Kiley licked his lips nervously. "Well—here are the jewels. Let's—let's divide them!"
"One bit of business first," the alien's thunderous boom came. "You have served well—but you cannot live."
"What?"
"It is necessary, Kiley. There are ways of extracting information from a man's subconscious—and I would not have my existence known."
Suddenly the sky was black. Kiley looked up and saw what could only be a foot—a monstrous, horrible foot—blotting out the sunlight overhead.
"I warned you, Kiley—never trust an accomplice. And I was your accomplice."
The sky rang with the gigantic alien's cosmic laughter. Kiley covered his ears to blot out the hideous sound. Tears of rage flooded his eyes.
"It's not fair! It's—"
"Sorry, Kiley."
Like an ant, the thief thought bitterly. I'm dying like an ant.