* * * * *

Benson drew his pistol and checked it; magazine full, a round in the
chamber, safety on.

"Put that horrid thing out of sight!" Anthony gasped. "The ... the other
thing ... is what you want to use."

"The bomb won't be any good if some of his guards come in before the
field re-builds," Benson said.

"He has no guards. He lives absolutely alone. We told you...."

"I know you did. You probably believed it, too. I don't. And by the way,
you're sending me forward. What do you do about the fact that a
time-jump seems to make me pass out?"

"Here. Before you press the button, swallow it." Gregory gave him a
small blue pill.

"Well, I guess that's all there is," Gregory continued. "I hope...." His
face twitched, and he dropped to the floor with a thud. Carl and Walter
came forward, dragged him away from the machine.

"Conditioning got him. Getting me, too," Walter said. "Hurry up, man!"

Benson swallowed the pill, pressed the button and stepped back into the
red circle, drawing his pistol and snapping off the safety. The blue
mist closed in on him.