Outside, a steady booming of blaster fire could be heard, but the assault-proof door stood fast.
“—is going to get himself killed!” Boone finished.
Grimly, Allister reached the door and got his already blistered fingers on the lock mechanism.
Ackerman Boone shot him in the back with an N-gun.
Larry’s whole body felt like one raw mass of broken blisters as, flat on his belly, he inched his way along the outside hull of the Glory of the Galaxy. He had no idea what the heat was out here, but it radiated off the hot hull of the Glory in scalding, suffocating waves which swept right through the insulining of the spacesuit. If he didn’t find the proper hatch, and in a matter of seconds….
“Anyone else?” Ackerman Boone screamed. “Anyone else like Allister?”
But one by one the remaining men were dropping from the heat. Finally—alone—Ackerman Boone faced the door and stared defiantly at the hot metal as if he could see his adversaries through it. On the other side, the firing became more sporadic as the officers and Secret Servicemen collapsed. His mind crazed with the heat and with fear, Ackerman Boone suddenly wished he could see the men through the door, wished he could see them die….