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"I'm no supply officer," I snarled, suddenly very much in a hurry. "Go find out what the trouble is."
As soon as he left I slipped the bomb into place, set it for three minutes and followed him out.
"What is it?" I asked, meeting him at the top of the gangway.
"An explosion in one of the ships, in the engine room."
"Where? I must look into this!"
I shouted the words and exited as fast as I could. Almost all of the bombs should have gone off by now and the reports would be pouring in. At first it would all be confusion, and it was during this period that I had to make my exit from the base. Because soon after that would come the realization that all of the explosions had occurred in the same place in a number of ships, followed by the unbelievable news that Kraj had recently been in all of these engine rooms. Kraj would not be suspected, not at first, but the authorities would certainly like to have a little chat with him. I wanted to get out before this final stage was reached. Walking as fast as I could without attracting attention, I headed for my car.
And saw the two military policemen standing there, holding the sagging Hamal between them.
"Is this your car, sir?" one of them asked. "Of course. What are you doing here?"
"It's this man, we saw him sitting in the back talking to himself. We thought he was drunk until we heard him speak. Some foreign language, sir, sounds like the one they talk on this planet. Do you know who he is?"
I didn't hesitate. This was war and troops die for a lot of reasons.
"Never saw him before in my life."
My voice penetrated Hamal's drugged brain because he looked up, blinking. Weak as his nerve was, he must have the physical constitution of an ox to be even moving after the amount of gas he had breathed. Then he groped for me shouting aloud.
"You must help me, they are going to kill me, get me out of here, it was a mistake bringing me in the first place…"
"What's be saying?" one of the military policemen asked.
"I have no idea—though I think he might be the spy who has been causing the engine room sabotage." Time was going by too quickly; how soon before they thought of Kraj? "Put him in the back of the car and come with me. I know how to make him talk sense."
While they were doing this I started the engine and pulled away, even before they sat down. This tumbled them about a bit and if they noticed the blankets on the floor they did not mention them. Throttle wide open I headed for the exit.
Towards the officer who stood blocking the way, holding up his hand for me to stop. I kept going but had to brake hard at the last instant because he did not move.
"You ca
"I am leaving. Save your orders for others."
"My orders were to close the gate to everyone without exception."
"I have a prisoner who may be a saboteur and I have two men to guard him. I am taking him to the Octagon for questioning. Your professional zeal is commendable. Captain, but you must know that I am the one who issues orders, not obeys them."
"You ca
"Move or I will kill you," I said, in as bored a monotone as I could manage.
He half reached for his gun—then stopped. For a moment more be hesitated and I could see the worried fear in his eyes. Then he stepped aside reluctantly and I gu
Hamal was also now very soundly asleep and I strongly wished that I were as well. I yawned broadly and, following the side roads, headed for the dock.