He kept his eyes on what was going on. "Lafon is going to try to use
the governor as a shield, I think." The voice of Lafon was loud, but
the noises outside made it hard to understand. But O'Leary could make
out what the dark ex-Professional was saying: "--know damn well you
did something. But what? _Why don't they crush out?_"
Mumble-mumble from the Governor. O'Leary couldn't hear the words.
But he could see the effect of them in Lafon's face, hear the rage
in Lafon's voice. "Don't call me a liar, you civvy punk! You did
something. I had it all planned, do you hear me? The laundry boys were
going to rush the gate, the Block A bunch would follow--and then I
was going to breeze right through. But you loused it up somehow. You
must've!"
His voice was rising to a scream. O'Leary, watching tautly from the
cell, thought: He's going to break. He can't hold it in much longer.
"All _right_!" shouted Lafon, and even Sauer, looming behind him,
looked alarmed. "It doesn't matter what you did. I've got you now and
_you_ are going to get me out of here. You hear? I've got this gun and
the two of us are going to walk right out, through the gate, and if
anybody tries to stop us--"
"Hey," said Sauer, waking up.
"--if anybody tries to stop us, you'll get a bullet right in--"
"_Hey!_" Sauer was roaring loud as Lafon himself now. "What's this talk
about the _two_ of you? You aren't going to leave me and Flock!"
"Shut up," Lafon said conversationally, without taking his eyes off the
governor.
But Sauer, just then, was not the man to say "shut up" to, and
especially he was not a man to take your eyes away from.
"That's torn it," O'Leary said aloud. The girl started to say something.
But he was no longer there to hear.
It looked very much as though Sauer and Lafon were going to tangle. And
when they did, it was the end of the line for the governor.
* * * * *
Captain O'Leary hurtled out of the sheltering cell and skidded down the
corridor. Lafon's face was a hawk's face, gleaming with triumph. As he
saw O'Leary coming toward him, the hawk sneer froze. He brought the gun
up, but O'Leary was a fast man.
O'Leary leaped on the lithe black honor prisoner. Lafon screamed and
clutched; and O'Leary's lunging weight drove him back against the wall.
Lafon's arm smacked against the steel grating and the gun went flying.
The two of them clinched and fell, gouging, to the floor.
Grabbing the advantage, O'Leary hammered the con's head against the
deck, hard enough to split a skull. And perhaps it split Lafon's,
because the dark face twitched and froth appeared at the lips; and the
body slacked.
One down!
Now Sauer was charging. O'Leary wriggled sidewise and the big redhead
blundered crashing into the steel grate. Sauer fell and O'Leary caught
at him. He tried hammering the head as he swarmed on top of the huge
clown. But Sauer only roared the louder. The bull body surged under
O'Leary and then Sauer was on top and O'Leary wasn't breathing. Not at
all.
Good-by, Sue-Ann, O'Leary said silently, without meaning to say
anything of the kind; and even then he wondered why he was saying it.
O'Leary heard a gun explode beside his head.
Amazing, he thought, I'm breathing again! The choking hands were gone
from his throat.
It took him a moment to realize that it was Sauer who had taken the
bullet, not him. Sauer who now lay dead, not O'Leary. But he realized
it when he rolled over, and looked up, and saw the girl with the gun
still in her hand, staring at him and weeping.
He sat up. The two guards still able to walk were backing Sue-Ann
Bradley up. The governor was looking proud as an eagle, pleased as a
mother hen.
The Greensleeves was back in the hands of law and order.
The medic came toward O'Leary, hands folded. "My son," he said, "if
your throat needs--"
O'Leary interrupted him. "I don't need a thing, Doc! I've got
everything I want right now."