"Some months ago. Before you and I left Manon. The professor was out, and 113-A had gone along in his pocket as usual. But his two lab guards and one of the raiders were killed. The others got away. Gess Fayle's defection was a certainty by then, and everybody was very nervous. The Feds got there, fast, and dead-brained the raider. They learned just two things. One, he'd been mind-blocked and couldn't have spilled any significant information even if they had got him alive. The other item they drew from his brain was a clear impression of the target of the raid—the professor's pal here."
"Uh-huh," Trigger said, lost in thought. She poked Repulsive lightly. "That would be Fayle and his associates then. Or somebody who knew about them. Did they want to kill it or grab it?"
The Commissioner looked at her. "Grab it, was the dead-brain report. Why?"
"Just wondering. Would make a difference, wouldn't it? Did they try again?"
"There've been five more attempts," he said.
"And what's everybody concluded from that?"
"They want 113-A in a very bad way. So they need it."
"In connection with the key unit?" Trigger asked.
"Probably."
"That makes everything look very much better, doesn't it?"