CHAPTER THREE

Malone led West and Artie (in the psychics' bodies) down the hallway and to an elevator. The door slid open, and they stepped inside. After a moment, they were descending.

"Not the fastest elevator ride we've taken," Artie noted.

"No," West agreed. "That was the puppeteer, Zacariah Skull."

"Ah, yes! I can still feel the pressure in my ears."

The door slid open again, and the three stepped out. They were in a cavernous room filled with high shelves holding various objects. Some looked decades old.

Malone asked, "Know what that stuff is?"

"Some of it looks like things Dr. Loveless invented," West replied.

"Indeed! Much of what he conceived is now a part of everyday life: the automobile, the airplane, the radio, talking records, electricity, penicillin…. There's even television technology in development! Say what you will about Loveless, but the man was a visionary."

Artie shot back, "Yes, a visionary hellbent on destruction."

Malone shrugged. "Nobody's perfect."

At the other end of the room was a vault. Malone worked the combination and waved the other two in. It was a laboratory, at the far end of which stood two human-looking bodies — dead ringers for West and Gordon circa 1874.

"Well, well," Artie said. "We've been duplicated...again."

West wondered, "How many times does that make?"

"I've lost count."

"Gentlemen," Malone said, "welcome to your new bodies!"

"Are they fully functional?" West asked.

"Oh, yes! Those replicas of world leaders that Loveless Junior made? We built yourswith the same technology."

Artie grinned without humor. "Now, that's ironic."

"How do we get into them?" West wanted to know.

"Just leap out of your current hosts and into your brand new bodies."

Artie said, "Shall we, James? I'm rather anxious to leave Madame LeFarge behind."

The next thing the agents knew, they were looking from a different perspective. The two no longer stood next to Malone, but rather faced him from six feet away. And for the first time, West and Artie saw their former hosts. Edgar Weiss was as tall and scrawny as Madame LeFarge was short and obese. Both looked dazed but quickly gained their equilibrium.

Malone said, "Mr. Weiss, Madame LeFarge, meet James West and Artemus Gordon."

"Ah," LeFarge exclaimed, "so we succeeded?"

"Did you doubt we would?" asked Weiss.

"Let's face it, Edgar, there's never a guarantee."

After the proper introductions were made, Malone told the psychics, "The Secret Service is grateful to you both. You've helped your country more than you'll ever know."

"Thank you, Mr. Malone," said Madame LeFarge. "That's quite gratifying."

Weiss said, "About our checks…."

"You'll have them before you leave."

"Excellent! We psychics have to eat, too."

"With what we're paying you, Mr. Weiss, you could feed the Mormon Tabernacle Choir."

Artie whispered to West, "Or Madame LeFarge for two meals."

West tried not to laugh.

Back on the main floor, Malone had an agent escort the psychics to the paymaster's office for their checks. He then turned to West and Gordon.

"Now, gentlemen, I need to bring you up to date. Back to my office."

As they walked, Artie asked, "Jim, are you having trouble with your body?"

"I do need to work some kinks out. Why?"

"I'm having quite a time moving my right arm." Artie made a fist with his right hand, gritting his teeth and grunting with the effort. Suddenly, his right arm spun rapidly in circles until it bent at the elbow, punching him in the face. Artie bellowed in pain, careened into the wall, and sank to the floor.

West shook his head. "You shouldn't beat up on yourself."

"Very funny." As he stood up, Artie exclaimed, "Hey, the arm works now!"

xxx

At Malone's invitation, West and Artie sat across from his desk in shellacked wooden chairs. The Secret Service director's aging face took on a dire expression.

"Here's what we know: Loveless began corresponding with Hitler shortly after his arrest for the 1923 beer hall putsch. Ten years later, he traveled to Berlin for Hitler's inauguration. They met in private, but nobody knows what they talked about."

"Obviously, no notes were taken," Artie guessed.

"Not that we know of."

"Has he been back to Germany?" West inquired.

"Loveless has been to Europe several times in the last six years, but never directly to Germany. He likely met with Hitler or his representatives in neighboring countries, like Belgium or Switzerland. But where they met is beside the point. What matters is that Loveless has met Hitler not once but several times, and we don't know why."

Artie asked, "Does Loveless share Hitler's anti-Semitism?"

"Doubtful," said Malone. "We think Loveless allied with Hitler for mercenary reasons."

"And he obviously has something that Hitler wants," deduced West, "but what?"

"That's why the Service went to the trouble and expense of bringing you two back," Malone noted. "Given the Loveless family's history, we're very much afraid he's working on something that could help Germany win the war. If that happens, the Nazis will kill half the world's population in the name of 'racial purity.'"

Malone produced a dossier and slid it across the desk. "This is our file on Loveless."

When Artie opened it, his eyes widened. "Miguelito III is six feet, two inches tall?"

Malone chuckled. "Surprising, isn't it? But remember, Carmelita was five-foot-seven."

"And it says here, the father went to college on a basketball scholarship. Well, what do you know about that, Jim? A Loveless man we can look up to—in a manner of speaking."

West asked, "Where do we begin our search?"

"And please," Artie implored, "don't Say Wagon Gap, Arizona."

"No, Mr. Gordon, not Wagon Gap. Loveless has frequently been seen in Las Vegas."

"New Mexico?" said West.

"No, Nevada."

"Why there?" West wondered. "It's a one-horse town, or at least it was. Has Las Vegas changed all that much?"

"It's a growing concern," said Malone. "It now has hotels and casinos. Loveless is quite the betting man."

"So, how do we get there?" asked Artie. "Does our train still exist?"

"Oh, hell no! That thing was decommissioned when you two were still alive. The iron was melted down and used for the war effort."

"At least it went to a good cause," Artie allowed.

Malone produced a pair of tickets. "Gentlemen, get ready for your first plane ride."