Agent Counter-Agent by Nick Carter Page A

outside.
    "When you hear the high-pitched sound from the room, you will know the device has done its job. Now, listen carefully." Dimitrov had gotten up and turned a dial on a small machine on a nearby table. I heard a piercing scream that reminded me of the noise some jets make.
    "That is the sound you will hear." Her voice paused a moment. "When you hear it," she said slowly, "you will remember
everything
buried in your subconscious. You will remember everything that I told you earlier not to remember. You will recall all that occurred prior to your coming to this clinic. But you will
not
remember anything that occurred here. This will reveal truth to you but will result in severe confusion. You will admit to the first person who speaks to you that you planted the death device in the conference room. Is this all clear?"
    "It is all clear," I said.
    "Also, when our man hands you the carafe, he will say,
'Viva la revolución!
These words will reinforce your determination to kill the Venezuelan President and the American and you will feel an irresistible compulsion to take the carafe into the room as I have instructed you."
    "Viva la revolutión,"
I said.
    Kalinin got up, went over to a table, and got the Luger they'd given me earlier and a stiletto in a sheath. He handed me the weapons.
    "Put the gun on," Tanya said. "The stiletto sheath should be attached to your right forearm."
    I followed her instructions. The weapons felt uncomfortable and bulky on me. Kalinin brought me a dark suit jacket and a tie, and Tanya told me to put them on over the weapons.
    "The weapons belonged to Nick Carter," Tanya said. "You will know how to use them. The clothes were also his."
    Dimitrov leaned over and whispered something into Tanya's ear. She nodded.
    "You will make no attempt to return to your apartment on Avenida Bolivar. Nor will you contact the Vigilantes or anybody connected with this mission, not even the personnel at this clinic."
    "Very well," I said.
    "Now, Rafael Chávez, you will come out of hypnosis when I have counted down from five to one. You will speak fluent English, and that is the language you will use until you have accomplished your mission. You will be eager and ready to complete the mission, and you will follow all of my instructions to the letter.
    "I will begin the count now. Five. You are Rafael Chávez, and you will change the course of modern Venezuelan history. Four. Your President and the Vice-President of the United States are your deadly enemies. Three. You have no thought, no purpose, but to kill these two men in the manner we have planned. Two. When you awake, you will not know you have been under hypnosis. You will not recall the names of those here with you, but you will know we are friends of the revolution who have prepared you for your mission."
    When she reached number
one,
the threesome before me seemed to blur for a minute and then come back into focus. I looked from one face to the other.
    "Do you feel all right, Rafael?" the lovely young woman asked.
    "I feel fine," I answered her in English. Surprisingly, I spoke it with no difficulty.
    "Who will you be for the next two days?"
    "Nick Carter, the American spy."
    "What will you do after you leave here?"
    "Report to a man called David Hawk. I will tell him I was with you — with Ilse Hoffmann — during Carter's absence."
    "Good. Go look at yourself."
    I went over to a mirror. When I saw my face, it looked different. They had altered my appearance, so that I looked exactly like Nick Carter. I reached into my jacket and pulled out the Luger. The name
Wilhelmina
flashed across the back of my mind. I had no idea why. It didn't seem important, anyway. I pulled the ejector back and slid a cartridge into the chamber of the gun. 1 was surprised at my facility with the weapon.
    I turned back to the three of them. "I don't know your names," I said.
    The men were smiling with obvious satisfaction. It was the girl who spoke, though. "You know we are your