In twenty minutes, the streets and alleys were my own. In forty, I knew my way through every observation post and satellite control board.
At fifty, the voco rang.
Numb with fatigue, I lurched up, tore off the clamps, and hurried to the scanner-speaker unit.
Blonde and lovely, a girl smiled up at me from the plate. "How do you do. May I speak with Agent Mark Traynor, please?"
"I'm Traynor."
"Oh! How nice! I was hoping I might catch you in." The girl's voice was warm and friendly. "You see, I want to congratulate you, Agent Traynor, on your new assignment to Rizal. We feel we have a lovely planet here; and of course we're proud of our position as the outermost bastion of the FedGov's defenses against the Kel. And since Security plays such a vital part in mankind's battle against these alien invaders, one of our citizens—he wishes to remain anonymous, so I can't tell you his name—has asked that you accept a little present; a token of good-will from Rizal to you. A messenger will come in just a moment, and—"
I said, "Come off it, Celeste. This is me you're talking to—me, Mark Traynor. Remember? Remember?"
The girl in the scanner-plate broke off, lips still half-parted. Ever so slightly, the clear eyes changed expression.
"I know what happened on Bejak, Celeste." I smiled as I said it—a wise smile, I hoped, cool and confident. "I know because I was there, right to the last. So that means I know about you, too, and what's going on here. That's why I came: to block you. And don't tell me that first wrench I threw into the works didn't hit hard—you wouldn't have called me if it hadn't! But that's just the beginning. Count on it, there's more to come! So you'd better break clear before I let go. Otherwise, you'll get the same as your Kel friends."
It was as if a shutter had closed behind the clear grey eyes. The girl's hands moved in small, uncertain gestures. "I—I don't know what you mean. I've never seen you before—"