The Mind-Twisters Affair (10 page)

"I doubt that Mr. Waverly would approve any budgetary items for the suppression of supernatural evil," Illya commented. "Though considering his penchant for insisting that all flights be made by coach, I suppose he might be willing to look into the matter of broomsticks."

"Of course, gentlemen," Whateley said. "No one believes in evil that they can't see. If it doesn't come neatly packaged and labeled, as in the case of your rival, Thrush, everyone tends to ignore it. It's very difficult to combat something that one is ignoring." He chuckled again.

Napoleon watched Whateley closely while keeping a pleasant smile on his face. "I understand your father had just the opposite problem. People believed in an evil that didn't exist, and were willing to lynch him for it."

Whateley shrugged skeletally. "People were more ready to believe in things of the spirit fifty years ago," he said. "Not to mention that father contributed heavily to his own legend; he was positively delighted at the opportunity to appear exotically evil. I'm afraid that I seem to have inherited the tendency." He swirled his cape dramatically.

Napoleon smiled understandingly.

"Of course," Whateley continued, eyeing the U.N.C.L.E. agents speculatively, "there is always the possibility that the local residents were right. The old gods were not a benevolent sort. A man who could invoke their aid would be a powerful figure of evil indeed."

"Old gods?" Napoleon inquired.

"Yes, Mr. Solo. There were gods before Jehovah, and humanity did not always give even lip-service to the current ideals of brotherhood and tolerance. What does a god who has lost his worshippers do, Mr. Solo? He can no longer act, but, being immortal, he cannot die, either. He exists in a formless limbo. There are gods waiting there, Mr. Solo; beings so powerful, and so evil, that all mankind might not withstand them if they returned."

Napoleon nodded noncommittally. "I have a feeling," he said, "that the people of Midford would be willing to believe in the old gods. They are certainly willing enough to believe that U.N.C.L.E. is in league with the devil."

Whateley looked interested. "That seems unusual. You're generally regarded as being on the, ah, other side, aren't you? Certainly you don't appear very diabolical. Why would anyone consider you evil?"

"We haven't found a reason," Napoleon said. "That's why I wanted to talk to you. As the object of a hate campaign of your own, I thought you might be able to shed some light on the subject."

Whateley shook his head. "I'm afraid not; the reason for the dislike of the Whateleys is all too plain. Is this U.N.C.L.E. phobia a recent phenomenon?"

"Apparently. In fact, we're beginning to suspect that it's not natural; that a drug of some kind may be involved."

Whateley chuckled again, and Illya involuntarily shivered. "Or perhaps an evil spell, Mr. Solo? An enchantment? I didn't realize that secret agents were so sensitive about their images."

Napoleon looked hurt. "Unlike some organizations," he explained, "we occasionally must depend on public good will. But whatever the problem is, we'll manage to get it solved." He attempted to look confident and succeeded in appearing slightly fatuous.

"You mean that both of you are in Midford simply to find out why people don't like U.N.C.L.E.? I should think there would be more serious calls on your time. I suppose I could sell you some advertising time on my TV station and you could get a good public relations firm to handle the case. That sort of thing does wonders for General Motors, I understand."

"I'm afraid our budget would never stand for it." Napoleon sighed dramatically. "We sometimes have trouble when our hotel bill lists an extra for a TV set in the room; if we can't afford to watch it, I'm sure we could never afford to buy time on it."

"That shouldn't bother you in Midford," Whateley suggested. "The facilities of the local hotel are not the most up-to-date."

"We aren't staying at the hotel, though," Napoleon said.

"The manager is one of the townspeople who dislikes U.N.C.L.E. Currently we're staying with Rita's cousin, but..." He let his voice trail off.

"That's an inconvenient base of operations," Whateley said. "It's really quite distant from Midford." He paused thoughtfully. "Why don't you accept my hospitality? I have a fine house not too far from town; there's just Flavia and myself and a small domestic staff. With a few lovely exceptions," he bowed toward Rita, "we don't have visitors. I'm afraid the Whateleys are still not considered a part of the community."

Napoleon studied the offer. "It might be best, if we wouldn't disturb you."

"Not at all, not at all." Whateley smiled, and Napoleon discovered that his smile could be as sinister as his chuckle. 'I'm sure Miss Berman can vouch for my character, if you have any lingering doubts."

Rita nodded agreeably. "You'll like it there. If you want to look up any more local history, I'm sure the Whateley library contains at least as many volumes as the university library; perhaps more."

Whateley smiled in what might be construed as delight. "Are you fellow bibliophiles? Delightful. I do have a quite extensive and, er, unusual library. You must avail yourselves of it."

"Very well," Napoleon agreed. "What time tomorrow should we arrive?"

"It's still early," Whateley responded, pulling a huge gold watch from a vest pocket and glancing at it. "You could easily come back with me as soon as we've finished the meal."

Napoleon shook his head. "I don't think we should. I'm afraid Mr. Thompson might be somewhat annoyed by all the packing and moving at this late hour. He's been very considerate, and I wouldn't want to disturb him."

"I see," said Whateley. "Having met Lem Thompson, I can well understand. Tomorrow, then; any time that suits your convenience. You come, too," he said, turning to Rita. "Flavia wanted to ask you something about costumes for the pageant."

Rita nodded, and Whateley stalked away from the table, paused momentarily at the door to whirl his cape about his shoulders in a theatrical gesture, and departed into the night.

"He forgot to get anything to eat," Illya commented.

"True," Napoleon agreed. "I think he was too interested in maneuvering us into accepting his invitation to stay with him."

"Perhaps," said Illya. "But you were working just as hard to maneuver him into issuing the invitation, and it didn't spoil your appetite."

"You noticed, did you? Well, it takes a devious mind to know one. I'd like to be able to keep an eye on Jabez Whateley. Your idea of subliminal suggestions, his new TV station and his showing up here so conveniently: it all strikes me as a pretty healthy coincidence."

Illya nodded. "If he isn't involved, his place sounds like a good base. If he is, then it will be easier to keep an eye on him while he thinks he's keeping an eye on us. Of course, he isn't stupid. We suspect him, but he knows that we suspect him, and since we know that he knows…"

"Never mind," Napoleon said as he rose and picked up the check. "You know, we really are beginning to think alike.

"Incidentally, how many hours a day does Whateley's television station broadcast?" Napoleon asked as Rita swung the car into Lem Thompson's driveway.

"About twelve, I think," she replied.

"What time does it go off the air?"

Rita shrugged. "That depends on what part of the country you live in. Here in Midford, it goes off at midnight."

Illya looked baffled. "It broadcasts to different areas at different times?"

"Not really," Rita explained. "It's just that part of the area is on Eastern Standard time, and part of it is on Central Standard. Then there's one section on Central Daylight, but that's the same as Eastern Standard. I think." She paused and frowned thoughtfully. "Over by Hunterton you get into Eastern Daylight in the summer, but I think they've switched back to Eastern Standard now. Then a few farmers still set their clocks on Sun Time, which is a half hour faster than Central Standard. Or is it a half hour slower?" She paused again.

Napoleon blinked. "It seems awfully confusing."

"Very. But it has its advantages. One of the more enterprising students at the university has been making good money by selling mimeographed copies of his conversion table. So people in Midford can tell when the stores will close in Bippus and vice versa."

"But I thought time zones had been standardized by law," Illya said.

"Oh, they have," Rita said casually. "But can you see someone standardizing Lem Thompson? This state has been arguing over the standard time zones for the past five years, and they're no closer to an agreement now than they were when they started."

"I see your point," Napoleon admitted. "Where is this TV station, anyway? The newspaper just said Bippus."

"You can't miss it," Rita informed them with the cheery confidence of someone who has never tried to follow directions. "It's right downtown, across from the hotel. Why? Are you going to raid it?" Eagerness for adventure was apparent in her voice.

"Eventually," said Napoleon. "But not until we have something a little more definite to go on."

"Yes," Illya added helpfully. "We're having enough image problems now; imagine what would happen if we were caught burglarizing an innocent TV station."

Rita looked unconvinced, but failed to pursue the subject as the agents got out of the car. With a wave, she drove off, and the looming hulk of the Checker disappeared into the darkness.

"Well, let's go," Napoleon said.

"Aren't you the mad, impetuous boy, though," said Illya.

Napoleon shrugged. "If you'd prefer to wait until Rita thinks of a good excuse to come along..."

They walked to the U.N.C.L.E. car.

Section III: "You're Anxious to End Your Career?"

Chapter 9

"If I Didn't Know Better, I'd Say This Was A Chain"

THE OFFICES OF WHPL-TV occupied the second floor over the Gackenheimer Feed Store. Napoleon and Illya strolled by the front of the building, trying to look as though they had legitimate business on the totally deserted street at two o'clock in the morning. Napoleon halted to inspect a sign advertising Candied Baby Pig Pusher. "I'd think it would be hard to get hooked on candied baby pigs," he commented. "Though I've heard that chocolate covered ants are considered a delicacy in some circles."

Illya grimaced and urged Napoleon along to the alley next to the building. The agents disappeared into it.

"I wonder if they'll have a watchman?" Illya asked.

"A possibility, if Thrush is involved," said Napoleon. "I don't think they're expecting us, though. Having a watchman tends to make people wonder what sort of valuables need to be watched. We might be lucky. This stairway seems to be what we're looking for. You keep a lookout down here while I see about the door."

The door at the top of the stairs was, of course, locked. As quiet as the town was, blowing the lock would attract too much unwanted attention. After studying the lock by the light of his small flashlight, Napoleon extracted a piece of thin wire from a coat pocket and inserted it in the keyhole. After some experimental poking he pulled the wire back out, bent it to shape, and reinserted it. Some experimental twists revealed the need for further modifications. The next trial produced the satisfying sound of the bolt being withdrawn. He gestured to Illya, who quickly joined him.

"I'm going inside," Napoleon said. "You stay here. If I run into trouble, I'll make enough noise for you to hear and come bail me out. If someone starts investigating from outside, you make enough noise to warn me."

"You didn't say anything about bailing me out," Illya complained.

"Anyone you run into is likely to be an officer of the law, in which case I'll bail you out in the morning. Just pretend you're a burglar and keep U.N.C.L.E.'s image untarnished."

Illya nodded unhappily and tried to look like a burglar. Napoleon switched on his light and moved into the studio.

The place was about what he had expected: some offices, an art department for local advertising, a couple of small sound stages for live programming, a film library. Making his way into the library, he found the films neatly racked and a portable viewer for examining film strips set up on a table.
If Thrush is involved
, he thought,
they're going out of their way to be helpful
.

On inspection, the majority of the films turned out to be commercials. They were filed by sponsor name; a thorough search failed to reveal the cross-index by program that he expected. Not that it made much difference. Professor Curtis had mentioned a local news broadcast that almost everyone watched, but subliminal messages were as likely to appear in one film as another.

He began selecting films at random and running them through the viewer.

To his surprise, he found subliminal messages in the first film, and the second, and the third. It began to look as though every advertising film in the room had been tampered with by Thrush. Additional single frames had been spliced into the films, so that each would be shown just long enough for the viewer's subconscious to pick up the message. Most of the messages were just two words, such as "U.N.C.L.E. Communist," or "U.N.C.L.E. Killers." Others simply had the U.N.C.L.E name overlayed across photos of gangsters, hooded executioners, and the like.

He found a few frames that showed skid row bums, panhandling in one frame, mugging someone in another, and some which seemed to portray Thrush's favorite axiom, "Might is Right." The Thrush name was never mentioned, but it seemed obvious that they were the originators of the messages. Apparently in addition to castigating U.N.C.L.E., they were attempting to implant a general attitude which would make the citizens more receptive to Thrush domination in the name of strong, efficient government. There might be other films implicating Thrust directly, but he had found what he suspected. It wouldn't do to jeopardize a successful mission by making protracted examinations of all the films in stock.

He carefully replaced the films where he had found them, made sure the viewer was in its original position, and rejoined Illya at the back door. After locking the door behind them, they returned to their car and, as they drove back to Lem Thompson's farm, they reported their success to Waverly.