"Say no more. Hey! Sunlight through what's left of that bridge!"
"Quick! The camera! —You're a very lucky man, Toba." "Don't I know it!
One
When he saw the tiny dot in the rearview mirror blossom and gleam. Red Dorakeen cursed softly.
"What is the matter?" came a husky voice from the dashboard.
"Huh? I didn't know I'd left you on."
His right hand moved toward the control knob, then dropped back.
"You didn't. I activated the circuit myself."
"How'd you manage that?"
"Remember the service job I won from you in that card game last month? There was sufficient credit remaining to have them install some extra circuits. I'd decided it was time to expand my horizons."
"You mean you've been eavesdropping on me for an entire month?"
"Yes. You talk to yourself a lot. Ifs fun."
"We'll have to do something about that."
"You could stop playing cards with me. —I repeat, what is the matter?"
"Police car. Coming up fast. May go right on by. May not, too."
"I'll bet I can knock him out. Want to fight?"
"Hell, no. Sit tight. Flowers. Certain things take time, that's all."
"I do not understand." "I am in no hurry. If I fail, I try again. Or I try
something else."
His eyes returned to the mirror. The shining, teardrop-shaped vehicle was large now in the passing lane and still gaining, though it seemed that it might
have slowed.
"I still do not understand." He struck a wooden match with his thumbnail and
relit his cigar. "I know. Don't worry about it—and stay out of any
discussions that might arise."
"Acknowledged."
He glanced to the side. The vehicle had come abreast of him and was pacing him now. He sighed.
"Stop me or go on, damn you!" he muttered. "We're both too big to play games!"
As if in response, a siren wailed. A globe reared itself above the shining roof and began to blink like a hot
eye.
Red turned the steering wheel and drew off onto the Road's shoulder. Again, the sky began to pulse, dark and light, darker and lighter. When the vehicle came to a complete halt, a morning sun hovered just above the horizon to his right, the grasses were pale with frost, birds were singing. The shining vehicle pulled off ahead of him. Both its doors opened and two gray-tunicked officers descended and moved in his direction. He turned off the ignition and sat perfectly still. He exhaled a large cloud of smoke.
The driver of the other vehicle came up beside his door. His companion moved toward the rear of the truck. The first man looked in. He smiled faintly.
"I'll be damned!" he said. "Hi, Tony."
"Didn't know it was you. Red. Hope you're not up to anything too gross." Red shrugged.
"Oh, a little of this, a little of that."
"Tony," came a voice from the rear. "You'd better take a look at this."
"Uh ... I'll have to ask you to step down. Red." "Sure."
He opened the door and climbed out. "What is it?" Tony asked, moving back. "Look."
He had undone a corner of the tarp and raised it. He now proceeded to unfasten it further.
"I recognize those! They're C Twenty rifles, called M-1s."
"Yeah, I know. See what's back here? Browning Automatic Rifles. And this is a case of hand grenades. Lots of ammo, too."
Tony sighed, turned.
"Don't tell me. Let me guess," he said. "I know right where you are going. You still believe the Greeks should win the Battle of Marathon and you want to give them a hand."
Red grimaced.
"What makes you guess that?"
"You've been caught at it twice before."
"And you just pulled me over—part of a random sampling?" "That's right."
"You trying to say that no one tipped you off?" The officer hesitated and glanced away. "That's right" Red grinned around the cigar.
"Okay. You've got me with the goods. What are you going to do?"
"The first thing we are going to do is confiscate the stuff. You can give us a hand loading them into our van."