Nick Carter - Run, Spy, Run

Good. Perhaps he hadn't, then. "One of those little items is a bomb," Nick said, almost dreamily. "Operated on a combination that would take you months to discover. T set it every morning when I wake up, and then again in the early afternoon. But I have to disconnect it every eight hours. Now I've lost track of time, but if I don't reset the tiny mechanism..." Nick shrugged eloquently.

Mr. Judas gave a high-pitched bark of laughter.

"Tiny! It must be. Do you seriously expect me to believe this fiction?"

"I told you," Nick said blandly. "It's poker. What can you lose by checking? Five minutes?" He sneered.

"And you alone can work this item?" Judas faced him menacingly. "I think you'd better tell me what the combination is."

"You know I won't do that, Judas. And by the time you've tried to persuade me, it might just be too late."

The awful laugh rang out.

"Not bad poker. So. Our innocent Mr. Cane is no mere agent on a trifling mission. He is a walking arsenal of science-fiction apparatus. Really, Mr. Cane..."

"I've got all the time in the world," Nick said evenly.

Judas considered.

Among people who lead dangerous lives, the wildest bluff is worth cross-checking. But this was Judas, no fledgling in the high-stakes league of espionage. Nick's heart hammered furiously in spite of his iron control.

"Braille. Get Mr. Cane's possessions and bring them here."

The giant grunted and shuffled further into the darkness. Nick could hear movement in the background. In seconds Braille was back, carrying a tin box without a cover. He handed it directly to Judas, as though he could see him. Mr. Judas murmured in his throat and Braille shuffled quietly away.

Judas loomed before Nick, steel hand extended. The click sounded again.

The switch-blade forefinger traced a pattern down the coarse rope that bound Nick's arms. He felt the bonds fall away. Then he lifted his arms slowly from the crossbar and let them drop to his sides. The damned flow of his blood began to course slowly back into his body.

"You may stretch," said Judas. "That is all."

Nick drew his upper body away from the damp wooden beam.

"That's enough. One false move and I shall disembowel you. And then Braille and I, together, will take on the lady." He grinned diabolically. "Remember that, my dear, in case you feel like moving. Your lover is still waiting. So no heroics, please."

A whimpering sound came from Julia. She cringed against the supporting beam.

"We made a bargain, Judas," Nick said coldly. "One more threat and you can forget about what's in the box. Quick death for two, or all of us. That's all the choice you've got."

Judas looked thoughtfully into the box. Nick flexed his arms surreptitiously. Now if only his feet were free... He glanced at Julie. Something seemed to have died in her.

Judas' steel hand poked around in the tin box, lifted Wilhelmina by the trigger guard and dropped her on the floor. She clattered on the damp stones, out of Nick's reach. Next came Hugo, dismissed as a trifle. Judas clucked and took both tiny flashlights up at once — the pencil and the keychain.

"Careful!" Nick rapped. "Don't throw down anything else."

The hand halted. For the first time, Judas looked surprised. "I'm not throwing out the ball, Mr. Cane." He replaced the flashlights, then changed hands to lift slippery Pierre. He held it appraisingly up to the light. Wordlessly, he reached out and handed it to Nick.

Nick took Pierre easily in his right hand and played catch with him. "A keepsake, as I told you, Judas," he said lightly.

"Don't play games with me, Cane." Judas' voice was thin ice. "Is that thing a bomb, or isn't it?"

"Regrettably, no," said Nick, fingering Pierre thoughtfully. "Here, you take Pierre." He dropped it casually into the bayoneted hand. Judas flung it from him as if it were a rattlesnake. It hit a wall, bounced, rolled and then lay still. Nick raised his eyebrows, praying fervently that the impact had not jarred Pierre into action.

"Why did you do that? I told you it was just a keepsake. A nasty little keepsake, true, and the more it comes in contact with this damp floor, the nastier it'll be. Now give me the flashlight."

"What's in that ball, Cane?" the high voice screamed.

"Never mind that now!" Nick shouted back. "That's not the thing I was talking about. Now give me the flashlight!"

"Braille! Find that thing and get rid of it."

Braille shuffled in the background. From the corner of his eye Nick could see Julie come to life and reach into her tangled hair. Her hand pulled out a silver gleam and then dropped quickly down her side. Braille felt around in his eternal darkness.

"Now. Cane." Judas turned toward him and gently stroked Nick's chest with the wicked blade. It left a narrow white line that quickly bubbled red. Judas regarded it with relish.

"You've got a timebomb ticking in your hands," Nick spat through his teeth. "Die, if you want to. It's all right with me."

Without taking his eyes off Nick, Judas reached into the tin.

"Not that one — the keychain."

Judas took out the keychain. Then he put the box down on the floor and gave the tiny flashlight to Nick.

"I've had enough of your tricks, Cane," he hissed. "Now if that's your death-gadget, reset it."

Braille lumbered to the end of the room holding something small.

The door, thought Nick. At least a window.

"Not my trick at all," said Nick, holding the little gadget to his ear. "Your mistake."

"Get on with it. Let me see you finish your bluff." Judas tried to control his voice. "It would be interesting to learn if something so small could contain enough explosive to kill, let alone a timing device. If you are lying, no L-pills for either of you. Braille will do what he wishes with the lady, and you will tell me what I want to know."

Something slammed at the end of the room. Goodbye, Pierre. Hello, Junior.

A screw-thread held the chain in place. Nick twisted the chain very, very slowly.

"Continue, Mr. Cane, or I will point my finger at the lady's right breast as an inducement. She will bleed before your eyes."

Nick turned the screw. Slowly, very slowly.

"I'm warning you. Be careful — but be quick!" The steel finger hung poised before Julie's silky breasts.

Nick felt the screw part from the threading. It was time.

"Now," said Judas sibilantly, "or my finger kisses her."

Nick looked up at him. "There is no now," he said sorrowfully. "There is no timer, and no bomb." Judas pulled his hand away from Julie and stared into Nick's face. Nick pulled the pin. "It's only a flashlight after all." He lobbed it into Judas' face and flung himself back, screaming, "Behind the pillar, Julie!"

Judas threw up his robot hand and backed away with an inhuman scream. There was an ear-shattering sound, and then — no hand. Judas fell. Braille came grunting out of the shadows. Nick pulled himself to a sitting position, cursing the thongs that held his feet. Julie shot out from behind the beam, silver knife in hand. Braille thundered after her. Her slim knife lashed the cords, and Nick was free.

"Run! Just run!" He pushed her. She rounded a beam and gave a piercing scream. Braille went after her.

Blood streamed down Judas' face. Nick dropped to one knee, scooped up Wilhelmina and Hugo, and made for Judas. Incredibly, the man was rising to his feet. His good hand slammed at Nick. The globular head ducked like a striking snake and butted him. Nick kicked hard. Judas fell again, screaming "Braille!" as he fell.

The pursuit in the shadows stopped. Braille came charging into the lighted circle with a gorilla-like roar compounded of blood-lust and brutal anger. Judas rose again. Nick's teeth closed on Hugo while his trigger finger tightened. Braille screamed in pain but kept on coming. Judas reached for the empty tin box and slammed it through the air. There was a loud pop and a sparkling splash of electricity as the bulb shattered.