"As you wish," he said. "But T.I. has one trick we use as a last resort. Look!" From his pocket he drew a flat metal case. "Supposedly cigarettes, but really the most powerful explosive devised by our laboratories. Shoot me with that flame gun and the heat sets it off. You, your charming father, and I, will all be blown to atoms. So you won't dare shoot!"
Zeila stared at him, lips a crimson slash across her face.
"You won't get away with it!" she exclaimed. "It's bluff!"
"Shoot, then," Ranson said. "Blow the whole top of this building to bits!" He reached out for her gun.
The girl's eyes were fixed on the metal case, and there was fear in them. Ranson took another step toward her. Elath Taen could not watch since he was forced to keep his eyes on the intricate keyboard of the sonovox.
"Blown to bits," Ranson repeated sardonically. "Me, too, but at least I'll have removed the leaders of the revolt. This explosive is the last resort of T.I. men. Squeeze that trigger and the heat will set it off! Now give me that gun!"
Zeila Taen broke suddenly, shuddering at the thought of her vivid beauty torn to shreds by an explosion.
"Take it!" she snarled. "It's too late, anyhow! Mars is in revolt! No one can stop them now! Fool! My father will be emperor after the insurrection! You might have been prince."
Ranson didn't wait to hear more. One blast of the heat gun and the glass partition shattered to a thousand fragments.