"How's that? Dammit, I wantto speak to Dwight McKenzie, his aide will _not_ do--well, of coursehe's in town. I just saw him yesterday--"
He waited another five minutes, and then his half dollar clanked backin the return, with apologies. "All right, get his office when itopens, and call me back." He reeled off the number of the privatebooth.
Carl Golden looked up as he came back to the table and stirredsugar-cream into half-cold coffee. "No luck?"
"Son of a bitch has vanished." Dan leaned back against the wall,glowering at Carl and Jean. Through the transparent walls of theglassed-in booth, they could see the morning breakfast-seekersdrifting into the place. "We should have him pretty soon." He bit offthe end of a fresh cigar, and assaulted it with a match.
"Dad, you know what Dr. Moss said--"
"Look, little girl--if I'm going to die in ten minutes, I'm going tosmoke for those ten minutes and enjoy them," Dan snapped. The coffeewas like lukewarm dishwater. Both the young people sipped theirs withbleary early-morning resignation. Carl Golden needed a shave badly. Heopened his second pack of cigarettes. "Did you sleep on the way back?"
Dan snorted. "What do you think?"
"I think Paul might be lying to you."
Dan shot him a sharp glance. "Maybe--but I don't think so. Paul hasalways been fussy about telling the truth. He's all wrong, ofcourse--" (fresh coffee, sugar-cream)--"but I think _he_ believes histale. Does it sound like he's lying to you?"
Carl sighed and shook his head. "No. I don't like it. It sounds to meas though he's pretty sure he's right."
Dan clanked the cup down and swore. "He's demented, that's what he is!He's waited too long, his brain's starting to go. If that story of hiswere true, why has he waited so long to tell somebody about it?"
"Maybe he wanted to see you hang yourself."
"But I can only hang myself on facts, not on the paranoid ramblings ofa sick old man. The horrible thing is that he probably believes it--healmost had me believing it, for a while. But it isn't true. He'swrong--good lord, he's _got_ to be wrong." Dan broke off, staringacross at Carl. He gulped the last of the coffee. "If he _isn't_wrong, then that's all, kiddies. The mountain sinks into the sea, withus just ten feet from the top of it."
"Well, would _you_ walk into the Center for a Retread now withoutbeing sure he's wrong?"
"Of course I wouldn't," said Dan peevishly. "Paul has taken the gameright out from under our noses. We've got to stop everything and findout _now_, before we do another damned thing." The Senator dragged asheaf of yellow paper out of his breast pocket and spread it out onthe table. "I worked it out on the way back. We've got a nasty job onour hands. More than we can possibly squeeze in before the Hearingcome up on December 15th. So number one job is to shift the Hearingsback again. I'll take care of that as soon as I can get McKenzie onthe wire."
"What's your excuse going to be?" Jean wanted to know.
"Anything but the truth. McKenzie thinks I'm going to win the fight atthe Hearings, and he wants to be on the right side of the toast whenit's buttered. He'll shift the date back to February 15th. Okay, nextstep: we need a crew. A crowd that can do fast, accurate, hard workand not squeal if they don't sleep for a month or so. Tommy Sandbornshould be in Washington--he can handle statistics for us. In addition,we need a couple of good sharp detectives. Jean?"
* * * * *
The girl nodded. "I can handle that end. It'll take some time gettingthem together, though."
"How much time?"
"Couple of days."
"Fine, we can have lots of work for them in a couple of days." TheSenator turned back to Carl. "I want you to hit Starship Project firstthing."
Carl shook his head. "I've got a better man for that job. Saw him lastnight, and he's dying for something to do. You don't know him--TerryFisher. He'll know how to dig out what we want. He was doing it forfive years on Mars."
"The alky?" Dan didn't like it. "We can't risk a slip to the teevies.We just don't dare."
"There won't be any slip. Terry jumped in the bottle to get away fromMars, that's all. He'll stay cold when it counts."
"Okay, if you say so. I want to see the setup there, too, but I wantit ready for a quick scan. Get him down there this morning to softenthings up and get it all out on the table for me. You'd better tacklethe ad-men, then. Let's see--Tenner's Agency in Philly is a good placeto start. Then hit Metro Insurance. Don't waste time with underlings,go to the top and wave my name around like an orange flag. They won'tlike it a damned bit, but they know I have the finger on Kornwall inCommunications. We'll take his scalp if they don't play ball. Allyou'll have to do is convince them of that."
"What's on Kornwall?"
"Kornwall has been fronting for 'Moses' Tyndall for years. That's whyTyndall never bothered me too much, because we could get him throughKornwall any time we wanted to. And the ad-men and Metro haveeverything they own sunk into Tyndall's plans." Carl's frown stilllingered. "Don't worry about it, son. It's okay."
"I think maybe you're underestimating John Tyndall."
"Why?"
"I worked for him once, remember? He doesn't like you. He knows it'sgoing to be you or him, in the long haul, with nobody else involved.And you realize what happens if 'Moses' gets wind of this mess? Findsout what your brother told you, or even finds out that you're worriedabout something?"
Dan chewed his lip. "He _could_ be a pain, couldn't he?"
"He sure could. More than a pain, and Kornwall wouldn't be much helpafter the news got out."
"Well, we'll have to take the risk, that's all. We'll have to be fastand quiet." He pushed aside his coffee cup as the phone blinkerstarted in. "I think that gets us started. Jean, you'll keep somebodyon the switchboard, and keep track of us all. When I get through withMcKenzie, I may be leaving the country for a while. You'll have to bemy ears, and cover for me. _Yes_, yes. I was calling DwightMcKenzie--"
The phonebox squawked for a moment or two.
"Hello, Dwight?--What? Oh, thunder! Well, where is he?Timagami--Ontario? An island!" He covered the speaker and growled,"He's gone moose-hunting." Then: "Okay, get me Eastern Sea-Jet CharterService."
Five minutes later they walked out onto the street and split up inthree different directions.
* * * * *
A long series of grey, flickering pictures, then, for Dan Fowler. Afast meal in the car to the Charter Service landing field. Morning sunswallowed up, sky gray, then almost black, temperature dropping, agrey drizzling rain. Cold. Wind carrying it across the open field inwaves, slashing his cheeks with icy blades of water. Grey shape of theski-plane ("Eight feet of snow up there, according to the IWB reports.Lake's frozen three feet thick. Going to be a rough ride, Senator").Jean's quick kiss before he climbed up, the sharp worry in her eyes("Got your pills, Dad? Try to sleep. Take it easy. Give me a callabout anything--") (But there aren't any phones, the operator said.Better not tell her that. Why scare her any more? Damned heart,anyway). A wobbly takeoff that almost dumped his stomach in his lap,sent the briefcase flying across the cabin. Then rain, and grey-blacknothing out through the mid-day view ports, heading north. Faster,faster, why can't you get this crate to move? Sorry, Senator. Nastycurrents up here. Maybe we can try going higher--
Time! Paul had called it more precious than life, and now time flewscreaming by in great deadly sweeps, like a black-winged buzzard. Andthrough it all, weariness, tiredness that he had never felt before.Not years, not work. Weary body, yes--and time was running out, heshould have rejuvenated years ago. But now--_what if Paul were right?_
Can't do it now. Not until Paul is wrong, a thousand times wrong. Thatwas it, of course, that was the weariness that wasn't time-wearinessor body-weariness. Just mind-weariness. Weariness at the thought ofwasted work, the wasted years--a wasted life. Unless Paul is verywrong.
A snarl of disgust, a toggle switch snapped, a flickering teeviescreen. Wonderful pickup these days. News of the World brought to youby Atomics Internation
al, the fuel to power the Starship--thePresident returned to Washington today after three-week vacationconference in Calcutta with Chinese and Indian dignitaries--fullaccord and a cordial ending to the meeting--American medical suppliesto be made available--and on the home front, appropriations renewedfor Antarctica Project, to bring solar energy into every home, Aviadowas quoted as