The Thinking Machine Affair (11 page)

"Good," Napoleon said. "I've been trying to locate you for hours."

"Where are you?" Illya enquired.

"At THRUSH European Center E. That's why I can't use the normal transmitter. They've got it."

"Are you all right, Napoleon?"

"Yes."

"Waverly told me about your curious radio message."

"Oh that... They conditioned my mind to do it. But that's irrelevant now—I'll explain another time. THRUSH European Center E is close to where you lost contact with the direction finder..."

He described the exact location and then warned Illya not to enter the underground channel.

"Look for a more suitable entrance, and remember that our standard alarm diversion instrument is useless. Use the alternative device, and good luck, Illya."

Napoleon's luck was in. No one at THRUSH European Center E had monitored his broadcast.

CHAPTER EIGHT

ACTION STATIONS!

ILLYA systematically worked his way along the river bank of the Moldau. According to Napoleon's information, he should be in the immediate vicinity of the concealed water entrance to THRUSH European Center E, but he was still unable to re-establish contact with the bugging devices on the coffin and in the agent's belt, or the direction finder concealed in the tooth of the "dead" THRUSH officer.

When he reached the massive rock formation, he examined every inch of it and eventually found the ingenious entrance. He pulled the lever in the crevice and the steel door silently slid aside. But he did not enter the underground passage; instead he fixed a gadget inside the tunnel. This should deceive the electronic eyes and make them shut the door again when he issued the appropriate beam from his transmitter anywhere.

He climbed back along the edge of the rock formation and made his way back inland. He reached a building that looked like a porter's lodge of the mansion house on the hill. There was no sign of life in the building, but he was careful as he approached it silently. It could be a well-camouflaged warning post for THRUSH Headquarters.

As he approached the solid oak door of the building, he suddenly heard a faint signal from the direction finder and knew he was on the right track.

He switched on the multi-beam device to put out of action any alarms, and then opened the door, which he relocked as soon as he was inside. He found himself in a small hall with several doors. As he stood there, considering which door to open first, the signal from the direction finder increased in strength as he leaned towards a door on the right.

He unlocked it and stepped cautiously into the almost dark room. He could see that the windows were shuttered with heavy steel plates. The room was bare and appeared to be deserted, yet the direction finder signal became stronger still as he moved to the middle of the room, otherwise he would have thought he was in the wrong place.

His detector instrument helped him locate a door concealed in a wall. Before attempting to open it, he tested the room thoroughly for alarm traps.

On the wall between the two steel-shuttered windows he found another hidden door, on which he used his unlocking device. It housed a small box that obviously contained alarm controls. He stood his directional torch on the floor and used it to spotlight the control box. Examination indicated that it was a key control box of the alarm system. He disconnected the wiring without sparking the alarm circuit—at least, he felt sure he had managed to do this effectively.

He felt more confident now of being able to penetrate undetected THRUSH European Center E, but was still careful when it came to opening the concealed door in the wall. He entered an adequately lit passage which was ahead of him. Before he entered he transmitted an electronic beam onto the steel door in the rock formation on the riverbank of the Moldau. The control signal on his device told him that the electronic eyes responded to his beam transmission and the door was being shut automatically. THRUSH would now think someone had just entered the water tunnel.

He closed the door behind him and walked along the passage. Meanwhile alarm lights activated by the riverbank door had alerted the Duty Officer in the Internal Security Center. "There's an intruder in the underground water channel," he informed both the Chief of the Special Tasks Department and the Chief Organizing Officer over the internal communications system.

"I'll have the guards seal off the whole southern area," the Chief of the Special Tasks Department said, and immediately arranged this. "We'll soon have him, or them."

"I want that Solo fellow removed from his room and taken to a safer place," the Chief Organizing Officer ordered. "This renewed penetration into our area indicates that they know of the water approach and might perhaps land considerable forces to free him."

"Even a battalion of heavily armed intruders wouldn't get far," the Chief of the Special Tasks Department said confidently. "How could anyone penetrate the death ray screen?"

"They might be equipped against such things. One never knows."

"You're over-careful," the Chief of the Special Tasks Department retorted. "But I'll increase the number of guards to the southern area anyway and concentrate the majority of our security forces there. Does that make you happier?"

"It does. But I still want Solo in a safer place."

"I'll shift him to the dungeon immediately. He won't walk out from there…"

The Special Tasks Department Chief and four guards headed for Napoleon, who was in his bed, asleep. They roused him roughly and ordered him to dress.

"Surely it's not breakfast time already?" Napoleon said, as he complied with their request.

"Come on!" the officer bellowed impatiently. Napoleon was led along corridors to an elevator that took them several floors down to a tunnel with massive steel doors. A guard unlocked one door and pushed Napoleon in. "I hope you'll find it comfortable," the officer said cynically as the door was banged shut.

The dimly lit, windowless cell looked as if it had been hewn from solid rock. It also looked escape-proof. But Solo still had his tried and trusty allies—his emergency tools, although it was too soon even to try anything, for they were sure to be extra alert for the first few hours.

He sat on the rough wooden bunk, held his cuff links near his mouth and repeated softly:

"Illya! Are you around, Illya?"

There was no response.

He decided to try again later.

Illya heard Napoleon's whispered voice coming from his cuff-link but did not dare to answer, afraid that detectors might pick up the conversation and transmit it to THRUSH Headquarters monitoring room. He could not afford to take chances. He did not like leaving Napoleon in suspense but it was too dangerous to risk possibly centering attention on himself. Napoleon would have to wait until it was safe for him to contact him.

He continued along the passage, his eyes examining every inch of the tunnel for danger points.

At a spot where the underground corridor turned sharply, he discovered an almost unnoticeable interruption in the smooth concrete floor. The area was about a yard wide and stretched from wall to wall. He stepped over it, being careful not to touch it. A foot or so on he discovered steel objects on both walls of the narrow passage-way. He suspected these to be steel arms that would have been set in motion if some one stepped on the yard-wide area in the floor. Those arms could hold an intruder firmly until guards were automatically summoned. He had come across such devices on other assignments. He then detected the steel net in the roof of the passage, which fell down on a victim when the steel arms went into action. He was not to know it was an identical net that had put Napoleon temporarily out of business.

He stopped when he heard a voice just ahead saying:

"There's a full-scale emergency at the southern area water entrance. If there's any warning of intrusion on your monitoring screen raise the alarm immediately."

"Message understood, sir," a voice replied. "There hasn't been any sign of danger in my sector as yet. The system is in perfect working order. I'm checking the control indicator every minute."

Illya was delighted with this unexpected duty routine communication call. It had usefully warned him of what was going on. From where he stood, the passage looked as though he was approaching another turn and he had not expected a guard to be waiting there.

He neared the spot with added care, ready for anything.

As he reached the bend in the corridor, he eased, looked round, and was in luck. The uniformed guard had turned his back towards him, busy checking an instrument board. Illya jumped and aimed a short hard blow at the neck of the unsuspecting THRUSH guard. He caught the unconscious body to prevent it from falling on the desk and possibly setting off some emergency alarm signal.

He dealt with the alarms which guarded the approach to the heart of the THRUSH stronghold, then deprived the guard of his uniform and slipped into it. He wanted to be able to move freely inside THRUSH European Center E. He gagged the unconscious guard and tied his hands and feet securely to the heavy steel tubes which supported the instrument desk.

Now ready for new emergencies, he stepped into a small hall which had an elevator on the left. He pressed a button and a red arrow pointing downwards was illuminated. The elevator descended. A few seconds later the door opened automatically and he stepped into it. The door closed behind him and the elevator immediately ascended at considerable speed. As there were no buttons to be pressed inside, he realized he was being taken directly to the main area.

It stopped and the door opened. He expected someone to be waiting for him, but there was no one in the well-lit corridor that faced him.

As he moved along it, he wondered where he would find Professor Novak and his daughter, as his first duty was to seize the thought-transference apparatus before THRUSH could make disastrous use of it. As he reached a T junction, two uniformed THRUSH officers emerged from the room by the junction. He heard one of them say: "I'll take care of the Professor and his apparatus and you see to his daughter." They hadn't even glanced at Illya, and didn't seem to suspect him when he followed.

They paused at a door and the guard inside the workroom let them enter. Before he was able to shut the door again, Illya silenced him with a blow and dragged him behind a work bench. The two THRUSH officers walked towards the Professor and his daughter, completely unaware of what had happened behind them. Illya assumed the role of the unconscious guard and closed the door.

"Professor Novak," said one of the THRUSH men, "we want you to see the Chief Organizing Officer."

"A moment, please," the scientist said. "My daughter is just testing an improvement I have made."

"Your daughter can experiment with the apparatus later," the man barked. "At the moment we are faced with a full-scale emergency and we need your apparatus for dealing with intruders."

"What's the good of the apparatus if it doesn't work properly?" Professor Novak cried. "With the adjustment I have just made, and which I want my daughter to check, I am uncertain whether I haven't impaired its previous effectiveness."

"Your apparatus had better work, Professor," the officer bellowed. "While I take you and your apparatus to the Chief Organizing Officer, my colleague will hold your daughter in this room as hostage…"

That was as far as he went. Illya, who had moved behind him, knocked him unconscious with a brutal blow on his neck, and as he collapsed, his colleague, taken by surprise, never even got the opportunity to counterattack. Illya's hand moved quicker than the second THRUSH man's thoughts, and he went down, too.

"You and your daughter have nothing to fear, Professor Novak," Illya said, as he disarmed and tied the THRUSH officers to ensure that they stayed out of action. "I am here to help you and get you back to your villa and safety."

Professor Novak and his daughter looked at him unbelievingly.

"Don't be deceived by my uniform," he reassured them. "It was only borrowed to enable me to move around this place easily."

He disconnected the internal communications system to prevent anyone outside observing or hearing what was going on in the room.

"Can we help?" Professor Novak asked.

"I hope you can," Illya replied. "I should like you to have your thought-transference apparatus in perfect working order as quickly as possible."

"How do I know I can trust you?" the scientist said cautiously. "How do I know you are not someone who wants to gain personal power and use my apparatus for evil?"

"
You
, not me, Professor Novak, will give the thought-transference orders to your captors to surrender," said Illya. "You may be more convinced that I am genuine when, in a moment, you hear me communicating with my superior." He removed his transmitter-receiver from his pocket and said in a clear voice: "Open Channel D."

The Professor and his daughter looked at each other.

"Yes?" Waverly replied as Channel D opened. "I am with Professor Novak and his daughter inside THRUSH European Center E." He gave a precise description of the exact location of the enemy's stronghold and how it could be approached. He went on: "I need urgent reinforcements to seal off and take care of THRUSH European Center E."

"I'll see to that," Waverly said. "Where is Mr. Solo?"

"I haven't had the chance to find him yet, sir. First priority was to make sure that the two Czechs and their apparatus were safe."

"I look forward to an early report from Mr. Solo, too," Waverly said before closing Channel D.

"I think we can trust you," Professor Novak said as Illya replaced the transmitter-receiver in his pocket. "My daughter and I shall do our utmost to have the apparatus operating as fast as possible."

"I'll have to leave now because I must find my colleague, who is a prisoner somewhere here," Illya said. "But don't worry. Lock yourself in and no one will get to you." As he was about to go, he held his cuff-link to his mouth and said: "Napoleon, can you hear me?"