"What do you think you are doing, diGriz?" "Just running a little errand. Picking up something for Professor Coypu," I said innocently. A scowl replaced the glare.
"No you're not—at least not alone. I know everything, remember. Including exactly what it is you are getting for Coypu. There have been too many mistakes made of late. Sloppy work. That practice ends now. Captain Grissle of the Space Marines has his squad waiting for you in the lobby at this very moment."
"Thank you, thank you, you are kindness itself. I'll join him right away."
I would of course exit from the back entrance of the hotel and avoid the noxious military presence of the marines. There was a loud hammering on the door.
"While the squad is waiting in the lobby that will be the captain coming for you now. Go."
I seized up the TI and thought of using it on the marine, but the snarl from the phone changed all that.
"I'm watching you, diGriz—no games!"
I muttered a few favorite profanities under my breath as I opened the door. A burly marine with nasty tiny red eyes and a jaw like an anvil was standing outside. He saluted a quivering tense salute. I touched the flashlight—TI to my brow~
"Transportation to the airport is waiting," he shouted. "After you, sir"
It was all very well organized; at least the Special Corps could get this kind of thing right. Marines stamping, guns waving, sirens wailing; the usual. Captain Grissle briefed me on the way, ticking off the points with a raised finger.
"One. The Hammar City police have the area where we are going under close observation. Investigation has shown that the machine you are looking for is in a meeting hail owned by an organization called the Circle of Sanctity. Very exclusive, bigwig politicians and industrialists. Some of the members of this group are being interrogated right now."
"Do you know what this whole operation is about?"
"I do, Agent diGriz. I have been in on this investigation from the very beginning. Point two. Unlike the other churches involved in this investigation, this operation appears to be all male. Instead of looking forward to Heaven, this lot is into money—and power. An industrialist named Baron Krummung seems to be in charge." "They get rich, he gets richer."
"That's it."
"Identification?"
"Positive. A bit older, fatter and balder. But he's Slakey, no doubt at all."
Another incarnation. How many of them were there knocking around the galaxy? Depressing thought—there could be any number, armies of the same man, images clicked at different points in time. And all of them sharing, the same thoughts and memories. That didn't seem possible—I decided not to even think about it.
"How do you want to handle this operation?" the captain asked.
"Am I in charge?"
"Completely. Orders received from the highest level."
"Inskipp?"
"None other."
"He's getting mellow in his old age."
"I doubt that. We follow your instructions exactly. As long as I and my two sergeants are with you at all times."
Chapter 10
The flight in the Balustic—Orbit SST did not take very long at all. Plenty of G's at each end, acceleration and deceleration, with free fail in between. I slept when we were weightless, found it to be very relaxing indeed. And I had plenty of sleep to catch up with. Ground transportation, and another marine officer, a lieutenant this time, were waiting for us. There was a lot of snapping of stiff salutes, so dear to the military heart. I waited impatiently until all thumbs were back on seams on trouser legs.
"Tell me. Lieutenant, has anything changed since the last report?"
"Negative, sir. The detectors are keeping track of the two individuals just as before. They have not moved again and we have kept our distance from them. Neither of them is in the vicinity of the machine."
"Do they have any idea they are being tracked?"
"Negative. We have never approached them—never even seen them in fact. Our orders were to keep distant observation until you had secured the machine."
"I'll do that now. Lead the way."
I was keeping this operation as simple as possible since I didn't want a third goof—up. The front door to the building was already open and secured; more marines were keeping out of sight inside. My armed guard trotted behind me when I trotted, stopped when I stopped.
"Tell me again," I whispered. The lieutenant pointed to high, double doors at the end of the hail.
"That's it, where they meet. It is a conference room, circular, about twenty meters across." He handed me a small metal box with a collection of dials on it. "Your detector, sir."
"Give it to the captain to carry. Is the door unlocked?"
"Don't know, we haven't been near it. But I have the key here."
"Good. Here's what we do. We walk quietly up to the door. You put the key into the lock. You try it. If it is locked then you unlock it. As soon as you are sure it is unlocked you give the nod—and pull the door open." I held up the TI. "This is not a flashlight but is a temporal inhibitor. You open the door and I turn it on. Everything in that room will be fixed in time. Nothing there, human or mechanical, will be able to move until 1 turn it off again. Which I will not do until the machine is secured. Do you all understand?" Their eyes were glazed—and with good reasons. I shrugged.
"You don't have to. Are you all ready?" They nodded enthusiastically. "Then let's do it."
They all saluted again and at least they were quiet about it with no stamping boots this time. Grissle and his two sergeants were breathing on my neck as we crept forward I readied the TI. The lieutenant put the key in the keyhole, turned it slowly—then pulled hard and the door flew open.
"Zapped!" I shouted as I switched on the TI. It was pitch dark inside and I couldn't see a thing.
"Can you turn on the lights?" I asked. There was no answer. Frozen in time. The lieutenant was strangely off balance and still pulling on the door handle. My glassy—eyed squad were as still as statues. I stepped back a bit and as soon as the field enveloped them they could move.
"We're going in there," I said. "But I can't see a thing—and
I don't dare turn this device off to find a light switch. Suggestions?"
"Battle torches," Captain Grissle said, shifting the detector to his left hand and unclicking his torch from his belt. A bright beam flared out, followed by the others.
"Stay close," I said. "Hold hands, hold my arms—or you'll look like him." I pointed to the crouching and immobile lieutenant; they all cuddled together. We shuffled forward slowly like competitors in an eight—legged sack race, towards the far end of the room.
"Reading steady," Grissle said, "and the needle is pointing at that door over there."
The door was open scat least I didn't have to worry about that. Shuffle—shuffle we went, lighting up the interior of the adjoining room.
Revealing the rack of electronics. A duplicate of the last one I had seen—except that this one was intact.
"There!" I pointed.. "That's what I want. Cuddle, clutch and shuffle. All right, stop here. Because we have a problem. I will have to turn this TI off if we are going to disconnect this thing." I pointed at a glowing light on the control panel. "We'll have to turn its power supply off as well if we are going to take it away with us. Any suggestions?"