He doubled along his track, found a side-corridor, ran down it. The way to the control center was along lateral spoke eleven, to the heart of the Wheel.
The corridor was clear. He ran desperately.
It seemed like an endless corridor, but eventually he reached the ultronic door that led to the control center. As he expected, a poker-faced guard stood there.
"Sorry, no one's allowed in, sir. Commissioner Merrill is in there and—"
Commissioner Merrill? Janet's dad? That complicated things. But he had to get inside.
"Will you tell Commissioner Merrill it's urgent that I see him. It's about his daughter. Some drunk in the Tourist Lounge tried to attack her, and—"
"Of course, sir." The guard turned to press the relay that would open the door, and Conroy clubbed down on the back of his neck with the side of a fist.
The man shuddered under the blow, began to reach for his blaster, and Conroy hit him again. He fell heavily.
Thoughtfully, Conroy extracted the blaster from the guard's holster, then reached up and slid his hand over the wall, searching for the ultronic relay that he himself had designed so long ago. The door irised open.