Suddenly, a trumpet sounded. Riddell looked up, startled, and stood still.
"Attention!" a blaring voice cried, from what seemed to be a thousand loudspeakers. "Attention! All off-duty members of the Army of Northburg are to assemble outside GHQ at once for combat briefing. Plan 102 is to be accelerated."
Riddell rubbed his jaw. That meant they probably had found the stripped guard outside the walls, and knew that another Center City spy was loose somewhere in Northburg. It meant they would probably launch the attack on Center City ahead of schedule. Riddell started to move at a fast half-trot. He didn't have much time now.
Soldiers in blue were appearing from all over as he reached the Headquarters—which had once been, Riddell observed, Northburg City Hall. He's got half the town militarized already, he thought, seeing the swarm of blue-clad soldiers.
He trotted up and filtered into the milling group outside GHQ. "What's up?" he asked the man nearest him.
"Barr's calling a briefing session," the soldier said. "Didn't you hear the announcement?"
"I was—busy," Riddell said, grinning sheepishly. "Must have missed it. We having a change of schedule?"
"It probably means we'll march on Center City tonight," the other said. "Don't know why they're shifting plans."
"Spies," said a third man. "Center City's catching wise. We're going to have to beat them to the punch. I hear they've had Northburg honey-combed with spies all week."
"Yeah?" Riddell asked. "Hell, I thought our defense was tight as a drum."