," Trigger acknowledged. "What were they?"

"They had an Evalee record which told us more than the brains did. They
were high-priced boys. Their brains told us they'd allowed themselves to
be mind-blocked on this particular job. High-priced boys won't do that
unless they can set their standard price very much higher. It didn't
look at all any more as if they'd come to your door by accident."

"No," she admitted.

"The Feds got in on it then. There'd been that business in Mantelish's
lab. There were similarities in the pattern. You knew Mantelish. You'd
been on Harvest Moon with him. They thought there could be a
connection."

"But what connection?" she protested. "I _know_ I don't know anything
that could do anybody any good!"

He shrugged. "I can't figure it either, Trigger girl. But the upshot of
it was that I was put in charge of this phase of the general
investigation. If there is a connection, it'll come out eventually. In
any case, we want to know who's been trying to have you picked up and
why."

She studied his face with troubled eyes.

"That's quite definite, is it?" she asked. "There couldn't possibly
still be a mistake?"

"No. It's definite."

"So that's what the grabber business in the Colonial School yesterday
was about...."

He nodded. "It was their first try since the Evalee matter."

"Why do you think they waited so long?"

"Because they suspected you were being guarded. It's difficult to keep
an adequate number of men around without arousing doubts in interested
observers."

Trigger glanced at the plasmoid. "That sounds," she remarked, "as if
you'd let other interested observers feel you'd left them a good opening
to get at Repulsive."

He didn't quite smile. "I might have done that. Don't tell the Council."

Trigger pursed her lips. "I won't. So the grabbers who were after me
figured I was booby-trapped. But then they came in anyway. That doesn't
seem very bright. Or did you do something again to make them think the
road was clear?"

"No," he said. "They were trying to clear the road for themselves. We
thought they would finally. The deal was set up as a one-two."

"As a what?"

"One-two. You slug into what could be a trap like that with one gang. If
it was a trap, they were sacrifices. You hope the opposition will now
relax its precautions. Sometimes it does--and a day or so later you're
back for the real raid. That works occasionally. Anyway it was the plan
in this case."