The League Extraordinaire
part 6
by DarkMark
"Say that again," said Bond. "Just for confirmation."
Illya Kuryakin interrupted. "You heard him the first time, Mr. Bond. It's a cobalt bomb. Fu Manchu is building one. Go on, Mr. Baldwin."
The coterie of persons there, except for Lee, were trained not to betray much anxiety, especially before civilians. But the signs were there, for those who had been in the business. Peel, Flint, Solo, and Illya all were showing them, and Bond imagined he was, too. Well, they had a bloody right to.
This thing had gotten bigger than even M probably bargained on.
Flint, hands on his front pockets, leaned closer. "Mr. Baldwin, how are you sure of your information?"
Ward Baldwin said, "Because in THRUSH, we were working on it ourselves. We didn't get very far with it. Project C it was called, our own version of the Manhattan Project. But it was beyond us. Eventually, we aborted the operation. Much the better for you, Mr. Solo." He fixed Napoleon with a slight stare. Baldwin was Solo's friend, but neither of them forgot that they had once played on opposite sides.
"And the two of you had been in THRUSH?" asked Emma Peel.
"Mr. Baldwin was a director of THRUSH," explained Mrs. Baldwin. "That is, before our new affiliation and the fall of the Company. Indeed, we helped Mr. Solo and Mr. Kuryakin bring it down."
"He used to be friends with our late Mr. Waverly," Solo explained. "That, and a couple of collaborations against a common enemy, helped bring him to our side."
Bond said, "A cobalt bomb. I've no knowledge of such a thing, but I've heard of its potential. Flint?"
The silver-haired agent looked at Bond tensely. "The yield on a cobalt bomb would dwarf that of a common A-bomb in orders of magnitude. The fallout would be the greater danger, though, theoretically."
"How so?"
"It could wipe out most of the life of a continent. Depending on the size of the blast, of the amount of fissionable material–"
Bond held up his hand. "Understood, Flint. Let's let Mr. Baldwin talk."
Baldwin rested his head on both his hands. "THRUSH gave Fu Manchu the open door themselves. We tried to recruit him through our English branch. This was during an operation in which Mr. Solo and Mr. Kuryakin were involved, themselves. I believe the code designation was 'The Rainbow Affair,' am I not right?"
"Correct, Mr. Baldwin," said Solo. He glanced at Emma. The two of them had briefly met during that episode, no more than a glance down a hallway at MI5. Bond's superior, M, had directed Solo and Illya during that case.
"In order to even attempt to entice him to join ranks, we had to give him some access as a trade-off," Baldwin continued. "Very risky, but we thought we could handle it. It involved showing him data from the Ultimate Computer."
"Baldwin," said Illya. "You didn't."
"We had to. We thought we had built in enough safeguards and firewalls to keep even him away from anything we didn't want him to see. Obviously...we underestimated him. A thing we had sworn we would never do."
Lee said, "You thrust your hand into the den of the scorpion without a glove, and tried to strike a deal with him not to sting you."
"Eloquently put, sir," said Baldwin. "And not inappropriate. There is no telling how long it took the Si Fan organization to hack into the Ultimate Computer. It would have become terribly easy, I fear, when UNCLE penetrated it in our last battle with them. But he possibly accessed it before then, as the data was erased and stored separately on data reels. And, during the fall of THRUSH, even those were destroyed in acid."
"Another possibility," said Illya. "He might have gotten to the scientists on your project, and pumped the information from them."
"I acknowledge that, Mr. Kuryakin," Baldwin replied. "Many of our personnel dropped out of sight following the fall. Some are undoubtedly dead. Others are simply in hiding. Even UNCLE has not been able to track very many of them."
"To our great regret," said Solo. "But keep going, Ward."
"I only learned of the thing myself when we received reports...excuse me, I should say UNCLE received reports...of a source of cobalt being hijacked within the Soviet Union, probably from a Project C of their own. This, from the earmarks of it, was by a group called CYPHER. Don't believe you've encountered them, but we know of them. In turn, the CYPHER agents were attacked by a band of what were described as Asiatics, and their bodies were left behind in, shall we say, somewhat unique conditions. The cobalt was not found, naturally."
Mrs. Peel said, "And you believe, then, that Fu Manchu has the expertise technically to succeed where THRUSH and various governments have all failed? In the creation of this bomb?"
Baldwin gave her the look a professor gives a backwards fourth-form student. "Madame, you commit the same sin as we in THRUSH did. There is no underestimation possible, when speaking of Fu Manchu. Not only is his skill in biological terrorism legendary, but this is a man who, years before the West managed it, plumbed the secrets of nuclear fission and the creation of the laser. Yes, he is capable of it. Moreover, if he has access to our Project C data and the cobalt with which to make it, we must assume that he is in the process of making it, or has already done so. Should the Red Chinese have his efficiency and intellect at their disposal, they would undoubtedly rule the world."
"And if THRUSH had, we might have, as well," put in Mrs. Baldwin.
"Mr. Baldwin," said Bond. "Perhaps you'll be so kind as to educate me on what Fu Manchu's objective is with this. The old world conquest thing? Extortion? Or something different?"
Baldwin's lips grew thin, as he formulated an answer. "Only speculation is possible, Mr. Bond. What we can do is extrapolate from his past actions. True, Fu Manchu's goal is nothing less than world domination. That was the goal of all of our related agencies, in the end. But, since 1948, he has been blocked from one source of his power. His homeland. Since China went Communist, not only are his sources there dry, but he is forbidden access to the nation from whence he sprang. He is an ardent anti-Communist and, of course, one of his highest goals is to rule China himself and return it to its ancient days of glory, as he sees it. Chinese dominion of the world, and himself in domination of China. If any man can do it, he can."
"Sounds as though he'd be quite attractive to the current American government as a player," said Bond, laconically. "But do go on."
"Don't jest about that, Mr. Bond," said Mrs. Baldwin. "America has made deals with persons not much lighter than Fu Manchu's stripe, for their own security. If they thought they could control him, they would use him. Some have even tried."
"As did Britain," Lee revealed. "But he would not deal with them, and they resumed their war."
"One thing I'd like to know, Mr. Baldwin," said Flint. "That is, why here? And why now?"
"And, Mr. Flint, you might well ask yourselves: Why you?" said Baldwin.
"I didn't know we had anything to do with it," Flint answered.
"The answer, Mr. Flint, is in history," Baldwin said. "Your own, that of THRUSH, that of the League, and that of MI5."
Bond tensed. "Before you reveal any trade secrets, Mr. Baldwin, I must protest. And I will silence you, if I have to."
"Bond, that's enough," said Illya. "Make a move on him, and our alliance is over."
"Easy, Illya," said Solo, putting a hand to his partner's chest. "Bond won't hurt him. Just be very careful of what you say, Ward. Even from ourselves, we all have secrets."
"Very well, then," said Baldwin. "To begin: the history of THRUSH dates back to an incident which happened in the waning years of the last century. You may have heard of it in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's edited version. It took place at the Reichenbach Falls, in Switzerland."
"Sherlock Holmes," exclaimed Flint. "Moriarity."
"Please, Mr. Flint, do not interrupt me. Yes. Mr. Holmes and Mr. Moriarity had their fateful battle. Both survived, but both went to ground. Mr. Holmes went undercover and did not emerge for several years thereafter, to avoid reprisals from Moriarity's associates, the Circle of Life. He himself believed James Moriarity to be dead. Whether that was the case vice versa with Moriarity vis-a-vis Holmes, we do not know and it does not concern us.
"Two important things occurred as fallout from that event. First, most of Moriarity's old associates, particularly the directors of his operations, decided to continue operations as such, with a more clandestine bent and a greater emphasis on science. A meeting was held, and from it emerged the beginnings of what was soon called the Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity. THRUSH, for short.
"The other was that Moriarity and a very small core of his trusted associates, among them Colonel Sebastian Moran, offered their services to MI5. And were accepted."
Bond and Peel stared at Baldwin in what passed for shock.
"There is more connection to it than that, by the way," Baldwin said. "Are you quite prepared for a revelation that may be unsettling, Mr. Bond? To you?"
Slowly, Bond said, "I'll prepare myself."
"One of Moriarity's most trusted agents, the go-between who directed the operations of a group of handpicked agents at the time, was one Campion Bond."
Silence.
"I am sorry, Mr. Bond," said Baldwin. "Secret history. But nonetheless true."
Bond didn't say anything. He didn't even take note of the incredible presence of Emma Peel's fingers upon his arm, in an attempt to comfort. Or perhaps to hold him back.
"At the time, this band, which had existed for over a century and was known as, I believe, the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen–the precursor of your own League, lady and gentlemen–included the likes of Dr. Henry Jekyll, Miss Mina Murray, a Mr. Griffin, one Allan Quatermain, and a legendary personage called Nemo. In their first case together, in 1897, they were assigned to stop a dastardly plot in Limehouse, which involved an attempted aerial firebombing of London."
"Fu Manchu," said Flint.
"Indeed," said Baldwin. "It was, to the League's knowledge, a contest between the government of Britain and Fu Manchu and the Si Fan. But in reality, it was a contest between James Moriarity and Fu Manchu himself. As we know, Moriarity–and the League–won."
Bond nodded. "This is beginning to make more sense all the time," he said.
Mrs. Baldwin visibly relaxed, hearing Bond's response. She had been afraid for a moment she might have had to pull the small gun from her purse and defend her husband. Ward Baldwin continued.
"Sometime after that, Moriarity disappeared. God only knows what became of him, or perhaps the Devil does, more appropriately. Fu Manchu, of course, survived, and carried on many other operations in this century. By that time, he'd become the burden of Sir Denis Nayland Smith and Dr. Dexter Petrie, though, once, Mr. Holmes himself lent a hand against him. THRUSH itself was building up strength and operatives, and really came unto itself during the period between the World Wars and afterward. We managed to keep away from Fu Manchu's operations, for the most part. It was correctly judged, in my opinion, that he might still have bad blood for an organization which, whatever its present state, ultimately derived from one of his greatest enemies.
"By the 1960's, the current management decided—against my objection, by the way—to put out peace feelers to Fu Manchu, in hopes of drawing him into the fold. Of course, it was useless, but he played us like an angler does a fish, for as much as he could get out of it, before dropping our offer flatly. As has been shown, he ended up getting quite a lot out of it."
"Which proves that even the bad guys can be dumb, once in awhile," remarked Solo. "Especially about even badder guys."
"All due respect, Mr. Baldwin," said Bond, "that still doesn't answer my question. Assuming he has the bomb. What is his objective?"
Baldwin sighed. "His objective is multiple in this case, Mr. Bond. At least, if I judge him correctly, and, as has been pointed out, he is almost impossible to judge. But first, his motive of artistic irony: to construct such a weapon from data provided by an organization created by one of his direst enemies.
"Second, of artistic revenge: to bring together, by leaking information, the descendants of a group which once stymied him over seventy years ago, and, forgive me for saying it, but—to destroy them.
"Third, his literal objective. He wishes first to rule China. To do so, he constructs the bomb. But it must be demonstrated, even as the United States had to demonstrate the power of the atomic bomb twice to Japan. To be sure, conquest of the United States would be a feather in his cap. But it could be sacrificed, to a greater objective."
A long moment of silence. At last, Bond said, "Say it."
"I believe," said Ward Baldwin, "that he means to use it to destroy the United States of America."
There was a good deal of looking at each other among the parties present, other than the Baldwins. Finally, Emma Peel spoke. "Then, our own first objective, artistic and otherwise, should be, how do we find him?"
At that, Mrs. Baldwin became markedly peaked, and pitched over in her seat.
Ward Baldwin caught her and righted her, seeing to her in an instant. But that was all he had before he fell forward himself, banging his head on the rug and the floor beneath it.
Bond's gun was out by that time. The others had their weapons in hand. Flint, the nearest to the door, kicked it open and had a handkerchief to his nose. But it was a bit too late.
Gas. Odorless, tasteless, undetectible gas.
The five of them had been brought together, suckered, and trapped like amateurs. In his last second of consciousness, Bond cursed. The object of his curse was himself.
A few moments later, a group of no less than ten gas-masked Asiatics entered the room. In Chinese, their leader said, "Take them all. Bind them. Frisk them. If one moves, shoot him. Otherwise, leave them for the master."
Within five minutes, there was no one in the office of Mike Fat Lee.
To be continued...
Notes for part 6:
Ward and Irene Baldwin are characters created for the Man From UNCLE novels published by Ace Books and written by David McDaniel. They appeared in THE DAGGER AFFAIR (#4), THE HOLLOW CROWN AFFAIR (#17), and the unpublished THE FINAL AFFAIR (#24).
"Indeed, we helped Mr. Solo and Mr. Kuryakin bring it down." This is a reference to the fall of THRUSH in THE FINAL AFFAIR (MFU #24).
"He used to be friends with our late Mr. Waverly," Solo explained. "That, and a couple of collaborations against a common enemy, helped bring him to our side." The friendship was depicted in THE DAGGER AFFAIR (MFU #4). The collaborations were against DAGGER in the same book, and against THRUSH itself in THE HOLLOW CROWN AFFAIR (MFU #17). They defected to UNCLE in THE FINAL AFFAIR (MFU #24).
"THRUSH gave Fu Manchu the open door themselves. We tried to recruit him through our English branch." This happened in THE RAINBOW AFFAIR (MFU #13).
"The two of them had briefly met during that episode, no more than a glance down a hallway at MI5. Bond's superior, M, had directed Solo and Illya during that case." THE RAINBOW AFFAIR (MFU #13).
The Ultimate Computer: The highly advanced computer in which THRUSH conceals and / or directs its top secret information. Appears in numerous UNCLE TV shows and novels. Destroyed in THE FINAL AFFAIR (MFU #24).
"This, from the earmarks of it, was by a group called CYPHER." CYPHER appeared in several of the Shadow novels of the 1960's by "Maxwell Grant" (Dennis Lynds).
"...this is a man who, years before the West managed it, plumbed the secrets of nuclear fission and the creation of the laser." These accomplishments were chronicled by Cay Van Ash in his novels TEN YEARS BEYOND BAKER STREET and THE FIRES OF FU MANCHU, respectively.
"He is an ardent anti-Communist..." Fu Manchu's hatred of Communism, particularly since it blocked China from him, is acknowledged in Sax Rohmer's RE-ENTER FU MANCHU and EMPEROR FU MANCHU. In the latter, he is quoted as saying, "Communism, with its vulgarity, its glorification of the worker, I shall sweep from the Earth!"
"You may have heard of it in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's edited version. It took place at the Reichenbach Falls, in Switzerland." In "His Last Bow". Also depicted graphically in LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN (LOEG) #5.
"A meeting was held, and from it emerged the beginnings of what was soon called the Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity." Ward Baldwin first revealed this in THE DAGGER AFFAIR (MFU #4).
"The other was that Moriarity and a very small core of his trusted associates, among them Colonel Sebastian Moran, offered their services to MI5. And were accepted." As shown in LOEG #5.
"One of Moriarity's most trusted agents, the go-between who directed the operations of a group of handpicked agents at the time, was one Campion Bond." A shocking revelation from LOEG #4.
"At the time, this band, which had existed for over a century and was known as, I believe, the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen–the precursor of your own League, lady and gentlemen–included the likes of Dr. Henry Jekyll, Miss Mina Murray, a Mr. Griffin, one Allan Quatermain, and a legendary personage called Nemo." The adventures of which were detailed in LOEG #1-6.
"By that time, he'd become the burden of Sir Denis Nayland Smith and Dr. Dexter Petrie, though, once, Mr. Holmes himself lent a hand against him." Dr. Fu Manchu's dark deeds in the 20th Century were chronicled by Sax Rohmer in 14 books, starting with THE INSIDIOUS DR. FU MANCHU. He met Sherlock Holmes in several pastiches, but the one in which Holmes teamed with Dr. Petrie is Van Ash's TEN YEARS BEYOND BAKER STREET.
"By the 1960's, the current management decided—against my objection, by the way—to put out peace feelers to Fu Manchu, in hopes of drawing him into the fold." Again, THE RAINBOW AFFAIR (MFU #13).
part 6
by DarkMark
"Say that again," said Bond. "Just for confirmation."
Illya Kuryakin interrupted. "You heard him the first time, Mr. Bond. It's a cobalt bomb. Fu Manchu is building one. Go on, Mr. Baldwin."
The coterie of persons there, except for Lee, were trained not to betray much anxiety, especially before civilians. But the signs were there, for those who had been in the business. Peel, Flint, Solo, and Illya all were showing them, and Bond imagined he was, too. Well, they had a bloody right to.
This thing had gotten bigger than even M probably bargained on.
Flint, hands on his front pockets, leaned closer. "Mr. Baldwin, how are you sure of your information?"
Ward Baldwin said, "Because in THRUSH, we were working on it ourselves. We didn't get very far with it. Project C it was called, our own version of the Manhattan Project. But it was beyond us. Eventually, we aborted the operation. Much the better for you, Mr. Solo." He fixed Napoleon with a slight stare. Baldwin was Solo's friend, but neither of them forgot that they had once played on opposite sides.
"And the two of you had been in THRUSH?" asked Emma Peel.
"Mr. Baldwin was a director of THRUSH," explained Mrs. Baldwin. "That is, before our new affiliation and the fall of the Company. Indeed, we helped Mr. Solo and Mr. Kuryakin bring it down."
"He used to be friends with our late Mr. Waverly," Solo explained. "That, and a couple of collaborations against a common enemy, helped bring him to our side."
Bond said, "A cobalt bomb. I've no knowledge of such a thing, but I've heard of its potential. Flint?"
The silver-haired agent looked at Bond tensely. "The yield on a cobalt bomb would dwarf that of a common A-bomb in orders of magnitude. The fallout would be the greater danger, though, theoretically."
"How so?"
"It could wipe out most of the life of a continent. Depending on the size of the blast, of the amount of fissionable material–"
Bond held up his hand. "Understood, Flint. Let's let Mr. Baldwin talk."
Baldwin rested his head on both his hands. "THRUSH gave Fu Manchu the open door themselves. We tried to recruit him through our English branch. This was during an operation in which Mr. Solo and Mr. Kuryakin were involved, themselves. I believe the code designation was 'The Rainbow Affair,' am I not right?"
"Correct, Mr. Baldwin," said Solo. He glanced at Emma. The two of them had briefly met during that episode, no more than a glance down a hallway at MI5. Bond's superior, M, had directed Solo and Illya during that case.
"In order to even attempt to entice him to join ranks, we had to give him some access as a trade-off," Baldwin continued. "Very risky, but we thought we could handle it. It involved showing him data from the Ultimate Computer."
"Baldwin," said Illya. "You didn't."
"We had to. We thought we had built in enough safeguards and firewalls to keep even him away from anything we didn't want him to see. Obviously...we underestimated him. A thing we had sworn we would never do."
Lee said, "You thrust your hand into the den of the scorpion without a glove, and tried to strike a deal with him not to sting you."
"Eloquently put, sir," said Baldwin. "And not inappropriate. There is no telling how long it took the Si Fan organization to hack into the Ultimate Computer. It would have become terribly easy, I fear, when UNCLE penetrated it in our last battle with them. But he possibly accessed it before then, as the data was erased and stored separately on data reels. And, during the fall of THRUSH, even those were destroyed in acid."
"Another possibility," said Illya. "He might have gotten to the scientists on your project, and pumped the information from them."
"I acknowledge that, Mr. Kuryakin," Baldwin replied. "Many of our personnel dropped out of sight following the fall. Some are undoubtedly dead. Others are simply in hiding. Even UNCLE has not been able to track very many of them."
"To our great regret," said Solo. "But keep going, Ward."
"I only learned of the thing myself when we received reports...excuse me, I should say UNCLE received reports...of a source of cobalt being hijacked within the Soviet Union, probably from a Project C of their own. This, from the earmarks of it, was by a group called CYPHER. Don't believe you've encountered them, but we know of them. In turn, the CYPHER agents were attacked by a band of what were described as Asiatics, and their bodies were left behind in, shall we say, somewhat unique conditions. The cobalt was not found, naturally."
Mrs. Peel said, "And you believe, then, that Fu Manchu has the expertise technically to succeed where THRUSH and various governments have all failed? In the creation of this bomb?"
Baldwin gave her the look a professor gives a backwards fourth-form student. "Madame, you commit the same sin as we in THRUSH did. There is no underestimation possible, when speaking of Fu Manchu. Not only is his skill in biological terrorism legendary, but this is a man who, years before the West managed it, plumbed the secrets of nuclear fission and the creation of the laser. Yes, he is capable of it. Moreover, if he has access to our Project C data and the cobalt with which to make it, we must assume that he is in the process of making it, or has already done so. Should the Red Chinese have his efficiency and intellect at their disposal, they would undoubtedly rule the world."
"And if THRUSH had, we might have, as well," put in Mrs. Baldwin.
"Mr. Baldwin," said Bond. "Perhaps you'll be so kind as to educate me on what Fu Manchu's objective is with this. The old world conquest thing? Extortion? Or something different?"
Baldwin's lips grew thin, as he formulated an answer. "Only speculation is possible, Mr. Bond. What we can do is extrapolate from his past actions. True, Fu Manchu's goal is nothing less than world domination. That was the goal of all of our related agencies, in the end. But, since 1948, he has been blocked from one source of his power. His homeland. Since China went Communist, not only are his sources there dry, but he is forbidden access to the nation from whence he sprang. He is an ardent anti-Communist and, of course, one of his highest goals is to rule China himself and return it to its ancient days of glory, as he sees it. Chinese dominion of the world, and himself in domination of China. If any man can do it, he can."
"Sounds as though he'd be quite attractive to the current American government as a player," said Bond, laconically. "But do go on."
"Don't jest about that, Mr. Bond," said Mrs. Baldwin. "America has made deals with persons not much lighter than Fu Manchu's stripe, for their own security. If they thought they could control him, they would use him. Some have even tried."
"As did Britain," Lee revealed. "But he would not deal with them, and they resumed their war."
"One thing I'd like to know, Mr. Baldwin," said Flint. "That is, why here? And why now?"
"And, Mr. Flint, you might well ask yourselves: Why you?" said Baldwin.
"I didn't know we had anything to do with it," Flint answered.
"The answer, Mr. Flint, is in history," Baldwin said. "Your own, that of THRUSH, that of the League, and that of MI5."
Bond tensed. "Before you reveal any trade secrets, Mr. Baldwin, I must protest. And I will silence you, if I have to."
"Bond, that's enough," said Illya. "Make a move on him, and our alliance is over."
"Easy, Illya," said Solo, putting a hand to his partner's chest. "Bond won't hurt him. Just be very careful of what you say, Ward. Even from ourselves, we all have secrets."
"Very well, then," said Baldwin. "To begin: the history of THRUSH dates back to an incident which happened in the waning years of the last century. You may have heard of it in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's edited version. It took place at the Reichenbach Falls, in Switzerland."
"Sherlock Holmes," exclaimed Flint. "Moriarity."
"Please, Mr. Flint, do not interrupt me. Yes. Mr. Holmes and Mr. Moriarity had their fateful battle. Both survived, but both went to ground. Mr. Holmes went undercover and did not emerge for several years thereafter, to avoid reprisals from Moriarity's associates, the Circle of Life. He himself believed James Moriarity to be dead. Whether that was the case vice versa with Moriarity vis-a-vis Holmes, we do not know and it does not concern us.
"Two important things occurred as fallout from that event. First, most of Moriarity's old associates, particularly the directors of his operations, decided to continue operations as such, with a more clandestine bent and a greater emphasis on science. A meeting was held, and from it emerged the beginnings of what was soon called the Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity. THRUSH, for short.
"The other was that Moriarity and a very small core of his trusted associates, among them Colonel Sebastian Moran, offered their services to MI5. And were accepted."
Bond and Peel stared at Baldwin in what passed for shock.
"There is more connection to it than that, by the way," Baldwin said. "Are you quite prepared for a revelation that may be unsettling, Mr. Bond? To you?"
Slowly, Bond said, "I'll prepare myself."
"One of Moriarity's most trusted agents, the go-between who directed the operations of a group of handpicked agents at the time, was one Campion Bond."
Silence.
"I am sorry, Mr. Bond," said Baldwin. "Secret history. But nonetheless true."
Bond didn't say anything. He didn't even take note of the incredible presence of Emma Peel's fingers upon his arm, in an attempt to comfort. Or perhaps to hold him back.
"At the time, this band, which had existed for over a century and was known as, I believe, the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen–the precursor of your own League, lady and gentlemen–included the likes of Dr. Henry Jekyll, Miss Mina Murray, a Mr. Griffin, one Allan Quatermain, and a legendary personage called Nemo. In their first case together, in 1897, they were assigned to stop a dastardly plot in Limehouse, which involved an attempted aerial firebombing of London."
"Fu Manchu," said Flint.
"Indeed," said Baldwin. "It was, to the League's knowledge, a contest between the government of Britain and Fu Manchu and the Si Fan. But in reality, it was a contest between James Moriarity and Fu Manchu himself. As we know, Moriarity–and the League–won."
Bond nodded. "This is beginning to make more sense all the time," he said.
Mrs. Baldwin visibly relaxed, hearing Bond's response. She had been afraid for a moment she might have had to pull the small gun from her purse and defend her husband. Ward Baldwin continued.
"Sometime after that, Moriarity disappeared. God only knows what became of him, or perhaps the Devil does, more appropriately. Fu Manchu, of course, survived, and carried on many other operations in this century. By that time, he'd become the burden of Sir Denis Nayland Smith and Dr. Dexter Petrie, though, once, Mr. Holmes himself lent a hand against him. THRUSH itself was building up strength and operatives, and really came unto itself during the period between the World Wars and afterward. We managed to keep away from Fu Manchu's operations, for the most part. It was correctly judged, in my opinion, that he might still have bad blood for an organization which, whatever its present state, ultimately derived from one of his greatest enemies.
"By the 1960's, the current management decided—against my objection, by the way—to put out peace feelers to Fu Manchu, in hopes of drawing him into the fold. Of course, it was useless, but he played us like an angler does a fish, for as much as he could get out of it, before dropping our offer flatly. As has been shown, he ended up getting quite a lot out of it."
"Which proves that even the bad guys can be dumb, once in awhile," remarked Solo. "Especially about even badder guys."
"All due respect, Mr. Baldwin," said Bond, "that still doesn't answer my question. Assuming he has the bomb. What is his objective?"
Baldwin sighed. "His objective is multiple in this case, Mr. Bond. At least, if I judge him correctly, and, as has been pointed out, he is almost impossible to judge. But first, his motive of artistic irony: to construct such a weapon from data provided by an organization created by one of his direst enemies.
"Second, of artistic revenge: to bring together, by leaking information, the descendants of a group which once stymied him over seventy years ago, and, forgive me for saying it, but—to destroy them.
"Third, his literal objective. He wishes first to rule China. To do so, he constructs the bomb. But it must be demonstrated, even as the United States had to demonstrate the power of the atomic bomb twice to Japan. To be sure, conquest of the United States would be a feather in his cap. But it could be sacrificed, to a greater objective."
A long moment of silence. At last, Bond said, "Say it."
"I believe," said Ward Baldwin, "that he means to use it to destroy the United States of America."
There was a good deal of looking at each other among the parties present, other than the Baldwins. Finally, Emma Peel spoke. "Then, our own first objective, artistic and otherwise, should be, how do we find him?"
At that, Mrs. Baldwin became markedly peaked, and pitched over in her seat.
Ward Baldwin caught her and righted her, seeing to her in an instant. But that was all he had before he fell forward himself, banging his head on the rug and the floor beneath it.
Bond's gun was out by that time. The others had their weapons in hand. Flint, the nearest to the door, kicked it open and had a handkerchief to his nose. But it was a bit too late.
Gas. Odorless, tasteless, undetectible gas.
The five of them had been brought together, suckered, and trapped like amateurs. In his last second of consciousness, Bond cursed. The object of his curse was himself.
A few moments later, a group of no less than ten gas-masked Asiatics entered the room. In Chinese, their leader said, "Take them all. Bind them. Frisk them. If one moves, shoot him. Otherwise, leave them for the master."
Within five minutes, there was no one in the office of Mike Fat Lee.
To be continued...
Notes for part 6:
Ward and Irene Baldwin are characters created for the Man From UNCLE novels published by Ace Books and written by David McDaniel. They appeared in THE DAGGER AFFAIR (#4), THE HOLLOW CROWN AFFAIR (#17), and the unpublished THE FINAL AFFAIR (#24).
"Indeed, we helped Mr. Solo and Mr. Kuryakin bring it down." This is a reference to the fall of THRUSH in THE FINAL AFFAIR (MFU #24).
"He used to be friends with our late Mr. Waverly," Solo explained. "That, and a couple of collaborations against a common enemy, helped bring him to our side." The friendship was depicted in THE DAGGER AFFAIR (MFU #4). The collaborations were against DAGGER in the same book, and against THRUSH itself in THE HOLLOW CROWN AFFAIR (MFU #17). They defected to UNCLE in THE FINAL AFFAIR (MFU #24).
"THRUSH gave Fu Manchu the open door themselves. We tried to recruit him through our English branch." This happened in THE RAINBOW AFFAIR (MFU #13).
"The two of them had briefly met during that episode, no more than a glance down a hallway at MI5. Bond's superior, M, had directed Solo and Illya during that case." THE RAINBOW AFFAIR (MFU #13).
The Ultimate Computer: The highly advanced computer in which THRUSH conceals and / or directs its top secret information. Appears in numerous UNCLE TV shows and novels. Destroyed in THE FINAL AFFAIR (MFU #24).
"This, from the earmarks of it, was by a group called CYPHER." CYPHER appeared in several of the Shadow novels of the 1960's by "Maxwell Grant" (Dennis Lynds).
"...this is a man who, years before the West managed it, plumbed the secrets of nuclear fission and the creation of the laser." These accomplishments were chronicled by Cay Van Ash in his novels TEN YEARS BEYOND BAKER STREET and THE FIRES OF FU MANCHU, respectively.
"He is an ardent anti-Communist..." Fu Manchu's hatred of Communism, particularly since it blocked China from him, is acknowledged in Sax Rohmer's RE-ENTER FU MANCHU and EMPEROR FU MANCHU. In the latter, he is quoted as saying, "Communism, with its vulgarity, its glorification of the worker, I shall sweep from the Earth!"
"You may have heard of it in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's edited version. It took place at the Reichenbach Falls, in Switzerland." In "His Last Bow". Also depicted graphically in LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN (LOEG) #5.
"A meeting was held, and from it emerged the beginnings of what was soon called the Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity." Ward Baldwin first revealed this in THE DAGGER AFFAIR (MFU #4).
"The other was that Moriarity and a very small core of his trusted associates, among them Colonel Sebastian Moran, offered their services to MI5. And were accepted." As shown in LOEG #5.
"One of Moriarity's most trusted agents, the go-between who directed the operations of a group of handpicked agents at the time, was one Campion Bond." A shocking revelation from LOEG #4.
"At the time, this band, which had existed for over a century and was known as, I believe, the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen–the precursor of your own League, lady and gentlemen–included the likes of Dr. Henry Jekyll, Miss Mina Murray, a Mr. Griffin, one Allan Quatermain, and a legendary personage called Nemo." The adventures of which were detailed in LOEG #1-6.
"By that time, he'd become the burden of Sir Denis Nayland Smith and Dr. Dexter Petrie, though, once, Mr. Holmes himself lent a hand against him." Dr. Fu Manchu's dark deeds in the 20th Century were chronicled by Sax Rohmer in 14 books, starting with THE INSIDIOUS DR. FU MANCHU. He met Sherlock Holmes in several pastiches, but the one in which Holmes teamed with Dr. Petrie is Van Ash's TEN YEARS BEYOND BAKER STREET.
"By the 1960's, the current management decided—against my objection, by the way—to put out peace feelers to Fu Manchu, in hopes of drawing him into the fold." Again, THE RAINBOW AFFAIR (MFU #13).