"Hey, you birds are mixed up," I protested. "I'm cleared all the way. I checked in with DEW—"
It was time to disappear. I blanked off all transmission, hit the controls, following my evasive pattern. And again I reached out—
A radar man at a site in the Pacific, fifteen thousand miles away, rose from his chair, crossed the darkened room and threw a switch. The radar screens blanked off....
For an hour I rode the long orbit down, fending off attack after attack. Then I was clear, skimming the surface of the ocean a few miles southeast of Key West. The boat hit hard. I felt the floor rise up, over, buffeting me against the restraining harness.
I hauled at the release lever, felt a long moment of giddy disorientation as the escape capsule separated from the sinking lifeboat deep under the surface. Then my escape capsule was bobbing on the water.
I would have to risk calling Kayle now—but by voluntarily giving my position away, I should convince him I was still on our side—and I was badly in need of a pick-up. I flipped the sending key.
"This is Z four-oh-two," I said. "I have an urgent report for Colonel Kayle of Aerospace Intelligence."
Kayle's face appeared. "Don't fight it, Granthan," he croaked. "You penetrated the planetary defenses—God knows how. I—"
"Later," I snapped. "How about calling off your dogs now? And send somebody out here to pick me up, before I add sea-sickness to my other complaints."
"We have you pinpointed," Kayle cut in. "It's no use fighting it, Granthan."