“There’s no reason to let you live unless you tell me what I want to know,” said Cain. “As for your visitor, you’ve been known to lie before.”

“Not this time, Sebastian,” said Socrates, checking his timepiece. “She’s already a few minutes late.” He smiled, “She’s a reporter. You kill me now and you’ll make every newscast from here to Deluros.”

Cain stared at him for a long moment. Then he glanced quickly around the room.

“That’s a very pretty bowl,” he said, indicating a delicate fluted structure. “Made by Canphorites?”

“Robelians,” replied Socrates. “Why?”

“What’s it worth—about twenty thousand credits?”

“Give or take.”

Cain fired off a quick shot, and the object shattered into a thousand tiny pieces as Terwilliger emitted a startled yell.

“What the hell are you doing?” demanded Socrates furiously. He jumped to his feet, then sat back down just as quickly when Cain pointed the weapon at him again.

“Negotiating,” answered Cain. “How much did you pay for the gold crucifix with the jeweled Christ?”

“Damn it, Sebastian! That’s a priceless work of art!”

“You’ve got ten seconds to put a price on it,” replied Cain. “And if you haven’t told me what I want to know, you’ve got one more second to kiss it good-bye.”

Socrates slumped back in his chair. “Destroy them all,” he said resignedly. “I can replace them easier than I can replace me.”

“You mean it, don’t you?”

“I do.”

“Maybe I’ve been approaching this all wrong.” Cain lowered his aim a few inches. “What’s the going price on a kneecap?”

“Not high enough.” said Socrates defiantly.

“Courage from Whittaker Drum? Now that is surprising.”

“I’m no hero,” said Socrates. “But there’s nothing you can do to me that’ll compare to what he can do.”

“I wouldn’t bet my life on that if I were you,” said Cain.

“That’s precisely what I’m betting. Whatever else you do, you won’t kill me.”

Just then there was a high-pitched beeping noise.

“That’s her,” said Socrates, turning his head and staring at a small holographic viewscreen. “You’d better put your gun away and leave while you can.”

“Not a chance,” said Cain. “What does she want?”

“Probably the same thing you do.”

There was another beeping sound.

“We’d better answer it,” said Terwilliger, checking the viewscreen to make sure Socrates wasn’t lying. “She’s got to know he’s here.”

Cain nodded, and the gambler walked over to a small control panel on the wall just behind Socrates’ chair. The first two buttons he pushed flooded the apartment with music and dimmed the lights in the vestibule, but finally he hit the proper one and they heard the front door slide open.