The Max Webb Story
Chapter 1: "Vanishing in the Fog"
The crowd had finally cleared out of the little riverfront bar. As distant bells chimed two o' clock, the bartender was lazily wiping glasses when a young lady entered the establishment. Blond and attractive, she threw back her hood and shook the rain out of her umbrella while looking around nervously. She was obviously uncomfortable to be in such a place, and it showed in her manner.
"May I help you, miss?" offered the bartender. Saying nothing, she simply shook her head and scanned the dark corners of the tavern with large blue eyes. With a quick movement, she tucked the wet umbrella under her arm and strode toward the farthest corner of the room, where a solitary figure occupied a booth, hatchet-faced in the dim light, and clad in a rain coat with his hat pulled low.
She slid into the other bench. "Max! I've been all over Saint Louis trying to find you! You should have told me where you were going!" She was fighting back tears. "You know how I worry, what with all the rumors going around."
He took her hand gently. "Sorry, Hannah. I guess I should have said something." He looked up and smiled crookedly. "But then, I need to be careful, myself."
She shivered. He motioned to the bartender. "Bring the lady a brandy, if you please." She accepted the drink, and when the bartender had gone back to his glasses, Max began to speak in a lower tone.
"So what have you heard?"
"Oh, Max; strange things are going on around Headquarters. I never liked that part of the city anyway, and now with strangers seemingly hiding in every alley, it just gives me the creeps!"
Max was thoughtful. "We have a top-notch security staff, you know."
"Oh yes, I know all that," she replied. "But still, I can't help but look over my shoulder any time I go out. And now that Ted's so close to a breakthrough…"
He stiffened slightly. "So Ted's finally seen some progress?" Hannah nodded excitedly. "Oh yes, Max, hadn't you heard? He had a visit this afternoon from one of his contacts at RCA. I think they finally figured out how to make the special tubes he needed for…"
Max touched a finger to her lips. "Whoa there! All we need is for one little secret to get out, and the tide of the whole war could turn. If even a fragment of our research were to reach German Intelligence, there's no telling how much damage it would do!"
She sipped her brandy thoughtfully, and glanced around the darkened tavern with obvious distaste. "Max, why are you holed up here? You gave us all such a fright when we couldn't find you."
He seemed to be looking for the right words. "Hannah, I wish I could tell you everything. It's just not the right time; it wouldn't be safe." He paused, and stared at the soiled table top. "Plus, I wouldn't want to worry you before I fully understand matters myself. Suffice it to say that I received a warning this afternoon from one of my sources that an attempt might be made on my life."
Hannah nearly dropped her glass. "Max!" she exploded, then continued in a harsh whisper. "So you're playing it safe by coming to this dump? Mr. Webb, sometimes I could swear you're just… insane!"
Max smiled slightly. When she called him 'Mr. Webb,' he knew he was in for a scolding, so he spoke first. "Insane? Perhaps you're right. Sometimes I wonder why I'm so obsessed with pursuing such an elusive goal against these odds. But this 'dump,' as you so observantly put it, is probably the safest place I could be at the moment."
She looked unconvinced. "You'll have to take my word for it," he continued, with a glance toward the bartender. "You met Manuel when you came in; we were operatives together during the Spanish civil war four years ago. The things we learned about the Nazis convinced us we had to do something to prevent an unspeakable calamity. Well, we did what we could. But Hitler had just gained too much ground for our efforts to have much of an effect." Max sighed. "The next thing we knew, he'd overrun Poland. And the news from Europe has been very dark recently."
He could see that Hannah wasn't taking this well. He smiled and squeezed her hand. "What I'm saying is that while I may have enemies you don't know about, I also have friends you don't know about, like Manuel. There are at least three ways of escape from this building, and a couple of hiding places too, should that become necessary. I'm safer here than in my own home!"
Hannah relaxed a bit. "So that's why Ted said I might find you hiding somewhere. Max, what are you going to do now?"
"I plan to stay here tonight," he answered "until I get the all-clear from Manuel. But first, I'm going to see you to the door and make sure you get started for home. There's a lot of work to do at Headquarters, and you need to be there to make sure Ted doesn't get himself into trouble."
She finally had to laugh. Ted Cooper was an old friend of Max's from their days together at Harvard, and while he was a brilliant electronics engineer, he was eccentric in the extreme. It wasn't unusual to find Ted in his lab at all hours of the night, surrounded by unrecognizable apparatus, with his stained lab coat worn inside-out. Rather than reverse it, he'd just reach inside to stow pencils, vacuum tubes, and his ever-present cashews in its pockets. "You win, Max. Now that I know you're in safe hands I can finally get some sleep."
They stepped outside into a heavy fog. The rain had passed. The mournful sound of a towboat's whistle echoed across the river. Standing under a streetlight, Max hailed a cab. "Hannah, please don't worry. I've been through darker times than these." She pouted slightly. "Will I see you tomorrow?" He pulled her close. "I certainly hope so, honey. If Ted really is onto something, I need to be there."
Max opened the door of the cab, and to his great surprise was caught completely off his guard as he suddenly found himself shoved roughly to the pavement. A strong arm seized Hannah and pulled her into the back seat; and as he scrambled to his feet, the cab roared away and was swallowed by the swirling mist.