conversation, and knew just what had gone on in both minds. But she
only said, "I'm very pleased to meet you, my dear."

Lou blinked, smiled and stretched out her hand. "Well, then," she
said. "Hello. And let's all have a happy trip."

"By all means," Malone said. "And the trip seems to be about to
start."

He could hear the tramping of a lot of feet coming across the field
toward them. He looked and saw that the feet were all neatly attached
to bodies, two to a body. There were Thomas Boyd's feet, the assorted
twelve feet of six FBI agents, and three pairs that belonged to Alexis
Brubitsch, Ivan Borbitsch and Vasili Garbitsch. Brubitsch looked even
fatter than ever, Borbitsch even thinner. Garbitsch was of an
indeterminate middling shape; he had grey hair and a pair of
pince-nez, and he walked a trifle unevenly, like a duck, with his
hands clasped low in front of him. He was looking down at the ground
as the crowd shoved him along.

When the crowd neared the steps, Luba went over to him. Garbitsch
looked up, with a pleasant, somehow wistful smile on his face. "Hello,
Luba, my child," he said.

Luba smiled, too. "Hello, Dad," she said. "All ready to go?"

"Certainly I am ready," he said. "I am all packed. We take off in a
few minutes. And you, Luba, my child?"

"Fine, Dad," she said.

She looked down. "They've got handcuffs on you," she said. "Why,
that's--"

Garbitsch shrugged. He looked even more wistful. "A formality," he
said. "It makes no difference."

"Okay," Boyd said suddenly. "We've got to get out of here pretty soon,
and you'll be taking off. Let's break it up. Miss Thompson, you and
Luba go aboard. Malone, you follow with the others."

Malone rounded up Brubitsch, Borbitsch and Garbitsch and followed the
ladies aboard.

He came back to the door then, and stuck his head out. "The keys," he
said.

Boyd stared. "What?"

"The keys to the handcuffs," Malone said. "I'll need 'em."

"You're going to take them off when they get to Russia?" Boyd said.

Malone shook his head. "No," he said. "Now."

"But--"

"I think we'll have plenty of warning if they decide to try anything,
Tom," Malone said quietly. "Her Majesty, after all, is keeping them
under surveillance."

Without another word, Boyd tossed up the keys. Malone caught and
pocketed them. "I'll be back as soon as possible," he said.
"Meanwhile, you can keep digging on other stuff--what we've discussed
and anything it seems to lead into."