| The screen goes dark. Simon chats for a few more seconds with Galaxy, who will give him anything he wants...except a gun.
After he's finished dressing, Galaxy leads Simon out of the room. She pauses before a bank of elevators, but Simon prefers to take the stairs. "I need the exercise."
They arrive in the Planning Room. "Mr. Amos Klein," announces Galaxy, and then withdraws.
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Warlock comes forward to greet him, and introduces him to his "creations": The Bishop (the constable with the turquoise ring), Frug (the tall, thin guy from Hugoson's flat), Nero Jones, and Simeon Monk (the tall, wide guy from the flat). "Nice casting, you'll admit."
Then Warlock explains the setup: "I had an unusual idea, arrived at after reading your books, oh, half a dozen times. It is simply this. SWORD works, Mr. Klein. It actually works! And because it works, I made it come to life.
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Using some of its methods, we managed to acquire a trainload of currency notes. The foundation of this establishment, as you might say. However, the prime ingredient of SWORD has been missing. The ingredient that makes SWORD unique. Your own quite remarkable brain."
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Finally Warlock gets down to business, and has Frug and Bishop tip over a tabletop to reveal a model of Hermetico.
"It was the Temple Down Colliery in North Wales. Now it's been taken over by a private company called Hermetico. They've converted it into a safe deposit for hyper-valuables. Two of the Middle Eastern countries keep their gold reserves there. One of them keeps its crown jewels there. Three of De Beers subsidiaries keep their diamond stocks there - never less than two million pounds."
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"An immense storehouse of treasure," points out Warlock.
Warlock points out the features of the model. Hermetico seems impregnable. Amos Klein's task? To write a story in which Sword ransacks Hermetico. "You will write it, and we, your characters, will live it."
Simon tells Warlock he's crazy. Warlock requests that Simon not use that word.
 
"What if I refuse?" says Simon.
"Oh, you yourself have provided me with so many gruesome methods of torture to make such a refusal even thinkable," points out Warlock grimly.
| Simon gazes out the window of his bedroom as the woman known as Amos Klein enters, cheerfully. (We shall refer to her as Darling from now on.) "We are in a spot, Miss Darling." Simon tells her under his breath. "I know," she replies, equally sotto voce.
Simon points out to Galaxy that she's working for a bunch of nuts, but Galaxy is uneffected.
Monk and the Bishop bring in the model of Hermetico and the dossier that SWORD has compiled on it. Darling looks everything over, fascinated.
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Galaxy, and Darling, point out how the SWORD building will be guarded (since its in her books.) Galaxy won't help them escape, but she does point out (while ostensibly showing them the view from the window) that all the rooms are bugged and have close-circuit cameras. "That's as far as I can stick my neck out," she says.
Galaxy checks her hair in the mirror, and sticks her tongue out. On the other side, Warlock is shocked. "I hope Galaxy taks me seriously."
Once Galaxy has left the room, Simon and Darling return to the window. "Okay, you invented SWORD," says Simon, "Now invent a way out of its clutches."
"I did," says Miss Darling. "For Charles Lake. In Hatelover." |
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"What happened?"
He was electrocuted." Darling laughs, but Simon is not amused.
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