[Magazine 1966-­08] - The Cat and Mouse Affair - Davis Robert Hart (версия книг .txt) 📗

Quickly they changed clothes with the sleeping guards, and dragged the guards into a nearby empty office. Then they went up the stairs and began their search. They found the cells of Colonel Julio Brown and Jemi Zamyatta at the very top of one of the new wings.

"They don't want any escape this time," Solo said. "I always thought that Stengali escaped too easily."

"They don't want any escape yet. I imagine it might be arranged later," Illya said.

There were two guards in the jail corridor outside the barred door into the top cellblock. There was another guard inside the cellblock near the actual cells. There were alarm boxes on the wall both inside the cellblock and outside. It would be necessary to silence the three guards quickly.

They shot the two outside guards with sleep darts and ran fast toward the cellblock. The guard inside whirled at the sounds. Illya shot him on the dead run and the guard slumped to the floor inches from the alarm box. Solo bent and took the keys from the fallen guard.

Solo opened the outer barred door and the two agents went down the line of cells. All the cells were empty until they reached the last two. In these last cells Jemi Zamyatta, and Colonel Julio Brown, stood watching the agents.

"Good evening, gentlemen," Solo said.

Zamyatta watched them, looked at their guns. Colonel Brown looked at their guns, and then at their faces.

"You two! You work for the premier?"

"Never mind who we work for," Illya said. "The question is what work are we going to have to do."

Zamyatta was puzzled. "What work?"

"My blond friend means do we see that you two are put away, or do we turn you loose?" Solo said.

The two prisoners stared at the agents.

TWO

The hulking shape of Jemi Zamyatta sat on the bunk in the cell and listened to the story of the two U.N.C.L.E. agents. Colonel Brown was a more nervous type. The colonel paced the floor of the cell. When Illya and Solo had finished, Zamyatta spoke. The bull-like opposition leader spread his powerful hands.

"I swear, gentlemen, there was no coup!"

Colonel Brown swore. "None at all! There was no threat to the premier."

"Except, perhaps, a change in Zambala," Jemi Zamyatta said. "We are becoming a country. The days of chaos are over, or they were. If I were to be elected, I was ready to amnesty Max Steng and his men. No, the danger was that the great Lion of Zambala might not win a next election!"

"Was it generally known that you planned to pardon the Stengali?" Illya asked.

"No, not generally—but Roy knew!" Zamyatta said.

Colonel Brown said, "And he knew that I favored such a move! Any such move. The army has been too important too long here. There is too much of Zambala still in the hands of the rich and the foreign companies."

Illya Kuryakin frowned. "Just to stay in power is not enough for all this. I mean, no election had to be held for four years."

"The pressure on the government to spend more money on peaceful development might have caused Roy worry," Zamyatta said,

Illya shook his head. "No, there is more behind this."

Zamyatta looked at the two agents. "Let me say again, there was no planned coup. I know nothing of the attacks on Roy or Mura Khan. I had no dealing with Max Steng, or with the Colonel here."

Illya rubbed his chin. "I saw you two meet."

"Colonel Brown asked to speak to me," Zamyatta said.

"I had been told to question Mr. Zamyatta," Colonel Brown said. "There was a report of undue influence among my men by Mr. Zamyatta."

"Who gave you that report?" Solo asked.

Colonel Brown looked at Zamyatta. "The premier told me! He said it was a test. He did not want anyone to know he had ordered it. I was to prepare my men for a move, but tell no one why."

Illya shrugged. "He set it up, Napoleon. All of it. It was all intended to create the threat of a coup."

"And we fell into it," Solo said.

"No, we were guided into it," Illya said.

Solo turned to Colonel Brown. "Why did your men shoot at us on the cliff road, and later when we were with the Stengali?"

Brown showed surprise. "My men? No, Mr. Solo. My men pursued you in the hills. We had orders to hold anyone who came to Tidworth. But we gave up after you escaped our trap. We did not pursue the Stengali, and we did not shoot at you on the cliff road. None of my men left the camp."

"The major who was killed," Illya said, and described the dead major to Colonel Brown.

The colonel shook his head. "I have no major like that, no officer who fits that description."

"A fake, and a fake unit!" Solo said. "And Bengali was with them!"

"We've been played like fish on a line," Illya said.

"Maybe we can be the fishermen," Solo said.

"It seems like a good idea," Illya said.

"What do you want us to do?" Colonel Brown said.

"Be ready," Illya said. "Colonel, do your men trust you? I mean, will they follow your orders against the premier?"

Brown shook his head. "No, not unless I can prove to them that the premier is a traitor."

"But they will follow your orders against someone else? If they get proof later?"

"Yes, I think so. Who else?"

Illya frowned again. "I'm not ready to say, it's only an idea, but it seems that there are some other armed men on this island we have to deal with."

"You want me to return to my command?" Brown asked.

"Yes, and bring them into San Pablo," Illya said. He looked at Zamyatta. "Can you reach the Stengali, Mr. Zamyatta?"

"I can try," Jemi Zamyatta said. "They must have heard of my arrest. Max Steng and I were long-time friends."

"Try to reach them and bring them into San Pablo."

"Where in San Pablo?" both men wanted to know.

"The presidential palace," Illya said. "Bring all the men you can as soon as you can. Capture anyone you don't know, or anyone who resists. We can apologize to the wrong ones later."

Without more discussion, the four men left the cells and quickly stripped two of the guards. Zamyatta and Colonel Brown disguised themselves in the guards' clothes. Then the four men went down through the silent prison corridors and out the front door.

In the prison yard they found police vehicles. Solo went to work and crossed wires to start two of the jeeps. Zamyatta took one and headed off into the mountains toward the tall mountain with the long scar near the summit.

Colonel Julio Brown took the other jeep and started along the road toward Tidworth Barracks.

Solo and Illya drove their own small stolen car through a silent and deserted San Pablo toward the presidential palace. They had to drive carefully. The city was silent under the edict of martial law, and patrols of troops walked the streets.

But there were few patrols. Illya and Solo looked at each other.

The martial law was another fake—just enough martial law to convince the people of Zambala that a crisis existed. A crisis someone wanted to exist!

"When we get to the palace," Illya said, "I'll go in. You take the car and go to O'Hara."

Solo nodded. "Bengali knew who we were, by name. Only O'Hara knew who we were."

"Unless he told someone," Illya said.

"When I have the word, I'll call you," Solo said.

The car drove on carefully through the silent city.