Simon stood up on cue and went to the head of the table. The plans lay in front of him and the blackboard was behind him.
“You all know already how you’re going to get through the fence and the infra-red beams. There’ll be no problem as long as everybody does his job properly. Judging from the view from my window, the bridge you’ve made works like a charm. The truck will back up to the fence, then Frug will cut the hole, taking precautions to avoid the alarm going off when the mesh is clipped.”
Using the blackboard for illustrative sketches, the Saint showed them how that would be done. He described in detail the extension of the aluminium bridge through the barrier of infra-red beams to the walkway which surrounded the building.
“The circular walk, directly next to the building itself, is unprotected,” he said confidently. “The designers seem to have felt that nobody would ever be able to force his way through the fence and the infra-red mine field. Their next really strong line of defence doesn’t come until the bottom of the elevator shaft — which we plan to bypass completely.”
The Saint held up a chart of the surface area of Hermetico.
“Briefly, when you’ve crossed the bridge, you go around to the left until you come to these two large ventilators. One is the intake and one is the extractor. The fan of the extractor is above the surface here, in the neck of the duct. You’ll cut the duct right at the ground level, below the fan, without severing the wiring...”
Warlock held up his hand politely.
“The key to the operation,” he interrupted, “is not to disconnect anything that might set off an alarm.”
“Right,” said the Saint. “But there’s nothing to worry about, really, since we’ve pinpointed all the danger spots already. In case an alarm should be set off, Nero will be staked out with a machine gun covering the front door. He should be able to keep the opposition inside until you can get away to the van.”
“What about other doors?” Bishop asked uneasily.
“There’s only one other door, here on the left side. You’ll pass it on your way to the ventilators. From where Nero will be, he can get an angle on both doors. Remember, this place was built strictly with defence in mind. It’s made to withstand bombs and full-scale invasions. There’s just no way for the defenders to get out and mount an offensive.”
Bishop and the others looked satisfied, and Warlock looked downright smug. It was Simon’s own business if he did not share their lack of respect for Hermetico’s architect. The defenders did not need to mount an offensive. A close study of the plans had led him to believe that a series of very small square openings around the upper part of the dome of the otherwise windowless structure were intended for use as gunports. The guards could lay down a deadly barrage without leaving the protection of the building. They could not see the area immediately next to the building but anything near and beyond the perimeter of the outer fence was at their mercy.
“After the ventilator is opened,” Simon continued, “Frug will be lowered down it on a harness. He’ll arrive at the main vault, which he’ll be able to see through a large grating. He’ll knock out the two guards who’re stationed in the vault by shooting them with drugged darts. Then he’ll take off the grating and Bishop will join him in the vault. The object then is simply to take over the whole place. Using keys they’ll take from the vault guards, Frug and Bishop will get out of the vault and make a sneak attack on the control centre. Then they can shut down the alarm system, and the rest of you can simply walk in the front door...”
Frug did not look at all pleased with the plan.
“Why not just hoist the gold and stuff up the ventilator shaft?” he asked.
“We thought of that,” Simon answered. “But the vault is three hundred feet down, and you’d spend all night getting out just a fraction of the loot... assuming you had all night, and nobody discovered you in the vault. I think you’ll be much safer getting command of Hermetico in one quick stroke, then using their facilities for moving the heavy stuff up to the van.”
Warlock nodded approvingly.
“It’s true,” he said. “It’s the only way.”
“It is unless you’re just after a few souvenirs,” the Saint added. “As I understand it, you intend to empty the place.”
“Exactly,” said Warlock.
Bishop was wriggling in his chair.
“What about guards up top?” he asked.
“There’ll probably be one in a booth by the elevator on the ground floor,” Simon said. “But before he knows you’re in the building you’ll have taken control of the alarm and defence system, so it shouldn’t be much of a problem to handle him. We can go into details about all these things in a minute. There’s also a sleeping room for guards just off the entrance alcove. Probably there’ll be half a dozen men in there. The Hermetico defence plan seems to depend almost entirely on automatic devices for warnings of trouble. Most of the guards can sleep, since they don’t actually have to stand guard, but they do constitute a kind of defence force that can be called on by automatic or manual alarms at any second.”
The conference went on for over an hour and then, when Simon had answered every objection and explained every detail of the operation, moved to the basement laboratory and store rooms. There, for another hour, Warlock’s men brought together various pieces of equipment and discussed and tested them. Warlock, having followed the formation of the Saint’s and Amity’s plan on television, had foreseen most of the needs of the expedition and made certain they were on hand earlier in the day.
“Everything seems to be in order,” he said finally. “We’ll eat in a while and get some rest. Then we’ll have some rehearsals with the equipment at nine o’clock before we load it in the van. The last thing we’ll do is test all the weapons. We’ll leave for Hermetico before midnight.”
“And what do we do?” Amity muttered to Simon in the midst of the clatter and talk at the meeting’s end.
“We’ll just relax here with our window open and listen for explosions off in the direction of Hermetico...”
4
But for once the Saint underestimated fate’s fondness for involving him in adventure — in this case adventure within adventure. He was not to be allowed to sit quietly in his room listening for the explosive demise of Warlock and his doughty band, nor even to spend the night engineering his own and Amity’s escape from S.W.O.R.D. headquarters. An explosion took place, and it involved Warlock, but it occurred in Simon’s own room.
He and Amity were at the dining table finishing off their meal with fresh cherries and peaches when the door burst open and Warlock sailed towards them like an apoplectic dirigible.
“Well, Mr. Simon Templar!” he shouted.
He was waving a magazine, but the dramatic effect of his entrance and gestures was ruined by the fact that he had begun to quiver all over. Simon looked at him with bland puzzlement.
“I thought you were rehearsing a raid, not Uncle Tom’s Cabin, he said.
Frug and Nero Jones flanked Warlock menacingly. Galaxy stood triumphantly behind them. The magazine appeared several inches in front of the Saint’s nose.
“Try to talk your way out of that!” Warlock bellowed.
“Try to hold it steady enough for me to see,” the Saint replied mildly.
He took the magazine and saw what he expected to see: his own picture.
“Well?” Warlock shouted.
“Very handsome,” said the Saint.
He glanced at the cover of the magazine. It was one of those sensational movie journals with which Frug was occasionally seen enriching his mind. The magazine was two weeks old, and it had a spread on the then forthcoming premiere of Amos Klein’s Sunburst Five. Under Simon’s picture — taken during his attendance at some other gala occasion he could no longer remember — were the words: “Real life Charles Lake expected at premiere. Simon Templar — better known as the Saint — is among those invited. Don’t shove, girls! You might find a date with him about as relaxing as a ride on a tiger shark... and he’s not talking about his romantic enthusiasm. The legendary Robin Hood of Modern Crime has probably survived more narrow escapes than even Charles Lake.”