"And those building the city, too. The whole blessed shoot!"
"That should be something for a monopolies commission to see!"
"It should that. But that's not all. Wait'll I tell you, boy: you remember telling me about that organization when I was in the other place . . . the boyos that blew up me dump and had me runnin'?"
"You mean Thrush?"
"I do. You recall you told me this was an international conspiracy of financiers, scientists, industrialists and political extremists who had only one aim - to rule the world?"
"I do."
"And you remember you said that Thrush had no allies, only enemies; that it might play off east against west or vice versa, but that it would never ally itself with either?"
"Yes."
"And that, in furtherance of its aims, it could draw on the latest electronic and other scientific aids - whole armies and air forces if necessary? And furthermore that it concentrated on infiltrating into every country by means of taking control of existing organizations?"
"Yes."
"And that when this was done, the organization continued to fulfill its ostensible role, though in fact below the surface it was dedicated to further the aims of Thrush?"
"Yes."
"And that organizations so perverted were termed 'satraps' and came under the control of Thrush's Central Council and the Ultimate Computer they use for policy making?"
"Yes, yes - but I don't quite -"
"Well, then," the Irishman said, pausing for breath at last and sifting back in his wheelchair, "what would you say if I was to tell you that there had been a considerable interest in Thrush in my office ever since they put me out of business over there… and that I had made it my business to keep tabs on those boyos from time to time?"
"I should say it was very natural."
"You would, eh? Then you would not find it excessively unlikely that I'd know a bit more than the next man if those gentlemen were involved in anything?"
"No, I suppose not."
"Good. For I can tell you, Mr. Kuryakin, beyond any doubt, that there are twenty-eight sub-contractors employed on the construction of the San Felipe dam and the city of Getuliana - all hired through Moraes and his company. And every single one of 'em is a Thrush satrap!"
Illya whistled softly. "I see!" he said. "That does put a different complexion on the inquiry - and lend an air of urgency, too.'
"It does that. And I can tell you some other things, too. First, that the so-called D.A.M.E.S. has been hired by a consortium of these firms to assist with resettling peasants dispossessed by the dam; second, that their behavior in the up-state region has caused a lot of comment; third, that the city of Getuliana is far behind schedule in building - the locals say it is only a blind to cover the unscrupulous lining of pockets, but more informed gossip considers it a blind for something else… And the last point is Just a name: Wassermann."
"Wassermann?'
"Yes. A European financier who has settled here with great success. In economic circles here and in Sao Paulo, one talks, in money matters, of the Wassermann Test: if a given amount of capital has doubled itself within two years - then two to one it's a Wassennann project!"
"I see. What he has got to do with this dam, then?"
"He chiseled the concession to build the city and the dam from the government. The whole deal lies within his giving, as it were. And he gave it all to Moraes. That's all."
"No hard and fast news of my Mr. Williams?"
"He asked questions in Brasilia. He asked questions in Goiás. He hired a car. It was returned - not by him. That's all."
"And the old man?"
O'Rourke spread his huge hands. "Who knows? They say there are an unusual number of American undesirables in the country, particularly up-country. And that these are balanced by bad men from other places. You can draw your own conclusions…. Now, let me write you a few notes with names, addresses and telephone numbers that you can memorize, and that will be all."
He pulled a small pad from an inside pocket and began scribbling on the topmost page. After half a minute, a thin, insistent piping sounded at the side of his chair.
He unhooked the tiny two-way radio and held it to his ear. "Yes," he said curtly. "What is it?... No, I'm busy at the moment - Oh. Yes. Yes, perhaps you'd better come in, Raoul. We're on the terrace."
As he finished writing and handed the sheets to Illya, the tall moustached man that the agent had seen in the office walked onto the roof garden.
"You'd better tell Mr. Kuryakin what you told me," O'Rourke said. "Raoul here keeps a watch on arrivals and departures at the airport and generally has a finger on the pulse, you know."
The tall man bowed and spoke directly to Illya. "The senhor may not know it, but he has been followed ever since he left the New York plane," he said softly in Spanish-accented Portuguese. "The watcher booked into the same hotel, parked opposite the police headquarters when you were there, followed you to the district office and tailed you back to the car rental place, busied herself with a water-oil-tire checkup during the time you spent inside, was three behind you in the queue at the library, and finally followed you on foot until you en countered the boss here."
"Busied herself," Illya said faintly. "You did mean that the tail was feminine?"
"But yes. The senhor can see for himself." Raoul strode to the edge of the terrace and parted the vines. "See - by the bookshop window on the other side of the court, occupying herself with the bin of secondhand volumes: a very beautiful young lady with dark hair..."
Chapter 6
A Lady Is Unmasked
BY THE TIME Illya had memorized the contents of the sheets given to him by O'Rourke and had taken his leave, it was almost dusk. The obvious thing to do now was to follow Solo to Brasilia as quickly as possible and try to pick up his trail near the dam. He went accordingly to the airline offices to inquire about planes.
And with him went the girl. Now that he knew he was being followed, the Russian watched her technique with interest - and it acted in some small way as a salve to his wounded professional pride to see how expert she was. She never hurried, she never dawdled, she never did anything obvious like staying too long at the wrong shop window, and yet she was always there; she was never close enough to notice, yet she was never too far behind to catch up and follow an unexpected move; she anticipated intelligently, after being already on the far side of the road before he had himself crossed; she varied her distance skillfully, and she made such masterful use of other people as cover that Kuryakin found it difficult to keep his eye on her for long enough to form an impression of her looks. Since he was determined that she should not realize he knew of her existence, he contented himself with occasional sideways glances at shop windows and occasional reflections from a cupped hand over a lens of his sunglasses. From what he could see, the girl was slender, about his own height, with a lean jaw-line and chiseled features thrown into dramatic relief by long dark hair drawn severely back by a crimson bandeau. Her suit was in some lightweight navy material with white revers, and she carried slung from one shoulder, unfashionably, a big white handbag on a strap.
To his surprise, the airline offices were shut. And so, he saw as he looked around, were the neighboring stores and offices.