The Insurgent smiled bitterly, and drained the cup. And propaganda, of
course. Subtle--most of it indirect, a good deal of it developed by
the chrysalids themselves, but propaganda, nevertheless. Kill the evil
ones--kill the eaters of dead flesh, the drinkers of blood. They are
the servants of the Evil One.
He almost retched.
But, you could hardly blame them. It was a war, and, in a war, you play
all your cards, even if some of them were forced into your hand.
_Yes, and I've played genuine werewolf on occasion, when I had to._
He started to wash the coffeepot and the cup--then, threw both into the
garbage can. He walked back to the radio and dialed it away from Eroica
and back to baseball. The Giants were losing, Three-Zero, in the third
inning.
The house phone buzzed. He went to it slowly, picked it calmly off the
hook.
"Yes, Artie?"
"Mister Disbrough, there's a couple of guys coming up to see you. I'm
not supposed to tell you about it, but.... Well, I figured ..." the
doorman said.
"All right. Thanks, Artie," he answered quietly. He almost hung up,
then thought of something. "Artie?"
"Yes, Mister Disbrough?"
"There'll be a couple of fifths of Dewar's in my cupboard. I won't be
back for a while. You and Pete are welcome to them. And thanks again."
He hung up and began to dress, realigning his chrysalis to give him the
appearance of clothing. The doorbell rang, and he went to open it for
the two men from the FBI.
II
What difference did it make, what particular pen he represented?
Rather, since the sober-faced men knew very well which pen it was, why
should it be so necessary to them for him to confirm what they already
knew without a shadow of a doubt?
"Now, then, Mister Disbrough," one of the FBI men said, leaning his
hands on the edge of the table at which the Insurgent was sitting, "we
know who sent you."
_Good. Why bother me, then?_
"We know where you got your passport, we know who met you at the dock,
we know your contacts. We have photographs of everyone you've met
and talked to, we have tapes of every telephone call you've made or
received. We also know that you are the top man in your organization
here."
_And?_ They were chrysalids, every one of them. Perhaps there was no
Watcher behind them--perhaps. But he'd been picked up a little too
quickly. The net had folded itself around him too soon. No--there had
to be a Watcher. He wished they'd stop this talking and bring him out.
"Now, I'd simply like to point out to you that this is an airtight
case. No lawyer in the world will be able to break it down. You'll
retain counsel, of course. But, I'd simply like to point out to you
that there'll be no point to any denial you may make to us. We _know_
what you've been doing. I'd suggest you save your defense for the
trial."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account