The silence was ominous, and I could feel their eyes upon me, hot and
deadly.
I didn't raise my hands. It didn't seem quite right to let them think I
was seeking a truce. A man may be a fool to play fair with killers, but
something made me change my mind about raising my hands.
I'd give them their chance--ten seconds. I wouldn't try to bargain for
those ten seconds by walking toward them under false colors. I'd just
trust to luck and--
* * * * *
Steve had never seen the weapon I held in my palm. It was a tiny
electrostatic accelerator tube, capable of flexible, high precision
control of ions with energies up to twelve million electron-volts.
It was a simple thing--and unbelievably destructive. It made no sound
at all. But ten seconds after I clicked it on, the desert directly in
my path was glowing white hot.
Just a glow, white, dazzling for an instant. Then a dull rumbling shook
the ground and the wall opposite blackened and crumbled. The heat was
like a blast of incandescent helium gas from a man-made sun.