lf came to his feet and pounded the table with fierce emphasis.
"_What would they buy them with? They'd all be out of jobs!_"

Frederic Flowers bug-eyed him.

Tracy sat down again and seemingly regained control of himself. His
voice was softer now. "Our social system may have its strains and
tensions, Mr. Flowers, but it works and we don't want anybody throwing
wrenches in its admittedly delicate machinery. Advertising is currently
one of the biggest industries of the country. The entertainment
industry, admittedly now based on advertising, is gigantic. Our
magazines and newspapers, employing hundreds of thousands of employees
from editors right on down to newsstand operators, are able to exist
only through advertising revenue. Above all, millions of our population
are employed in the service industries, and in distribution, in the
stock market, in the commodity markets, in all the other branches of
distribution which you Freer Enterprises people want to pull down. A
third of our working force is now unemployed, but given your way, it
would be at least two thirds."

Flowers, suddenly suspicious, said, "What has all this to do with the
Department of Internal Revenue, Mr. Tracy?"

Tracy came to his feet and smiled ruefully, albeit a bit grimly.
"Nothing," he admitted. "I have nothing at all to do with that
department. Here is my real card, Mr. Flowers."

The Freer Enterprises man must have felt a twinge of premonition even as
he took it up, but the effect was still enough to startle him. "Bureau
of Economic Subversion!" he said.

"Now then," Tracy snapped. "I want the names of your higher ups, and the
address of your central office, Flowers. Frankly, you're in the soup. As
you possibly know, our hush-hush department has unlimited emergency
powers, being answerable only to the President."

"I ... I've never even heard of it." Flowers stuttered. "But--"

Tracy held up a contemptuous hand. "Many people haven't," he said
curtly.

* * * * *

Frank Tracy hurried through the outer office into LaVerne Sandell's
domain, and bit out to her, "Tell the Chief I'm here. Crisis. And
immediately get my team together, all eight of them. Heavy equipment.
Have a jet readied. Chicago. The team will rendezvous at the airport."

LaVerne was just as crisp. "Yes, sir." She began doing things with
buttons and switches.

Tracy hurried into the Chief's office and didn't bother with the usual
amenities.