Like lightning, Ross hammered a blow to her jaw, then caught her limp body before she could spill to the floor. The knock sounded again. A man's voice called, "All right, you, in there! Open up." Ross' eyes fanned the room, then fixed on the old-fashioned fire-tube hatch set into the wall in one corner. Dragging Veta across to it bodily, he wrenched it open, stuffed her in, and let her drop, then hastily followed suit himself as the voice in the hall rose even more belligerently. The tube discharged them into a narrow, litter-choked court between the building's wings. Veta slung over his shoulder like a sack of meal, Ross ducked into the nearest entryway. The niche sheltered the doors to two apartments. The sound of a man and woman arguing violently pulsed from one; from the other, silence. Now a shout rose on one of the building's upper levels: a man's angry bellow, echoing and reechoing as it bounced back and forth across the narrow court. Veta moaned and moved her head groggily. A trickle of sweat rilled from Ross' hairline. Stepping close to the door of the silent apartment, he tried the knob. The door was locked. Overhead, another shout. Then, from the court's ground level, a harsh rattle of answer. Ross stepped back fast, eyes distending. Lifting a foot, he smashed a battering-ram kick at the door's lock. The door burst open. Dodging past it as it swung back, Ross heeled it shut behind him. He was breathing hard, and another rill of sweat had joined the first. Prowling through the empty apartment now, Veta still slung limp over his shoulder, Ross jerked back storage area sealers until, after half-a-dozen tries, he came upon and dragged out a heavy, shapeless space-sack of the type used by cruiser crewmen. Another moan from Veta. She shifted, clutching at Ross' tunic. Unceremoniously, he dumped her on a bed, then returned to the space-sack. Spreading its mouth wide, he lifted the girl's legs and set her feet down inside the bag. Veta's eyes flicked open, panic-shadowed. "What are you doing?" "Getting you ready for a little trip." He heaved her up from the bed and lowered her into the sack, pulling the heavy synthetic casing up to cover her. "If you know what's good for you, you'll keep quiet." He pulled the sealer-tab shut as he spoke, disregarding her sudden frantic flurry of movement. Then, turning, he stepped back to the storage shelves, selected and donned one of several spaceman's leave caps, swung the bag to his shoulder, and boldly strode out of the apartment and the court to the nearest transor-rank. The trip across the city was uneventful. Hardly a hint of movement showed through the stiffness of the space-sack's heavy casing. Ross left the transor two streets from his own quarters, walking the rest of the way through two linked alleys. He was half-panting by the time he reached the entrance; and his fingers shook as he shoved the card into the tab-lock.