"Yes," said Adams.
"I was going to ask you how things are on Aldebaran XII."
Adams sat rigid in his chair, anger flaming in him.
"If it hadn't been for Sutton," said the masked man, "there would have been no incident on Aldebaran XII."
"But Sutton wasn't back yet," snapped Adams. "He wasn't even here…"
His voice ran down, for he remembered something. The name on the flyleaf…"by Asher Sutton."
"Look," said Adams, "tell me, for the love of heaven, if you have anything to tell."
"You mean to say you haven't guessed what it might be?"
Adams shook his head.
"It's war," the voice said.