ey were escaping into insanity. Escaping what?
Responsibility? The jungle of the cartels?

"Two alternatives," Dawn had said. "Pull down the world or run away
from it." The Von Rausches had made this mess and then fled in horror
from their own brutal and destructive creation.

The lift cage jerked to a stop. The door opened on a warmly lighted
executive office where a white-haired man sat at a desk which had been
cut from a single slab of Venusian crystal. A much enlarged projection
of the United Researchers' emblem glowed from the Wall. Hunter raised
his weapon.

The old man gestured imperiously. "Don't be a fool, Captain. I
wouldn't be here unless I had adequate protection. There are blasters
in the wall, which I can trigger with a single spoken word."

"You want to finish the job your men bungled this afternoon?"

"Not our men, Captain. We got in on this deal a little late. We knew
nothing about this psychiatric patent until the strikes started
today."

"But Ann Saymer--"

"Unfortunately, we do not have her. It's Consolidated. We sent our men
out to bring you in, Captain. We wanted your help. When you got away,
it didn't occur to me that you would go to the top level. Not until we
heard the report of the destruction of the power distributor. It was
easy enough to anticipate your moves after that.

"If you hadn't used the private Von Rausch lift, you would have gone
out again through the gate, where my men were waiting. Naturally we
couldn't send them inside. You can understand why, of course."

Hunter heard only vaguely what the man was saying, for abruptly the
pattern fell into place. Neither Consolidated nor United had Ann or
the Exorciser. Each cartel suspected the other because they hadn't yet
adjusted to the idea that a third cartel existed: Eric Young's union.

Ann's micropic had told the literal truth. She had taken her
commission-job with the biggest private clinic, operated by the
U.F.W. It was a dead giveaway when Young struck both cartels
simultaneously, if Hunter had read the data correctly.

Hunter moved toward the crystal desk. "I know where Ann is, sir," he
said. "I can--"

"You can stay where you are," the old man interrupted. "One hour ago,
my friend, I was ready to offer you a deal. Since then you've seen--"
He raised his eyes toward the ceiling. "You've seen what's up there.
Only four of us know that secret. We don't relish sharing it with a
fifth."

"Unless you destroy Ann's paten