The Greatest Works of Randall Garrett. Randall Garrett

if I had to go through all that, without knowing what I was going to find down there?"

      "Oh," Malone said.

      "If those kids can just appear and disappear at will," Lynch said, "I'm not going to pull a raid on them, and end up looking like a fool, until I've got some way of making sure they're there when the raid goes through."

      Malone coughed gently. "O.K.," he said at last. "Sorry."

      "There's only one thing I want," Lynch said. "I want to be able to move as soon as possible."

      "Well, sure," Malone said apologetically.

      "And that means I'm going to have to be informed," Lynch said. "I want to know what's going on, as fast as possible."

      Malone nodded gently. "Sure," he said. "I'll tell you everything that happens—as soon as I know myself. But right now, I haven't got a thing for you. All I have is a kind of theory, and it's pretty screwy."

      He stopped. Lynch looked up at him. "Just how screwy can it get?" he said. "The facts are nutty enough."

      "You have absolutely no idea," Malone assured him. "I'm not even saying a word about this, not until I prove it out one way or another. I'm not even thinking about it. I don't even want me to know about it, until it stops sounding so nutty to me."

      "O.K., Malone," Lynch said. "I can see a piece of it, if no more. The Fueyo kid vanishes mysteriously—never mind all that about you getting him out of the interrogation room by some kind of confidential method. There isn't any confidential method. I know that better than you do."

      "I had to say something, didn't I?" Malone asked apologetically.

      "So the kid disappears," Lynch said, brushing Malone's question away with a wave of his hand. "So now I hear all this stuff from Kettleman. And it begins to add up. The kids can disappear somehow, and re-appear some place else. Walk through walls?" He shrugged. "How should I know? But they can sure do something like it."

      "Something," Malone said. "Like I said, it sounds screwy."

      "I don't like it," Lynch said.

      Malone nodded. "Nobody likes it," he said. "But keep it under your hat. I'll give you everything I have—whenever I have anything. And ... by the way—"

      "Yes?" Lynch said.

      "Thanks for giving me and Kettleman a chance to talk," Malone said. "Even if you had reasons of your own."

      "Oh," Lynch said. "You mean the recording."

      "I was a little suspicious," Malone said. "I didn't think you'd give Kettleman to me without getting something for yourself."

      "Would you?" Lynch said.

      Malone shrugged. "I'm not crazy either," he said.

      Lynch picked up a handful of papers. "I've got all this work to do," he said. "So I'll see you later."

      "O.K.," Malone said.

      "And if you need my help, buddy-boy," Lynch said, "just yell—right?"

      "I'll yell," Malone said. "Don't worry about that. I'll yell loud enough to get myself heard in Space Station One."

      XI

       Table of Contents

      The afternoon was bright and sunny, but it didn't match Malone's mood. He got a cab outside the precinct station and headed for Sixty-ninth Street, dining off his nails en route. When he hit the FBI Headquarters, he called Washington and got Burris on the line.

      He made a full report to the FBI chief, including his wild theory and everything else that had happened. "And there was this notebook," he said, and reached into his jacket pocket for it.

      The pocket was empty.

      "What notebook?" Burris said.

      Malone tried to remember if he'd left the book in his room. He couldn't quite recall. "This book I picked up," he said, and described it. "I'll send it on, or bring it in when the case is over."

      "All right," Burris said.

      Malone went on with his description of what had happened. When he'd finished, Burris heaved a great sigh.

      "My goodness," he said. "Last year it was telepathic spies, and this year it's teleporting thieves. Malone, I hate to think about next year."

      "I wish you hadn't said that," Malone said sadly.

      Burris blinked. "Why?" he said.

      "Oh, just because," Malone said. "I haven't even had time to think about next year, yet. But I'll think about it now."

      "Well, maybe it won't be so bad," Burris said.

      Malone shook his head. "No, chief," he said. "You're wrong. It'll be worse."

      "This is bad enough," Burris said.

      "It's a great vacation," Malone said.

      "Please," Burris said. "Did I have any idea—"

      "Yes," Malone said.

      Burris' eyes closed. "All right, Malone," he said after a little pause. "Let's get back to the report. At least it explains the red Cadillac business. Sergeant Jukovsky was hit by a boy who vanished."

      "I was hit by a boy who vanished, too," Malone said bitterly. "But, of course, I'm just an FBI agent. Expendable. Nobody cares about—"

      "Don't say that, Malone," Burris said. "You're one of my most valuable agents."

      Malone tried to stop himself from beaming, but he couldn't. "Well, chief," he began, "I—"

      "Vanishing boys," Burris muttered. "What are you going to do with them, Malone?"

      "I was hoping you might have some kind of suggestion," Malone said.

      "Me?"

      "Well," Malone said, "I suppose I'll figure it out—when I catch them. But I did want something from you, chief."

      "Anything, Malone," Burris said. "Anything at all."

      "I want you to get hold of Dr. O'Connor, out at Yucca Flats, if you can. He's the best psionics man Westinghouse has right now, and I might need him."

      "If you say so," Burris said doubtfully.

      "Well," Malone said, "these kids are teleports. And maybe there's some way to stop a teleport. Give him a good, hard kick in the psi, for instance."

      "In the what?"

      "Never mind," Malone said savagely. "But if I'm going to get any information on what makes teleports tick, I'm going to have to get it from Dr. O'Connor—right?"

      "Right," Burris said.

      "So get in touch with Dr. O'Connor," Malone said.

      "I'll have him call you," Burris said. "Meanwhile ... well, meanwhile just carry on, Malone. I've got every confidence in you."

      "Thanks," Malone growled.

      "If anybody can crack a case like this," Burris said, "it's you."

      "I suppose it had better be," Malone said, and rang off.

      Then he started to think. The notebook wasn't in his pockets. He checked every one, even the jacket pocket where he usually kept a handkerchief and nothing else. It wasn't anywhere on his person.

      Had he left it in his room?

      He thought about that for several minutes, and finally decided that he hadn't. He hadn't taken it out of his pocket, for one thing, and if it had fallen to the ground he couldn't have helped seeing it. Of course, he'd put his wallet, keys, change and other such items on the dresser, and then replaced them in his pockets when morning had come—but he could remember how they'd looked on the dresser.

      The notebook