She sat on a plain chair beside his bed. "I know everything about you,
Lieutenant Curtis."
"How did you learn my name? I destroyed all my papers--"
"I know that you're twenty-four. Born July 10, 1971. Orphaned at four,
you attended Boys Town in the Catskills till you were 19. You graduated
from the Academy at White Sands last June with a major in Astrogation.
Your rating for the five-year period was 3.8--the second highest in a
class of fifty-seven. Your only low mark in the five years was a 3.2 in
History of Martian Civilization. Want me to go on?"
Fascinated, Ben nodded.
"You were accepted as junior astrogation officer aboard the _Odyssey_.
You did well on your flight from Roswell to Luna City. In a barroom
fight in Luna City, you struck and killed a man named Arthur Cobb, a
pre-fab salesman. You've been charged with second degree murder and
escape. A reward of 5,000 credits has been offered for your capture.
You came to Hoover City in the hope of finding a renegade group of
spacemen who operate beyond Mars. You were looking for them in the
Blast Inn."
He gaped incredulously, struggling to rise from his pillows. "I--don't
get it."
"There are ways of finding out what we want to know. As I told you, we
have many friends."
He fell back into his pillows, breathing hard. She rose quickly.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I shouldn't have told you yet. I felt so happy
because you're alive. Rest now. We'll talk again soon."
"Maggie, you--you said I'd live. You didn't say I'd be able to walk
again."