Parr hesitated, trying to divine the plot and see what was required of him. "It's a trick," the leader said. "They've got some way to fool us, even with an open mind!" Lauri's eyes were wide. The leader jerked his hand. "Kill him," he instructed. The Oholo on Parr's left released Parr's arm and reached inside his coat for a weapon. Lauri darted across the room and pounced on the weapon lying at the base of the wall. She seized it and rolled over. She aimed it steadily at the Oholo on Parr's left. "Don't do that," she said. "Let him go." She got to one knee. * * * * * Parr felt the grip ease on his right arm. He stood free. And for the first time--with strange hope--the feeling of unreality vanished. "You're insane!" the Oholo on Parr's right rasped. She jerked the muzzle of the weapon. "I told you. He saved my life. He could have killed me. He didn't." "A trick!" "Get away from him!" Reluctantly the two stood back, and the leader shifted uneasily on his feet. "Don't you try it," Lauri suggested. "For all you know, I might really shoot. You aren't that quick." Parr let out his breath. "You!" she snapped at him. "Get to the door!" Dazed, he obeyed her. He shook his head to clear it. He was afraid they would try to stop him. "Open it!" He opened the door and hesitated, looking at her. "I'm coming," she snapped. Still covering the three Oholos she got to her feet and began to back toward him. "Don't follow," she warned the three before her. "You know what this means?" the leader said. "You know what it means to help the enemy?" "Go on out," she told Parr. "He saved my life," she said doggedly. He obeyed. She followed him. She fumbled for the door knob, found it. "Run!" she cried. She slammed the door. They ran desperately for the stairs. Their feet pounded on the soft carpet as they clattered down. She was almost abreast of him. "Help me!" she cried when they passed the first landing. And a moment later Parr knew what she meant. They were trying to tear into his mind, and she was holding them off with her own shield. He joined her as well as he could, marveling at the vast strength she had recovered. "Hurry!" she cried. "I can't hold it much longer." She lurched into him and he put an arm around her waist. * * * * * And then they were through the lobby and into the silent street. No curious spectators were lingering to stare at the drying patch of dirty brown in the gutter beyond the awning. "This way!" she cried. As they fled on the pressure weakened. She was running fleetly at his side now, her brow unfurrowed, and yet he knew that she was still holding the shield under terrific pressure. "In here," she gasped, suddenly turning into a narrow alleyway. "Stop!" she said. She half dragged him down to the pavement behind a row of packing crates. "They'll be right after us!" he panted. "No. Listen. Follow my lead. I think I can blanket us, if you help me."