"I want my vacation now," I said. "I've accrued seven months. I'm going
to Venus," I said.
"Now, now," Starza said. "Mustn't desert the sinking ship, Jake." I shut
my eyes. His voice was soothing oil. "Jake, the Guild as a whole doesn't
know of this plant. Guild agents are free-lancers, in the full sense of
the word. They exercise their own initiative, and only report to Guild
HQ when the job is done."
"Then," Carmody said, "if we can find out who--"
"Precisely." Starza's eyes were veiled. "Incidentally, Don, you've been
gone the last four days. Why?"