Pulp Fiction | The Dagger Affair by David McDaniel

by Unknown

  "Well. . ." She cleared her throat. "Kim is my brother. He's got all the brains in the family, but he's...he's sort of disturbed. When we were in college, he developed emotional problems which got him involved with Nihilism. And he studied it until he was convinced it was the only solution to everything. Oh, lots of people feel this way when they discover some new philosophy, but Kim couldn't see anything else from then on.

  "Mr. Solo, Kim is convinced the highest goal of knowledge is the destruction of humanity. To him, man is the most vile thing that ever existed on this planet. He used to say things like this, years ago. I — I thought he'd gotten over it and realized that people aren't really so bad after all. He stopped saying awful things like that about three years ago. He got a job for some kind of consulting organization up in San Francisco, and he was away from home a lot.

  "Then about a year ago he showed up and told me he'd left his job because he'd discovered something he didn't want his company to take away from him. He said he had a perfect defense against the atomic bomb — and he could even prevent all atomic warfare all over the world with this."

  Napoleon caught a glance from Illya in the rear-view mirror. The Russian's eyebrows were arched in an expression of extreme skepticism. Napoleon looked at Garnet doubtfully. "Did he tell you anything about how it worked?"

  "Oh, he explained the whole thing to me, and showed me the diagrams. I couldn't follow them, though — I only got as far as tensor analysis in math. My interests were more in humanities. It looked simple enough, though, and Kim is bright enough I'd take his word for it. And of course he showed me the demonstration of the first working model."

  The car swerved slightly as the driver reacted. Napoleon decided to save the technical material until they were near a recorder and some technicians. He himself had stopped at integral calculus, and could remember little of that. No point in wasting her information on essentially deaf ears. "What did this have to do with Nihilism?" he asked.

  "I thought he was over that," she said, sniffling into the handkerchief as her tears started to flow again. "I thought he'd just be stopping atomic warfare — but he wants to use it to stop all human life on earth! And he can!" Her voice broke. "He's my brother, Mr. Solo. We've got to do something to stop him, before he kills himself — and everybody else!"

  * * *

  "Now, Garnet, what is this — thing your brother invented, and what does it do?"

  "He calls it an Energy Damper. He and a friend of his named Chernik built it together. Kim discovered the theories behind it. I don't know how it works."

  Garnet, after a stiff drink, was a good deal calmer. She sat in one of the quiet comfortable rooms deep in U.N.C.L.E.'s Los Angeles office and spoke in an even, controlled voice. The reels of a tape recorder spun slowly, taking continuous note of questions and answers.

  "He showed me the first experimental model about three months ago. It had a small field, but it proved his theories and showed them which way to work. He turned on a light bulb in a table lamp, and then turned on the little Energy Damper. The bulb got yellower and dimmer as he turned up the control, until it went out altogether. Then as he turned the control back down, it came back to life again.

  "I have no idea how it works. Chernik explained it as a sort of field that inhibits the transformation of energy. When it was on the light bulb, the electrons were still flowing through the wire, but the electrical energy couldn't be transformed into radiant energy — heat and light."

  Napoleon looked at an electronics technician who had come up from the labs to listen — he looked back, and shrugged elaborately.

  "It's somewhere about three steps beyond Einstein's Unified Field Theory," he whispered, "– and I don't understand that!"

  "He found there was a quality he called Theta that governed the well, the speed of the transformation affected," Garnet continued. "A very small Theta would damp an atomic explosion. A larger one would also stop an electrical motor or dim a light bulb. Another step up would prevent a chemical explosion, like dynamite, or gasoline in a car engine. A higher one would put out a fire; and a fully open Theta would — theoretically — damp out the biochemical reactions necessary to life." She looked at Napoleon. "I guess it's not theoretical any more."

  Napoleon grinned wryly. "No, it isn't. And as far-out as your story sounds, I will now be the last person in the world to doubt it. That thing he turned on me was set at the maximum Theta, I take it?"

  "I don't know — it must have been, from your description of how it felt. And it was one of the heavy early models I used to stop your car with in New York."

  "What were you doing in New York?"

  She sighed. "There's so much to tell you — and it's not coming out in any kind of order. I'm sorry I'm so confused. I'll try to get myself a little better organized for you. Kim was able to convince a lot of people — some of them with money — that he had a machine that could prevent atomic war. And he got money for his experiments. He convinced them that this had to be kept very secret, because there were a lot of powerful governments that would try to stop him and destroy his invention, because they needed the threat of atomic war to keep their people under control. You'd be surprised how many people really believe that! And Kim wanted to build one huge E/D with a non-directional field big enough to blanket the entire earth!

  "He knew about U.N.C.L.E., and he got worried a few weeks ago about how much you knew about him. So he and I and Chernik and Holt — oh, Holt is another Nihilist friend of his; I'm sure he wants to destroy everything too — flew to New York. Kim talked to some people he knew there — people who have contributed to DAGGER. . ."

  "DAGGER?" said Illya, sharply. "Is that your brother's organization?"

  "It's not that much of an organization, really," she said. "Most of the people who are working for it think it's just against atomic war — since a dagger is a primitive and personal weapon. Kim was telling everyone there would be no more big wars. That he could even make gunpowder ineffective, and there'd be no power left but steam engines and everybody could go back to a leisurely life. And to people who didn't want this, he'd say he was just going to make atomic bombs non-functional, because a dagger was used as a weapon of defense in hand-to-hand combat. But there are people all over the country who think they know what he's doing, and are willing to work in secret to help him. But I think only Kim, and Chernik and Holt, really know what the master plan is.

  "But as I was saying — Kim talked to some people he knew in New York and found out where you were going to be, Mr. Solo. And he told me to go out and watch for your car, and pull alongside and stop it, with the big E/D unit in the back seat. I don't know what he was doing at that time — I think he was going to see if there was anything in your apartment about him and the E/D. See, he couldn't get into U.N.C.L.E.'s headquarters, so..."

  "Uh-huh. That's about what we thought it was," Napoleon said. "And that's why my wrist-watch was slow. The E/D field had stopped it."

  "It shouldn't have done..."

  "It's an electric wrist-watch — battery powered," he said. "Very expensive and very accurate, and guaranteed against everything. Except Energy Dampers. What about the address you gave at the place where you rented the car? That gave us a little trouble."

  "I don't know where it is, exactly. Kim just said I should leave that address, and not to worry about trying to use a different name because the address would be enough to throw you off."

  "It almost did — permanently."

  "Garnet," Illya asked, "you said Kim was working for a consulting organization when he developed this. Do you know anything about the company? Its name, location, size and so on?"

  She pursed her lips and thought. "Something Associates. Parson? Person? Pierson — that was it. Pierson Associates. They're not very big, but they have some important contracts, I guess. They're in San Francisco."

  Illya caught Napoleon's eye and nodded significantly. A Thrush front organization, as they had suspected. To Garnet he said, "They may b
e able to help us."

  "I don't know. Kim was pretty definite about keeping away from them. He mentioned something about a breach of contract — he'd come up with the basic theories while working for them, and they wanted the rights. And he said nobody could be trusted with the secret. That's what he said, anyway. Now, I don't know what to believe. He could have been lying about everything."

  "Except the Energy Damper," said Illya, softly.

  Garnet nodded.

  The technician spoke to her for the first time. "Miss wouldn't it take a pretty large machine to generate enough of a field to cover the whole world? And how much power would it take? And how does it convert its power into the field once the field covers it?"

  Garnet shook her head. "Last week they started working on a miniaturized version. It should generate a field a quarter of a mile across, and it can be carried in my purse. And this isn't fully miniaturized. I'd guess in a few more months of experimentation they could make one big enough — it'd probably be as big as a boxcar, but I know Kim. He'd be able to hide it. As for power, I don't think it draws any kind of electric power. And once the field is established the E/D doesn't do anything but maintain it."

  The technician looked at the floor and chewed the end of his right index finger. "That's not possible," he said flatly, as if he were trying to convince himself. "The field would have to be an unstable state, and it would take power to maintain it. There's a flaw in there. It wouldn't really work. It wouldn't." He looked at Napoleon. "It wouldn't. Would it?"

  Expressionlessly, Napoleon held out his wrist with the electric watch visible. It was two minutes slow. The technician looked at it without really focusing his eyes. After a while he shook his head slowly. "I don't care if it works or not," he said. "It still isn't possible."

  "The whole machine isn't possible," said Illya. "Personally, I believe color television to be impossible too. But since it does exist, I will act as if I believed in it. We must do the same for the Energy Damper."

  The technician said softly, "He really could destroy the world."

  Nobody said anything else for a few seconds.

  "Garnet, do you have any idea what Kim is going to do now?"

  "I don't know. He started talking with Holt a few days ago about a test of the new model — the miniaturized one. They wanted something big, something that would affect a lot of people. Kim is very sure nobody could connect him with it, and even if they did he has some places to hide that not even I know about."

  Napoleon had the good taste to refrain from making an obvious remark about mad scientists and secret laboratories, but he was struck with the situation all the same.

  Garnet continued hesitantly, "There was a road map on his desk last night and some figures about 300 miles. And he bought a canvas water-bag for a car."

  Ralph Feldman sat quietly in a corner. He hadn't spoken during the interview so far, leaving that to those who knew more about what was going on. But now he did. "300 miles from Los Angeles — north would put him in Fresno, south in the middle of Baja California, and east would put him about Las Vegas. I'd bet on the last if he wanted to hit a lot of people."

  "But how many people could he affect in a quarter-mile, even in the heart of the city? This sounds like he wants something really big."

  "Boulder Dam," said Illya. "If he could knock that out, it would affect a large portion of Southern California."

  Feldman nodded. "We'd better check any other possible places he could strike. But I think Boulder is the best bet. Any idea when he'd be planning to pull this 'demonstration'?"

  "By this time he'll know I've — betrayed him." Her voice caught, but she went ahead. "He'll want to make it as soon as possible. It could be tomorrow. He didn't tell me about it at all — and he never thought I could figure anything out for myself — so he'll see no reason not to go right ahead with it."

  Napoleon and Illya looked at each other and nodded. "I think we'd best go directly to Boulder Dam and wait for him."

  "Or for some well-meaning character he could get to do the job for him," Napoleon said. "He might be recognized. But Garnet might also recognize one of his confederates." He turned to the girl. "Will you feel up to a short flight and a couple of days basking in the desert sun?"

  She nodded hesitantly. "I'll have to get some clothes from home...."

  "We can probably take care of that this evening. I don't think Kim will be coming back there — he'd expect us to be looking for him."

  "Mr. Solo...they're...they're not likely to kill him, are they?"

  Napoleon shook his head. "I don't think so, Garnet. But he may have to go to a hospital for a while."

  "I know that — I've known it for a long time." She sighed. "Let's go."

  Section II: "Give Me The DAGGER!"

  Chapter 5: "The Most Fun By A Damsite."

  The next morning there were three people mixed in the first elevator-load of tourists descending into the depths of Boulder Dam who attracted no attention from anyone but the uniformed guards. Napoleon Solo was resplendent in a white suit of faultless press; Illya had changed from his customary black to a more cheerful shade of midnight blue, with heavier dark glasses than usual in deference to the blazing desert sun; Garnet Keldur was completely casual in slacks and a loose blouse. Alone of the three, she was unarmed.

  The guards around the dam had been alerted and briefed in the two hours before the powerhouse complex had been thrown open to the public. Rather than take more time than necessary with complex explanations, Napoleon and Illya had agreed to call the thing a "bomb" — after all, the effect would be just as disastrous if it were successfully planted and set off.

  There were two elevators running the full height of the dam — the one on the north carried the tourists down and the one on the south brought them back up. The groups of twenty or so came through with a few minutes spacing between which gave the U.N.C.L.E. agents time to examine them for suspicious behavior. Garnet was stationed behind a window near the entrance to the first generator room, where she could see everyone who came through. If she recognized anyone, she could signal to Illya, who was watching the crowd inside the powerhouse.

  Illya, in turn, could see Napoleon, who was lounging against a concrete wall out in the sunlight on the porch-like area before the face of the dam. He watched the groups of tourists in the central area, and followed them into the second generator house, on the Arizona side.

  Lacking any more definite data, they were watching for anyone who might leave a box or bag of any kind anywhere in the area. Since there were usually some ten groups at various stages of the tour, this took a certain amount of constant attention.

  Napoleon settled on letting his eyes rove constantly over every group in his range. It was well past lunchtime, and the sandwiches the guards had brought were not settling well. There were an amazing number of women with bulky purses in these groups — you'd think they wouldn't want to carry the big things with them on a tour like this. And lots of camera bugs hung about with equipment...He wondered if the thing could be made small enough to slip inside a camera body. He shook his head. It's awkward, he thought, not knowing how big a thing it could be. But if I start thinking too small, I'll be looking for people leaving wads of chewing gum on things....

  * * *

  He moved casually with a group into the cool darkness of the southern generator building. The guards had been advised to watch for anyone leaving or attempting to leave something — anything — around the area. But it felt good to get inside, out of that sun, for a little while.

  Another group was coming out on the other side of the dam, though, and he had to get back outside to watch them. His feet were starting to hurt, too. This was what the detective story writers called "footwork," he guessed. It wasn't really his department — he preferred to work with the other end, mostly....

  He saw Illya about a hundred feet away, looking out the door on his side of the dam. He seemed to be watching somebody.

  A few seconds later
Solo's transceiver whistled softly. He pulled it out and extended the antenna.

  "Napoleon — that group out toward the end of the pier. There is a man in a loud shirt and a little straw hat. He has a camera around his neck and a large brown camera bag over his shoulder. There is something I don't like about him."

  "You mean besides his taste in shirts? Did Garnet recognize him?"

  "She wasn't sure. But Kim probably wouldn't send somebody she would know."

  "Has he done anything yet?"

  "Only take pictures. Wait a minute! He just took another picture out there in the sunlight!"

  "Nothing wrong with that."

  "But I've been watching him closely all the time, and he hasn't once used a light meter or opened his case for any reason. And that type of camera doesn't have a built-in meter. Also, I have not seen him make any adjustments of the camera between the dim light in here and the sunlight outside."

  "Maybe he's just not a very good photographer."

  "That's a good camera — and an expensive bag. Keep an eye on him when he comes over your way."

  Napoleon's sighed. Better to be too suspicious than too trusting, he supposed. Here came the group. Now there was one worth watching. And she did look suspicious. Low-cut blouse, full skirt, big broad-brimmed hat and large dark glasses. And a big black purse. Napoleon still held the theory a woman's purse would be the best place to conceal it — and even if the purse were found and opened, no man would be likely to notice something as commonplace as an Energy Damper among all the stuff she probably had in there.

  There was the photographer Illya was worried about. Nice camera, big gadget bag. But too obvious. If he left the bag somewhere, somebody would be sure to notice. And that loud shirt was a flagrant eye-catcher. He wasn't the pot-bellied loudmouth one usually associates with loud shirts, though — he was a little taller than average, rather pale, with light glasses and straight blond hair. A little overweight; round, innocent face. Looked as though he might have been a minister in a little rural church. Not at all the type.