“Thank you,” said Jonnie. “What leverage does Terl have on you?”
“That ape? None now. He did have, but not now. None. Praise the devils!”
“Were you ever trained in math?” asked Jonnie.
Ker laughed. “No, I’m dummy at it. All I am is a practical engineer– no education but experience...and crime of course.”
“Do you like cruelty, Ker?”
The midget Psychlo hung his head. He looked ashamed in the reflected light from the machine. “As long as I’m being honest, which is a novelty I can tell you, I have to pretend to like cruelty, to get my fun out of hurting things. Otherwise other Psychlos would consider me abnormal! But...no, I don't like it, I’m sorry to say.” He roused himself. “Say, Jonnie, what's all this about?”
Angus and Jonnie looked at each other. This Psychlo didn't have any objects in his head. None at all!
But Jonnie was not going to let go of vital data. Ker didn't know about such objects and probably very few
Psychlos did. “You've got a different skull structure from other Psychlos,” said Jonnie. “You are completely different.”
Ker jerked into alertness. “Is that a fact? Well, well. I often felt there was some difference.” He became pensive. “Psychlos don't like me. And actually I don't like them. I’m glad to have the reason.”
Jonnie and Angus were very relieved about their test. They didn't want Ker attacking them and committing suicide when he realized they were seeking the answer to the riddle of teleportation.
They were just gathering up their gear when the telltale on the door flashed. Somebody was just outside.
Chapter 8
Ker got on his breathe-mask. He tiptoed over to the machine and picked it up, using only one arm. Then he tiptoed over to the door and suddenly swung it open as though walking out.
A wave of breathe-gas burst out of the room.
Lars was standing there, frozen in the act of attaching a listening device to the door. He wore no air mask.
The invisible puff of breathe-gas hit Lars full in the face.
He must have been in the act of taking a breath at that moment for he rose on his toes like someone being strangled.
He gagged. He reeled back. He fought for air. He started to turn blue. In another few seconds he would start into convulsions.
Jonnie and Angus grabbed him, one on each arm, and rushed him back to clearer air. Angus fanned him with a metal plate he'd found on the floor.
Gradually Lars came back to life. The blue tinge faded. But what he said was, “What were you doing in there?” and he said it angrily.
“Now, now, laddie,” said Angus soothingly. “Here we are saving of your life and ye're making mean sounds. Tch. Tch."
Lars was looking at Jonnie with a peculiar expression on his face. Jonnie went over to where Ker was rattling the housing around in the car as though he had just put it there.
“It’s all right now,” said Ker. “No cracks or metal faults in the housing. We better go see if it fits.”
They drove off and left Lars lying there, gazing after them with that peculiar look.
“Why's he looking at me that way?” asked Jonnie.
“You better be careful,” said Ker. “He's a crazy one. And he's the Council's long nose and pry. He's got some idea that somebody named
Bitter or Hitter was the greatest military leader in your history, and if you stand still for ten seconds he'll begin on you. It 's some church. There's nothing wrong with religion but plenty wrong with what he says. Terl wrecked his wits. But there wasn't much there in the first place. Ha. Ha.”
“But why that peculiar look at me.” asked Jonnie.
“Natural suspicion,” said Ker. “Say, you know I feel a lot better since talking to you creatures! I sure am glad I’m different.”
They stopped and got out below the top compound level where Terl's office was. They removed the housing from the car and struggled up the ramp with it.
Just before they went in, Angus stopped them. “Why couldn't Terl fix this place up himself?”
Ker laughed. “When Jonnie left here he said to spread it that the place was booby-trapped. But that isn't all of it.” He indicated the door to Terl's office with a paw wave. "If the Psychlos got out from the dormitory section they could come here and kill anybody working here. Terl's pretty sure they'd kill him if they got loose. They hate him.”
“Wait,” said Jonnie. “That means Terl will get them killed before he moves in here.” He put a hand on the door latch to the office. “You did debug this place and look for booby traps?”
“Ha. Ha!” said Ker. “I had been tearing this place to bits waiting for you!”
They went in and set the housing down. Indeed the place was a wreck. Wires pulled out, the old breathe-gas circulator scattered in bent pieces on the floor, desks and chairs askew, paper thrown about.
Jonnie looked it over. At once he saw that in Terl's inner office the whole lower section of the wall to the right of Terl's desk as he would sit at it was lined with large, locked compartments. “Been into those?” he said.
Ker shook his head. “No keys. A security chief loves his security.”
Jonnie sent Angus out to find a sentry. The cadets were still the guards in this
compound. Ker, with his blanket authority, repeated what Jonnie whispered to him and sent for Chirk.
They got to work sorting out wires and papers and trash and presently three cadet sentries showed up with
Chirk.
She was a long way from the smart-looking secretary of the old days. They had her on three chain links attached to a collar. Her fur was all the wrong way. There was no powder on her nosebone and no polish on her triple-jointed claws. She wore just a cloth thrown around her shoulders, no other clothes.
"Where's the keys?” said Ker, as prompted.
Keys! Everybody wanted keys! Her voice was punctuated with fang clicks and snaps and hisses. It wasn't enough Terl brought them all to this and sought to ruin her company record by saying she was disobedient and didn't follow orders, but she had to be dragged all over– in chains!– just to say what keys now? That day of the battle Terl provoked, everybody had been after the keys, keys, keys. Her company duties-
Jonnie was quietly whispering in Ker's ear. Ker whispered back, “You trying to start a riot?” But as Jonnie insisted, Ker said loudly to Chirk, “Shut up! Just
because Terl plans to murder all of you down there is no reason to take it out on us!”
Chirk went very still. Through the face mask glass her eyes got very round. The flutter valve of the mask started pumping rather quickly.
Jonnie whispered again and Ker said, “It might or might not make any difference, but when he moves in here and has free reign of this whole compound, he will be furious with you if the keys aren't found!”
The muscles in the middle of her body where her heart was were twitching and leaping. The flutter valve stopped totally for half a minute. Then started again. “He's moving in here?” she said so quietly it was hard to hear her though the mask.
“Why else are we fixing it up?” said Ker. Then menacingly, "Where's the keys to those wall doors?”
Chirk shook her head. “He never let anybody have them. They're maybe gone!” Was that a sob in her breath?
“Well, take her away,” said Ker gruffly to the guards.
They dragged her off.
“What's going on here?” demanded Lars, popping up in the door.
“We're trying to find the access panels to the wiring,” snapped Ker. “It’s all shorted out!”
There were breathe-gas vials scattered around. Jonnie reached behind his back and turned one on. Angus, Ker, and himself were wearing masks.