ply aren't. Look me up, Don, in a few
years."

"Di, just a couple of hours this afternoon."

Dian looked him full in the face and said, "Colin Casey finally died of
his wounds this morning. The President has asked for five minutes of
silence at two o'clock. Don, I plan to spend that time here alone in my
apartment, possibly crying a few tears for a man who died for me and the
rest of the human species under such extreme conditions of gallantry
that he was awarded the highest honor of which man has ever conceived. I
wouldn't want to spend that five minutes while on a date with another
member of my race's armed forces who had deserted his post of duty."

Don Mathers turned, after the screen had gone blank, and walked stiffly
to a booth. He sank onto a chair and called flatly to Harry, "Another
tequila. A double tequila. And don't bother with that lemon and salt
routine."

* * * * *

An hour or so later a voice said, "You Sub-lieutenant Donal Mathers?"

Don looked up and snarled. "So what? Go away."

There were two of them. Twins, or could have been. Empty of expression,
heavy of build. The kind of men fated to be ordered around at the
pleasure of those with money, or brains, none of which they had or would
ever have.

The one who had spoken said, "The boss wants to see you."

"Who the hell is the boss?"

"Maybe he'll tell you when he sees you," the other said, patiently and
reasonably.

"Well, go tell the boss he can go to the ..."

The second of the two had been standing silently, his hands in his
great-coat pockets. Now he brought his left hand out and placed a bill
before Don Mathers. "The boss said to give you this."

It was a thousand-unit note. Don Mathers had never seen a bill of that
denomination before, nor one of half that.

He pursed his lips, picked it up and looked at it carefully.
Counterfeiting was a long lost art. It didn't even occur to him that it
might be false.

"All right," Don said, coming to his feet. "Let's go see the boss, I
haven't anything else to do and his calling card intrigues me."

At the curb, one of them summoned a cruising cab with his wrist screen
and the three of them climbed into it. The one who had given Don the
large denomination bill dialed the address and they settled back.

"So what does the boss want with me?" Don said.

They didn't bother to answer.

The Interplanetary Lines building was evidently their destination. The
ca