When Nick caught a glimpse of the compound he dropped to his hands and knees and then slowly flattened out and started crawling, snakelike, toward the three houses. There were no wire fences but there were tall plaster posts, which meant electric-eye beams.
He was in an open field and there wasn't much moonlight There were five guards circling the compound. They had rifles and hand guns. They walked in pairs except for one guard. They were within the circle of posts.
Nick had no way of killing the electric beams. He was stumped. Even if he had grenades, there wasn't much he could do with them. If he lobbed a few into the laboratory, he would do just so much damage. He had to blow the place sky-high. That meant explosives.
He started to move crablike to his left. He would circle the entire compound that way. Maybe an idea would hit him. Maybe the posts with the electric eyes didn't entirely circle the compound. It was something to do.
His foot brushed something, and it gave. He cursed silently and reached through the short grass. A wire.
There was a shout from within the compound. Then a guard ran out of one of the drab buildings, gesturing, shouting, running to the now-confused guards.
Nick could hear a ringing from the compound. A jeep lumbered from around a building, loaded with guards. A beam of light streaked from the top of a building and played about the open field.
Nick had the Astra Firecat in his hand. He took careful aim, and the bullet shattered the searchlight.
The guards started firing wildly, aiming at the direction the shot had come from. The jeep had left the compound, its wheels digging in the dirt. Nick aimed at the driver and squeezed the trigger. There was a yelp, and the guard folded. The jeep overturned, pinning two guards under its weight The other guards flattened themselves out against the ground, their rifles barking.
Bullets kicked up dirt near Nick's head. He retreated wisely. Another beam of light tunneled through the night and played along the field a few yards in back of him. There was firing from his left.
The guards from the compound had outflanked him while he had been shooting it out with the guards in the jeep.
He looked to his right. Two guards were coming toward him. He kept moving back, hoping the beam of light wouldn't find him.
A guard was running toward him, a rifle at his shoulder. Nick shot him dead.
Suddenly the air was filled with crisp Chinese words. Someone in the compound was using a bullhorn. The guards were being ordered to capture the invader alive.
All rifle fire stopped.
Nick shifted his body so that he was facing to his left He saw two guards rising from their prone position. They started running toward him. Nick emptied what was left in the chamber, and both guards died on their feet.
He was reloading the clip when the light caught him. He cursed and dived into darkness. He heard feet hitting the ground, and a rifle butt caught him at the side of his head. He turned over, started to rise, and felt another blow at the back of his neck. He went down. A dark pool opened up and he dived into it. He was falling, falling… down a bottomless pit….
In the distance, hidden in the shadows, Lotus watched breathlessly as the guards carried Nick away. The beam of light caught the guards and Nick and followed the contingent to the compound.
Lotus moved in the dark on hands and knees and came across the body of one of the dead guards. He had been shot in the head. She quickly took off her outer clothes and put on the dead man's uniform. She hid the pen Nick had given her in the breast pocket of the jacket and picked up the dead man's rifle.
Her hair was hidden under the peaked cap. She prayed silently as she walked to the compound. There were soldiers milling about She blended with the crowd and listened to the chatter. She learned that the foreign devil had been taken to the white building.
Chapter 10
Walther Kerner was fifty-one; he was a stocky man with a full crop of dark brown hair. His eyes were slate gray, and his nose was thick over bulbous lips. He had on an undershirt and a pair of pants. His feet were encased in bedroom slippers. He was tired, grumpy, and annoyed. He wanted to go back to sleep, but there were important matters to settle.
He was standing in a small, bare room, and on either side of him was a Chinese guard. In the center of the room, sitting on the only chair, was Nick Carter. He had on a pair of shorts and nothing else. His costume had been taken from him and a pail of water had been used to bring him to. Then he had been taken to this room to await Walther Kerner.
Kerner and Nick stared at each other, measuring each other like two fighters before the first round.
"Are you English?" Kerner finally asked.
"Does it matter?" Nick asked softly.
Kerner cocked his head. "An American. Well, well. Don't you know Americans aren't allowed in Red China? You've broken the law, Mr…uh…"
"Smith."
"Oh, yes? Smith, did you say? A very unusual name." Kerner advanced toward Nick and then suddenly shot his fist out, catching Nick on the side of his face. Nick toppled off the chair, hit the hard floor. He pushed the floor away from him and got to his feet.
"You may sit down again," Kerner said generously. "You've killed six of my men. You've come from nowhere to spy on me. And to make matters worse, you've interrupted my sleep."
"I'm sorry about the last."
"I try to keep my humor but it is hard. You will please tell me who you are and why you're here."
"What would you say if I told you I'm Peter Pan and I'm looking for never-never land?" Nick asked glibly.
"You realize, of course, that I have no choice but to kill you," Kerner said, all levity gone from his voice. "How you die depends upon you. It can be quick with but a minimum of pain or…" Kerner shrugged his shoulders. "You understand my meaning?"
"I get the general picture»
"Are you CIA?"
"Look," Nick said, "what's the difference? I lost out It can't matter to you…"
Kerner used his fist again, and Nick found himself on the floor. It was an unexpected blow. He hadn't seen it coming and hadn't rolled with the punch. He hoped he hadn't lost a tooth.
"You will please get up," Kerner said, almost gently.
"What for?" Nick said. "You'll only knock me down again. Besides, I'm quite comfortable down here."
Kerner motioned to one of the guards, who started to kick Nick viciously in the shins. Nick scrambled to his feet.
"Sit down," Kerner said.
Nick said, his voice thick with emotion, "You'd better kill me now. You won't get a damn thing out of me." He sat down on the cold metal chair.
"I could always torture you," Kerner said grimly. "But time is running short." He pretended to yawn. "And I do need my sleep. Yes, Mr. Smith, if that's your name, you will die immediately."
The door behind Kerner opened and a beautiful Chinese girl in a quilted robe walked in. She was tall for a Chinese girl. Her hair was raven-black and her face was hauntingly beautiful.
Kerner turned and greeted her with a kiss on the cheek. "I'm almost finished with this man, my dear. I'll join you presently."
But the girl was not to be put off. "Did you find out who he is?"
"No." Kerner frowned. "And it doesn't matter. I'm going to have him shot right now."
The girl surveyed Nick's half-naked body. "It would be a waste."
"Now, Sim Chan, let me handle this " Kerner put an arm around her waist and tried to lead her out of the room.
"I'm not a child," Sim Chan said, refusing to budge. She removed Kerner's arm from about her waist.
"This doesn't concern you," Kerner said angrily.
"This man killed six of my people," Sim Chan said hotly. "And you want to give him a quick death!"