Suddenly he felt anything but safe. He was eager to leave the Weland , and the company of Jeffrey Cayuga, as soon as possible.
* * *
When the shuttle carrying Conner Preston was on its way back to the surface of Ganymede, the three members of the Sixth Saturn Exploration Team convened in the ship's main cabin.
"Opinions?" Cayuga was at one of the scopes, watching the descending shuttle.
"I do not think that we have a problem." Lenny Costas had not spoken more than two words to Conner Preston, but his pale, cautious eyes had watched him closely every second that he had been aboard. "He knows nothing. I believe that he suspects nothing."
"You are too easily persuaded. Why then did he bother to come here?"
"Sniffing and scouting. He is a reporter. That is his job."
"Maybe." Cayuga, still using the scope, did not look around. "Alicia?"
"I don't like it. As a reporter, he gets places. It is possible that he was on Mars, three years ago."
"Even if he were, it is unlikely that he met Neely."
"But not inconceivable. They could have talked, before we were able to put the trace on her. I say, why take the risk? It is better to be rid of him, and be safe."
"I do not disagree with you." Cayuga was still at the scope. The shuttle with Conner on board was finally making its landing on the surface of Ganymede. "But the timing is inconvenient. Our review of progress on Helene is overdue. The others are already there. We should not delay our departure."
"We can use Jinx Barker. He did a good job for us on Mars. He's a professional, he's reliable, and he's discreet."
"He appears to be. But let us not forget that he is no more than a hired hand. He is not one of the Club. We must be careful."
"Of course. Why not make this a test case? We will be away for at least eight months. We tell Jinx what we want him to do about Conner Preston. When we get back we check that he did a good, quiet job. No matter what happens, there will be nothing to tie Preston to the Club. And we will all be a billion kilometers away."
"Lenny?"
Costas nodded. "I doubt Preston knows anything, but after listening to Alicia, I have to agree with her. It's just possible Conner Preston picked up some information from Neely. No point in taking the risk. I say, let Jinx handle it."
"Then we three are all in agreement. We will inform the other Club members when we arrive at Helene. Alicia, you will need to brief Jinx Barker in person."
"I know. I'll go down and do it today."
"Tell him to take his time, to find out as much about Conner Preston as he can, and report to us when we return."
"Suppose he decides that Preston has no connection at all with Neely?"
"He will still do his job, and dispose of Preston. Those must be his instructions. We cannot have someone who is not a Club member assessing risk on our behalf."
"Suppose there is a connection? Suppose Jinx finds out too much about Neely?"
"Then we must make another decision. It could be membership. He might make an excellent recruit."
"I'm sure he would." Alicia was smiling.
"No." Costas shook his big, shaggy head. "I don't like that at all. Don't forget that Neely was once considered a prime candidate for Club membership."
"A valid point." Cayuga turned off the scope. The screen turned dark, and the image of Conner Preston's shuttle blinked out of existence. "Caution is always the best policy. However, it does not affect our decision regarding Conner Preston. It is a pity that we took time explaining the ship to him. That is favorable publicity that will probably never be used."
4
EARTH: 2067 A.D.
Ten miles from the Corpus Christi spaceport, above-ground progress became impossible. Lola Belman took one last look at the sea of vehicles ahead as the bus driver made its assessment of all route loadings, computed probable delays, and ramped down into the tunnel net.
"Where are we going? What's happening?"
Spook, sitting at Lola's side near the front, was more annoyed than alarmed. To a ten-year-old,
* * *
When the shuttle carrying Conner Preston was on its way back to the surface of Ganymede, the three members of the Sixth Saturn Exploration Team convened in the ship's main cabin.
"Opinions?" Cayuga was at one of the scopes, watching the descending shuttle.
"I do not think that we have a problem." Lenny Costas had not spoken more than two words to Conner Preston, but his pale, cautious eyes had watched him closely every second that he had been aboard. "He knows nothing. I believe that he suspects nothing."
"You are too easily persuaded. Why then did he bother to come here?"
"Sniffing and scouting. He is a reporter. That is his job."
"Maybe." Cayuga, still using the scope, did not look around. "Alicia?"
"I don't like it. As a reporter, he gets places. It is possible that he was on Mars, three years ago."
"Even if he were, it is unlikely that he met Neely."
"But not inconceivable. They could have talked, before we were able to put the trace on her. I say, why take the risk? It is better to be rid of him, and be safe."
"I do not disagree with you." Cayuga was still at the scope. The shuttle with Conner on board was finally making its landing on the surface of Ganymede. "But the timing is inconvenient. Our review of progress on Helene is overdue. The others are already there. We should not delay our departure."
"We can use Jinx Barker. He did a good job for us on Mars. He's a professional, he's reliable, and he's discreet."
"He appears to be. But let us not forget that he is no more than a hired hand. He is not one of the Club. We must be careful."
"Of course. Why not make this a test case? We will be away for at least eight months. We tell Jinx what we want him to do about Conner Preston. When we get back we check that he did a good, quiet job. No matter what happens, there will be nothing to tie Preston to the Club. And we will all be a billion kilometers away."
"Lenny?"
Costas nodded. "I doubt Preston knows anything, but after listening to Alicia, I have to agree with her. It's just possible Conner Preston picked up some information from Neely. No point in taking the risk. I say, let Jinx handle it."
"Then we three are all in agreement. We will inform the other Club members when we arrive at Helene. Alicia, you will need to brief Jinx Barker in person."
"I know. I'll go down and do it today."
"Tell him to take his time, to find out as much about Conner Preston as he can, and report to us when we return."
"Suppose he decides that Preston has no connection at all with Neely?"
"He will still do his job, and dispose of Preston. Those must be his instructions. We cannot have someone who is not a Club member assessing risk on our behalf."
"Suppose there is a connection? Suppose Jinx finds out too much about Neely?"
"Then we must make another decision. It could be membership. He might make an excellent recruit."
"I'm sure he would." Alicia was smiling.
"No." Costas shook his big, shaggy head. "I don't like that at all. Don't forget that Neely was once considered a prime candidate for Club membership."
"A valid point." Cayuga turned off the scope. The screen turned dark, and the image of Conner Preston's shuttle blinked out of existence. "Caution is always the best policy. However, it does not affect our decision regarding Conner Preston. It is a pity that we took time explaining the ship to him. That is favorable publicity that will probably never be used."
4
EARTH: 2067 A.D.
Ten miles from the Corpus Christi spaceport, above-ground progress became impossible. Lola Belman took one last look at the sea of vehicles ahead as the bus driver made its assessment of all route loadings, computed probable delays, and ramped down into the tunnel net.
"Where are we going? What's happening?"
Spook, sitting at Lola's side near the front, was more annoyed than alarmed. To a ten-year-old,
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