of days!

DeVore turned in at the door to his own office, crossed the room, and
sat down at his desk.

To be sure, he could request a share of the fees from Central, and
they'd make an award. But they'd never award more than fifty per cent,
and it'd be hard to get that much. That was no good. The Old Man would
want the same payments he'd been getting.

Or, he could try to negotiate a new agreement with Consolidated, double
the royalties, and then request fifty per cent from Central. He grinned
wryly. That would be within legal limits, he was sure, but Central knew
the present arrangement, and he knew that they knew. And so would most
of the interested manufacturers in other regions. The first-class
citizens who owned the plants had their own liaison. They'd all balk.
Then, Central would invalidate both old and new agreements and refuse
compensation of any kind to district. That would be a suicidal course.

He looked up, thinking of one of the girls out in the legal crew.

"_Fiscal regulations, please. And Markowitz on royalties, too._"

The girl turned half around, and he could see a faint impression of her
view of office details. Then, she went to a book rack. For a few
seconds, she glanced over the books, then selected two large volumes.

"_Shall I look it up, or do you want the books?_"

"_I'll take them. Might need quite a bit of research._"

Shortly, the girl appeared in his doorway. Quickly, she laid the two
volumes on his desk.

DeVore nodded his thanks and opened regulations. Some of the paragraphs
were delightfully vague, and could be subject to more than one
interpretation. But one paragraph was clear and explicit. And that was
the one he was concerned with.

A royalty agreement with, or manufacturing license from Central
Coordination definitely abrogated any agreement with, or payment to, any
lesser headquarters. Such an agreement or license barred any further
negotiation between any lesser headquarters and a manufacturer, relating
to the product concerned. Double royalties were prohibited in any case.

He pushed the books aside. There was no need of looking in Markowitz.
That regulation paragraph took care of this exact situation, and
disposed of it neatly. For an instant, he thought of taking the volume
in to the leader's office. Then, he remembered the threatening note in
the authoritative voice and the flat, deadly thoughts he had noted as
secondaries.

That wouldn't work either. He though