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one and it would be
at least 30 minutes before they could have it put back together. Larry
interrupted Ira and
emphasized that they hurry, otherwise they might not live long enough to get
it together. He also
asked Rog to keep in constant contact with the Security Control Center.
A patrol dressed in armor just missed the intruder at the intersection of
tunnel H and 2 North,
and gave chase. The intruder threw a live smoke grenade ahead of himself
toward the end of the
passageway, and used the fumes trailing from it for cover. When he got to the
last intersection in
the corner, he threw another grenade through it into tunnel J. Then he
proceeded cautiously inside
the smoke cloud into tunnel J and southward. It would take him a little time
to get into position
to destroy the second Bergenholm but now he felt he had all the time he
needed.
'The spy-ray team say he's transferred into tunnel J,' the dispatcher
reported.
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'Any ideas on how we stop him?' Larry asked Hanovich.
'Have the patrols fire blindly into the smoke?'
'They might get lucky and hit him but more likely they'd just tear up the
walls and overload the
ventilation system with loose, high inert velocity crud. Rog, you better get
into this discussion
too,' Larry addressed the image on a visiphone.
'Fans to blow the smoke back down the tunnel?' a dispatcher suggested.
'Fans? In an inertialess field? You've got to be kidding,' another dispatcher
said, mockingly.
'Electro-static Precipitation?'
'Rog, do we have a precipitator?' Larry asked.
'Yes. It weighs two tons and is embedded in concrete in Central Air.'
'Check with Moorpark Research for a high voltage power supply. Fifty to a
hundred thousand volts
and up.'
'No good! You would have to lay the line. All the intruder would have to do is
fire at the power
supply or lines. If he hits it, it's gone.'
'Get Dr. Kevin into the discussion anyway. He might have some ideas we can
use.'
'Can we reverse the ventilation?'
'No. You'd loosen six-month-old dust and blow it out the entrances to the
tunnels; besides, the
artificial gravity is mechanically fixed to only operate in one direction,'
Rog said.
'How about a physical barrier? A wall or something?'
'If he has smoke bombs, he's probably got other kinds of bombs too.'
'An explosion? In an inertial field? You've got to be kidding,' another
dispatcher chimed in,
getting back for the comment made about his suggestion to use fans.
'It's worth a try.'
They agreed, and assigned the dispatcher making the suggestion to take care of
the details of
building a portable blockade.
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'How about stopping the smoke bombs he's set off by putting them in
containers?'
'Can you find the smoke bombs in the smoke?'
'Sure, the air only goes one way. The monitors have them on their plates.'
'Great, get containers to the patrol in 2 North.'
'We'll have to try to catch him by surprise. All he has to do is drop a bomb
on the other side of
a ventilator from a camera and he'll be hidden in smoke again.'
'OK, get containers to all of the patrols.'
'I have some vacuum-tight shipping containers that will work perfectly,' Dr.
Kelvin said. 'We're
just off tunnel 2 North at H, so using ours will be faster than sending them
out from Security.'
He disappeared for a few moments to give instructions.
'How did the intruder destroy the first vault?' Rog Philips asked.
Larry explained his theory.
'Has the smoke cleared so someone can find out where he cut the hole? It'll
give us an idea as to
where he's going to cut the next one.'
Lt. McQueen turned the job over to a dispatcher with the admonition, 'Make
damned sure the patrol
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hunting for that hole understands that they've got to have clean air!
Otherwise the dust will tear
them apart when they come out! Armor will not protect them!'
'The spy-ray team says he's stopped. Probably the other side of the first
ventilator in J,' a
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dispatcher reported.
'Gentlemen, we're running out of time,' Larry announced. 'Are there any more
ideas?'
'The spy-ray team says he's turned around and headed back north toward 2
North.'
'Any indication yet of material accumulating in the exhaust vents?'
'I'll check ... negative,' a dispatcher answered.
'Notify the patrols directly any time you hear he moves.
Don't bother asking permission or anything. Anyone have any idea what made him
move back?
'He has at least three ventilator intakes to get past. Could that have
anything to do with it?'
Rog Philips asked.
'There are no essential systems in the north end of J,' a dispatcher offered.
'They're mostly
spread around tunnel Zero and the Dome.'
'Where have you got patrols?'
'At the ventilator west of J in 2 North. At both vents in J north of 1 North.
At the intersections
of J and 1 North. J and Zero, and around the corner at I and 1 North. There's
also a six-man
reserve group at I and Zero.'
'He's stopped.'
'Has he been using the handles for transportation?'
'Bill, ask the spy-ray team that question,' Larry directed a dispatcher.
'The patrol at I and 2 North vent has the containers.'
He advanced very slowly, probably with the smoke. He retreated on handles.
He's still waiting,'
the dispatcher reported for the spy-ray team.
'Find out the spy-ray team's best guess as to how far he is from the
intersection. If it's more
than a couple hundred feet, send the patrol in to can the smoke bomb in 2
North. Have the spy-ray
team watch for any possible contact between the patrol and the intruder. If he
moves farther
north, tell them to leave the bombs and get out of the smoke.'
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'If our men are in position, why can't we shut off the transportation handles
to slow up the
intruder?' Dr. Kelvin asked. 'To cut his mobility?'
'Can you just cut out his section, Rog?'
'No, I have to cut the whole J tunnel.'
'It's still a good idea,' Larry said. 'How soon can you get it done?'
'Five to 10 minutes.'
'Good. Get someone going on it, Rog. Any other ideas?'
'Commit some of the reserves to the vent in J between 1 North and Zero.'
'Good,' Larry said, and directed a dispatcher to take care of it.
'I have an idea,' Hanovich said, making his first contribution to the effort.
'It's a desperate
last resort type of thing but I think it will work.' He frowned.
'Go on.'
'Evacuate the travel tunnels and ...' he paused, dramatically, 'turn off the
artificial gravity!'
There was a silence so thick it could almost be cut. Dr. Kelvin was the first
to break it with a
single word, 'Sneaky!'
Rog Philips deliberately looked at his watch. 'Have the men in the south
Bergenholm vault turn off
their artificial gravity unit,' he said. 'The other generator is in the west
Bergenholm vault.
I'll meet you there, Col. Hanovich, with your key in 10 minutes.'
It took the men in the control center a moment to realize what had just
happened. Two keys were
needed to get into a vault, and Hanovich had one. Philips had deliberately
invited Hanovich, whose
consideration for his own hide was well known, into what might become the
firing line. He had
flung the gauntlet at Hanovich's feet in a challenge that he could neither
ignore nor delegate.
The whole room was silent as they looked at Hanovich. Would he venture into
personal danger? To
mask his smile, Larry turned and looked at Rog's image. He was almost certain
that Rog had both
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