Tom heard a click as his caller hung up.
The young inventor replaced the phone on its cradle and stood for a moment in deep thought. Mr. Swift had flown to The Citadel, their atomic research plant in New Mexico, that day, and Tom did not want to worry his mother or Sandy by telling them the situation. Tom always tried to avoid calling Enterprises’
employees at their homes, but he decided that Harlan Ames should be informed of the proposed meeting. At once he dialed Ames’s number.
The security chief was alarmed at the plan. “It could be a trap, Tom-it’s too dangerous.”
“Maybe so, Harlan, but it could also be dangerous not to go through with it. If the guy thinks I’m giving him the runaround, he might try another INVITATION TO DANGER 113
bomb stunt-and someone could get hurt. Besides,” Tom argued, “this is a chance to learn his identity, maybe our only chance.”
“Did this fellow sound like the other man who called and offered to buy your 3-D TV?”
Tom frowned. “I don’t think so. But I have a hunch he is connected with some rival TV manufacturer and not a member of Sturko’s gang.”
“Take me along,” Ames suggested.
“That would be asking for trouble, Harlan. If he spotted you, he might not show himself-there might even be gunplay.”
“Then at least radio me an exact fix of the spot before you land,” Ames begged.
“He’ll probably be monitoring our frequency to check for a double cross,”
Tom pointed out. “I have another idea-track me on radar.”
Ames agreed. Tom drove to the plant and took off in an atomicar. In half an hour he reached the meeting area-a dark, rocky valley fringed with timber. Tom skimmed low. Suddenly a pinpoint of light stabbed upward, then twice more.