"They had their orders," said Scone. "Which were to allow no one into
the control room without proper authorization. I didn't want to argue
and so put them on their guard. I had to do what was expedient."
Scone glared at Broward, and he said, "Expediency is going to be the
rule for this day. No matter who suffers."
Broward said, "You don't have to kill me, too. I am an American. If I
could think as coolly as you, I might have done the same thing myself."
He paused, took a deep breath, and said, "Perhaps, you didn't do this
on the spur of the moment. Perhaps, you planned this long before. If
such a situation as this gave you a chance."
"We haven't time to stand here gabbing," said Scone.
* * * * *
He backed away, his gun and gaze steady on Broward. With his other
hand, he felt around until the free end of the thin tube fitted into
the depression in the middle of the door. He pressed in on the key, and
(the correct sequence of radio frequencies activating the unlocking
circuit) the door opened.
Scone motioned for Broward to precede him. Broward entered. Scone came
in, and the door closed behind him.
"I thought I should kill you when we were behind the bank," said Scone.
"But you weren't--as far as I had been able to determine--a Russian
agent. Far from it. And you were, as you said, a fellow American.
But...."
Broward looked at the far wall with its array on array of indicator
lights, switches, pushbuttons, and slots for admission of coded cards
and tapes.
He turned to Scone, and he said, "Time for us to quit being coy.
I've known for a long time that you were the chief of a Nationalist
underground."
For the first time since Broward had known him, Scone's face cracked
wide open.
"What?"
Then, the cracks closed up, the cliff-front was solid again.
"Why didn't you report me. Or are you...?"
"Not of your movement, no," said Broward. "I'm an Athenian. You've
heard of us?"
"I know of them," said Scone. "A lunatic fringe. Neither Russ, Chinese,
nor Yank. I had suspected that you weren't a very solid Marxist. Why
tell me this?"
"I want to talk you out of destroying the controls and the
transmitters," said Broward.
"Why?"
"Don't blow them up. Given time, the Russ could build another set. And
we'd be under their control again. Don't destroy them. Plant a bomb
which can be set off by remote control. The moment they try to use the
phones to paralyze us, blow up the transmitters. That might give us
time to remove the phones from our skulls with surgery. Or insulate
the phones against reception. Or, maybe, strike at the Russkies. If
fighting back is what you have in mind. I don't know how far your
Nationalism goes."
"That might be better," said Scone, his voice flat, not betraying any
enthusiasm for the plan. "Can I depend upon you and your people?"
"I'll be frank. If you intend to try for complete independence of
the Russians, you'll have our wholehearted cooperation. Until we are
independent."
"And after that--what then?"
"We believe in violence only after all other means have failed. Of
course, mental persuasion was useless with the Russians. With fellow
Americans, well...."
"How many people do you have at Clavius?"
Broward hesitated, then said, "Four. All absolutely dependable. Under
my orders. And you?"
"More than you," said Scone. "You understand that I'm not sharing the
command with you? We can't take time out to confer. We need a man who
can give orders to be carried out instantly. And my word will be life
or death? No argument?"
"No time now for discussions of policy. I can see that. Yes. I place
myself and my people under your orders. But what about the other
Americans? Some are fanatical Marxists. Some are unknown, X."
"We'll weed out the bad ones," said Scone. "I don't mean by bad the
genuine Marxists. I'm one myself. I mean the non-Nationalists. If
anyone wants to go to the Russians, we let them go. Or if anybody
fights us, they die."
"Couldn't we just continue to keep them prisoners?"
"On the Moon? Where every mouth needs two pairs of hands to keep
breathing and eating? Where even one parasite may mean eventual death
for all others? No!"