"They'll be ready," promised Burlingame. "The police have got all kinds of cute tricks, only we don't fall for them. We're systematic." They were that, decided Jadiver, and something more. They had to be to survive so long. Burlingame was good. A gamin's face peered through the doorway and one hand thrust his clothing into the room and waved it. "Here. They didn't try to conceal anything." She sounded disappointed. Jadiver dressed as Burlingame relayed the clothing to him. The gamin wrinkled her nose and disappeared. By the time Jadiver was completely dressed, she came back with refreshments. They sat down at the table. "I want faces," said Burlingame, across from him--"five faces." Jadiver looked around. There were six. "None of my business, except in a professional way, but who do I leave out?" "Cobber. We have other plans for him." It wasn't a good idea to pry. He had to know the human material on which he was expected to work, but it was safer not to know what they were planning. He tapped his glass. "What kind of faces? Soft faces, hard faces, space faces? And do you want anything else?" "Society faces," said Burlingame. "Emily wants to wear a low-cut gown. The rest of us just need faces." "Real low," the gamin insisted, wriggling. "Society," mused Jadiver. "I always did think it was better to rob the rich ... like Robin Hood." "Sure," Burlingame said. Jadiver tilted the glass. "Especially since the poor don't have much money." "That has something to do with it," Burlingame cheerfully agreed. Cobber broke in. He was a little gnarled man, older than the others. "A point, Jadiver. The poor don't have much money, but there's so many more of them. You can actually be more successful robbing them. But you have to keep at it every day in the year, and then you don't call it robbery; you say you're governing them." "Don't have that kind of stamina," said Burlingame. "A good point, Cobber." Jadiver leaned on the table. "I don't want specific information, but how can you make robbery pay off these days?" * * * * * Burlingame looked at him astutely. "Considering it yourself?" Jadiver shook his head. "Intellectual curiosity. I'm doing all right in my own line." "It's a theory," said Burlingame. "You can't touch banks or financial institutions. Too many electronic safeguards, robots, and what have you. In order to get past that kind of equipment, you have to be a top-notch scientist--and one that can do better at a top-notch job. "Now, who's got money? The rich, and they _want_ to show it off wherever they go. Naturally they take precautions, too, but people are always involved and that's the weakness. You can build a machine that does one thing perfectly, but people make mistakes--they get rattled. Teamwork can take advantage of it. A feint here, and a block there, and before anyone knows what's happening, we're through their defenses. With, of course, their money."