Control (48 page)

***

“
…
PARK
…
”
Billy Boy said.

Trude
stood beside the giant. The perspiration had never been this thick, the pain this evident—but the connection had never been this strong. It was almost like taking part in an ordinary conversation.
“
The time?
”

“
…
FOUR
…”

That was the moment when Bell went wandering. Down in the lower area, near Fifth, near the trees, by the pond.
“
Kill him,
”
Trude
said then.
“
Now, right now, kill Bell.
”

“
…
NO!
…
”

It was the first time he had ever been questioned by a test person. For a moment he was halted by the single negative syllable. Then he moved close and began to whisper at first, gradually building.
“
Evil.

The man is evil.

The man must die.

Bell.

Bell is evil.

Bell must be taken.

Taken away.
”

The breathing was deepening again. Heaving desperate inhales.
Trude
continued his hymn.

“
You

You are? the blessed.

Taking evil away is blessed.

You must take evil away.

Now.

Bell must be taken.

Taken and killed.

Kill Bel
l!”

Trude
waited, watching as the giant
’
s body trembled. Then:

“
… KILL BELL …
”

The shadows were deepening, the park beginning to empty, but Aleck could not bring himself to return to his boardinghouse quite yet. The tranquillity of the place held him—hundreds of species of trees, all brought here to this magical place in the center of a giant city. Above him, he saw some red-winged blackbirds changing branches.

Tomorrow he would find peace—tomorrow the patent would be in and over and done. No more worry. He had no idea of the future of his telephone but he felt confident there would be uses.

Some, assuredly, would benefit the deaf.

Behind him now, the half-man was studying his sad reflection in the pond. Some departing citizens gave him money, though he did not openly solicit anything. Hard, Bell decided, if you were a veteran, a beggar, to suddenly alert the public that all you wanted was some quiet in the park.

Bell turned for a moment, peered toward the west side of the park. Somewhere, he had heard, ground was already broken for what was to be a splendid building for the wealthy. Enormous apartments with high ceilings and workmen imported from Italy. It was doubted that the rich would want to live in such proximity to each other, much less would they want to live as far away from everything else of interest in
’
the city as 72nd Street.

And then Bell heard his name.

Or thought he did, at any rate. Now it came again, from some distance through the chill twilight air.
“
…
Bell
…
Bell
…
”

Aleck peered across the pond and there, although he could not see the face clearly, was a small man calling his name over and over. I must know him, Aleck thought, but it was too far and too dim to see clearly. He had friends in New York, but a few only, and this clearly was not one of them.

Perhaps a fellow Bostonian. More than likely. The calling continued on.
“
… Bell… Bell…
”
No one else was answering. There were, in fact, few around to answer. He must mean me, Aleck decided, but what a fool he
’
d be if such was not the case.

Risking it, Aleck raised his hand, shouted
“
Over here.
”

The small figure broke into a run around the pond. Aleck waited where he was. A wild run. The fellow was certainly in a terrible hurry. And when he was halfway round the pond, Aleck was fairly sure he had made a mistake, that in fact, he did not know the fellow at all. When the man was less than twenty yards away, Aleck knew without question it was most definitely a mistake, because no one of his acquaintance had the wild-eyed look of this one running now.

The size of the mistake Aleck realized only when it was too late for him to move, and he saw the knife brandished so tightly in the tiny madman
’
s hand …

Theo stood in Central Park and turned around and around and around. It had been so essential that he get to it, and now that he
was there, now that the great trees surrounded him, he hadn
’
t the least idea what to do.

So he turned.

Now a departing couple were looking at him, the man so well-dressed, cravat and cashmere coat, the woman lovely, clinging tight, laughing.

I better stop turning, Theo decided. I think she
’
s laughing at me.

So he stopped.

What to do, what to do?

He took out the knife, fingered it.

Why the knife?

It was sharp. Cook kept the kitchen immaculate, and this knife was honed.

But why the knife?

He looked toward the pond, as if to find solutions in the dark waters. None were there.
Pond
was a fair word, if you were a poet. There were some rhymes—
blond, bond, beyond—that
were useful, but few that were more than that.
Frond
was difficult to make anything but obvious—a frond in a pond, who cared? If you were a poet, a real poet, then that was all you did, you cared, nothing mattered so much to you as words and their grace and their sounds and the pictures they brought forth when they were linked unexpectedly—

—and I am a poet, Theo remembered. A real one.

So why am I here with a knife in my hand?

What use had a poet for a knife?

Not a bad opening line, that:
“
What use had the poet for a knife? What use had the child for a life?
”
—no, wrong turn, sim
pleminded, no echoes, wrong, wrong—

—
Kell
filled his mind then.

Theo could feel his heart. Was that a word?
Kel
l
?
Did it have a meaning? It was in his brain, it was filling his brain, his head was swollen with the constant repetition:
Kell KELL. KELL
!!!

Theo began to turn again, his hands pressing against his ears to still the nonsense word—

—then the word divided, the last letters going with a name, the first with the word
“
kill.
”
“
Kill Bell. Kill Bell.
”

Why?

And who was Bell?

The why didn
’
t matter. Bell was evil. Bell was evil and had to be taken away.

Now he understood the knife.

“
Bell,
”
Theo shouted.
“
Bell. Bell. Bell. Bell.
”
He turned toward the pond and went on with his litany.
“
Bell. BELL.
”

Now, from across the pond, from a large bearded man, a raised hand, the shouted words
“
Over here.
”

Theo began to run. He had never been a runner but he was racing now. He had never been fast but he was flying now. He was not surprised. He had never been strong but the pigs had been sent flying, the policeman had fallen senseless to the floor.

Theo went even faster. Halfway round the pond, halfway more to go. Faster. Now the knife was in his hand. Quarter to go now. He could see the evil ahead of him. He could see fear in the evil eyes. He could see the evil wanting to move, but no time, as Theo leapt with a wild cry into the air and landed on the much larger man, and together they went staggering back as Theo struck with the knife, could feel the blade rip the thick overcoat, slice through it toward the heart…

As Billy Boy began to roll from side to side, Trude watched, wondering what it all meant. Now the giant
’
s hands were moving —one moment they made fists, the next the fingers spread and were attacking his own throat.

It must be a reaction to what we
’
ve done, Trude decided. He had never had control this long or this closely.

That
’
s it. Yes. It must be simply that A normal reaction to what we
’
ve accomplished. Then Billy Boy began to cry out wildly.

“
…
STOY
…
STOY
…
STOY.

What in the world was that supposed to mean? Trude wondered. Now there were other sounds. Pouring out.

“
…
UZ-BEET-ZU—UZ-BEET-ZU.

The words were coming so fast they meant nothing—they all were a terrible blend of gibberish at this time when nothing mattered but fact. Now, at this moment of pure scientific truth, insanity seemed to have taken over. Here came more sounds, louder than the ones before.

“
INATCHI-YA UB-EE
’
-YU-TIBYA—TIBYA—BANDEET—
BANDEET—UZ-BEET-ZU
!!!”

Madness, Trude thought as the giant was starting to writhe.
It was impossible to ask questions, to find out what it all
meant, there were no questions that could penetrate the
screaming.

“…
TIB-YA
…
TlB-YA—TIB-YA
!!!”

S
on of a bitch, Trude thought. Goddam rotten fucking son of a bitch—
-what was going on back there
…
?

The instant he jumped, knife ready, onto the bearded man, Theo felt something land on him; the instant he plunged his knife through the coat toward the heart, Theo saw a hand cover his own—

—and try to pull it back.

Theo merely shoved harder-—this was the hand that had felled the cop, this was the arm that had lifted the pigs—nothing could force it back—

—but something was. This hand that was covering his hand, this hand that was pulling at his hand, pulling the knife away from flesh, it was, for the moment, stronger.

The three of them fell then, the bearded man, balance gone, twisting down, Theo slipping off, rolling away, knife held ready, and in an instant he was on his feet and staring at the one who had so intruded on the disposing of evil.

Theo stared at a half-man.

Huge chest and shoulders, great bulging eyes.
“
Stoy,
”
the half-man said.

Bell was getting to his feet slowly, shaken and terrified.

Theo raised the knife again and ran at him.

The half-man threw his body at Theo
’
s legs and they both went sprawling.
“
Uz-beet-zu.
”

Bell was starting to run away now.

Theo scrambled up, gave chase.

But the half-man scuttled into his path, grabbed Theo
’
s scarf, twisted it around his throat and began to take away Theo
’
s air. Theo slashed out with the knife.

The half-man released the scarf, ducked away from the blow, muttered more words.

Bell was in full flight now, away from the park. Full speed.

Theo looked at the half-man—more evil. More evil that had to be disposed of. The half-man was making more sounds. Theo ignored them and silently closed for the kill
…

As Billy Boy became silent, Trude stepped alongside and asked some questions, received some answers. Now Billy Boy was saying the words again, but slower.

“
…
STOYINATCHI-YA UB-EE
’
-YU TIBYA
…
”

“
Stop or
I’ll
kill you,
”
Trude translated. He was not a great linguist—four fluent, smatterings of half a dozen more. Not great, but good enough to know Russian when he heard it. Trude wanted to throw his head back and shriek in wild fury.

Trying for the least semblance of control, he left the Infinity Room to call Washington, because there was no doubt about it: The Russians were back there too.