"Frank, we've been friends for a long time."

"This isn't friendship anymore, Chet. It's treason."

Looking up at the hulking metal shapes throbbing around them, Kinsman asked, "Where's Waterman?"

"Busy." Colt gestured vaguely.

"Planting explosives."

"That's right."

"Frank, if you do this you're not only going to kill everyone in Selene. You'll be killing everyone on Earth, too."

"Stuff it. Nobody's gonna die if you tell your people to forget this independence shit. I'll even see to it that the whole thing's hushed up. Nobody arrested, no hassles. You can go back Earthside ..."

"And get nuked."

Colt's jaw muscles clenched. He looked at his wrist again. "The explosives are set to go off in less than a minute. You better make your move."

Despite the roaring in his ears, despite the pain flaring in his chest, Kinsman forced himself to say calmly, "When your explosives go off, Frank, you'll be killing the entire human race."

"You goddamned fool!" Colt's voice was molten steel. "Leonov's pigeon. They've set you up, man! Can't you see that? They've set you up! Peace and love and friendship—and you turn the whole ABM system over to them. Fuck that!"

"You're wrong, Frank. We can trust Leonov. He's one of us."

Turning to Kelly, Colt snapped, "Gimme that radio he brought." He took the palm-sized plastic box and thrust it at Kinsman. "Call it off, Chet. Tell 'em to stop. You got fifteen seconds to go."

Kinsman stood unmoving, hands by his sides.

"For Christ's sake!" Kelly screamed. "Do it! Don't make us—"

The lights went off. The rumble of machinery died. Before anyone could say anything the tiny emergency lamps came up, scattering pools of grayish light sparsely amid the dark looming machinery.

Kinsman spoke first. Calmly. Coolly. "Your explosives are electrically fused?"

"Sonofabitch!" Even in the dim lighting Kinsman could see Colt's hand nervously rubbing the holster at his hip.

"There'll be troops coming through here soon," Kins- man told them. "They'll be armed with sniperscopes and gas grenades. Remember, Frank? The stuff you insisted we stock, on your last tour here, so we could fight the Russians without shooting up valuable equipment."

"You haven't won, Chet." Colt yanked the gun from its holster. "Not yet."

He gestured with the gun, ordering Kinsman and Kelly along the walkway that led between the big steel domes of machinery. It was tricky going in the semidarkness, but within a few minutes they met Ernie Waterman.

"They shut off the rucking power!" Waterman cried. 424

"How the hell am I supposed to . . ." Then he recognized Kinsman and shut up.

Colt waved the gun. "Jury-rig something. You can use batteries, can't you?"