Leighton was silent as he took his glass, then shook his head again. «If Richard isn't joking, what does he think Cheeky is?»
«Or who. Remember, he always calls Cheeky 'he.' «
«I'm not likely to forget it.»
«Oh, confound it, Leighton! Why don't you stop beating around the bush and come out and say that you think Richard's gone bonkers! You're thinking it so loudly I can hear you, and I'm not telepathic.»
Leighton drained his glass and set it firmly on a closed container of plastering compound, then made a steeple of his long fingers. «I'm not worried about Blade's — sanity, J. I hope you realize that if I were, I would have said so.»
J nodded. Leighton wasn't as close to Richard as he was. J had known Richard longer and better, seeing him almost as the son he never had. Leighton, in contrast, had started off seeing Richard as hardly better than some exotic and expensive sort of laboratory animal. He'd mellowed over time, though-it was only a rumor that he had a computer where his heart should be.
«What bothers me is something else,» Leighton went on. «Suppose this bond between Richard and Cheeky gets so close that it's impossible for Richard to link telepathically with anyone else we might want to send to Dimension X?»
«If there is anyone else.»
«Now who's being skeptical about telepathy?» said Leighton, with a twinkle in his eye. «Oh, I admit I was one of those who dismissed it. So damned many charlatans running around, it was hardly worthwhile picking out the real phenomena. But I can face facts. Richard's not a superman, not a mutant, not some creature from outer space. He's as human as you and I. Where there's one like him, there have to be others.»
«First catch your rabbit,» quoted J.
«Precisely. Unfortunately, because of all those bloody charlatans, we'll have to devise our own methods of finding telepaths.»
«And I suppose for that you'll be asking the Prime Minister for another hundred thousand pounds from the Special Fund?»
«I suppose so,» said Leighton bluntly. «Of course, the Russians have done a significant amount of real research into the paranormal. I'm certain my contacts there would give me a substantial-«He stopped as he heard the spymaster starting to choke at the idea of asking the Russians for help.
After a bit, J calmed down and took another swallow of whiskey. He really ought to stop rising to Leighton's baits that way! He sipped more whiskey and considered other possibilities raised by Blade's telepathic ability with Cheeky. For instance, suppose the bond between Blade and Cheeky grew so close that Blade ceased to be interested in forming relationships with those who didn't have telepathic abilities. Could Blade even lose interest in women? That could be dismissed as a fantasy. Richard would probably flirt with the nurse watching over his deathbed!
Or suppose Richard got so used to the link with Cheeky that he came to want the same link with a woman? Did that mean their elusive telepath, whom they hoped to send to Dimension X when Blade could no longer perform, would have to be a woman? And what if the woman was too badly needed for traveling into Dimension X to stay close to Blade…? Sooner or later, Blade would no longer be fast enough and tough enough to survive easily in Dimension X, and he would have to be replaced. When that happened, Blade's life work would be over. If there wasn't anyone waiting to help him make a new life…
Things could get a trifle complicated in that event, J realized. He tried to sort out the possibilities, conscious as he was of a distaste for speculating on Richard's personal life in this manner. Richard was, after all, a grown man.
Before J could take this line of thought much further, he was interrupted by the return of a freshly showered Blade. The younger man poured himself a strong whiskey and sat down, then fixed the other with a wry look.
«Well, what grand plans and schemes do you have for your guinea pigs this time?»
«Actually, Richard-nothing,» said Leighton. «Or at least nothing except trying to land both you and Cheeky in the same place this time!»
«I should bloody well hope so!» exclaimed Blade, and Cheeky made emphatic noises of agreement. They both remembered all too well their separation during the transition to Kaldak, when they landed in separate places in the Dimension. «What do you want us to do to help matters?»
«I think the telepathy is the key to getting you and Cheeky or you and anybody else to land together,» said Leighton. «If you and Cheeky can concentrate on holding mental contact right through the transition, that will give you a better chance.»
«You're assuming the new booth is sufficiently foolproof so that I don't need to be alert for its playing tricks?»
«Yes.»
Blade nodded slowly. «That's reasonable enough. In fact, even if it did have some bugs left in it, there's not much I could do about them during the actual transition. Much better to concentrate on staying with Cheeky. Right, little friend?» He scratched the feather-monkey, who yeeeped in agreement. «Is there anything we should do besides concentrate?»
«I sincerely wish I could suggest something, Richard,» said Leighton. He summarized his conversation with J. «I suspect that the most reliable method we've ever had available for telepathy is Cheeky himself. Unfortunately, there's only one of him.»
«I could leave him behind-«began Blade, but Cheeky interrupted him, squeaking angrily and making faces at everybody. Obviously he was determined to stay with Blade, sink or swim.
«Your friend doesn't seem to care for the idea,» said Leighton dryly. «If we don't send him through this time, we won't be able to field-test the telepathic link. I also suspect that the first few times we use Cheeky to test for telepathy, we'll need you around to communicate with him. I do appreciate your willingness to leave him in our hands, but it's not necessary this time.»
Leighton looked meditatively at the cracked plaster of the ceiling while he sipped more of his drink. «Actually, there is one more thing you could do. Would you object to reducing the amount of equipment you take with you? Or at least the amount of metal?»
J started to protest. One of the great blessings of the new booth was that it created an electrical field that flowed evenly around Blade, undisturbed by anything he wore or carried. This allowed him to go into Dimension X properly equipped for both battle and survival. «Why metal?» asked J. «Is there something wrong with the electrical field after all?»
«No. It's the telepathy I'm thinking about. Suppose it was all the metal in Richard's gear that disturbed the link last time?»
J didn't disagree. At least it was a comparatively reasonable hypothesis. However, he couldn't resist a chance to twit the scientist. «That sounds rather like the old legends about the fairy folk who were vulnerable to cold iron. What have you been reading lately?»
Leighton started to glare, then chuckled when he realized that J was pulling his leg. «If one assumes that paranormal powers exist, and that the 'fairy folk' were a people who had them-well, the legends make a certain amount of sense. Or at least as much sense as anything else in this whole confounded business!»
«No doubt,» said J. «And also, if we can equip Richard adequately, so that what he takes with him will help him to survive but won't look too peculiar to the people of another Dimension, it will help protect the Dimension X secret.»