“Yours?” Conroy countered delicately. “Strange-I thought it belonged to the government and people of the State of New York.”
“You son of a bitch,” said Mogshack, and his lips folded together so tightly that when he parted them again they remained bloodlessly pale. “Get out. Get off the grounds of the Ginsberg Hospital this minute or I’ll have you removed by the police.”
Reedeth said, “Dr. Mogshack-”
“Did you invite this man into the hospital?” Mogthundered.
“What? Well, I guess I-”
“You speak to me on Monday the minute you arrive on the hospital premises’. I’ll tell you then what I think of you-I wouldn’t want Conroy to be able to gloat over my bad judgment in offering you a post at the Ginsberg. But I’d recommend you to start looking for other employment; that much I will say right now!”
The screen blanked. A few seconds went by; then the desketary said, “On the orders of the hospital director, this unit is inactivated until oh-nine-hundred Monday morning next”
And went dead.
“Well, if you want that fixed, Madison can presumdo it,” Flamen said, curling his lip as he turned to glance at the knee.
“Stop it, Flamen,” Conroy said quietly. “Yes, Madison very probably can override the inactivation, but do you want to give away your ace in the hole?”
He stood up. “All right, that settles it,” he said. “Up till this very moment I had doubts. You too, Jim? But I think Flamen just had an example of the kind of person who’s allegedly ‘cured’ his wife, and Madison just saw who it really was who kept him here after the due time, and you, Jim, had your marching orders. Let’s get out of here like he told us to-in the state he’s in, he’s percapable of keeping his word about having me dragged out by the busies. Isn’t he, Jim?”
Reedeth drew a deep breath. He said, “You rememI mentioned a little while ago that I’d got data about Mogshack out of this desketary? Well, what it said.” He hesitated, but an access of fury carried him over his mental logjam. “It said he wanted to have the whole United States committed to his care! Well, he can damned well count me out!”
“I can’t think,” Conroy said glacially, “what better evidence you could offer Flamen here for the accuracy of your automatics’ answer to his question than the permatch between that diagnosis of your boss’s mental condition and the behavior he just exhibited. Flamen, you have computers in your office?”
“Well-yes, naturally!”
“That’s where we’re going,” Conroy said with authority. “I don’t imagine you have a setup to match the Ginsbut unless he objects I want to take along our highly recommended eleotronicist here: apart from anyelse I only have until tomorrow night in this town and I’d like to be assured that when I head for home there’s some capable engineer looking after the problem of this interference on your program, regardless of whether it is or is not your wife’s” doing like the machines say. I’d also like to take you along, Miss Clay, unless you have something else to do. I get hunches sometimes. Right now I have a hunch that-”
He broke off, looking almost sheepish at his own tone of voice. “The hell, I do have a hunch, and it’s so acute it practically hurts! I have this crazy notion that there’s a pattern underlying all this, and properly used it will torpedo Mogshack very satisfactorily. But it’s got to be done fast!” He put his hands up to his head as though overcome, and Reedeth stared at him in bewilderment.
Lyla, who had been silent for a long while, said sud”Yes, Professor.”
“What?” Conroy turned to her, blinking. “Oh. Oh, yes. I mean. yes. Madison, who the hell are you?”
Reedeth said, “Prof, I don’t think I-”
“I don’t give a damn what you think!” Conroy blazed. “I know what I think, and that’s what counts. You comor not?”
“Coming.?”
“To Flamen’s office!” Conroy barked. “You know what’s happening, don’t you, woman?” he added to Lyla.
“I-I’m not quite sure, but.” Lyla rose unsteadily to her feet. “All I know is I’m scared, but I’m coming.”