The door opened and a short, stocky man of sixty came hurrying into the vast room. The man had a full grey beard and the wild eyes of a fanatic. He saw Rand and walked rapidly toward the small executive.
"What the devil is it, Rand?" Heimat had a heavy German accent, and talked as he walked. "I have work. You have ordered Plan F, and you realize how much work that—"
Heimat stopped dead. His fanatic eyes bulged in his head. He saw the machine operating, and saw Rand slumped asleep in the desk chair. The small German whirled.
Solo stepped out. "That's far enough, Dr. Heimat."
Heimat turned away and saw Illya stand up behind the machine with the pistol leveled.
"Was machts du? Who are you? Was wollen Sie hier?"
"Just keep it low and simple, Doctor," Solo said.
Illya snapped an order in German. The stocky doctor paled, looked at Rand, looked around the silent room. Then he gulped.
"Polizei?"
"In a way we're police," Illya said. "Now keep it calm, and we'll all—"
In the corridor outside there were loud shots, screams, the running of many feet. Men cursed and sub-machine guns rattled. The running feet approached the door into the warehouse.
"Quick!" Illya cried.
Solo pushed Heimat ahead of him, toward a stack of heavy boxes along the far wall away from, the main door. Illya shut off the machine and ran after Solo. The two agents and Heimat jumped behind the boxes lust as the door burst open and men in black uniforms rushed in, their guns covering the whole room.
Illya and Solo watched.
Emil Danton strode into the room. The elegant THRUSH leader looked at Rand and laughed.
"Hello, Rand. It looks like my deal."
FOUR
DANTON STOOD IN front of Kevin Rand. The slender electronics expert blinked his eyes and shook his head as if not quite sure where he was or what was happening. He blinked up at Danton and seemed puzzled.
"Danton?"
The THRUSH leader laughed. "Myself. You made a mistake, Rand, as I told you you would. You see, my capture itself activated a device all THRUSH leaders carry. The device alerted my men outside to my capture and they called for help. We have an organization, as I tried to tell you. Now my men have your whole plant. I'm afraid quite a few of your men had to die. Too bad, but you should not have tangled with THRUSH. You're out of your depth, Rand."
"Danton?" Rand said. His eyes showed the battle going on in his brain to remember what was bothering him. He looked sharply at Danton. "But—but it wasn't you, no. It was—"
"You thought you had me, of course," Danton went on, "I tried to tell you that you were no match for THRUSH. Now I have your plant, and you. I will have the machine and Heimat, and all your facilities. I have them, Rand."
Rand nodded, his full consciousness returned. "Yes, so I see. But—Solo and that Russian. Where are they?"
Danton brushed this off. "I don't care about them now. The important matter is that you defied THRUSH, and you lost. I could kill you. But I would rather use you. You're beaten, Rand, and the Mind-Sweeper belongs to THRUSH. But we can use you, too."
Rand nodded again. "Why not? I know when I'm beaten. THRUSH appears to be all you say it is. I see no reason why I shouldn't join with you. Provided the terms are satisfactory."
"No terms, Rand," Danton said harshly. "You're in no position to make terms. I'm offering you a chance to join us, no more than that. You can be useful to us."
Rand watched Danton. "Very well."
"A wise decision," Danton said. and smiled. "Now let's get the machine and Heimat out of here. I don't like this place—too exposed and U.N.C.L.E. knows about it."
"Wait," Rand said. "I think I should be given a post of some authority in THRUSH, Danton, and for that I have something to give you."
"Give me?" Danton said.
Rand smiled. "Something quite important. Without it, you'll never leave this plant alive."
"What kind of a trick is this?" Danton snarled.
"No trick. I just need your word that I will have some rank in THRUSH."
"You want to die? If you have anything important to say, Rand, say it and without a deal."
Rand and Danton glared at each other. At last Rand sighed. He ran his thin fingers through his grey hair.
"Very well, an act of cooperation then. You see, I have to tell you that in my plan—"
Illya Kuryakin suddenly stood up from behind his boxes and shot three times at Rand.
Rand screamed once, hit by all three shots. The slender man pitched forward on to his face and lay still in a pool of spreading blood.
The room erupted with shots. Danton screamed orders to shoot Illya and Solo.
"Get them! There, behind those boxes!"
Behind the boxes Napoleon Solo sat on Dr. Heimat and fired from the cover of the heavy boxes. Illya fired. From their cover they picked off the THRUSH men like sitting ducks.
"Take cover!" Danton roared. All the THRUSH men dove for safety. Danton leaped behind a box. For a long and sudden minute all firing ceased as both sides crouched under cover.
Kevin Rand lay in his own blood between the two sides.
Danton peered over a box and called out.
"Come now, gentlemen. We have you outnumbered ten to one. You know you don't have a chance. Solo? Kuryakin?"
"Come and get us, Danton," Solo called out. Heimat squirmed under him. Solo grinned.
"We'll simply outflank you, Solo," Danton said.
"Go ahead," Solo called back.
"Do you think you know some thing I don't know?" Danton said.
"Come and see," Solo said.
He looked down at Heimat beneath him. Danton would not want to hurt Heimat. Illya Kuryakin was watching the hidden enemy.
"So?" Danton said. "Very well. We don't need you, do we? I suppose you have help on the way. It will do you no good. I have enough men in the plant. From where you are you can't cover the machine. My men will simply pin you down, and we will take the machine and go."
"What about Heimat?" Illya called.
There was a long silence. Danton crouched behind his box.
"I see," Danton said at last. "You have Heimat, eh? Well, I suppose we'll have to make a deal. What do you say…"
Behind the boxes Illya Kuryakin suddenly touched Napoleon Solo. "Down!"
Solo looked at the small Russian.
"Down, now!" Illya cried.
Solo dropped. He lay flat with his hands over his head. Illya lay beside him. Dr. Heimat did not even attempt to escape. Illya was looking at his watch.
Danton called. "Well? What deal would you—"
First the concrete floor seemed to rise up.
Then the roof beams buckled, sagged.
The earth seemed to rock like a ship at sea.
Then the explosion shook the entire building to its core.
Beams fell, the floor heaved, men were thrown everywhere.
Screams came from all through the plant outside the warehouse. Flames began to flicker at the windows.
Explosions and shock waves shuddered through the plant and the night.
The THRUSH men ran in confusion, screamed, shouted. Boxes tumbled onto men all through the warehouse. Debris showered down on Solo and Illya.