The Mind-­Twisters Affair - Stratton Thomas (книга читать онлайн бесплатно без регистрации TXT) 📗

Armden frowned. "I had forgotten that. I suppose you are working with these two men now?"

"Not really," Curtis answered. "I'm working on a survey for the university, and -"

Curtis broke off as Armden turned from him to face the TV set. Nobody had turned the volume down, and a particularly loud commercial had just come on. "Don't wait another minute!" an announcer's voice was exhorting. "Go down to the nearest Gackenheimer's store and take advantage of this incredible, once-in-a- lifetime offer! You can't afford not to take advantage of it. There are Gackenheimer's stores in Bippus, Midford, East Manchester, and Hunterton, and they're all open tonight until 9:00!"

Armden turned away from the set and started into the hallway. His wife held out a hand to him. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"To the store," he said without pausing.

"Gackenheimer's? But that's a feed and grain store! We never bought anything there in our lives!"

Armden approached the front door, still in his shirt sleeves, and reached for the knob. Illya had been watching him closely and now spoke sharply.

"Dr. Armden, come back here!"

Armden hesitated.

"Come back in here!" Illya repeated, more loudly. This time Armden stopped, halfway through the door. Slowly he turned and came back toward the living room. Curtis darted over to the TV set and shut it off, then stood nodding his head slowly.

"Sit down on the couch!" Illya commanded. Armden obeyed wordlessly.

Illya glanced at Napoleon. "Thrush, anyone?" he asked. "Or do you know of any normally abnormal mental condition that would account for Armden's reactions?"

Curtis shook his head. "Hypnosis, or drugs," he said. "Certainly not schizophrenia; obeying orders is not a schizophrenic's strong point."

"Mrs. Armden." Illya turned to the woman, who had been standing with a stunned look ever since Armden had come back into the room. "I have no idea how, but your husband must be involved with Thrush. They've done something to him - drugs, hypnosis, something; we can't tell until he's been examined by qualified physicians. The best thing we could do now would be to get him to U.N.C.L.E. headquarters in New York where he'll be safe and we can have our doctors give him a complete examination."

Mrs. Armden began to look overwhelmed. She turned to Curtis.

"That would probably be best," he said. "He could be examined here, of course, but U.N.C.L.E. maintains an excellent medical staff, and they are more accustomed to this sort of thing."

"Besides," Napoleon added, "the way things are shaping up in Midford, we can't be sure the doctors aren't controlled by Thrush in some way."

She nodded silently to the two agents.

"Shall we try another order?" Illya asked, and with out waiting for a reply, he turned to face Armden.

"Come with us to U.N.C.L.E. headquarters," he said, slowly and distinctly.

Armden stood up. "Very well," he said, and stood still, apparently awaiting further instructions.

"Mrs. Armden had better come, too," Napoleon said. "Thrush isn't averse to kidnapping close relatives to exert pressure on anyone they're interested in. Professor Curtis, would you do us a favor?"

"Of course," Curtis agreed immediately.

"We'll have to take Armden in our car." Napoleon saw Illya shudder at the thought of a thousand miles of driving with three people in the U.N.C.L.E. car. He continued. "We'll have to be with him to protect him. There are too many people saying things that could be dangerous if taken literally, which is apparently how Dr. Armden is going to take them. So, could you drive Mrs. Armden to the Fort Wayne airport? We'll arrange for a seat on the next flight to New York and for some of our people to meet her there. All you have to do is make sure she gets on the plane."

"Certainly," Curtis said.

"The sooner we get going, the better," Illya said. . "Mrs. Armden, would you pack something for your husband and yourself? We won't have room for anything in the car, so you'll have to take all the clothing with you."

She nodded and turned to go upstairs. Illya spoke to Armden again. "Just come with us, Dr. Armden. Everything will be -"

Armden, who had been standing silently since Illya had first ordered him to come with them, suddenly screamed and lunged forward, swinging his fists wildly. Illya ducked and grabbed one arm. Napoleon quickly grasped the other.

"Do you have anything to quiet him down?" Illya asked as Armden struggled violently in their grip.

"In the car. Professor, take an arm and hang on until I get back."

Curtis hesitantly reached for the arm Napoleon was gripping. Armden was still struggling violently, but apparently hadn't thought about kicking yet. As Curtis tried to take over for Napoleon, however, Armden suddenly gave a second scream and went limp. The two agents lowered him gently to the couch. Illya hurriedly checked his pulse while Napoleon tried to calm Mrs. Armden. Curtis stood by, fascinated.

After a minute, Illya satisfied himself that Armden was merely unconscious. He picked up the slight form and turned to Napoleon, who had finally persuaded Mrs. Armden that the best thing to do was to get packed and go into hysterics later.

"Get the doors open," Illya admonished. "We have some packing of our own to do." He nodded at Armden's limp form.

Section II: "Harass The Foe From The Rear"

Chapter 5

"How Does One Lose A Helicopter?"

DAWN, TO SOMEONE WHO has been awake for twenty-four hours and driving in an incredibly cramped car for eight, can be extremely bleak. Somewhere near the eastern end of the Ohio turnpike, Napoleon pulled to the side of the road and stopped next to a sign that read "Emergency Stop Only." He pushed up the gull-wing door and swung his feet out from under the steering wheel. Automatically taking the keys from the ignition, he stood up, stretched, stamped his feet a few times, and shook his head.

"You'd better take over again," he said to Illya, after a minute of the brisk autumn air had done nothing whatever in the way of shaking off the feeling of lethargy.

Illya obediently struggled out of the passenger's side, then stood there, leaning over, one hand propping up Dr. Armden. "Get over here and hang on to him," he said, a touch of irritation showing. "If I let go, he'll shift one way or the other and we'll be another half hour getting ourselves stuffed back in."

Napoleon hurried around the car and held Armden in place while Illya inserted himself beneath and behind the steering wheel. Once settled, he held Armden while Napoleon got in.

Illya glanced at the clear morning sky as he reached up to pull down the door. "This car even attracts attention from helicopters," he observed.

"Probably belongs to the highway department, or the local police," Napoleon answered, stifling a yawn. "Some places use them to check traffic flow." He closed his eyes.

"I think we're being followed," Illya said. "Either this one or one just like it was hovering over us the last time we stopped."

Napoleon pushed open his door and looked up. After a second, he spotted a noisy speck well up in the sky. It appeared to be hovering.

"And you didn't tell me? What kind of a friend are you?"

"A considerate one. We've no assurance that it is following us, and even if it is, what do you propose to do about it?"