curved glass surface of the cathode ray tube, tracing a jagged radio signal that appeared on the screen. 'I recorded this signal just before the first machines appeared in New York, Moscow, Paris, Madrid, London. I didn't think anything of it until I played it back, while you were chasing giant robots.'
Dex twisted a dial on his console. A series of ominous, repeating tones came through a small speaker. It had a rhythm, almost a melody of electronic information. Sky Captain leaned closer to the oscilloscope as if it would help him concentrate on the tones. 'Morse code?'
'That's what I thought at first, but the syntax is more complex. There's a subcarrier hidden in the lower frequency. I think it's being used to control them — all the machines, from a central place.'
'If it shows up again can you track it?'
'I can try.'
'Good boy, Dex.' Pulling off his gloves, Sky Captain gestured to the enormous robot lying prone on the semitrailer. 'In the meantime, see what you can do with that big lug. Find out what makes it tick.' Sky Captain gave Dex a mischievous grin. 'You don't mind, do you?'
Dex tried to suppress his glee. 'I don't mind.'
Sky Captain tossed his gloves onto the workbench as he moved toward an arching doorway. 'I want to know where these robots came from, Dex. Who sent them here. I'll be in my office.'
He didn't slow his stride as he walked into the Flying Legion's center of operations. Inside, the showpiece was a giant detailed map of the globe spanning four stories and taking up three walls of the research hangar. Uniformed technicians walked overhead on catwalks, using pointers and wooden sticks to mark regions on the map. A booming loudspeaker relayed new coordinates as other members of the Flying Legion reported in.
Sky Captain spared only a glance for the bustling activity, though. He nodded to the crewmen, but he was intent on a doorway on the opposite side of the map room. He headed for his private sanctuary, the place where he could think best. The name in stenciled letters on the door read, CAPTAIN H. JOSEPH SULLIVAN.
Barely containing his sigh of relief, Sky Captain entered the dark office and closed the door behind him. After a brief pause, he turned his back and leaned wearily against the door. His posture changed, and he reached for his aching ribs, feeling with fingertips to discover just how badly he had been hurt. The battle against the robot monsters had taken its toll, but Sky Captain knew never to let the world, or even the rest of his crew, see him like this.
He walked gingerly through the tiny office to a small wooden desk and sat down, exhausted. Still in shadow, he opened a side drawer, pulled out a shot glass, and set it on the desk after sweeping file folders and paperwork aside. Sky Captain reached back into the deep drawer and withdrew a bottle: milk of magnesia. He poured a full shot of the chalky white liquid, raised it in silent salute, and grimaced in preparation before touching the small glass to his lips.
A woman's voice startled him. 'Tummy ache?'
Sky Captain spun around, drawing his pistol with a smooth speed that would have made a cobra jealous. He aimed at the dark corner of the room from which Polly Perkins stepped into the light, smiling at him.
Though surprised, he recognized her instantly. At first he reacted with pleasure, but then his expression darkened. Old wounds started to surface.
'How you been, Joe? Miss me?'
8
A Blueprint from Totenkopf. A Warehouse of Sinister Prototypes. More Clues About Unit Eleven
'Who let you in here?' Sky Captain was unable to keep the bitterness out of his voice. 'Get out. Fat lot of good it does to have a hidden base if everybody, including annoying newspaper reporters, can just waltz in here.'
'Nice to see you, too, Joe.' She demurely sat on the corner of his desk. 'Dex said you might be in a mood.'
'Dex…' Gritting his teeth, he grabbed the black telephone receiver from his desk and dialed so roughly that he almost tore off the front of the phone. 'Dex! Get in here!'
Polly shook her head, nonplused. Her wavy golden hair was perfect. 'It's been three years, Joe. Don't tell me you're still mad at me. I can't even remember what we were fighting about.'
Moving as if he was imagining a stranglehold, Sky Captain set the phone back in its cradle. He turned to Polly with a slow burn, speaking so distinctly he bit each word as it came out of his mouth. 'You. Sabotaged. My. Plane!'
'Right…' Polly said, her tone clearly saying the opposite. 'Still suffering from delusions, I see.'
'I spent six months in a Manchurian slave camp because of you.' He looked away as the harsh memories flooded back. 'They were going to cut off my fingers — '
Polly rolled her eyes; she'd heard this a million times before. 'Joe, for the last time, I didn't sabotage your damn airplane.'
'And it was all so you could get a picture of Tojo Hideki in his bathrobe! Of all the ridiculous reasons — '
She swung one leg over the other, relaxed. 'You know, I'm starting to think you made up this whole 'sabotage' nonsense to cover up the fact you were cheating on me with your little mystery girl the whole time we were in Nanjing.'
'Never happened. All in your imagination.'
'Who was she, Joe? What was her name?'
Still angry, he said, 'All right, her name started with an F. Figment. Figment O'Your Imagination. Now who's having delusions?'
Polly moved seductively toward Sky Captain at his desk, but he pulled back, raising his pistol again. 'That's far enough.'
'What are you going to do? Shoot me?' Polly batted her eyelashes.
The door swung open, and Dex hurried into the office. When he saw Sky Captain holding the gun on Polly, he grinned. 'Great! You two made up. I knew you would.'
Sky Captain stood from his desk chair, leaving the shot glass of milk of magnesia untouched. 'This was a pleasure, Polly. Let's do it again in ten years. Dex, escort Miss Perkins off the base. If she resists, shoot her. And don't forget to clean up your mess afterward.'
Dex looked at her shyly. 'Hi, Polly.'
'Hi, Dex.'
The younger man's face flushed with embarrassment. 'I… uh, I gotta…'
'I know, hon. It's okay.' Lifting her chin and showing no loss of dignity at all, Polly let Dex escort her out of the office. Sky Captain followed them to the exit and prepared to give the door a satisfying slam.
Polly sniffed, then spoke loudly to Dex. 'Just as well. I guess you wouldn't have been interested in this anyway.' She dangled the strange schematic that Dr. Jennings had left in the theater.
Even with just a glance, Sky Captain could see that the blueprint showed the detailed workings of the giant robots that had menaced Manhattan. He released his death grip on the door handle, seething. 'Where did you get that?'
Polly turned with a smug smile on her face. He reached for the blueprint, but she withdrew it. 'Oh, there's more where this came from. A lot more.'
'I want that blueprint, Polly. Uh… Dex needs it.'
The younger man brightened. 'Yeah, it would be useful.'
'You want the blueprint, and I want this story, Joe. And you're going to help me get it.'
Sky Captain took a deep breath. He would rather have been fighting any number of evil geniuses bent on exterminating humanity. Dex stood next to Polly, still grinning. 'Hey, maybe we should show her, Cap. Maybe she can help.'
A quick look from Sky Captain shut him up, but Polly saw it.
'Show me what?' She calmly folded the blueprint and stuffed it back in her bag, refusing to move farther
