“Clayne,” Eric said softly, “Adrienne and the kids are not implanted.”

Both husband and wife stared at him in stunned surprise.

“They’re not,” Eric continued calmly. “They were operated on, but nothing was inserted. We have a doctor and a nurse sympathetic to our cause who operated on Adrienne and the kids. An incision was made and the implantation was palmed. Then they were simply stitched back up again.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Adrienne, have you felt even one pain response since your operation?”

“No. But I’ve been careful.”

“Have the children?”

“No,” Clayne said. “But there again, we’ve been making a special effort to prepare them.”

“If I can prove to you that they are not implanted, will you join us?”

Clayne shook his head slowly, but Eric eagerly pressed in. “You’re right about the increased risk now. We don’t want to jeopardize people’s lives, so we’ve changed our strategy. We’re planning one swift and final blow, one stroke designed to end it all and put the Major’s little black boxes out of commission for good. Everybody is out of the city now except me and two others. And we’re going tonight. If you come with us, your family will be safe.”

“You can’t get out of the city,” Clayne said firmly. “We’ve doubled the patrols and—”

“We’ve sent six people out in the past two nights.”

“I don’t believe it,” Clayne retorted, but it was obviously more of a startled reaction than an open challenge.

“We need you, Clayne.” Eric’s voice was full of earnest pleading. “We need your courage, we need your leadership, we need your knowledge of Shalev.”

The older man watched Eric steadily, unblinking.

“And besides that,” Eric added softly, “I think a great deal of you and your family. I’d like them to be free and safe from all this. I can’t promise you no more snubs at the country club, but I can promise you that when people treat you right, it won’t be because they’ve been electronically blackmailed into it.”

Clayne finally turned to Adrienne. “And you knew this all along?”

“No. He only asked me to get you to listen to him.”

“You keep forgetting this is the little twerp who blasted me unconscious.”

Eric laughed softly. “The Bible says to turn the other cheek, to pray for them that despitefully use you.”

Clayne looked first at his wife, then at Eric. Then he nodded. “Okay, how can you prove Adrienne isn’t implanted?”

“Hit me, Adrienne.”

“What?”

“Hit me. Slap my face. If you’re implanted, you’ll get an instant response the moment you lift your hand.”

“I—I can’t do that.”

“Let me do it,” Clayne broke in with a wicked grin.

“No way, you moose,” Eric said. “You’re not the one implanted. Come on, Adrienne, do it before he does.”

Still she shrank back.