He ducked into the ground car and sank into the back seat. Kor’s guards filled the rest of the car. The door slammed shut, and some of the emotion and noise coming from the terminal crowd was cut off. For the first time, Odal thought about why he had returned to Acquatainia. Leoh. He frowned at the thought of what he had to do. But when he thought about Hector, about revenging himself for the Star Watchman’s absurd victory in their duel, he allowed himself to smile.
Leoh sat slumped at the desk chair in the office behind the dueling machine chamber. He had some thinking to do, and his apartment was too comfortable for creative thought.
Through the closed door of the office he heard an outer door bang, hard fast-moving footsteps, and a piercing off-key whistle. With a reluctant smile, he told the door-control to open. Hector was standing there with a fist raised, ready to knock.
“How’d you know .. . ?”
“I’m partly telepathic,” Leoh said.
“Really? I didn’t know. Do you think that helped you in your duel with … oh, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about….”
Leoh raised a hand for silence. “Come in, my boy, and sit down. Tell me. have you seen the tri-di newscasts this morning?”
Taking a chair next to the Professor, Hector said, “No, sir, I, uh, got in kind of late last night and sort of late getting up this morning. . . . Got some water in my left ear … it gurgles every time I move my head. -..”
With an effort, Leoh stayed on the subject. “The ewscasts showed Odal landing at the main spaceport. He’s returned.”