He set the battery back on the counter and moved on. "We have seen some of Thrush's current attempts to maintain technical superiority. Now over here is an eavesdropping device which…"
A bell chimed softly, and Rainbow turned. On a ground glass plate in the wall a picture appeared, in somewhat hazy color, of a small power launch approaching. The scene was distorted as if seen through a long telephoto lens.
"Another unannounced visitor," said Johnnie Rainbow. "I wonder who else has developed a sudden interest in my ocean hideaway."
"I thought you didn't have television," said Napoleon.
"Come now!" said Rainbow. "This is merely a projection of the view seen by the periscope above the top of the light tower. It is manually guided by a lookout whom I can reach on the intercom system." He touched a button on the desk. "Bert, do you have a higher magnification?"
A second later the view seemed to flip over and was replaced by a flattened, hazy, slightly quivering shot of the cockpit. "Thank you," said Rainbow. "Hold on the cockpit."
He walked over to the ground glass and looked at it very closely while Napoleon and Illya looked at each other. Perhaps he didn't have television, but he got along all right. The Russian muttered, "Just as I thought. It's all done with mirrors."
Rainbow paid no attention to them. He studied the unsteady image for several seconds, and then nodded. "It's the Thrush representative. I met him officially once, in the City, and I've had him watched off and on for some time. He's been trying to talk to me again. Apparently he has decided on a direct approach. Well, I suppose I'll have to let him in."
He ordered the picture of the wall to a full shot again, and had the boat tracked visually all the way to the dock. As it was coming in, and for a minute thereafter, he spoke quickly to Napoleon and Illya as they got to their feet.
"The Thrush has been becoming increasingly importunate in the last few weeks, and frankly I am beginning to be somewhat concerned. You will probably find it educational to watch the proceedings. Through that door you will find a short stairway leading to an observational post where you will be able to survey the room and hear all that transpires. I hope I can trust you not to betray your presence."
They went up the stairs to a slightly cramped cubby hole somehow fitted into the structure of the office. Gauze-covered windows allowed them to view the room below through sections of the molding, and sound reached them clearly. They crouched, and watched.
Rainbow returned to his desk, looked carefully around the room, and checked the observers with a glance. He sat as a bell chimed, and rose again as the door beneath the spy-hole opened and the Thrush came in.
From overhead, he appeared as a faultless gray bowler, which he doffed as he entered. His hair was black, graying slightly, and thin. Johnnie Rainbow invited him to sit in one of the deep form-fitting chairs, and he placed his briefcase beside it and carefully perched on the edge.
"Let us get directly to business," he began. "We have reason to believe that two agents of the U.N.C.L.E. infiltrated your island in the storm last night. We also assume that you captured them. Now we would like you to turn them over to us."
Rainbow looked at him with an expression of injured disbelief. "Infiltrators he said. "On Donzerly? Ridiculous!"
"Two men, one fair, one dark. Will you claim that they are still here undetected?"
Stung by the implied insult, Rainbow snapped, "Sir, my security is unparalleled. A ghost could not penetrate without detection."
The Thrush nodded. "Then you have them. What would you like in return for them? I am authorized to offer you a fifteen-passenger hydraulic lift, completely installed and maintained, for these men."
Rainbow paused, and looked thoughtful. Above and behind the seated Thrush, Napoleon and Illya I at each other and wondered. But finally he shook his head.
"I'm afraid your offer, though attractive, will not be able to tempt me. I have my own uses for these men."
The Thrush shifted his weight uneasily. "The local satrap wants these men," he said, "and will therefore have them."
Johnnie Rainbow rose and looked down at him. "These men are my personal prisoners, and mine to be done with as I please. I am not pleased to give them over to you."
The man in the gray suit allowed the trace of an edge to appear in his voice. "Mr. Rainbow, please sit down." The command was voiced in such a way that when Johnnie gradually sank to his chair it seemed as though he was obeying. His visitor continued. "We have invested quite a fair amount in you. Many of our most advanced devices were given to you for field testing, and you have made considerable profit through them. You owe us a debt for this, and the time has come for payment. Give us the U.N.C.L.E. agents."
Rainbow was recovering his aplomb. "Why are you suddenly so anxious to have them? Surely you have had better opportunities than now."
"They have acquired great strategic importance; how, does not concern you."
"I'm sorry. As my prisoners, they are my responsibility. And I could not hand control of their fate over to you. Although my dark career sometimes involves the crime of stealing,'" he quoted, "I do prefer to draw the line at cold murder."
The Thrush paused and looked at him. "Come now, Mr. Rainbow. I can think of no fewer than ... twenty-seven in which your organization has been involved."
Rainbow leaned forward, and his face was dark. "Falsehood, sir!" he said. "In five years, only six killings have been the direct result of my operations, and those were accidental and regrettable. My work is robbery, sir - not murder."
"Nevertheless, it must happen from time to time. You should know what lengths are necessary for survival, let alone success. You have the ability, the character, and the talents an organization like Thrush needs. You have a high level of competence, and would rise far in our Hierarchy. This little island of England is nothing, compared to the area you could control. With us behind you, your network could expand over all of Europe. And we would be able to apply your powers to what ever problems faced us."
The man in the gray suit looked around the room. "This little hole in the rock is like Robin Hood's cave. How far do you think you can go, with your center of operations out here in the wilderness? Join our efforts, and this little island of Donzerly will be only a crude starting place. All England and as much of the rest of the world as you could command, when we have achieved our goal."
This took several seconds to recover from. Rainbow cleared his throat and his moustache fluttered. "Perhaps we have missed an understanding," he said slowly. "Power, per se, has no especial attraction for me. I'm not in this business for power - I'm in it for money. And the challenge." He smiled suddenly. "It's the greatest game in the world. And you people are being too bloody serious about it." He stood up again and held out his hand. "I'm afraid you can't have the U.N.C.L.E. agents, my good man. I hope you have enjoyed your trip out here, because you will have no other satisfaction to take back with you. Good afternoon."
The man in the gray suit rose slowly to his feet. Napoleon and Illya could not see his face, but his voice was tightly controlled. "We have indeed missed an understanding. We will have those men from you one way or another, and you may never control Europe if you persist in your stubbornness."