Mac laughed shortly. "Apparently my instinct was correct. I hadn't really considered you for the job because I wanted you to have the full leave you'd been promised, but when you called last night I had a hunch you were just the man we needed here. We've been having a good deal of difficulty in persuading the lady to cooperate. She gave us an indignant refusal at first, and even after she suddenly changed her mind for reasons that aren't entirely clear-I didn't venture to cross-examine her- she proved very hard to suit in the matter of a working partner." He studied me thoughtfully and spoke without expression. "I suppose it was that intriguingly sinister, ruthless, yet somehow intellectual look that overcame her spinster scruples, where a straightforward display of masculine charm and virility merely offended her. Or maybe she just thought you looked old enough to be reasonably safe."
"Go to hell," I said, "sir."
"Well, you seem to have won the beauty contest, Eric," he said, using my code name to remind me gently that this was an official conversation, and that while many liberties were permitted, there was only one boss. "Matrimony is an essential part of the assignment, you understand. Dr. Mariassy is valuable government property. You can judge how valuable by the caliber of the visitors who came on board today to confer with her and her colleagues. We have obtained permission to use her for bait, but you have to be close enough to her, day and night, not only to watch her but to protect her as well. You can only do that in the character of a lover or husband."
"Sure," I said. "But with two choices, why do we have to pick the legal one?"
"Aside from the fact that she is hardly the type for an illicit love affair, the lady has a career to think of. Neither she nor the government department for which she works wants a scandal attached to her name. After the job is finished, of course, steps will be taken to dissolve the blessed union at no cost to either party. But it must be a genuine marriage while it lasts."
I said, "Well, if she can stand it, I guess I can."
"You will have to," Mac said dryly. "And you will have to be very diplomatic, in private. The rude and arrogant manner she affected today would seem to indicate that she is frightened."
"You think she might panic and pull out, sir? I'll try not to scare her."
"On the other hand," he said, "your performance must carry conviction-both performances. There must be no hint of fakery." He paused. "It's a Taussig operation, Eric. You know what that means. We're not up against amateurs. We can't be too careful."
I frowned. "Taussig? Hell, I thought the old maestro was through. I thought he'd been put out to grass after that Budapest fiasco in fifty-four-well, to a desk in Moscow."
"That was our understanding until quite recently, but apparently it was wrong." Mac glanced at me. "Do you remember the details of what he did in Budapest? I mean, what he almost did in Budapest?"
"Yes, sir, I said. "I wasn't in on it myself, but I was briefed on it afterward. We all were. It was the multiple shadow technique. He had been trying to sell it for years as a substitute for open military action. He had them all covered, all the Hungarian politicians who weren't being properly cooperative. Every doubtful man or woman in public life was shadowed by an agent trained in homicide who had orders to take his subject out instantly and permanently when the whistle blew. The only trouble was, somebody got nervous and whistled prematurely. Four or five prominent Hungarian citizens died, and there was a big scandal, but the real takeover had to wait for the Russian tanks in fifty-six or -seven, whenever it was." I grimaced. "You mean he's managed to talk them into letting him try the same thing again?"
"The evidence says so."
"In Pensacola, Florida?" I asked. "Why Pensacola, for God's sake? What's important enough there to warrant the Budapest treatment?"
Mac said, "The exact nature of the Pensacola target is irrelevant. The important thing is that there is one, and that a number of valuable people, Dr. Mariassy included, are in danger, and that we must find Taussig and stop him before he gets all his agents in a position to act."
"Sure," I said. "And just how does Washington plan for me to find him? I gather they don't have his location pinpointed, or there would be no need to use the female scientist for a decoy."
"He was seen in Pensacola a few months ago," Mac said. "That's what drew our attention here. Unfortunately the operative who recognized him-not one of ours-had other business and let it go with a routine report. Taussig has not been spotted since. You'll have to work at it from this end."
"Starting with a marriage ceremony." I opened the book I was still holding and read the name boldly written on the flyleaf in black ink. "'Olivia Eloise Mariassy.' Eloise, for God's sake. What's she a doctor of, anyway?"
"Medicine," Mac said. "Aerospace medicine, to be exact. She is one of a group of government scientists using the facilities of the U.S. Naval School of Aviation Medicine, in Pensacola, and of Elgin Air Force Base up the coast, for a special project. Sometimes, when the missile range at Elgin is inadequate, they call on Cape Kennedy for help. This much you should know. Exactly what the project is, doesn't concern you." He made a wry face. "Or so I was instructed to tell the man who was selected for this assignment."
"Sure," I said. "We're supposed to save the country blindfolded, as always. I suppose it's some kind of a super-retaliation gizmo, or Taussig and his superiors wouldn't be so interested."
"Perhaps," Mac said.
"Aerospace medicine, eh? I'll look it up." I snapped the book shut. "Of course, I won't have much time for research. I'll be playing chess with my bride." This got no reaction from Mac and I said, "What makes us think Taussig's going to take the bait?"
"He may already have taken it," Mac said. "Not Taussig himself, of course. Presumably he was here only to arrange the details of the local surveillance setup; he probably won't risk showing himself here again. He'll control the machinery from a distance as he always does. It's his strength and his weakness. It's the reason we've never been able to reach him; and at the same time it's the reason for the failure of the Budapest operation. He was too far away to take charge when a subordinate panicked." Mac paused. "As far as Pensacola is concerned, we have determined that several of Dr. Mariassy's colleagues have already developed shadows. We are gambling that she has."
"Gambling," I said. "Can't we confirm before we start?"
"Not without the risk of alerting Taussig's man, or woman, if there actually is one assigned to Dr. Mariassy, as we hope. I had the investigators withdrawn for that reason. You will determine if she is being shadowed, Eric. If she is, you will lead the shadower to a suitably isolated spot, safe from interference by the police or anybody else, and learn from him, or her, the whereabouts of Emil Taussig."
I listened to the rumble of the big power plant, somewhere far below in the giant ship. "Sure," I said softly. "Sure. Just like that."
Mac nodded. "Just like that."
"It's pretty crude," I said. "There are limits to what can be done with the thumbscrews, sir. If we hit a stubborn one, it could get messy."
Mac's voice was unrelenting. "If you become queasy, you can call in help. I'll have an interrogation team standing by."
"Keep your damn I-team," I said. "My stomach is as strong as anybody's. It just seems to me we could be a little more clever about this."
"Cleverness has been tried," Mac said. "A great many very clever people have been working hard on this without notable results. That is why we were called in. Remember, cleverness is not our specialty, Eric. Other things are."