Anything You Can Do ...

  _[10]_

  Like some horrendous, watchful gargoyle, the Nipe crouched motionlesslyon the shadowed roof of the low building. A short projection from theair-conditioning intake was wide enough to keep him from being seen fromthe air, and the darkness of the roof prevented anyone on the streetfrom seeing the four violet eyes that kept a careful account of all thatwent on in the store across the way from his observation post.

  The lights were still on inside the shop, shedding their glarelessbrightness through the transparent display windows to fall upon thestreet outside in large luminous pools. The Nipe knew exactly what eachman remaining inside was doing, and approximately what each would bedoing for the next few minutes, and he watched with the expectation thathis prophecies would be fulfilled.

  He had watched long and made a thorough study of this establishment, andtonight he expected to attain the goal for which he had worked sopatiently.

  This raid was important in two ways. There were pieces of equipment hehad to get, and they were in that shop. On the other hand, this raidwas, and would be, basically a diversionary tactic. Now that he hadlocated his real target, it was time to create a diversion that woulddraw his enemy's attention away from his immediate surroundings. Thiswould be a raid that Colonel Walther Mannheim could not ignore!

  Two men came out the front door. They spoke to someone still inside. "Solong." "See you tomorrow." Then they walked down the street together,conversing in low tones.

  The Nipe waited.

  Not until a fifth man stopped after he opened the door and flipped aswitch on the inside did the Nipe make any motion. Then he flexed hisfour pairs of limbs in anticipation--but it wasn't quite time to actyet.

  The interior lights of the shop went out. Then the man carefully lockedthe front door, setting the alarms within the shop. Then, serene in thebelief that his establishment was thoroughly protected from burglars,he, too, went down the street.

  The Nipe waited a few minutes longer before he left his observationpost. All was normal, he decided. The time for action had come.

  * * * * *

  The Nipe moved cautiously along the alley toward the rear of thebuilding that was his target. The night watchman had returned to hiscubicle, as he always did after his preliminary inspection of thebuilding's alarm system. He would not leave for some time yet, if hefollowed his habits. And the Nipe saw no reason why he should not.

  Carefully he approached the rear door of the little optical shop.