The colonel shook his head.
Dundon was suddenly flushed. "Wait a minute, son," he said to the lieutenant, and then he took the colonel by the arm and led him briskly into a corner.
"What the hell is this?" he hissed angrily, lowly, into the colonel's ear. "This boy looks like one hell of a good officer, what—"
The colonel held his finger to his lips, gestured cautiously.
"I couldn't tell you in front of him, chief."
"Couldn't tell me what? Listen, I'm not goin' to kill a young kid like—"
"It's Security. The major defect is Security."
Dundon quieted.
"What did he do?"
"Nothing he did. Chief, you won't like this. But it makes a big difference. You know the way Security is. They checked this boy all the way back to the cradle, found out things about him he doesn't know himself. His history checked all right, no trouble anywhere, except for his father. According to the records, he doesn't have any."