Odal said nothing.
“You still do not like the role you are required to play,” Kor said. “No, don’t bother to deny it, I can see it in your face. Let me remind you that your duty may not always be pleasant, but if you succeed your rewards will be high.”
“I will do my duty, unpleasant or not,” Odal said stiffly. And I know the penalties for failure, he added silently.
Leoh looked bone-weary to Hector as they returned from the party. That morning, a new psychonics building had been dedicated at the university. It was named the Albert Robertus Leoh Center for Psychonics Studies.
The day had been spent in speeches on an outdoor platform in the morning, a tour of the new building in the afternoon, dinner with the president and trustees of the university, and the inevitable party that night.
“I’ve simply got to find time,” Leoh was saying as they stepped out of the lift tube into the hallway in front of their apartment, “to run some experiments on your ‘jump.’ We can use the tape of…”
But Hector was staring quizzically at the apartment door. It was open and the lights inside were on.
“Another newsman, I’ll bet,” Leoh said wearily.
“I’ll tell him to come back some other time,” said Hector. He moved ahead of Leoh and entered the apartment.
Sitting on the air couch in the middle of the living room was Odal.
“You!”
The Kerak major rose to his feet slowly, a tight smile on his face, as first Hector and then Leoh came in, saw him, and stopped.
“Good evening,” Odal said, getting to his feet. “Come right in. After all, this is your place.”
“How did you get into?…”
“That’s of no real concern. I’m here to settle some unfinished business. Professor Leoh, some time ago you accused me of cheating in the dueling machine. I was about to challenge you when the Watchman intervened. I challenge you now.”
“Now wait,” Hector began, “you can’t…”
“I already have. Professor, do you accept my challenge?”
Leoh stood three steps inside the door, unmoving, silent.
“Let me remind you,” Odal said calmly, “that you have gone to great lengths to prove to the people of Acquatainia that the dueling machine is safe and harmless. If I may quote one of your many tri-di speeches, Tampering with the dueling machine is a thing of the past.’ If you refuse to meet me in a duel, it will seem that you’re afraid that the machine is not so safe… when I am the opponent.”
Leoh said, “And you would, of course, see to it that my refusal became public knowledge.”
Smiling again, Odal nodded. “You are a great celebrity. I’m sure the news media would learn about it one way or another.”
“Don’t do it,” Hector said to Leoh. “It’s a trap. Don’t agree to duel with him. I’ll…”
“You, Watchman, have already beaten me in a duel,” Odal said, his smile vanishing. “You can’t ask me to face you again. It would be unfair.”
“I’ll agree to the duel,” Leoh answered, “if you’ll agree to have the tape shown publicly.”
“Very well,” Odal said. “We will meet in three days, as is customary?”
“Make it a week,” Hector said. “Give us a chance to… uh, inspect the machine and make sure, that is…”
“Make certain that the monsters from Kerak haven’t tampered with it?” Odal laughed. “Very well, a week from today.”
Odal walked toward the door, stepped between Hector and Leoh, and left. The door clicked shut behind him.
Hector turned his eyes from the closed door to Leoh. “You shouldn’t have accepted… I mean, well, it’s a trick of some kind, I know it is.”
The Professor looked thoughtful. “Is it? Or is Odal—or Kanus, or whoever—getting desperate? I’ve been able to show the Acquatainian people that they have nothing to fear from the dueling machine, you know. They might be trying to restore the machine to its symbol of terror.”
Hector shook his head.
“But I can beat Odal in a fair duel,” Leoh said. “After all, I’ve won every duel I’ve fought, haven’t I? And you beat Odal. The only duels he won were when he had outside help. I think I can beat him, I honestly do.”
Hector didn’t answer, but merely stared in disbelief at the old man.
The building that housed the dueling machine was surrounded by throngs of people. Their restless, anxious murmuring could be heard even inside the normally quiet room. The press gallery, high above the machine itself, was packed with reporters.
For a solid week every tri-di outlet in the Acquataine Cluster had drummed continuously on the coming duel between Leoh and Odal. Good against evil, with the issue seriously in doubt. The old, overweight, shaggy professor against the blade-slim professional killer.
Hector and Leoh stood before the machine. The meditechs were bustling about making final checks on the controls. On the other side of the room, tiers of temporary seats had been put in. They were filled with government and social leaders, military men, policemen, and a small contingent from the Kerak embassy. Geri Dulaq sat in the front row, next to the empty chair that would be Hector’s.
“I still don’t like it,” Hector said in a near whisper to Leoh.
With his eyes sweeping the room, watching the restless onlookers and the busy meditechs, Leoh answered, “Relax, my boy. We’ve turned the machine inside out. The worst he can do is to defeat me. At the slightest medical irregularity, the machine will automatically stop us. And beside, I still think I can beat him. I’ll be using the neutron star environment again, the same one I used against that college student. He’ll have no advantage over me there.”
A roar went up from the crowd outside.
“Here he comes,” Hector said.
The main doors opened. Flanked by two rows of uniformed policemen, in walked Odal and his two seconds, all in the light blue uniforms of Kerak. Odal was annoyedly brushing something from his tunic.
“Evidently,” Leoh said, “diplomatic immunity didn’t protect Odal entirely from the crowd.”
The introductions, the medical checks, the instructions, the choice of weapon and environment—all seemed to take hours instead of minutes. Until suddenly they were over, and Hector found himself walking alone to his spectator’s seat.
He sat beside Geri and watched Leoh and Odal enter their booths, watched the meditechs take their stations at the control desks, watched the panel lights turn from amber to green. The duel was on.
The crowd stirred uncertainly. A buzzing murmur filled the room. There was nothing to do now but wait.
Geri leaned close to Hector and asked sweetly, “Did you bring a gun?”
“Huh? A… what for? I mean…”
She whispered, “For Odal. I have a small one in my handbag.”
“But… but.…”
“You promised me!” Still in a whisper, but harsher now.
“I know, but not here. There’re… well, there’re too many people here. Someone might get hurt… if shooting starts.…”
Geri thought a moment. “Maybe you’re right. Of course, if he kills Professor Leoh in there, he’ll walk right out of here and board a Kerak star ship and we’ll never see him again.”
Hector couldn’t think of a reply, so he just sat there feeling thoroughly miserable.
The two of them remained silent for the rest of the half-hour. At the end of the time limit for the duel, all the lights on the machine went amber. The crowd let out a gust of disappointed-yet-relieved sighs. Hector sprinted to Leoh’s booth while Odal’s seconds marched in time to his.
Leoh came out of the booth looking very thoughtful.
“You’re all right?” Hector asked.