“Unreasonable,” Malone said, “and highly unpleasant.”
“You refer, no doubt,” Boyd said, “to the Meeneestyerstvoh Vnootrenikh Dyehl?”
“Gesundheit,” Malone said kindly.
“The MVD,” Boyd said. “I’ve been studying for days to pull it on you when you got back.”
Malone nodded. “Very well, then,” he said in a stately, orotund tone. “Say it again.”
“Damn it,” Boyd said, “I can’t say it again.”
“Cheer up,” Malone said. “Maybe some day you’ll learn. Meantime, Thomas, did you get the stuff we talked about?”
Boyd nodded. “I think I got enough of it,” he said. “Anyhow, there is a definite trend developing. Come on into the private office, and I’ll show you.”
There, on Boyd’s massive desk, were several neat piles of paper.
“It looks like enough,” Malone said. “As a matter of fact, it looks like too much. Haven’t we been through all this before?”