The full thunderous diapason of take-off broke around him, and the flaming exclamation point in the heavens blazed brightly.
And Wales saw a man, with a gun under his arm, standing on the parapet.
The flare of light died, and the rocket-roar grumbled away.
But now, as he rose to his feet, Wales felt a wild triumph. The guard was there, as Pudgy had said, and that meant—
He moved forward, and started up the steps. He was more than halfway up them, moving softly, when he heard a movement above.
Wales froze. The guard above might not have heard him. But he could take no chances, with all that depended on him now.
He crouched waiting on the steps, the Venn gun raised. It seemed to him that hours went by.
Rumble-boom-boom—
As the distant rocket-roar crashed again, as the column of fire streaked across the sky, by its light Wales saw the man on the parapet peering down toward him with his gun alertly raised.
Instantly, Wales shot him. He shot to kill.