Jack Easterly and the Island of Depravity
MF, md
Dr. Hayanishi's evil machine threatens to drag down the United States of America into a wanton swamp of lust, and only atomic chemist Jack Easterly can save his country.
Chapter 4: In which our Heroes come face to face with the enemy.
"American agent!"
Jack and Crandall looked around in shock. They had retraced their steps through the jungle of the South Pacific island back to the lab of Dr. Hayanishi. There, amidst the buildings of a US airbase abandoned after WWII, the evil genius had built a machine whose radiation turned even the most modest women into sex-craving maniacs. If he managed to sell his invention it would destroy the moral fabric of America and leave the Free World open to Communist penetration.
To their horror, the pair of Americans discovered that not only had Dr. Hayanishi's guards captured the beautiful young woman that had accompanied them to the island, now he knew they were hunting him.
"That voice..." Crandall muttered. "It's from the tape. That's Hayanishi."
"American agent!" The voice called again. "I know you are out there."
"And he knows we're out here." Jack repeated glumly.
"It's a loudspeaker." Crandall whispered. "Probably left over from when this was an airbase."
"It was nice of you to bring me such a nice present. So young and so beautiful."
"Anna Lee!" Jack blurted out.
"And just in time. My guards were getting tired of the last subject, you see. She responds to the device, but she is not so...succulent, not like this pretty girl you brought."
Jack's face contorted in anguish.
"I will berry much enjoy watching her succumb." An unpleasant laugh emerged from the speakers.
"We have to rescue her." Jack said, rising from his crouch.
"Hold on, cowboy." Crandall said. "We'll rescue her alright, but first we need a plan. We can't just rush-"
"One more thing, American agent. I performed my first tests with the subjects positioned too close to the device. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that in close proximity the device's effects become permanent." That laugh again. "Now they are little more than whimpering toys for my guards' entertainment.
"Oh, no..." Jack whispered.
"In exactly five minutes I will activate the device again, and this time I will strap your pretty young friend down alongside it. By my calculations, her brain will last no more than 47 seconds."
"Jack!" The two heard Anna Lee's anguished scream in the background.
"If you wish to save her, you have five minutes to surrender." He laughed.
"There are four armed men in there." Crandall said. "All I have is this pistol. Any brilliant ideas?"
"He said 'American agent.'" Jack mused.
"She must have told him."
"No, he said 'agent,' not 'agents.' And he said 'yourself.' She told him that there's only one of us."
"You're right." Crandall said, thinking quickly. He began to outline a plan.
The Quonset hut was dominated by what could only be Dr. Hayanishi's depraved invention. It stood nearly six feet tall, polished steel fronted with banks of gleaming lights. An ominous hum emanated from deep inside, almost too low to be audible. A panel near the top bore the international symbol for radioactive material. Above it all, arrays of wire mesh rotated slowly, like a primitive radar, casting moving shadows across the figure beneath.
Anna Lee lay spread-eagled on a steel table, leather straps pinning each wrist and ankle, exactly as Jack had imagined her that day at school. The guards had stripped her, and Crandall could see her heaving bosom as she stared helplessly at him. A crudely drawn chalk line on the floor extended around the machine and table.
Standing next to her was the evil Doctor himself. He was short, with thick round glasses and bulging eyes. Black rubber gloves and a heavy lead apron over his lab coat completed the picture. As he spoke, he idly twisted Anna Lee's nipple, making her whine in pain.
