He liked her snappy answers. "Nothing lasts forever. I strongly recommend we do ourselves a favor and move along." He turned and indicated the open panel where the wiring entered. "How does the back way sound to you?"
"You came in through there?" She clearly was startled. "You're either very smart, or very stupid. That's where—"
"I'll tell you what's really stupid. Standing around while those goons figure out how to take out that door. Because there's something in here I've got a feeling they're going to want back very badly."
"You mean him?" She pointed at the Pakistani, still gagged, hunching down on the floor.
'This one? Doubt that. He's just a water carrier. No, I'm talking about the gadgets inside this box."
"What . . . ?"
"Check them out." He passed it over. "What do you think?"
She lifted out one of the glass-covered units, three wires extending from one end, and her dark eyes widened. "My God, do you know what this is?"
'Tell me."
"It's a krytron." She rotated it in her hand, gently, as though it were crystal. "I've never actually seen one before, only pictures. You can trigger a nuclear device with one of these. They're worth millions on the black market."