The Death Strain by Nick Carter Read Free Book Online

virus. I think you'll all agree there is no better field agent in the world. But time is all-important. Any help you can give will help us all. Until X–V77 is returned intact to us, we are all in this together. No one here expects anyone else to give away secrets, yet within that framework, we must cooperate. I will tell you all that we know up to now."
    As Hawk briefed the room I thought to myself what a concentration of high-powered espionage information was gathered here in this room in the White House. When Hawk finished, he picked up a sheet of notepaper.
    "This was received by the President of the United States this morning," he said. He glanced at me for a moment. "It was postmarked in a small town in Iowa." I nodded and he returned to the letter.
    "Mr. President," he read, "by now I hope you have contacted the leaders of every major power and told them that together you must destroy all stocks of bacteriological warfare. If you have not done so, you only have a short time before I will demonstrate the full effect of the horror you would inflict upon the world. I will expect action and I will listen to the public communication systems and the press for your answer. Joseph Carlsbad."
    Hawk passed the letter around, handing it first to Manouchi, the Italian, standing nearest to him.
    "Perhaps we ought to make a public show of doing what he says," Ardsley of British Intelligence volunteered. "All our governments announce that we're destroying our germ warfare branches and materials."
    "He is no fool, this Carlsbad " Ostrov said. "He will want more than words."
    "I'm afraid I agree with General Ostrov on that," Hawk said. "He's obviously planned carefully and with help. He can probably stay wherever he's holed up and wait for us to furnish proof."
    "And showing him proof would be impossible for you gentlemen, eh?" Claude Mainon said, a sly smile on his face. "That would mean actually doing away with your bacteriological warfare weapons."
    Nobody said anything, neither Hawk nor Ostrov. I couldn't help smiling inwardly. The Frenchman had touched on one of the tender spots.
    "For the moment let us concentrate on recovering X–V77," Hawk said finally. He tossed the little round silver object with the ivory or bone set into it on the table.
    "This is the one material lead Agent N3 has found," he said. "Can any of you help us with it?"
    I watched the men move closer to the table and look at the piece. Ardsley, Mainon, the Italian and Ostrov shook their heads. Nutashi, the Japanese, picked it up and studied it closely. I saw Chung Li watching him through mere slits of eyes, a patient, almost amused expression on his face.
    "It is an identification piece," Nutashi said. "Used by a small secret society, semireligious, practicing human sacrifices, we understand. The material in the center
is
human bone from a victim of the Hiroshima bombing, no doubt still slightly radioactive. The religious aspects of the society center around the Hiroshima catastrophe."
    "Certainly the land of a group Carlsbad could get material help from," I said. "Such as a place to hide."
    Nutashi laid the silver piece back on the table and Chung Li reached out and picked it up, dangling it from the few remaining links attached to it. "Major Nutashi
is
generally correct about this group," he said in his soft, sibilant voice. "We had contacted them once to evaluate their possible use for our own purposes."
    I saw Nutashi's jaw muscles flex, but he maintained his outer calm. Chung Li went on, his soft, gentle tones clear in the silence of the room. "However we found them too few in number and badly disorganized. But during the past year we have heard that their numbers have increased and that they seem to have taken on a new strength. Strangely enough, this has resulted in their going deeper underground."
    I saw all those check stubs of Carlsbad's in my mind. If this group had got themselves new strength, at least part of it was due to Carlsbad's funds.
    "You