Danzig, as if seeing the balding man for the first time. "You re not just an ordinary scientist."
"No scientist is ordinary," the man said without rancor.
"You said Agent Z is injected. Is that the only way it can be used? You can't just slip a few drops into someone's drink?"
"Perhaps sometime in the future that would be possible," Danzig said. "But not now. One day you will put a man under a sunlamp that will scramble his brain cells, and he'll get off the table a different man, an android, ready to do your bidding. But for now, we have Agent Z, a drug that has to be injected into the veins to be effective."
"How close are they to perfecting Agent Z?"
"Very close. Walther Kerner, Bormann's man, is an unusually brilliant scientist We didn't even bother trying to get him over to our side, knowing how devoted he was to Hitler. His loyalty has switched to Bormann." Danzig reached for his neglected drink and finished it. "That's an unusual pen you have there, Mr. Carter."
"Nothing can surprise me at this stage of the game," Nick sighed. "You probably know more about the pen than I do."
"Score is one of my little inventions. I hope you know how to use it."
"It was explained to me." Nick lit a cigarette. "One click injects the drug; two clicks the antidote. It has to be done fast. Always go for the throat."
Danzig got to his feet. "I wish I could tell you exactly where the laboratory is. I can't. But it must be near Peking. It's up to you to find it, destroy it. But you know all that I wish you well, Mr. Carter. Till we meet again."
Nick stood up and they shook hands.
Chapter 3
Nick didn't bother crossing the harbor to Hong Kong. There were many good restaurants on Nathan Road in Kowloon. Kowloon, which was called The City of Nine Dragons, had as many interesting tourist attractions as Hong Kong Island. There was the Yaumati Typhoon Shelter where the boat people lived and the Lauchikok Amusement Park. But Nick didn't have the time. He had his lunch and then went out to hail a cab.
He lit a Canadian cigarette and settled back.
The cab went past the many department stores on Nathan Road. He looked out the window to watch the pretty girls sauntering by in their
cheongsams,
showing part of their thighs. He liked to look at pretty girls. He hoped he would never reach the stage where a pretty face or figure didn't interest him.
The cab reached its destination.
The plane left Kai Tak Airport and headed for the mainland. Nick saw the naval and merchant ships in the harbor; the family sampans in the bays and coves. The water was a soft blue.
He liked Hong Kong. He hoped he would be back soon for a much longer stay. He thought about Selina for a while and then pushed her out of his mind. There were other things to think about.
He was racing against time. There was an awful urgency about the whole thing. The interview with Hans Danzig convinced him of that.
Agent Z. A mind-altering drug. A subtle weapon. It didn't explode and make noise and bring death and destruction like a stick of dynamite or an atom bomb. But it was more dangerous than anything yet thought of. The idea of taking over a man's mind, making him into a robot, was almost unthinkable. Almost inhuman. Hell, it
was
inhuman. A devil like Martin Bormann wouldn't think twice about using such a weapon.
Bormann would do anything to bring about the resurgence of Nazi Germany.
Martin Bormann. Or Judas. God knew how many names Bormann had taken for himself since he had disappeared from Germany after Hitler's flaming death. Nick had felt respect and admiration for some of his enemies. But never for Bormann. He only felt a red-hot hatred for the man without hands. No hands. Just claws. Stainless-steel claws. And a face that was no face. Just a thousand scars.
Nick hadn't gotten to the point where he enjoyed killing. He knew others who had. But there would be no qualms about ending Bormann's life. The man had lived too long. Nick wouldn't be killing a man anyway, but a
"No scientist is ordinary," the man said without rancor.
"You said Agent Z is injected. Is that the only way it can be used? You can't just slip a few drops into someone's drink?"
"Perhaps sometime in the future that would be possible," Danzig said. "But not now. One day you will put a man under a sunlamp that will scramble his brain cells, and he'll get off the table a different man, an android, ready to do your bidding. But for now, we have Agent Z, a drug that has to be injected into the veins to be effective."
"How close are they to perfecting Agent Z?"
"Very close. Walther Kerner, Bormann's man, is an unusually brilliant scientist We didn't even bother trying to get him over to our side, knowing how devoted he was to Hitler. His loyalty has switched to Bormann." Danzig reached for his neglected drink and finished it. "That's an unusual pen you have there, Mr. Carter."
"Nothing can surprise me at this stage of the game," Nick sighed. "You probably know more about the pen than I do."
"Score is one of my little inventions. I hope you know how to use it."
"It was explained to me." Nick lit a cigarette. "One click injects the drug; two clicks the antidote. It has to be done fast. Always go for the throat."
Danzig got to his feet. "I wish I could tell you exactly where the laboratory is. I can't. But it must be near Peking. It's up to you to find it, destroy it. But you know all that I wish you well, Mr. Carter. Till we meet again."
Nick stood up and they shook hands.
Chapter 3
Nick didn't bother crossing the harbor to Hong Kong. There were many good restaurants on Nathan Road in Kowloon. Kowloon, which was called The City of Nine Dragons, had as many interesting tourist attractions as Hong Kong Island. There was the Yaumati Typhoon Shelter where the boat people lived and the Lauchikok Amusement Park. But Nick didn't have the time. He had his lunch and then went out to hail a cab.
He lit a Canadian cigarette and settled back.
The cab went past the many department stores on Nathan Road. He looked out the window to watch the pretty girls sauntering by in their
cheongsams,
showing part of their thighs. He liked to look at pretty girls. He hoped he would never reach the stage where a pretty face or figure didn't interest him.
The cab reached its destination.
The plane left Kai Tak Airport and headed for the mainland. Nick saw the naval and merchant ships in the harbor; the family sampans in the bays and coves. The water was a soft blue.
He liked Hong Kong. He hoped he would be back soon for a much longer stay. He thought about Selina for a while and then pushed her out of his mind. There were other things to think about.
He was racing against time. There was an awful urgency about the whole thing. The interview with Hans Danzig convinced him of that.
Agent Z. A mind-altering drug. A subtle weapon. It didn't explode and make noise and bring death and destruction like a stick of dynamite or an atom bomb. But it was more dangerous than anything yet thought of. The idea of taking over a man's mind, making him into a robot, was almost unthinkable. Almost inhuman. Hell, it
was
inhuman. A devil like Martin Bormann wouldn't think twice about using such a weapon.
Bormann would do anything to bring about the resurgence of Nazi Germany.
Martin Bormann. Or Judas. God knew how many names Bormann had taken for himself since he had disappeared from Germany after Hitler's flaming death. Nick had felt respect and admiration for some of his enemies. But never for Bormann. He only felt a red-hot hatred for the man without hands. No hands. Just claws. Stainless-steel claws. And a face that was no face. Just a thousand scars.
Nick hadn't gotten to the point where he enjoyed killing. He knew others who had. But there would be no qualms about ending Bormann's life. The man had lived too long. Nick wouldn't be killing a man anyway, but a
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