"Yeah, I was. However, something came up." She looked at him, a slight frown on her broad, fine forehead. "Again?" He said impatiently, "Look, I called you to ask for a date. You're leaving for Callisto tomorrow. It's our last chance to be together. There's something in particular I wanted to ask you, Di." She said, a touch irritated, "I'm packing, Don. I simply don't have time to see you again. I thought we said our goodbyes five days ago." "This is important, Di." She tossed the two sweaters she was holding into a chair, or something, off-screen, and faced him, her hands on her hips. "No it isn't, Don. Not to me, at least. We've been all over this. Why keep torturing yourself? You're not ready for marriage, Don. I don't want to hurt you, but you simply aren't. Look me up, Don, in a few years." "Di, just a couple of hours this afternoon." Dian looked him full in the face and said, "Colin Casey finally died of his wounds this morning. The President has asked for five minutes of silence at two o'clock. Don, I plan to spend that time here alone in my apartment, possibly crying a few tears for a man who died for me and the rest of the human species under such extreme conditions of gallantry that he was awarded the highest honor of which man has ever conceived. I wouldn't want to spend that five minutes while on a date with another member of my race's armed forces who had deserted his post of duty." Don Mathers turned, after the screen had gone blank, and walked stiffly to a booth. He sank onto a chair and called flatly to Harry, "Another tequila. A double tequila. And don't bother with that lemon and salt routine." * * * * * An hour or so later a voice said, "You Sub-lieutenant Donal Mathers?" Don looked up and snarled. "So what? Go away." There were two of them. Twins, or could have been. Empty of expression, heavy of build. The kind of men fated to be ordered around at the pleasure of those with money, or brains, none of which they had or would ever have. The one who had spoken said, "The boss wants to see you." "Who the hell is the boss?" "Maybe he'll tell you when he sees you," the other said, patiently and reasonably. "Well, go tell the boss he can go to the ..." The second of the two had been standing silently, his hands in his great-coat pockets. Now he brought his left hand out and placed a bill before Don Mathers. "The boss said to give you this." It was a thousand-unit note. Don Mathers had never seen a bill of that denomination before, nor one of half that. He pursed his lips, picked it up and looked at it carefully. Counterfeiting was a long lost art. It didn't even occur to him that it might be false. "All right," Don said, coming to his feet. "Let's go see the boss, I haven't anything else to do and his calling card intrigues me."