Beveridge nodded.
Moments later Lasseux came running into the chamber, muttering excitedly and incoherently to himself in French. He carried a smoking gun in his hand. Gregson and Beveridge immediately drew but Lasseux raised his other hand and dropped the gun.
"Calm yourself!" Gregson ordered, shaking Lasseux roughly. "Calm down! What happened!"
The flow of French finally ceased. Lasseux made a visible effort to master himself and said. "Golovunoff—the Russian—he was the alien!"[1]
"What?"
"I saw him change shape," Lasseux gasped. "He seemed to waver for a moment when he thought I wasn't looking. The edges of his body blurred. It was awful! Then he saw me—and I shot him!"
"Is he dead?"
"Yes! Yes! I sealed off the chamber, so the alien couldn't escape if it's still alive." Lasseux was trembling violently. Beveridge and Gregson, pale, stared at him.
"Two men dead," Gregson said. "And we don't know if we've killed the creature yet. Or if there really is a creature," he added more silently to himself.
Then—"Great God! Lasseux!"