"Yes, but they still have me penned up here at the Executive Palace; they're practically keeping me in the safe. I wish our people on Koshchei hadn't mentioned me in their ultimatum; Jake Vyckhoven's afraid to let me run around loose for fear some lunatic shoots me and starts the planetbusters coming in. Jake did one good thing, though. He ordered the Stock Exchange closed, and declared a five-day bank holiday. By that time, you ought to have Merlin opened and working, and then the market'll be safe."
Conn simply replied, "I hope so." There was no telling what kind of taps there might be on the screen his father was using; he couldn't risk telling him about Shanlee, or about the last computation which Merlin had made. "If we send the Lester Dawes in, do you think you might talk them into letting you come out here?"
"I can try."
Flora arrived at Force Command that afternoon.
"I would have come sooner," she said, "but Mother's had a complete collapse. It happened last evening; she's in the hospital. I was with her until just an hour and a half ago. She's still unconscious."
"You mean she's in danger?"
"I don't know. They think she's all right, except for the shock. It was the Travis statement that did it."
"Think I ought to go to her?"
Flora shook her head. "Just keep on with what you're doing here. There isn't anything you can do for her now."
"The best thing you can do for her, Conn, is prove that you weren't lying about Merlin," Sylvie told him.