let the guards shove his
heli to a space, and avoid any conflict with the director's orders
regarding the surface lot.

* * * * *

Suddenly, there was a sputtering roar. Someone had become impatient at
the delay. A small sports heli swept by, impellers reversed, and dropped
rapidly toward the entry to the underground parking space. Morely's ship
rocked a little in the air blast.

For an instant, Morely felt a sharp pain which gnawed at the pit of his
stomach. His head was abruptly light, and his hand, apparently of its
own volition, closed over the throttle knob.

This joy boy was overdue for a lesson.

Morely measured the distance quickly, judging the instant when the other
pilot would have to repitch his impellers and halt his downward rush. He
allowed his own heavy ship to wallow earthward.

Scant feet from ground surface, the sportster pilot flicked his pitch
control and pulled his throttle out for the brief burst of power which
would allow him to drop gently to the landing platform.

Morely grinned savagely as he saw the impellers below him change pitch
and start to move faster. He twisted his own impellers to full pitch and
pulled out the throttle for a sudden, roaring surge of power, then swung
the control column, jerking his ship up and away. As he steadied his
heli and cut power, he looked down.

The powerful downblast had completely upset the sportster pilot's
calculations. The small ship, struck by the gale from above, had listed
to the right and gone out of control, grazing one of the heavy splinter
shutters at the side of the landing slot. The ship lay on its side,
amidst the wreckage of its impellers.

Morely flicked on his warning siren and lights, then feathered his own
impellers, dropping his ship in free fall. He dropped to the grassy area
by the landing slot, ignoring the other ships which scattered like
frightened chickens, to give him room. At the last instant, he twisted
the impellers to full pitch again, pulled out the throttle for a moment,
then slammed the lever to the closed position. His ship touched down on
springy turf, its landing gear settling gently to accept the weight. A
klaxon was sounding, and warning lights flashed from the landing slot,
to warn ships away from an attempted landing.

It would be a long time before the shiny, new sportster would be in
condition to sweep into another parking area. And, after paying his fine
and taking care of