I drew a swift breath; eased the paragun from my waistband. Again, a click. The vault-thick cylinder slid smoothly inward on its guides. Air hissed. The world outside the hatch took form, all dim and shadowy. For a moment I waited, not breathing ... straining my ears for the slightest sound. None came. Cat-silent, now I clambered through the exit ... looked down the corridor beyond, with its gleaming ceracoid walls and emblazoned motif of FedGov Security insignia. Still no one. Moving swiftly down the hall, I sought out the fifth of the row of shaft-lifts. Soundlessly, it bore me upward. When it halted, I stepped out onto thick, rich veldrence carpeting, crossed to the far side of the alcove, and peered past the draperies into the larger room beyond. Controller Alfred Kruze sat at his desk, alone, attention focused on a spinning reader-reel. Shifting, I checked the other door, the one to Kruze's left. It was closed. Some of the tightness left my chest. Pulling back the drape, I stepped into the room. Kruze's head jerked up. The reader-reel clattered to the desk. I said, "Don't move, Kruze. Don't even breathe. Not if you want to live." Kruze's eyes distended. His hands stopped in mid-air. I crossed to him; gestured with the paragun. "Palms flat on the desk, Controller. Thanks to your private warp and lift, no one knows I'm here. Let's keep it that way. No loud noises, no tricks with buzzers, nothing to attract the attention of the guards in the anteroom. They couldn't do you any good. You'd be dead before they got here." Kruze lowered his hands jerkily. An angry flush was darkening his face. "Just what's the meaning of this, Traynor? Do you want a trip to the blocking rooms, with orders to psych you down to Drudge Third level?" Instead of answering, I brought up the paragun and leveled it at his head. The heavy shoulders shifted, just a trifle. A wariness came to the cold, unblinking eyes. I said, "Kruze, you've got just one order left to give. You're going to stop those executions on Rizal!" "Executions--? What executions?" "You know the edict." I held my voice very flat, very factual. "It provided that any person found in possession of a thrill-mill should be shot summarily, without trial." "And now you want me to countermand it? You'd have me relieve those Kel-lovers of the penalty for their treason?" Angrily, Kruze gave vent to a belligerent snort. "You're even more of a fool than I thought you were, Traynor. What possible reason can you advance why I should let such scoundrels live?" "The best reason in the world, Controller," I answered, ever so gently. "It's the only way you can even hope to stay alive yourself." And then, after an instant's pause and with a gesture of my paragun: "You see, I agree with your sentiments on treason--and I also happen to know you're the man who gave the Kel those thrill-mill gadgets in the first place!" * * * * *