"Let's go," he said.
Jay didn't bother to ask where they were going. He followed the Tribune out the door and into the hall. On the wall just outside the door, was a black box. Two squares cut into it shone with a faint white light. Ilaria paused and shielded the lighted areas a moment with his hand, and Jay saw the light go out in the room they had just left. Ilaria closed the door. As he turned, Jay saw the white letters PR emblazoned on the back of his cloak.
"This way," he said. Jay noticed that Ilaria walked on his right, so that the Tribune's gun was between them.
"The way I said Time, it is capitalized. It means all the Time since the beginning. It's a corporation, like your Duo-Point. Only much larger, and much less known. Our job is to learn."
"That's a big order," Jay commented. "You learn by—borrowing—emissaries?"
Ilaria laughed again. "Thanks for the phraseology, but it wouldn't worry me if you called it 'kidnaping' or 'shanghaiing.' You're right, of course. We learn by sending men from this age to other ones, and by pulling men from other ages to this one. Doctor Schink is our Emissary to 1954. His real name is Clyde Gabrinaldi. Borley is our contact there ... rather, then."
"Well I'll be damned! I've gone to Clyde a lot of times for advice."
The left corner of Ilaria's mouth pulled back as his grin widened. "Umn hmn. He's married, too. With a child. He's there for good."
Jay was afraid to ask if emissaries from the past to 2054 were "there for good" too. He changed the subject.
"You started to tell me before—"