They walked until the hour had grown very late, and then turned back toward the hotel. Harris was confident now that he had established the sort of relationship that was likely to shield him from all suspicion of his true origin.
He said, "What do we do now?"
"Suppose we buy a bottle of something and have a party in your room?" she suggested.
"My room's a frightful mess," Harris said, thinking of the many things in there he would not want her to see. "How about yours?"
"It doesn't matter."
They stopped at an autobar and he fed half-unit pieces into a machine until the chime sounded and a fully wrapped bottle slid out the receiving tray. Harris tucked it under his arm, made a mock-courteous bow to her, and they continued on their way to the hotel.
The signal came just as they entered the lobby.
It reached Harris in the form of a sudden twinge in the abdomen; that was where the amplifier had been embedded. He felt it as three quick impulses, rasp rasp rasp, followed after a brief pause by a repeat.
The signal had only one meaning: Emergency. Get in touch with your contact-man at once.