Randall Garrett

“ The heat was intense in the little room, but his own body shield protected him.
As soon as the hole in the floor was big enough, Bartol dropped through it to the level below. There was no one in the room.
He smiled grimly to himself as he ran down another corridor. There were only a few human beings in the Palace; all the others were androids. One of those humans was trying to kill him, the others didn't care whether he died or not, so long as his objective was achieved. ”

“ It was stupid not to build all the walls with force-fields that would make them impervious to beam guns. But then, the whole set-up on Apollyon was stupid. These petty Autarch-Assassin games could only have been set up by a madman.
Five android guards ran into the room, firing their beam-rifles. Bartol ignored them; the beams couldn't touch him. Two more started to pull in a wheeled semiportable. They got it in through the door and swiveled it toward Bartol.
At that moment, the mechanism in the helmet synchronized with the wall's force field. ”

“ His face looked quite calm. "The BSA androids have started their attack on the Palace. My own androids are holding them off so far, of course, but that is only part of the diversion. The real, human assassin may get into the Palace by trickery. After that, it will be up to you."
He walked over to an arms cabinet. "Your personal equipment is here. Force-field belt, cutter beam—everything. And may I say—good luck."
A moment later, Bartol was seated in the private citadel of the Autarch himself, waiting for a murderer to come after him. ”

“ The other assassin which is causing so much trouble upstairs is an android—a special job, like your Peace Commissioner. It's controlled by a League man. But that android hasn't killed anyone but androids, anymore than I have. ”

“ The Autarch android was studied carefully, and the agent who looked most like him—myself—was sent here. Your records were tampered with so that it would look as though I had always been a citizen of Apollyon. I was put under deep hypnosis, and false memories were implanted. It had to be deep so that your own hypnosis wouldn't dig anything up. But my compulsion vanished as soon as the assassin entered the Palace.
"It was all perfectly legal, you see. One human assassin is allowed. That was me. It's perfectly legal to use trickery. ”

“ There's a disturbance on the fifth level! The assassin has entered the Palace!" It was the Commander's voice.
Suddenly, something clicked in Bartol's mind. He glanced down at his bright uniform and then looked at the plain gray of the android guards.
"You! Guard! Strip off that uniform! Quickly!"
Automatically, the android robot obeyed. At the same time, Bartol took off his own clothing. He changed with the guard and re-armed himself.
"Neither of you know where I am going. You will forget seeing me leave."
They nodded. He was the Autarch, as far as they knew; they would obey every order. ”

“ The assassin, whoever he was, must have weapons of tremendous power to be able to burn his way into the Autarch's citadel so easily. He could move downward from floor to floor a lot more rapidly than Bartol could. ”

“ The Galactic League was made up of some of the most powerful governments in the Galaxy. Their sole law, throughout the Galaxy, was that any planet could have the kind of government it wanted, except a government imposed by force. ”

“ Only heavy-duty guns would knock the assassin out, and they were clumsy and hard to move. The BSA man had to take a roundabout route, but he was working his way steadily toward the citadel of the Autarch, where an android in a gaudy uniform was waiting for him. ”

“ Quietly, he walked over to the heavy door that guarded the citadel, opened it, and stepped out into the corridor.
The assassin was on the fifth level. Seven levels above him! The citadel was buried deep beneath the surface.
"We have two semiportable blasters aimed at him," said the voice in Bartol's ear. "We—wait! ”