As soon as Kinsman saw that the committee chairman was going to gavel the session into adjournment he ducked out the big gleaming oak double doors and into the quiet, marble-walled corridor. Diane was walking up the hall toward him.

"Perfect timing," Kinsman said, taking her by the arm.

Her smile was good to see. "I can't make it a long lunch, Chet," she warned. "I've got to meet Larry and fly up to New York for a contract negotiation." 191

"Oh."

"I'll only be gone overnight. I've got a concert up there Friday night, then the whole weekend's taken up with brief- ings and medical checkups ..."

"With what?"

The click of their footsteps on the marble floor was lost as the rest of the crowd poured out of the hearing chamber and into the corridor.

Raising her voice, Diane said, "I've been invited to fly up to the opening of Space Station Alpha. Didn't Neal tell you?"

"No, he didn't."

"I thought he had. We're going up on the special VIP shuttle Monday. Just for the day."

Kinsman felt stunned.

Diane was grinning at him. "I thought it'd be fun to see what it's like up there. Maybe I'll find out what fascinates you about it so much."

Nodding absently, he led Diane to the elevators that went down to the basement cafeteria. "You've been invited to Alpha," he muttered. "That's more than anybody's done for me.

Diane said nothing.

An elevator opened and he ushered her into it, then slapped the DOOR CLOSE button before any of the crowd coming down the corridor could reach them.

"You'll be tied up all weekend?" Kinsman asked.

"That's what they told me."

"I thought maybe we could get together for dinner or something."

Diane gave a little shake of her head. "I don't think so, Chet. I'm sorry."

The elevator door slid open and they were faced with another crowd, the clerks and secretaries who were lined up for their cafeteria lunch. Silently, numbly, Kinsman got into the line behind Diane. They picked up their trays and selected their food; Diane a fruit salad. Kinsman a bowl of bean soup, Both passed the steam tables with their pathetic-looking "specials." Both took iced fruit drinks.

Kinsman led Diane through the crowd to the farthest corner of the busy, clattering cafeteria and found a table that was big enough only for the two of them. 192

"It's not the fanciest restaurant in town," he said as they sat down. "But it's the toughest to bug."

"What did you say?" Diane's eyes went wide.

He gestured at the crowded cafeteria. "Nobody knows who's going to sit where. And the background noise is high enough to defeat mikes hidden in the ceiling."

"You're serious?"