The Omega Terror

by Nick Carter

  “Stand up,” he ordered.

  I did and felt a throbbing along my neck where the slug had grazed me. Blood had caked on my neck and collar. While I stood with the chauffeur’s gun on me, the general searched me. He found the map in my pocket. He looked at it and grinned. Then he turned to the chauffeur.

  “Handcuff him and bring them into my office.” He was speaking in Arabic now. “And take care of these people.” He gestured indifferently toward the soldiers and cook on the floor.

  A few minutes later, Gabrielle and I were sitting in the big library. I had guessed right about its being the general’s office. Djenina sat behind a long, highly polished wood desk, tapping a pencil on a pad before him and regarding us somberly. He was a light-skinned Moroccan, probably a Berber or a descendant of the fierce Almohads. He was as tall as I, and probably outweighed me by twenty pounds.

  Gabrielle and I were on straight chairs in front of the desk. They had not bothered to handcuff or bind her. The soldier who had been holding Gabrielle was on guard at the door to the library. He still had a gun on us.

  “So you know about Li Yuen’s little project?” Djenina said, still tapping the pencil.

  “We know,” I said. “You made a serious error, General, aligning yourself with the Chinese in such a situation. Did you ever get hard cash for the protection you gave them?”

  The general seemed nettled by the question. “Li Yuen keeps his word, my friend. Soon we will have the capital necessary to finance a real coup, not a farce like the last one.”

  “Which you also led?” I asked.

  His eyes narrowed on me slightly. “I was not the moving force in the unsuccessful one. The next time I will do the planning.”

  “And perhaps someone in your group will turn on you at the last minute, when things look black, and shoot you as you did the first leader.”

  Djenina smirked arrogantly. “Very clever, wasn’t it, to kill those inept bunglers and save myself from the firing squad.”

  “It depends on which end of the gun you were on, I suppose.”

  Djenina did not acknowledge my sarcasm. “They deserved exactly what they got, Mr. Carter,” he said to me. “Their weak leadership led us into a position in which all of us almost lost our lives. That will not happen again.”

  “Do you really think you’ll get another rebellion off the ground with the Chicoms backing you?” I asked.

  “I am counting on it,” he said coldly, pulling the big chin up and jutting it forward, Mussolini-style. He had removed the braided cap, revealing thick, dark hair that was graying at the temples.

  “And it doesn’t concern you what Li Yuen and Dr. Zeno are concocting down there under your protection?”

  “But, Mr. Carter,” Djenina smiled slyly, “they are establishing a health clinic for the poor de-prived citizens of the area.”

  “If the Chinese succeed in their Omega project” I said to the General, “no people or country will be safe. Not even Morocco. You have the proverbial tiger by the tail, Djenina. At the moment the tiger is using you for his own purposes. Later he may turn and bite your head off.”

  “That is always a possibility, of course,” he said smoothly. “But this country is different from yours. Here one does not get ahead by hard work. I enjoy my present rank and position because I was born into the monied class and because I was strong enough to take what I wanted. You get only what you can grab from somebody else. I do not intend to be caught short when the grabbing is over, Mr. Carter, even if I have to deal with the Chinese to get the help I need.”

  I decided it was pointless to discuss the matter further with Djenina. He had long ago rationalized his motives, and he could not be reached with reason now.

  “What do you plan for us?” I asked him frankly, I thought I knew the answer, but I wanted his confirmation before making any plans.

  “He will kill us,” Gabrielle said. “I know it.”

  She still wore the guard’s uniform over her clothes. I could not help thinking how helpless she looked, sitting there blurting out her fear to the man who had so much power over her.

  “Yes,” the general agreed casually with her, “I may have to kill you. After all, you have invaded my home, killing several trusted men and injuring others. You deserve to be summarily shot. Moroccan military law demands it.”

  He had not yet said that he definitely intended to shoot us, however, and that surprised me somewhat. “I didn’t know you cared all that much for the law,” I said with an edge to my voice.

  He was wearing that damnable grin again. The scar that ran across his left eye appeared more livid in this light. “I utilize it when it serves my purpose,” he said. “I also break it when it serves my purpose. And I am prepared to do so now, Mr. Carter, to save your life. Your lives, perhaps I should say.”

  “You know I’m in no position to make deals, General.”

  “What I had in mind was more involved than a deal.”

  I stared at him uncomprehendingly.

  “I respect you for your peculiar talents, Mr. Carter,” he said, his eyes serious now. “Not many men could have gotten in here the way you did and accomplished the damage you managed to accomplish with what you had to work with.”

  The compliment surprised me.

  “Li Yuen has mentioned you,” the general continued. “It seems he, or rather L5, has a rather large file on you.”

  “I’m sure of it,” I said.

  “I am impressed with what I was told and what I have seen,” Djenina continued. He leaned forward conspiratorially. “The West has lost the struggle, Carter, with Damon Zeno’s discovery. I don’t have any real idea what it is, because they won’t tell me, but I know it is very powerful.”

  “I’m sure it is.” I managed a shrug.

  “And where will that leave you, my friend? Very probably dead, on the losing side.”

  “I’m not going to buy a cemetery plot just yet,” I answered.

  He leaned forward even farther. “I will offer you your life, Carter, in more ways than one. I need a man like you. You can work for me. If I trust you, Li Yuen will. I can arrange a commission for you and have you assigned to my personal staff. How does Colonel Carter sound?”

  My inclination was to smile at the incongruity of it all, but I thought better of it. Instead of telling him that I was not interested in leftist coups, that L5 in Peking had a red sticker on my file and my photographs posted in their training school, and that Li Yuen was obligated to kill me where and when he could manage it, I decided to show an interest in Djenina’s offer.

  “Colonel Carter,” I repeated slowly. I looked at his eager face. “You need me for the coup, you say?”

  “With your help, Carter, we can bring Hassan to his ugly knees. I will rule Morocco, and you will be my minister of state security.”

  He watched my face closely for a reaction. Gabrielle looked at me, too, and there was dismay on her face. “Nick,” she began, “you are not . . . .

  I kept my eyes on Djenina. “You make a very persuasive case.”

  “Nick!” Gabrielle said loudly.

  I did not look at her. “What would my pay amount to, as colonel?”

  Djenina smiled. “Americans are always so practical when it comes to money.” Then he shrugged. “A full colonel here probably makes no more than you do now. But I could, and would, make a special arrangement so that you would earn twice the usual pay, for special duty on my staff.”

  I sat there silent a moment, as if I were considering all angles. “And if the coup were successful, I would definitely be head of intelligence and security?”

  Gabrielle tried to interrupt again, but I wouldn’t let her. “Be quiet,” I said harshly. Then I looked back at Djenina. “Well?”

  Djenina was enjoying Gabrielle’s discomfort. He smiled again as he spoke to me. “You have my word for it. I will put it in writing.”

  I paused. “I’ll have to give it some thought.”

  The smile faded slightly. “All ri
ght. You may have all night. Tomorrow morning you must give me an answer.”

  “And the girl?”

  “We will not harm her.”

  I studied his face and it had all the honesty of a desert bandit. But I had gained us some time, hopefully. Until dawn tomorrow. Anything could happen during the night.

  “And what happens to us tomorrow morning if I refuse your offer?” I asked.

  The smile widened slightly. “There will be a small firing squad, I’m afraid. I’ve already sent for a detachment of men, just in case. It will all be very official, of course. You will be shot as spies, which you most certainly are.” His voice softened. “But I think you will not be so foolish, Carter. I think you will do what is best for you.”

  “I’ll give you my answer in the morning,” I told him.

  “Fine. Ahmed, take them upstairs. Leave Mr. Carter handcuffed for the time being. You will station the corporal outside the palace on that side, and you will take up a position outside their locked rooms.” He looked at me to see my reaction to his thoroughness. “Good night, to both of you.”

  We were led upstairs, and on the way Gabrielle would not look at me, let alone speak. I tried to recall the details of the map Djenina had taken back from me, so I could have them in case we ever got away from here. Upstairs we were ushered into adjoining rooms, and the doors were locked tight.

  My room was a large one with a bed, a small sofa, and an overstuffed chair. The ceiling bore a mural depicting a scene from old Morocco. There was a bathroom off the room, and it was decorated with mosaic tiles.

  I went over to the window and looked out. It was a long drop to the ground. The other soldier was already outside, walking his post along the side of the building, a submachine gun slung over his shoulder.

  I sighed heavily. I wondered what I had really accomplished. With a guard outside the windows and doors and my wrists in cuffs, it suddenly seemed pretty unlikely that I could find a way to get Gabrielle and myself out of this place alive.

  I lay on the bed, trying not to notice the way the handcuffs bit into the flesh of my wrists. Gabrielle was just beyond the thick wall across the room, but there was no way to get to her. If time were not so important, and if I could be sure he would not hurt her, I could have given Djenina an affirmative answer immediately and played along until I could get away from him or kill him. But I had to get out of here by tomorrow morning if I was to have any chance of reaching the lab in time.

  I lay there thinking. If I could pick the lock on the cuffs, I would have some freedom. But how do you pick a lock on your own bound wrists? It was a nice question.

  Maybe the answer was to forget the handcuffs. I could do plenty with them on, if I could just get out of this room. I decided to wait until the early hours of the morning, when the guards would be half asleep. Then I would try to get the guard outside in the corridor to come in here, on his own, without calling the general. Maybe he would see no harm in taking me to Djenina for another private talk, without the girl. It wouldn’t hurt to ask.

  But my plan was never to come off. General Djenina had ideas of his own. About midnight I heard a knock at my door, a murmured command to the guard, and the door was unlocked. Djenina opened it and stood in the doorway for a moment as I sat on the edge of the bed.

  “I would like to have another talk with you,” he said, closing the door behind him.

  “I was expecting you,” I said.

  He strode across the room with his hands clasped behind him, an imposing figure with his black-belted uniform and his shiny, high boots over military breeches. He stood at the window, looking out into the blackness.

  “It was difficult to speak frankly with the girl there,” he said. He turned to me, his eyes boring into mine. “You have the qualities I like in an associate, Carter. And you have the know-how to make a coup work for us. In addition to the extra pay I mentioned downstairs, I can see that you receive many other—fringe benefits, I believe you would call them Gifts from grateful political leaders, who are protected by my troops. A fine home, Carter, and a fine American car at your disposal, with a chauffeur if you wished. Women. All the women you will ever want. And when you become my minister of state security, you will have extraordinary power. You will be a force in Moroccan politics and history.”

  “You make a good case for your side,” I said with a small grin.

  “You will have a greater career than you ever imagined. This is not a pipe dream. I can make it all come true, with your help.

  “On the other hand, if you were to insist on retaining your previous questionable loyalties, you would be putting me in an awkward position. I cannot afford an enemy like you, Carter. But with you on my side, and the capital which will be forth-coming shortly from Peking, I can find my destiny in this country, and you can be a part of it.”

  He came and stood beside me. “What do you think? Will you take this opportunity? Only you can put the cloak of greatness on you, Carter.”

  I looked at the floor for another moment, then rose to meet him eye to eye. “There seems to be little choice.”

  A look of smug satisfaction came over his square face. “Then you will come with me?”

  “Yes,” I said. “But what about the girl?”

  The smile faded from his lips, his eyes locked with mine, and I knew with an awful certainty how miserable it would be to be under the influence and power of this man. “The girl is quite another matter,” he said coldly. “The girl must die.”

  I looked away. That was what I had figured.

  “And you must do it.”

  I looked back at him and tried to hide my hatred. “You want too much.”

  “Do I?” he said flatly. “In return for your own life? For riches and power? Do I really ask too much, Carter? No, I think not. Because killing the girl will be your act of fealty to me. It will be your way of showing me that you’ve really changed loyalties. Kill the girl, who means very little to you, and we will ride the wind together.”

  Now the bastard was getting poetic. I looked back into his eyes, and I think it bothered him a little that I was at his level. He was accustomed to looking down on people.

  “How?” I asked.

  He grinned again. He drew the big automatic from its holster at his side. “Would this do?”

  I looked at the gun. A slug from it would tear Gabrielle in half. But I had to make him think I was willing to do it. It would give us both an opportunity to fight back, anyway, if luck was with us. “I think that ought to be sufficient,” I said. “When do I do it?”

  “As soon as possible,” he said.

  I thought a moment. Now was as good a time as any to make a break for it. Maybe the darkness would help if I could get outside.

  “I’ll do it now,” I said, putting an edge of tension in my voice.

  Djenina looked surprised. “Very well.”

  “I want to get it over with,” I said. “But I want to do it my way. Leave the cuffs on me,” I told him. “Take us both outside together into a remote corner of the garden. I want her to think that you’re executing us both. Take the cuffs off at the last moment and give me the gun while she’s facing away from me. I don’t want her to know I’m doing it.”

  Djenina had an ugly look on his face. “I didn’t put you down as a squeamish man, Carter. Not after the killing you have obviously done.”

  “Let’s just say that I’ve been intimate with her too recently,” I said.

  “Ah. I see your point.” He seemed to accept the explanation. “It is difficult to dispose of a mistress, I agree. Very well, let’s get the girl”

  We went into the hall, and the situation was explained to the soldier on guard there who then unlocked the door to Gabrielle’s room. She was sitting in a chair when they went to get her.

  “Come with us,” the guard commanded.

  When she got out into the hall she looked at the handcuffs still on my wrists. “What is happening?” she asked.

  “They’re taking
us for a walk in the garden,” I said.

  “Then you did not accept his offer?”

  “No,” I said honestly.

  I thought I saw a slight smirk on the soldier’s mouth.

  “The two of you leave me no choice,” Djenina said to Gabrielle. “Come. Let’s get on with it.”

  “I’m sorry, Gabrielle. That it turned out this way, I mean.”

  We moved down the stairs and out of the house. Both Djenina and the soldier had their guns out.

  At the corner of the house we were joined by the chauffeur-soldier who had stood guard outside the building. He unslung the submachine gun and moved beside us with the ugly muzzle pointed at my chest. There were three guns on us, all capable of blowing holes the size of Moroccan tea saucers in our bodies.

  In just moments we were in a lonely corner of the grounds. There was plenty of shadow and cover, if I got the opportunity to use it. But in the clearing where we stood, the high moon cast a silver, eerie light on all of us. In the cut shrubs nearby, a cicada rasped in the darkness.

  “This is far enough,” General Djenina said. He had just whispered something into the chauffeur’s ear, and I hoped he had told the man not to use the submachine gun on me so long as I shot the girl. “Remove Mr. Carter’s handcuffs. A man should not have to face his maker bound like an animal”

  The orderly stuck the automatic pistol into his belt and took a key from his pocket. Djenina was watching my face closely, and I noted that his gun was on me. He had no intention of trusting me until I had killed the girl. And maybe not even then. Anyway, I did some more acting for him. I sneaked a look at Gabrielle when she was not looking, a guilty look, and I sighed heavily.

  “All right, stand together beside that tree there,” Djenina commanded. We did as he said. Gabrielle’s face was drawn taut with fear. She was certain she was going to die. And I knew there was at least a good chance of it.

  The man with the submachine gun had the weapon aimed at us. Djenina and the orderly stood somewhat closer, flanking us.

  “The girl first,” Djenina said. “Turn around, you.”

  Gabrielle glared at him. “I will not. You must face me if you will kill me.”