The Dagger Affair - McDaniel David - Страница 30

Illya sprinted on ahead, then stopped and turned. "Here is the place," he called, an odd edge to his voice. "You're almost there."

Horne, gasping and disheveled, kept coming. He looked up to see Illya with glazed eyes. He was thirty yards away, then twenty, then fifteen. Then he cracked. "No — No!" he gasped. "For God's sake — let me loose! I'll tell you — anything you want to know! Let me go! Quick! Quick!"

Napoleon was already beside him, key in hand. He worked the padlock and the chains slipped free. He caught one end of it and pulled the loop free of the cable. Illya whistled shrilly, and the Rolls pulled away from the curb and started toward them as Horne sagged to the street and lay there, gasping and shaking.

"Help him in, please," said Baldwin. "Irene, drive back to California and Van Ness. He may decide not to talk after all, and the cable does run all night."

"Of course, dear. It will be nice to know all about DAGGER, but I still wonder what would have happened..."

Meanwhile, Illya and Napoleon were firing questions at Horne, who lay sobbing with relief in a corner of the back seat. They learned the names of his associates, the systems through which he received his orders, the story of how they had robbed the warehouse with the aid of the manager, a convert of Keldur's; they learned everything except the location of the DAGGER headquarters and the Energy Damper, which Horne had not seen but had heard about. He wasn't too clear what it did, but it would make the world a better place — this much he knew.

"Well, it would certainly solve the overpopulation problem," Napoleon admitted.

Section IV: "The Hand That Held The DAGGER."

Chapter 13: "I Have A Special Tour In Mind."

"How many Energy Damper units does Kim Keldur presently employ?" Baldwin asked.

"None. There were only three, and right now all his time and attention are going into making the Big One."

"Three?"

"Yeah. The first working model was taken to New York and used on Solo's car by Garnet. That was big and heavy. Then they made a miniaturized version with more power — and non-directional — and left that at Boulder Dam. And Chernik wired up a test circuit which had all the properties of the Big One except power."

Irene leaned back slightly and asked, "Dear, do you want to look at the address he gave us, or shall we go home?"

"Oh, look at it by all means," said Baldwin. "They may have missed him by now, and Keldur should know better than to underestimate our inventiveness in securing information. I only hope we're in time."

He turned to Napoleon and Illya. "Keldur will probably not be using the Energy Damper as a weapon, offensive or defensive. But he has all the resources of the field agent's kits, plus a number of special order items. And there are, according to this gentleman, on the order of seventy-five to one hundred people in this area under the direct or indirect orders of DAGGER. Most of them know as little about the actual organization as will allow them to fulfill their duties."

"Whatever he told you," Napoleon suggested, "subtract about fifteen from it. We've had a very busy evening."

Baldwin produced a large gold watch from his vest pocket and consulted it. "At this hour it may take a while to call up support. But time is definitely of the essence. Irene..."

"Yes, dear. We are on the route to South San Francisco now."

"Thank you. Mr. Solo — Mr. Kuryakin — it is quite late, but would you care to investigate?"

"I wouldn't miss it!"

"Yes, we owe them a visit."

"How long will it take to arrange support?"

"It is being arranged for. It may be as much as half an hour, allowing for travel time," said Illya, ostentatiously replacing the transceiver no one had seen him bring out.

"Good. Irene..."

"Yes, dear. ETA about seven minutes."

"Thank you."

* * *

The location was a small electronics store on Grand, a few blocks off the freeway. Horne had been put to sleep peacefully with an injection of something Baldwin had taken out of the cocktail cabinet, and was left snoring gently in the back seat.

Irene cruised slowly past the address, and pulled into the alley behind it.

The store was dark and silent as they got out and approached the back door. Baldwin stepped forward, murmuring, "Allow me..."

He bent over the door, leaning his cane against the wall, and the shadow of his body hid his actions from them. But some fifteen seconds later the door swung open silently.

He straightened, and picked up his cane. "It was necessary to detach one of our protective devices. Mr. Keldur is foolishly attempting to use against us equipment developed by the Hierarchy, perhaps still unaware that we're now working against him. But I fear we will find little. The birds appear to have flown." He stepped aside, and gestured. "My own agility is somewhat impaired. Will you precede me?"

Napoleon's gun nestled lightly in his hand as he stuck his head around the corner of the doorframe. The room was in total darkness. A thin beam from Illya's pencil flash flitted around the room, showing workbenches, racks, shelves and cabinets, all empty. The drawers were open, the cabinet doors swung wide. The door into the front of the shop stood slightly ajar, and Baldwin examined the hinges, top, and bottom carefully before opening it.

Irene's large five-cell flash shone around.

The counter had been cleared, and the shelves were as empty of stock as the back room.

Illya broke the silence. "I think we're late." He reached for the switch near the door, and Baldwin spoke.

"Mr. Kuryakin — the light switch may be wired to a bomb. I think the flashlights are quite sufficient under the circumstances."

Illya's hand dropped, and his lips tightened a little. He scanned his light along a workbench. It was charred in little lines as though by soldering irons carelessly laid down, and little shiny flecks of metal caught the light and squinted back. A long shadow appeared in the beam, and Napoleon reached for the little shielded capacitor that cast it.

Irene started to say something, but Baldwin cleared his throat and spoke with a voice of infinite patience.

"Mr. Solo — if you're going to continue toying with things, I fear we must leave you alone, and quickly. Please try to understand that the shop has quite probably been very well booby-trapped. They would not have cleared out so completely if they had not been expecting us — and they would certainly have left something for us to find. We can do no more here; in the morning I will send a few technicians out to check the entire site over carefully. And in case you are interested, that is not a condenser, but a pressure-sensitive bomb of sufficient power to destroy your hand and necessitate amputation of most of your arm."

Napoleon drew his hand back as smoothly and casually as he had extended it. He turned politely to face his host, and said, "I bow to your superior knowledge." He bowed slightly, and started for the door.

Illya paused a moment. "Mr. Baldwin, what is the likelihood that they would have left something?shall we say, a little more personal?"

"Not unlikely at all. If we are allowed to leave here quietly, I shall be most thankful and moderately surprised. How soon will the support from your people arrive?"

Illya glanced at his watch, and canted his head doubtfully. "Perhaps another ten minutes."

Napoleon stepped outside, and something slapped into the doorframe. He stepped back inside. "You can save both the thanks and the surprise. Either I've just been shot at again, or you have .38 caliber mosquitoes coming up from the salt flats."