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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..cfefd4c --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #65395 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/65395) diff --git a/old/65395-0.txt b/old/65395-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 6a547e1..0000000 --- a/old/65395-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3539 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of You Can't Buy Eternity!, by Dwight V. Swain - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: You Can't Buy Eternity! - -Author: Dwight V. Swain - -Release Date: May 20, 2021 [eBook #65395] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK YOU CAN'T BUY ETERNITY! *** - - - - - Wherever he turned men hunted him; this - was not surprising since he held the key to a - secret men would kill for. Yet some believed-- - - YOU CAN'T BUY ETERNITY! - - By Dwight V. Swain - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy - October 1957 - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - - - - CHAPTER I - - HUNT THE MAN DOWN! - - -The carrier came first--a flimsy two-passenger craft, unsuited for -even the shortest of interplanetary jumps. - -Swooping down too fast out of the eternal dust-clouds that shrouded the -Venusian sky, it crested a hillock by such a narrow margin as to spray -sand high into the never-ending wind, then veered right in a crazy arc. - -Another hillock. The carrier struck it a glancing blow that churned -up new clouds of sand and dust as it skated diagonally down the slope -beyond. - -Ahead, jutting from the endless waste of powdery grit that stretched as -far as eye could see, loomed low outcroppings of fantastically-eroded -rock. - -The carrier plowed into them with a rending crash. Claw-like crags -gouged at the craft's thin metal skin. A hiss of escaping air played -sudden gusty counterpoint to the whistle of the wind. Line-welds -popped. Seams split. Bucking and shuddering, the carrier jolted to a -halt. - -Before the echoes could even die, then, the cowling-seal flipped loose -from its seat. The warped entrance-bubble lifted jerkily, wrenched up -an inch or two at a time. - -Barely half open, it halted. A man wearing a plastron breather-mask -squirmed through the slot and, falling, sprawled prostrate in the -shifting sands beside the tiny vessel. - -But now a new sound echoed overhead--the heavy vibrance of a -spaceship's ramping-drone. - -Sobbing for breath, the man beside the carrier moved convulsively, -then lurched to his knees. His chrysolite-green tunic was ripped wide -where it had caught on the cowling. A long gash above his left temple -stained dun-drab hair scarlet. His nose was bleeding, too, so that the -transparent breather-mask bubbled spreading ruby streaks every time he -sucked in air. - -Now, clutching at the carrier's shattered hull, he dragged himself to -his feet, stood swaying there. - -Simultaneously, the vibrance overhead echoed louder. A sleek-lined, -compact Grade IV short-range cruiser plummeted into view through the -dust-clouds and hovered momentarily in ramping position--base down, -tail fins parallel to the surface of the ground below. - -The face of the man from the carrier contorted behind the -breather-mask. Turning sharply, he lurched away from the wrecked craft, -wading calf-deep through the powdery Venusian dust towards another, -larger outcropping of eroded rock. - -But as he did so, the cruiser dropped with swift precision. The -balancing fins bit in atop a level dune near where the crippled carrier -lay. Gears ground. A hatch spun swiftly outward on its screw-locks. - -The man on the ground broke into a stumbling run. - -From the cruiser, an amplifier blared harsh male syllables: "Halt, you -chitza!" And then: "Pull up, rack you! Freeze! You know you can't get -away!" - -The runner scrambled over a low ledge, then on again. He gave no sign -he'd even heard. - -"You want a blast, huh, Thigpen? You want to go back with your legs -knotted up like old Pike Mawson's!" - -The runner's stride broke. Flinging himself sidewise, he rolled bodily -down a short, sandy slope, then came up fast and plunged headlong into -the shelter of a grotesquely-shaped rock pillar. - -Aboard the cruiser, someone cursed: the amplifier picked up the echo. -Voices rose angrily, only to cut off again as sharply as if slashed -with a knife. - -And now, a new voice. A woman's voice, ragged and not quite steady: -"Don't worry, Thigpen. No one's going to hurt you. You've my word for -that." - - * * * * * - -A little eddy of dust drifted out from behind the rock pillar; that was -all. - -Again, the woman's voice: "This is Veta Hall, Thigpen. You don't know -me, but you've probably heard of the man I'm speaking for: Pike Mawson, -the adjudicator on Japetus. He wants to make a deal with you." - -From the rock pillar, silence only. - -"You needn't play coy, Thigpen. Mawson knows all about that 'life -catalyst' you helped Tornelescu work out. That's why he sent us for -you. He's old and crippled; he needs that catalyst himself, so he can -find youth again. He'll give anything for it--anything you name. And he -doesn't care how many human guinea pigs you killed developing it, or -that you cut old Tornelescu's throat. He'll even help hide you from the -FedGov men, if that's worrying you." - -The last eddy of dust from behind the rock faded away. - -"Please, Thigpen!" the woman begged. "Please surrender! It's suicide if -you don't." A pause. "Look: you've heard of Igor Cheng, haven't you? -The slaver from the Belt? Well, that's who Mawson sent with me to help -bring you in--Cheng and three of his pet Belt killers. Only now that -the FedGov's put a price on your head...." - -The woman's voice trailed off. Then, after a moment, it rose again, -with such violence the amplifier screamed protest. - -"Don't you understand, you fool?" she cried hysterically. "If you come -in now, Igor's willing to live up to his bargain with Mawson. But if -you give him trouble, he'll kill you for the FedGov bounty. Only if -he does that, then he'll have to murder me too, so I can't give him -away to Mawson when he claims pushing you off was an accident, or -self-defense, or whatever other story he decides on!" - -Again, silence, broken only by the whish of blowing sand and the -ululations of the wind. - -The woman sighed audibly. "All right, Thigpen. Don't say I didn't try -to give you a chance." Emptiness, defeat, had replaced the desperation -in her voice. - -The amplifier clicked off. A moment later a landing ladder -ratcheted into view below the cruiser's cylindrical hull. A man -with radiation-pocked skin and an ugly, livid scar down his right -cheek appeared in the open hatchway and, locking his legs about the -ladder's uprights, slid swiftly to the ground. Another man of the same -hard-faced cut followed, and then another. - -For a moment, the cold-eyed trio paused beneath the ship, adjusting -breather-masks and checking short-barreled blasters. Then, spreading -out, they moved warily towards the rock pillar behind which their -quarry had disappeared. - -Still there was no visible move from the man addressed as Thigpen. -Swinging wide down the slope in a crouch, the scar-faced member of the -searching party circled so as to approach the pillar from the rear. - -A moment later his voice rasped through a hand-amp: "Rack the dirty -starbo! He isn't here!" - -Instantly, the cruiser's speaker clicked on again. "What do you mean, -he's not there?" A note of repressed excitement echoed in Veta Hall's -words. "He's got to be there, Igor! There's no way he could have broken -clear!" - -The scar-faced man laughed harshly. "That's right, lover-girl. There's -no way. So don't waste energy hoping we'll miss him." - -Now the landing party's two other members came abreast the pillar. A -second hand-amp cut in: "There's a little cover over this way, Cheng. -Maybe our boy snaked on over to the next outcrop." - -"How could he? We were watching!" - -The third man: "Well, you can't find him, can you?" - -And the second again: "If he played it right, he could have made it, -Cheng. After all, he had that column between him and us." - -"All right, we'll go on to the next rocks, then. And when we find that -chitza--!" - -The trio spread out once more--wading through swirling sand, clambering -over jagged ledges. Chill menace showed in their stance and movements. -They held their blasters at the ready. - -Then, reaching the maze-like cluster of monoliths that was their goal, -they advanced warily between its towering, weird-etched columns till, -one by one, they disappeared from view. - -Behind them, sand heaved at the base of the rock pillar that had been -their first goal. A figure pushed up out of the drifted grit. - -It was the man from the carrier. Shooting quick glances to right and -left, he rose cat-like, then paused momentarily while he tapped sand -from his breather-mask's filter. He looked better now than he had -before his brief respite, and both his nose and the head-gash had -stopped bleeding. Close-knit, of medium height, and obviously under -thirty, he moved with lithe coordination. Cool intelligence glinted -in the grey eyes. His face, though hardly handsome, combined an -intriguingly paradoxical mixture of recklessness and control. - -Now, as he tapped the filter, light flashed from his wrist. Stopping -short, he fumbled off a standard doloid identification bracelet. - -But though the picture was his, the name engraved beneath it was -_Stewart Ross_, not Thigpen. - -For the fraction of a second, the man hesitated, then dropped the -bracelet into the sand and scraped it under with his foot. - - * * * * * - -Next, pivoting, he struck out in the same general direction his -pursuers had taken, but at such an angle as would let the pillar screen -him from the cruiser. - -A dozen yards farther on, a low, crumbling ledge crossed his path -slaunchwise. Dropping down into its shelter, the man wormed swiftly -along it till it played out in a wind-furrowed, trough-like hollow. - -The hollow gave him cover to a dune, and the dune hid him till he -reached the first spur of the strata that formed the outcrop his -pursuers now were searching. - -Staying low, out of view, Ross followed the spur till he reached the -upthrust columns and ledges themselves. Then, a fist-sized rock in each -hand, he rose and moved cautiously on into the maze. - -Ahead, scar-faced Cheng came into view around a towering escarpment. - -Instantly, Ross drew back. Tight-lipped, cold-eyed, he hefted the two -rocks. - -Scowling under black, bushy brows as he peered this way and that, -blaster at the ready, Cheng shuffled closer ... closer.... - -Ross drew back a step. Then, through a slot between two great stone -slabs, he lobbed one of his rocks high into the air above Cheng's -head. Sailing in a swift arc, it struck the face of the escarpment and -rattled noisily down the steep slope behind the slaver. - -Like lightning, Cheng whirled, finger already rigid on his weapon's -trigger. - -It put his back to his stalker. Stepping clear of his sheltering slab, -Ross hurled the second rock. - -It struck the base of Cheng's skull with a meaty _thunk_. The slaver -spilled forward. - -Ross came in with a rush. Snatching up his downed foe's fallen blaster, -he whipped it round just in time to cover the other two members of the -landing party as they waded into view through the thick-drifted sand at -the cliff's base. - -The pair stopped in their tracks, jaws dropping. - -Ross' lips peeled back in the caricature of a grin. He didn't speak. - -The two men from the cruiser hesitated, then exchanged quick, -raw-nerved glances. - -Still not speaking, Ross flicked his blaster's muzzle ever so slightly; -triggered a bolt. - -Sand spewed in a geyser bare inches from the feet of the man at the -left. - -Like magic, the pair dropped their weapons. - -Ross stripped off his torn, chrysolite-green tunic and tossed it down -beside black-browed, scar-faced Cheng, still lying limp and unconscious -in the sand. "Put this on him. And give me his outfit." - -The slaver's two aides didn't even argue about it. - -The switch finished and a cap donned to hide his gashed scalp, Ross -eyed his captives coldly. "How many aboard the cruiser?" - -A moment of sullen hesitation. Then: "Just two--the girl, and one of us -to keep track of her." - -"For your sake, I hope you're not lying." Ross' words held a flat, -deadly ring. "Now get this straight: you've finally captured me. But -you had to knock me out to do it, so you're carrying me back to the -ship." And then, to the nearest of the prisoners: "You! Put that on -your hand-amp. Tell the woman about it, strong enough for her to -believe it." - -Eyes still on Ross' blaster, the man obeyed. - -Ross smiled thinly. "Let's go." - -Sullenly, his two prisoners heaved up their green-tunicked, -still-unconscious chief between them and, shuffling and stumbling, -carried him out of the outcrop's rocky maze to the dusty, windswept -spread of sandy waste beyond. Ross moved with them, but with face -averted. He maneuvered, too, to keep the others between him and the -cruiser. - -Then, at last, they were climbing the dune on which the ship stood -ramped ... angling up the final slope and pausing beneath the shining -metal hull, out of view of the open hatchway above. - -Ross said, "Lie down, you two!" - -"Lie down--?" Panic flared in the eyes of the man nearest him. "So you -can blast us, you mean? No--" - -He lunged as he spoke. But Ross was already moving, swinging up the -blaster's butt in a hard, fast blow to the other's head. - -The man dropped. Hastily, his companion stretched out as ordered. - -"Stay there," Ross clipped. Then, incredibly cool, he turned to the -ladder and, head tilted forward to hide his face, climbed swiftly -towards the hatchway. - -Above him, Veta Hall spoke, her voice no longer marred by the -amplifier's distortion: "You really did get him, Igor? Alive, not -dead--?" But her tone told nothing of how she felt about it. - -Ross mumbled incoherently, not slowing his climb. - -"Will you need a sling to lift him, Igor?"--A male voice, this one. - -Another guttural mumble. Ross' chin scraped his chest, he was holding -his head so far forward. - -A hand touched his shoulder. "Speak up, Igor! I can't understand--" - -Ross gripped the sill of the hatchway. His head came up--teeth bared, -eyes blazing. In one lunge, he slammed through the open port, bowling -Veta Hall aside. - -The next instant he ricocheted into a gaping, goggle-eyed rowdy who -held a spanner in one hand, a vortane-tube in the other. - -The man swung the spanner in a wild arc. - -Ross ducked under it. Savagely, he drove an elbow into the other's -side, in the soft-fleshed belt between hip and ribs. - -Goggle-eyes gave an anguished shallow-breathed gasp. Rising almost on -tiptoe, he tottered forward three or four uncertain steps, then slumped -in a heap on the floor. - -When the woman tried to snatch up the fallen spanner, Ross kicked it -out of her hand with such violence that she cowered back against the -wall, moaning and clutching her bruised fingers. - -Paying her no heed, Ross doubled back to the hatch and spun the -control-wheel. The vault-like door sang on its screw-locks. In seconds, -all entry was barred. - -Bleakly, now, Ross glanced at his new prisoners--first the woman, then -the man, then back to the woman again. - -"So Pike Mawson wants to make a deal with me, does he?" His curt laugh -held no mirth. "All right, I'll let him. Only the terms are going to be -mine, not his--and by the time I'm through, Stera help him, he'll wish -he'd never heard of me, or the catalyst, or old Tornelescu either!" - - - - - CHAPTER II - - TROUBLE ON JAPETUS - - -Time passed slowly, hovering there high above tiny Japetus, waiting for -Saturn's shadow and a chance to slip in. - -Ross yawned and stretched. Then, taking out his writer, he doodled -briefly on an astrogation pad. - -Only somehow, the doodles all seemed to end up resembling Veta Hall. - -Ross sighed and put away the writer. Sinking deeper into his seat, he -stretched his legs at full length before him. His shoulders, his head, -sagged forward just a fraction. But he still kept the blaster across -his lap; and though his lids tended to droop, his grey eyes still -followed the woman's every move. - -Incongruously, she wore a quilted space-suit liner. But even such -failed to hide the youthfulness of her body and her movements. Her -dark, curly hair--worn short--only accented the regularity of her -features, the unblemished smoothness of her skin, the absence of all -lines and wrinkles. - -Now, suddenly, she flushed under Ross' scrutiny. Turning away abruptly, -she fumbled in her shoulder-bag and, after a moment, brought forth a -Pallastan vocorn pipe. - -Ross' eyes widened. But he said nothing. - -Adjusting the pipe's mouthpiece, still ignoring Ross, the girl began to -play. Weird minor melodies, developed in the unique contrapuntal manner -of the pipe's fourteen-note polyphonic scale, welled and echoed through -the cramped space of the cruiser's cabin. - -Wincing, Ross held his peace till the girl paused. - -"You're from Pallas, Veta?" he asked then, quickly. - -Wordless, she shook her head; began to play again. - -Another fragmentary pause. - -"Somewhere else in the Belt, maybe?" Ross persisted. "Vesta? Ceresta? -H'sana?" - -Again, silent denial. - -Ross frowned. "I didn't know they played vocorn pipes anywhere outside -the Belt." - -Veta Hall broke off her music for an instant. "They don't," she -retorted succinctly, and plunged back into a Chonya dirge. - -Ross laughed. "All right, I'll put the question straight, then: where -_are_ you from?" - -"Ganymede. Porforio." - -"And the pipe--?" - -"I had a Pallastan teacher, an enthusiast. He convinced me that all the -inner and outer planets, and the satellites between, were holding their -breath waiting for someone to come along and play a vocorn pipe for -them." - -"You sound bitter." - -"I'm not, though. Not really." For the first time, the girl smiled and -fully faced Ross. "You see, I like piping, just for its own sake. And -now that it's past, it doesn't matter too much about the other, the -disappointment." - -"The disappointment--?" Ross encouraged. - -"Of finding I couldn't make a career of piping." Veta laughed wryly. -"First I tried in Porforio, then Idacta, then even Brenskaala, on -Callisto. Only there still weren't enough people who wanted to hear me -play, so when my money ran out--I didn't have too much to start with; -just what I'd inherited when my father was killed in a thermal--why, -when it was gone, I took a job in a traveling show, charming gulfers." - -Ross stared. "Charming gulfers--?" - -"That's right." Veta laughed. "I don't know what the right name for -them is, but they have them on some of the asteroids and they call them -engulfers--gulfers for short. They look like worn-out rubber rugs, but -if they get the chance they'll wrap themselves round you and digest you -alive with their juices." - -"Go on." - -Veta shivered. "They're awfully dangerous, really. They kill lots of -people in the Belt. But they happen to like vocorn music too; they'll -even move in rhythm to it. So in this show, I played my pipe to charm -them." - -"It sounds fascinating," Ross observed dryly. - -"Believe me, it wasn't." The girl shivered again. "But it was the best -I could do till I met Mr. Mawson." - -"How did that happen?" - -"The show went broke on Japetus. As adjudicator, Mr. Mawson checked on -it. He liked me, and the next thing I knew, he was giving me little -jobs to do. Then they got bigger, till finally he even sent me along on -this trip with Cheng to pick you up." - -"I see," Ross nodded slowly. "He trusts you a lot, apparently." - -"Yes, of course." Veta nodded also. But a nervousness suddenly seemed -to have seized her. Shifting, she fingered her pipe, eyes dodging Ross'. - -For an instant he studied her; then rose, crossed the cabin, and once -more checked the visiscreen. "It won't be too long now. We're beginning -to move into shadow." - -Veta's head came up. "And then--you're going down there, to Japetus, -and ... try to do something to Mr. Mawson--?" - -"I'm going down, anyhow." - -"But why?" Now Veta, too, rose from her seat. Half-hesitantly, she -came to him. "Wouldn't it maybe be better if you just--well, forgot -about it?" - - * * * * * - -Ross' face darkened. "That kind of thing takes a lot of forgetting. -When somebody forces my carrier off course, so that I crash on Venus, -and then tries to blast me--" He broke off, thin-lipped. - -"But still--" - -Ross turned on the girl. "What do you care about it, whether I do or -whether I don't? Are you afraid Mawson might get hurt?" - -His companion's face flamed. She started to turn away. - -But before she could move, Ross caught her by the shoulders. His -fingers gouged into the soft flesh. "Don't try that! I'm not in the -mood for it, and I've heard better stories than the one you've been -telling. To listen to you talk, you're not even too bright. - -"Only I don't believe that--not for a minute, because Pike Mawson's -not the kind of man to send a giggling girl out to take care of his -business. So throw out the act: you've got brains and judgment; admit -it!" - -The color drained from the girl's face as Ross spoke. Twisting, she -cringed from his fingers. - -He shook her. "Tell me the truth, rack you! Why did Mawson send you out -here with Cheng? What makes him so sure he can trust you?" - -No answer. - -Savagely, Ross flung the girl into a seat and turned his back on her. -"You're a fool!" he lashed bitterly. "A fool, and a liar, and the kind -of trollop who'll run a murderer's errands!" - -"Shut up!" This from Veta. Eyes flashing, she jumped from the chair, -caught Ross by the elbow, and whirled him. Her hand whipped up and in, -slapping--once, twice, three times.... - -Ross reeled back, clutching for her wrists. "Stop it!" he roared. - -"Why should I?" Veta tore free and twice more dealt stinging slaps -before he could pinion her arms. "You call me names--you, Lewis -Thigpen, the man who helped Tornelescu murder all those hundreds of -innocent people, testing that catalyst!" She was panting and sobbing at -once. Tears streaked her cheeks. - -Ross said tightly, "I'm sorry I lost my temper. I apologize. But when -you wouldn't tell me why you were trying to keep me off Japetus--when -you wouldn't even answer my questions--" - -"When I wouldn't tell you--?" The girl's tears streamed faster. "How do -you want me to say it? Like this?" - -Once again, she tore free--and then, flinging her arms about Ross' -neck, buried her streaked face against his shoulder. - -For an instant he stiffened. A tremor ran through him. Drawing the girl -even closer, he held her to him. - -Her voice came muffled: "Don't you see? If you go down, they'll kill -you! You're all alone. You won't have a chance." - -"That may be," Ross agreed quietly. "Or then again, it may not." A -pause. "Have you ever heard of a man named Zoltan Prenzz?" - -"Prenzz--?" Veta lifted her face. "No, I haven't. Who is he?" - -Ross smiled faintly. "Just a name; a man I knew once." Gently, he -tilted Veta's head back and kissed her. "First installment. You'll get -the second after we land." - -He stepped back as he spoke and, turning, began checking instruments. - -"Then--you're going down?" Veta's voice sounded very tired. - -"Yes." - -"To see this man you mentioned--Zoltan Prenzz?" - -"Yes." - -Wordless, the girl moved to a position in front of a second panel. With -cool efficiency, she adjusted dials; threw switches. - -A hush fell over the cabin. The floor rocked slightly as gyroscopes -compensated for gravitational imbalance. - -Then, abruptly, there was the slight jar of an almost-perfect ramping. -Spinning open an inspection hatch, Ross peered out. - -Black night; nothing more. - -Ross said, "The calculations must have come out on the target. Let's -go." - -He spun open the screw-locks; ratcheted down the ladder. - -More night. Silently, Ross slid to the ground. - -Another moment, and Veta was beside him. Ross turned. - -Simultaneously, light pinned him tight against the ladder. A smooth -voice said, "My dear sir! Surely you wouldn't deny us the privilege of -giving you a proper welcome!" - -Ross could only blink and squint against the glare. - -The voice from the darkness kept on talking: "You understand, of -course, that Japetus has few visitors. At best, it's small and -isolated. So, as adjudicator, I take it as my duty to show our little -world's appreciation...." - -Talk and more talk, mellow and meaningless. - -Yet somehow, now, a strange note of uncertainty had crept into the -speaker's voice. It was as if, suddenly, an initial planned strategy -had been shattered, with the result that for the moment he must feel -his way and play by ear. - -Then, abruptly, that too changed. - -"You men there!" the speaker cried, "where are your manners? Get those -lights out of the gentleman's eyes! Or at least spread them so we all -can see each other." - -Instantly, the beam that pinned Ross broadened. With a faint _whish_, -a grav-seat dropped from the night to a landing close beside him. -Flipping a switch, its occupant held out a hand. "I'm Pike Mawson, -sir. Adjudicator for this satellite. Forgive me for not rising, but a -blaster-bolt some years ago made that a painful and rather involved -process for me." - -Ross ignored the extended hand. "I'm Lewis Thigpen." - -"Thigpen!" Pike Mawson appeared almost to choke on the name. "No wonder -you're glaring holes in me! I only hope you can find it in your heart -to forgive an old man's folly!" - - * * * * * - -Ross' jaw sagged. He stared helplessly at the pale cripple in the -grav-seat. - -Mawson said, "This is a long story, Mr. Thigpen, and it does me a deal -of discredit. But under the circumstances I have no choice but to tell -it." A pause, while he shifted position in the flying chair. "You see, -I've already heard from Cheng via your carrier com-set, even though -I didn't expect you to land here quite this soon. He's told me what -happened, there on Venus." - -Ross said nothing. - -"Believe me, Mr. Thigpen, piracy was the last thing in my mind when I -sent Cheng out to try to find you. But some over-direct individuals -misconstrue orders to their own tastes ever so easily." - -"Apparently." Ross bit the word off. - -But here, it seemed, all sarcasm was wasted. The adjudicator went on as -if no word had been spoken: - -"The root fault's mine, Mr. Thigpen. I acknowledge it freely. When I -heard of Doctor Tornelescu's life catalyst, and that there was a chance -you knew its secret, my sense of values went out of balance. I could -think of nothing but the possibility that my own brief remaining span -could be prolonged. The fact that you faced--certain difficulties--as -a result of Tornelescu's untimely death; the detail that you had no -desire to come here--I pushed all such to the back of my mind. All -I could think of was the one burgeoning reality that Tornelescu had -finally isolated the chemical that controlled human aging; and that -when this chemical was injected into an older person, it combined with -the amino acids of the body to turn back the clock and give a man new -youth. - -"It was a foolish thing for me to send for you, Mr. Thigpen. I realized -that almost as soon as Cheng's ship was out of sight. But by then, it -was too late to try to stop him, so all I have left to fall back on now -are apologies." - -"Apologies?" Ross clipped. "It seems to me there's a small matter of -damages, also." - -"Of course, Mr. Thigpen!" Mawson was almost too eager. "Would fifty -thousand satisfy you?" - -"Fifty thousand--!" - -"It's done, then. That is, if you have a writer you can lend me." - -Wordless, Ross handed the adjudicator the slim tube; received it back -again with a signed form. - -"Now we'll take you on into the city and find you quarters," Mawson -chortled. "Come. There's a transor over on the edge of the ramping -area." - -A woman's voice from the outer darkness said, "Surely you'll not let -him go before you introduce us, Pike." Her tone was syrupy, with -shadings of coy reproach. - -"No, of course not." Mawson's pale face grew unhappy. "Mr. Thigpen, -allow me to present the most famous woman of our time: the one and only -Astrell." - -Already the woman was coming from the shadows, an auburn-haired vision -of utter loveliness. - -Only then the full force of the light struck her, and the illusion -died beneath the bitter onslaught of too many years. - -Astrell seemed to sense it. Hastily, she drew back into the fringe of -friendly shadows. "I won't hold you now, Mr. Thigpen; I know you must -be tired. But I promise, I'll see you another time." - -"The transor, Mr. Thigpen--" Mawson began. - -Ross said, "First, I'd like to speak for a moment to Miss Hall." - -"Miss Hall? Miss Hall--?" - -"The girl you sent with Cheng." - -"Oh. Veta." The adjudicator's face grew even more unhappy. But he -raised his voice: "Sanford! Sanford, where are you?" - -A shadow detached itself from the others ... a tall, gaunt shadow, this -time. "Here, Pike." - -"Where's your sister, Sanford? Mr. Thigpen wants to see her." - -"My sister? Veta?" Sanford Hall sounded vague about it. "How would I -know, Pike? I guess she must have slipped away." - -Without another word, he turned to go. But as he did so, the blazing -lights focussed on the cruiser fell full into his eyes. - -Ross breathed in sharply: the glaze, the distortion of iris and of -pupil--they could belong to no one save a starak addict in the last -stages of his vice. - -"The transor, Mr. Thigpen--" - -Ross said, "Thanks, Adjudicator. This takes care of me nicely. I'll -find my own quarters." - -Without waiting for response, he pressed the first button that came -beneath his finger on the selector. - -The transor surged forward. Leaning back, Ross checked his pocket for -the form Mawson had given him. - -_Two_ pieces of paper rattled in his fingers. Frowning, he drew them -out. - -The first was Mawson's form. - -The second, a note-sheet, bore only a name and address: _Veta Hall, -417D Esrach Unit_. - -Ross' frown furrowed deeper. Refolding both papers, he thrust them back -into his tunic. - - * * * * * - -It took him an hour to find satisfactory two-room quarters. - -The deciding factor in his choice, it finally turned out, was that one -place offered bars on the bedroom window. - -Then that was done. Once again, Ross moved out into the streets ... -checked a com-call reel in the nearest store. - -Zoltan Prenzz' address was less than ten minutes' walk away. - -Two doors from Prenzz' number, Ross paused in the shadows. Warily, he -searched the street. - -Now a man appeared, moving too casually down the other side. - -Ross watched him till he was out of sight. Then, pivoting, he -proceeded to Prenzz' address. - -No light showed. After a moment's hesitation, Ross knocked. - -No response. - -Ross rapped again, more sharply. - -Still no answer. - -Another moment's hesitation. Then, quickly, Ross slid a paper-thin -variable tab into the lock-slot. - -There was a click of contacts made and contacts broken. Noiselessly, -the door swung back. - -Swiftly, Ross stepped to one side and stood there, poised and waiting. - -Nothing. - -Or almost nothing. - -Ross sniffed. His forehead furrowed. He stepped across the threshold; -sniffed again. - -Two more steps, and his foot struck something in the darkness. -Stiff-fingered, he drew out his flamer; flicked it. - -Its light fell full on the face of Zoltan Prenzz. - - - - - CHAPTER III - - SQUEEZE PLAY - - -Prenzz was very dead. - -That was self-evident, without examination. No stench such as permeated -this room ever could have come from living tissue. - -The odor grew worse by the moment. While Ross stared, his face a mask -of numb, horrified disbelief, the corpse took on a strangely oozy -look. Inside its clothes, the body began to lose its contours. Flesh -sloughed from one cheek, then the other, as if putrefaction were -somehow here motivated to race to destroy the evidence of crime. - -Shuddering, Ross flicked his light off, stumbled back to the door, and -retched. He was still shaking his head as if to clear his nostrils of -the cramped room's stench as he plunged into the shadows of the nearest -alley. - -For a moment, there, he paused and stood frowning. Then, narrow-eyed, -he fumbled through his tunic's pocket and came out with a now-familiar -note-sheet ... unfolded it ... stared down at the name and address it -bore: _Veta Hall, 417D Esrach Unit_. - -Folding the note-sheet again, Ross strode on through the alley to the -next street, climbed into the first vacant transor, and punched the -Esrach Unit button on the selector panel. - -The transor surged forward, gears whining as it picked up speed. Three -minutes and a bewildering series of turns later, it ground to a halt -once more, automatic door already lifting. - -Ross got out. But instead of going on into the unit, he left-faced, -walked briskly down the street to the first corner, turned right, and -so continued until, after another right turn, he stood directly behind -the Esrach building. - -In front, the structure had made some show of keeping up appearances, -for all its obvious age and deterioration. The entrance was neat if not -new, and imitation veldrene drapes and occasional lengths of doloid -stripping had been added to put a bold front to drabness. - -Back here, in the rear, all such was recognized as sham. Thick grime -and even streaks of rust took the place of decoration. Litter cluttered -the base-line, and the nearest door sagged half-open on its hinges. - -Inside, old odors of grease and filth added to the air of decay. - -There was a stairway of sorts beside an ancient fire-tube. Climbing to -the fourth level, Ross moved silently down the dank central corridor. - -Veta Hall's number, 417D, was located close to the middle of the first -wing. Instead of a tab-lock, the door had a primitive chain affair, -anchored on the inside. - -Getting out his writer, Ross maneuvered for a moment. The chain -clinked, then fell away. - -Easing the door open the rest of the way, Ross stepped inside. - -Small noises drifted from a room beyond the one in which he stood. -Crossing to it, he reached for the doorknob. - -Before he could touch it, the door whipped open. Veta crossed the -threshold, her eyes not even focussing on him. - -Ross caught her wrists as she looked up. When she started to cry out, -he twisted sharply, so that the sound died on an indrawn breath. - -Now she stared at him, face pain-strained. "Thigpen, what's the -matter--?" It was the faintest of whispers. - -"Nothing. Nothing but a corpse, that's all." Ross said it through -clenched teeth. "Not that you'd know anything about that, would you, -Veta?--About a man they called Zoltan Prenzz, the man I told you I was -going to see on Japetus first chance I got--" - -He broke off; twisted the girl's wrists again. - -It brought her forward on tiptoe, tiny anguished sounds bubbling in her -throat. - -Ross' face stayed a cold, relentless mask. He said tightly, "It's my -own fault, Veta. All mine, for trusting you even a little--you, working -for Pike Mawson, and with a brother on starak. Only now you're going -to make it up by telling me the things I need to know. And this time -there'll be no holding out or stalling." - -"Please, Thigpen...." The effort of speaking brought a small cluster -of saliva bubbles to one corner of Veta's mouth. "I don't know what -you're talking about. There must be some mistake--" - -"Your mistake," Ross corrected harshly. He backed Veta into the room -from which she'd come. "We'll have some answers now: who killed Zoltan -Prenzz?" - -"I don't know!" - -"Who'd you tell about him?" - -"I didn't--" - -"Who, I said! Mawson? Your brother?" - -"Thigpen, I didn't tell anyone! I couldn't! You only mentioned the man -once. I didn't even remember his name till just now, when you reminded -me." - -"We'll try it again, then--" - -A knock sounded on the outer door. - -Veta opened her mouth to scream. - - * * * * * - -Like lightning, Ross hammered a blow to her jaw, then caught her limp -body before she could spill to the floor. - -The knock sounded again. A man's voice called, "All right, you, in -there! Open up." - -Ross' eyes fanned the room, then fixed on the old-fashioned fire-tube -hatch set into the wall in one corner. Dragging Veta across to it -bodily, he wrenched it open, stuffed her in, and let her drop, then -hastily followed suit himself as the voice in the hall rose even more -belligerently. - -The tube discharged them into a narrow, litter-choked court between the -building's wings. Veta slung over his shoulder like a sack of meal, -Ross ducked into the nearest entryway. - -The niche sheltered the doors to two apartments. The sound of a man and -woman arguing violently pulsed from one; from the other, silence. - -Now a shout rose on one of the building's upper levels: a man's angry -bellow, echoing and reechoing as it bounced back and forth across the -narrow court. Veta moaned and moved her head groggily. - -A trickle of sweat rilled from Ross' hairline. Stepping close to the -door of the silent apartment, he tried the knob. - -The door was locked. - -Overhead, another shout. Then, from the court's ground level, a harsh -rattle of answer. - -Ross stepped back fast, eyes distending. Lifting a foot, he smashed a -battering-ram kick at the door's lock. - -The door burst open. Dodging past it as it swung back, Ross heeled it -shut behind him. He was breathing hard, and another rill of sweat had -joined the first. - -Prowling through the empty apartment now, Veta still slung limp over -his shoulder, Ross jerked back storage area sealers until, after -half-a-dozen tries, he came upon and dragged out a heavy, shapeless -space-sack of the type used by cruiser crewmen. - -Another moan from Veta. She shifted, clutching at Ross' tunic. - -Unceremoniously, he dumped her on a bed, then returned to the -space-sack. Spreading its mouth wide, he lifted the girl's legs and set -her feet down inside the bag. - -Veta's eyes flicked open, panic-shadowed. "What are you doing?" - -"Getting you ready for a little trip." He heaved her up from the bed -and lowered her into the sack, pulling the heavy synthetic casing up to -cover her. "If you know what's good for you, you'll keep quiet." - -He pulled the sealer-tab shut as he spoke, disregarding her sudden -frantic flurry of movement. Then, turning, he stepped back to the -storage shelves, selected and donned one of several spaceman's leave -caps, swung the bag to his shoulder, and boldly strode out of the -apartment and the court to the nearest transor-rank. - -The trip across the city was uneventful. Hardly a hint of movement -showed through the stiffness of the space-sack's heavy casing. - -Ross left the transor two streets from his own quarters, walking the -rest of the way through two linked alleys. He was half-panting by the -time he reached the entrance; and his fingers shook as he shoved the -card into the tab-lock. - -Then, at last, he stepped into the dim, silent living room and dumped -the space-sack to the floor. Tossing the leave cap into a corner, he -swabbed the sweat from his forehead, shoved shut the door and bolted -it, and slid a lamp-switch to the first notch. - -The room brightened. - -A voice came through the silence also: "You frightened me, Thigpen. I -was beginning to be afraid you weren't coming." - -A woman's voice, low and husky and seductive. - -Ross spun round, eyes distending. - -Astrell reclined on the divan across the room in studied grace. The -soft light smoothed her features so that when her lips curved in a slow -smile she might have been younger by twenty years. - -"Didn't you expect me, Thigpen?" she murmured. "I told you I'd come, -you know." - -Ross shrugged, not speaking. His face now had taken on a wooden look. -Picking up the space-sack, he carried it to the bedroom, closing the -door after him as he returned. - -Still smiling, Astrell patted the seat beside her with a somewhat pudgy -hand. "Come sit down, Thigpen." - -Ross met her gaze coldly. "I don't think that's necessary, Astrell." - -"Oh, but it is!" The woman rose from the couch as she spoke, and came -to him. "It's not just the catalyst, my dear. I want to get to know you -better." - -"Do you?" - -"Of course I do!" Astrell traced fluttery designs on the front of Ross' -tunic with a long-nailed forefinger. Close up, her knuckles showed deep -wrinkles. The skin along the backs of her hands was creping, too, and -the flesh along her throat, beneath her eyes, and at the corners of her -mouth was sagging visibly. - -But still she preened, and fluffed her halo of determinedly auburn -hair, and threw Ross the coy, flirtatious, low-lashed glances of a -woman two decades younger. "You know, darling, you'll be glad, too." - -"Oh?" Ross stood unbending. "Just what is it I'll be glad of?" - -"Why, that you helped me, of course." Astrell laughed, just a bit too -shrilly. "It's not as if I were asking you to give it to me, you know. -I'm more than willing to pay for it, and I've the money, too--more -money than you can even dream of, all my savings from those years when -no one from here to the Belt even thought of giving a social affair top -rating, if Astrell didn't attend." - - * * * * * - -The woman seemed to grow taller as she spoke. Head high, she moved -to and fro with slow, graceful steps--a queen in bearing, however -caricatured, living for the moment in her dreams of glory-radiant days -gone by. - -Then, once more, she paused close to Ross. "Besides, my dear, once I've -the catalyst, I'll be young again--and very, very grateful to you." An -insinuating laugh. "Darling, have you any idea how delightful it can be -to hold the gratitude of a girl whose talents were such that she was -able to marry the seven richest men in all the outer planets, one after -the other?" - -Again, the woman reached out a pudgy hand to caress Ross. His teeth -clicked together, as if with a sudden involuntary shiver. Catching the -hand in his own, not too gently, he pushed it away. - -"There's something you need to understand, Astrell," he said in a -tight, controlled voice. "I can't think of anything I'd rather do than -milk you of all that money you've piled up. But I haven't got the -catalyst, or the formula either. So you're wasting your time, mooning -around me." - -"Don't worry, Thigpen. I understand." Astrell gave vent to a -knowing, conspiratorial giggle. "You've got to be careful. Killing -Tornelescu--that was dangerous; you can't afford to admit it, even to -me. The same way with the catalyst: you've no intention of confessing -you've so much as heard of it. But if a case of it were to turn up in -my rooms, somehow, and a money-case were to vanish--" - -Ross said, "Get out." - -"'Get out'--?" The woman's head jerked back. She searched his eyes for -a long, unsteady moment. - -Then a pallor came to her withered cheeks, for all their show of -artificial color. Her breathing speeded. "Thigpen, you mean it! The -catalyst--you're not going to sell it to me--" - -And then, in a rush, face thrust close: "Don't say it, Thigpen! Don't -say it if you want to live! I can give you beauty. I can give you -money. But if you won't take them, then I'll get the catalyst without -you! They'll find you in an alley with your throat cut, Thigpen--the -same way you left Tornelescu! And Thigpen--you'll call it a favor when -they finish you, because first they'll make you tell the secret--" - -The woman's voice rose higher with every sentence, till she was -half-screaming. Her face contorted into a wrinkled mask of hate. Her -back bent, too, and her body seemed to pull together, till when she -shook her fist at Ross she was hag, incarnate; the embodiment of every -creaking crone. - -"Out!" Ross clipped. "Out!" Grimly, he pressed her back towards the -door. - -For an instant it seemed she was going to resist, force him to back his -commands with violence. Then, abruptly, she whirled and without another -word fled the apartment. - -Gustily, Ross let out pent-up breath and, pivoting, turned once more to -the other room. - -But now, on the threshold, he stopped short. For where the space-sack -had lain brief minutes before, now there was only crumpled bedding. - -Momentarily, Ross stood as if paralyzed. Then, with a curse, he sprang -forward--flinging aside furniture; clawing open the storage areas. - -No Veta. - -Ross whirled to the barred window. - -The bars weren't there any more. - -Stiff-faced, stumbling, Ross sank down onto the bed. - -Only then, seemingly out of nowhere, Cheng spoke to him: Cheng, the -smuggler; Cheng, the slaver; Cheng, the black-browed, scar-faced killer -from the Belt: - -"All right, Thigpen. Listen to me. This is the way we're going to play, -and I don't mean to tell you more than once." - -Ross came up from his seat as if on springs. Wildly, he looked this way -and that. - -To no avail. There was no sign of anyone in either room. - -"Get this, now, Thigpen. Get it the first time." - -Slowly, Ross turned, searching. - -The thing lay on a table close at hand--one of those silvery spheres -known as memory balls, a tiny, self-contained speaker unit only -slightly larger than a marble yet still capable of repeating once any -brief statement made in its immediate vicinity. - -Cheng's voice again: "A man runs a woman into his place in a -space-sack, he likes her some, Thigpen. That's the way I see it." - -Ross dug his nails into the table. - -"Call her a hostage if you want to, Thigpen. Because she don't come -back till I get the formula for that life catalyst stuff you took off -old Tornelescu." - -Ross' eyes seemed to draw deeper into his skull, his head to sink -farther down between his shoulders. - -"Of course, if you're the kind of chitza don't give a filan how long it -takes the wench to die, that won't mean nothing to you." - -Ross stood as if carved in granite. - -"Maybe you _do_ like her, though." Cheng chuckled maliciously. "Well, -then, that makes it simple: you just hang around awhile at a place they -call Naraki's. It's down in the old port quarter." A fragmentary pause. -"You got that, Thigpen? You just stick at Naraki's kabat-dive till -somebody comes and gets you. - -"Otherwise--no more Veta Hall!" - -The memory ball clicked off. - - - - - CHAPTER IV - - THE GULFERS - - -Ross carried it clear to Commandant Padora, at FedGov Security -headquarters. - -At that level, the conversation didn't last long. - -"And just what is your mission, Mr. Ross?" The commandant's voice rang -chill, even through the com-set. - -Ross ran his tongue along dry lips. "To recover Doctor Tornelescu's -notes and formulae pertaining to the life catalyst at the earliest -possible moment, sir." - -"To the best of your knowledge and belief, does Cheng hold those -papers?" - -"No, sir." - -"Does the Hall girl?" - -"No, sir." - -"Do either of them know what's become of the batch of prepared catalyst -allegedly taken from Tornelescu's laboratory?" - -"Not so far as I know, sir." - -"The situation seems clear enough to me, then." Commandant Padora's -tongue bore a scalpel edge. "You hold the rank of special agent in -this organization, Mr. Ross. That entails a certain obligation. Among -other things, it means that when you're assigned a mission, you carry -it out, without quixotic sidetrips to rescue maidens in distress." - -Ross flushed even in the darkness of the com-booth. "Yes, sir." - -"To save time for both of us, then, I suggest that from now on you -remember you're masquerading under the name and in the garb of Lewis -Thigpen for one purpose only: to decoy Tornelescu's killer out of -hiding." - -"Yes, sir." - -"Then get on with it! That's an order!" - -Ross swore beneath his breath as the line went dead. Savagely, he -dialed another number. - -A brisk male voice: "FedGov Building Seven." - -"Get me Pike Mawson's office." - -"That's Department of Litigation, sir. One moment." - -A female voice: "Department of Litigation, Adjudicator Mawson's office." - -"Let me talk to Mr. Mawson." - -More time out. Then: "Adjudicator Mawson speaking." - -"Thigpen here." - -"Thigpen, Lewis Thigpen?" The adjudicator's voice grew brusque and -chill. "I'm afraid you have the wrong party, sir. I don't know anyone -named Thigpen." - -"Listen, Mawson--" - -"Murderers are hardly to my taste, sir. Even if I did know Thigpen, -it would be my greatest pleasure to turn him over to Security for -immediate prosecution." - -Angrily, Ross slammed up the com-set and stalked forth from the booth. - -Outside, the street was empty, without even a transor in sight. Turning -right, Ross strode grimly towards the nearest avenue. His face was set -in bitter, deep-hewn lines, but no hesitation showed in his carriage or -his manner. Rather, an air of hard, aggressive recklessness now marked -him. Tension was in his stance, his movements--the sort of surging -drive that calls for quick release in action. - -Only then, of a sudden, close behind him, a power-unit crescendoed from -hum to thunder. Wheels screamed as they scraped a curb. - -Ross dived sidewise by reflex, not even glancing backward. - -Careening, a vanster hurtled across the spot where he'd stood, then -rocked back into the street and raced out of sight. - -The man in the control-seat was the same one who'd appeared close by -Zoltan Prenzz' apartment. - -Tight-lipped, Ross picked himself up and brushed the dust from his -clothes, then continued warily on to the avenue. - -Here there were transors. In seconds, Ross was on his way to the old -port quarter and Naraki's. - -The place was a kabat-dive, as Cheng had said; the clientele cold-eyed, -hard-faced, seclusive. - -Ross started drinking. - -Three kabats later, a lounger with the dark, lethal look of Malya blood -about him passed Ross' elbow. "Ramp 9-D, Thigpen." - -It was deftly done, with unmoving lips. To all outward appearances, the -man hadn't even spoken. - - * * * * * - -The ramp held a freighter with a space-pocked, time-battered hull -that hid a high-capacity neutron drive capable of powering a Grade IX -cruiser. - -Ross boarded the ship in bleak silence, with questions neither asked -nor answered on either side. Pausing at the galley, he gulped food till -he could hold no more, then slumped down in a bunk to sleep out the -trip in a state of something close to complete exhaustion. - -And then, seemingly in seconds or minutes rather than hours, the craft -was ramping again, dropping down amid the cliffs and crags and craters -of a bleak asteroidal landscape. - -Still blinking the sleep from his eyes, Ross stumbled through a -cargo-shaft, into a vast, cave-concealed shelter. - -There were corridors, after that, and shaft-lifts; and, finally, a -long, narrow, cell-like room with a barred door. - -The two men who'd guided Ross shoved him in; slammed shut the -self-locking door behind him. - -Grim-faced, Ross turned. - -"Thigpen!" Veta Hall ran towards him, out of the shadows at the far -end of the room. Gladness rang in her voice; shone from her face. "You -came! You came!" - -"Did I have a choice?" Ross' smile held little mirth. "I got you into -this, Veta; trussed you up in a sack like a pigeon for Cheng to grab. -The least I can do is try to get you out." - -"Don't worry, Thigpen. You can get her out." - -Igor Cheng speaking, this time. - -Ross turned sharply. - -The scar-faced, black-browed smuggler-slaver-outlaw stood just beyond -the barred door, lips peeled back in a death's head grin. His thumbs -were hooked in his broad belt, and his expression was that of a man -well-satisfied with his world. - -Ross' face went wooden. - -"You ready to talk?" Cheng prodded. - -"Would I be here if I wasn't?" - -"Well, where's that formula? Let's see it!" Cheng thrust a hairy hand -between the bars. - -Ross shrugged. "Did you think I'd be fool enough to bring it with me?" - -"Then what--?" - -"You'll have to take us to it." - -"Where?" - -"Venus. That place you crashed me." - -Cheng leaned on the bars--brutal face darkening; scar livid. His voice -came out a snarl: "Don't try it, you starbo! Don't try it!" - -Ross met the slaver's glare coldly. "What shouldn't I try?" - -"That yodor Venus business!" Cheng gripped one of the doorbars with -thick fingers. "My pickup crew brought in a gorvide detector. We went -over every inch of your carrier; that whole section we traveled. And -all we came up with was this!" - -Reaching into a pocket, he brought out Ross' doloid identification band -and tossed it down on the floor of the cell. - -Momentarily, Ross' eyes narrowed a fraction; that was all. - -"You take that too good, you zanat!" the slaver observed. "You held too -tight on it. So maybe you better start off this party by saying who -Stewart Ross is, and how you got your picture on his bracelet." - -Ross shook his head, a fraction too swiftly. "I've never seen it -before." - -"Don't waste your breath, starbo!" Cheng leaned on the bars. "I call -the turn here, and I say you talk--about Tornelescu's formula; that -band, there; anything at all. You can do it quick, or you can hurt -awhile first. Make up your mind." - -"In that case--" - -"You're still stalling. You came here to stall." The slaver's scar -twitched. "You thought you'd send me off on some ban-crazy run, while -you sneaked away with the girl. Only it won't work." A fragmentary -pause. "Where's that formula?" - -"I don't know--" - -"I said, it won't work!" Cheng gestured to his men. "Strip the lousy -chitza. See if it's in his stuff." - -A brief flurry of struggle; then a search--the thorough kind of search -that took account of every seam, every stain; coins, flamer, writer, -pad. - -It netted nothing. - -Cheng said, "Good enough, Thigpen. I'm glad you're this stubborn. It -gives me a chance to loosen you up." - -He turned to his men. "Bring 'em in." - -Wordless, Ross pulled on his clothes. A light sheen of sweat glistened -on his forehead. - -Cheng said to Veta, "This zanat was good on the one end. He got all -those people for old Tornelescu--the ones the doc tested the catalyst -on. They say he even did the work, too; squirted the stuff in with an -aeroderm. By the reports on the show-screen, he must have killed over -two thousand." - -Cheng's helpers came back, rolling a wheeled case so broad it -completely blocked the barred doorway. - -"Like I said," the smuggler smirked, "this boy's good on the one end. -Now we'll see how he fits on the other." - -He stepped back, out of the way. His men rolled the case up tight to -the door, then lifted a sliding hatch at the end. - -Slithering sounds came from the case. Then, quickly, a strange, -grey-black form slid through the open hatch, between the door's bars, -and down onto the floor of the cell. - -Veta drew a swift, noisy breath. Her voice cracked. "_Gulfers--!_" - -The sweat on Ross' forehead began to bead. A greyness came to the -corners of his mouth. - -Now a second of the creatures slithered down onto the floor. Then a -third, and a fourth. - - * * * * * - -There was a horror in the creatures' very shapelessness. Flat, -sprawling, like six- or seven-foot patches of dampness, they undulated -over the floor in an erratic, wave-like pattern, closer and closer to -Ross and the girl. - -Tight-lipped, a step at a time, his arm about Veta, he drew back to -the far end of the narrow room. - -Fumbling in her shoulder-bag, the girl brought forth her vocorn pipe. -Without a word, she began to play a strange, wailing tune. - -As if by magic, the gulfers' wave-patterns lost their erratic touches. -Now they moved smoothly, in a sort of hideously-rhythmic dance. - -Beyond the barred door and the wheeled cage, Cheng laughed harshly. -"That's it!" he jeered. "See who lasts longer, the girl or the gulfers! -There's plenty of time!" - -Veta's face paled. The smooth flow of her music grew ragged. - -Instantly, the gulfers once again moved forward. - -Ross drew back yet another step; threw the girl a quick look. - -Her fingers, her hands, her whole body was shaking. Horror crawled in -her eyes--but not for an instant did she lift them from the advancing -gulfers, even though she swayed as if on the verge of fainting. - -Ross held her close; braced her. But she only shook harder. Her piping -had lost all traces of pattern, of rhythm. Far from halting the -gulfers, it now seemed to draw them, incite them. - -Beyond the barred door, Cheng laughed again in fierce, sadistic triumph. - -Ross gripped Veta tighter. "Stop it, girl! Stop the piping!" - -She gave no sign that she'd heard him. After a moment, he reached -down ... pulled the pipe from her lips. - -Now, for the first time, she tore her eyes from the hideous things on -the floor. "No, no! Let me pipe! They'll come--they'll engulf us!" - -Ross said gently, "They'll come anyhow. You can't stop them. So now -it's time I tried." - -"Time--you tried--?" - -"Yes. Just as soon as I tell you something." - -Some of the blank horror left Veta's eyes. "Tell me--? What?" - -Low-voiced, Ross said, "I don't want us to die with you thinking I'm -Lewis Thigpen. That bracelet Cheng found was mine. My name's Stewart -Ross, and I'm a Security Agent. Actually, Thigpen died of a heart -attack before Tornelescu was killed. But whoever murdered Tornelescu -doesn't know that. He's geared to go after Thigpen, because the -catalyst formulas and notes use a code for ingredients, and Thigpen's -the only one who knew it. So we figured a fake Thigpen would draw the -killer out of hiding." - -He stopped abruptly. "I wanted you to know." And then, staring down at -the gulfers as moment by moment they closed in: "Here. Give me your -pipe." - -But Veta's fingers tightened about it. "No. Not till I've told you -something too, Stewart. You see, I had to help Mawson. It was the only -way I could keep my brother Sanford out of Venus Barracks. But I didn't -dare tell you. Mawson--he could have had Tornelescu murdered. And he -sent Cheng after you, too, thinking you were Thigpen. Only I think -he'd seen Thigpen someplace or other, so when he saw you, he knew you -weren't the right man--" - -Ross broke in, "I'm sorry, Veta. There's no more time for talk. For -real, we either do or die right now." - -A gulfer brushed his foot as he spoke. Shuddering, Ross' jerked back -hard against the room's rear wall, twisting the vocorn pipe from Veta's -hand. - -Then, like lightning, his arm whipped back, and forward, hurling the -instrument the length of the narrow room, straight at the barred door -and Igor Cheng. - -It was close, a near miss. But Cheng ducked as it hit. - -Simultaneously, Ross dived bodily across the encroaching gulfers. - -He didn't clear the last, but he was rolling when he landed. Before the -creature could get a grip and wrap itself about him, he was on his feet -and lunging for the barred door. Arms extended, thrusting between the -heavy rods, he threw his whole weight on the wheeled cage just beyond. - -The cage rolled back, away, gaining momentum with every turn of the -wheels. - -Something brushed Ross' leg. He whirled as a gulfer started to surge up -about his ankle. - - * * * * * - -Bending double, Ross caught the monster by one edge and, with a mighty -heave, sent it flapping and slithering between the door's bars, out -into the anteroom beyond. - -The thing almost hit Cheng. With an oath, the slaver leaped away. - -"The cage!" he roared. "Bring back that cage!" - -His aides leaped to obey. - -Ross snatched up a second gulfer; hurled it after the first. - -Cursing and dodging, Cheng's men raced the cage back, striving to block -the door. - -Kicking through the bars, Ross knocked it out of alignment. Then, -grappling with another gulfer, he swung it so it fell on the far side -of the closest man. - -A hoarse yell. The burly, bullet-headed outlaw leaped back against the -bars in his effort to escape contact with the monster. - -Fast as a striking vrong, Ross caught the man by the throat with one -hand and clawed out his victim's light-pistol with the other. - -The first beam he fired scorched the corridor wall less than a foot -from Igor Cheng's head. The second dropped Cheng's other helper in his -tracks. - -The slaver sprinted away like a scared ban. - -Ross' voice crackled. "All right, you! Do you live or die?" - -But now, equilibrium recovered, his prisoner only sneered. "Go ahead. -Shoot. A fat lot of good it'll do you, locked up there in that room." - -Ross' nostrils flared. He dug the pistol deep into the other's broad -back. - -But Veta caught his arm. "No, Stewart! No! That's not the way!" - -And then, to the guard: "Look, Burrage: this is your chance as well as -ours." - -"My chance--?" The man's eyes rolled as he tried to look far enough -round to see her. - -"Yes, of course." Veta moved closer. "Did Cheng tell you a batch of -Tornelescu's life catalyst was stolen, along with the formulas?" - -"It was--?" - -"Yes, and it's worth millions--more money than you can even count." - -"Where is it?" - -"Porforio, on Ganymede." - -"Millions, you say--?" The man called Burrage was almost drooling. "I -could get you out of here and down to Ganymede for that." - -"Then do it," Veta said. And, to Ross: "Here, let me have that." She -levered the light-pistol from his hand. - -"Hurry! Blast the lock!" Burrage grated. "Another minute, and Cheng may -be back!" - -"Of course," Veta nodded. "It's just that there's one other detail I -want clear before we break out. About Stewart, here." - -Ross stared. "What--?" - -Coolly, Veta leveled the pistol at his belly. "I'm sorry, Stewart," she -said, "but you're coming as a prisoner. - -"You see, the man who has that batch of catalyst is my brother, Sanford -Hall!" - - - - - CHAPTER V - - SMELL OF DEATH - - -Porforio. Queen city of Ganymede, gem of the outer planets. Bright -lights and broad avenues and the graceful architecture of a superior -culture, all sealed beneath a gigantic plastic bubble. - -Cold-eyed, Ross followed Veta and the man called Burrage as they -stepped from the transit belt and approached a low, smooth-lined row of -buildings. - -Veta said, "The last place is my brother's." - -Ross nodded, not speaking, and lengthened his stride. - -They reached the entrance. Veta started to step into the warning-beam. - -But now Burrage caught her arm. "Oh, no, you don't! We're not about to -let him know we're coming!" Then, pulling the girl back, he brought a -long, hand-broad, wire-and-plastic tube, a beam-bridge, from beneath -his tunic. Deftly, for all his lumbering-ape appearance, he slapped the -ends of it over both door-casing outlet tubes at the same instant, so -swift and smooth that the umbrian waves' flow was broken by only the -faintest of _click-clicks_. - -"See? Simple!" Burrage bared stained yellow fangs in an anthropoid -grin. "This way, we'll just surprise him." He shoved the door open; -gestured. "Stay ahead of me from here on, you two. It's like I say: I -really trust you." - -Wordless, Ross passed through the doorway, Veta close on his heels. - -Sanford Hall's unit was on the second level. - -Again, Burrage pushed Ross ahead, then drew his blaster and turned its -dial from penetrosion to the impact level. "I'll hit the bolt," he -grunted. "The second it shatters, you dive in." - -A muffled crash, like that of a gigantic hammer striking. The door -burst open. Ross lunged in. - -The room was empty. - -Now Burrage and Veta joined him. The girl's face was a study in blank -disbelief as she stared this way and that. For his part, Burrage walked -in ever-widening circles like a caged animal--head thrust forward, long -arms dangling. - -Ross' lips twisted wryly. He leaned back against the wall. - -Abruptly, Burrage halted; turned on Veta. "All right, where is he?" he -slashed savagely. "Me, I risk my neck with Cheng an' the FedGov too to -come here--an' now your stinkin' brother's not even here--" - -He broke off. His brows drew together a fraction, and he sniffed. "This -place stinks, even!" he announced vehemently. - -Now, Ross, too, was sniffing, straightening. His eyes flicked over the -empty room, then fixed on the door of an old-fashioned closet of the -pre-sealer period over in one corner. - -Crossing to it with quick strides, he jerked the door open. - -A stench rolled out into the room. Hastily, Ross shoved the portal -almost closed again. "Burrage! Come here!" - -The other was beside him in one ape-like bound. - -Ungently, Ross shoved him a step to one side. "Get over that way a -little. I don't want to open this any farther than I have to." And -then. "Ready?" - -The other's bullet head bobbed. - -"Here goes, then--" - -Burrage leaned forward. - -Ross jerked the door open once more, swinging it with savage, driving -violence. The edge smashed at Burrage's forehead like a poleaxe. - -Simultaneously, Ross leaped sidewise, kicking for the back of the -other's knees. - -The kicked leg went out from under Burrage. Before the man could hit -the floor, Ross kicked again--to the temple, this time, short and -brutal. - -Yet still the man caught Ross' foot ... held it ... jerked him down. - -Ross kicked with the other foot--a heel-smash to the teeth. - -A guttural, animalistic sound burst from Burrage's throat. Letting go -Ross' foot, he clawed forward, grappling. - -Rolling across him, Ross clutched for the fallen blaster. - -In the same instant, Burrage seized Ross by the hips in a bear-hug. -The muscles along his back and shoulders writhed as he drew the grip -tighter and tighter. - -Ross sucked in air in an anguished gasp. Fumbling, he stabbed at his -antagonist with the blaster. - -But always the quarters were too close, the danger of killing them both -too great. - -Burrage tightened his grip. A sound of bone scraping bone came dimly. - - * * * * * - -Now Veta flung herself into the fray, beating vainly at Burrage's back -and shoulders. - -She might as well have been a moth on the far side of the room. - -Groaning, Ross smashed the blaster down atop Burrage's bullet head. - -But the weapon was for shooting, not striking. At the second blow, the -light metalloplast alloy shattered. - -Veta cried, "Back, Stewart! Roll him back!" - -Back bowing, Ross heaved. Together, he and Burrage toppled over. - -And now, Burrage's bullet head was close beside the closet door again. -Panting and sobbing, Veta swung the portal at the close-cropped skull, -slamming it home again and again. - -More animal sounds from Burrage. He let go of Ross' hips and, -spasmodically, tried to twist away. - -Without avail. Ross held him tight. - -Another blow from the door-edge ... then another.... - -Of a sudden, Burrage went limp. - -Ross sagged back also, sucking in air in great, lung-deep gulps while -Veta cradled his head, sobbing hysterically. - -Then, at last, Ross dragged himself up from her lap, and finally from -the floor. Unsteadily, he lurched to the closet door, half-opened it, -and once again stared into the space beyond. - -Veta started to join him. But he shoved her back. "No. You wouldn't -want to." - -She stared at him blankly. "I wouldn't want to what?" - -"You wouldn't want to see what's in there." Ross shuddered. "Smelling -it's bad enough." - -The girl turned pale. - -For now, the stench in the room was well-nigh unbearable. - -A hideous stench. The same appalling odor that had permeated the room -in which Zoltan Prenzz died. - -Ross said, "Go over by the hall door, Veta. And stay there." - -Lips trembling, the girl obeyed. - -Stiff-faced, Ross opened the closet, then dropped to one knee and -peered this way and that. - -The thing inside had been a man once. Now, there remained only an -oozing heap of protoplasmic horror. - -From the far end of the room, Veta said faintly, "Is--is it Sanford?" - -"The clothes are his." Ross answered in a toneless voice. "Beyond that, -I doubt that anyone could say." - -He straightened; turned to go. - -And there it was, written in slime, chest high on the door's inner -side. 3/111 and the outline of a triangle squared. - -Standing so he blocked the closet, Ross swung the door all the way back -against the wall. "Veta!" - -"Yes, Stewart--?" Quickly, she came to him. - -He pointed to the symbols on the door. "Do these mean anything to you?" - -"Three one-hundred-elevenths of a triangle squared--?" Brow furrowed, -she stared at the inscription for a long moment. "No, I'm afraid it -doesn't." - -"It does to me," Ross said. - -Veta's head came round. "It does--? What?" - -"It means we're getting closer." Ross smiled thinly. "And just in case -you wonder what we're getting closer to, the answer is; closer and -closer to Tornelescu's life catalyst, closer to the formula ... maybe -even closer to Adjudicator Pike Mawson." - -Veta's eyes suddenly were shadowed. She looked away and bit her lip. - -Ross said, "You don't seem very happy." - -"Stewart--Please, Stewart...." Veta broke off, lips aquiver. And then, -in a shaky, uneven voice: "Can't we forget about them, Stewart--all of -them--the catalyst, the formula, Mawson?" - -"Oh?" - -"Don't you understand? There's death in that catalyst, Stewart--death -in it, and everything about it. It's cursed. Anyone who even comes -close to it goes.--Like Sanford--" - -"I know," Ross said. But the words held no sympathy, no understanding. -"Now that your brother's dead, the catalyst's cursed. We should forget -about it." - -Veta's face came up. She stared at Ross. "Stewart, please--" - -Ross kept on as if she hadn't spoken. "The only question is," he -clipped, "will some other people forget about it just as easily?" - -"Other people--?" - -"Yes. People like Commandant Padora of Security, for instance; he's -hunting for me, you know. And Cheng--when do you suppose he'll quit? -Mawson, too. That man who followed me on Japetus. Astrell. All the -others who've got a finger in this pie--" Ross broke off; laughed -harshly. "I don't think quitting's going to be as easy as you think, -Veta; not by half-a-million light-years." - -"But we could run for it, Stewart!" Of a sudden Veta's words came quick -and eager. "Even Security doesn't reach everywhere, nor Cheng either. -The satellites off the beaten track--even an asteroid with an out-size -orbit like Hidalgo's--we could go there. It might be years before they -found us, if they ever did." - -"True enough," Ross nodded. There was a faint edge of contempt in his -voice. "Only I'm not going." - - * * * * * - -The light in Veta's eyes died. She stared at him in numb silence. - -Ross said, "Your brother's dead, Veta. That seems to be all you care -about. - -"The trouble with me, though, is that I keep thinking about all the -other brothers, and the mothers and fathers and sisters and wives and -husbands and children too--all the people in this solar system who -don't want to die, but who will, just so long as Tornelescu's life -catalyst formula stays in the wrong hands." - -"Stewart--" - -"Whoever's got that catalyst isn't thinking about life, Veta, or people -either. He's thinking about power, the same way Cheng and Burrage think -about it. He knows that as long as people love life, that catalyst -formula can buy the universe for him. - -"That's why I'm not going to run, Veta. And that's why I'm going to -finish this job, bring in that formula, even if it turns out you're -the one who stole it and I have to cut your throat in order to make -recovery." - -A visible tremor ran through Veta Hall. Stumbling, face averted, she -cowered against Ross. "Stewart ..." she whispered. "Please, Stewart, -forgive me. Let me go with you. That's all I ask--" And then: "Hold me, -Stewart. Just hold me." - -Slowly, Ross brought his arms about her. His face was lined, his eyes -somber. - -After a moment, he said, "We've got to go, Veta. Now. Every minute's -precious." - -Instantly, the girl straightened. "Of course, Stewart." A smile, -tremulous and uncertain. "Where--where are we going--?" - -"We'll find out in a minute." Ross stepped over to the wall com-set and -dialed a number. A moment later he said, "Mr. Lindgren, please." And -then, after another pause: "Peter?--This is Stewart." - -A longer pause, replete with sputtering sounds. When the sounds had -died, Ross said, "I know I'm wanted, Peter. That's why I'm calling on -you: I need help, badly. Otherwise I may not be able to wind up this -business, get back that formula. And without the formula I'm in for a -sure short-court." - -More sputtering. More waiting. - -Finally Ross said, "Either you want to help me or you don't, Peter. -What I need is any information you can give me on an address: number -III of side three, Triangle Square, Calor City, Mars." - -Silence. Echoing eternities of silence. - -At last Veta Hall whispered, "What makes you think those symbols -represent that address?" - -"Tornelescu's laboratory was located at number 121, side two. I found -that out at the briefing when I took on this assignment." - -"Oh." - -The com-set again, but with swift, clipped words instead of sputtering. - -A thin smile came to Ross' lips. "Thanks, Peter." He flipped off the -switch. - -Veta's eyes locked with his, her face a wordless question. - -Ross' smile grew. A grim smile, without mirth. - -"Come on," he rapped. "We're back in business." And then, as he -steered the girl towards the door: "Number III's a warehouse owned -by the Japetan Trading Coadunate, and Adjudicator Pike Mawson is the -coadunate's director!" - - - - - CHAPTER VI - - ASTRELL - - -The warehouse at III(3) Triangle Square was sealed up tighter than -any tomb. The only windows were those in front, flanking the heavy -turn-plate door that opened on the street side. - -Narrow-eyed, Ross drew Veta back into a patch of shadow, while overhead -Phobos raced Deimos across the sky, the two tiny moons like bright -coins against the black backdrop of the Martian night. - -For the third time, Veta said, "Stewart, it's impossible. There's -simply no way to get in. And even if you found one, what good would it -do? No one's there. The place is dark as the Coalsack." - -"Maybe." Ross' jaw took on a stubborn set. "Then again, maybe not. But -one thing's certain: I didn't lay myself open to charges of everything -from grand theft to piracy in forcing that cruiser to set us down here -just in order to give up now, without even checking." - -Turning, he scanned the deserted square for a moment, then walked -briskly across to the warehouse again, following its left wall until--a -good hundred yards farther on--he reached the rear end. - -Breathing hard, Veta came up beside him. "Stewart, where are you going?" - -Not answering, Ross sidestepped the friendly sniffing of a six-legged -Martian bak and strode to a box that protruded from the warehouse wall, -opened it, and flicked his flamer. Light flared, illumining a neat row -of dials. - -"What--?" Veta began again. - -"Power drain," Ross explained succinctly. "If equipment's running in -there, we'll see it on these meters." A pause, while he checked dial -after dial. Then sudden excitement sprang into his voice: "I was right, -see? Something's going!" - -Dubiously, Veta eyed the indicator. "Maybe it's an air-wash. Or a -heater." - -"Those take more power. This is a light or two; a show-screen, maybe." -Ross snapped shut the cover of the flamer. "No, Veta. Somebody's in -there. So now we'll smoke 'em out!" - -Pivoting as he spoke, he stepped to the bak and picked it up, then -paused briefly while he manipulated the ugly, six-legged creature's -ventral plates. - -The bak gave a sigh of vast pleasure and settled deeper into the haven -of Ross' arms. - -Veta stared. "Stewart Ross, have you lost your mind completely?" - -"Probably." Ross chuckled. "Hand me that rock, will you?" - -The girl's expression showed her reaction plainly. But, following Ross' -gesture, she obeyed. - -"Thanks." Ross hefted the boulder thoughtfully. "For the rest of it, -all you have to do is stay here." - -"Stay here--?" - -"Till I get back." - -Veta's head came up. Her lips firmed. "And why should I do that?" - -"Because I'm asking you to." Ross came closer; slipped his free arm -about her waist. "If you want me to, I can even put logic behind it: -even though you probably wonder why, I--well, I wouldn't say I hate -you. I'd like you to live long enough to give me a chance to prove it. - -"On the other side of it, I'm not sure I can trust you. You held out -on me about your brother, and his stealing the catalyst. Then, when -I found his body, you hardly shed a tear. Maybe that was nervous -exhaustion. Or relief that finally, for good, he was off starak. Or, -maybe, you just hated me so much there wasn't any room left for tears. - -"Anyhow, regardless of the angle, I want you here, not with me." - -Veta's shoulders began to shake, harder and harder. Tears welled and -overflowed her eyes; coursed down her face. She brought up a hand and -bit at it, as if only thus she could hold back her fury! - -"Rack you, Stewart Ross!" she choked. "Rack you! Rack you for a -chitza--" - -Again, the shaking. The bak under Ross' arm stuck out its thick, -prickly tongue to catch the falling tears. - -Ross said, "Now you won't feel so bad if I don't come back. And just to -make sure you stay here and obey orders--" - -He stepped back quickly. The hand that had been about Veta's waist -knotted into a club-fist. For the second time in the brief hours that -he'd known her, he brought up a short, hard blow that snapped the -girl's head back. - -Then, catching her before she could fall, he brushed her lips gently -with his own and laid her gently in the shadows along the base of the -next building. - -That done, Ross straightened. Almost casually, he strolled to the front -of the warehouse, tugging at the bak's ventral plates as he walked, -so that the creature gave out a steady stream of contented sighs and -hisses. - -Ahead, Triangle Square spread out before Ross. With seeming unconcern, -he glanced right and left. - -Still no one in sight. - - * * * * * - -Shifting the rock Veta had picked up for him to his right hand, Ross -paused long enough to work the bak into a comfortable position. - -With cool deliberation, then, he stepped back and hurled the rock with -full force at the nearest of the two warehouse windows. - -A crash. The window shattered. - -Ducking close, Ross kicked away the shards along the sill. A quick, -wary step, and he was over it and inside the warehouse office ... -fading back into the nearest corner. - -Somewhere close at hand, a latch clicked. A black oblong opened in the -wall across the room. - -Ross went down on his haunches. Deftly, he slid the bak out away from -him, along the floor. - -Six-plate-rimmed feet made small, slithering sounds as the creature -darted through the darkness. - -Like lightning, over by the black oblong, a paragun whished faintly as -the purple beam leaped from its muzzle. - -Swift, silent, Ross crept along the wall in a flanking movement. - -Simultaneously, off to one side, the bak ran wide in sudden panic. - -Again, the paragun spoke. - -But the marksman was shooting at his visualization of a man, not an -underslung, six-legged, alley bak. As before, the shot went far high. - -This time, though, Ross was closer. Coming up fast to full height, he -leaped in, grappling for the weapon. The edge of his right hand came -down on the other's gun-wrist with smashing force. - -The blow tore a choked cry from his opponent's throat. The paragun -clattered to the floor. - -Before Ross could leap in, the other whirled and fled. Snatching up the -paragun, Ross followed. - -Down a broad corridor and past a brightly-lighted room they ran; then -on into utter darkness. When a crash of jangling metal echoed ahead, -Ross fired at it. - -A body fell with a sodden thud. Cat-silent, paragun at the ready, Ross -ran toward the sound. - -He tripped and almost fell across his adversary in the darkness ... a -dead adversary, now. - -Not quite steadily, Ross flicked on his flamer ... stared down into the -other's face. - -It was the man who'd been at Zoltan Prenzz' place; the man who'd later -tried to run him down as he headed for Naraki's. - -A check of the man's pockets revealed nothing whatever of importance. -Bleakly, Ross turned him over. - -The move threw the flamer's light onto the stacked cases beside which -the dead man lay. - -Ross took one look. His hand jerked back by sheer reflex. Hastily, he -snapped shut the flamer's lid. - -His victim had died resting against row after row of fifty-gallon -plastidrums of deadly, hair-trigger steron auxiliary flare-fuel, -designed for use in atmospheres where nothing else would burn! - -Unsteadily, Ross rose and made his way back to the area close to the -lighted room. - -A switch-box loomed in the dimness. Ross threw the whole bank. - -Like magic, light came to the warehouse. Cases appeared, piled high on -either side of long, echoing aisles. Overhead, two catwalks--accessible -by ladders--ran the length of the building, one above the other. - -For a moment Ross stood brooding. Then, quickly, he disconnected the -lines that served the warehouse lights, leaving only the set that -supplied the office area. - -Moving into the lighted room, next, he looked about. - -A case stood on the central table ... a neat black plastic cube perhaps -six inches high. - -Ross suddenly had trouble with his breathing. Not too steadily, he -crossed to the table and opened the black cube. - -A bracket in the top held a shiny aeroderm injector. Beyond that, the -contents resembled a honeycomb--a honeycomb whose each cell was a -glistening, hermetically-sealed plastic ampule. - - * * * * * - -Stiff-fingered, Ross closed and sealed the cube again and, gripping it -tightly beneath his arm, hurried back to the office next to the street, -the one through which he'd entered via the broken window. - -In the darkness, something slithered. Ross jumped, then halted, -grinning wryly. Going to the outer door, he unbolted and opened it. - -Plates rattling, all six feet slithering, the bak scurried out into the -night. - -Warily, Ross once again surveyed the square outside. - -It still seemed deserted. He started forward. - -Only then, before he could so much as cross the threshold, something -gouged into his back. A familiar, too-dulcet voice said, "No, Thigpen." - -Ross stopped short. "Astrell--!" - -"Of course." The woman laughed gaily. "You see, Thigpen, I get what I -want. I have that kind of perseverance." - -Ross said nothing. - -"Back, now. Close the door and lock it," Astrell continued. And then: -"Aren't you wondering how I got here, dearest? Just this once, haven't -I surprised you?" - -Ross shrugged. - -But apparently no answer was needed or expected. Astrell went on -talking anyhow: - -"Let's go back where the lights are, Thigpen. I'm dreadfully tired of -standing in the dark. And--oh, yes, I found that address on Sanford -Hall's closet door too. I must have been right behind you. I'd arranged -in advance to meet Sanford, you know--that's why he'd stolen the -catalyst, so I'd give him money to buy all the starak he needed for the -rest of his life. So I figured out the message, of course, since I'd -been to Calor City often years ago, and knew all about Triangle Square. -My cruiser put me down here even before you. In fact, I was watching -when you broke in--" - -Abruptly, Astrell stopped talking long enough to push Ross into the -lighted office. She gestured to the black cube with one puffy hand. "Is -that it? Is that the catalyst?" - -Ross drew a quick breath. "No, it isn't." - -"Don't lie to me! Of course it is!" Astrell's beady eyes grew bright -above their pouches. "I'm going to have it right now! I'm going to be -young again. You'll see!" - -"Will I?" Ross set the cube down on the table. "Or will I just see you -drop dead in your tracks?" - -"Drop dead--?" The woman's eyes widened. Her wrinkles cut deeper. -"You're trying to scare me, aren't you?--To frighten me into giving up -the catalyst after all that I've gone through to get it!" - -"You think so?" Ross asked tightly. "Let me tell you a few things about -this stuff. At the end Tornelescu perfected it, yes. But no one knows -whether this batch was made before or after that. At the very best, -it's tricky. Not because of the catalyst itself, but because everybody -wants fast action. So, Tornelescu made it fast: he tied it in with a -metabolic speeder, so that the whole cell structure of your body would -change in hours or minutes, instead of weeks or months or years. If it -worked, you'd be young in a hurry. - -"The only trouble was, if it didn't work, it killed you. That's how -Tornelescu got on Security's 'wanted' list. He was too eager. He tested -new batches on living human beings; he didn't care how many died while -he was working out the proper balance." - -Astrell's voice rose. "You lie! You lie!" Her pudgy hands were shaking -also. Her face looked as if it were going to crack and fall apart. - -"It's up to you," Ross shrugged. "If you think it's worth the gamble, -go right ahead and take your chances." - -Eyes haunted, Astrell stared at him. "You ... you really think it ... -might kill me--?" - -Wordless, Ross shrugged again. - -Only then, sudden in the stillness, a new voice sang out. - -Or, rather, in terms of other than this time and place, an old, -familiar voice. - -The ugly, snarling voice of Cheng the slaver. - -"I'm coming in, you--Thigpen, or whatever your name is!" he shouted -fiercely. "Don't try to stop me. I've got your girl in front of me: -she'll take the first blast!" - -Ross went rigid. - -"You! You hear me?" - -"Yes. I hear you." - -"Stand back, then!" - -Ross swept the room with one desperate glance. - -It gave him no answers. It didn't even provide shelter. For now, -looking up, he saw that the offices actually were part of the storage -area, chopped up and cut off with eight-foot, unceilinged partitions. - -Cheng again: "You better have that catalyst this time, you chitza! -That's what I'm here for. If I don't get it, you won't live to tell it." - -Now Astrell looked up, her face a study in unnatural pallor. "The -catalyst--he means to take it!" - -Ross didn't bother to answer. - -Astrell cried, "I won't let him! He can't do it!" - -Cheng: "Your woman dies if you try to shoot, Thigpen! Just remember -that!" - -Astrell: "I'll take it! That's it, I'll take it now! They say even one -injection makes you young!" - - * * * * * - -She stumbled forward. Claw-like, her fingers tore at the black cube -with the catalyst, the injector. - -"Stop it, you old fool!" Ross clipped. He reached out to tear the black -box from her. - -Without warning, Astrell let go the case. It left Ross hanging -momentarily off-balance. - -Then, before he could recover, she struck out at him with the paragun -she'd held on him earlier. The barrel hit him in the jaw, just below -the ear. - -Stunned, he lurched back. - -Astrell ripped the cover from the black case. Snatching out the -injector, she forced an ampule into it and with trembling fingers -triggered the spray through the skin of her blue-veined arm. - -As if it were a signal, Cheng appeared in the doorway, Veta Hall held -in front of him as a shield. - -Astrell laughed wildly. "Come ahead!" she cried, arms spread in a -caricature of welcome. "You wanted the catalyst. Here it is. Take it. I -don't care. I've had mine--enough to take care of me for years...." - -Her voice trailed off. An expression of vast surprise spread across her -face. Her pudgy hands sagged to her sides. - -And then, incredibly, she was changing, changing. Before the others' -very eyes, wrinkles began to fade, the slackened skin to firm and fill. - -Her body, too--a youth, a slim litheness, came to replace the sagging -rolls of flesh not even corsetry could successfully conceal. The auburn -hair lost its dull, artificial glitter and, rippling, took on a glow, a -natural sheen. - -Ross sagged back against the table. The livid scar on Cheng's cheek -twitched and quivered. - -Astrell laughed aloud; and now, for the first time in the hearing of -those present, the sound held warmth and vibrance ... the laugh of -a woman, not a crone. Rising on tiptoe, she lifted her hands high -above her head, stretching. Her face, her lips, her eyes, her whole -body--they were suffused with a stunning, dazzling beauty. - -"Do you wonder now that they married me?" she cried triumphantly, -pirouetting. "Seven of them, the richest men in all the outer planets! -And lovers--how many lovers did I take? Now I'll have more--more -husbands, more lovers! Because I'm young again; I'm beautiful...." - -Without warning, her voice trailed off. Her lovely face mirrored sudden -shock. - -Disregarding Cheng's leveled gun, Ross stepped in quickly; caught the -woman's arm. "Astrell! What's wrong?" - -She didn't answer. As swiftly as they had come, the gayness, the -buoyancy, seemed to have gone out of her. Flat-footed, she stumbled -towards the table. - -Only then her knees hinged. She started to fall. - -Ross levered her arm up, bracing her. - -His hands seemed to slip, to slide away. The woman sprawled on the -floor. Her breath came in hoarse, labored gasps. - -Blankly, Ross looked from her to his hands. - -Where his fingers had touched Astrell, slime now dripped from them ... -the same hideous, stinking ooze that had marked the corpse of Zoltan -Prenzz, the death of Sanford Hall.... - -Ross' eyes lifted to stare momentarily at Cheng and Veta in numb, dumb -horror, then flicked back to Astrell once more. - -Astrell, a beauty no longer. The features of her face sagged loose and -shapeless. Her body seemed to dissolve into the floor. - -And everywhere, the ooze, the ooze.... - -A final, sighing breath. Life left her. - -Choking, Ross stumbled to a corner and tried to scrub the slime from -his hands with a ragged jacket that hung there. - -Behind him, still poised in the doorway with Veta, Cheng said grimly, -"Don't try anything, Thigpen. You're worth money to me. I don't want to -kill you." - -"That's right, Ross. Oh, absolutely right!" - -It was a voice out of nowhere, coolly mocking, familiar yet distorted. -Ross, Cheng, Veta--they all turned, startled. - -The voice again: "As a matter of fact, Ross, you're even more valuable -to me than to Cheng. That's why I'm taking over." - -Ross looked up sharply--really up, into the echoing, empty, -catwalk-spanned reaches of the warehouse that stretched above the -ceilingless partitions of the office rooms. - -Adjudicator Pike Mawson's grav-seat hovered there, high above them. -Smiling, sociable, he nodded to Ross. - -But there was nothing pleasant or sociable about the paragun in his -hand. It stayed steady and unwavering. - -"As I said, my dear Ross," Mawson murmured, gesturing with the weapon, -"I'm taking over." - -He pressed a button in the flying chair's control-arm as he spoke. - -The seat plummeted down into the room. - - - - - CHAPTER VII - - THIEVES' HONOR - - -It was one of those moments when everything happens at once. For as the -grav-seat dropped, Cheng whipped up his gun, firing at Mawson. - -Veta Hall screamed. - -Ross lunged across the room towards girl and slaver. - -Somewhere outside, a blaster sang its twanging, metallic song of death. - -Ross crashed into Veta and her captor. Driving his shoulder between -them, he jerked the girl from Cheng's grip, even while he smashed a -blow to the outlaw's midriff. - -Cheng stared straight ahead--eyes bulged out, jaw hanging. His hands -stayed at his sides. - -Ross drew back a quick step, uncertainty written on his face. - -Cheng swayed for a moment, first forward and then back. - -The next instant a violent shudder, plainly visible, ran through him. -His paragun clattered to the floor. - -Another second and the smuggler himself half-turned and spilled forward -on his face. - -There was a hole in the small of his back where his spine had been--a -hole well-nigh the size of a man's head, the sort of hole torn by a -blaster-bolt. - -Veta covered her face. Ross clenched his teeth. - -Simultaneously, two men stepped into the doorway. One carried a -short-barreled blaster, the other a paragun. Both wore grins of -sadistic satisfaction. - -Now, off to one side, Pike Mawson spoke again: "Good work, gentlemen, -though a trifle close. If that beam Cheng triggered had sliced three -inches lower, you'd have had to find a new employer." - -Mawson moved a dial on his chair's control-plate. The grav-seat swept -round in a smooth spiral and set down on the floor in front of Ross. - -"Mr. Ross, I believe?" he murmured, eyes asparkle. His face was set in -a peculiar way that made him appear on the verge of smiling. - -Ross' features stayed wooden. "My name's Thigpen." - -"It is?" The adjudicator chuckled, gestured. "Corrack, is this our old -friend Tornelescu's helper, Lewis Thigpen?" - -A snort from the man with the blaster. "Not even in the dark, he ain't -Thigpen." - -"You see, Ross?" Mawson spread his hands in a helpless gesture. -"Corrack grew up in the same colony with Thigpen. He knows him -intimately--drank kabat with him less than an Earth week ago, as a -matter of fact. So there's really no point to your trying to continue -the imposture." - -Ross shrugged, not speaking. - -Mawson said, "On the other side of it, I've succeeded in learning your -real identity, though it cost me no small expense: you're Stewart -Ross, and you hold the rank of special agent with Security. You're -twenty-eight years old. You came from Earth, originally. Your most -recent assignment was breaking up a theol ring on Titan. You've -also dealt with the starak traffic, and with kabatol derivatives in -the Uranian satellite system. Your luck has been so spectacular as -to indicate real ability, and in consequence your superiors--even -including the famous Commandant Padora--have marked you for special -attention and advancement." - -A pause. Mawson's fingers drummed on his chair-arm. "That's why I'm -here, Ross: because I've learned your identity; because I know the kind -of man you are." - -"Oh?" Ross' tone was flat and noncommittal. - -"Yes." The adjudicator gave strong positive emphasis to the word. He -leaned forward. "You see, Ross, I overstepped myself on this life -catalyst venture. Badly." - -Ross' eyes narrowed, just a fraction. - -"In any case," Mawson went on coolly, "I finally find myself in a -position where I have no choice but to make a deal with you ... a very -special sort of deal, one I wouldn't chance with anyone less reliable -and trustworthy." - -Ross frowned. "I don't follow you, Mawson." - -It was the other's turn to shrug. "It's very simple really, Mr. -Ross. My own age, the sense of years creeping upon me, prejudiced my -judgment. So, thinking you were Thigpen, I sent Cheng to Venus to run -you down." The adjudicator shook his head sadly. "It was an error, Mr. -Ross--a grievous error. Guile's my forte; I never should have turned -to violence." - -"I'll agree with you there," Ross nodded, "but I still don't see how -this concerns me." - -"Don't bait me, Mr. Ross!" the other snapped back. "That first episode -tipped my hand to Cheng, and to Veta Hall, and to Veta's brother, -Sanford. The next thing I knew, even Zoltan Prenzz, Security's resident -undercover agent on Japetus, was aware of what was going on. - -"That meant I had to kill him. So, I sent one of my men to inject him -with a dose of the catalyst--a dose from a bad batch my people found in -Tornelescu's laboratory when they cut his throat and made off with the -formula to begin with. - -"But violence breeds violence. Veta Hall's starak-crazy brother stole -the bad batch, thinking it was good, proposing to sell it to Astrell. - -"I sent my man to get it back. Also, I ordered him to kill Hall, -because Hall would have talked in order to get starak. - -"Unfortunately, though, Hall managed to pass on my address here before -he died. At which point, you came and killed my man, and Astrell died -of acute catabolic poisoning, and my people attended to that cutthroat -Cheng." Once more, Mawson spread his hands in the familiar gesture. -"Well, Mr. Ross, I believe that brings us up to date." - -"Does it?" Ross clipped. "It seems to me you've left out the most -important part: the place where I come in." - -"For my part, I thought I was being almost too obvious," the -adjudicator came back. "My difficulty is that as a result of all this -bloodletting, my own tracks have been uncovered. I'm told on reliable -authority that Security's already closing in on me. I'll be fortunate -if they don't arrest me before dawn." - -Ross frowned. "So--?" - -"So, as I said before, I need your help." - - * * * * * - -Ross shook his head. "I still don't see it." - -"Then you're a bigger fool than I thought!" Mawson beat his grav-seat's -arm in sudden fury. "Don't you understand? When my people brought -me Tornelescu's notes, his formulae, I'd have sworn I had the whole -universe in my grasp. - -"Only then it turned out that all Tornelescu's data was in an -arbitrary code: one figure, one symbol, was substituted for another. -Consequently, I might as well not have had the papers. - -"That's why I sent Cheng after you, when I thought that you were -Thigpen: Tornelescu's notes mentioned that Thigpen had the code. It -was a precaution they took, so that neither of them could betray the -other." - -"So?" Ross repeated. - -"There's still a way out. That is, if you'll just help me." Mawson -squirmed in his seat. Of a sudden his eyes were bright and feverish. -"Look, Ross, here's how we'll work it: in your role of Security agent, -you arrest me. I'll even go so far as to confess to murdering old -Tornelescu. - -"However, I'll also claim that Sanford Hall stole the papers from me. -Consequently, I've no idea whatever where they are or what they say. - -"I'll be convicted of killing. They'll send me off to Venus Barracks. -In a Martian month the case will be past history. - -"That's where you come in, Ross: right then. My conviction will be -another feather in your cap. No one would think of suspecting you of -anything, let alone denying you full access to Security's files on the -case. - -"So, you go into those files and dig through them till you find the -code. For all I know, it may even be in your property rooms here in -Calor City. Because if Lewis Thigpen's dead--and he must be, or you -wouldn't have dared to use his name--then all his things will likely be -there. - -"Then, when you find the code, contact me. I'll tell you where I've -hidden the formula: that's how much I trust you. - -"You make up a batch of the catalyst. You put it out to the old men, -the men of power." - -"I'll be free of Venus Barracks in a week. After that--who knows? -What limit can there be, when we've eternal life ourselves, plus the -privilege of peddling it to others in hundred-year doses?" - -The adjudicator was shaking by the time he finished. Twin spots of -color marked his cheek bones. His hands moved ceaselessly, without -respite. - -The silence echoed. - -Mawson's hands stopped moving. He straightened in his seat. - -"Mr. Ross," he said softly, "I'm afraid I judged you too well. You're -indeed a man of honor--so much so that even a lie to save your life -sticks in your craw. So I'll put our business on a different level." A -pause, heavy with tension. "Mr. Ross, count on it: if you don't carry -through to the letter the plan I've outlined, both you and Veta Hall -will die, by the most unpleasant mode a fine creative imagination can -devise." - -Ross seemed to stand a trifle straighter. "I thought that was coming," -he nodded slowly. And then: "Fair enough. I'll do all I can to locate -Thigpen's things." - -"I thought you'd see it my way," Adjudicator Mawson murmured smoothly. -He gestured to the two men who still stood in the doorway. "Now that -I'm a prisoner, gentlemen, you'd best get out of here. Take the girl -with you. You know where to keep her." - -The man with the paragun stepped back. But the other, the one called -Corrack, didn't move. - -Sharply, Mawson said, "Corrack! You heard me!" - -"Sure, I heard you," the blaster-man agreed. He grinned, the same -sadistic grin that had marked him when he first stepped into the -doorway. "Only maybe there's something you don't know." - -"Something I don't know--?" Mawson frowned. "Speak up, Corrack! What is -it?" - -The other's grin broadened. "It's this starbo," he explained, gesturing -to Ross. "It's his clothes." - -"His clothes--?" Mawson stared. "Well, what about them?" - -"Nothing," smirked Corrack. "Nothing at all--_except they're the outfit -Thigpen was wearing when I had that drink with him last week_!" - -Mawson's head snapped round as if on veloid bearings. "Rack you, -Ross--!" - -But his tone belied his words, for there was wild jubilation in it. -Pounding the air of his flying chair, he cried, "Search him, Corrack! -Search him! See if he's got a writer!" - -Wordless, the blaster-man obeyed ... delivered the instrument to Mawson. - - * * * * * - -Fingers shaking, the adjudicator manipulated the upper end of the -carved shaft. - -The cap lifted off. A glistening ampule dropped into his hand. - -Mawson threw back his head and laughed--peal after peal, hysterical -with sheer delight. - -Then, sobering, he snatched the aeroderm injector from the table where -Astrell had dropped it. Fitting in the ampule, he held the jet against -his arm-vein. - -"There were some interesting details in Tornelescu's notes, Ross," -he announced in a voice that rang with exaltation. "One of them was -that Thigpen always carried an ampule of the perfected catalyst in his -writer." - -He pressed the injector's plunger. The ampule's contents sprayed into -his arm. - -After that, it was like the time with Astrell, except that Mawson was -male, not female. - -And, that the process stopped at the proper point, instead of going on -into catabolic disaster. - -Young now, in the prime of life, glowing with health except for his -crippled legs, the adjudicator leaned back in his grav-seat. A slow -smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. - -"You understand, don't you, that this changes our situation somewhat, -Mr. Ross?" he inquired. - -"I understand," Ross answered curtly. - -"Good." The other rubbed his hands and chuckled. "As a matter of fact, -as I see it, I no longer have any need for your services. Changed as -I am, young again, I'll have no trouble hiding till I myself can find -or buy Thigpen's code." A pause. "That transforms you, Mr. Ross. It -transforms you from an asset to a liability, by my bookkeeping." - -Ross didn't answer. - -"The same holds for Miss Hall," the adjudicator went on. "Before, she -constituted an excellent pawn. Now, she's only a dangerous witness." - -Abruptly, he turned to the man with the paragun. "You, my friend! Take -this injector"--he touched the aeroderm unit--"and two ampules from the -black case. Spray one into each of our friends, here." - -Ross went rigid. A horrified cry burst from Veta's throat. - -Tightly, Ross said, "Look, Mawson, it's all right to kill me if you -want to; I signed on with Security because I had a taste for trouble. - -"With Veta, it's different. She's done nothing, hurt no one. She'll -keep quiet--" - -"Hurry it up, gentlemen," Mawson ordered his aides. "I want no -accidents to halt us now." - -"Back, you!" snarled Corrack, covering Ross with his blaster. - -His companion advanced on Veta. - -Wild-eyed with panic, she retreated before him ... clear to the -wall ... on around the room ... almost to the door now; almost to -Corrack. - -Whirling, then, she leaped at the blaster-man from behind--clutching at -his arm, knocking up his weapon. - -"Stewart--" she screamed. "Run Stewart; run! Get away! Call Security--" - -Ross lunged. But it was towards her, struggling with Corrack; not the -door. - -Only then purple light pulsed past his head, so close that his eyes -went out of focus. He staggered, tripped, pitched to his knees. - -... And there, off to one side, grav-seat already rising, sat Mawson. -His teeth were bared, and he held his paragun poised and ready. - -Ross started to rise. - -Mawson triggered another ray. - -Whirling, Ross plunged through the doorway and ran for his life. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - - WRITE IT IN BLOOD! - - -Feet pounded behind Ross in the darkness of the warehouse. Dropping -flat, he rolled till he bumped against stacked transit cases. - -Now, from the office area, a hand torch flicked this way and that, its -hard, bright cone of light lancing through the murk. - -Ross held his breath. When the beam passed over him and moved on, he -wormed his way swiftly along the cases and into the first cross-aisle. - -More lights. More wary shuffling. Hastily, Ross made his way to the -next longitudinal aisle, then doubled back in the direction of the -offices once more. - -Almost in the same instant, Pike Mawson's voice cut through the -stillness: "Stop! Both of you!" His words were clipped, incisive. - -Ross froze in his tracks. His palms were slick with sweat as they -pressed flat against the transit cases. - -Mawson again: "Get back here, you fools! Don't you understand? That -chitza's trying to feint us away from the entrance so he can blast out!" - -From beyond Mawson, a second voice mumbled unclear syllables. - -"Let him hide!" Mawson cut in sharply. "He'll soon tire of it. The -thing to remember is that there's no way out of this place except -through the office area; I made sure of that before we took it over. -So as long as we stay at this end, our fine friend can't escape." - -A burst of guttural elation. Ross' pursuers drew back into the -brightly-lighted offices. - -For a long moment Ross stood unmoving. Then, as the last echo of the -others' clumping footsteps died and the darkness closed in on taut, -vibrant silence, he turned. His face was pale and drawn, his breathing -shallow, his mouth a thin, grim line. - -Moving down the aisle cat-silent, he groped his way to the place his -earlier foe had died beside the stacked plastidrums of steron. - -Steron, with its deadly methane fumes, and high combustibility, and -flaring, 4000-degree heat. - -Ross' lips twisted. Dragging out one of the drums, he jerked savagely -at the opener tab. - -The cap tore away. With a momentary faint hiss of gas escaping, steron -fumes spurted forth in a choking, all-enveloping rush. - -Ross grinned mirthlessly. With swift efficiency, he dragged out a -second drum and opened it also. Then a third ... a fourth.... - -Turning this last tank on its side, he rolled it full-tilt down the -aisle towards the offices, a trail of fumes and liquid spilling out in -its wake. - -Now, drawing back into a cross-aisle, Ross flicked his flamer and -tossed it out onto the snake-like steron trail. - -The fumes caught even before the flamer struck the floor. With a roar -like the gush of a power hose, fire leaped back to the three open drums. - -The explosion as they ignited sprayed flame in a mad starburst that -illumined the whole central section of the warehouse. In seconds a -thunderous holocaust swirled roof-high. - -Ross sprinted for the office area. Scrambling up a ladder to the first -catwalk, he peered down into the rooms below. - -Already Mawson's men were running for the door to the street. But of -Mawson himself, and of Veta Hall, there was no sign. - -Breathing hard, Ross moved on along the catwalk. - -Now, abruptly, Mawson came into view, racing his grav-seat out away -from a spot where two partitions intersected, and into the open area in -the center of one of the larger rooms. His movements were jerky, and he -sat hunched forward in the seat, an air of tension heavy upon him. - -The next instant Veta appeared, darting after the adjudicator. An ugly -bruise showed on her forehead. Panting, stumbling, she snatched at -Mawson's tunic. - -But he dodged and flipped up an elbow sharply, so that it struck the -girl in the mouth. Then, as she sagged back momentarily, he swung the -chair in, and slammed a palmed paragun flat to the side of her head. - -Veta crumpled to the floor ... lay there in a limp, still heap. - -Instantly, Mawson whirled the grav-seat away again, racing it up over -the room's partitions in a swift, spiraling arc. - -Ross held his position on the catwalk like a statue. Only his eyes -moved--first flicking down to Veta's motionless form, then away from -her and up to Mawson. - -Still the grav-seat climbed. Mawson gave hardly a glance to the -roaring sea of flame that now enveloped the whole central area of the -warehouse. His face was lined and set, his eyes riveted on some spot in -the building's upper reaches. - -Ross stared after him. Then, turning, once again he looked down at the -office area. - -Veta Hall still lay unmoving where she'd fallen. - -Ross started along the catwalk towards her. - -Only then, as if his eyes somehow were drawn by some psychic magnet, he -paused in mid-stride and yet another time looked around for Mawson. - -Simultaneously, the other's grav-seat came to rest on the second, -higher catwalk, close under the roof. Unfastening the seat's safety -belt, Mawson thrust his twisted legs down onto the walk, dragged -himself to his feet, hobbled clumsily to a nearby switch-box and pulled -a lever. - - * * * * * - -A faint grinding of gears rose above the noise of the fire. Twin -roof-plates slid back to reveal a skylight. - -For the fraction of a second Ross hesitated. Then, pivoting, he ran for -the nearest ladder that stretched upward from his catwalk to Mawson's. - -Above him, the adjudicator slapped shut the switch-box and began a -slow-shuffling return to the grav-seat. - -Ross reached the ladder. Cat-agile, he swung up it, hand over hand, two -rungs at a time. - -Mawson reached the grav-seat as Ross topped the ladder and scrambled up -onto the catwalk. - -Now, pausing for a moment as he adjusted the seat's safety belt, the -older man--young now--gazed out across the holocaust, a sardonic smile -twisting his thin lips. Sweat streamed down his pale face and dripped -from his chin. Puffing a little, he swabbed his forehead with his -sleeve. - -Behind him, Ross silently crept forward through the well-nigh -unendurable heat in a half-crouch. His lips were parted, the skin taut -and shiny across his cheek bones. - -Mawson glanced up at the open skylight. His hand dropped to the seat's -arm. His fingers moved over the controls. - -The chair lifted just a fraction, till it hovered clear of the catwalk. - -Ross' eyes distended. Nostrils flaring, he broke into a headlong run. - -But the catwalk vibrated under the impact of his weight. As if -by reflex, his quarry's shoulders stiffened. The fingers on the -control-arm spun a dial. The seat whipped round like a pointer on a -pivot. - -For an instant, then, the eyes of the two men met. - -Mawson expelled a sudden breath. His lips peeled back in a death's-head -grin. His free hand whipped up the paragun. - -Eight feet, possibly, separated the two of them now. Not even breaking -stride, Ross dived for Mawson. - -Nimble-fingered, the adjudicator flipped switches. The grav-seat rocked -back out of reach like a swing, then forward again in a short arc that -smashed the chair's base against Ross' shoulder with numbing force as -he sprawled off-balance on the catwalk. - -Rolling with the blow, Ross went half off the narrow footway. Before -he could recover, Mawson spun the seat again. It swished down like a -powered sledge. - -Spasmodically, Ross threw himself clear off the walk, dangling in -mid-air, suspended by the fingers of one hand only. - -Above him, Pike Mawson's face contorted in a leer. The seat ground on -the edge of the catwalk, searching for his fingers. - -Jaws clenched, Ross swung sidewise violently, letting go of the footway -with his one hand as he hooked on with the other. - -It was like hanging from a spit above a literal inferno. Flames roared -below him. The draft that swept from the building's entrance up to the -open skylight carried heat like a chimney. - -Again, Mawson tried to grind the grav-seat down on Ross' fingers. - -Again, Ross swung clear. - -Mawson cursed aloud, then leaned far forward over the front of the seat -and leveled his paragun at Ross' head. - -Free arm flailing, Ross let go his precarious grip on the catwalk -and lunged upward towards Mawson, paragun and grav-seat. His clawing -fingers locked around the weapon's barrel. - -For frantic seconds they hung there thus, struggling for the paragun. -Twice, Mawson triggered charges. Both times, they went wide. - -But now Ross had a grip on seat as well as weapon. With a sudden jerk, -he wrenched the gun from the other's hand. It spun away in a long, -catapulting arc that ended in the flames below. - -Like lightning, Mawson thumbed a button set in the grav-seat's -control-arm. - -The chair came down on the catwalk with a crash, then bounced high into -the air, almost to the roof. Ross' nails gouged long tracks in the -seat's plastox upholstery as his fingers slipped under the shock. - - * * * * * - -Mawson spun a dial. The grav-seat whipped round in a tight circle that -all but hurled Ross clear across the warehouse by sheer centrifugal -force. - -White to the lips, Ross clutched at Mawson's safety belt. - -The adjudicator spun the dial the other way. Simultaneously, he caught -the hand on his belt by a forefinger and levered the member back so -violently as to make the snap of its fracture audible even through the -din of the fire. - -Ross gave a low, hoarse cry. He smashed a fist down on the fingers with -which Mawson gripped the grav-seat's controls. - -It was Mawson's turn to jerk back; cry out. Gripping the control-arm -with cable-taut fingers, corded muscles standing out along his -forearms, Ross twisted. - -Metal screeched a protest. The seat rocked violently. - -Ross wrenched again. - -A contact-point snapped. Connections tore loose. Sideslipping, out of -control, the seat careened down to a precarious landing athwart the -catwalk. - -Convulsively, Mawson beat at Ross' face--raking the cheeks, stabbing -for the eyes. - -Ducking his head, Ross levered the control-arm still farther out of -place. - -A sound close to that of a sob echoed in Mawson's throat. He pounded -Ross' back. "Stop it, you fool! Stop it, before you kill us both!" - -Panting with strain, Ross paused for an instant. - -Mawson, babbling: "Don't you see? There's no way left for us to get -out of here except that skylight--and it's too high to do us any good -without the grav-seat." - -A small, spasmodic ripple of movement, like the passing of a chill, -crossed Ross' shoulders. He still didn't speak. - -"Turn me in to FedGov Security if you want to, rack you!" raged Mawson. -"Do you think I care about that? Just get us out of this hell-hole -alive; that's all I ask!" - -Ross raised his head a fraction; stared down at the sea of flame below. - -Mawson again--a cunning, crafty Mawson this time: "Think of the girl, -Ross! Think of her, even if you don't give a filan for your own neck! -She'll roast, down there in that office! But you still may be able to -save her, if we get around to the street entrance fast enough." - -Ross breathed in sharply. He started to straighten. - -Twisting in his seat, Mawson peered back and down over his own -shoulder. Then, suddenly, he leveled a shaking finger. "Ross! Look--!" - -Ross craned forward, staring. - -Like lightning, Mawson whipped back his elbow ... smashed it to the -bridge of Ross' nose with the same savage force that had stunned Veta -Hall. - -Ross lurched backwards. - -Mawson spun the chair's control-dial. Wobbling, unsteady, the grav-seat -started upward. - -Only then Ross, reeling, caught the seat's base. His upflung hand -slapped the control-plate. His fingers hooked around its edges. Again, -muscles stood out along his forearm as he brought sudden pressure. - -The plate tore loose. The grav-seat dropped back onto the catwalk with -a crash. - -Tight-lipped, with no sign that he so much as heard Pike Mawson's -shriek of anguish, Ross hurled the control unit down into the roaring -fire below.... - - * * * * * - -It was quiet in this place ... so very, very quiet. - -Only then, ever so faintly, a door-hinge creaked. Shoes whispered -across synthoflooring. - -For a long moment, Ross still lay unmoving. - -The whispering shoes drew closer--enough shoes for several pairs of -feet. - -Slowly, Ross opened his eyes. - -A tall, slim man stood beside the bed--a man whose dark blue uniform -bore silver comets on its shoulder-straps. - -Ross straightened just a trifle. Voice faint, he whispered, "Commandant -Padora...." - -The tall man inclined his head in a small, precise nod. "My -congratulations, Mr. Ross." - -A muscle in Ross' cheek twitched. "Congratulations--?" And then, more -definitely, more firmly: "Congratulations for what?" - -"For successfully completing your mission." - -Ross said, "I didn't complete it. The formula--" - -"The formula has been recovered," the Security commandant interrupted -smoothly. "Adjudicator Mawson told us precisely where to find it. Also, -he confessed to murdering Doctor Tornelescu." - -Ross stared. "He _confessed_?" - -Commandant Padora glanced to one of the blue-uniformed men who stood -behind him. "He did, didn't he, Mr. Galacorri?" - -"He seemed quite eager to," the other answered dryly. "He had some -strange notion our rescue party might leave him on that catwalk if he -didn't." - -The shadow of a smile played round the corners of the commandant's -mouth. "In any event, Mr. Ross, Doctor Tornelescu's life catalyst -now is in our hands, available for properly-controlled research, -development and use. And I'm told that Mr. Mawson undoubtedly will -spend the added years of life the injection gave him in a cell." - -"I see." - -"There's another matter also, Mr. Ross: the matter of your own -disobedience of orders." Commandant Padora's grey eyes seemed to study -the blank wall before him. "To set your mind at rest, I plead guilty to -using you uncomfortably like a cat's-paw. By so restricting you as to -precipitate insubordination, I temporarily convinced Cheng and Mawson -that you were a free agent. As a result, they acted rashly, without -covering their tracks properly. That's how we came to close in when we -did; to have men and lines at hand to drop down through that skylight -and take you off the catwalk after you'd collapsed from shock and -heat." - -"I see," Ross said again. - -"In consequence of all this," the other went on with clipped precision, -"the Federated Governments feel you've earned a certain recompense in -terms of honor." He held out a hand to one of the men behind him. "Mr. -Livingston...." - -"Here, sir." The man laid a flat leather case on the commandant's palm. - -"Stewart Ross"--Commandant Padora stood very erect now--"it is my -privilege as commandant of the Federated Governments' integrated -security agencies to present you at this time with our highest honor, -the Starburst Medal First Class for service to humanity above and -beyond the call of duty." - -He leaned forward as he finished; took the silver decoration from its -case and pinned it to the breast of Ross' sleeper jacket. - -"Thank you, sir," Ross said. "I do appreciate it." - -The other eyed him keenly. "Your face doesn't match your words, -Mr. Ross," he observed. "Perhaps it's because you feel you've lost -something more important to you than all the FedGov's medals." - -And then, pivoting: "Miss Hall!" - -For the first time, Ross' head lifted from its pillow. The hand that -clutched his coverlet suddenly was shaking. - -In the same moment, the blue-uniformed group behind Commandant Padora -parted. - -And there was Veta Hall. - -Pressing between the men, she darted to Ross; fell on her knees beside -his bed. And though her dark eyes streamed tears and her forehead still -showed its ugly bruised streak, never had her face been lovelier or -more radiant. - -"Stewart--!" she choked. "Oh, Stewart, my darling...." - -Ross' lips cut off her words. - -"As I said," Commandant Padora announced to no one in particular, "Mr. -Ross' efforts gave us both the time and opportunity to take care of all -aspects of the situation at Mawson's warehouse." - -It was doubtful if Ross and Veta even heard him.... - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK YOU CAN'T BUY ETERNITY! *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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Swain</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: You Can't Buy Eternity!</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Dwight V. Swain</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: May 20, 2021 [eBook #65395]</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net</div> - -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK YOU CAN'T BUY ETERNITY! ***</div> - -<div class="figcenter x-ebookmaker-drop"> - <img src="images/illusc.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<p>Wherever he turned men hunted him; this<br /> -was not surprising since he held the key to a<br /> -secret men would kill for. Yet some believed—</p> - -<h1>YOU CAN'T BUY ETERNITY!</h1> - -<h2>By Dwight V. Swain</h2> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy<br /> -October 1957<br /> -Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br /> -the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>CHAPTER I</h2> - -<p class="ph1">HUNT THE MAN DOWN!</p> - - -<p>The carrier came first—a flimsy two-passenger craft, unsuited for -even the shortest of interplanetary jumps.</p> - -<p>Swooping down too fast out of the eternal dust-clouds that shrouded the -Venusian sky, it crested a hillock by such a narrow margin as to spray -sand high into the never-ending wind, then veered right in a crazy arc.</p> - -<p>Another hillock. The carrier struck it a glancing blow that churned -up new clouds of sand and dust as it skated diagonally down the slope -beyond.</p> - -<p>Ahead, jutting from the endless waste of powdery grit that stretched as -far as eye could see, loomed low outcroppings of fantastically-eroded -rock.</p> - -<p>The carrier plowed into them with a rending crash. Claw-like crags -gouged at the craft's thin metal skin. A hiss of escaping air played -sudden gusty counterpoint to the whistle of the wind. Line-welds -popped. Seams split. Bucking and shuddering, the carrier jolted to a -halt.</p> - -<p>Before the echoes could even die, then, the cowling-seal flipped loose -from its seat. The warped entrance-bubble lifted jerkily, wrenched up -an inch or two at a time.</p> - -<p>Barely half open, it halted. A man wearing a plastron breather-mask -squirmed through the slot and, falling, sprawled prostrate in the -shifting sands beside the tiny vessel.</p> - -<p>But now a new sound echoed overhead—the heavy vibrance of a -spaceship's ramping-drone.</p> - -<p>Sobbing for breath, the man beside the carrier moved convulsively, -then lurched to his knees. His chrysolite-green tunic was ripped wide -where it had caught on the cowling. A long gash above his left temple -stained dun-drab hair scarlet. His nose was bleeding, too, so that the -transparent breather-mask bubbled spreading ruby streaks every time he -sucked in air.</p> - -<p>Now, clutching at the carrier's shattered hull, he dragged himself to -his feet, stood swaying there.</p> - -<p>Simultaneously, the vibrance overhead echoed louder. A sleek-lined, -compact Grade IV short-range cruiser plummeted into view through the -dust-clouds and hovered momentarily in ramping position—base down, -tail fins parallel to the surface of the ground below.</p> - -<p>The face of the man from the carrier contorted behind the -breather-mask. Turning sharply, he lurched away from the wrecked craft, -wading calf-deep through the powdery Venusian dust towards another, -larger outcropping of eroded rock.</p> - -<p>But as he did so, the cruiser dropped with swift precision. The -balancing fins bit in atop a level dune near where the crippled carrier -lay. Gears ground. A hatch spun swiftly outward on its screw-locks.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>The man on the ground broke into a stumbling run.</p> - -<p>From the cruiser, an amplifier blared harsh male syllables: "Halt, you -chitza!" And then: "Pull up, rack you! Freeze! You know you can't get -away!"</p> - -<p>The runner scrambled over a low ledge, then on again. He gave no sign -he'd even heard.</p> - -<p>"You want a blast, huh, Thigpen? You want to go back with your legs -knotted up like old Pike Mawson's!"</p> - -<p>The runner's stride broke. Flinging himself sidewise, he rolled bodily -down a short, sandy slope, then came up fast and plunged headlong into -the shelter of a grotesquely-shaped rock pillar.</p> - -<p>Aboard the cruiser, someone cursed: the amplifier picked up the echo. -Voices rose angrily, only to cut off again as sharply as if slashed -with a knife.</p> - -<p>And now, a new voice. A woman's voice, ragged and not quite steady: -"Don't worry, Thigpen. No one's going to hurt you. You've my word for -that."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>A little eddy of dust drifted out from behind the rock pillar; that was -all.</p> - -<p>Again, the woman's voice: "This is Veta Hall, Thigpen. You don't know -me, but you've probably heard of the man I'm speaking for: Pike Mawson, -the adjudicator on Japetus. He wants to make a deal with you."</p> - -<p>From the rock pillar, silence only.</p> - -<p>"You needn't play coy, Thigpen. Mawson knows all about that 'life -catalyst' you helped Tornelescu work out. That's why he sent us for -you. He's old and crippled; he needs that catalyst himself, so he can -find youth again. He'll give anything for it—anything you name. And he -doesn't care how many human guinea pigs you killed developing it, or -that you cut old Tornelescu's throat. He'll even help hide you from the -FedGov men, if that's worrying you."</p> - -<p>The last eddy of dust from behind the rock faded away.</p> - -<p>"Please, Thigpen!" the woman begged. "Please surrender! It's suicide if -you don't." A pause. "Look: you've heard of Igor Cheng, haven't you? -The slaver from the Belt? Well, that's who Mawson sent with me to help -bring you in—Cheng and three of his pet Belt killers. Only now that -the FedGov's put a price on your head...."</p> - -<p>The woman's voice trailed off. Then, after a moment, it rose again, -with such violence the amplifier screamed protest.</p> - -<p>"Don't you understand, you fool?" she cried hysterically. "If you come -in now, Igor's willing to live up to his bargain with Mawson. But if -you give him trouble, he'll kill you for the FedGov bounty. Only if -he does that, then he'll have to murder me too, so I can't give him -away to Mawson when he claims pushing you off was an accident, or -self-defense, or whatever other story he decides on!"</p> - -<p>Again, silence, broken only by the whish of blowing sand and the -ululations of the wind.</p> - -<p>The woman sighed audibly. "All right, Thigpen. Don't say I didn't try -to give you a chance." Emptiness, defeat, had replaced the desperation -in her voice.</p> - -<p>The amplifier clicked off. A moment later a landing ladder -ratcheted into view below the cruiser's cylindrical hull. A man -with radiation-pocked skin and an ugly, livid scar down his right -cheek appeared in the open hatchway and, locking his legs about the -ladder's uprights, slid swiftly to the ground. Another man of the same -hard-faced cut followed, and then another.</p> - -<p>For a moment, the cold-eyed trio paused beneath the ship, adjusting -breather-masks and checking short-barreled blasters. Then, spreading -out, they moved warily towards the rock pillar behind which their -quarry had disappeared.</p> - -<p>Still there was no visible move from the man addressed as Thigpen. -Swinging wide down the slope in a crouch, the scar-faced member of the -searching party circled so as to approach the pillar from the rear.</p> - -<p>A moment later his voice rasped through a hand-amp: "Rack the dirty -starbo! He isn't here!"</p> - -<p>Instantly, the cruiser's speaker clicked on again. "What do you mean, -he's not there?" A note of repressed excitement echoed in Veta Hall's -words. "He's got to be there, Igor! There's no way he could have broken -clear!"</p> - -<p>The scar-faced man laughed harshly. "That's right, lover-girl. There's -no way. So don't waste energy hoping we'll miss him."</p> - -<p>Now the landing party's two other members came abreast the pillar. A -second hand-amp cut in: "There's a little cover over this way, Cheng. -Maybe our boy snaked on over to the next outcrop."</p> - -<p>"How could he? We were watching!"</p> - -<p>The third man: "Well, you can't find him, can you?"</p> - -<p>And the second again: "If he played it right, he could have made it, -Cheng. After all, he had that column between him and us."</p> - -<p>"All right, we'll go on to the next rocks, then. And when we find that -chitza—!"</p> - -<p>The trio spread out once more—wading through swirling sand, clambering -over jagged ledges. Chill menace showed in their stance and movements. -They held their blasters at the ready.</p> - -<p>Then, reaching the maze-like cluster of monoliths that was their goal, -they advanced warily between its towering, weird-etched columns till, -one by one, they disappeared from view.</p> - -<p>Behind them, sand heaved at the base of the rock pillar that had been -their first goal. A figure pushed up out of the drifted grit.</p> - -<p>It was the man from the carrier. Shooting quick glances to right and -left, he rose cat-like, then paused momentarily while he tapped sand -from his breather-mask's filter. He looked better now than he had -before his brief respite, and both his nose and the head-gash had -stopped bleeding. Close-knit, of medium height, and obviously under -thirty, he moved with lithe coordination. Cool intelligence glinted -in the grey eyes. His face, though hardly handsome, combined an -intriguingly paradoxical mixture of recklessness and control.</p> - -<p>Now, as he tapped the filter, light flashed from his wrist. Stopping -short, he fumbled off a standard doloid identification bracelet.</p> - -<p>But though the picture was his, the name engraved beneath it was -<i>Stewart Ross</i>, not Thigpen.</p> - -<p>For the fraction of a second, the man hesitated, then dropped the -bracelet into the sand and scraped it under with his foot.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Next, pivoting, he struck out in the same general direction his -pursuers had taken, but at such an angle as would let the pillar screen -him from the cruiser.</p> - -<p>A dozen yards farther on, a low, crumbling ledge crossed his path -slaunchwise. Dropping down into its shelter, the man wormed swiftly -along it till it played out in a wind-furrowed, trough-like hollow.</p> - -<p>The hollow gave him cover to a dune, and the dune hid him till he -reached the first spur of the strata that formed the outcrop his -pursuers now were searching.</p> - -<p>Staying low, out of view, Ross followed the spur till he reached the -upthrust columns and ledges themselves. Then, a fist-sized rock in each -hand, he rose and moved cautiously on into the maze.</p> - -<p>Ahead, scar-faced Cheng came into view around a towering escarpment.</p> - -<p>Instantly, Ross drew back. Tight-lipped, cold-eyed, he hefted the two -rocks.</p> - -<p>Scowling under black, bushy brows as he peered this way and that, -blaster at the ready, Cheng shuffled closer ... closer....</p> - -<p>Ross drew back a step. Then, through a slot between two great stone -slabs, he lobbed one of his rocks high into the air above Cheng's -head. Sailing in a swift arc, it struck the face of the escarpment and -rattled noisily down the steep slope behind the slaver.</p> - -<p>Like lightning, Cheng whirled, finger already rigid on his weapon's -trigger.</p> - -<p>It put his back to his stalker. Stepping clear of his sheltering slab, -Ross hurled the second rock.</p> - -<p>It struck the base of Cheng's skull with a meaty <i>thunk</i>. The slaver -spilled forward.</p> - -<p>Ross came in with a rush. Snatching up his downed foe's fallen blaster, -he whipped it round just in time to cover the other two members of the -landing party as they waded into view through the thick-drifted sand at -the cliff's base.</p> - -<p>The pair stopped in their tracks, jaws dropping.</p> - -<p>Ross' lips peeled back in the caricature of a grin. He didn't speak.</p> - -<p>The two men from the cruiser hesitated, then exchanged quick, -raw-nerved glances.</p> - -<p>Still not speaking, Ross flicked his blaster's muzzle ever so slightly; -triggered a bolt.</p> - -<p>Sand spewed in a geyser bare inches from the feet of the man at the -left.</p> - -<p>Like magic, the pair dropped their weapons.</p> - -<p>Ross stripped off his torn, chrysolite-green tunic and tossed it down -beside black-browed, scar-faced Cheng, still lying limp and unconscious -in the sand. "Put this on him. And give me his outfit."</p> - -<p>The slaver's two aides didn't even argue about it.</p> - -<p>The switch finished and a cap donned to hide his gashed scalp, Ross -eyed his captives coldly. "How many aboard the cruiser?"</p> - -<p>A moment of sullen hesitation. Then: "Just two—the girl, and one of us -to keep track of her."</p> - -<p>"For your sake, I hope you're not lying." Ross' words held a flat, -deadly ring. "Now get this straight: you've finally captured me. But -you had to knock me out to do it, so you're carrying me back to the -ship." And then, to the nearest of the prisoners: "You! Put that on -your hand-amp. Tell the woman about it, strong enough for her to -believe it."</p> - -<p>Eyes still on Ross' blaster, the man obeyed.</p> - -<p>Ross smiled thinly. "Let's go."</p> - -<p>Sullenly, his two prisoners heaved up their green-tunicked, -still-unconscious chief between them and, shuffling and stumbling, -carried him out of the outcrop's rocky maze to the dusty, windswept -spread of sandy waste beyond. Ross moved with them, but with face -averted. He maneuvered, too, to keep the others between him and the -cruiser.</p> - -<p>Then, at last, they were climbing the dune on which the ship stood -ramped ... angling up the final slope and pausing beneath the shining -metal hull, out of view of the open hatchway above.</p> - -<p>Ross said, "Lie down, you two!"</p> - -<p>"Lie down—?" Panic flared in the eyes of the man nearest him. "So you -can blast us, you mean? No—"</p> - -<p>He lunged as he spoke. But Ross was already moving, swinging up the -blaster's butt in a hard, fast blow to the other's head.</p> - -<p>The man dropped. Hastily, his companion stretched out as ordered.</p> - -<p>"Stay there," Ross clipped. Then, incredibly cool, he turned to the -ladder and, head tilted forward to hide his face, climbed swiftly -towards the hatchway.</p> - -<p>Above him, Veta Hall spoke, her voice no longer marred by the -amplifier's distortion: "You really did get him, Igor? Alive, not -dead—?" But her tone told nothing of how she felt about it.</p> - -<p>Ross mumbled incoherently, not slowing his climb.</p> - -<p>"Will you need a sling to lift him, Igor?"—A male voice, this one.</p> - -<p>Another guttural mumble. Ross' chin scraped his chest, he was holding -his head so far forward.</p> - -<p>A hand touched his shoulder. "Speak up, Igor! I can't understand—"</p> - -<p>Ross gripped the sill of the hatchway. His head came up—teeth bared, -eyes blazing. In one lunge, he slammed through the open port, bowling -Veta Hall aside.</p> - -<p>The next instant he ricocheted into a gaping, goggle-eyed rowdy who -held a spanner in one hand, a vortane-tube in the other.</p> - -<p>The man swung the spanner in a wild arc.</p> - -<p>Ross ducked under it. Savagely, he drove an elbow into the other's -side, in the soft-fleshed belt between hip and ribs.</p> - -<p>Goggle-eyes gave an anguished shallow-breathed gasp. Rising almost on -tiptoe, he tottered forward three or four uncertain steps, then slumped -in a heap on the floor.</p> - -<p>When the woman tried to snatch up the fallen spanner, Ross kicked it -out of her hand with such violence that she cowered back against the -wall, moaning and clutching her bruised fingers.</p> - -<p>Paying her no heed, Ross doubled back to the hatch and spun the -control-wheel. The vault-like door sang on its screw-locks. In seconds, -all entry was barred.</p> - -<p>Bleakly, now, Ross glanced at his new prisoners—first the woman, then -the man, then back to the woman again.</p> - -<p>"So Pike Mawson wants to make a deal with me, does he?" His curt laugh -held no mirth. "All right, I'll let him. Only the terms are going to be -mine, not his—and by the time I'm through, Stera help him, he'll wish -he'd never heard of me, or the catalyst, or old Tornelescu either!"</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2>CHAPTER II</h2> - -<p class="ph1">TROUBLE ON JAPETUS</p> - - -<p>Time passed slowly, hovering there high above tiny Japetus, waiting for -Saturn's shadow and a chance to slip in.</p> - -<p>Ross yawned and stretched. Then, taking out his writer, he doodled -briefly on an astrogation pad.</p> - -<p>Only somehow, the doodles all seemed to end up resembling Veta Hall.</p> - -<p>Ross sighed and put away the writer. Sinking deeper into his seat, he -stretched his legs at full length before him. His shoulders, his head, -sagged forward just a fraction. But he still kept the blaster across -his lap; and though his lids tended to droop, his grey eyes still -followed the woman's every move.</p> - -<p>Incongruously, she wore a quilted space-suit liner. But even such -failed to hide the youthfulness of her body and her movements. Her -dark, curly hair—worn short—only accented the regularity of her -features, the unblemished smoothness of her skin, the absence of all -lines and wrinkles.</p> - -<p>Now, suddenly, she flushed under Ross' scrutiny. Turning away abruptly, -she fumbled in her shoulder-bag and, after a moment, brought forth a -Pallastan vocorn pipe.</p> - -<p>Ross' eyes widened. But he said nothing.</p> - -<p>Adjusting the pipe's mouthpiece, still ignoring Ross, the girl began to -play. Weird minor melodies, developed in the unique contrapuntal manner -of the pipe's fourteen-note polyphonic scale, welled and echoed through -the cramped space of the cruiser's cabin.</p> - -<p>Wincing, Ross held his peace till the girl paused.</p> - -<p>"You're from Pallas, Veta?" he asked then, quickly.</p> - -<p>Wordless, she shook her head; began to play again.</p> - -<p>Another fragmentary pause.</p> - -<p>"Somewhere else in the Belt, maybe?" Ross persisted. "Vesta? Ceresta? -H'sana?"</p> - -<p>Again, silent denial.</p> - -<p>Ross frowned. "I didn't know they played vocorn pipes anywhere outside -the Belt."</p> - -<p>Veta Hall broke off her music for an instant. "They don't," she -retorted succinctly, and plunged back into a Chonya dirge.</p> - -<p>Ross laughed. "All right, I'll put the question straight, then: where -<i>are</i> you from?"</p> - -<p>"Ganymede. Porforio."</p> - -<p>"And the pipe—?"</p> - -<p>"I had a Pallastan teacher, an enthusiast. He convinced me that all the -inner and outer planets, and the satellites between, were holding their -breath waiting for someone to come along and play a vocorn pipe for -them."</p> - -<p>"You sound bitter."</p> - -<p>"I'm not, though. Not really." For the first time, the girl smiled and -fully faced Ross. "You see, I like piping, just for its own sake. And -now that it's past, it doesn't matter too much about the other, the -disappointment."</p> - -<p>"The disappointment—?" Ross encouraged.</p> - -<p>"Of finding I couldn't make a career of piping." Veta laughed wryly. -"First I tried in Porforio, then Idacta, then even Brenskaala, on -Callisto. Only there still weren't enough people who wanted to hear me -play, so when my money ran out—I didn't have too much to start with; -just what I'd inherited when my father was killed in a thermal—why, -when it was gone, I took a job in a traveling show, charming gulfers."</p> - -<p>Ross stared. "Charming gulfers—?"</p> - -<p>"That's right." Veta laughed. "I don't know what the right name for -them is, but they have them on some of the asteroids and they call them -engulfers—gulfers for short. They look like worn-out rubber rugs, but -if they get the chance they'll wrap themselves round you and digest you -alive with their juices."</p> - -<p>"Go on."</p> - -<p>Veta shivered. "They're awfully dangerous, really. They kill lots of -people in the Belt. But they happen to like vocorn music too; they'll -even move in rhythm to it. So in this show, I played my pipe to charm -them."</p> - -<p>"It sounds fascinating," Ross observed dryly.</p> - -<p>"Believe me, it wasn't." The girl shivered again. "But it was the best -I could do till I met Mr. Mawson."</p> - -<p>"How did that happen?"</p> - -<p>"The show went broke on Japetus. As adjudicator, Mr. Mawson checked on -it. He liked me, and the next thing I knew, he was giving me little -jobs to do. Then they got bigger, till finally he even sent me along on -this trip with Cheng to pick you up."</p> - -<p>"I see," Ross nodded slowly. "He trusts you a lot, apparently."</p> - -<p>"Yes, of course." Veta nodded also. But a nervousness suddenly seemed -to have seized her. Shifting, she fingered her pipe, eyes dodging Ross'.</p> - -<p>For an instant he studied her; then rose, crossed the cabin, and once -more checked the visiscreen. "It won't be too long now. We're beginning -to move into shadow."</p> - -<p>Veta's head came up. "And then—you're going down there, to Japetus, -and ... try to do something to Mr. Mawson—?"</p> - -<p>"I'm going down, anyhow."</p> - -<p>"But why?" Now Veta, too, rose from her seat. Half-hesitantly, she -came to him. "Wouldn't it maybe be better if you just—well, forgot -about it?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Ross' face darkened. "That kind of thing takes a lot of forgetting. -When somebody forces my carrier off course, so that I crash on Venus, -and then tries to blast me—" He broke off, thin-lipped.</p> - -<p>"But still—"</p> - -<p>Ross turned on the girl. "What do you care about it, whether I do or -whether I don't? Are you afraid Mawson might get hurt?"</p> - -<p>His companion's face flamed. She started to turn away.</p> - -<p>But before she could move, Ross caught her by the shoulders. His -fingers gouged into the soft flesh. "Don't try that! I'm not in the -mood for it, and I've heard better stories than the one you've been -telling. To listen to you talk, you're not even too bright.</p> - -<p>"Only I don't believe that—not for a minute, because Pike Mawson's -not the kind of man to send a giggling girl out to take care of his -business. So throw out the act: you've got brains and judgment; admit -it!"</p> - -<p>The color drained from the girl's face as Ross spoke. Twisting, she -cringed from his fingers.</p> - -<p>He shook her. "Tell me the truth, rack you! Why did Mawson send you out -here with Cheng? What makes him so sure he can trust you?"</p> - -<p>No answer.</p> - -<p>Savagely, Ross flung the girl into a seat and turned his back on her. -"You're a fool!" he lashed bitterly. "A fool, and a liar, and the kind -of trollop who'll run a murderer's errands!"</p> - -<p>"Shut up!" This from Veta. Eyes flashing, she jumped from the chair, -caught Ross by the elbow, and whirled him. Her hand whipped up and in, -slapping—once, twice, three times....</p> - -<p>Ross reeled back, clutching for her wrists. "Stop it!" he roared.</p> - -<p>"Why should I?" Veta tore free and twice more dealt stinging slaps -before he could pinion her arms. "You call me names—you, Lewis -Thigpen, the man who helped Tornelescu murder all those hundreds of -innocent people, testing that catalyst!" She was panting and sobbing at -once. Tears streaked her cheeks.</p> - -<p>Ross said tightly, "I'm sorry I lost my temper. I apologize. But when -you wouldn't tell me why you were trying to keep me off Japetus—when -you wouldn't even answer my questions—"</p> - -<p>"When I wouldn't tell you—?" The girl's tears streamed faster. "How do -you want me to say it? Like this?"</p> - -<p>Once again, she tore free—and then, flinging her arms about Ross' -neck, buried her streaked face against his shoulder.</p> - -<p>For an instant he stiffened. A tremor ran through him. Drawing the girl -even closer, he held her to him.</p> - -<p>Her voice came muffled: "Don't you see? If you go down, they'll kill -you! You're all alone. You won't have a chance."</p> - -<p>"That may be," Ross agreed quietly. "Or then again, it may not." A -pause. "Have you ever heard of a man named Zoltan Prenzz?"</p> - -<p>"Prenzz—?" Veta lifted her face. "No, I haven't. Who is he?"</p> - -<p>Ross smiled faintly. "Just a name; a man I knew once." Gently, he -tilted Veta's head back and kissed her. "First installment. You'll get -the second after we land."</p> - -<p>He stepped back as he spoke and, turning, began checking instruments.</p> - -<p>"Then—you're going down?" Veta's voice sounded very tired.</p> - -<p>"Yes."</p> - -<p>"To see this man you mentioned—Zoltan Prenzz?"</p> - -<p>"Yes."</p> - -<p>Wordless, the girl moved to a position in front of a second panel. With -cool efficiency, she adjusted dials; threw switches.</p> - -<p>A hush fell over the cabin. The floor rocked slightly as gyroscopes -compensated for gravitational imbalance.</p> - -<p>Then, abruptly, there was the slight jar of an almost-perfect ramping. -Spinning open an inspection hatch, Ross peered out.</p> - -<p>Black night; nothing more.</p> - -<p>Ross said, "The calculations must have come out on the target. Let's -go."</p> - -<p>He spun open the screw-locks; ratcheted down the ladder.</p> - -<p>More night. Silently, Ross slid to the ground.</p> - -<p>Another moment, and Veta was beside him. Ross turned.</p> - -<p>Simultaneously, light pinned him tight against the ladder. A smooth -voice said, "My dear sir! Surely you wouldn't deny us the privilege of -giving you a proper welcome!"</p> - -<p>Ross could only blink and squint against the glare.</p> - -<p>The voice from the darkness kept on talking: "You understand, of -course, that Japetus has few visitors. At best, it's small and -isolated. So, as adjudicator, I take it as my duty to show our little -world's appreciation...."</p> - -<p>Talk and more talk, mellow and meaningless.</p> - -<p>Yet somehow, now, a strange note of uncertainty had crept into the -speaker's voice. It was as if, suddenly, an initial planned strategy -had been shattered, with the result that for the moment he must feel -his way and play by ear.</p> - -<p>Then, abruptly, that too changed.</p> - -<p>"You men there!" the speaker cried, "where are your manners? Get those -lights out of the gentleman's eyes! Or at least spread them so we all -can see each other."</p> - -<p>Instantly, the beam that pinned Ross broadened. With a faint <i>whish</i>, -a grav-seat dropped from the night to a landing close beside him. -Flipping a switch, its occupant held out a hand. "I'm Pike Mawson, -sir. Adjudicator for this satellite. Forgive me for not rising, but a -blaster-bolt some years ago made that a painful and rather involved -process for me."</p> - -<p>Ross ignored the extended hand. "I'm Lewis Thigpen."</p> - -<p>"Thigpen!" Pike Mawson appeared almost to choke on the name. "No wonder -you're glaring holes in me! I only hope you can find it in your heart -to forgive an old man's folly!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Ross' jaw sagged. He stared helplessly at the pale cripple in the -grav-seat.</p> - -<p>Mawson said, "This is a long story, Mr. Thigpen, and it does me a deal -of discredit. But under the circumstances I have no choice but to tell -it." A pause, while he shifted position in the flying chair. "You see, -I've already heard from Cheng via your carrier com-set, even though -I didn't expect you to land here quite this soon. He's told me what -happened, there on Venus."</p> - -<p>Ross said nothing.</p> - -<p>"Believe me, Mr. Thigpen, piracy was the last thing in my mind when I -sent Cheng out to try to find you. But some over-direct individuals -misconstrue orders to their own tastes ever so easily."</p> - -<p>"Apparently." Ross bit the word off.</p> - -<p>But here, it seemed, all sarcasm was wasted. The adjudicator went on as -if no word had been spoken:</p> - -<p>"The root fault's mine, Mr. Thigpen. I acknowledge it freely. When I -heard of Doctor Tornelescu's life catalyst, and that there was a chance -you knew its secret, my sense of values went out of balance. I could -think of nothing but the possibility that my own brief remaining span -could be prolonged. The fact that you faced—certain difficulties—as -a result of Tornelescu's untimely death; the detail that you had no -desire to come here—I pushed all such to the back of my mind. All -I could think of was the one burgeoning reality that Tornelescu had -finally isolated the chemical that controlled human aging; and that -when this chemical was injected into an older person, it combined with -the amino acids of the body to turn back the clock and give a man new -youth.</p> - -<p>"It was a foolish thing for me to send for you, Mr. Thigpen. I realized -that almost as soon as Cheng's ship was out of sight. But by then, it -was too late to try to stop him, so all I have left to fall back on now -are apologies."</p> - -<p>"Apologies?" Ross clipped. "It seems to me there's a small matter of -damages, also."</p> - -<p>"Of course, Mr. Thigpen!" Mawson was almost too eager. "Would fifty -thousand satisfy you?"</p> - -<p>"Fifty thousand—!"</p> - -<p>"It's done, then. That is, if you have a writer you can lend me."</p> - -<p>Wordless, Ross handed the adjudicator the slim tube; received it back -again with a signed form.</p> - -<p>"Now we'll take you on into the city and find you quarters," Mawson -chortled. "Come. There's a transor over on the edge of the ramping -area."</p> - -<p>A woman's voice from the outer darkness said, "Surely you'll not let -him go before you introduce us, Pike." Her tone was syrupy, with -shadings of coy reproach.</p> - -<p>"No, of course not." Mawson's pale face grew unhappy. "Mr. Thigpen, -allow me to present the most famous woman of our time: the one and only -Astrell."</p> - -<p>Already the woman was coming from the shadows, an auburn-haired vision -of utter loveliness.</p> - -<p>Only then the full force of the light struck her, and the illusion -died beneath the bitter onslaught of too many years.</p> - -<p>Astrell seemed to sense it. Hastily, she drew back into the fringe of -friendly shadows. "I won't hold you now, Mr. Thigpen; I know you must -be tired. But I promise, I'll see you another time."</p> - -<p>"The transor, Mr. Thigpen—" Mawson began.</p> - -<p>Ross said, "First, I'd like to speak for a moment to Miss Hall."</p> - -<p>"Miss Hall? Miss Hall—?"</p> - -<p>"The girl you sent with Cheng."</p> - -<p>"Oh. Veta." The adjudicator's face grew even more unhappy. But he -raised his voice: "Sanford! Sanford, where are you?"</p> - -<p>A shadow detached itself from the others ... a tall, gaunt shadow, this -time. "Here, Pike."</p> - -<p>"Where's your sister, Sanford? Mr. Thigpen wants to see her."</p> - -<p>"My sister? Veta?" Sanford Hall sounded vague about it. "How would I -know, Pike? I guess she must have slipped away."</p> - -<p>Without another word, he turned to go. But as he did so, the blazing -lights focussed on the cruiser fell full into his eyes.</p> - -<p>Ross breathed in sharply: the glaze, the distortion of iris and of -pupil—they could belong to no one save a starak addict in the last -stages of his vice.</p> - -<p>"The transor, Mr. Thigpen—"</p> - -<p>Ross said, "Thanks, Adjudicator. This takes care of me nicely. I'll -find my own quarters."</p> - -<p>Without waiting for response, he pressed the first button that came -beneath his finger on the selector.</p> - -<p>The transor surged forward. Leaning back, Ross checked his pocket for -the form Mawson had given him.</p> - -<p><i>Two</i> pieces of paper rattled in his fingers. Frowning, he drew them -out.</p> - -<p>The first was Mawson's form.</p> - -<p>The second, a note-sheet, bore only a name and address: <i>Veta Hall, -417D Esrach Unit</i>.</p> - -<p>Ross' frown furrowed deeper. Refolding both papers, he thrust them back -into his tunic.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It took him an hour to find satisfactory two-room quarters.</p> - -<p>The deciding factor in his choice, it finally turned out, was that one -place offered bars on the bedroom window.</p> - -<p>Then that was done. Once again, Ross moved out into the streets ... -checked a com-call reel in the nearest store.</p> - -<p>Zoltan Prenzz' address was less than ten minutes' walk away.</p> - -<p>Two doors from Prenzz' number, Ross paused in the shadows. Warily, he -searched the street.</p> - -<p>Now a man appeared, moving too casually down the other side.</p> - -<p>Ross watched him till he was out of sight. Then, pivoting, he -proceeded to Prenzz' address.</p> - -<p>No light showed. After a moment's hesitation, Ross knocked.</p> - -<p>No response.</p> - -<p>Ross rapped again, more sharply.</p> - -<p>Still no answer.</p> - -<p>Another moment's hesitation. Then, quickly, Ross slid a paper-thin -variable tab into the lock-slot.</p> - -<p>There was a click of contacts made and contacts broken. Noiselessly, -the door swung back.</p> - -<p>Swiftly, Ross stepped to one side and stood there, poised and waiting.</p> - -<p>Nothing.</p> - -<p>Or almost nothing.</p> - -<p>Ross sniffed. His forehead furrowed. He stepped across the threshold; -sniffed again.</p> - -<p>Two more steps, and his foot struck something in the darkness. -Stiff-fingered, he drew out his flamer; flicked it.</p> - -<p>Its light fell full on the face of Zoltan Prenzz.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2>CHAPTER III</h2> - -<p class="ph1">SQUEEZE PLAY</p> - - -<p>Prenzz was very dead.</p> - -<p>That was self-evident, without examination. No stench such as permeated -this room ever could have come from living tissue.</p> - -<p>The odor grew worse by the moment. While Ross stared, his face a mask -of numb, horrified disbelief, the corpse took on a strangely oozy -look. Inside its clothes, the body began to lose its contours. Flesh -sloughed from one cheek, then the other, as if putrefaction were -somehow here motivated to race to destroy the evidence of crime.</p> - -<p>Shuddering, Ross flicked his light off, stumbled back to the door, and -retched. He was still shaking his head as if to clear his nostrils of -the cramped room's stench as he plunged into the shadows of the nearest -alley.</p> - -<p>For a moment, there, he paused and stood frowning. Then, narrow-eyed, -he fumbled through his tunic's pocket and came out with a now-familiar -note-sheet ... unfolded it ... stared down at the name and address it -bore: <i>Veta Hall, 417D Esrach Unit</i>.</p> - -<p>Folding the note-sheet again, Ross strode on through the alley to the -next street, climbed into the first vacant transor, and punched the -Esrach Unit button on the selector panel.</p> - -<p>The transor surged forward, gears whining as it picked up speed. Three -minutes and a bewildering series of turns later, it ground to a halt -once more, automatic door already lifting.</p> - -<p>Ross got out. But instead of going on into the unit, he left-faced, -walked briskly down the street to the first corner, turned right, and -so continued until, after another right turn, he stood directly behind -the Esrach building.</p> - -<p>In front, the structure had made some show of keeping up appearances, -for all its obvious age and deterioration. The entrance was neat if not -new, and imitation veldrene drapes and occasional lengths of doloid -stripping had been added to put a bold front to drabness.</p> - -<p>Back here, in the rear, all such was recognized as sham. Thick grime -and even streaks of rust took the place of decoration. Litter cluttered -the base-line, and the nearest door sagged half-open on its hinges.</p> - -<p>Inside, old odors of grease and filth added to the air of decay.</p> - -<p>There was a stairway of sorts beside an ancient fire-tube. Climbing to -the fourth level, Ross moved silently down the dank central corridor.</p> - -<p>Veta Hall's number, 417D, was located close to the middle of the first -wing. Instead of a tab-lock, the door had a primitive chain affair, -anchored on the inside.</p> - -<p>Getting out his writer, Ross maneuvered for a moment. The chain -clinked, then fell away.</p> - -<p>Easing the door open the rest of the way, Ross stepped inside.</p> - -<p>Small noises drifted from a room beyond the one in which he stood. -Crossing to it, he reached for the doorknob.</p> - -<p>Before he could touch it, the door whipped open. Veta crossed the -threshold, her eyes not even focussing on him.</p> - -<p>Ross caught her wrists as she looked up. When she started to cry out, -he twisted sharply, so that the sound died on an indrawn breath.</p> - -<p>Now she stared at him, face pain-strained. "Thigpen, what's the -matter—?" It was the faintest of whispers.</p> - -<p>"Nothing. Nothing but a corpse, that's all." Ross said it through -clenched teeth. "Not that you'd know anything about that, would you, -Veta?—About a man they called Zoltan Prenzz, the man I told you I was -going to see on Japetus first chance I got—"</p> - -<p>He broke off; twisted the girl's wrists again.</p> - -<p>It brought her forward on tiptoe, tiny anguished sounds bubbling in her -throat.</p> - -<p>Ross' face stayed a cold, relentless mask. He said tightly, "It's my -own fault, Veta. All mine, for trusting you even a little—you, working -for Pike Mawson, and with a brother on starak. Only now you're going -to make it up by telling me the things I need to know. And this time -there'll be no holding out or stalling."</p> - -<p>"Please, Thigpen...." The effort of speaking brought a small cluster -of saliva bubbles to one corner of Veta's mouth. "I don't know what -you're talking about. There must be some mistake—"</p> - -<p>"Your mistake," Ross corrected harshly. He backed Veta into the room -from which she'd come. "We'll have some answers now: who killed Zoltan -Prenzz?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know!"</p> - -<p>"Who'd you tell about him?"</p> - -<p>"I didn't—"</p> - -<p>"Who, I said! Mawson? Your brother?"</p> - -<p>"Thigpen, I didn't tell anyone! I couldn't! You only mentioned the man -once. I didn't even remember his name till just now, when you reminded -me."</p> - -<p>"We'll try it again, then—"</p> - -<p>A knock sounded on the outer door.</p> - -<p>Veta opened her mouth to scream.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Like lightning, Ross hammered a blow to her jaw, then caught her limp -body before she could spill to the floor.</p> - -<p>The knock sounded again. A man's voice called, "All right, you, in -there! Open up."</p> - -<p>Ross' eyes fanned the room, then fixed on the old-fashioned fire-tube -hatch set into the wall in one corner. Dragging Veta across to it -bodily, he wrenched it open, stuffed her in, and let her drop, then -hastily followed suit himself as the voice in the hall rose even more -belligerently.</p> - -<p>The tube discharged them into a narrow, litter-choked court between the -building's wings. Veta slung over his shoulder like a sack of meal, -Ross ducked into the nearest entryway.</p> - -<p>The niche sheltered the doors to two apartments. The sound of a man and -woman arguing violently pulsed from one; from the other, silence.</p> - -<p>Now a shout rose on one of the building's upper levels: a man's angry -bellow, echoing and reechoing as it bounced back and forth across the -narrow court. Veta moaned and moved her head groggily.</p> - -<p>A trickle of sweat rilled from Ross' hairline. Stepping close to the -door of the silent apartment, he tried the knob.</p> - -<p>The door was locked.</p> - -<p>Overhead, another shout. Then, from the court's ground level, a harsh -rattle of answer.</p> - -<p>Ross stepped back fast, eyes distending. Lifting a foot, he smashed a -battering-ram kick at the door's lock.</p> - -<p>The door burst open. Dodging past it as it swung back, Ross heeled it -shut behind him. He was breathing hard, and another rill of sweat had -joined the first.</p> - -<p>Prowling through the empty apartment now, Veta still slung limp over -his shoulder, Ross jerked back storage area sealers until, after -half-a-dozen tries, he came upon and dragged out a heavy, shapeless -space-sack of the type used by cruiser crewmen.</p> - -<p>Another moan from Veta. She shifted, clutching at Ross' tunic.</p> - -<p>Unceremoniously, he dumped her on a bed, then returned to the -space-sack. Spreading its mouth wide, he lifted the girl's legs and set -her feet down inside the bag.</p> - -<p>Veta's eyes flicked open, panic-shadowed. "What are you doing?"</p> - -<p>"Getting you ready for a little trip." He heaved her up from the bed -and lowered her into the sack, pulling the heavy synthetic casing up to -cover her. "If you know what's good for you, you'll keep quiet."</p> - -<p>He pulled the sealer-tab shut as he spoke, disregarding her sudden -frantic flurry of movement. Then, turning, he stepped back to the -storage shelves, selected and donned one of several spaceman's leave -caps, swung the bag to his shoulder, and boldly strode out of the -apartment and the court to the nearest transor-rank.</p> - -<p>The trip across the city was uneventful. Hardly a hint of movement -showed through the stiffness of the space-sack's heavy casing.</p> - -<p>Ross left the transor two streets from his own quarters, walking the -rest of the way through two linked alleys. He was half-panting by the -time he reached the entrance; and his fingers shook as he shoved the -card into the tab-lock.</p> - -<p>Then, at last, he stepped into the dim, silent living room and dumped -the space-sack to the floor. Tossing the leave cap into a corner, he -swabbed the sweat from his forehead, shoved shut the door and bolted -it, and slid a lamp-switch to the first notch.</p> - -<p>The room brightened.</p> - -<p>A voice came through the silence also: "You frightened me, Thigpen. I -was beginning to be afraid you weren't coming."</p> - -<p>A woman's voice, low and husky and seductive.</p> - -<p>Ross spun round, eyes distending.</p> - -<p>Astrell reclined on the divan across the room in studied grace. The -soft light smoothed her features so that when her lips curved in a slow -smile she might have been younger by twenty years.</p> - -<p>"Didn't you expect me, Thigpen?" she murmured. "I told you I'd come, -you know."</p> - -<p>Ross shrugged, not speaking. His face now had taken on a wooden look. -Picking up the space-sack, he carried it to the bedroom, closing the -door after him as he returned.</p> - -<p>Still smiling, Astrell patted the seat beside her with a somewhat pudgy -hand. "Come sit down, Thigpen."</p> - -<p>Ross met her gaze coldly. "I don't think that's necessary, Astrell."</p> - -<p>"Oh, but it is!" The woman rose from the couch as she spoke, and came -to him. "It's not just the catalyst, my dear. I want to get to know you -better."</p> - -<p>"Do you?"</p> - -<p>"Of course I do!" Astrell traced fluttery designs on the front of Ross' -tunic with a long-nailed forefinger. Close up, her knuckles showed deep -wrinkles. The skin along the backs of her hands was creping, too, and -the flesh along her throat, beneath her eyes, and at the corners of her -mouth was sagging visibly.</p> - -<p>But still she preened, and fluffed her halo of determinedly auburn -hair, and threw Ross the coy, flirtatious, low-lashed glances of a -woman two decades younger. "You know, darling, you'll be glad, too."</p> - -<p>"Oh?" Ross stood unbending. "Just what is it I'll be glad of?"</p> - -<p>"Why, that you helped me, of course." Astrell laughed, just a bit too -shrilly. "It's not as if I were asking you to give it to me, you know. -I'm more than willing to pay for it, and I've the money, too—more -money than you can even dream of, all my savings from those years when -no one from here to the Belt even thought of giving a social affair top -rating, if Astrell didn't attend."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The woman seemed to grow taller as she spoke. Head high, she moved -to and fro with slow, graceful steps—a queen in bearing, however -caricatured, living for the moment in her dreams of glory-radiant days -gone by.</p> - -<p>Then, once more, she paused close to Ross. "Besides, my dear, once I've -the catalyst, I'll be young again—and very, very grateful to you." An -insinuating laugh. "Darling, have you any idea how delightful it can be -to hold the gratitude of a girl whose talents were such that she was -able to marry the seven richest men in all the outer planets, one after -the other?"</p> - -<p>Again, the woman reached out a pudgy hand to caress Ross. His teeth -clicked together, as if with a sudden involuntary shiver. Catching the -hand in his own, not too gently, he pushed it away.</p> - -<p>"There's something you need to understand, Astrell," he said in a -tight, controlled voice. "I can't think of anything I'd rather do than -milk you of all that money you've piled up. But I haven't got the -catalyst, or the formula either. So you're wasting your time, mooning -around me."</p> - -<p>"Don't worry, Thigpen. I understand." Astrell gave vent to a -knowing, conspiratorial giggle. "You've got to be careful. Killing -Tornelescu—that was dangerous; you can't afford to admit it, even to -me. The same way with the catalyst: you've no intention of confessing -you've so much as heard of it. But if a case of it were to turn up in -my rooms, somehow, and a money-case were to vanish—"</p> - -<p>Ross said, "Get out."</p> - -<p>"'Get out'—?" The woman's head jerked back. She searched his eyes for -a long, unsteady moment.</p> - -<p>Then a pallor came to her withered cheeks, for all their show of -artificial color. Her breathing speeded. "Thigpen, you mean it! The -catalyst—you're not going to sell it to me—"</p> - -<p>And then, in a rush, face thrust close: "Don't say it, Thigpen! Don't -say it if you want to live! I can give you beauty. I can give you -money. But if you won't take them, then I'll get the catalyst without -you! They'll find you in an alley with your throat cut, Thigpen—the -same way you left Tornelescu! And Thigpen—you'll call it a favor when -they finish you, because first they'll make you tell the secret—"</p> - -<p>The woman's voice rose higher with every sentence, till she was -half-screaming. Her face contorted into a wrinkled mask of hate. Her -back bent, too, and her body seemed to pull together, till when she -shook her fist at Ross she was hag, incarnate; the embodiment of every -creaking crone.</p> - -<p>"Out!" Ross clipped. "Out!" Grimly, he pressed her back towards the -door.</p> - -<p>For an instant it seemed she was going to resist, force him to back his -commands with violence. Then, abruptly, she whirled and without another -word fled the apartment.</p> - -<p>Gustily, Ross let out pent-up breath and, pivoting, turned once more to -the other room.</p> - -<p>But now, on the threshold, he stopped short. For where the space-sack -had lain brief minutes before, now there was only crumpled bedding.</p> - -<p>Momentarily, Ross stood as if paralyzed. Then, with a curse, he sprang -forward—flinging aside furniture; clawing open the storage areas.</p> - -<p>No Veta.</p> - -<p>Ross whirled to the barred window.</p> - -<p>The bars weren't there any more.</p> - -<p>Stiff-faced, stumbling, Ross sank down onto the bed.</p> - -<p>Only then, seemingly out of nowhere, Cheng spoke to him: Cheng, the -smuggler; Cheng, the slaver; Cheng, the black-browed, scar-faced killer -from the Belt:</p> - -<p>"All right, Thigpen. Listen to me. This is the way we're going to play, -and I don't mean to tell you more than once."</p> - -<p>Ross came up from his seat as if on springs. Wildly, he looked this way -and that.</p> - -<p>To no avail. There was no sign of anyone in either room.</p> - -<p>"Get this, now, Thigpen. Get it the first time."</p> - -<p>Slowly, Ross turned, searching.</p> - -<p>The thing lay on a table close at hand—one of those silvery spheres -known as memory balls, a tiny, self-contained speaker unit only -slightly larger than a marble yet still capable of repeating once any -brief statement made in its immediate vicinity.</p> - -<p>Cheng's voice again: "A man runs a woman into his place in a -space-sack, he likes her some, Thigpen. That's the way I see it."</p> - -<p>Ross dug his nails into the table.</p> - -<p>"Call her a hostage if you want to, Thigpen. Because she don't come -back till I get the formula for that life catalyst stuff you took off -old Tornelescu."</p> - -<p>Ross' eyes seemed to draw deeper into his skull, his head to sink -farther down between his shoulders.</p> - -<p>"Of course, if you're the kind of chitza don't give a filan how long it -takes the wench to die, that won't mean nothing to you."</p> - -<p>Ross stood as if carved in granite.</p> - -<p>"Maybe you <i>do</i> like her, though." Cheng chuckled maliciously. "Well, -then, that makes it simple: you just hang around awhile at a place they -call Naraki's. It's down in the old port quarter." A fragmentary pause. -"You got that, Thigpen? You just stick at Naraki's kabat-dive till -somebody comes and gets you.</p> - -<p>"Otherwise—no more Veta Hall!"</p> - -<p>The memory ball clicked off.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2>CHAPTER IV</h2> - -<p class="ph1">THE GULFERS</p> - - -<p>Ross carried it clear to Commandant Padora, at FedGov Security -headquarters.</p> - -<p>At that level, the conversation didn't last long.</p> - -<p>"And just what is your mission, Mr. Ross?" The commandant's voice rang -chill, even through the com-set.</p> - -<p>Ross ran his tongue along dry lips. "To recover Doctor Tornelescu's -notes and formulae pertaining to the life catalyst at the earliest -possible moment, sir."</p> - -<p>"To the best of your knowledge and belief, does Cheng hold those -papers?"</p> - -<p>"No, sir."</p> - -<p>"Does the Hall girl?"</p> - -<p>"No, sir."</p> - -<p>"Do either of them know what's become of the batch of prepared catalyst -allegedly taken from Tornelescu's laboratory?"</p> - -<p>"Not so far as I know, sir."</p> - -<p>"The situation seems clear enough to me, then." Commandant Padora's -tongue bore a scalpel edge. "You hold the rank of special agent in -this organization, Mr. Ross. That entails a certain obligation. Among -other things, it means that when you're assigned a mission, you carry -it out, without quixotic sidetrips to rescue maidens in distress."</p> - -<p>Ross flushed even in the darkness of the com-booth. "Yes, sir."</p> - -<p>"To save time for both of us, then, I suggest that from now on you -remember you're masquerading under the name and in the garb of Lewis -Thigpen for one purpose only: to decoy Tornelescu's killer out of -hiding."</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir."</p> - -<p>"Then get on with it! That's an order!"</p> - -<p>Ross swore beneath his breath as the line went dead. Savagely, he -dialed another number.</p> - -<p>A brisk male voice: "FedGov Building Seven."</p> - -<p>"Get me Pike Mawson's office."</p> - -<p>"That's Department of Litigation, sir. One moment."</p> - -<p>A female voice: "Department of Litigation, Adjudicator Mawson's office."</p> - -<p>"Let me talk to Mr. Mawson."</p> - -<p>More time out. Then: "Adjudicator Mawson speaking."</p> - -<p>"Thigpen here."</p> - -<p>"Thigpen, Lewis Thigpen?" The adjudicator's voice grew brusque and -chill. "I'm afraid you have the wrong party, sir. I don't know anyone -named Thigpen."</p> - -<p>"Listen, Mawson—"</p> - -<p>"Murderers are hardly to my taste, sir. Even if I did know Thigpen, -it would be my greatest pleasure to turn him over to Security for -immediate prosecution."</p> - -<p>Angrily, Ross slammed up the com-set and stalked forth from the booth.</p> - -<p>Outside, the street was empty, without even a transor in sight. Turning -right, Ross strode grimly towards the nearest avenue. His face was set -in bitter, deep-hewn lines, but no hesitation showed in his carriage or -his manner. Rather, an air of hard, aggressive recklessness now marked -him. Tension was in his stance, his movements—the sort of surging -drive that calls for quick release in action.</p> - -<p>Only then, of a sudden, close behind him, a power-unit crescendoed from -hum to thunder. Wheels screamed as they scraped a curb.</p> - -<p>Ross dived sidewise by reflex, not even glancing backward.</p> - -<p>Careening, a vanster hurtled across the spot where he'd stood, then -rocked back into the street and raced out of sight.</p> - -<p>The man in the control-seat was the same one who'd appeared close by -Zoltan Prenzz' apartment.</p> - -<p>Tight-lipped, Ross picked himself up and brushed the dust from his -clothes, then continued warily on to the avenue.</p> - -<p>Here there were transors. In seconds, Ross was on his way to the old -port quarter and Naraki's.</p> - -<p>The place was a kabat-dive, as Cheng had said; the clientele cold-eyed, -hard-faced, seclusive.</p> - -<p>Ross started drinking.</p> - -<p>Three kabats later, a lounger with the dark, lethal look of Malya blood -about him passed Ross' elbow. "Ramp 9-D, Thigpen."</p> - -<p>It was deftly done, with unmoving lips. To all outward appearances, the -man hadn't even spoken.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The ramp held a freighter with a space-pocked, time-battered hull -that hid a high-capacity neutron drive capable of powering a Grade IX -cruiser.</p> - -<p>Ross boarded the ship in bleak silence, with questions neither asked -nor answered on either side. Pausing at the galley, he gulped food till -he could hold no more, then slumped down in a bunk to sleep out the -trip in a state of something close to complete exhaustion.</p> - -<p>And then, seemingly in seconds or minutes rather than hours, the craft -was ramping again, dropping down amid the cliffs and crags and craters -of a bleak asteroidal landscape.</p> - -<p>Still blinking the sleep from his eyes, Ross stumbled through a -cargo-shaft, into a vast, cave-concealed shelter.</p> - -<p>There were corridors, after that, and shaft-lifts; and, finally, a -long, narrow, cell-like room with a barred door.</p> - -<p>The two men who'd guided Ross shoved him in; slammed shut the -self-locking door behind him.</p> - -<p>Grim-faced, Ross turned.</p> - -<p>"Thigpen!" Veta Hall ran towards him, out of the shadows at the far -end of the room. Gladness rang in her voice; shone from her face. "You -came! You came!"</p> - -<p>"Did I have a choice?" Ross' smile held little mirth. "I got you into -this, Veta; trussed you up in a sack like a pigeon for Cheng to grab. -The least I can do is try to get you out."</p> - -<p>"Don't worry, Thigpen. You can get her out."</p> - -<p>Igor Cheng speaking, this time.</p> - -<p>Ross turned sharply.</p> - -<p>The scar-faced, black-browed smuggler-slaver-outlaw stood just beyond -the barred door, lips peeled back in a death's head grin. His thumbs -were hooked in his broad belt, and his expression was that of a man -well-satisfied with his world.</p> - -<p>Ross' face went wooden.</p> - -<p>"You ready to talk?" Cheng prodded.</p> - -<p>"Would I be here if I wasn't?"</p> - -<p>"Well, where's that formula? Let's see it!" Cheng thrust a hairy hand -between the bars.</p> - -<p>Ross shrugged. "Did you think I'd be fool enough to bring it with me?"</p> - -<p>"Then what—?"</p> - -<p>"You'll have to take us to it."</p> - -<p>"Where?"</p> - -<p>"Venus. That place you crashed me."</p> - -<p>Cheng leaned on the bars—brutal face darkening; scar livid. His voice -came out a snarl: "Don't try it, you starbo! Don't try it!"</p> - -<p>Ross met the slaver's glare coldly. "What shouldn't I try?"</p> - -<p>"That yodor Venus business!" Cheng gripped one of the doorbars with -thick fingers. "My pickup crew brought in a gorvide detector. We went -over every inch of your carrier; that whole section we traveled. And -all we came up with was this!"</p> - -<p>Reaching into a pocket, he brought out Ross' doloid identification band -and tossed it down on the floor of the cell.</p> - -<p>Momentarily, Ross' eyes narrowed a fraction; that was all.</p> - -<p>"You take that too good, you zanat!" the slaver observed. "You held too -tight on it. So maybe you better start off this party by saying who -Stewart Ross is, and how you got your picture on his bracelet."</p> - -<p>Ross shook his head, a fraction too swiftly. "I've never seen it -before."</p> - -<p>"Don't waste your breath, starbo!" Cheng leaned on the bars. "I call -the turn here, and I say you talk—about Tornelescu's formula; that -band, there; anything at all. You can do it quick, or you can hurt -awhile first. Make up your mind."</p> - -<p>"In that case—"</p> - -<p>"You're still stalling. You came here to stall." The slaver's scar -twitched. "You thought you'd send me off on some ban-crazy run, while -you sneaked away with the girl. Only it won't work." A fragmentary -pause. "Where's that formula?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know—"</p> - -<p>"I said, it won't work!" Cheng gestured to his men. "Strip the lousy -chitza. See if it's in his stuff."</p> - -<p>A brief flurry of struggle; then a search—the thorough kind of search -that took account of every seam, every stain; coins, flamer, writer, -pad.</p> - -<p>It netted nothing.</p> - -<p>Cheng said, "Good enough, Thigpen. I'm glad you're this stubborn. It -gives me a chance to loosen you up."</p> - -<p>He turned to his men. "Bring 'em in."</p> - -<p>Wordless, Ross pulled on his clothes. A light sheen of sweat glistened -on his forehead.</p> - -<p>Cheng said to Veta, "This zanat was good on the one end. He got all -those people for old Tornelescu—the ones the doc tested the catalyst -on. They say he even did the work, too; squirted the stuff in with an -aeroderm. By the reports on the show-screen, he must have killed over -two thousand."</p> - -<p>Cheng's helpers came back, rolling a wheeled case so broad it -completely blocked the barred doorway.</p> - -<p>"Like I said," the smuggler smirked, "this boy's good on the one end. -Now we'll see how he fits on the other."</p> - -<p>He stepped back, out of the way. His men rolled the case up tight to -the door, then lifted a sliding hatch at the end.</p> - -<p>Slithering sounds came from the case. Then, quickly, a strange, -grey-black form slid through the open hatch, between the door's bars, -and down onto the floor of the cell.</p> - -<p>Veta drew a swift, noisy breath. Her voice cracked. "<i>Gulfers—!</i>"</p> - -<p>The sweat on Ross' forehead began to bead. A greyness came to the -corners of his mouth.</p> - -<p>Now a second of the creatures slithered down onto the floor. Then a -third, and a fourth.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>There was a horror in the creatures' very shapelessness. Flat, -sprawling, like six- or seven-foot patches of dampness, they undulated -over the floor in an erratic, wave-like pattern, closer and closer to -Ross and the girl.</p> - -<p>Tight-lipped, a step at a time, his arm about Veta, he drew back to -the far end of the narrow room.</p> - -<p>Fumbling in her shoulder-bag, the girl brought forth her vocorn pipe. -Without a word, she began to play a strange, wailing tune.</p> - -<p>As if by magic, the gulfers' wave-patterns lost their erratic touches. -Now they moved smoothly, in a sort of hideously-rhythmic dance.</p> - -<p>Beyond the barred door and the wheeled cage, Cheng laughed harshly. -"That's it!" he jeered. "See who lasts longer, the girl or the gulfers! -There's plenty of time!"</p> - -<p>Veta's face paled. The smooth flow of her music grew ragged.</p> - -<p>Instantly, the gulfers once again moved forward.</p> - -<p>Ross drew back yet another step; threw the girl a quick look.</p> - -<p>Her fingers, her hands, her whole body was shaking. Horror crawled in -her eyes—but not for an instant did she lift them from the advancing -gulfers, even though she swayed as if on the verge of fainting.</p> - -<p>Ross held her close; braced her. But she only shook harder. Her piping -had lost all traces of pattern, of rhythm. Far from halting the -gulfers, it now seemed to draw them, incite them.</p> - -<p>Beyond the barred door, Cheng laughed again in fierce, sadistic triumph.</p> - -<p>Ross gripped Veta tighter. "Stop it, girl! Stop the piping!"</p> - -<p>She gave no sign that she'd heard him. After a moment, he reached -down ... pulled the pipe from her lips.</p> - -<p>Now, for the first time, she tore her eyes from the hideous things on -the floor. "No, no! Let me pipe! They'll come—they'll engulf us!"</p> - -<p>Ross said gently, "They'll come anyhow. You can't stop them. So now -it's time I tried."</p> - -<p>"Time—you tried—?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. Just as soon as I tell you something."</p> - -<p>Some of the blank horror left Veta's eyes. "Tell me—? What?"</p> - -<p>Low-voiced, Ross said, "I don't want us to die with you thinking I'm -Lewis Thigpen. That bracelet Cheng found was mine. My name's Stewart -Ross, and I'm a Security Agent. Actually, Thigpen died of a heart -attack before Tornelescu was killed. But whoever murdered Tornelescu -doesn't know that. He's geared to go after Thigpen, because the -catalyst formulas and notes use a code for ingredients, and Thigpen's -the only one who knew it. So we figured a fake Thigpen would draw the -killer out of hiding."</p> - -<p>He stopped abruptly. "I wanted you to know." And then, staring down at -the gulfers as moment by moment they closed in: "Here. Give me your -pipe."</p> - -<p>But Veta's fingers tightened about it. "No. Not till I've told you -something too, Stewart. You see, I had to help Mawson. It was the only -way I could keep my brother Sanford out of Venus Barracks. But I didn't -dare tell you. Mawson—he could have had Tornelescu murdered. And he -sent Cheng after you, too, thinking you were Thigpen. Only I think -he'd seen Thigpen someplace or other, so when he saw you, he knew you -weren't the right man—"</p> - -<p>Ross broke in, "I'm sorry, Veta. There's no more time for talk. For -real, we either do or die right now."</p> - -<p>A gulfer brushed his foot as he spoke. Shuddering, Ross' jerked back -hard against the room's rear wall, twisting the vocorn pipe from Veta's -hand.</p> - -<p>Then, like lightning, his arm whipped back, and forward, hurling the -instrument the length of the narrow room, straight at the barred door -and Igor Cheng.</p> - -<p>It was close, a near miss. But Cheng ducked as it hit.</p> - -<p>Simultaneously, Ross dived bodily across the encroaching gulfers.</p> - -<p>He didn't clear the last, but he was rolling when he landed. Before the -creature could get a grip and wrap itself about him, he was on his feet -and lunging for the barred door. Arms extended, thrusting between the -heavy rods, he threw his whole weight on the wheeled cage just beyond.</p> - -<p>The cage rolled back, away, gaining momentum with every turn of the -wheels.</p> - -<p>Something brushed Ross' leg. He whirled as a gulfer started to surge up -about his ankle.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Bending double, Ross caught the monster by one edge and, with a mighty -heave, sent it flapping and slithering between the door's bars, out -into the anteroom beyond.</p> - -<p>The thing almost hit Cheng. With an oath, the slaver leaped away.</p> - -<p>"The cage!" he roared. "Bring back that cage!"</p> - -<p>His aides leaped to obey.</p> - -<p>Ross snatched up a second gulfer; hurled it after the first.</p> - -<p>Cursing and dodging, Cheng's men raced the cage back, striving to block -the door.</p> - -<p>Kicking through the bars, Ross knocked it out of alignment. Then, -grappling with another gulfer, he swung it so it fell on the far side -of the closest man.</p> - -<p>A hoarse yell. The burly, bullet-headed outlaw leaped back against the -bars in his effort to escape contact with the monster.</p> - -<p>Fast as a striking vrong, Ross caught the man by the throat with one -hand and clawed out his victim's light-pistol with the other.</p> - -<p>The first beam he fired scorched the corridor wall less than a foot -from Igor Cheng's head. The second dropped Cheng's other helper in his -tracks.</p> - -<p>The slaver sprinted away like a scared ban.</p> - -<p>Ross' voice crackled. "All right, you! Do you live or die?"</p> - -<p>But now, equilibrium recovered, his prisoner only sneered. "Go ahead. -Shoot. A fat lot of good it'll do you, locked up there in that room."</p> - -<p>Ross' nostrils flared. He dug the pistol deep into the other's broad -back.</p> - -<p>But Veta caught his arm. "No, Stewart! No! That's not the way!"</p> - -<p>And then, to the guard: "Look, Burrage: this is your chance as well as -ours."</p> - -<p>"My chance—?" The man's eyes rolled as he tried to look far enough -round to see her.</p> - -<p>"Yes, of course." Veta moved closer. "Did Cheng tell you a batch of -Tornelescu's life catalyst was stolen, along with the formulas?"</p> - -<p>"It was—?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, and it's worth millions—more money than you can even count."</p> - -<p>"Where is it?"</p> - -<p>"Porforio, on Ganymede."</p> - -<p>"Millions, you say—?" The man called Burrage was almost drooling. "I -could get you out of here and down to Ganymede for that."</p> - -<p>"Then do it," Veta said. And, to Ross: "Here, let me have that." She -levered the light-pistol from his hand.</p> - -<p>"Hurry! Blast the lock!" Burrage grated. "Another minute, and Cheng may -be back!"</p> - -<p>"Of course," Veta nodded. "It's just that there's one other detail I -want clear before we break out. About Stewart, here."</p> - -<p>Ross stared. "What—?"</p> - -<p>Coolly, Veta leveled the pistol at his belly. "I'm sorry, Stewart," she -said, "but you're coming as a prisoner.</p> - -<p>"You see, the man who has that batch of catalyst is my brother, Sanford -Hall!"</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2>CHAPTER V</h2> - -<p class="ph1">SMELL OF DEATH</p> - - -<p>Porforio. Queen city of Ganymede, gem of the outer planets. Bright -lights and broad avenues and the graceful architecture of a superior -culture, all sealed beneath a gigantic plastic bubble.</p> - -<p>Cold-eyed, Ross followed Veta and the man called Burrage as they -stepped from the transit belt and approached a low, smooth-lined row of -buildings.</p> - -<p>Veta said, "The last place is my brother's."</p> - -<p>Ross nodded, not speaking, and lengthened his stride.</p> - -<p>They reached the entrance. Veta started to step into the warning-beam.</p> - -<p>But now Burrage caught her arm. "Oh, no, you don't! We're not about to -let him know we're coming!" Then, pulling the girl back, he brought a -long, hand-broad, wire-and-plastic tube, a beam-bridge, from beneath -his tunic. Deftly, for all his lumbering-ape appearance, he slapped the -ends of it over both door-casing outlet tubes at the same instant, so -swift and smooth that the umbrian waves' flow was broken by only the -faintest of <i>click-clicks</i>.</p> - -<p>"See? Simple!" Burrage bared stained yellow fangs in an anthropoid -grin. "This way, we'll just surprise him." He shoved the door open; -gestured. "Stay ahead of me from here on, you two. It's like I say: I -really trust you."</p> - -<p>Wordless, Ross passed through the doorway, Veta close on his heels.</p> - -<p>Sanford Hall's unit was on the second level.</p> - -<p>Again, Burrage pushed Ross ahead, then drew his blaster and turned its -dial from penetrosion to the impact level. "I'll hit the bolt," he -grunted. "The second it shatters, you dive in."</p> - -<p>A muffled crash, like that of a gigantic hammer striking. The door -burst open. Ross lunged in.</p> - -<p>The room was empty.</p> - -<p>Now Burrage and Veta joined him. The girl's face was a study in blank -disbelief as she stared this way and that. For his part, Burrage walked -in ever-widening circles like a caged animal—head thrust forward, long -arms dangling.</p> - -<p>Ross' lips twisted wryly. He leaned back against the wall.</p> - -<p>Abruptly, Burrage halted; turned on Veta. "All right, where is he?" he -slashed savagely. "Me, I risk my neck with Cheng an' the FedGov too to -come here—an' now your stinkin' brother's not even here—"</p> - -<p>He broke off. His brows drew together a fraction, and he sniffed. "This -place stinks, even!" he announced vehemently.</p> - -<p>Now, Ross, too, was sniffing, straightening. His eyes flicked over the -empty room, then fixed on the door of an old-fashioned closet of the -pre-sealer period over in one corner.</p> - -<p>Crossing to it with quick strides, he jerked the door open.</p> - -<p>A stench rolled out into the room. Hastily, Ross shoved the portal -almost closed again. "Burrage! Come here!"</p> - -<p>The other was beside him in one ape-like bound.</p> - -<p>Ungently, Ross shoved him a step to one side. "Get over that way a -little. I don't want to open this any farther than I have to." And -then. "Ready?"</p> - -<p>The other's bullet head bobbed.</p> - -<p>"Here goes, then—"</p> - -<p>Burrage leaned forward.</p> - -<p>Ross jerked the door open once more, swinging it with savage, driving -violence. The edge smashed at Burrage's forehead like a poleaxe.</p> - -<p>Simultaneously, Ross leaped sidewise, kicking for the back of the -other's knees.</p> - -<p>The kicked leg went out from under Burrage. Before the man could hit -the floor, Ross kicked again—to the temple, this time, short and -brutal.</p> - -<p>Yet still the man caught Ross' foot ... held it ... jerked him down.</p> - -<p>Ross kicked with the other foot—a heel-smash to the teeth.</p> - -<p>A guttural, animalistic sound burst from Burrage's throat. Letting go -Ross' foot, he clawed forward, grappling.</p> - -<p>Rolling across him, Ross clutched for the fallen blaster.</p> - -<p>In the same instant, Burrage seized Ross by the hips in a bear-hug. -The muscles along his back and shoulders writhed as he drew the grip -tighter and tighter.</p> - -<p>Ross sucked in air in an anguished gasp. Fumbling, he stabbed at his -antagonist with the blaster.</p> - -<p>But always the quarters were too close, the danger of killing them both -too great.</p> - -<p>Burrage tightened his grip. A sound of bone scraping bone came dimly.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Now Veta flung herself into the fray, beating vainly at Burrage's back -and shoulders.</p> - -<p>She might as well have been a moth on the far side of the room.</p> - -<p>Groaning, Ross smashed the blaster down atop Burrage's bullet head.</p> - -<p>But the weapon was for shooting, not striking. At the second blow, the -light metalloplast alloy shattered.</p> - -<p>Veta cried, "Back, Stewart! Roll him back!"</p> - -<p>Back bowing, Ross heaved. Together, he and Burrage toppled over.</p> - -<p>And now, Burrage's bullet head was close beside the closet door again. -Panting and sobbing, Veta swung the portal at the close-cropped skull, -slamming it home again and again.</p> - -<p>More animal sounds from Burrage. He let go of Ross' hips and, -spasmodically, tried to twist away.</p> - -<p>Without avail. Ross held him tight.</p> - -<p>Another blow from the door-edge ... then another....</p> - -<p>Of a sudden, Burrage went limp.</p> - -<p>Ross sagged back also, sucking in air in great, lung-deep gulps while -Veta cradled his head, sobbing hysterically.</p> - -<p>Then, at last, Ross dragged himself up from her lap, and finally from -the floor. Unsteadily, he lurched to the closet door, half-opened it, -and once again stared into the space beyond.</p> - -<p>Veta started to join him. But he shoved her back. "No. You wouldn't -want to."</p> - -<p>She stared at him blankly. "I wouldn't want to what?"</p> - -<p>"You wouldn't want to see what's in there." Ross shuddered. "Smelling -it's bad enough."</p> - -<p>The girl turned pale.</p> - -<p>For now, the stench in the room was well-nigh unbearable.</p> - -<p>A hideous stench. The same appalling odor that had permeated the room -in which Zoltan Prenzz died.</p> - -<p>Ross said, "Go over by the hall door, Veta. And stay there."</p> - -<p>Lips trembling, the girl obeyed.</p> - -<p>Stiff-faced, Ross opened the closet, then dropped to one knee and -peered this way and that.</p> - -<p>The thing inside had been a man once. Now, there remained only an -oozing heap of protoplasmic horror.</p> - -<p>From the far end of the room, Veta said faintly, "Is—is it Sanford?"</p> - -<p>"The clothes are his." Ross answered in a toneless voice. "Beyond that, -I doubt that anyone could say."</p> - -<p>He straightened; turned to go.</p> - -<p>And there it was, written in slime, chest high on the door's inner -side. 3/111 and the outline of a triangle squared.</p> - -<p>Standing so he blocked the closet, Ross swung the door all the way back -against the wall. "Veta!"</p> - -<p>"Yes, Stewart—?" Quickly, she came to him.</p> - -<p>He pointed to the symbols on the door. "Do these mean anything to you?"</p> - -<p>"Three one-hundred-elevenths of a triangle squared—?" Brow furrowed, -she stared at the inscription for a long moment. "No, I'm afraid it -doesn't."</p> - -<p>"It does to me," Ross said.</p> - -<p>Veta's head came round. "It does—? What?"</p> - -<p>"It means we're getting closer." Ross smiled thinly. "And just in case -you wonder what we're getting closer to, the answer is; closer and -closer to Tornelescu's life catalyst, closer to the formula ... maybe -even closer to Adjudicator Pike Mawson."</p> - -<p>Veta's eyes suddenly were shadowed. She looked away and bit her lip.</p> - -<p>Ross said, "You don't seem very happy."</p> - -<p>"Stewart—Please, Stewart...." Veta broke off, lips aquiver. And then, -in a shaky, uneven voice: "Can't we forget about them, Stewart—all of -them—the catalyst, the formula, Mawson?"</p> - -<p>"Oh?"</p> - -<p>"Don't you understand? There's death in that catalyst, Stewart—death -in it, and everything about it. It's cursed. Anyone who even comes -close to it goes.—Like Sanford—"</p> - -<p>"I know," Ross said. But the words held no sympathy, no understanding. -"Now that your brother's dead, the catalyst's cursed. We should forget -about it."</p> - -<p>Veta's face came up. She stared at Ross. "Stewart, please—"</p> - -<p>Ross kept on as if she hadn't spoken. "The only question is," he -clipped, "will some other people forget about it just as easily?"</p> - -<p>"Other people—?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. People like Commandant Padora of Security, for instance; he's -hunting for me, you know. And Cheng—when do you suppose he'll quit? -Mawson, too. That man who followed me on Japetus. Astrell. All the -others who've got a finger in this pie—" Ross broke off; laughed -harshly. "I don't think quitting's going to be as easy as you think, -Veta; not by half-a-million light-years."</p> - -<p>"But we could run for it, Stewart!" Of a sudden Veta's words came quick -and eager. "Even Security doesn't reach everywhere, nor Cheng either. -The satellites off the beaten track—even an asteroid with an out-size -orbit like Hidalgo's—we could go there. It might be years before they -found us, if they ever did."</p> - -<p>"True enough," Ross nodded. There was a faint edge of contempt in his -voice. "Only I'm not going."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The light in Veta's eyes died. She stared at him in numb silence.</p> - -<p>Ross said, "Your brother's dead, Veta. That seems to be all you care -about.</p> - -<p>"The trouble with me, though, is that I keep thinking about all the -other brothers, and the mothers and fathers and sisters and wives and -husbands and children too—all the people in this solar system who -don't want to die, but who will, just so long as Tornelescu's life -catalyst formula stays in the wrong hands."</p> - -<p>"Stewart—"</p> - -<p>"Whoever's got that catalyst isn't thinking about life, Veta, or people -either. He's thinking about power, the same way Cheng and Burrage think -about it. He knows that as long as people love life, that catalyst -formula can buy the universe for him.</p> - -<p>"That's why I'm not going to run, Veta. And that's why I'm going to -finish this job, bring in that formula, even if it turns out you're -the one who stole it and I have to cut your throat in order to make -recovery."</p> - -<p>A visible tremor ran through Veta Hall. Stumbling, face averted, she -cowered against Ross. "Stewart ..." she whispered. "Please, Stewart, -forgive me. Let me go with you. That's all I ask—" And then: "Hold me, -Stewart. Just hold me."</p> - -<p>Slowly, Ross brought his arms about her. His face was lined, his eyes -somber.</p> - -<p>After a moment, he said, "We've got to go, Veta. Now. Every minute's -precious."</p> - -<p>Instantly, the girl straightened. "Of course, Stewart." A smile, -tremulous and uncertain. "Where—where are we going—?"</p> - -<p>"We'll find out in a minute." Ross stepped over to the wall com-set and -dialed a number. A moment later he said, "Mr. Lindgren, please." And -then, after another pause: "Peter?—This is Stewart."</p> - -<p>A longer pause, replete with sputtering sounds. When the sounds had -died, Ross said, "I know I'm wanted, Peter. That's why I'm calling on -you: I need help, badly. Otherwise I may not be able to wind up this -business, get back that formula. And without the formula I'm in for a -sure short-court."</p> - -<p>More sputtering. More waiting.</p> - -<p>Finally Ross said, "Either you want to help me or you don't, Peter. -What I need is any information you can give me on an address: number -III of side three, Triangle Square, Calor City, Mars."</p> - -<p>Silence. Echoing eternities of silence.</p> - -<p>At last Veta Hall whispered, "What makes you think those symbols -represent that address?"</p> - -<p>"Tornelescu's laboratory was located at number 121, side two. I found -that out at the briefing when I took on this assignment."</p> - -<p>"Oh."</p> - -<p>The com-set again, but with swift, clipped words instead of sputtering.</p> - -<p>A thin smile came to Ross' lips. "Thanks, Peter." He flipped off the -switch.</p> - -<p>Veta's eyes locked with his, her face a wordless question.</p> - -<p>Ross' smile grew. A grim smile, without mirth.</p> - -<p>"Come on," he rapped. "We're back in business." And then, as he -steered the girl towards the door: "Number III's a warehouse owned -by the Japetan Trading Coadunate, and Adjudicator Pike Mawson is the -coadunate's director!"</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2>CHAPTER VI</h2> - -<p class="ph1">ASTRELL</p> - - -<p>The warehouse at III(3) Triangle Square was sealed up tighter than -any tomb. The only windows were those in front, flanking the heavy -turn-plate door that opened on the street side.</p> - -<p>Narrow-eyed, Ross drew Veta back into a patch of shadow, while overhead -Phobos raced Deimos across the sky, the two tiny moons like bright -coins against the black backdrop of the Martian night.</p> - -<p>For the third time, Veta said, "Stewart, it's impossible. There's -simply no way to get in. And even if you found one, what good would it -do? No one's there. The place is dark as the Coalsack."</p> - -<p>"Maybe." Ross' jaw took on a stubborn set. "Then again, maybe not. But -one thing's certain: I didn't lay myself open to charges of everything -from grand theft to piracy in forcing that cruiser to set us down here -just in order to give up now, without even checking."</p> - -<p>Turning, he scanned the deserted square for a moment, then walked -briskly across to the warehouse again, following its left wall until—a -good hundred yards farther on—he reached the rear end.</p> - -<p>Breathing hard, Veta came up beside him. "Stewart, where are you going?"</p> - -<p>Not answering, Ross sidestepped the friendly sniffing of a six-legged -Martian bak and strode to a box that protruded from the warehouse wall, -opened it, and flicked his flamer. Light flared, illumining a neat row -of dials.</p> - -<p>"What—?" Veta began again.</p> - -<p>"Power drain," Ross explained succinctly. "If equipment's running in -there, we'll see it on these meters." A pause, while he checked dial -after dial. Then sudden excitement sprang into his voice: "I was right, -see? Something's going!"</p> - -<p>Dubiously, Veta eyed the indicator. "Maybe it's an air-wash. Or a -heater."</p> - -<p>"Those take more power. This is a light or two; a show-screen, maybe." -Ross snapped shut the cover of the flamer. "No, Veta. Somebody's in -there. So now we'll smoke 'em out!"</p> - -<p>Pivoting as he spoke, he stepped to the bak and picked it up, then -paused briefly while he manipulated the ugly, six-legged creature's -ventral plates.</p> - -<p>The bak gave a sigh of vast pleasure and settled deeper into the haven -of Ross' arms.</p> - -<p>Veta stared. "Stewart Ross, have you lost your mind completely?"</p> - -<p>"Probably." Ross chuckled. "Hand me that rock, will you?"</p> - -<p>The girl's expression showed her reaction plainly. But, following Ross' -gesture, she obeyed.</p> - -<p>"Thanks." Ross hefted the boulder thoughtfully. "For the rest of it, -all you have to do is stay here."</p> - -<p>"Stay here—?"</p> - -<p>"Till I get back."</p> - -<p>Veta's head came up. Her lips firmed. "And why should I do that?"</p> - -<p>"Because I'm asking you to." Ross came closer; slipped his free arm -about her waist. "If you want me to, I can even put logic behind it: -even though you probably wonder why, I—well, I wouldn't say I hate -you. I'd like you to live long enough to give me a chance to prove it.</p> - -<p>"On the other side of it, I'm not sure I can trust you. You held out -on me about your brother, and his stealing the catalyst. Then, when -I found his body, you hardly shed a tear. Maybe that was nervous -exhaustion. Or relief that finally, for good, he was off starak. Or, -maybe, you just hated me so much there wasn't any room left for tears.</p> - -<p>"Anyhow, regardless of the angle, I want you here, not with me."</p> - -<p>Veta's shoulders began to shake, harder and harder. Tears welled and -overflowed her eyes; coursed down her face. She brought up a hand and -bit at it, as if only thus she could hold back her fury!</p> - -<p>"Rack you, Stewart Ross!" she choked. "Rack you! Rack you for a -chitza—"</p> - -<p>Again, the shaking. The bak under Ross' arm stuck out its thick, -prickly tongue to catch the falling tears.</p> - -<p>Ross said, "Now you won't feel so bad if I don't come back. And just to -make sure you stay here and obey orders—"</p> - -<p>He stepped back quickly. The hand that had been about Veta's waist -knotted into a club-fist. For the second time in the brief hours that -he'd known her, he brought up a short, hard blow that snapped the -girl's head back.</p> - -<p>Then, catching her before she could fall, he brushed her lips gently -with his own and laid her gently in the shadows along the base of the -next building.</p> - -<p>That done, Ross straightened. Almost casually, he strolled to the front -of the warehouse, tugging at the bak's ventral plates as he walked, -so that the creature gave out a steady stream of contented sighs and -hisses.</p> - -<p>Ahead, Triangle Square spread out before Ross. With seeming unconcern, -he glanced right and left.</p> - -<p>Still no one in sight.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Shifting the rock Veta had picked up for him to his right hand, Ross -paused long enough to work the bak into a comfortable position.</p> - -<p>With cool deliberation, then, he stepped back and hurled the rock with -full force at the nearest of the two warehouse windows.</p> - -<p>A crash. The window shattered.</p> - -<p>Ducking close, Ross kicked away the shards along the sill. A quick, -wary step, and he was over it and inside the warehouse office ... -fading back into the nearest corner.</p> - -<p>Somewhere close at hand, a latch clicked. A black oblong opened in the -wall across the room.</p> - -<p>Ross went down on his haunches. Deftly, he slid the bak out away from -him, along the floor.</p> - -<p>Six-plate-rimmed feet made small, slithering sounds as the creature -darted through the darkness.</p> - -<p>Like lightning, over by the black oblong, a paragun whished faintly as -the purple beam leaped from its muzzle.</p> - -<p>Swift, silent, Ross crept along the wall in a flanking movement.</p> - -<p>Simultaneously, off to one side, the bak ran wide in sudden panic.</p> - -<p>Again, the paragun spoke.</p> - -<p>But the marksman was shooting at his visualization of a man, not an -underslung, six-legged, alley bak. As before, the shot went far high.</p> - -<p>This time, though, Ross was closer. Coming up fast to full height, he -leaped in, grappling for the weapon. The edge of his right hand came -down on the other's gun-wrist with smashing force.</p> - -<p>The blow tore a choked cry from his opponent's throat. The paragun -clattered to the floor.</p> - -<p>Before Ross could leap in, the other whirled and fled. Snatching up the -paragun, Ross followed.</p> - -<p>Down a broad corridor and past a brightly-lighted room they ran; then -on into utter darkness. When a crash of jangling metal echoed ahead, -Ross fired at it.</p> - -<p>A body fell with a sodden thud. Cat-silent, paragun at the ready, Ross -ran toward the sound.</p> - -<p>He tripped and almost fell across his adversary in the darkness ... a -dead adversary, now.</p> - -<p>Not quite steadily, Ross flicked on his flamer ... stared down into the -other's face.</p> - -<p>It was the man who'd been at Zoltan Prenzz' place; the man who'd later -tried to run him down as he headed for Naraki's.</p> - -<p>A check of the man's pockets revealed nothing whatever of importance. -Bleakly, Ross turned him over.</p> - -<p>The move threw the flamer's light onto the stacked cases beside which -the dead man lay.</p> - -<p>Ross took one look. His hand jerked back by sheer reflex. Hastily, he -snapped shut the flamer's lid.</p> - -<p>His victim had died resting against row after row of fifty-gallon -plastidrums of deadly, hair-trigger steron auxiliary flare-fuel, -designed for use in atmospheres where nothing else would burn!</p> - -<p>Unsteadily, Ross rose and made his way back to the area close to the -lighted room.</p> - -<p>A switch-box loomed in the dimness. Ross threw the whole bank.</p> - -<p>Like magic, light came to the warehouse. Cases appeared, piled high on -either side of long, echoing aisles. Overhead, two catwalks—accessible -by ladders—ran the length of the building, one above the other.</p> - -<p>For a moment Ross stood brooding. Then, quickly, he disconnected the -lines that served the warehouse lights, leaving only the set that -supplied the office area.</p> - -<p>Moving into the lighted room, next, he looked about.</p> - -<p>A case stood on the central table ... a neat black plastic cube perhaps -six inches high.</p> - -<p>Ross suddenly had trouble with his breathing. Not too steadily, he -crossed to the table and opened the black cube.</p> - -<p>A bracket in the top held a shiny aeroderm injector. Beyond that, the -contents resembled a honeycomb—a honeycomb whose each cell was a -glistening, hermetically-sealed plastic ampule.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Stiff-fingered, Ross closed and sealed the cube again and, gripping it -tightly beneath his arm, hurried back to the office next to the street, -the one through which he'd entered via the broken window.</p> - -<p>In the darkness, something slithered. Ross jumped, then halted, -grinning wryly. Going to the outer door, he unbolted and opened it.</p> - -<p>Plates rattling, all six feet slithering, the bak scurried out into the -night.</p> - -<p>Warily, Ross once again surveyed the square outside.</p> - -<p>It still seemed deserted. He started forward.</p> - -<p>Only then, before he could so much as cross the threshold, something -gouged into his back. A familiar, too-dulcet voice said, "No, Thigpen."</p> - -<p>Ross stopped short. "Astrell—!"</p> - -<p>"Of course." The woman laughed gaily. "You see, Thigpen, I get what I -want. I have that kind of perseverance."</p> - -<p>Ross said nothing.</p> - -<p>"Back, now. Close the door and lock it," Astrell continued. And then: -"Aren't you wondering how I got here, dearest? Just this once, haven't -I surprised you?"</p> - -<p>Ross shrugged.</p> - -<p>But apparently no answer was needed or expected. Astrell went on -talking anyhow:</p> - -<p>"Let's go back where the lights are, Thigpen. I'm dreadfully tired of -standing in the dark. And—oh, yes, I found that address on Sanford -Hall's closet door too. I must have been right behind you. I'd arranged -in advance to meet Sanford, you know—that's why he'd stolen the -catalyst, so I'd give him money to buy all the starak he needed for the -rest of his life. So I figured out the message, of course, since I'd -been to Calor City often years ago, and knew all about Triangle Square. -My cruiser put me down here even before you. In fact, I was watching -when you broke in—"</p> - -<p>Abruptly, Astrell stopped talking long enough to push Ross into the -lighted office. She gestured to the black cube with one puffy hand. "Is -that it? Is that the catalyst?"</p> - -<p>Ross drew a quick breath. "No, it isn't."</p> - -<p>"Don't lie to me! Of course it is!" Astrell's beady eyes grew bright -above their pouches. "I'm going to have it right now! I'm going to be -young again. You'll see!"</p> - -<p>"Will I?" Ross set the cube down on the table. "Or will I just see you -drop dead in your tracks?"</p> - -<p>"Drop dead—?" The woman's eyes widened. Her wrinkles cut deeper. -"You're trying to scare me, aren't you?—To frighten me into giving up -the catalyst after all that I've gone through to get it!"</p> - -<p>"You think so?" Ross asked tightly. "Let me tell you a few things about -this stuff. At the end Tornelescu perfected it, yes. But no one knows -whether this batch was made before or after that. At the very best, -it's tricky. Not because of the catalyst itself, but because everybody -wants fast action. So, Tornelescu made it fast: he tied it in with a -metabolic speeder, so that the whole cell structure of your body would -change in hours or minutes, instead of weeks or months or years. If it -worked, you'd be young in a hurry.</p> - -<p>"The only trouble was, if it didn't work, it killed you. That's how -Tornelescu got on Security's 'wanted' list. He was too eager. He tested -new batches on living human beings; he didn't care how many died while -he was working out the proper balance."</p> - -<p>Astrell's voice rose. "You lie! You lie!" Her pudgy hands were shaking -also. Her face looked as if it were going to crack and fall apart.</p> - -<p>"It's up to you," Ross shrugged. "If you think it's worth the gamble, -go right ahead and take your chances."</p> - -<p>Eyes haunted, Astrell stared at him. "You ... you really think it ... -might kill me—?"</p> - -<p>Wordless, Ross shrugged again.</p> - -<p>Only then, sudden in the stillness, a new voice sang out.</p> - -<p>Or, rather, in terms of other than this time and place, an old, -familiar voice.</p> - -<p>The ugly, snarling voice of Cheng the slaver.</p> - -<p>"I'm coming in, you—Thigpen, or whatever your name is!" he shouted -fiercely. "Don't try to stop me. I've got your girl in front of me: -she'll take the first blast!"</p> - -<p>Ross went rigid.</p> - -<p>"You! You hear me?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. I hear you."</p> - -<p>"Stand back, then!"</p> - -<p>Ross swept the room with one desperate glance.</p> - -<p>It gave him no answers. It didn't even provide shelter. For now, -looking up, he saw that the offices actually were part of the storage -area, chopped up and cut off with eight-foot, unceilinged partitions.</p> - -<p>Cheng again: "You better have that catalyst this time, you chitza! -That's what I'm here for. If I don't get it, you won't live to tell it."</p> - -<p>Now Astrell looked up, her face a study in unnatural pallor. "The -catalyst—he means to take it!"</p> - -<p>Ross didn't bother to answer.</p> - -<p>Astrell cried, "I won't let him! He can't do it!"</p> - -<p>Cheng: "Your woman dies if you try to shoot, Thigpen! Just remember -that!"</p> - -<p>Astrell: "I'll take it! That's it, I'll take it now! They say even one -injection makes you young!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>She stumbled forward. Claw-like, her fingers tore at the black cube -with the catalyst, the injector.</p> - -<p>"Stop it, you old fool!" Ross clipped. He reached out to tear the black -box from her.</p> - -<p>Without warning, Astrell let go the case. It left Ross hanging -momentarily off-balance.</p> - -<p>Then, before he could recover, she struck out at him with the paragun -she'd held on him earlier. The barrel hit him in the jaw, just below -the ear.</p> - -<p>Stunned, he lurched back.</p> - -<p>Astrell ripped the cover from the black case. Snatching out the -injector, she forced an ampule into it and with trembling fingers -triggered the spray through the skin of her blue-veined arm.</p> - -<p>As if it were a signal, Cheng appeared in the doorway, Veta Hall held -in front of him as a shield.</p> - -<p>Astrell laughed wildly. "Come ahead!" she cried, arms spread in a -caricature of welcome. "You wanted the catalyst. Here it is. Take it. I -don't care. I've had mine—enough to take care of me for years...."</p> - -<p>Her voice trailed off. An expression of vast surprise spread across her -face. Her pudgy hands sagged to her sides.</p> - -<p>And then, incredibly, she was changing, changing. Before the others' -very eyes, wrinkles began to fade, the slackened skin to firm and fill.</p> - -<p>Her body, too—a youth, a slim litheness, came to replace the sagging -rolls of flesh not even corsetry could successfully conceal. The auburn -hair lost its dull, artificial glitter and, rippling, took on a glow, a -natural sheen.</p> - -<p>Ross sagged back against the table. The livid scar on Cheng's cheek -twitched and quivered.</p> - -<p>Astrell laughed aloud; and now, for the first time in the hearing of -those present, the sound held warmth and vibrance ... the laugh of -a woman, not a crone. Rising on tiptoe, she lifted her hands high -above her head, stretching. Her face, her lips, her eyes, her whole -body—they were suffused with a stunning, dazzling beauty.</p> - -<p>"Do you wonder now that they married me?" she cried triumphantly, -pirouetting. "Seven of them, the richest men in all the outer planets! -And lovers—how many lovers did I take? Now I'll have more—more -husbands, more lovers! Because I'm young again; I'm beautiful...."</p> - -<p>Without warning, her voice trailed off. Her lovely face mirrored sudden -shock.</p> - -<p>Disregarding Cheng's leveled gun, Ross stepped in quickly; caught the -woman's arm. "Astrell! What's wrong?"</p> - -<p>She didn't answer. As swiftly as they had come, the gayness, the -buoyancy, seemed to have gone out of her. Flat-footed, she stumbled -towards the table.</p> - -<p>Only then her knees hinged. She started to fall.</p> - -<p>Ross levered her arm up, bracing her.</p> - -<p>His hands seemed to slip, to slide away. The woman sprawled on the -floor. Her breath came in hoarse, labored gasps.</p> - -<p>Blankly, Ross looked from her to his hands.</p> - -<p>Where his fingers had touched Astrell, slime now dripped from them ... -the same hideous, stinking ooze that had marked the corpse of Zoltan -Prenzz, the death of Sanford Hall....</p> - -<p>Ross' eyes lifted to stare momentarily at Cheng and Veta in numb, dumb -horror, then flicked back to Astrell once more.</p> - -<p>Astrell, a beauty no longer. The features of her face sagged loose and -shapeless. Her body seemed to dissolve into the floor.</p> - -<p>And everywhere, the ooze, the ooze....</p> - -<p>A final, sighing breath. Life left her.</p> - -<p>Choking, Ross stumbled to a corner and tried to scrub the slime from -his hands with a ragged jacket that hung there.</p> - -<p>Behind him, still poised in the doorway with Veta, Cheng said grimly, -"Don't try anything, Thigpen. You're worth money to me. I don't want to -kill you."</p> - -<p>"That's right, Ross. Oh, absolutely right!"</p> - -<p>It was a voice out of nowhere, coolly mocking, familiar yet distorted. -Ross, Cheng, Veta—they all turned, startled.</p> - -<p>The voice again: "As a matter of fact, Ross, you're even more valuable -to me than to Cheng. That's why I'm taking over."</p> - -<p>Ross looked up sharply—really up, into the echoing, empty, -catwalk-spanned reaches of the warehouse that stretched above the -ceilingless partitions of the office rooms.</p> - -<p>Adjudicator Pike Mawson's grav-seat hovered there, high above them. -Smiling, sociable, he nodded to Ross.</p> - -<p>But there was nothing pleasant or sociable about the paragun in his -hand. It stayed steady and unwavering.</p> - -<p>"As I said, my dear Ross," Mawson murmured, gesturing with the weapon, -"I'm taking over."</p> - -<p>He pressed a button in the flying chair's control-arm as he spoke.</p> - -<p>The seat plummeted down into the room.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2>CHAPTER VII</h2> - -<p class="ph1">THIEVES' HONOR</p> - - -<p>It was one of those moments when everything happens at once. For as the -grav-seat dropped, Cheng whipped up his gun, firing at Mawson.</p> - -<p>Veta Hall screamed.</p> - -<p>Ross lunged across the room towards girl and slaver.</p> - -<p>Somewhere outside, a blaster sang its twanging, metallic song of death.</p> - -<p>Ross crashed into Veta and her captor. Driving his shoulder between -them, he jerked the girl from Cheng's grip, even while he smashed a -blow to the outlaw's midriff.</p> - -<p>Cheng stared straight ahead—eyes bulged out, jaw hanging. His hands -stayed at his sides.</p> - -<p>Ross drew back a quick step, uncertainty written on his face.</p> - -<p>Cheng swayed for a moment, first forward and then back.</p> - -<p>The next instant a violent shudder, plainly visible, ran through him. -His paragun clattered to the floor.</p> - -<p>Another second and the smuggler himself half-turned and spilled forward -on his face.</p> - -<p>There was a hole in the small of his back where his spine had been—a -hole well-nigh the size of a man's head, the sort of hole torn by a -blaster-bolt.</p> - -<p>Veta covered her face. Ross clenched his teeth.</p> - -<p>Simultaneously, two men stepped into the doorway. One carried a -short-barreled blaster, the other a paragun. Both wore grins of -sadistic satisfaction.</p> - -<p>Now, off to one side, Pike Mawson spoke again: "Good work, gentlemen, -though a trifle close. If that beam Cheng triggered had sliced three -inches lower, you'd have had to find a new employer."</p> - -<p>Mawson moved a dial on his chair's control-plate. The grav-seat swept -round in a smooth spiral and set down on the floor in front of Ross.</p> - -<p>"Mr. Ross, I believe?" he murmured, eyes asparkle. His face was set in -a peculiar way that made him appear on the verge of smiling.</p> - -<p>Ross' features stayed wooden. "My name's Thigpen."</p> - -<p>"It is?" The adjudicator chuckled, gestured. "Corrack, is this our old -friend Tornelescu's helper, Lewis Thigpen?"</p> - -<p>A snort from the man with the blaster. "Not even in the dark, he ain't -Thigpen."</p> - -<p>"You see, Ross?" Mawson spread his hands in a helpless gesture. -"Corrack grew up in the same colony with Thigpen. He knows him -intimately—drank kabat with him less than an Earth week ago, as a -matter of fact. So there's really no point to your trying to continue -the imposture."</p> - -<p>Ross shrugged, not speaking.</p> - -<p>Mawson said, "On the other side of it, I've succeeded in learning your -real identity, though it cost me no small expense: you're Stewart -Ross, and you hold the rank of special agent with Security. You're -twenty-eight years old. You came from Earth, originally. Your most -recent assignment was breaking up a theol ring on Titan. You've -also dealt with the starak traffic, and with kabatol derivatives in -the Uranian satellite system. Your luck has been so spectacular as -to indicate real ability, and in consequence your superiors—even -including the famous Commandant Padora—have marked you for special -attention and advancement."</p> - -<p>A pause. Mawson's fingers drummed on his chair-arm. "That's why I'm -here, Ross: because I've learned your identity; because I know the kind -of man you are."</p> - -<p>"Oh?" Ross' tone was flat and noncommittal.</p> - -<p>"Yes." The adjudicator gave strong positive emphasis to the word. He -leaned forward. "You see, Ross, I overstepped myself on this life -catalyst venture. Badly."</p> - -<p>Ross' eyes narrowed, just a fraction.</p> - -<p>"In any case," Mawson went on coolly, "I finally find myself in a -position where I have no choice but to make a deal with you ... a very -special sort of deal, one I wouldn't chance with anyone less reliable -and trustworthy."</p> - -<p>Ross frowned. "I don't follow you, Mawson."</p> - -<p>It was the other's turn to shrug. "It's very simple really, Mr. -Ross. My own age, the sense of years creeping upon me, prejudiced my -judgment. So, thinking you were Thigpen, I sent Cheng to Venus to run -you down." The adjudicator shook his head sadly. "It was an error, Mr. -Ross—a grievous error. Guile's my forte; I never should have turned -to violence."</p> - -<p>"I'll agree with you there," Ross nodded, "but I still don't see how -this concerns me."</p> - -<p>"Don't bait me, Mr. Ross!" the other snapped back. "That first episode -tipped my hand to Cheng, and to Veta Hall, and to Veta's brother, -Sanford. The next thing I knew, even Zoltan Prenzz, Security's resident -undercover agent on Japetus, was aware of what was going on.</p> - -<p>"That meant I had to kill him. So, I sent one of my men to inject him -with a dose of the catalyst—a dose from a bad batch my people found in -Tornelescu's laboratory when they cut his throat and made off with the -formula to begin with.</p> - -<p>"But violence breeds violence. Veta Hall's starak-crazy brother stole -the bad batch, thinking it was good, proposing to sell it to Astrell.</p> - -<p>"I sent my man to get it back. Also, I ordered him to kill Hall, -because Hall would have talked in order to get starak.</p> - -<p>"Unfortunately, though, Hall managed to pass on my address here before -he died. At which point, you came and killed my man, and Astrell died -of acute catabolic poisoning, and my people attended to that cutthroat -Cheng." Once more, Mawson spread his hands in the familiar gesture. -"Well, Mr. Ross, I believe that brings us up to date."</p> - -<p>"Does it?" Ross clipped. "It seems to me you've left out the most -important part: the place where I come in."</p> - -<p>"For my part, I thought I was being almost too obvious," the -adjudicator came back. "My difficulty is that as a result of all this -bloodletting, my own tracks have been uncovered. I'm told on reliable -authority that Security's already closing in on me. I'll be fortunate -if they don't arrest me before dawn."</p> - -<p>Ross frowned. "So—?"</p> - -<p>"So, as I said before, I need your help."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Ross shook his head. "I still don't see it."</p> - -<p>"Then you're a bigger fool than I thought!" Mawson beat his grav-seat's -arm in sudden fury. "Don't you understand? When my people brought -me Tornelescu's notes, his formulae, I'd have sworn I had the whole -universe in my grasp.</p> - -<p>"Only then it turned out that all Tornelescu's data was in an -arbitrary code: one figure, one symbol, was substituted for another. -Consequently, I might as well not have had the papers.</p> - -<p>"That's why I sent Cheng after you, when I thought that you were -Thigpen: Tornelescu's notes mentioned that Thigpen had the code. It -was a precaution they took, so that neither of them could betray the -other."</p> - -<p>"So?" Ross repeated.</p> - -<p>"There's still a way out. That is, if you'll just help me." Mawson -squirmed in his seat. Of a sudden his eyes were bright and feverish. -"Look, Ross, here's how we'll work it: in your role of Security agent, -you arrest me. I'll even go so far as to confess to murdering old -Tornelescu.</p> - -<p>"However, I'll also claim that Sanford Hall stole the papers from me. -Consequently, I've no idea whatever where they are or what they say.</p> - -<p>"I'll be convicted of killing. They'll send me off to Venus Barracks. -In a Martian month the case will be past history.</p> - -<p>"That's where you come in, Ross: right then. My conviction will be -another feather in your cap. No one would think of suspecting you of -anything, let alone denying you full access to Security's files on the -case.</p> - -<p>"So, you go into those files and dig through them till you find the -code. For all I know, it may even be in your property rooms here in -Calor City. Because if Lewis Thigpen's dead—and he must be, or you -wouldn't have dared to use his name—then all his things will likely be -there.</p> - -<p>"Then, when you find the code, contact me. I'll tell you where I've -hidden the formula: that's how much I trust you.</p> - -<p>"You make up a batch of the catalyst. You put it out to the old men, -the men of power."</p> - -<p>"I'll be free of Venus Barracks in a week. After that—who knows? -What limit can there be, when we've eternal life ourselves, plus the -privilege of peddling it to others in hundred-year doses?"</p> - -<p>The adjudicator was shaking by the time he finished. Twin spots of -color marked his cheek bones. His hands moved ceaselessly, without -respite.</p> - -<p>The silence echoed.</p> - -<p>Mawson's hands stopped moving. He straightened in his seat.</p> - -<p>"Mr. Ross," he said softly, "I'm afraid I judged you too well. You're -indeed a man of honor—so much so that even a lie to save your life -sticks in your craw. So I'll put our business on a different level." A -pause, heavy with tension. "Mr. Ross, count on it: if you don't carry -through to the letter the plan I've outlined, both you and Veta Hall -will die, by the most unpleasant mode a fine creative imagination can -devise."</p> - -<p>Ross seemed to stand a trifle straighter. "I thought that was coming," -he nodded slowly. And then: "Fair enough. I'll do all I can to locate -Thigpen's things."</p> - -<p>"I thought you'd see it my way," Adjudicator Mawson murmured smoothly. -He gestured to the two men who still stood in the doorway. "Now that -I'm a prisoner, gentlemen, you'd best get out of here. Take the girl -with you. You know where to keep her."</p> - -<p>The man with the paragun stepped back. But the other, the one called -Corrack, didn't move.</p> - -<p>Sharply, Mawson said, "Corrack! You heard me!"</p> - -<p>"Sure, I heard you," the blaster-man agreed. He grinned, the same -sadistic grin that had marked him when he first stepped into the -doorway. "Only maybe there's something you don't know."</p> - -<p>"Something I don't know—?" Mawson frowned. "Speak up, Corrack! What is -it?"</p> - -<p>The other's grin broadened. "It's this starbo," he explained, gesturing -to Ross. "It's his clothes."</p> - -<p>"His clothes—?" Mawson stared. "Well, what about them?"</p> - -<p>"Nothing," smirked Corrack. "Nothing at all—<i>except they're the outfit -Thigpen was wearing when I had that drink with him last week</i>!"</p> - -<p>Mawson's head snapped round as if on veloid bearings. "Rack you, -Ross—!"</p> - -<p>But his tone belied his words, for there was wild jubilation in it. -Pounding the air of his flying chair, he cried, "Search him, Corrack! -Search him! See if he's got a writer!"</p> - -<p>Wordless, the blaster-man obeyed ... delivered the instrument to Mawson.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Fingers shaking, the adjudicator manipulated the upper end of the -carved shaft.</p> - -<p>The cap lifted off. A glistening ampule dropped into his hand.</p> - -<p>Mawson threw back his head and laughed—peal after peal, hysterical -with sheer delight.</p> - -<p>Then, sobering, he snatched the aeroderm injector from the table where -Astrell had dropped it. Fitting in the ampule, he held the jet against -his arm-vein.</p> - -<p>"There were some interesting details in Tornelescu's notes, Ross," -he announced in a voice that rang with exaltation. "One of them was -that Thigpen always carried an ampule of the perfected catalyst in his -writer."</p> - -<p>He pressed the injector's plunger. The ampule's contents sprayed into -his arm.</p> - -<p>After that, it was like the time with Astrell, except that Mawson was -male, not female.</p> - -<p>And, that the process stopped at the proper point, instead of going on -into catabolic disaster.</p> - -<p>Young now, in the prime of life, glowing with health except for his -crippled legs, the adjudicator leaned back in his grav-seat. A slow -smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.</p> - -<p>"You understand, don't you, that this changes our situation somewhat, -Mr. Ross?" he inquired.</p> - -<p>"I understand," Ross answered curtly.</p> - -<p>"Good." The other rubbed his hands and chuckled. "As a matter of fact, -as I see it, I no longer have any need for your services. Changed as -I am, young again, I'll have no trouble hiding till I myself can find -or buy Thigpen's code." A pause. "That transforms you, Mr. Ross. It -transforms you from an asset to a liability, by my bookkeeping."</p> - -<p>Ross didn't answer.</p> - -<p>"The same holds for Miss Hall," the adjudicator went on. "Before, she -constituted an excellent pawn. Now, she's only a dangerous witness."</p> - -<p>Abruptly, he turned to the man with the paragun. "You, my friend! Take -this injector"—he touched the aeroderm unit—"and two ampules from the -black case. Spray one into each of our friends, here."</p> - -<p>Ross went rigid. A horrified cry burst from Veta's throat.</p> - -<p>Tightly, Ross said, "Look, Mawson, it's all right to kill me if you -want to; I signed on with Security because I had a taste for trouble.</p> - -<p>"With Veta, it's different. She's done nothing, hurt no one. She'll -keep quiet—"</p> - -<p>"Hurry it up, gentlemen," Mawson ordered his aides. "I want no -accidents to halt us now."</p> - -<p>"Back, you!" snarled Corrack, covering Ross with his blaster.</p> - -<p>His companion advanced on Veta.</p> - -<p>Wild-eyed with panic, she retreated before him ... clear to the -wall ... on around the room ... almost to the door now; almost to -Corrack.</p> - -<p>Whirling, then, she leaped at the blaster-man from behind—clutching at -his arm, knocking up his weapon.</p> - -<p>"Stewart—" she screamed. "Run Stewart; run! Get away! Call Security—"</p> - -<p>Ross lunged. But it was towards her, struggling with Corrack; not the -door.</p> - -<p>Only then purple light pulsed past his head, so close that his eyes -went out of focus. He staggered, tripped, pitched to his knees.</p> - -<p>... And there, off to one side, grav-seat already rising, sat Mawson. -His teeth were bared, and he held his paragun poised and ready.</p> - -<p>Ross started to rise.</p> - -<p>Mawson triggered another ray.</p> - -<p>Whirling, Ross plunged through the doorway and ran for his life.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2>CHAPTER VIII</h2> - -<p class="ph1">WRITE IT IN BLOOD!</p> - - -<p>Feet pounded behind Ross in the darkness of the warehouse. Dropping -flat, he rolled till he bumped against stacked transit cases.</p> - -<p>Now, from the office area, a hand torch flicked this way and that, its -hard, bright cone of light lancing through the murk.</p> - -<p>Ross held his breath. When the beam passed over him and moved on, he -wormed his way swiftly along the cases and into the first cross-aisle.</p> - -<p>More lights. More wary shuffling. Hastily, Ross made his way to the -next longitudinal aisle, then doubled back in the direction of the -offices once more.</p> - -<p>Almost in the same instant, Pike Mawson's voice cut through the -stillness: "Stop! Both of you!" His words were clipped, incisive.</p> - -<p>Ross froze in his tracks. His palms were slick with sweat as they -pressed flat against the transit cases.</p> - -<p>Mawson again: "Get back here, you fools! Don't you understand? That -chitza's trying to feint us away from the entrance so he can blast out!"</p> - -<p>From beyond Mawson, a second voice mumbled unclear syllables.</p> - -<p>"Let him hide!" Mawson cut in sharply. "He'll soon tire of it. The -thing to remember is that there's no way out of this place except -through the office area; I made sure of that before we took it over. -So as long as we stay at this end, our fine friend can't escape."</p> - -<p>A burst of guttural elation. Ross' pursuers drew back into the -brightly-lighted offices.</p> - -<p>For a long moment Ross stood unmoving. Then, as the last echo of the -others' clumping footsteps died and the darkness closed in on taut, -vibrant silence, he turned. His face was pale and drawn, his breathing -shallow, his mouth a thin, grim line.</p> - -<p>Moving down the aisle cat-silent, he groped his way to the place his -earlier foe had died beside the stacked plastidrums of steron.</p> - -<p>Steron, with its deadly methane fumes, and high combustibility, and -flaring, 4000-degree heat.</p> - -<p>Ross' lips twisted. Dragging out one of the drums, he jerked savagely -at the opener tab.</p> - -<p>The cap tore away. With a momentary faint hiss of gas escaping, steron -fumes spurted forth in a choking, all-enveloping rush.</p> - -<p>Ross grinned mirthlessly. With swift efficiency, he dragged out a -second drum and opened it also. Then a third ... a fourth....</p> - -<p>Turning this last tank on its side, he rolled it full-tilt down the -aisle towards the offices, a trail of fumes and liquid spilling out in -its wake.</p> - -<p>Now, drawing back into a cross-aisle, Ross flicked his flamer and -tossed it out onto the snake-like steron trail.</p> - -<p>The fumes caught even before the flamer struck the floor. With a roar -like the gush of a power hose, fire leaped back to the three open drums.</p> - -<p>The explosion as they ignited sprayed flame in a mad starburst that -illumined the whole central section of the warehouse. In seconds a -thunderous holocaust swirled roof-high.</p> - -<p>Ross sprinted for the office area. Scrambling up a ladder to the first -catwalk, he peered down into the rooms below.</p> - -<p>Already Mawson's men were running for the door to the street. But of -Mawson himself, and of Veta Hall, there was no sign.</p> - -<p>Breathing hard, Ross moved on along the catwalk.</p> - -<p>Now, abruptly, Mawson came into view, racing his grav-seat out away -from a spot where two partitions intersected, and into the open area in -the center of one of the larger rooms. His movements were jerky, and he -sat hunched forward in the seat, an air of tension heavy upon him.</p> - -<p>The next instant Veta appeared, darting after the adjudicator. An ugly -bruise showed on her forehead. Panting, stumbling, she snatched at -Mawson's tunic.</p> - -<p>But he dodged and flipped up an elbow sharply, so that it struck the -girl in the mouth. Then, as she sagged back momentarily, he swung the -chair in, and slammed a palmed paragun flat to the side of her head.</p> - -<p>Veta crumpled to the floor ... lay there in a limp, still heap.</p> - -<p>Instantly, Mawson whirled the grav-seat away again, racing it up over -the room's partitions in a swift, spiraling arc.</p> - -<p>Ross held his position on the catwalk like a statue. Only his eyes -moved—first flicking down to Veta's motionless form, then away from -her and up to Mawson.</p> - -<p>Still the grav-seat climbed. Mawson gave hardly a glance to the -roaring sea of flame that now enveloped the whole central area of the -warehouse. His face was lined and set, his eyes riveted on some spot in -the building's upper reaches.</p> - -<p>Ross stared after him. Then, turning, once again he looked down at the -office area.</p> - -<p>Veta Hall still lay unmoving where she'd fallen.</p> - -<p>Ross started along the catwalk towards her.</p> - -<p>Only then, as if his eyes somehow were drawn by some psychic magnet, he -paused in mid-stride and yet another time looked around for Mawson.</p> - -<p>Simultaneously, the other's grav-seat came to rest on the second, -higher catwalk, close under the roof. Unfastening the seat's safety -belt, Mawson thrust his twisted legs down onto the walk, dragged -himself to his feet, hobbled clumsily to a nearby switch-box and pulled -a lever.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>A faint grinding of gears rose above the noise of the fire. Twin -roof-plates slid back to reveal a skylight.</p> - -<p>For the fraction of a second Ross hesitated. Then, pivoting, he ran for -the nearest ladder that stretched upward from his catwalk to Mawson's.</p> - -<p>Above him, the adjudicator slapped shut the switch-box and began a -slow-shuffling return to the grav-seat.</p> - -<p>Ross reached the ladder. Cat-agile, he swung up it, hand over hand, two -rungs at a time.</p> - -<p>Mawson reached the grav-seat as Ross topped the ladder and scrambled up -onto the catwalk.</p> - -<p>Now, pausing for a moment as he adjusted the seat's safety belt, the -older man—young now—gazed out across the holocaust, a sardonic smile -twisting his thin lips. Sweat streamed down his pale face and dripped -from his chin. Puffing a little, he swabbed his forehead with his -sleeve.</p> - -<p>Behind him, Ross silently crept forward through the well-nigh -unendurable heat in a half-crouch. His lips were parted, the skin taut -and shiny across his cheek bones.</p> - -<p>Mawson glanced up at the open skylight. His hand dropped to the seat's -arm. His fingers moved over the controls.</p> - -<p>The chair lifted just a fraction, till it hovered clear of the catwalk.</p> - -<p>Ross' eyes distended. Nostrils flaring, he broke into a headlong run.</p> - -<p>But the catwalk vibrated under the impact of his weight. As if -by reflex, his quarry's shoulders stiffened. The fingers on the -control-arm spun a dial. The seat whipped round like a pointer on a -pivot.</p> - -<p>For an instant, then, the eyes of the two men met.</p> - -<p>Mawson expelled a sudden breath. His lips peeled back in a death's-head -grin. His free hand whipped up the paragun.</p> - -<p>Eight feet, possibly, separated the two of them now. Not even breaking -stride, Ross dived for Mawson.</p> - -<p>Nimble-fingered, the adjudicator flipped switches. The grav-seat rocked -back out of reach like a swing, then forward again in a short arc that -smashed the chair's base against Ross' shoulder with numbing force as -he sprawled off-balance on the catwalk.</p> - -<p>Rolling with the blow, Ross went half off the narrow footway. Before -he could recover, Mawson spun the seat again. It swished down like a -powered sledge.</p> - -<p>Spasmodically, Ross threw himself clear off the walk, dangling in -mid-air, suspended by the fingers of one hand only.</p> - -<p>Above him, Pike Mawson's face contorted in a leer. The seat ground on -the edge of the catwalk, searching for his fingers.</p> - -<p>Jaws clenched, Ross swung sidewise violently, letting go of the footway -with his one hand as he hooked on with the other.</p> - -<p>It was like hanging from a spit above a literal inferno. Flames roared -below him. The draft that swept from the building's entrance up to the -open skylight carried heat like a chimney.</p> - -<p>Again, Mawson tried to grind the grav-seat down on Ross' fingers.</p> - -<p>Again, Ross swung clear.</p> - -<p>Mawson cursed aloud, then leaned far forward over the front of the seat -and leveled his paragun at Ross' head.</p> - -<p>Free arm flailing, Ross let go his precarious grip on the catwalk -and lunged upward towards Mawson, paragun and grav-seat. His clawing -fingers locked around the weapon's barrel.</p> - -<p>For frantic seconds they hung there thus, struggling for the paragun. -Twice, Mawson triggered charges. Both times, they went wide.</p> - -<p>But now Ross had a grip on seat as well as weapon. With a sudden jerk, -he wrenched the gun from the other's hand. It spun away in a long, -catapulting arc that ended in the flames below.</p> - -<p>Like lightning, Mawson thumbed a button set in the grav-seat's -control-arm.</p> - -<p>The chair came down on the catwalk with a crash, then bounced high into -the air, almost to the roof. Ross' nails gouged long tracks in the -seat's plastox upholstery as his fingers slipped under the shock.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Mawson spun a dial. The grav-seat whipped round in a tight circle that -all but hurled Ross clear across the warehouse by sheer centrifugal -force.</p> - -<p>White to the lips, Ross clutched at Mawson's safety belt.</p> - -<p>The adjudicator spun the dial the other way. Simultaneously, he caught -the hand on his belt by a forefinger and levered the member back so -violently as to make the snap of its fracture audible even through the -din of the fire.</p> - -<p>Ross gave a low, hoarse cry. He smashed a fist down on the fingers with -which Mawson gripped the grav-seat's controls.</p> - -<p>It was Mawson's turn to jerk back; cry out. Gripping the control-arm -with cable-taut fingers, corded muscles standing out along his -forearms, Ross twisted.</p> - -<p>Metal screeched a protest. The seat rocked violently.</p> - -<p>Ross wrenched again.</p> - -<p>A contact-point snapped. Connections tore loose. Sideslipping, out of -control, the seat careened down to a precarious landing athwart the -catwalk.</p> - -<p>Convulsively, Mawson beat at Ross' face—raking the cheeks, stabbing -for the eyes.</p> - -<p>Ducking his head, Ross levered the control-arm still farther out of -place.</p> - -<p>A sound close to that of a sob echoed in Mawson's throat. He pounded -Ross' back. "Stop it, you fool! Stop it, before you kill us both!"</p> - -<p>Panting with strain, Ross paused for an instant.</p> - -<p>Mawson, babbling: "Don't you see? There's no way left for us to get -out of here except that skylight—and it's too high to do us any good -without the grav-seat."</p> - -<p>A small, spasmodic ripple of movement, like the passing of a chill, -crossed Ross' shoulders. He still didn't speak.</p> - -<p>"Turn me in to FedGov Security if you want to, rack you!" raged Mawson. -"Do you think I care about that? Just get us out of this hell-hole -alive; that's all I ask!"</p> - -<p>Ross raised his head a fraction; stared down at the sea of flame below.</p> - -<p>Mawson again—a cunning, crafty Mawson this time: "Think of the girl, -Ross! Think of her, even if you don't give a filan for your own neck! -She'll roast, down there in that office! But you still may be able to -save her, if we get around to the street entrance fast enough."</p> - -<p>Ross breathed in sharply. He started to straighten.</p> - -<p>Twisting in his seat, Mawson peered back and down over his own -shoulder. Then, suddenly, he leveled a shaking finger. "Ross! Look—!"</p> - -<p>Ross craned forward, staring.</p> - -<p>Like lightning, Mawson whipped back his elbow ... smashed it to the -bridge of Ross' nose with the same savage force that had stunned Veta -Hall.</p> - -<p>Ross lurched backwards.</p> - -<p>Mawson spun the chair's control-dial. Wobbling, unsteady, the grav-seat -started upward.</p> - -<p>Only then Ross, reeling, caught the seat's base. His upflung hand -slapped the control-plate. His fingers hooked around its edges. Again, -muscles stood out along his forearm as he brought sudden pressure.</p> - -<p>The plate tore loose. The grav-seat dropped back onto the catwalk with -a crash.</p> - -<p>Tight-lipped, with no sign that he so much as heard Pike Mawson's -shriek of anguish, Ross hurled the control unit down into the roaring -fire below....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It was quiet in this place ... so very, very quiet.</p> - -<p>Only then, ever so faintly, a door-hinge creaked. Shoes whispered -across synthoflooring.</p> - -<p>For a long moment, Ross still lay unmoving.</p> - -<p>The whispering shoes drew closer—enough shoes for several pairs of -feet.</p> - -<p>Slowly, Ross opened his eyes.</p> - -<p>A tall, slim man stood beside the bed—a man whose dark blue uniform -bore silver comets on its shoulder-straps.</p> - -<p>Ross straightened just a trifle. Voice faint, he whispered, "Commandant -Padora...."</p> - -<p>The tall man inclined his head in a small, precise nod. "My -congratulations, Mr. Ross."</p> - -<p>A muscle in Ross' cheek twitched. "Congratulations—?" And then, more -definitely, more firmly: "Congratulations for what?"</p> - -<p>"For successfully completing your mission."</p> - -<p>Ross said, "I didn't complete it. The formula—"</p> - -<p>"The formula has been recovered," the Security commandant interrupted -smoothly. "Adjudicator Mawson told us precisely where to find it. Also, -he confessed to murdering Doctor Tornelescu."</p> - -<p>Ross stared. "He <i>confessed</i>?"</p> - -<p>Commandant Padora glanced to one of the blue-uniformed men who stood -behind him. "He did, didn't he, Mr. Galacorri?"</p> - -<p>"He seemed quite eager to," the other answered dryly. "He had some -strange notion our rescue party might leave him on that catwalk if he -didn't."</p> - -<p>The shadow of a smile played round the corners of the commandant's -mouth. "In any event, Mr. Ross, Doctor Tornelescu's life catalyst -now is in our hands, available for properly-controlled research, -development and use. And I'm told that Mr. Mawson undoubtedly will -spend the added years of life the injection gave him in a cell."</p> - -<p>"I see."</p> - -<p>"There's another matter also, Mr. Ross: the matter of your own -disobedience of orders." Commandant Padora's grey eyes seemed to study -the blank wall before him. "To set your mind at rest, I plead guilty to -using you uncomfortably like a cat's-paw. By so restricting you as to -precipitate insubordination, I temporarily convinced Cheng and Mawson -that you were a free agent. As a result, they acted rashly, without -covering their tracks properly. That's how we came to close in when we -did; to have men and lines at hand to drop down through that skylight -and take you off the catwalk after you'd collapsed from shock and -heat."</p> - -<p>"I see," Ross said again.</p> - -<p>"In consequence of all this," the other went on with clipped precision, -"the Federated Governments feel you've earned a certain recompense in -terms of honor." He held out a hand to one of the men behind him. "Mr. -Livingston...."</p> - -<p>"Here, sir." The man laid a flat leather case on the commandant's palm.</p> - -<p>"Stewart Ross"—Commandant Padora stood very erect now—"it is my -privilege as commandant of the Federated Governments' integrated -security agencies to present you at this time with our highest honor, -the Starburst Medal First Class for service to humanity above and -beyond the call of duty."</p> - -<p>He leaned forward as he finished; took the silver decoration from its -case and pinned it to the breast of Ross' sleeper jacket.</p> - -<p>"Thank you, sir," Ross said. "I do appreciate it."</p> - -<p>The other eyed him keenly. "Your face doesn't match your words, -Mr. Ross," he observed. "Perhaps it's because you feel you've lost -something more important to you than all the FedGov's medals."</p> - -<p>And then, pivoting: "Miss Hall!"</p> - -<p>For the first time, Ross' head lifted from its pillow. The hand that -clutched his coverlet suddenly was shaking.</p> - -<p>In the same moment, the blue-uniformed group behind Commandant Padora -parted.</p> - -<p>And there was Veta Hall.</p> - -<p>Pressing between the men, she darted to Ross; fell on her knees beside -his bed. And though her dark eyes streamed tears and her forehead still -showed its ugly bruised streak, never had her face been lovelier or -more radiant.</p> - -<p>"Stewart—!" she choked. "Oh, Stewart, my darling...."</p> - -<p>Ross' lips cut off her words.</p> - -<p>"As I said," Commandant Padora announced to no one in particular, "Mr. -Ross' efforts gave us both the time and opportunity to take care of all -aspects of the situation at Mawson's warehouse."</p> - -<p>It was doubtful if Ross and Veta even heard him....</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK YOU CAN'T BUY ETERNITY! ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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