Nolan handed Colt a sheaf of papers he had fished from his pocket. “I’m giving you the tools to strike back. You’re the only guldman I know who will be able to read them, understand them, and use them. And I will tell her what I have done, and why.”

Colt opened the folded papers and scanned them, then gazed back at Nolan with a marveling eye. But all he said was, “Tested?”

Nolan shook his head. “Lab work.”

“Antidote?”

“Still working on it.”

Colt laughed suddenly, a harsh, brutal sound. “Shall I let Jex make the decision?”

“That is what I assumed.”

A moment more of silence, and then Colt suddenly thrust his hand out to shake hands with Nolan. It was the first time Colt had made such a gesture in the five years they had known each other. Nolan felt his bones protest under Colt’s hard grip.

“You’re a man of honor, Nolan Adelpho,” Colt said. “And so I will tell anyone who asks.”

*   *   *

The long trip back into the city by bus and trolley, by starlight and streetlight. Nolan was still numb, both physically and mentally. He moved as if propelled by unseen and insistent hands, surprised at himself but not surprised enough to resist. He had not even taken a moment to plot his strategy. He had known, apparently for weeks, what he must do. And now he was merely doing it.

It was a couple of hours before midnight when he walked into the offices of the gulden news media. There were about fifteen people working there, most of them men, but one or two, unexpectedly, were women. The place appeared to be one big, stark, brightly lit room filled with a jumble of desks, people, monitors, and electronic equipment. Nolan stood there for a moment, getting his bearings. He was not sure whom to approach or how to get anyone’s attention.

However, within three minutes, one of the workers came up and civilly asked what he needed. The reporter was a gulden male about Nolan’s age, with long curly hair and intelligent eyes. His bluetongue was perfectly unaccented.

“I want to get a story into the gulden press,” Nolan said.

The reporter nodded, his eyes fixed on Nolan’s face. “And why?”

“Because it’s a story that affects the gulden. And the indigo media wouldn’t carry it.”

“What makes you think we will?”

“If you believe me, you will.”

“Do you have anything that will make us believe you?”

“I think so,” Nolan said. “You have to. Because it’s true.”

*   *   *