The Golden Gate

succoured out here.'

'Whatever for?'

Revson gave him a pitying look. 'If it weren't for your good fortune in having me here, you'd very probably be the main object of Branson's suspicions. Has it not occurred to you that, during his intensive search of your ambulance, he might have planted a tiny electronic bug which you wouldn't discover in a week of searching?'

'It occurs to me now. There's a dearth of devious minds in the medical profession.'

'Do you have any gin?'

'It's odd you should ask that. I do.'

'That's for me. I told Branson that I didn't drink and that's why I have a nose like a bloodhound. I shouldn't care for him to see me with a glass of something amber in my hand.'

'Devious, devious minds.' O'Hare disappeared inside the ambulance and reappeared shortly with two glasses, the clear one for Revson. health.'

'Indeed. I shouldn't wonder if that's going to be in short supply inside the next twenty-four hours.'

'Cryptic, aren't we?'

'Psychic.' Revson looked speculatively at the nearest helicopter. 'I wonder if the pilot — Johnson, I think — intends to sleep in his machine tonight.'

O'Hare gave a mock shiver. 'You ever been in a helicopter?'

'Oddly, perhaps, no.'

'I have several times. Strictly, I assure you, in the line of medical duty. These army jobs are fitted with steel- framed canvas chairs, if that's the word for them. For me, it would be a toss-up between that and a bed of nails.'

'So much I suspected. So he'll probably bed down with his fellow-villains in the rear coach.'

'The chopper appears to interest you strangely.'

Revson glanced casually around. There was no one within possible earshot.

'The detonating mechanism for the explosives is inside there. I intend — note that I only say intend — to deactivate it tonight.'

O'Hare was silent for a long moment, then said kindly: 'I think I should give you a medical. For that space between the ears. There'll be at least one armed guard on all night patrol. You know the bridge is a blaze of light all night long. So you just dematerialize yourself — '

'The sentry I can take care of. The lights will be switched off when I want them.'

'Abracadabra!'

'I've already sent a message ashore.'

'I didn't know that secret agents doubled as magicians. You produce a carrier pigeon from your hat — '

'Hendrix took it ashore for me.'

O'Hare stared at him then said: 'Another drink?'

'No befuddled wits tonight, thank you.'

'Then I'll have one.' He took both glasses and reappeared with his own. 'Look, that guy Kowalski has the general appearance and the eyes of a hawk. I'm not exactly short-sighted myself. He never took his eyes off you all the time the Vice-President and Hendrix were out here. Branson's orders, I'm certain.'

'Me, too. Who else? I never went near Hendrix. I gave the message to Cartland who passed it on to Hendrix. Kowalski was too busy watching me to bother about Cartland and Hendrix.'

'What time will the lights go off?'

'I don't know yet. I'll send a signal.'

'This means Cartland is in on this?'

'What else? By the way, I promised the General the cyanide gun. Can you get it to him?'

'One way or another.'

'No way, I suppose, of replacing that seal on the cardiac unit once it has been broken?'

'You mean in case our suspicious Mr Branson visits the ambulance again. No.' He smiled. 'It just so happens that I am carrying two spare seals inside the box.'

Revson smiled in turn. 'Just goes to show. A man can't think of everything. Still on the side of law and order? Still like to see Branson wearing a nice shiny pair of bracelets?'

'It's becoming a distinct yearning.'

'It might involve bending your code of ethics a little.'

'The hell with the medical ethics.'

Hagenbach positively snatched the sheet of typewritten paper from his decoder. He glanced rapidly through it, his brow corrugating by the second. He said to Hendrix: 'Revson appeared to be perfectly normal when you left him?'

'Who can tell what Revson appears to be?'

'True. I don't seem to be able to make head or tail of this.'

Richards said acidly: 'You might share your little secrets with us. Hagenbach.'

'He says: 'It looks as if it's going to be a lousy night, which should help. I want two fake oil fires set now. Or a mixture of oil and rubber tyres. One to my south-west, say Lincoln Park, the other to the east, say Fort Mason — a much bigger fire there. Ignite the Lincoln Park one at twenty-two hundred hours. At two-two-oh-three, infra-red sights if necessary, use a laser beam to destroy the radio scanner on top of the rear coach. Wait my flashlight signal — SOS — then ignite the other. After fifteen minutes blacken out bridge and northern part of San Francisco. It would help if you could at same time arrange a massive fireworks display in Chinatown — as if a firework factory had gone up.''

''Submarine at midnight. Please provide transistorized transceiver small enough to fit base camera. Pre-set your frequency and mine and have submarine patch in on same frequency.''

There was a lengthy silence during which Hagenbach, perhaps very understandably, again reached for the scotch. The bottle was rapidly emptied. Richards finally passed his judgement.

'The man's mad, of course. Quite, quite, mad.'

Nobody, for some time, appeared inclined to disagree with him. Richards, pro tern, the Chief Executive of the nation, was the man to make the decision, but, apart from his observations on mental instability, he was clearly in no mood to make any kind of decision. Hagenbach took the decision out of his hands.

'Revson is probably a good deal saner than any of us here. He's brilliant, we've had proof of that. Almost certainly, he lacked the time to go into detail. Finally, anyone here got any better idea — let me amend that, anybody here got any idea?'

If anyone had, he was keeping it to himself.

'Hendrix, get hold of the deputy Mayor and the Fire Chief. Have those fires set. How about the fireworks?'

Hendrix smiled. 'Fireworks are illegal in San Francisco. Nineteen hundred and six and all that. It so happens we know an illegal underground factory in Chinatown. The owner will be anxious to co-operate.'

Richards shook his head. 'Mad,' he said. 'Quite, quite mad.'

TEN

From far out at sea came the first faint flickers of lightning and the distant rumble of approaching thunder. A now-recovered if somewhat wan April Wednesday, standing with Revson by the centre of the bridge, looked up at the indigo sky and said: 'It looks like being quite a night.'

'I've a feeling that way myself.' He took her arm. 'Are you afraid of thunderstorms as you appear to be of everything else?'

'I don't much fancy being stuck out on this bridge in the middle of one.'

'It's been here for almost forty years. It's not likely to fall down tonight.' He looked upwards as the first drops of rain began to fall. 'But getting wet I object to. Come on.'