Morger cleared his throat and glanced at Frelaine. He smiled and read on.
“‘Protec-Suit is the safest as well as the smartest. Every Protec-Suit comes with special built-in gun pocket, guaranteed not to bulge. No one will know you are carrying a gun—except you. The gun pocket is exceptionally easy to get at, permitting fast, unhindered draw. Choice of hip or breast pocket.’ Very nice,” Morger commented.
Frelaine nodded morosely.
“‘The Protec-Suit Special has the fling-out gun pocket, the greatest modern advance in personal protection. A touch of the concealed button throws the gun into your hand, cocked, safeties off. Why not drop into the Protec-Store nearest you? Why not be safe?”‘
“That’s fine,” Morger said. “That’s a very nice, dignified ad.” He thought for a moment, fingering his white mustache. “Shouldn’t you mention that Protec-Suits come in a variety of styles, single and double-breasted, one and two button rolls, deep and shallow flares?”
“Right I forgot.”
Frelaine took back the sheet and jotted a note on the edge of it. Then he stood up, smoothing his jacket over his prominent stomach. Frelaine was forty-three, a little overweight, a little bald on top. He was an amiable-looking man with cold eyes.
“Relax,” Morger said. “It’ll come in today’s mail.”
Frelaine forced himself to smile. He felt like pacing the floor, but instead sat on the edge of the desk.
“You’d think it was my first kill,” he said, with a deprecating smile.
“I know how it is,” Morger said. “Before I hung up my gun, I couldn’t sleep for a month, waiting for a notification. I know.”
The two men waited. Just as the silence was becoming unbearable, the door opened. A clerk walked in and deposited the mail on Frelaine’s desk.
Frelaine swung around and gathered up the letters. He thumbed through them rapidly and found what he had been waiting for—the long white envelope from ECB, with the official government seal on it.
“That’s it!” Frelaine said, and broke into a grin. “That’s the baby!”
“Fine.” Morger eyed the envelope with interest, but didn’t ask Frelaine to open it. It would be a breach of etiquette, as well as a violation in the eyes of the law. No one was supposed to know a Victim’s name except his Hunter. “Have a good Hunt.”
“I expect to,” Frelaine replied confidently. His desk was in order—had been for a week. He picked up his briefcase.
“A good kill will do you a world of good,” Morger said, putting his hand lightly on Frelaine’s padded shoulder. “You’ve been keyed up.”
“I know,” Frelaine grinned again and shook Morger’s hand.
“Wish I was a kid again,” Morger said, glancing down at his crippled leg with wryly humorous eyes. “Makes me want to pick up a gun again.”
The old man had been quite a Hunter in his day. Ten successful hunts had qualified him for the exclusive Tens Club. And, of course, for each hunt Morger had had to act as Victim, so he had twenty kills to his credit.
“I sure hope my Victim isn’t anyone like you,” Frelaine said, half in jest.
“Don’t worry about it. What number will this be?”
“The seventh.”
“Lucky seven. Go to it,” Morger said. “We’ll get you into the Tens yet.”
Frelaine waved his hand and started out the door.
“Just don’t get careless,” warned Morger. “All it takes is a single slip and I’ll need a new partner. If you don’t mind, I like the one I’ve got now.”
“I’ll be careful,” Frelaine promised.
Instead of taking a bus, Frelaine walked to his apartment. He wanted time to cool off. There was no sense in acting like a kid on his first kill.
As he walked, Frelaine kept his eyes strictly to the front Staring at anyone was practically asking for a bullet, if the man happened to be serving as Victim. Some Victims shot if you just glanced at them. Nervous fellows. Frelaine prudently looked above the heads of the people he passed.
Ahead of him was a huge billboard, offering J.F. O’Donovan’s services to the public.
“Victims!” the sign proclaimed in huge red letters. “Why take chances? Use an O’Donovan accredited Spotter. Let us locate your assigned killer. Pay after you get him!”
The sign reminded Frelaine. He would call Ed Morrow as soon as he reached his apartment.
He crossed the street, quickening his stride. He could hardly wait to get home now, to open the envelope and discover who his Victim was. Would he be clever or stupid? Rich, like Frelaine’s fourth Victim, or poor, like the first and second? Would he have an organized Spotter service, or try to go it on his own?
The excitement of the chase was wonderful, coursing through his veins, quickening his heartbeat From a block or so away, he heard gunfire. Two quick shots, and then a final one.
Somebody got his man, Frelaine thought Good for him.
It was a superb feeling, he told himself. He was alive again.
At his one-room apartment, the first thing Frelaine did was call Ed Morrow, his spotter. The man worked as a garage attendant between calls. “Hello, Ed? Frelaine.”
“Oh, hi, Mr. Frelaine.” He could see the man’s thin, grease-stained face, grinning flat-lipped at the telephone.
“I’m going out on one, Ed.”
“Good luck, Mr. Frelaine,” Ed Morrow said. “I suppose you’ll want me to stand by?”
“That’s right. I don’t expect to be gone more than a week or two. I’ll probably get my notification of Victim Status within three months of the kill.”
“I’ll be standing by. Good hunting, Mr. Frelaine.”
“Thanks. So long.” He hung up. It was a wise safety measure to reserve a first-class spotter. After his kill, it would be Frelaine’s turn as Victim. Then, once again, Ed Morrow would be his life insurance.
And what a marvelous spotter Morrow was! Uneducated—stupid, really. But what an eye for people! Morrow was a natural. His pale eyes could tell an out-of-towner at a glance. He was diabolically clever at rigging an ambush. An indispensable man.
Frelaine took out the envelope, chuckling to himself, remembering some of the tricks Morrow had turned for the Hunters. Still smiling, he glanced at the data inside the envelope.
Janet-Marie Patzig.
His Victim was a female!
Frelaine stood up and paced for a few moments. Then he read the letter again. Janet-Marie Patzig. No mistake. A girl. Three photographs were enclosed, her address, and the usual descriptive data.
Frelaine frowned. He had never killed a female.
He hesitated for a moment, then picked up the telephone and dialed ECB.
“Emotional Catharsis Bureau, Information Section,” a man’s voice answered.
“Say, look,” Frelaine said. “I just got my notification and I pulled a girl. Is that in order?” He gave the clerk the girl’s name.
“It’s all in order, sir,” the clerk replied after a minute of checking micro-files. “The girl registered with the board under her own free will. The law says she has the same rights and privileges as a man.”
“Could you tell me how many kills she has?”
“I’m sorry, sir. The only information you’re allowed is the Victim’s legal status and the descriptive data you have received.”
“I see.” Frelaine paused. “Could I draw another?”
“You can refuse the Hunt, of course. That is your legal right. But you will not be allowed another Victim until you have served. Do you wish to refuse?”
“Oh, no,” Frelaine said hastily. “I was just wondering. Thank you.”
He hung up and sat down in his largest armchair, loosening his belt. This required some thought.
Damn women, he grumbled to himself, always trying to horn in on a man’s game. Why can’t they stay home?
But they were free citizens, he reminded himself. Still, it just didn’t seem feminine.
He knew that, historically speaking, the Emotional Catharsis Board had been established for men and men only. The board had been formed at the end of the fourth world war or sixth, as some historians counted it.