hots like him; not for
small fry such as you."

"Well, it won't be exclusively monkey-business, anyway. While we're gone
you might clear with the control tower and take us up into take-off
position. Come on, Belle." He took her by one elbow and led her away.

"Why, _Doctor Garlock_." Mincing along beside him, pretending high
reluctance, she looked up at him wide-eyed. "I'm _surprised_, I really
am. I'm _shocked_, too. I'm _not_ that kind of a _girl_, and if I wasn't
_afraid_ of losing my _job_ I would _scream_. I _never_ even _suspected_
that _you_ would use your _position_ as my _boss_ to _force_ your
_unwelcome attentions_ on a _poor_ and _young_ and _innocent_ and
_suffering_...."

[Illustration:

In an unparalleled blast of Gunther power the primes of
many worlds head toward the meeting on Tellus.]

Inside his room Garlock, who had been grinning, sobered down and checked
every Gunther block--a most unusual proceeding.

* * *

Belle stopped joking in the middle of the sentence.

"Yeah, _how_ you suffer," he said. "I was just checking to be sure we're
prime-proof. I'm not ready for Deggi Delcamp yet. That guy, Belle, as
you probably noticed, has got one God-awful load of stuff."

"Not as much as you have, Clee. Nor as much push behind what he has got.
And his shield wouldn't make patches for yours."

"Huh? How sure are you of that?"

"I'm positive. I'm the one who is going to get bumped, I'm afraid. That
Fao Talaho is a hard-hitting, hard-boiled hellcat on wheels."

"I'll be damned. You're wrong. I checked her from stem to gudgeon and
you lay over her like a circus tent. What's the answer?"

"Oh? Do I? I'm mighty glad ... funny, both of us being wrong ... it must
be, Clee, that it's sex-based differences. We're used to each other, but
neither of us has ever felt a Prime of the same sex before, and there
must be more difference between Ops and Primes than we realized.
Suppose?"

"Could be--I hope. But that doesn't change the fact that we aren't
ready. We haven't got enough data. If we start out with this grandiose
Galactic Service thing and find only two or three planets Gunthered, we
make jackasses of ourselves. On the other hand, if we start out with a
small organization or none, and find a lot of planets, it'll be one
continuous cat-fight. On the third hand...."

"Three hands, Clee? What are you, an octopussy or an Arpalone?"

"Keep your beautiful trap shut