She sat up, her breath coming in gasps. "Nothing definite. Ben Towne--yes, there was something about him--just the flash of a mental picture, no rationality connected with it. And some papers, some sort of file--" She clasped her hands to her head. "He--he stripped me clean! I can't--" "Jeannie! There must have been something else--" She looked up at him, a strange light in her eyes. "I don't understand it," she whispered. "There was a picture of a farm--yes, a farm, and a dog, and blood on a pair of pants--" Paul sat back, staring at her stupidly. And then, suddenly, a light flashed on in his mind, a flash so incredible that he hardly dared think of it. In an instant he was on his feet, the blood pounding in his throat. He began throwing clothes into a bag as the girl sat there, watching him dully, in growing alarm. "Stay here," he said. "I'll call you--" "Paul--where--" "It's my show, now, darling. Wait, rest, you'll be all right. Rest, and say a prayer or two. Because I've got this Alien nailed for sure this time." * * * * * It was incredibly dangerous and utterly necessary. Paul found a visiphone booth in the rear of a station where there were few people, and quickly threw an adapter across the camera, and spun a roll of film in. The film started when the party at the other end flipped on the switch. The conversation was brief. Paul gave the address of a roof-garden apartment in Central Washington, and then disconnected. After removing the film, he reconnected with a number he had given Roberts a few hours before. Ted Marino's face appeared, and Paul heaved a sigh of relief. "How many men do you have, Ted?" "Two." "All Psi-High?" "Certainly." Paul nodded. "All right, we're beyond the law from now on, Ted. If you or any of the rest want out, take off." Marino's dark eyes sparkled. "Roberts said this is the kill," he said. "It's not the kill you think. But it's a kill, all right. Take the men to this address." He gave the roof-garden number. "Have a jet scooter there, and see that nobody spots it. Use Security insignia. Send out a bleeper if anything goes wrong. I'll be there." He rang off, and moments later was rising high above the city in his own scooter. In ten minutes he had reached the roof-garden, and settled the little ship down gently on its gyros. He walked inside and sat down in the darkness, and waited. He heard another jet scooter land. Marino walked in with two other men Paul remembered vaguely. He nodded to them, and they also sat down. Paul fingered the shocker in his pocket, his nerves screaming a thousand warnings in his ears. The guard robot on the ground floor bleeped sharply. Paul reached for the lock-release switch, and heard the elevator start to whine. He unlocked the door and left it ajar, then motioned to one of the men. "Cover the hallway, and back them up when they come. Don't be surprised at who it is."