de. "So you paid it. Now show me where I signed any
agreement saying I'd pay _you_ back!"

For a second, Izzy's face went blank; then he chuckled. "Jet me! You're
right, gov'nor. I sure asked for that one. Okay; I'm bloody well
suckered, so forget it."

Gordon shrugged and gave up. He pulled out the bills and handed them
over. "Thanks, Izzy."

"Thanks, yourself." The kid pocketed the money cheerfully, nodding. "Buy
you a beer. Anyhow, you won't miss it. I came out to tell you I got the
sweetest beat in Marsport--over a dozen gambling joints on it--and I
need a right gee to work it with me. So you're it!"

For a moment, Gordon wondered what Izzy had done to earn that beat, but
he could guess. The little guy knew Mars as few others did, apparently,
from all sides. And if any of the other cops had private rackets of
their own, Izzy was undoubtedly the man to find it out, and use the
information. With a beat such as that, even going halves, and with all
the graft to the upper brackets, he'd still be able to make his pile in
a matter of months.

But he shook his head. "I'm assigned here, Izzy, at least for another
week, until after elections...."

"Better take him up, Gordon," Murdoch told him bitterly. The captain
looked completely beaten as he came into the room and dropped onto the
bench. "Go on, accept, damn it. You're not assigned here any more. None
of us are. Mayor Wayne found an old clause in the charter and got a
rigged decision, pulling me back under his full authority. I thought I
had full responsibility to Earth, but he's got me. Wearing their uniform
makes me a temporary citizen! So we're being smothered back into the
Force, and they'll have their patsies out here, setting things up for
the Stonewall boys to come back by election time. So grab while the
grabbing's good, because by tomorrow morning I'll have this all closed
down!"

He shook off Gordon's hand and stood up roughly, to head back up the
hallway. Then he stopped and looked back. "One thing, though, I've still
got enough authority to make you a sergeant. It's been a pleasure
working with you, Sergeant Gordon!"

He swung out of view abruptly, leaving Gordon with a heavy weight in his
stomach. Izzy whistled, and began picking up his helmet, preparing to go
outside. "So that's the dope I brought out, eh? Takes it kind of hard,
doesn't he?"

"Yeah," Gordon answered. There was no use trying to explain it to Izzy.
"Yeah, we do. Come on."

Outsi