ave we got tonight?"

"Six, Undersecretary."

"Thank you, Walthrop." He switched it off. "Six."

"Why so many?"

"Probably to check the rooms. I don't think they'll stay." Several
seconds later the door tone sounded. He turned to Elonna. "You okay?"
She took a deep breath. He opened the door.

The Secretary entered, preceded by his two bodyguards. Two uniformed
soldiers followed. Morgan addressed them sternly. Another soldier
remained in the hallway.

"So this is the little lovely," said Hunter civilly, nodding towards
her. He gave his long officer's coat to Morgan, and the two uniformed
men began to sweep the room with hand-held detectors. Her eyes drawn
to him by some morbid curiosity, Elonna studied the Secretary.

In his late forties or early fifties, he was a man of average height,
blonde-gray and gaunt, still retaining a taut musculature that showed
itself in the square shoulders and stiffly upright posture. He had a
lean, hard face with prominent cheekbones and brow. But what held her
attention most---Morgan opened a bedroom door for one of the
soldiers---were his eyes. Steel gray and cold, they looked out
restless and insatiable. And though they did not flit, as with lesser
men, they nonetheless seemed unable to rest their gaze on anything for
more than a short time, as if never satisfied with what they saw, angry
and bitter because of it. But when they returned again to her, she
knew it would be very hard. He followed the silk dress up the long
length of her body, and into her eyes. Here was something he wanted.

But even as she looked away, she felt a new determination growing out
of her despair. And though for a moment she had seen him with woman's
eyes, sensing the underlying weakness and need, she felt no pity for
him. His self-malignation and inner violence had cost thousands of
lives already. If it were at all within her power, they would cost no
more.

It was at this same time that she decided upon a strategy. Morgan's
plan had been to lie and act as little as possible, and to decide at
the time which of three contingent courses to adopt. In this way he
hoped to avoid unnecessary risk. She glanced over at him quickly,
looking broken and hurt, and both understood: she had been told of
this ahead of time, and though no longer shocked or capable of much
fear, she felt shamefully and bitterly betrayed. She sat down again
dejectedly and hung her head, without having said