I didn't have to turn to know that voice. Herker! He was standing in the doorway waving a bunch of papers.
"I always knew you had the makings of a crook," I said. "You at least, ought to have the sense to know that you can't get away with it."
"These men are in my employ." Herker waved his fingers toward the three. "I have a court order here empowering me to seize any and all company property in order to conserve the assets of the corporation." His face was very smug and self-assured. "It's all legal. There's nothing you can do about it."
I would have rocked back on my heels if the wall hadn't already been behind me. "What about Tom?" I finally managed to say. "Have you got a court order to seize him too, as a company asset?"
Herker fingered through his papers. "Yes," he said. "I have an order here empowering me to bring him before a lunacy commission."
For the first time, Tom looked up. "What you are really trying to say is that these men came to you and offered you more millions than you can count for my discovery and for the chance to force me to tell them how it works."
Herker acted as if somebody had slugged him in the throat. He gulped and tried to find words. "How—how did you know?"
"They approached me first," Tom answered. "I refused to talk to them."
"But why? There's millions in it!" In all his life, he had never been able to see anything more important than a dollar.
"Enough of this," Long Jaw said, taking command of the situation. "We want you and your invention."