Petkoff thought for a second. “And why,” he said, “did you feel that such elaborate precautions were necessary in returning these men to us?”
Malone shrugged. “Well, we couldn’t have them just running around all over the world, could we?” he said. “We felt that here they’d be properly housed and fed, in their own homeland, even if they didn’t get a job.”
“They will be properly taken care of,” Petkoff prophesied darkly.
“Now, wait a minute—” Lou began, and then stopped. “Sorry,” she said.
Malone felt sorry for her, but there was nothing he could say to make things any better. “Exactly,” he told Petkoff with what he hoped was a smile.
“Ah, well,” Petkoff said. “My friend and colleague, we should cease this shoptalk. Shoptalk?”
“Quite correct,” Malone said.
“I have studied English a long time,” Petkoff said. “It is not a logical language.”
“You’re doing very well,” Malone said. Petkoff gave him a military duck of the head.
“I appreciate your compliments,” he said. “But I fear we are boring the ladies.”