The meditech shrugged inside his white lab coat. ‘The Watchman is in there alone. I don’t understand….”
Furious, Kor bustled toward Hector’s booth. “If he’s recovered and escaped, I’ll… .*’
Both doors opened simultaneously. From one booth stepped Hector, clear-eyed, straight-backed, tall and lean and blond. His face was curiously calm, almost smiling. He glanced across to the other booth.
Odal stood there. Just as tall and lean and blond as Hector, with almost exactly the same expression on his face: a knowing expression, a satisfaction that nothing would ever be able to damage.
“You!” Kor shouted. “You’ve returned.”
For half an instant they all stood there frozen; Hector and Odal at opposite ends of the dueling machine, Kor stopped in mid-stride about halfway between them, four meditechs at the control panels, a pair of armed guards slightly behind Kor. Kerak’s wan bluish sun was throwing a cold early-moming light through the stone-ribbed chamber’s only window,
“You are under arrest,” Kor said to Odal. “And as for you. Watchman, we’re not finished with you.”
‘Tes you are,” Hector said evenly as he walked slowly and deliberately toward the Intelligence Minister.
Kor frowned. Then he saw Odal advancing toward him oo. He took a step backward, then turned to the two guards. “Stop them.. ..”
Too late. Like a perfectly synchronized machine, Odal and Hector launched themselves at the guards and knocked them both unconscious before Kor could say another word Picking up a fallen guard’s pistol, Odal pointed it at Kor. Hector retrieved the other gun and covered the cowering meditechs.