Frank about it. If there are any flaws in the picture he'll spot them. Pick out the weak points and fix them. Then Murdock. Then we'll work up a presentation for General Sherwood. Probably for Marcot, too. It all ties together so neatly. Why haven't the others seen it?
"You haven't been listening to a word I've said/' Jinny Woods complained.
"I'm sorry," Kinsman said. "I was thinking about some of the problems I've got ahead of me, back at the office."
"You sound just like my husband. I guess I talk too much. That's what he tells me."
"No . . . it's my fault."
She brushed a curl away from her eyes. "I'm just so excited by all this! It's all old stuff for you, I know. But nothing like this has ever happened to me before. It's all so new ... so thrilling!"
She's kind of pretty, Kinsman noticed. Nice eyes. Happy as a kid.
"It's exciting for me, too," he told her. "Don't let this calm exterior fool you. No matter how many times you go into orbit, it's always a ball."
She seemed pleased. "Really? It's not just me? I guess I just never learned to control my feelings very well. I get awfully gushy, don't I? Do you think we'll ever get up there again?"
Do I think about anything else?
She went on, "They said they're going to bring us to Washington next week for a press conference. You live in Washington, don't you? I've never been there before and Ralph says he can't take any days off to come with me. I'll be alone in the city,"
"Where will you be staying?"
"Some government hotel, I guess. They haven't told us where."
Kinsman nodded. "Well, I'll find out and phone you when you're in town."
"Oh, that'd be wonderful' Do you have a card or something, so I can call you? That'd be easier . . ."
"I'm afraid I can't give out my phone number," Kinsman said, taking on a man-of-mystery disguise.
She fell for it. "Really? Why?" 238
He put a finger to his lips. "I'll find out where you're going to be staying and give you a call when you get into town. Trust me."
She nodded slowly, her eyes filled with something ap- proaching awe.
And that was the last time he thought about her.
As soon as he arrived back in his one-room apartment Kinsman phoned Fred Durban. But the old man had slipped into a coma and the hospital would allow no visitors except family.
Then he called Colt and invited himself to Frank's apartment for a drink.
Colt's pad was lush compared to Kinsman's Spartan little cell: richly carpeted living room with a balcony that over- looked Arlington National Cemetery; big bedroom with a fake zebra hide thrown over the water bed.
Scotch in hand, Kinsman explained his idea to Colt. The black officer listened silently, stretched out on his synthetic leather recliner.
". . . and that's it," Kinsman finished. "We mine the ores on the Moon, process them there, ship them to orbital factories, where they're manufactured into the antimissile satellites. Instead of working against the SDI Office, we make Moonbase a partner of theirs."
