without meeting Finn’s eyes。 The FBI agent’s lips were puckered as though he were chewing on
quinine。 He faced Riley。
“Give him his gun；” said Coughlan。 “He’s your new boss。”
“What？”
“He’s in charge of this investigation；” said Coughlan； distaste in every syllable； “and you are
hereby assigned to be his fetch…and…carry。 So give him the goddamn elephant gun before he
breaks your arm。”
“For the love of God；” said Riley。 He holstered his own gun and returned Finn’s 。45。
Finn stuck the 。45 in the back of his belt。 “Amen； Riley。 Let’s give the partnership a pass。”
Coughlan smiled thinly。 “Nice try； but Groves – whoever the hell he is – said you work with us。
If Riley is too much for you to handle； I’ll find someone with fewer teeth。 Either way； it’s you
and us。”
Finn looked from Coughlan to Riley。 “It can be easy；” he said； measuring Riley with pale eyes；
“or it can be hard。” He pointed to the dead sentry。 “Hold on to him。”
Without waiting to see if Riley understood； Finn turned and squatted on his heels by the dead
boy。
Riley hesitated； then grabbed the corpse； holding it against Finn’s pull。 It was clearly the first
time Riley had touched a corpse； but he was determined not to show his revulsion。
Finn liked the feel of dead flesh no better than Riley。 Willing hmself not to notice smell or
temperature or texture； Finn wrestled against the cold strength of the sentry’s clenched fingers。
Once he almost pulled over the body。 He looked up at Riley； who flushed and grasped the
corpse more tightly。
Finally； Finn dragged the thick paper out of the dead boy’s grasp。
Coughlan could restrain himself no longer。 “You keep dicking with the evidence and the crime
boys will be all over you like a cat covering shit。”
“I don’t give a damn about evidence。 All I want is information。”
Coughlan shut up。
Finn smoothed out the paper。 It was an indentification card from the Lawrence Radiation
Laboratory； issued to a health inspector named Mr。 Stan Grummin。 But the face belonged to
Page 70
Masarek。 Finn turned to one of the Navy officers who had drifted back in Coughlan’s wake。
“Did the Lawrence Radiation Lab send someone over to check the shipment？”
“Yes； Captain。”
“Who？”
The ONI man consulted a notebook。 “Dr。 Kenneth Cooper logged in at the gate last night at
2400。 He logged out at 0100。 However； this sentry；” his glance flicked over the corpse； “came
on duty at 0130。 Somebody checked； saw him alive at 0200。 Dr。 Cooper couldn’t have been
involved。”
Finn’s glance turned back to the card in his hand。 He smoothed the card and turned it slowly so
that light played over the small photograph。 In spite of its recently wrinkled face； the card was
new； its edges crisp and unsmudged by handling。
“You can let go；” said Finn to Riley without looking up。
“My pleasure；” muttered Riley。 He stepped back from the corpse with no attempt to hide his
relief。
“Coughlan；” Finn said； “how long will it take to find out if this card really came from the
Lawrence lab？”
Coughlan approached and took the card from Finn。 He smoothed it out and studied the picture
and the printing carefully。 “Paper and printing are right； but it couldn’t have come from the lab。
We never did one on this guy Grummin。”
“His name is Masarek。 He’s an NKVD agent。”
Everyone in the room came to attention at the mention of the Russian secret service。
“NKVD？” said Coughlan。 “I should have figured it was the commies。” He turned to Riley。 “Get
the guys from the Red Squad down here。 I want every known commie agent； sympathizer or
plain fool in San Francisco and Berkeley under surveillance by noon。”
“Hold it。” Finn’s voice was like a pistol shot。 “You can put a watch on known agents and idiots
– it will at least keep your men out of the way。 But it won’t answer my question about where the
card came from。”
“It’s a fake。 It has to be；” said Coughlan。 “We never approved a security clearance for a
goddamn Russian spy called Grummin or Masarek or whatever the hell his name is。”
“Someone in that lab told Grummin…Masarek when the shipment arrived and where it was
stored。 That same person could have stolen a blank Lawrence lab ID card and given it to
Masarek。”
Coughlan scowled； but nodded finally。
“Run another check on everybody at the lab；” said Finn。 “Bear down on anyone who knew
about the shipment。 And be a prick with the men who came here at midnight。”
Coughlan’s scowl deepened； but he nodded again。
“And before you do anything else；” continued Finn； “get a bulletin on Masarek out to the local
police。”
“An APB；” muttered Coughlan。 “San Francisco or the whole damn Bay Area？”
“Statewide；” said Finn； trying to keep the bleak edge of hopelessness out of his voice。 “Christ；
he could be halfway to Russia by now。”
With the discipline that had made him a survivor； Finn put away his feeling of futility。 As long as
there was time； he would keep on trying… otherwise the sentry would be just the first of a
million casualties； death piled on death。
Finn stood and walked swiftly through the half…open storeroom door that was just beyond the
sentry’s body。 Riley hesitated； then followed his new partner。
The first thing Finn saw was the open canister。 His breath hissed out between his teeth as the
enormity of the thieves’ ignorance struck him for the first time。
“Sweet Jesus。 The bastards don’t know what they stole！” Finn remembered the dying technician
in Los Alamos； the horror of his invisible； lethal injury。 He turned toward the men waiting
outside the storeroom。 “How many people have been in here？”
Page 71
Coughlan came up behind Finn and looked over his shoulder。 “No one but me。 Why？”
“Did you touch anything？”
“Uh； no；” said Coughlan uneasily。 “We were told that the storeroom was off limits until
someone from Groves cleared it。”
Finn looked at Coughlan； sure that he was lying。 It was an investigator’s nature to poke and pry；
and Coughlan was an investigator before he was anything else。
“Riley；” said Finn。
The young agent took Coughlan’s place behind Finn； looking over his shoulder into the
forbidden storeroom。 Finn pulled a metal keyring from his pocket and flipped it to Riley。
“In the trunk of the black Ford coupe parked out front。 A metal box。 Bring it。”
In less than a minute； Riley returned with the radiation counter。 Finn took the instrument；
snapped it on and adjusted the dial。 He was rewarded with a slow； steady click； like a
metronome。 Finn extended the probe in front of him like a snake stick and began quartering the
storeroom。
As he approached the canister； the radiation counter began clicking faster。 When he was eight
feet from the empty canister the pulses quickened even more； sounding double time in a ghostly
march。 At six feet； the sound slid into a blur。
Finn stopped and recalibrated。 Although the radiation was still within the range of safety； Finn
felt as though the temperature of the room were increasing with each click。 Sweat started on his
forehead。 He remembered again the laboratory and the innocent looking； deadly pieces of
metal。
“What are you doing？” demanded Coughlan。
Finn ignored him。 Four feet away from the cannister； Finn had to recalibrate again。 He was
approaching the upper level of what he had been told was the safety range。 The skin on his arms
prickled and contracted。 He advanced another cautious step； feeling as though he were in the
jungle again； and the clicks of the counter a cloud of frightened birds crying frantic warnings。
Off to the side of the lid； on a patch of concrete that looked no different from any other； the
probe sensed ambush and screamed。 Finn reset the counter twice； then retreated； still unable to
slow the scream into separate clicks。 He would leave the rest of the investigating to radiation
experts。 He knew enough for his own purposes。 He knew that the U…235 was unshielded； and
that the two pieces had been brought together as they were stolen； irradiating the concrete floor
and probably at least one of the thieves。
The mental vision of shadowy men limned in the blue light of atomic radiation possessed Finn’s
mind for a moment； and then； like an echo； the face of the experimenter who had found the
front lines of war in a New Mexico lab。 If the thief – or more likely； thieves – were badly injured
by radiation； they might crawl away and die like poisoned rats in some hidden hole。 How would
he find them if they went to ground？ How could anyone find them？
Less than two days。
Sweat gathered on Finn’s ribs in spite of the cool morning。 The canister yawned vacantly at him；
its black cavity big enough to swallow a world。
As Finn backed away from the canister； the counter’s buzz diminished rapidly。 He clicked
downward through the scale； watching the needle drop。 With a feeling of relief； he reached for
the cutoff switch。 But the counter buzzed suddenly and the needle slapped against its peg。
Finn stood absolutely still。 Just when he thought he understood the capabilities of radiation； it
ambushed him with no warning at all。 Silence； then screams。
Sweating； Finn reset the counter。 Coughlan； standing behind Finn near the door； walked toward
the shrill…voiced box。 The counter screamed as Coughlan approached the probe。
“What the hell？”
Coughlan’s question was cut short by the counter’s scream as he neared the probe。 Finn quickly
shifted the dial； diminishing the counter’s sensitivity until the clicks were crisp and separate
again。 He looked speculatively at Coughlan； then pointed the probe toward him。
Page 72
The clicks sped up。
“Hey！” said Coughlan。 “What the hell do you think you’re doing？”
“Stand still。”
Coughlan responded to the authority in Finn’s voice。 The probe clicked faster as it approached
Coughlan； then slowed as Finn pulled it back。
“How are you making it do that？ What are those clicks？”
“I’m not making it do anything；” said Finn。 “You are。” Finn moved the probe again； advancing
and retreating from Coughlan。 The clicks rose and fell in a ripple of sound。
“Whaddya mean？” said Coughlan。 “Get that damn thing away from me！”
“You handled the canister；” said Finn。 Before Coughlan could deny it； Finn pointed the probe at
the agent’s right hand。 “You picked up the cover； most likely。”
Color drained from Coughlan’s face as the counter screamed the answer to Finn’s accusation。
Red splotches along the line of the agent’s jaw stood out against the paleness of fear。
“The thieves；” said Finn； pointing the probe as though it were a flashlight illuminating a dark
room； “opened the can； pulled out the first piece and set it down near the lid。 Then they pulled
out that；” the wand pointed at the dark； solid damper that had separated the two pieces of
U…235； “and – “ He stopped talking abruptly。 He knew the thieves had taken out the second
piece of uranium and set it down next to the first； causing a storm of radiation。 But he could not
say that to men who were not even cleared to know that they were looking for uranium。
He turned off the radiation counter。 “Riley； I saw a hose out front。 Drag it in here。 Coughlan；
start peeling。 When you get to your skin； wish you could zip out of it； too。 But yo