backward, her dark eyes uncomprehending. It was a gangland-style
execution, quick and preemptory, the time-honored way. No appeals or
due process.
He'd been hoping merely to gain some time for Androv, not cause her to
be murdered on the spot. Now Tanzan Mino turned to him, still gripping
the pistol. His face was distorted in irrational fury. "Perhaps I made
a mistake just now, Dr. Vance. What do you think?"
"Probably a pretty serious one."
"Yes, now that I reflect on it, I'm inclined to agree. The culprit we
seized red-handed was you. You are the one I should be making an
example of." He was raising the Walther again.
It began so quickly he almost didn't realize it was happening. From out
of the swirl of mist that engulfed _Daedalus_ /'s landing gear a white-
haired old man appeared, grasping a pistol. Tanzan Mino turned to
stare, just in time to hear him yelling--in Russian.
"Release him. Release my son. I order you." He was closing on the
group, about twenty feet in front of them, brandishing the weapon
uncertainly. Vance couldn't make out what caliber it was, but he
doubted it mattered. Andrei Androv clearly had no idea how to use it.
His was an act of desperation.
Then another realization clicked.
He said "my son." He thinks I'm Yuri.
Before anybody could move, a white pressure suit materialized out of
the distant haze around _Daedalus II_. It was Yuri Androv, running
toward his father, shouting. "_Nyet_! Don't--"
"Release him, I tell you." Andrei Androv didn't hear him as he
continued to move menacingly on Tanzan Mino. The outcome was
inevitable.
Vance ducked and rolled for the Personnel Module just as the _kobun's_
line of H&K automatics flared.
Andrei Androv lurched, gray hair flying, and managed to get off two
rounds. But instead of hitting a _kobun_, he caught one of the Mino
Industries pilots, visor up, directly in the face.
Comrade Doktor Andrei Petrovich Androv, dean of Soviet propulsion
technology, chief designer of the _Daedalus_, died instantly, his eyes
still fixed in determination. However, Tanzan Mino's _kobun_ weren't
tidy. One of them squeezed off a couple more rounds just as Yuri Androv
ran up and leaned over his father's crumpled body. With a groan, he
spun around and staggered against the huge 22-ply tires of _Daedalus
_/'s starboard landing gear.
It still wasn't over. As Vance scrambled against the Personnel Module,
he caught a glimpse of something that, faintly visible through the
clouds of cryogenic fog, apparently was escaping everybody else.
Another woman was standing in the door of the office where Vera
Karanova had been. Holding an Uzi.
How had she managed to get her hands on that?
Not a second too soon. She can sweep the floor. Just get out of the way
and give her an opening. Maybe there's still time.
He began scrambling for the base of the Personnel Module. Now the white
mist was obscuring everything, and Tanzan Mino seemed to have enveloped
himself in it. He was nowhere to be seen. However, his presence was not
missed by his _kobun_, who were still taking care of business.
The next agenda item, Vance realized, was himself. As he tried to roll
under the module, one was turning, raising his automatic . . .