On his way to the rocket hangars, Bert stared into the red sunset. It seemed to bathe the launching cradles in a fiery pool of blood. And his own blood pounded as he walked from the operations office building. You fool! he swore inwardly. You could have killed him tonight and made it look like an accident—but you had to make a scene.... Now Carol knows how you feel.... You've spoiled your plan.... He'll be on guard now.... You stupid fool!
In that moment he realized he had lost not only his chance to kill Miles with no possible suspicion on himself, but he had also lost Carol. Carol. He thought of her. Was she so blind? Didn't she know what Miles was doing? He remembered the way she had looked at Berendt. And then he suddenly knew that she was in love with Miles. Probably the two of them had carefully planned this Deimos move ... suggesting that he go to the Lenning institute on Venus....
The blood-red sunset fixed the Viking and Space Queen II in its fiery glow. Even at a distance he could see the crew of workmen around the base of the Viking. The ship being readied for Mars and its mineral laden satellite, Deimos. The ship that Berendt and Carol Grant had planned to usurp for their wedding trip.... Their wedding trip.
Suddenly Bert Tanner's lips pulled back in a harsh grin. It was all clear, suddenly. He had vowed that Miles Berendt would die before he left Earth. That seemed out of the question now. But was it? And Carol? Suddenly he hated her. Her beauty. Her smiling face and friendly charm. A sham. A damned miserable sham. Well, all right. Wedding trip. He thought, two can die as easily as one....
"Everything's all set, Mr. Tanner."
Jeff Morrow came up to him in the dusk as Bert watched the crew of mechanics leave the base of the Viking's launching cradle and head for the hangars.
"Right on schedule, Jeff." Bert shifted the papers he held and looked at his chrono-wristdial. "The auto-pilot set?"
Jeff nodded, his thin face smiling in the gathering shadows. "All you have to do is bring along a good book, Mr. Tanner. Escape velocity set for ten minute thrust; space drive will hook in automatically at thirty minutes, 70,000 m.p.h."
"Fine, Jeff. I can always depend on you. You're one man I can trust to do a job right."