"It's all right," I whispered, and she clung to me--so small beside
me. With the black robe thrown aside, it seemed that I could not miss
the curves of her woman's figure. A dangerous game she was playing.
Her hair had been cut short to the base of her neck, in the fashion of
her dead brother. Her eyelashes had been clipped: the line of her
brows altered. And now, in the light of my tube as it shone upon her
earnest face, I could remark other changes. Glutz, the little beauty
specialist, was in this secret. With plastic skill he had altered the
set of her jaw--put masculinity here.
She was whispering: "It was--was poor George whom Miko shot."
I had now the true version of what had occurred. Miko had been forcing
his wooing upon Anita. George Prince was a weakling whose only good
quality was his love for his sister. Some years ago he had fallen into
evil ways. Been arrested, and then been discharged from his position
with the Federated Corporation. He had taken up with evil companions
in Greater New York. Mostly Martians. And Miko had met him. His
technical knowledge, his training with the Federated Corporation, made
him valuable to Miko's enterprise. And so Prince had joined the
brigands.
Of all this, Anita had been unaware. She had never liked Miko. Feared
him. But it seemed that the Martian had some hold upon her brother,
which puzzled and frightened Anita.
Then Miko had fallen in love with her. George had not liked it. And
that night on the _Planetara_, Miko had come and knocked upon Anita's
door, and incautiously she had opened it. He forced himself in. And
when she repulsed him, struggled with him, George had been awakened.
She was whispering to me now. "My room was dark. We were all three
struggling. George was holding me--the shot came--and I screamed."
And Miko had fled, not knowing whom his shot had hit in the darkness.
"And when George died, Captain Carter wanted me to impersonate him. We
planned it with Dr. Frank to try and learn what Miko and the others
were doing; because I didn't know that poor George had fallen into
such evil ways."
She whispered, "But I love you, Gregg. I want to be the first to say
it: I love you--I love you."
We had the sanity to try and plan.
"Anita, tell Miko we discussed the multiple powers of the catalyst.
Discussed how carefully it would have to be transported; how to gauge
its worth. You'll have to be careful, clever. Don't say too much. Tell
him we estimate the value at about a hundred and thirty millions."
I repeated what Miko had told me of his plans. She knew all that. And
Snap knew it. She had a few moments alone with Snap and gave me now a
message from him, "We'll pull out of this, Gregg."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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