"Hotel Cosmos, in a hurry."
The driver, a sneering blueskin, said, "Five bucks. Earthmen pay in advance."
Kendall cursed and dug into his pocket. He had five dollars and change. He handed the blueskin the bill, pocketed the few coins again, and got in.
Minutes later he was outside the Hotel Cosmos. He threaded his way to Das Shamra's suite, listened outside the door for an instant. Voices were talking, murmuring low in Martian.
He knocked.
"Who's there?" a harsh voice said.
"Kendall. The Earthman. I came back."
"Put your hands up," came the voice. "When the door opens, enter slowly."
"Okay." He raised his hands.
Slowly the door opened. Kendall peered in and found himself facing enough artillery to blow a hole in Jupiter. There were five Martians in the room, none he had seen before, and each had a blaster trained on him. Das Shamra was sitting in his web-chair. There was no sign of the Martian Kendall had clobbered.