Dwight V. Swain

“ Ross said, "Your brother's dead, Veta. That seems to be all you care about.
"The trouble with me, though, is that I keep thinking about all the other brothers, and the mothers and fathers and sisters and wives and husbands and children too—all the people in this solar system who don't want to die, but who will, just so long as Tornelescu's life catalyst formula stays in the wrong hands." ”

“ Instantly, the beam that pinned Ross broadened. With a faint whish, a grav-seat dropped from the night to a landing close beside him. Flipping a switch, its occupant held out a hand. "I'm Pike Mawson, sir. Adjudicator for this satellite. Forgive me for not rising, but a blaster-bolt some years ago made that a painful and rather involved process for me."
Ross ignored the extended hand. "I'm Lewis Thigpen."
"Thigpen!" Pike Mawson appeared almost to choke on the name. "No wonder you're glaring holes in me! I only hope you can find it in your heart to forgive an old man's folly!" ”

“ The warehouse at III (3) Triangle Square was sealed up tighter than any tomb. The only windows were those in front, flanking the heavy turn-plate door that opened on the street side.
Narrow-eyed, Ross drew Veta back into a patch of shadow, while overhead Phobos raced Deimos across the sky, the two tiny moons like bright coins against the black backdrop of the Martian night.
For the third time, Veta said, "Stewart, it's impossible. There's simply no way to get in. And even if you found one, what good would it do? No one's there. The place is dark as the Coalsack." ”

“ Ross frowned. "I don't follow you, Mawson."
It was the other's turn to shrug. "It's very simple really, Mr. Ross. My own age, the sense of years creeping upon me, prejudiced my judgment. So, thinking you were Thigpen, I sent Cheng to Venus to run you down." The adjudicator shook his head sadly. "It was an error, Mr. Ross—a grievous error. Guile's my forte; I never should have turned to violence." ”

“ Ross levered her arm up, bracing her.
His hands seemed to slip, to slide away. The woman sprawled on the floor. Her breath came in hoarse, labored gasps.
Blankly, Ross looked from her to his hands.
Where his fingers had touched Astrell, slime now dripped from them ... the same hideous, stinking ooze that had marked the corpse of Zoltan Prenzz, the death of Sanford Hall.... ”

“ Ross said nothing.
"Believe me, Mr. Thigpen, piracy was the last thing in my mind when I sent Cheng out to try to find you. But some over-direct individuals misconstrue orders to their own tastes ever so easily."
"Apparently." Ross bit the word off.
But here, it seemed, all sarcasm was wasted. The adjudicator went on as if no word had been spoken:
"The root fault's mine, Mr. Thigpen. I acknowledge it freely. When I heard of Doctor Tornelescu's life catalyst, and that there was a chance you knew its secret, my sense of values went out of balance. ”

“ Whoever's got that catalyst isn't thinking about life, Veta, or people either. He's thinking about power, the same way Cheng and Burrage think about it. He knows that as long as people love life, that catalyst formula can buy the universe for him. ”

“ Now a shout rose on one of the building's upper levels: a man's angry bellow, echoing and reechoing as it bounced back and forth across the narrow court. Veta moaned and moved her head groggily.
A trickle of sweat rilled from Ross' hairline. ”

“ Like lightning, Mawson thumbed a button set in the grav-seat's control-arm.
The chair came down on the catwalk with a crash, then bounced high into the air, almost to the roof. Ross' nails gouged long tracks in the seat's plastox upholstery as his fingers slipped under the shock.
Mawson spun a dial. The grav-seat whipped round in a tight circle that all but hurled Ross clear across the warehouse by sheer centrifugal force. ”

“ Hastily, he snapped shut the flamer's lid.
His victim had died resting against row after row of fifty-gallon plastidrums of deadly, hair-trigger steron auxiliary flare-fuel, designed for use in atmospheres where nothing else would burn!
Unsteadily, Ross rose and made his way back to the area close to the lighted room.
A switch-box loomed in the dimness. Ross threw the whole bank.
Like magic, light came to the warehouse. Cases appeared, piled high on either side of long, echoing aisles. Overhead, two catwalks—accessible by ladders—ran the length of the building, one above the other. ”

“ A man wearing a plastron breather-mask squirmed through the slot and, falling, sprawled prostrate in the shifting sands beside the tiny vessel.
But now a new sound echoed overhead—the heavy vibrance of a spaceship's ramping-drone.
Sobbing for breath, the man beside the carrier moved convulsively, then lurched to his knees. His chrysolite-green tunic was ripped wide where it had caught on the cowling. A long gash above his left temple stained dun-drab hair scarlet. His nose was bleeding, too, so that the transparent breather-mask bubbled spreading ruby streaks every time he sucked in air. ”

“ Ross stared. "Charming gulfers—?"
"That's right." Veta laughed. "I don't know what the right name for them is, but they have them on some of the asteroids and they call them engulfers—gulfers for short. They look like worn-out rubber rugs, but if they get the chance they'll wrap themselves round you and digest you alive with their juices."
"Go on."
Veta shivered. "They're awfully dangerous, really. They kill lots of people in the Belt. But they happen to like vocorn music too; they'll even move in rhythm to it. ”

“ You're indeed a man of honor—so much so that even a lie to save your life sticks in your craw. So I'll put our business on a different level." A pause, heavy with tension. "Mr. Ross, count on it: if you don't carry through to the letter the plan I've outlined, both you and Veta Hall will die, by the most unpleasant mode a fine creative imagination can devise."
Ross seemed to stand a trifle straighter. "I thought that was coming," he nodded slowly. And then: "Fair enough. I'll do all I can to locate Thigpen's things."
"I thought you'd see it my way," Adjudicator Mawson murmured smoothly. ”

“ Cheng again: "You better have that catalyst this time, you chitza! That's what I'm here for. If I don't get it, you won't live to tell it."
Now Astrell looked up, her face a study in unnatural pallor. "The catalyst—he means to take it!"
Ross didn't bother to answer.
Astrell cried, "I won't let him! He can't do it!"
Cheng: "Your woman dies if you try to shoot, Thigpen! Just remember that!"
Astrell: "I'll take it! That's it, I'll take it now! They say even one injection makes you young!"
She stumbled forward. Claw-like, her fingers tore at the black cube with the catalyst, the injector. ”

“ Cheng's voice again: "A man runs a woman into his place in a space-sack, he likes her some, Thigpen. That's the way I see it."
Ross dug his nails into the table.
"Call her a hostage if you want to, Thigpen. Because she don't come back till I get the formula for that life catalyst stuff you took off old Tornelescu."
Ross' eyes seemed to draw deeper into his skull, his head to sink farther down between his shoulders.
"Of course, if you're the kind of chitza don't give a filan how long it takes the wench to die, that won't mean nothing to you." ”

“ So throw out the act: you've got brains and judgment; admit it!"
The color drained from the girl's face as Ross spoke. Twisting, she cringed from his fingers.
He shook her. "Tell me the truth, rack you! Why did Mawson send you out here with Cheng? What makes him so sure he can trust you?"
No answer.
Savagely, Ross flung the girl into a seat and turned his back on her. "You're a fool!" he lashed bitterly. "A fool, and a liar, and the kind of trollop who'll run a murderer's errands!"
"Shut up!" This from Veta. Eyes flashing, she jumped from the chair, caught Ross by the elbow, and whirled him. ”

“ Again, the woman's voice: "This is Veta Hall, Thigpen. You don't know me, but you've probably heard of the man I'm speaking for: Pike Mawson, the adjudicator on Japetus. He wants to make a deal with you."
From the rock pillar, silence only.
"You needn't play coy, Thigpen. Mawson knows all about that 'life catalyst' you helped Tornelescu work out. That's why he sent us for you. He's old and crippled; he needs that catalyst himself, so he can find youth again. He'll give anything for it—anything you name. ”

“ Your luck has been so spectacular as to indicate real ability, and in consequence your superiors—even including the famous Commandant Padora—have marked you for special attention and advancement."
A pause. Mawson's fingers drummed on his chair-arm. "That's why I'm here, Ross: because I've learned your identity; because I know the kind of man you are."
"Oh?" Ross' tone was flat and noncommittal.
"Yes." The adjudicator gave strong positive emphasis to the word. He leaned forward. "You see, Ross, I overstepped myself on this life catalyst venture. Badly." ”

“ Swooping down too fast out of the eternal dust-clouds that shrouded the Venusian sky, it crested a hillock by such a narrow margin as to spray sand high into the never-ending wind, then veered right in a crazy arc. ”

“ Ross stood as if carved in granite.
"Maybe you do like her, though." Cheng chuckled maliciously. "Well, then, that makes it simple: you just hang around awhile at a place they call Naraki's. It's down in the old port quarter." A fragmentary pause. "You got that, Thigpen? You just stick at Naraki's kabat-dive till somebody comes and gets you.
"Otherwise—no more Veta Hall!" ”

“ Snatching out the injector, she forced an ampule into it and with trembling fingers triggered the spray through the skin of her blue-veined arm.
As if it were a signal, Cheng appeared in the doorway, Veta Hall held in front of him as a shield.
Astrell laughed wildly. "Come ahead!" she cried, arms spread in a caricature of welcome. "You wanted the catalyst. Here it is. Take it. I don't care. ”

“ But Ross was already moving, swinging up the blaster's butt in a hard, fast blow to the other's head.
The man dropped. Hastily, his companion stretched out as ordered.
"Stay there," Ross clipped. Then, incredibly cool, he turned to the ladder and, head tilted forward to hide his face, climbed swiftly towards the hatchway.
Above him, Veta Hall spoke, her voice no longer marred by the amplifier's distortion: "You really did get him, Igor? Alive, not dead—?" ”

“ Momentarily, Ross' eyes narrowed a fraction; that was all.
"You take that too good, you zanat!" the slaver observed. "You held too tight on it. So maybe you better start off this party by saying who Stewart Ross is, and how you got your picture on his bracelet."
Ross shook his head, a fraction too swiftly. "I've never seen it before."
"Don't waste your breath, starbo!" Cheng leaned on the bars. "I call the turn here, and I say you talk—about Tornelescu's formula; that band, there; anything at all. You can do it quick, or you can hurt awhile first. Make up your mind." ”

“ So I figured out the message, of course, since I'd been to Calor City often years ago, and knew all about Triangle Square. My cruiser put me down here even before you. In fact, I was watching when you broke in—"
Abruptly, Astrell stopped talking long enough to push Ross into the lighted office. She gestured to the black cube with one puffy hand. "Is that it? Is that the catalyst?"
Ross drew a quick breath. "No, it isn't."
"Don't lie to me! Of course it is!" Astrell's beady eyes grew bright above their pouches. "I'm going to have it right now! I'm going to be young again. You'll see!" ”

“ Ross' features stayed wooden. "My name's Thigpen."
"It is?" The adjudicator chuckled, gestured. "Corrack, is this our old friend Tornelescu's helper, Lewis Thigpen?"
A snort from the man with the blaster. "Not even in the dark, he ain't Thigpen."
"You see, Ross?" Mawson spread his hands in a helpless gesture. "Corrack grew up in the same colony with Thigpen. He knows him intimately—drank kabat with him less than an Earth week ago, as a matter of fact. So there's really no point to your trying to continue the imposture." ”