The Mind-Twisters Affair by Thomas Stratton Read Free Book Online Page B

do was to get packed and go into hysterics later.
    "Get the doors open," Illya admonished. "We have some packing of our own to do." He nodded at Armden's limp form.
     
    Section II: "Harass The Foe From The Rear"
     
    Chapter 5
    "How Does One Lose A Helicopter?"
     
    DAWN, TO SOMEONE WHO has been awake for twenty-four hours and driving in an incredibly cramped car for eight, can be extremely bleak. Somewhere near the eastern end of the Ohio turnpike, Napoleon pulled to the side of the road and stopped next to a sign that read "Emergency Stop Only." He pushed up the gull-wing door and swung his feet out from under the steering wheel. Automatically taking the keys from the ignition, he stood up, stretched, stamped his feet a few times, and shook his head.
    "You'd better take over again," he said to Illya, after a minute of the brisk autumn air had done nothing whatever in the way of shaking off the feeling of lethargy.
    Illya obediently struggled out of the passenger's side, then stood there, leaning over, one hand propping up Dr. Armden. "Get over here and hang on to him," he said, a touch of irritation showing. "If I let go, he'll shift one way or the other and we'll be another half hour getting ourselves stuffed back in."
    Napoleon hurried around the car and held Armden in place while Illya inserted himself beneath and behind the steering wheel. Once settled, he held Armden while Napoleon got in.
    Illya glanced at the clear morning sky as he reached up to pull down the door. "This car even attracts attention from helicopters," he observed.
    "Probably belongs to the highway department, or the local police," Napoleon answered, stifling a yawn. "Some places use them to check traffic flow." He closed his eyes.
    "I think we're being followed," Illya said. "Either this one or one just like it was hovering over us the last time we stopped."
    Napoleon pushed open his door and looked up. After a second, he spotted a noisy speck well up in the sky. It appeared to be hovering.
    "And you didn't tell me? What kind of a friend are you?"
    "A considerate one. We've no assurance that it is following us, and even if it is, what do you propose to do about it?"
    Napoleon shrugged. "Nothing, I suppose. As long as it stays that high." He closed the door and his eyes almost simultaneously.
    Illya drove silently. At the next stop for gas, there was a helicopter hovering overhead. They discussed the possibilities, and decided to stay on the turnpike. The side roads wouldn't hide them from aerial observation, and Napoleon thought they might be able to outrun a conventional helicopter on a straightaway. Also, there were several tunnels ahead.
    The traffic had picked up, so neither Napoleon nor Illya immediately noticed the two large sedans that merged smoothly into traffic in front of them. Napoleon, who was driving, was only mildly irritated when the sedans pulled even with one another and blocked both lanes while moving slightly slower than he wanted to travel. After a few minutes of this, both cars began to slow down, still carefully abreast. At the same time, two similar cars appeared in his rear-view mirror, blocking both lanes behind him.
    "It would seem," Napoleon said, nodding toward the cars ahead, "that they've called in the ground forces."
    Illya put his head out the window and peered up. "The air force is closing in, too."
    "This would seem to settle any doubts about Thrush being involved. No one else I know can afford massed ranks of cars and a helicopter to run us down. I hate to say I told you so, but…"
    "But you'll make an exception for a friend; I know." Illya interrupted him.
    Napoleon was driving carefully, watching the four cars. They were still slowing, and the two in back were drawing closer. Then one of the cars in the rear began to draw ahead of the other. Napoleon promptly swung the U.N.C.L.E. car in front of it, and it dropped back and its companion pulled ahead. By now they could hear the roar of the approaching