Psychological fiction; Science fiction; Short stories
"No." Bergstrom was angry now. "But use that logical mind you're
supposed to have! Scenes before this have shown what kind of man you
are. Just because this last happened here on St. Martin's makes little
difference. If I was going to turn you in to the police, I'd have done
it before this."
Zarwell debated with himself the truth of what the other had said. "Why
didn't you turn me in?" he asked.
"Because you're no mad-dog killer!" Now that the crisis seemed to be
past, Bergstrom spoke more calmly, even allowed himself to relax.
"You're still pretty much in the fog about yourself. I read more in
those comanalyses than you did. I even know who you are!"
Zarwell's eyebrows raised.
"Who am I?" he asked, very interested now. Without attention he put his
pistol away in a trouser pocket.
Bergstrom brushed the question aside with one hand. "Your name makes
little difference. You've used many. But you are an idealist. Your
killings were necessary to bring justice to the places you visited. By
now you're almost a legend among the human worlds. I'd like to talk more
with you on that later."
While Zarwell considered, Bergstrom pressed his advantage. "One more
scene might do it," he said. "Should we try again--if you trust me, that
is?"
Zarwell made his decision quickly. "Go ahead," he answered.
All Zarwell's attention seemed on the cigar he lit as he rode down the
escalator, but he surveyed the terminal carefully over the rim of his
hand. He spied no suspicious loungers.
Behind the escalator he groped along the floor beneath the lockers until
he found his key. The briefcase was under his arm a minute later.
In the basement lave he put a coin in the pay slot of a private
compartment and went in.
As he zipped open the briefcase he surveyed his features in the mirror.
A small muscle at the corner of one eye twitched spasmodically. One
cheek wore a frozen quarter smile. Thirty-six hours under the paralysis
was longer than advisable. The muscles should be rested at least every
twenty hours.
Fortunately his natural features would serve as an adequate disguise
now.
He adjusted the ring setting on the pistol-shaped instrument that he
took from his case, and carefully rayed several small areas of his face,
loosening muscles that had been tight too long. He sighed gratefully
when he finished, massaging his cheeks and forehead with considerable
pleasure. Another glance in the mirror satisfied him with the changes
that had been made. He turned to his briefcase again and exchanged the
gun for a small syringe, which he pushed into a trouser pocket, and a
single-edged razor blade.
Removing his fiber-cloth jacket he slashed it into strips with the razor
blade and flushed it down the disposal bowl. With the sleeves of his
blouse rolled up he had the appearance of a typical workman as he
strolled from the compartment.
Back at the locker he replaced the briefcase and, with a wad of gum,
glued the key to the bottom of the locker frame.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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