"That's right. I don't." Dane made it flat and brutal.
"But I—I've helped you...."
"Right again. But the way things stack up, I'm not sure why. So till I know for sure, I'll play it my way." Dane bit down hard, fighting down all impulses to warmth and tenderness. "We'll have a look at that computer now."
"Clark, wait—!"
"Well?"
"You won't have to go to the computer. I—I'll tell you—"
Nelva broke off raggedly. She was breathing too fast, and her eyes held a strange, wild look.
Dane stared. "You'll tell me what?"
"About the silver shaft, the needle. That's the only one of your questions I know anything about." The girl came up against him; clung to him, her face an anguished mask. "I wasn't lying about the computer, either, Clark. It is guarded by those awful creatures Jessup's biochemists have bred in the Mercury labs. You wouldn't stand a chance against them. That's why I couldn't let you go there. They're completely ruthless—all duty conditioning, not a trace of human feeling in any of them—"
"Forget about that!" Dane gripped her arms. "Tell me about the shaft. That's what I want to know!"