e the team members
were taken."

Conversation lapsed until Dodd swung the sedan into a restricted
parking place near the corner of 15th and K streets. Then he led the
way into an office building. Rick looked around him as they walked to
the elevators. It was a typical large office building with an
arcade-type lobby. He noticed a haberdashery shop, a barbershop, a
florist, a newspaper-tobacco stand, and the entrance to a drug store.
The building directory was loaded with names.

In the elevator, Dodd said, "Four, please."

The Spindrifters were the only ones that got off at that floor. As the
door slid closed, Rick saw that a man was seated in an alcove, just
out of sight of anyone who got off the elevator. Dodd greeted him,
then said, "Remember these faces, Sam."

Sam nodded without speaking.

Dodd led them down a hall. Rick had to satisfy his curiosity. "Is this
a government building?"

"No. It's a regular office building. We leased this floor under the
name of a phony corporation. It's entirely ours, but the rest of the
building is occupied by legitimate firms."

"Isn't that risky?" Weiss asked.

"It depends. If the project is penetrated, then it becomes easier for
the enemy in one way, since we don't have the protection of a
government building. On the other hand, the public has free access to
all but a few of the government buildings, while we can control who
comes in and out of this floor."

"What does 'penetrated' mean?" Scotty inquired.

"Known to the enemy."

"But couldn't you have put the project in the Pentagon, or in the
Atomic Energy Commission Building?" Rick pursued.

"Yes, except that it's top secret, even within the government. I doubt
that more than two dozen people even know about it. Remember, the best
security is not to let people even suspect that a thing exists."

"But the project has been penetrated," Scotty pointed out.

"We don't know that. The newspaper article gave no details, remember.
Only that some unidentified scientists had gone insane. No location,
no names, no anything of real value. And we have taken precautions.
After all, you have the team chief. Only one man is left, and we hope
to get him out of here, too."

Dodd swung open a door that opened into a bare outer office, and led
them into an inner room where a man bent over a desk.

Rick knew his name. This was Dr. Humphrey Marks, the reluctant
bachelor. All Rick could see for the moment was a bald head. It was
c