Terri stiffened.
"No?" he echoed in angry incredulity.
Their eyes locked. For a long time they held, and at last Terri looked away.
The old man sighed—sipped noisily from a drink on the table beside his chair.
"Wait!" said Terri. To his own surprise, his voice was eager, even a little timorous in its hopefulness. "Wait. I've got it. There will be a test. There always is a test every time a man moves up. His superiors watch him when he doesn't suspect it. It will be that way for me when I am ready for the fourth level. And you have some kind of advance information. You know what the test will be. Maybe you know the man who will administer it. You want to sell me this information."
The other said nothing.
"Well," Terri spread his hands openly. "I am interested. I'll buy. What do you want. Money? A favor? Protection?"
"No."
"No?" Terri shouted, starting up from his chair. "What do you mean by no? Can't you say anything but 'no'?" A rage possessed him. He flung himself forward two furious steps to stand threateningly over the aged figure. "You doddering idiot! Say what you want, and quickly! My two hours are nearly up. I'll be missed. They'll be here in a few minutes—the Bureau Guards. They'll crack the room shield. They'll rescue me. And they'll take you into custody. To be questioned. To be executed. At my order. Do you understand? Your life depends on me."
After a little, the old man chuckled again. "Yes," he muttered, in a high-pitched old voice. "That's the way it'll be."