The Very Secret Agent

by Mari Wolf

generatedbetween the ships and areas like that one, only a lot more powerful,by--"

  "It's coming through now, Nagor."

  "--a very simple power source, once you get the basics of it. You--oh,oh!" He grabbed her arm. "Duck, Alice!"

  A spotlight flashed out of the darkness, turned on them, outlinedthem. A siren whirred briefly, and then another copter pulled upbeside them and a loudspeaker blared tinnily.

  "Okay, bud, pull down to the landing lane."

  The police.

  Police. Fear, all the way through Alice's thoughts, all the waythrough Riuku. Police. Earth law. That meant--it must mean he'd beendiscovered, that they had some other means of protection besides theShielding....

  "Nagor! I've been discovered!"

  "Come away then, you fool!"

  He twisted, trying to pull free of Alice's fear, away from theintegration of their separate terrors. But he couldn't push herthoughts back from his. She was too frightened. He was too frightened.The bond held.

  "Oh, Pete, Pete, what did you do?"

  He didn't answer. He landed the copter, stepped out of it, walked backto the other copter that was just dropping down behind him. "Butofficer, what's the matter?"

  Alice Hendricks huddled down in the seat, already seeing tomorrow'spapers, and her picture, and she wasn't really photogenic, either....And then, from the other copter, she heard the woman laugh.

  "Pete Ganley, you fall for anything, don't you?"

  "Susan!"

  "You didn't expect me to follow you, did you? Didn't it ever occur toyou that detectives could put a bug in your copter? My, what we'vebeen hearing!"

  "Yeah," the detective who was driving said. "And those pictures wetook last night weren't bad either."

  "Susan, I can explain everything...."

  "I'm sure you can, Pete. You always try. But as for you--you little--"

  Alice ducked down away from her. Pictures. Oh God, what it would makeher look like. Still, this hag with the pinched up face who couldn'thold a man with all the cosmetics in the drugstore to camouflageher--she had her nerve, yelling like that.

  "Yeah, and I know a lot about you too!" Alice Hendricks cried.

  "Why, let me get my hands on you...."

  "Riuku!"

  Riuku prodded. Calm down, you fool. You're not gaining anything thisway. Calm down, so I can get out of here....

  Alice Hendricks stopped yelling abruptly.

  "That's better," Susan said. "Pete, your taste in women gets worseeach time. I don't know why I always take you back."

  "I can explain everything."

  "Oh, Pete," Alice Hendricks whispered. "Petey, you're not--"

  "Sure he is," Susan Ganley said. "He's coming with me. The nicedetectives will take you home, dear. But I don't think you'd bettertry anything with them--they're not your type. They're single."

  "Pete...." But he wouldn't meet Alice's eyes. And when Susan took hisarm, he followed her.

  "How could you do it, Petey...." Numb whispers, numb thoughts, overand over, but no longer frightened, no longer binding on Riuku.

  Fools, he thought. Idiotic Earthmen. If it weren't for your ridiculousreproductive habits I'd have found out everything. As it is...."Nagor, I'm coming! I didn't get anything. This woman--"

  "Well, come on then. We're leaving. Right now. There'll be othersystems."

  _Petey, Petey, Petey...._

  Contact thinned as he reached out away from her, toward Nagor, towardthe ship. He fought his way out through the Shielding, away from herand her thoughts and every detestable thing about her. Break free,break free....

  "What's the matter, Riuku? Why don't you come? Have the police caughtyou?"

  The others were fleeing, getting farther away even as he listened toNagor's call. Contact was hard to maintain now; he could feelcommunication fading.

  "Riuku, if you don't come now...."

  He fought, but Alice's thoughts were still with him; Alice's tearsstill kept bringing him back into full awareness of her.

  "Riuku!"

  "I--I can't!"

  The Shielding boost, that had integrated him so completely with AliceHendricks, would never let him go.

  "Oh, Petey, I've lost you...."

  And Nagor's sad farewell slipped completely out of phase, leaving himalone, with her.

  The plant. The Restricted Area. The useless secret of Earth's nowunneeded weapon. Alice Hendricks glancing past it, at the spot weldingmachine, at Tommy.

  "How's the love life?"

  "You really interested in finding out, Alice?"

  "Well--maybe--"

  And Riuku gibbered unheard in her mind.

  * * * * *