“I've got a friend on the science desk at the Seattle Times. I'm calling him as soon as we land, and I'm going to lay out the whole story.”

“Hey, Spider, you can't tell people the skinny on this deal,” Doyle said with a vigorous shake of his head. “You sure you want to go public? You could get in one hell of a big mess.”

“I'll have to take that chance.”

“This will wreck Tris as well as the project. He's your partner.”

“I've given it a lot of thought. It will be better for him in the long run.”

“I dunno about that.”

“I do. He may end up thanking me for scuttling this crazy scheme.”

“Why not wait? He said he would hold off until someone talked to Kovacs's granddaughter.”

“I've worked with Tris a long time. He only said that to calm me down,” Barrett said with a smile. “The world has got to know what we've been hatching, and, unfortunately, I'm the one to spill the beans.”

“Ah hell.”

“What's wrong, Mickey? You said I was the one being gloomy.”

“How long have we known each other, Spider?”

“Since our MIT days. You were working the cafeteria. How could you forget?”

“I haven't. You were the only one of those smart-assed college kids who didn't treat me like scum. You were my friend.”

“You paid me back, big-time. You knew the best bars to find girls in Cambridge.”

“I still do,” Doyle said with a grin.

“You've done okay for yourself, Mickey. Not everyone can be a pilot.”

“I'm small potatoes compared to the Man.”

“Tris? I guess he is larger than life. I've always been a tinkerer. I'm like the architect who builds one house. He's like the developer who sells thousands of those houses. His vision was what made us both fortunes.”

“You believe all this anarchy stuff he talks about?”

“Some of it. Things are way off balance in the world, and I'd like to shake up the Elites, but I was more interested in the scientific challenge. Now that's turned to crap, and I have to set things straight.”

“And I'm telling you, like a friend, that's not a good idea.”

“I appreciate that friendship, but I have to say I'm sorry.”

Doyle paused a moment before answering, then said, “I'm sorry too,” with sadness in his voice.

With the matter apparently settled, Barrett went back to the portfolio, occasionally glancing out the cockpit window. They were flying over dense forest when Doyle cocked his ear. “Whoops! What's that?”

Barrett looked up from his reading. “I don't hear anything except the engine.”

“Something's not right,” Doyle said with a frown on his face. The plane dipped several feet. “Damn, we're losing power. Hold on. I'm gonna have to set her down.”

“Set her down?” Barrett said with alarm. He craned his neck, looking at the thick woods below. “Where?”