“You mean it was a quality that was taken into consideration when they picked me for it.”

“The quality, Vassily. The most important of all. Were it not for your possession of this talent, we might well have given up all hope of injecting another agent as blatantly as we shall have to in your case. Human beings have this peculiar limitation on their thinking, you know: They tend to put up with enormous risks simply because they can't exhaustively analyse the nature of the actions they realise they ought to take to insure themselves. As thinkers, Vassily, we are an amazingly lazy species. It's a wonder we survive from one day to the next. Yesl Let's get on with itl”

All of which sprang back instantly into Sheklov's mind, vivid as a 3-D movie picture.

He said coldly to Turpin, still looming over him as though about to tear him limb from limb, “Shut up and sit down.”

..You-1"

“I said shut upl” With an access of unfeigned anger. “I wish you'd use your wits now and thenl You just said someone else must have known I was coming ashore, didn't you? But you didn't take one deep breath and ask yourself whol Put your vanity away, will you?”

“What?” But his anger was turning to bluster, and Sheklov knew it.

“You heard. Stop and think for a moment. Who would be in a position to know that something was going to happen off-shore at a reserved area? Do you imagine you're unique?”

Slowly Turpin sank back into his chair. “I-I don't follow you.”

“That's obvious.” Sheklov loaded his tone with sarcasm. “I'll spell it out, then. You claim your cover has never been penetrated, right?”

“Of course! You think they'd let someone in my position ride for twenty-five years? Hell, nol”

“If that's true of you, it may be true of someone else.”

“You mean someone I don't know about was instructed to make sure I did cushion your landfall? I-”

“Nol To make sure the submarine wasn't shot out of the waterl”

“Then why was he crazy enough to leave the site shut down, knowing that next time a service crew came by security forces would flock after them like-like crows?” Turpin produced a small phial from his pocket, shook out a white tablet, and gulped it down with a swig of now-coldcoffee. Sheklov seized the chance to thrust a fresh proposal' home.

“Then look at it this way. Is it easy to shut down one of your sites?”

“Easy?” Turpin echoed with an incredulous laugh “Hell no. I could just about shut one down from memory, but I'd rather have a sg6ematic in front of me. You have to close nine of a series of twelve switches in a special order-that's . eier you get through a sintered-ceramic door-ahsi ;he other three are dummies wired straight into Conti.Pf”ntal Defense HQl'

An other words," Sheklov said leaning forward "whoever did this had access to confidential EG data. Suppose this had nothing to do with me. Suppose it was aimed at Energetics General. What about your rival corporations? Aren't some of them resentful of EG's exclusive contract for automatic defense systems?"

“Well . . .” The trank Turpin had swallowed was taking effect; he was able to consider the notion calmly.

“Come to that,” Sheklov pressed, “the Navy isn't too happy about the situation, I'm told.”

“My God,” Turpin said slowly.

“You see my point? Suppose one of EG's staff has been bribed to demonstrate that your systems are vulnerable to sabotagel”

Turpin sat stock-still for long seconds. Abruptly he jumped to his feet. “It's thin! Christ, it's thinl But you're right-it could be a way to mis-direct the investigation. I'll shoot for it. But it's going to be hell anyhow. Because. . . . Well, you know the only way to break EG's contract on this?”

Sheklov shook his head.

“To impeach the Board for treason. In which case I can confidently expect to be shot to death by an Army firing– squad. And I couldn't help but take you with me. They have very efficient interrogation drugs nowadays.”

He glanced at his watch, and concluded, “I must go. They said they'd have a veetol on the beach for me in ten minutes.”

The moment the door closed, Sheklov's self-control failed and he began to shake. His mouth dried, his guts churned, and for a terrible few seconds he thought his bladder was going to let go. Just in time, he forced a deep breath into his lungs, and held it, and was able to deploy the resources due to his yoga training: the pranayana first, to cancel out the panic-reactions of his body, and then a series of mental exercises to drive unrealised possibilities back to their proper status in his awareness.

But the shock had reached deep :gown through his per sonality, to layers that had already been badly bruised by his encounter with Danty, and it was a lohg, process. It was still not complete when he realized with a s"tart that someone else was in the room: Lora. -

“I'm sorry,” she muttered from the doorway. “But I heard Dad go out, and I thought maybe I could sneak in here and get away from everybody. But if you don't want to be disturbed-”

With an effort Sheklov put back his Holtzer mask, and smiled at her.

“Come in by all means. I can't-well, I guess this isn't the thing for a guest to say, but I can't blame you for wanting to hide out for a bit.”

Gratefully she shut the door and came to sit in the chair her father had been using. She dropped into it like a limp doll, legs sprawled, and he realized with a shock that she was wearing nothing under her short black indoor robe. During lunch he hadn't noticed; so much of her had been hidden under the table.

Obviously, though, it hadn't occurred to her that exposing her crotch was either immodest or discourteous. He considered, very briefly, reverting to the full Holtzer pattern and commenting in shocked terms, then decided he should risk not doing so to secure an opening for some inquiries about Danty.

While he was casting around for the correct turn of phrase to lead into the subject, however, she saved him

the trouble. “Don, what do you think of Danty?” she de-' manded suddenly.

“Ali . . .” Careful! “As a matter of fact, I found h' quite an interesting young man. I was astonished when he claimed to be a reb, because he's not at all what you'd: imagine. I got the idea he was putting people on.”

“You mean like needling Rev. Powell?”

«Oh, that-yes! I've seen Powell on TV now and then,; of course, but last night was the first time I'd met him.° And I was not impressed.» Good; that came out in th~ proper tone of stufy disapproval.

“Exactly right for Peter,” Lora muttered. “Christ, they make a lovely pair …. Say, Don-1 Oh, never mind.”

“What?”

She made a vague gesture, staring disconsolately at herdelicately-fingered harms., «Oh . . . oh, I was just going to ask if you'd like tG sleep with me for the rest of your stay,. So I could get ~~of Peter's company. I think you're nic You sm';e a lot, as though you mean it, and somewhere• und-ineath there's something-well-something real about you. If you see what I mean. So I just thought . . .» Another gesture like the former.

Startled, Sheklov said after a pause, “Well, I'm flattered -I guess. But . . . well, your parents, for one thing . . .” The words tailed away.

Flattered isn't it. I'm flabbergasted!

“Oh, them!” Lora said. “Think they give a fart what Ido? They never have done. That's why I do all these crazy= things. They call it `tolerance,' or `freedom from inhibitions,' or some shit like that. What it means really is, theyhave an excuse for not bothering about their kids. . Still, I guess it might foul up your business deal with Dad,; hm?” -

“Well-uh-it might,” Sheklov said. “And in any case. you won't have to share with Peter much longer. I expect.` to leave in a day or two. And if you'll forgive my saying. so, I had the impression you're involved with Danty.” -