* * *

Neel reached down, found Costa's shoulders and slowly dragged him to his
feet. His eyes were adjusting to the glare above them now, and he could
make out the gleam of reflected light on the metal in Costa's fingers.
The UN man's other hand was clutched tightly to his waist. The gun had
vanished. The metal device wasn't a key, but Costa used it like one. It
turned in the lock and the door swung open under their weight. Neel half
carried, half dragged the other man's dead weight through it, dropping
him to the floor inside. Before he closed the door he reached down and
felt a great pool of blood outside.

There was no time to do a perfect job, the hard footsteps were coming,
just a few yards away. His sleeves were sodden with blood as he blotted,
then pushed rubble into the stain. He pulled back inside and the door
closed with only the slightest click.

"I don't know how you managed it, but I'm glad you found me," Costa
said. There was weakness as well as silence in his whisper.

"It was only chance I found you," Neel said bitterly. "But criminal
stupidity on my part that let you walk into this trap."

"Don't worry about it, I knew what I was getting into. But I still had
to go. Spring the trap to see if it _was_ a trap."

"You suspected then that Hengly was--" Neel couldn't finish the
sentence. He knew what he wanted to say, but the idea was too unbearable
to put into words. Costa had no such compunction.

"Yes. Dear Hengly, graduate of the University and Practitioner of
Societics. A traitor. A warmonger, worse than any of his predecessors
because he knew just what to sell and how to sell it. It's never
happened before ... but there was always the chance ... the weight of
responsibility was too much ... he gave in--" Costa's voice had died
away almost to a whisper. Then it was suddenly loud again, no louder
than normal speaking volume, but sounding like a shout in the secret
basement.

"Neel!"

"It's all right. Take it easy--"

"Nothing is all right--don't you realize that. I've been sending my
reports back, so the UN and your Societics people will know how to
straighten this mess out. But Hengly can turn this world upside down and
might even get a shooting-war going before they get here. I'm out of it,
but I can tell you who to contact, people who'll help. Hold the k-factor
down--"

"That wouldn't do any good," Neel said quietly. "The whole thing is past
the patch and polish stage now