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• Plot Synopses

Litchka.....................Ina Balin
Katie.......................Susan Flannery
Admiral Johnson.............John Zaremba
Doctor......................Dr. Harold Dyrenforth
Li Tong.....................Richard Loo
Tai.........................Richard Gilden
Soldier.....................Lee Millar
Policeman...................Jon Kowal
"Boy".......................Frank Delfino

This may take more than a wiggle.--Katie

1974. A scientist is addressing a room of people; he holds a weapon he says is a high-velocity hypospray capable of injecting a liquid into a human body without the slightest sensation. He demonstrates on a woman in the audience, injecting her through her clothing with 2 ML of distilled water; she felt nothing. Remarkable, she says, and the man beside her nods. When the distilled water is combined with unstable cesium, says the scientist, and injected into a human body, it turns it into a living bomb. He puts a new cartridge in the gun, saying that it holds only a small amount of cesium but will serve as a demonstration. He goes to a model of a human body behind a glass screen and shoots it, then takes a geiger counter to show that the cesium has been introduced into the model's circulatory system, where it will remain inactive until triggered by proximity to a nuclear reactor. He then brings a small amount of radioactive material near the model, which starts to glow and soon explodes. The man and woman rise; the man points out that it would be impossible for them to bring a nuclear device into the Soviet Union; they have therefore devised a plan wherein the Americans will send a top agent into the most sensitive area of the U.S.S.R. Somewhere along the way he'll be injected with the cesium solution, turning him into a bomb 50 times more powerful than the first atomic bomb, and triggering a war between the United States and the Soviet Union, from which they would emerge the rulers of the world.

On the Seaview, Nelson, in civilian clothing, tells Crane to continue taking core samples--after that, either Nelson will rejoin them or he'll receive new orders. He asks Morton if he's ready; he is. Crane asks about the official visit to San Christobel; Nelson says to cancel it--tell them we're having some kind of mechanical trouble and are returning to base. He hands Crane a list and tells him to contact Katie and tell her to send those items to Washington on the microfilm relay; he wants it waiting for him when he gets there. Crane wishes Nelson a good flight, and Nelson and *** enter the hangar of the Flying Sub. Launch procedures begin; the doors open on the Seaview's bottom and the small craft moves into the sea and soon is in the air.

Crane goes to Nelson's quarters and tells Sparks to patch the videophone through to Santa Barbara. He turns the videophone on and a woman's face appears on the screen. It's Katie, Nelson's secretary; Crane gives her the list of materials Nelson needs and tells her to send it to Washington immediately, in care of Vice Admiral Johnson.

In Washington, Johnson is at his desk. He tells Nelson that this is a tough one. One of their people in the Soviet Union has heard that the Russians are working on a subsurface nuclear device, with power in excess of 200 megatons; it would be self-activating and multidirectional--one of these in each ocean and the Soviets would control the world. If they had it, says Nelson, it would make every other weapon system obsolete. Including, says Johnson, the one Nelson is working on now. What they need to know is whether the Soviets can really pull it off, and Nelson is the man who can tell them. They go to a large map; Johnson tells Nelson the base is in a small town on the Black Sea. Nelson will be working with their agent in the U.S.S.R.; Nelson asks who it is, and Johnson tells him he'll introduce them.

Soon, in the Trianon Gallery, a gallery of modern art, Nelson and Johnson greet a beautiful woman, the same one we saw in the opening scene; her name is Litchka. She asks Nelson if he is enjoying the paintings, and he says he is, although he doesn't always understand them; she replies that understanding isn't important, one must react emotionally. "Let me show you something," she says, taking his arm and leading him to a particular painting. She looks around, then tells him she has managed to work a map into the painting, which will have to do until he gets to her studio in the Soviet Union. He'll be arriving during the annual hydrojet races, which they'll use to cover Nelson actions. She is explaining the map to him, telling him to commit the details to memory, when Johnson comes up, warning them that the ambassador has arrived and is looking for Litchka. She leaves, shaking Nelson's hand and saying they'll meet again, soon; he replies that he'll be looking forward to it. Once she's gone, Nelson smiles, saying "She's magnificent. You know, this assignment is beginning to look better!"

At the Department of the Navy, Johnson gives Nelson the passport and Soviet identity card he'll be using on the mission, along with a Soviet ration book (at which Nelson shakes his head) and his leave papers. Nelson asks about his uniform, which Johnson says is being sent ahead to Seaview. Johnson says he has a couple of surprises for Nelson. He takes out a tin of cigarettes, saying that they are the brand favored by the Soviet Navy. He opens the tin, telling Nelson that the six cigarettes on the right are simply normal cigarettes, while each of the four on the left is actually a tiny oxygen cylinder containing two minutes of oxygen. He shows Nelson how to use them, saying that the apparatus takes about 40 seconds to put together; Nelson is quite impressed. The second surprise is a pocket watch, a brand common in the U.S.S.R., which does in fact tell time, but also contains.three lethal darts propelled by tiny high-pressure gas units. Johnson says good-bye to Nelson, telling him to take Seaview to the Black Sea and have it wait there to pick him up, and wishes him luck.

Nelson exits the building, saluting the uniformed personnel he passes. A little boy in a spaceman's helmet runs up to him with a toy gun, shouting "Bang, bang, mister--you're dead!" Nelson laughs and pats the boy on the head, then continues on his way. A woman comes up and takes the gun from the boy, putting it in her purse. The boy takes off his helmet, revealing that he's no child--he's a full-grown dwarf, and the toy gun was a hypospray like that used in the first scene. Nelson has been injected with cesium, and the first part of the plan has been completed.

On the Seaview, Crane tells Morton they've reached the Black Sea, and to rig for silent running. He asks Sharkey, who's looking over the shoulder of the sonar operator, if he sees anything; he doesn't at first, but then a double contact appears. Crane orders the engine room to stop all engines, and Sharkey hands him the sonar earphones; Crane listens a moment and identifies the contact as a pair of Soviet destroyers. They're 2000 yards away and heading straight for the Seaview. Crane tells Morton to take the ship down and hug the bottom, and to program a sonar decoy. Nelson watches, a concerned look on his face. Crane asks Morton their depth; when he replies that they'll be on the bottom in 90 feet, Crane says that the Soviets probably haven't picked them up on sonar, but they aren't deep enough. The destroyers come closer--the whole control room can hear them--and pass over without incident. With relief, Crane tells Morton to get underway, staying on silent running for the time being.

Soon enough, the hangar doors open on the ship's bottom and the flying sub launches, with Nelson and Crane inside. The craft soon emerges from the water and approaches land; as they near the drop site, Nelson puts on his parachute and tells Crane to open the escape hatch. They wish each other luck and Nelson jumps, Crane watching with concern until he sees the chute open, when he smiles and turns back.

Nelson, in the uniform of a Russian sailor, walks through a nearby town. A police car pulls up and one of the officers gets out, asking Nelson for his papers, which he hands over. He asks where Nelson is going, and Nelson replies, "Gorov"; the officer asks why he is walking, and Nelson says he missed his train; the officer then comments that Nelson has only a 72-hour pass--he'll spend all his time walking. He turns to the other officer, then turns back to Nelson and tells him to get in the car--they'll take him to the army motor pool, and they'll give him a lift to Gorov! A man on leave has better things to do than walk, says the officer.

Elsewhere, a tape player is playing a recorded confession from the man who injected Nelson with the hypospray; he says that two days after he did so, he was picked up. He sits strapped to a chair, a dazed look on his face. A man in a lab coat frees him, and Johnson says "Get him out of here!" in disgust. He goes to his desk, writes something on a pad of paper, then picks up his phone and says "Get this message to Litchka in Gorov right away." Litchka receives the message, a telegram, and holds it under a piece of glass covered with apparently-random splotches of paint; when she does so, the message appears in the clear spots--"Mission Cancelled Instruct Agent Return Immediately." She looks thoughtful, takes out a cigarette and lights it, then crumples the telegram and burns it in the ashtray.

In Gorov, Nelson is accosted by two drunken soldiers, who embrace him as a comrade-in-arms and insist on walking him to his destination. In front of Litchka's door, he tries to hush them, saying this is where he lives; "You mean this is where your girl lives!" they laugh. They want to come in and have a party, but he tries to put them off, saying they'll have a party tomorrow; just then, Litchka opens the door, shouts "Alexei!" and kisses Nelson passionately. The two soldiers laugh and tell him to have a good leave, then depart. When Nelson and Litchka hear that they have gone, they quickly break their embrace and enter the apartment. Litchka smiles, pushes Nelson's hat up with her finger, and tells him his companions provided him with excellent cover. He says that she was pretty convincing herself, and that he wishes he were just a sailor on leave. She smiles and says "For tonight you are, Admiral," but first they'll have something to eat; she tells him to make himself comfortable. She goes to the kitchen while Nelson looks at the all paintings on her wall and takes off his coat. She returns, and he compliments her work, saying it's remarkable that such a great artist should also be a spy. She disagrees--to be either, one must be a fanatic; she loves freedom as much as she loves beauty, and is a fanatic about both. Nelson says that he is, too. They touch glasses and she sits. Litchka says that the hydrojet races will be in two days, and all the arrangements have been made. She sips her drink, puts it down, and smiles at Nelson, saying "But for now, let us not be fanatics. Let us forget our duty." She pulls Nelson down and they kiss.

Later, Litchka walks quietly down the stairs and approaches Nelson, who is sleeping on the couch. She takes a small geiger counter and checks to see that he is radioactive; he is. He stirs but doesn't wake, and she smiles.

Meanwhile, Johnson has contacted Crane on the Seaview. Speaking on the videophone, he tells Crane that according to Litchka, Nelson never reached her, which means that he was either picked up by the secret police or for some reason he couldn't contact her. Crane suggests a third possibility--Litchka could be a double agent. Then, says Johnson, she wouldn't have told Nelson the mission was aborted and would do everything possible to make sure he reached the experimental station. Crane says there are a lot of possibilities; regardless, says Johnson, someone has to get to Nelson before he gets close enough to that station to activate the cesium in his bloodstream. They've made arrangements for Crane to cover the hydrojet races as a photographer for Picture World magazine.

Pretty soon, the Seaview has a visitor--Katie, with all the equipment Crane will need to appear to be a photographer. He's delighted to see her. "Will you put the equipment in the cases on the table and open them, Francis?" she asks Sharkey; he stutters embarrassedly, telling her that no one ever calls him Francis, just call him Sharkey. She thanks him, and he goes; Katie tells Crane that Johnson sent some special equipment and she'll brief him on it, and they follow. The first box they open, Crane is to keep with him at all times; it contains cameras, film, and an exposure meter. In the smaller box is a small flash unit. She points to the larger box, saying that only one box actually contains film--the other boxes are actually smoke bombs. In the handle of the flash unit are masks and breathing units, which they can also use underwater. Most important is the lens brush, which contains the antidote that will neutralize the cesium in Nelson's bloodstream; she pulls off the brush head to reveal a needle. She looks at him seriously, saying that their orders are to keep Nelson from reaching that reactor room, whatever the cost. She takes out the lens mount, saying that it's actually a high-powered rifle, accurate to within 500 yards. If he can't get close enough to Nelson to give him the antidote, his orders are to kill him.

Back at Litchka's apartment, she is briefing Nelson on the mission. He's to take the place ot the Yugoslavian entrant in the race, and during the race he's to deliberately roll the boat over, 100 yards from the station. He comments that that will be a lot of fun at 200 miles an hour; she replies that he must do it in such a way that he isn't hurt. Just badly bruised, jokes Nelson. She smiles and returns her attention to the map, saying that he must swim underwater to a particular spot, where he'll find the intake pipe that leads to the reservoir from which water is pumped to cool the reactor. Once in the reservoir, he's to swim to the entrance to the reactor. There will be a guard in front of the door, says Litchka; once Nelson has disposed of him, he'll go through the door into the reactor room. Once he's found out what he needs to know, he's to retrace his steps and return. Nelson says he understands, and Litchka crumples up the map.

At the race, Nelson takes his place in the boat.

Meanwhile, Crane and Katie exit a taxi, telling the driver to wait. They enter Litchka's building, and Katie pulls Crane aside; she's worried--it's been too easy so far. He isn't overly concerned, and asks if she has the bug; she does, and they go. Katie rings Litchka's bell; Litchka is packing inside and doesn't answer. Crane knocks, then calls to her; she shouts to go away, she's busy. He knocks more insistently, and she goes to the door, saying she is painting. She tries to close the door, but he blocks it, saying he's a friend of the admiral's; she says she doesn't know what he's talking about. Then he mentions Trianon Galleries and she lets them in. She says they shouldn't have come there, as the secret police are everywhere. Crane asks if she's had news of Nelson, which she denies; she hasn't been able to find out whether he has been picked up by the secret police. While Crane and Litchka talk, Katie looks around the room, planting the bug surreptitiously. He says they'll go to the hydrojet races in case Nelson went there; Litchka says that wouldn't be possible without her help, but Crane says that Nelson is a very resourceful man. He and Katie leave, and Litchka immediately goes to the phone; Crane and Katie listen in, and sure enough, Litchka is warning someone that they are there. He turns to Katie and suggests they invite Litchka to attend the races with them; Katie pulls a handgun from her purse, saying that she's sure Litchka will be delighted.

At the race, Crane, Katie and Litchka are in the observation stand. Katie tries to convince Litchka to tell them where Nelson is, if only to save herself, but she makes no response. Crane watches the race through the lens of his camera, the one that is in fact a rifle. He finds Nelson, pauses, then says he'll have to shoot him--there's no way to get the antidote to him now. Katie and Litchka both are horrified, each for different reasons. Crane has Nelson in his sights, but hesitates. He can't do it. Just then Nelson turns the boat over; Crane says they have to stop him; they rush to their taxi and are about to get in when they notice the driver is different. Crane asks the new driver what happened to the other man; he was taken ill, says the new man. Crane, who seems convinced, says he has to get another camera out of the trunk. When the driver opens it, Crane asks him to get the case, then knocks him out, leaves him on the ground, and tells Litchka she's going to tell them how to get to the research center. She says it's impossible--there are guards at all the gates. She tells him all she knows about the center, and he tries to think of a way in.

Meanwhile, Nelson is swimming toward his goal.

Katie pulls up to the research center, apparently the victim of car trouble. She gets out, opens the trunk, and nearly climbs inside, throwing appealing glances to the two guards, who watch appreciatively. One guard walks over to help; she gestures toward the engine, obviously having no idea what the problem could be, and he looks inside. She pulls a small perfume atomizer from her purse and spritzes him, knocking him out. He collapses, but to his fellow guard he appears to be hard at work; she goes to the back seat, where Crane and Litchka are crouched on the floor, he holding a gun on her. "What now?" she asks. He tells her to try to get the other guard over there; "That may take more than a wiggle," she replies. She returns to the front of the car, turning to show the second guard a little more of her leg. In back, Crane tells Litchka that if she wants to live a little longer, she'll work with them, not against them. He gets out of the car and moves around the back. Litchka quickly follows and is about to get out, but changes her mind and settles back in. Katie smiles flirtatiously at the second guard, who is so distracted that Crane is able to sneak up behind him and knock him out. They drag the first guard into the bushes, and Crane tells Katie to drive to the end of the loading dock, then call Morton and tell him to bring the flying sub in underwater, as close to shore as he can get it. She does so as Crane moves the second guard out of the way and starts to unbutton his uniform.

Nelson continues his underwater journey, finally reaching the pipe and entering the reservoir. He has no way of knowing that on the other side is a workman in a diving suit, doing repair work. As Nelson emerges, the workman attacks, but Nelson is able to defeat him.

Inside the research center, a guard paces back and forth. Crane, now in the uniform of the second guard, moves through a storage yard. He hides behind some stacked barrels, waits for his chance, then knocks out the guard.

Nelson emerges from the reservoir and climbs up on a dock. He sees the guard he had been warned about, pulls out his pocket watch, and aims. He tries to fire, but it doesn't work; he shakes it and tries again. It still doesn't work. He gives up on the device, hiding behind some boxes and jumping the guard; they struggle briefly, but he soon realizes that it's actually Crane. He's confused, but Crane soon fills him in; he administers the antidote and Nelson, who still wants to see what's in the room, quickly enters.

Meanwhile, another guard has discovered the guard Crane knocked out at the main gate. He checks on him, then leaves to spread the alarm.

Nelson emerges from the room, hears the alarm and rushes Crane away--they need to get out of there! They run to the loading dock where Katie waits; Nelson sees her, smiles, and asks who's minding the Institute. They get in the car and drive along the dock to a gate; running from the car, Crane tells Katie to prepare the breathing apparatus. Litchka follows, shouting to Nelson, who hesitates a moment; Crane shouts to him that they only have three masks and tells him to come on. They hear the guards pull up as Nelson and Litchka exchange a long look; he and Crane throw smoke bombs to slow the guards, and they and Katie dive into the water as Litchka watches and the guards run up. One of the guards holds Litchka's arm as the others fire into the water. He leads her away as Crane, Nelson and Katie make their escape.

Soon, the three reach the flying sub and enter through the hatch. The sub takes off and soon returns to its hangar. On the Seaview, Riley opens the hatch. As he's climbing up, Nelson asks if his call is through to Washington; it is, and he picks up the phone. It's Johnson; Nelson wants him to call the Soviet embassy immediately and tell him there was a fracas at their Black Sea space probe research project, and that they were only trying to keep the project--a nuclear powered space probe--from being destroyed. He says they'll understand. There was no weapon there--just a couple of reactors; the whole show was put on to try to provoke a war. He hangs up, and tells Crane and Katie that Johnson confirmed that Litchka was a double agent. "She always looked evil," says Katie, "Didn't you think so, Admiral?" Nelson pauses, smiles, and says "Not always." He asks Crane to come to his cabin after he has changed--he has a story to tell him about a broken watch crystal that saved his life!"