"General! Something terrible has happened."
"Terrible?"
"There's been a murder in the Embassy. Someone broke into the Embassy and shot one of our attachés. Communists, I think."
"Is he dead? When did this all happen?"
"Five minutes ago."
Hall and Lobo looked at the wall clock. The hands showed ten minutes after one.
"Five minutes or hours, Mr. Ambassador?"
"Minutes, General. It just happened."
"Where did it happen?"
"On the stairs. The back stairs, between the third and fourth floors. It is terrible."