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.Inside was a small reception room with walls covered in brown natufibers.A young man in a dark-blue suit sat behind the desk; behind him was another door.Jon wasted no time.He leveled the Taw Taw at the young man's head."Up, and go ahead of me, through the door.No tricks or you won't even have time to be sorry."The young man left his seat hurriedly, almost fell down in his eagerness to comply.There were several rooms, all decorated in natural earthtones.In the biggest room, behind a glossy realwood desk, a fleshy brown-skinned man wearing a white silk suit was engaged in furious argument with several blond people in gray spacecrew wear.They looked up in horror."Nobody move!" said Jon sharply.The gun swung back and forth to cover them."It's the Buro!" screamed the woman he'd pursued to Nostramedes.Hurriedly Jon contradicted her."No, it's not the Buro.You're wrong, I'm here to help you.I have a message for you."An atmosphere of hysterical tension rose in the room."What do you mean?" the tall, stooped captain said."You are the one who almost destroyed us.""Nevertheless I'm not the Buro.I have a message and in return for delivering it, I want to book passage with you, for both of us.We cannot stay in this system, the laowon will kill us."There was an explosion of rage from a man wearing a heavy cast on his right arm.It was the one named M'Nee."You murderous swine, I'll kill you." He twisted to his feet, eyes flashing in fury and a small gun trembling in his good hand.Jon didn't hesitate.His foot lashed out and the gun flew across the office and bounced off the window.His own weapon continued to cover them.The woman was beside herself."I told you we should have killed him, you wouldn't listen to me, oh no, not you!""There's no need for anyone to get killed.If you'll listen to my story I think you'll agree.It won't take long."He sensed vast unhappiness in them.Nathan Porox spoke up from behind his desk."Before anybody books passage for anybody, somebody's got to settle for the cost of the fuel.I'm sitting here looking at a docket that will impound your ship unless I receive payment.All this gunplay won't mean exhaust to a robot without that!"Jon chuckled."And how much is required?""Twenty-six thousand credit units." Jon produced a card, snapped it into the function box on Porox's phone computer, and dialed the credit through from Hyperion Grandee Centabank.Meg's code supplied the bank computer with perfectly tailored analogs in place of true account number codes.The bank computer stuttered over them for a few moments but then accepted them.Meg's code had passed its stiffest test.But a major bank's auditing programs would soon pick up an error of this magnitude.Porox watched expressionless."Fuel the ship, you've been paid."The captain was plainly stunned."What do you want?" he said weakly."We want to come with you, to the stars.I can't stay here—I killed laowon to get to you, you see.So we must hurry, we can't afford to wait."Porox's face was several shades darker."Did I hear you correctly? You killed laowon to get here?""You did.And I'll kill you, too, if you don't get that fuel moving soon."Porox made urgent motions to his assistant, who dialed the docks."You want to come with us?" said the woman named Dahn."Right.""Why?""Because I understand, I know why you're going.""You do?""Look, I'll explain the details later.Just tell me whether you'll deal.My message for two births on the Bird." He ventured a little hunch of his own.Once again their faces were stricken with horror and he knew he'd been correct."How can you know these things and not be Superior Buro?" the captain said indignantly.Jon detected a faint whine in the man's voice.It was a sign of strain, of worry.Around the captain was a blanket of psychic panic.He was clearly terrified for his life.Jon wondered briefly why such a man was dicing with the Superior Buro for the fate of the human race.He didn't seem the type for that sort of thing."This is my friend Meg.She worked it all out, you see.While I was chasing you for them.She went to the Brutality Room as a result." They stared, unnerved, at Meg's slack face which peered at them from her blanket."Look, it's complicated.I know.But all you really have to understand is that I've changed sides."It took them a long moment to digest this.They conversed furiously among themselves, finally looked up."All right, what is this message?""With Porox in the room?""It's all right, Porox is with us."Jon took a breath."The laowon expect you to head for the William system.They have stationed a ship there to intercept you.""How did you come by this message?" Captain Hawkstone asked."My colleague penetrated the computer aboard Illustrious, the battlejumper." They nodded, they knew the ship."She must have found the information there.""Interesting.""Interesting to the Superior Buro.They took her to the Brutality Room for it."Hawkstone blanched."And?""I broke her out.I killed a lot of them to do so."Porox groaned."You killed the Superior Buro?""As many as I could.Should slow them up a bit.""Good god, man, that will stir them up.""It already has, I should think.This was two days ago now.""We will have to use the direct route approach." Hawkstone spoke in an ominous tone."If this message is correct, we can't wait for an exploratory orbit.We'll have to emerge on the dark side and initiate atmospheric descent immediately."Jon could see they were bewildered and rather frightened."I don't know what to do," the captain confessed."No significant change there, then!" Dahn snapped.M'Nee was holding his cast, his face tight and gray.That kick had cost him something."He can't come with us!" he rasped."I refuse.""Look, I just bought the fuel for the trip, so forget leaving me behind—It's a death sentence.Same for the lady.""I don't care, I won't have it.""And who are you to make the decision? Shouldn't that be up to the captain here?"M'Nee looked sullenly at Hawkstone, who wavered."For all we know you are laowon spies.I can't allow it."Jon laughed."Look, if we were working for the Buro do you think you'd be sitting around here? I think they'd be putting you under with the Hypnogen about now."There was a sudden knock on the door.Everyone froze.Jon looked warily at the door.Were the Buro here so soon?"Cut the lights," he hissed to Porox.In the dark, Jon flattened himself against the wall.The door opened slowly and silhouetted in the opening a small sphere floated at head height.There was a collective release of breath.The lights came back on.Jon stared, speechless, as a glossy green ball with tiny red dots like eyes floated in with a slight humming sound."Emergency!" it blared like a demented audio chip.Jon jumped [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]