“Yet you’ve already killed one man and incapacitated another. Where will it stop?”
Odal’s face remained calm, except for the faintest gutter of fire deep in his eyes. His voice was quiet, but it had the edge of a well-honed blade to it. “I cannot be blamed for my background and. experience. And I have not tampered with your machine.”
The door to the room opened, and a short, thickset, bullet-headed man entered. He was dressed in a dark street suit, so that it was impossible to guess his station at the embassy.
“Would the gentlemen care for some refreshments?” he asked in a low-pitched voice.
“No thank you,” Leoh said.
“Some Kerak wine, perhaps?”
“Well. . . .”
“I, uh, don’t think we’d better, sir,” Hector said. “Thanks all the same.”
The man shrugged and sat at a chair next to the door.
Odal turned back to Leoh. “Sir, I have my duty. Massan and I duel tomorrow. There is no possibility of postponing it.”
“Very well,” Leoh said”Will you at least allow me to place some special instrumentation into the booth with you, so that we can monitor the duel more fully? We can do the same thing with Massan. I know that duels are normally private and you’d be within your legal rights to refuse the request, but morally….”
The smile returned to Odal’s face. “You wish to monitor my thoughts. To record them and see how I perform during the duel. Interesting. Very interesting….”
The man at the door rose and said, “If you have no desire for refreshments, gentlemen.. -.”
Odal turned to him. “Thank you for your attention.”