“They’d better okay this,” Furster warned.
Tom noticed that Furster’s henchmen exchanged worried glances. He pretended to be frightened. “Security wouldn’t release my plans,” Tom stated.
“So, why not let me build a duplicate of the radio right here?”
“Sounds like a smart idea, boss,” Bruggin said in relief. “Let’s play it safe.”
Furster eyed Tom suspiciously. “Very well. How long will it take?”
“Not too long. With luck, a couple of days.”
“Okay, that’s a deal,” Furster agreed.
Tom gestured toward the guards. “But you’ll have to keep these two men out of my hair if I’m going to get the work done.”
“O.K.,” Furster said. “But remember, don’t try any funny stuff. Oh, and this dome is
122 MEGASCOPE SPACE PROBER
grounded, so don’t expect to send out radio messages for help.”
He and his henchmen then exited cautiously and locked the door behind them.
Mr. Swift flashed Tom a worried frown. “Are you sure it was wise to make that deal, son?”
“Ten to one they plan to kill us no matter what we do, Dad,” Tom replied in a low voice.
He beckoned his father closer to the door. Each put an ear against the wall.
Furster and his men were conversing in whispers outside, but the sheet aluminum made a perfect sounding board to transmit their voices.
“What happens when the kid finishes the radio, boss?” Howard was asking.
“I’ll check it out,” Furster replied. “If it works okay, you two will see that the Swifts meet with a slightly fatal accident. Get me?”
“We get you, boss!” Bruggin rasped.
Tom drew his father away from the wall. “At least we know what we’re up against, Dad. In the meantime, I have a plan of escape,” he whispered. “You’ll notice they have some tanks of liquid helium here and a vacuum pump-also a supply of my Durastress plastic that we put on the market. With all the equipment in this lab, it should be easy to cook up a batch of Durabuoy.”
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