Free The Avenger 35 - The Iron Skull by Kenneth Robeson Page B

pudgy guy who just left here?”
    “That is he, pudgy.”
    “Okay, so who’s the big shot?”
    “I do not know his name,” answered the drugged doctor. “He is known only as the Iron Skull.”
    “Iron Skull, huh? Fancy name.”
    “It is said he Is half robot himself.”
    “Oh, yeah?” said Smitty. “Where do I find this Iron Skull bozo?”
    “That I do not know.”
    “Is Nevins on his way to report to him?”
    “Yes.”
    “Okay, so we’ll find him okay,” said the giant with a nod. “Now, what about my pal Fergus MacMurdie? Where’s he being held?”
    “The Iron Skull has him captive.”
    “He’s still alive?”
    “Yes, to the best of my knowledge.”
    Smitty backed off, rubbing his head with his knuckles. “How many guys you got working here?”
    “I have four assistants.”
    “Those bums who tried to deck me in the warehouse, are they part of the quartet?”
    “Yes, that would be Don Hutchison and Pete Harris, neither of whom is too bright.”
    “Agreed,” agreed Smitty. “What about a couple of goons in red coats who tried to turn me into kindling out in the woods?”
    “That would be my two other associates, Luther Norris and Dr. Cassiday.”
    “And how many patients are there?”
    “Well . . . none, actually.”
    “Why’d you hesitate?”
    “I must tell the truth. Nevins was at one time a patient of mine, though he is no longer. I could do nothing for his various allergies, poor fellow.”
    “Yeah, well, I don’t want a lot of old medical histories,” said Smitty. “Gimme some more stuff on this Iron Skull guy. What’s he aiming to do?”
    “Sabotage America’s defenses,” replied the fat doctor.
    “Yeah, but let’s hear some specifics.”
    “He will destroy Justice, Inc. That is one of his top-priority projects.”
    “No kidding. How’s he going to bring that off?”
    “The walking bomb failed. Nevins was blamed for that. Now that he has three of them prisoner, I do not know what—”
    “Three of them? You mean three members of Justice, Inc.?”
    “So I have been informed by Nevins,” droned the doctor. “There is the aforementioned Fergus MacMurdie, and there are two more recent acquisitions, Joshua Newton and Cole Wilson.”
    “Geeze,” commented the giant.
    A very slight sound outside the office’s frosty window attracted Smitty’s attention.
    He was just in time to see one of the hoods raise a pistol and fire at him.

CHAPTER XXI

Closing In
    “That must be the place,” said Nellie, slowing their car and glancing for an instant over her shoulder.
    The Avenger had been riding in the back seat of the car. Pudgy Nevins was on the floor, tied and gagged and covered over with a blanket. Benson no longer looked as he had when he’d questioned the Iron Skull’s man by the roadside. Now he looked almost exactly like Nevins, and was dressed in the man’s clothing.
    By treating the flesh of his face with a special drug of his own invention the Avenger was able to transform it into a highly malleable state. He could then change his appearance.
    Downhill from them stretched a large fenced amusement park. A much-weathered sign over the closed gates read: Westlake Playland! Pride of the Connecticut Shore! Fun for All from 6 to 60! A newer sign announced that the park was shut for the duration of the war.
    “You’re a dead ringer for our silent passenger,” observed Nellie as she pulled the car up in front of a shut-down seafood restaurant.
    “Let us hope the Iron Skull agrees with you.” In his interrogation of Nevins, the Avenger had learned a good deal about the Iron Skull and his activities.
    Every building on the block was closed—the cafés, souvenir shops, hamburger counters—some closed for the winter, some for the duration, some forever.
    “I get the feeling we’ve landed in an evacuated area,” said the little blonde.
    The last light of this short winter day was fading away. Snow was still falling.
    “All right,” said Dick Benson, taking hold of