"Did Loran die?"
"Yes. He died."
"Did he talk?"
"No."
"Then the Second Party's still safe."
"For the time being," said Makvern. "Only for the time being." He would not turn to look at Wyatt. His profile was as expressionless as a king's head on a coin.
Wyatt hesitated while he took three steps, knowing that if he guessed wrong he would almost certainly wind up in the pit, and that Earth quite certainly would be worse off than ever. Then, considering what he had to gain if he guessed right, he plunged.
"The Second Party," he said, "could take over if Varsek had a serious setback at Earth. Then they could take the Task Force and go home. They could start exporting some things from Uryx, like peace and stable government, instead of importing nothing but loot."
Makvern continued to walk briskly, looking neither to the right nor to the left.
"How would you propose that Earth could give Varsek a setback?" he asked.