Nick Carter: Temple of Fear

He hefted the heavy medallion in his hand. It was of gold, the size of an old-fashioned silver dollar, and inset with jade. The jade was worked into letters, forming a scroll beneath a tiny green hatchet. AXE.

The letters were: Esto Perpetua. Let it endure forever. The it had been his friendship for Kunizo Matu, his old friend and long time judo-karate teacher. Nick frowned at the medallion. That had been a long time ago. Kunizo had returned to Japan long ago. He would be an old man now.

Tonaka was watching him narrowly. The Nambu was doing the same.

Nick tossed the medallion and caught it. "Where did you get this?"

"My father gave it to me."

"Kunizo Matu is your father?"

"He is, Mr. Carter. He has spoken of you often. Since I am a child I have heard the name of the great Nick Carter. Now I come to you to ask for help. Or rather my father sends for help. He has great faith and trust in you. He is sure that you will come to help us."

Suddenly he needed a cigarette. Badly needed it. The girl permitted him to light up. The other three, solemn as owls now, stared at him with unblinking dark eyes.

Nick said: "I owe your father a debt. And we were friends. Of course I will help. I will do anything I can. But how? When? Is your father in the States?"

"He is in Japan. In Tokyo. He is old and sick now and cannot travel. That is why you must come with us at once."

He closed his eyes and squinted against the smoke, trying to get the thing straight in his mind. Ghosts from the past could be disconcerting. But a debt was a debt. He owed his life to Kunizo Matu. He would have to do everything he could. But first…

"All right, Tonaka. But first things first. One thing at a time. The first thing you can do is put away that gun. If you're Kunizo's daughter you don't need it…"

She kept the gun on him. "I think maybe I do, Mr. Carter. We will see. I will put it away when I have your promise to come to Japan to help my father. And Japan."

"But I've already told you! I will help. That's a solemn promise. Now let's stop playing cops and robbers. Put that gun away and tell me all about the trouble your father's in. I'll figure out what to do and do it as soon as I possibly can. I…"

The gun remained on his belly. Tonaka was looking not pretty again. And most impatient.

"You still do not understand, Mr. Carter. You are coming to Japan now. This minute — or at least very soon. My father's trouble will not wait. There is no time for channels or for officials to confer for the various services to consult on steps to be taken. You see that I understand something of these-matters. So does my father. He has long been in the Secret Service of my country and he knows that red tape is the same everywhere. That is why he gave me the medallion and told me to find you. To ask you to come at once. This I intend to do."

The little Nambu winked at Nick again. He was beginning to tire of the flirtation. The unholy thing about it was — she meant it. She meant every damned word of it! Now!

Nick had a thought. He and Hawk had a voice code which they sometimes used. Maybe he could warn the old man. Then they could get these Japanese cowgirls under control, get them to talk and make sense, and start the ball rolling to help his friend. Nick sighed deeply. He would just have to admit to Hawk that he had been captured by a band of nutty Girl Scouts and ask his compatriots in AXE to get him out of it. Maybe they couldn't do it. It might take the CIA. Or the FBI. Maybe the Army and Navy and Marines. He just didn't know…

He said: "All right, Tonaka. Have it your way. At once. As soon as I can get dressed and pack a suitcase. And make a phone call."

"No phone calls."

For the first time he considered taking the gun away from her. This was getting ridiculous. Killmaster should be able to take a gun away from a Girl Scout! That was the trouble — she wasn't a Girl Scout. None of them were. Because now each of the others, Kato, Sato and Mato, had reached under those trim skirts and come up with Nambu pistols. All pointed insistently at Carter.

"What's the name of your troop, girls? Death's Angels?"

Tonaka wiggled the pistol at him. "My father told me that you would have many tricks, Mr. Carter. He is sure that you will honor your promise, your friendship to him, but he warned me that you would insist on doing it in your own way. This cannot be done. It must be done our way — in absolute secrecy."

"But it can be," said Nick. "I have a great organization at my command. Many such, If, I need them. I did not know that Kunizo was in your Secret Service — my felicitations to him for a well-kept secret — but then he surely must know the value of organization and cooperation. They can do the work of a thousand men — and security is no problem and…"

The pistol halted him. "You are very eloquent, Mr. Carter.. And very wrong. My father understands all those things, naturally, and they are exactly what he does not want. Or need. As for channels — you know as well as I that you are always watched, even if routinely, and so is your organization. You cannot make a single move without someone observing and passing it on. No, Mr. Carter. No phone calls. No official help. This is a job for one man, a friend who can be trusted and who will do as my father asks without asking too many questions. You are the perfect man for the thing that must be done — and you owe a life to my father. May I have the medallion back, please."

He tossed her the medallion. "All right," he conceded. "You seem determined and you have the gun. All of you have the guns. So it looks like I go to Japan with you. Right now. I drop everything, just like that, and take off. You realize, of course, that if I just disappear there will be a worldwide alert in a matter of hours?"

Tonaka allowed herself a tiny smile. He noticed that she was almost beautiful when she smiled. "We will worry about that later, Mr. Carter."

"What about passports? Customs?"

"No problem, Mr. Carter. Our passports are in perfect order. I'm sure that you have many passports — my father assured.me that you would have. Most certainly you have a diplomatic passport that will suffice for this. Any other objections?"

"Passage? There are such things as tickets and reservations."

"All taken care of, Mr. Carter. Everything is arranged. We will be in Tokyo in a very few hours."

He was beginning to believe it. Really believe it. They probably had a space ship waiting out on the Mall. Oh, brother! Hawk was going to love this. A big mission upcoming — Nick knew the signs — and Hawk keeping him on tap until the thing was ripe and now this. There was also the minor matter of the lady, Muriel Milholland. He had a date with her tonight. The least a gentleman could do was call and…

Nick looked pleadingly at Tonaka. "Just one phone call? To a lady? I don't want to stand her up."

The little Nambu was adamant. "No."

NICK CARTER VANISHES — POTOMAC DRAGGED…

Tonaka stood up. Kato, Mato and Sato stood up. All the little guns blinked at Nick Carter.

"We will now," said Tonaka, "go into the bedroom, Mr. Carter."

Nick blinked at them. "Huh?"

"In the bedroom, please. At once!"

Nick stood up and tightened the dressing gown around him. "If you say so."

"Hands up, please."

He was getting a little tired of the Wild West bit. "Now look, Tonaka! I am cooperating. I am a friend of your father and I'll help, even if I don't like the way we're going about things. But let's cut out all this crazy…"

"Hands up! Keep them high in the air! March into the bedroom."

He marched. Hands high in the air. Tonaka followed him into the room, keeping at a professional distance. Trooping in behind came Kato, Mato and Sato.