwon do is considered a martial art. Art. The word was not used by accident. Win was an artist, the best Myron had ever seen.

Myron remembered the first time he'd seen Win demonstrate his talent.

They were freshmen in college. A group of large football players decided to