Disclaimer: No infringement is intended upon the properties owned by Warner Bros, CBS, CBS-Viacom, CBS-Paramount, CBS-Turner or any CBS affiliate. This work is not for profit.
Author's Note: This is a complete 4 part story. Chapters will be posted regularly. There is one section of graphic violence, which should be easy to see coming.
THE NIGHT OF THE COLD BLUE LIGHT (part 1 of 4)
byGorgolo Chick
"Mr. West, we have a situation."
"Well, Colonel, I hardly expected that you would have called me here simply to enjoy the lovely weather, and the lovelier young ladies." James West bowed as one of those same young ladies walked past where he and his superior stood, formally garbed and aperitifs in hand, on the veranda of a stately New Orleans home.
"Not that I don't appreciate both, and the chance to enjoy the Senator's party, even if for only a short time."
"Yes, well…" Colonel Richmond smiled distractedly as another young lady passed by them, throwing coquettish glances at the young agent by his side. "The Senator is at the crux of this matter."
"As opposed to actually being at his own party. Colonel, why do I have a feeling that the sudden conference that prevents his presence is not quite as it has been represented?"
"Indeed. Perhaps, West, it would be best if you and I retire to the Senator's study." He indicated a pair of giggling young ladies who had taken up a position at the foot of the veranda steps, and were looking rather determinedly in their direction. "Perhaps there would be fewer distractions."
"Certainly, sir." As the Colonel turned to lead the way inside, West made a regretful, placatory shrug in the direction of the young ladies. Then he followed his superior inside, already focused on the important matters at hand, to the point that he completely missed a longing gesture made by yet another, particularly lovely young lady actually standing at the veranda door.
Once the study door was closed behind them, shutting out the music and gaiety of the party outside, the Colonel abandoned his awkward pose and became completely business-like.
"The Senator has been abducted, as I realize you already suspected." He motioned West to an armchair and seated himself behind the rather imposing, ornate desk.
"Well, it did seem a reasonable guess under the circumstances, sir. Do we have any idea yet by whom?"
"We know precisely by whom."
West's eyebrows lifted slightly at this statement. "That's quick detective work. I assume the ransom demands are unreasonable?"
"Now why would you say that, Jim?"
"Well, sir, you'd hardly have made this a Secret Service matter for anything as simple as an ordinary kidnapping, even of a state Senator." Though seated motionless he radiated a vibrant energy. "You know who the kidnapper is, which suggests someone already on this case is highly efficient. Besides which, if I may say so, you appear more than a little perplexed, and I can hardly recall having seen you in quite such a state."
"Excellent, West, excellent. Everything you have deduced is quite true, except that while Detective Stoner is highly efficient, he did not have to discover the identity of the kidnapper. That was revealed to us at the time we received the… unusual, not to say actually unreasonable demands."
West gazed at the Colonel as he took a sip from the glass in his hand. He had fielded a few general guesses about the situation in order to understand it better. Now he was prepared to allow the Colonel to complete the scenario in his own time, once he had organized his own obviously harried thoughts. However, a small suspicion was beginning to fret at his mind.
"I assume you recall - considering your several encounters with him - a certain - unconventional scientist…"
West set his glass slowly aside and rose to his feet as his superior spoke. His blue-green eyes took on a darker intensity as he interrupted: "Colonel Richmond, please tell me it's not Dr. Loveless."
"Ahem. Yes, well. Dr. Miguelito Quixote Loveless; brilliant but, shall we say, unconventional expert on most of the more esoteric branches of research. A man whose dwarfish physical stature belies his giant intellect. It appears that it is, indeed, he who has taken the Senator prisoner."
"I don't even want to hazard a guess as to what ransom he's chosen to demand." His compact body assumed a military 'at ease' stance without his quite realizing it. "I assume that you need me to find the Senator and rescue him, rather than let the government be forced to deal with whatever outrageous demands Dr. Loveless has seen fit to make this time?"
Colonel Richmond was already shaking his head.
"Oddly enough, we have been unable to see anything too unreasonable in Dr. Loveless' demands, if he is being honest in all of his statements."
"Honest? I would hardly call him honest, but I don't believe I've ever known Dr. Loveless to tell an outright lie in his business dealings with the U.S. Government. He's too sure of himself to believe it necessary; he'd think it crass to simply lie. It's the underlying deception you have to beware of."
"Well, be that as it may, I would hope you would be capable of dealing with any situation that should arise from Dr. Loveless' demands. I would not like, however, to insist upon your taking part. In this particular case, I will not order you into a situation which is so bizarre as to…"
"Colonel, if I may, sir?"
Colonel Richmond stopped with an almost imperceptible sigh and the slightest upward curve of his lips.
"It would be simplest if you would just tell me what Dr. Loveless has demanded, sir, so that I may proceed with the case."
"Very well, then. But do keep in mind… Well, Dr. Loveless has assured us that he intends no harm whatsoever to the senator. He actually called the abduction a "calling card" to assure our attention and especially," the Colonel paused once again.
"He wanted to be sure that I became involved in whatever scheme he is working on now."
"Precisely, Jim. His sole ransom demand is, in fact, that you pay him a visit."
West grimaced, and shook his head. "To be delivered up in chains, I suppose?"
"No, that's the truly strange part of his demand. You are to go unarmed, of course, but Dr. Loveless vows not to do you any harm whatsoever. He states that he wishes to meet with you to resolve your differences, but guarantees that if we accede to his request, no one will be harmed."
"So what part of his request seems most likely to allow him to violate that promise without actually being in the wrong?"
"Well, he did say that no one else was to accompany you, or attempt to take part in the affair. That sounds reasonable enough, but we are of course suspicious of anything too reasonable sounding from Dr. Loveless."
"He would want to be very subtle." West turned away to pace slowly down the length of the room.
The Colonel's brow furrowed as he watched his agent, and he started twice to speak before he finally said: "I couldn't say that he requested anything that had even the least hint of hidden subtlety." He sighed silently, and straightened his shoulders as he rose to his feet. "Jim, what do you suppose he's likely to be planning?"
"I've found that in the end the only way to penetrate the workings of that twisted mind is to walk into whatever trap he has constructed, and hope to come out whole." West turned back and strode over to the desk. "If that will be all, Colonel, I'd like to get back to the train and make what preparations I can for this little jaunt."
"Certainly." The Colonel pulled a folded sheet of paper from inside his coat and opened it to scan the contents.
"Here are the directions Dr. Loveless sent us to reach his current residence." He extended the sheet to West. "I can only ask that you be as careful as possible. I don't like sending you into this in the least. However, I suppose accepting Dr. Loveless' demands really isn't that different from simply attempting to rescue the Senator."
"With the exception that we can hope Dr. Loveless really will let the Senator go once I arrive." West smiled grimly as he accepted the sheet. "Anything that increases the chances of that is surely worth attempting," he added.
"That is certainly so. And Jim?" The Colonel offered his hand, and continued as West gripped it firmly, "I wish you the very best of luck."
"Thank you, Sir." West slipped the paper into his coat pocket and walked quietly out of the room.
Colonel Richmond stood in thought for a moment. He had intended to remain at the party for a time, then return to his hotel. However, he realized that the situation as it stood after his meeting with James West would likely keep him from resting. Instead, he went in search of his hostess, to make his excuses. The government offices were across town on Canal Street, but he determined to go there, and find out if his operatives had gathered any further information within the last few hours.
James West had already departed the Senator's fine home, and had a much shorter trip out to the railroad siding and the small private train that was his home as well as his base of operations. When he arrived, he immediately began revising the plans that had been forming in his mind during the short ride.
"Well, James my boy, I trust you had a pleasant evening out?"
Artemus Gordon lolled comfortably in an armchair. He had a small notebook in one hand and a pencil in the other. His black hair lay in tight, damp waves against his skull. He wore a gold and crimson dressing gown over a plain but good quality unbleached linen shirt and heavy-duty trousers. Where his feet rested on an ottoman, West could see crimson slippers with gold tassels, and smudges of mud imperfectly wiped from the trouser legs.
West had paused just inside the rear door, one hand on the knob and his hat in the other, arrested in the act of removing it. He closed the door firmly behind him and tossed the hat across the room. Gordon mimed applause as it settled on the hat rack against one wall near his chair.
"I didn't think you'd make it in before Monday." West smiled to himself as he removed his formal evening cape and folded it over his arm. "Senator Long was holding one of his gala parties tonight," he commented.
"Oh!" Gordon stretched the syllable out fervently, and turned his head sharply away as if struck by an invisible hand. "And I suppose all of his beauteous nieces and their many sundry friends were in attendance?" He pressed the notebook to his breast with both hands and sighed dramatically.
"Each one more beautiful than the last, Arte," West confirmed with a broad grin. He started down the car, but as he crossed in front of him Gordon suddenly exclaimed.
"Senator Long hired that chef away from Bon Miason!" he cried. "Jim, he does an etoufe that would… Wait a minute; it's too early for a host as accomplished as Senator Long to have even sat dinner yet, much less be done with it. "
West headed on out the far door of the salon, calling back over his shoulder: "I didn't say I stayed for dinner. Artemus, what are you doing here so early?"
"Leeson's real grandson showed up out of nowhere with incontrovertible proof of identity, and the attorney confessed everything, so they didn't need me anymore. When I got back to the hotel, I heard there was a freight train derailed up the line, which was going to delay all trains down for days, possibly weeks. I hitched a ride with a Calvary train that had lain over to pick up stock." Gordon's voice drifted to him.
When Gordon didn't appear in the wardrobe compartment doorway to finish the conversation, West removed his tails quickly and returned half-dressed to the salon. There he found Gordon still in the armchair with his head bent over the notebook, making dilatory notes.
"So the Calvary train got you here early?" he asked as he buttoned on a fresh shirt.
"Eh?" Gordon looked up. "Oh, the train. Well, it wasn't actually passing through New Orleans. Or even into the delta region. But they were kind enough to lend me a horse." He grimaced as he set his notebook aside.
"I'll tell you this, James. Leeson's Labyrinth aside, between an overcrowded troop car and an over-aged nag, I was definitely wishing I'd followed my first inclination and kept the room for a night before coming on down." As he spoke, he executed a long, muscle popping stretch.
"Well, Artemus, I'm sorry you had such a miserable trip," West slipped into his vest as he continued, "but I'm glad you hurried it."
"Yeah, I figured with your leaving Senator Long's early, and the fire I saw in your eye when you came in that there was something in the wind." He folded his hands across his midriff, elbows on the chair arms, crossed his ankles, and gave West his full attention.
"So what did the good Senator have to say?"
"Nothing whatsoever." He finished with his tie and reached for his jacket. "He's been kidnapped, and I think Colonel Richmond wanted to take some of the sting out of his explanation of the situation."
Gordon sat upright slowly, and the muscles in his face tightened. "This does not bode well at all. You might as well tell me the worst of it first, then fill in the little nuances."
"There's no way to make this easy to take." West turned to a concealed cabinet to get his gunbelt, then stopped and set it deliberately down again. "There really never is." He turned to face his partner. "It's Dr. Loveless again," he explained.
Gordon slumped back with a grimace, and pressed his fingertips to his forehead. "I've got a bad feeling about this," he said. "Go on, go on," he waved his other hand in West's direction, "tell me all of the wonderful details."
By the time West was through with his explanation, Gordon had slipped out of the salon toward the wardrobe, ducking under the windows as he went. "Do you think he's having the train watched?" he asked as he began changing.
"If so, I don't think I've given any real indication that I'm not alone."
"And I haven't been out of that chair since I got in. If someone is watching, they probably won't know I'm here. I'll slip out unobserved. If we're lucky, he'll have done his usual job of careful checking, and he'll believe me to still be out of town. No one but you even anticipated my arrival for weeks yet."
"If he's not expecting you, that would give us some advantage. He knows I don't like to involve any more men than necessary, especially in dealings with him. We may be able to convince him I'm really doing this alone." West grinned suddenly. "Especially since I was planning on just that until I saw you were back," he added.
Gordon paused as he pulled on his riding boots. "We may be in trouble, though, if he has someone watching the government office in town. I stopped off there to check in before I came here.
"Well," he added as he ran a soft cloth across the leather of the boots, "That can't be helped."
West reached for the buckskin jacket hung behind the door, and raised an eyebrow at the trail dust still settled on its fringes. Without comment, he held it out for his partner to put on, then led the way back to the salon.
While Gordon waited out of sight, he pulled shades down over the windows that looked onto the inner end of the room. Then he went down to the other end and made himself busy at the desk there, and Gordon quietly accessed the weapons cabinet.
"Any suggestions?" Gordon murmured as he surveyed the available equipment. "I suppose I'd better stock up on explosives."
"I'm thinking more about that thing you built to reduce electrical conduction. It might not work as an anti-lightening device, but you know Dr. Loveless likes playing around with electricity."
"You do have a point, there. Think I'll take a few time-delay party favors, too, just to liven things up. And all the basics. Of course I'll grab my field makeup kit on my way out."
With a final smile and tip of his hat, Gordon slipped from the room and was gone.
Colonel Richmond was discussing the situation with his aide, having found that no further hint of Dr. Loveless' machinations had yet been obtained. "I'm mostly glad that Artemus Gordon is away on another case at the moment, Mr. Montgomery," he commented. "I would hate to think of the mess we would have on our hands if he weren't.
"Sir, I don't understand," Montgomery responded. "Mr. Gordon is…"
"Mr. Gordon is an excellent, even brilliant agent, but he is also pig-headed, and I sometimes think he has appointed himself West's guardian angel. We'd have had to put him in chains to prevent him following West, and you know what Dr. Loveless said."
"I don't think I do know everything, sir. I don't believe anyone but you has seen the entire message."
Richmond looked up at him in surprise. Then he quietly reached into a drawer of his desk and handed a sheet of expensive foolscap to his aide.
"But Colonel," Montgomery looked up suddenly from reading the document, "Dr. Loveless threatens to negate every promise he makes if anyone besides West is found anywhere on or near the property!"
"Exactly. Which is why we have sent no one else near it."
"But Mr. Gordon…" the man stopped, making a helpless gesture.
"Would be a real problem if he were around."
"Colonel… Sir, Mr. Gordon reported in just after you left this evening. He went straight from here to the train siding."
"Good God, man, why wasn't I informed immediately?" Richmond shoved his chair back and rose swiftly. Then he raised a hand palm out and continued in a weary voice.
"No, of course there was no reason to make a special report. But you see… No wonder Loveless insisted that West be told only the bare facts, and none of the details of his demands. If West had seen that letter, he would have spotted the trap in a moment. And I was fool enough to practically lie to him about it."
"The wording does take on a new meaning when you factor Gordon into it. How do you suppose Dr. Loveless knew he'd be available? How did he know we wouldn't prevent Gordon from entering into it?"
"How does he know anything? The man is a phenomenon. And he probably realized that we wouldn't be able to control Mr. Gordon. If they catch him..."
"Can't we try to stop him from going?" Montgomery pulled a watch from his pocket almost in unison with his superior.
Looking at his own watch, Richmond shook his head.
"Send someone at once, of course, but as swiftly as those young men work, I doubt if it will do any good. I'm afraid their fate is in their own hands, as always. As is Senator Long's." He shook his head again. "If it were anyone but Loveless."
TBC