He slipped the phone into his ear, fitted the microphone against his throat, then picked up the piece of plastic tubing that was red on one end and green on the other. Wires ran from each end of this tube to the small box that housed the transmitter.
"Red goes to the right hand," he muttered. "Green to the left. Or is it the other way around?" Making up his mind that red went to the right, he closed his fingers around the ends of the plastic tube, then watched the tiny meter on top of the small box that contained the transmitter.
The needle moved on the dial.
"Calling nine dash nine," he spoke. "This is six one calling nine dash nine." He repeated the call three times, then sat back on his haunches to await an answer.
"Come in six one," the earphone said. "What color is red?"
"It's green this week," Zen answered promptly.
"What color was it last week?"
"Last week? Um. Oh, yes. No color."
"And that means—"
"White. This is Kurt Zen, colonel, intelligence, reporting. Connect me immediately with General Stocker."