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With trembling fingers, Hunter took Ann’s last micropic from his bag and rolled the tiny film into a wall-scanner. He could have recited it by heart; yet, by reading it again, he somehow expected to extract a new meaning. The code he and Ann used, contrived for economy rather than secrecy, was merely a telescoping of common phrases into single word symbols.

IHTKN, at the beginning, was easily interpreted as “I have taken,” and COMJB became “commission-job.” The micropic transmission monopoly arbitrarily limited all code words to five letters or less, counting additional letters as whole words. But because of the simplicity of the technique, some of Ann’s symbols were open to a number of interpretations.

Hunter was sure of one thing. Ann had not specifically named the clinic where she was working. She said she had gone to work for the biggest–or possibly the symbol meant best–of the private clinics. Either term could apply to the clinics run by the two cartels; or, for that matter, to the largest of them all, operated by Eric Young’s union.

But Ann, having invented the Exorciser, would know all its possible misuses–a factor which had not occurred to Hunter until Dawn spelled it out for him. Would Ann, then, have been fool enough to let herself fall into the hands of the cartels?

That line of reasoning gave Hunter new hope. If one of the cartels tried to trap her, Ann would simply go into hiding. It would complicate the problem of finding her, but at least he could assure himself she was safe. Ann had brains to match her ambition. She couldn’t otherwise have earned a First in Psychiatry. No, Hunter was certain the cartels didn’t have her.

The telescreen buzzer gave a plaintive bleep. Hunter jerked down the response toggle. Surprisingly, the screen remained dark, but Hunter heard a man’s voice say clearly, “You are anxious to find Ann Saymer, Captain Hunter?”

Apparently the transmission from Hunter’s screen was unimpaired, for the speaker seemed to recognize him.

“Who is this?” Hunter asked, his mouth suddenly dry.

“A friend. We have your interest at heart, Captain. We suggest that you investigate United Researchers’ clinic when you start looking for Miss Saymer.”

The contact snapped off. Hunter sat down slowly, his mind reeling. Since only his screen had been neutralized, the machine was not at fault. Only a top-ranking cartel executive could arrange for a deliberate interruption of service. The rest followed logically. No one in United would have given him the information.

So Ann had fallen into their hands after all! Someone in Consolidated–perhaps Glenn Farren himself–was setting him on Ann’s trail, on the chance that Hunter could find her when Consolidated’s operatives had failed.

Hunter was used to the risk of long odds. He had a ten-year apprenticeship in the treachery and in-fighting of the frontier. There was a good chance that he could play one cartel against the other, and in the process get Ann away from both of them.

One more thing he wanted before he planned his opening attack against United Researchers–the note Ann had sent to Mrs. Ames. It might give him a clue as to where United had taken her. Hunter wasn’t naive enough to suppose they had kept her in center-city. But perhaps she was not even in Sector West.

* * * * *

Each of the eleven sectors into which the Earth was divided was controlled by one of the two cartels, as an agricultural or industrial appendage of the western metropolis. It was a paternal relationship, although no comparable city had been permitted to develop and company mercenaries policed the sectors.

Children who exhibited any spark of initiative or ability were skimmed off from the hinterland to Sector West and thrown into the competitive struggle of the general school. If they fought to the top there, they were integrated as adults into the hierarchy of the cartels.