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to avenge the other."
    She sprawled suddenly on the bed.
    "You'd love that, wouldn't you? And you'd love it to be me . . .  Everything has just caught up with me," she said. "I must sleep. I can't force you, but neither do I accept your answer. Do as you would, Reyd, for I will certainly do the same. Good night."
    "I want you to be reasonable about this!"
    She began to snore.
    He finished his drink, put out the lights and left the goblet on the dresser. He closed the door behind him and returned to his own room, where he began to dress.
    "Are we burning?"
    "No, Flowers. We're leaving."
    "What'th wrong?"
    "Got to get out of here quick."
    "Have you given your report to the polithe, about latht night?"
    "Hell, the next report may be about me if we don't move now. That guy I shot last night was no crazy. I'm under black decade."
    "What'th that?"
    He drew on his boots and began lacing them.
    "Vendetta is what I call it. My enemy gets ten shots at me without interference. If they all miss, he's supposed to quit. It's kind of a game. Last night's was the first."
    "Can't you hit back?"
    "Sure. If I knew where to look. In the meantime, I'd better run. The Road is long. The game can take a lifetime. Always does, in fact, one way or the other."
    "The cops won't do anything?"
    "Nope. Not when it's official. The Games Board has jurisdiction then. And even if they wanted to, there aren't that many police — and most of them are from around C Twenty-three to Twenty-five, anyway. Too civilized, and not much good this far back."
    "Tho go up the Road to where they're thtronger, and look for thome criminal violation in the game."
    "No, my enemy lives up that way, and he probably has them in his pocket. I think that's what Tony was trying to tell me. Besides, their function is mainly traffic control. No, we're running back."
    "You know who'th behind it?"
    "Yeah, an old buddy of mine. We used to be partners. C'mon."
    "But aren't you — ”
    "Sh! We're sneaking out."
    "Without paying?"
    "Just like the old days."
    "I wathn't with you then."
    "It's all right. I haven't changed much."
    He closed the door quietly behind him and headed for the back stairs.
    "Red?"
    "Shh!"
    "Thh, hell! How did they know you were going to thtop here? It wath a thpur-of-the-moment dethithion."
    "I've been wondering about that myself," he whispered.
    “—Unleth thomeone knowth where you latht fueled and hath calculated a great number of pothible thtops where you'd be likely to take on more."
    "And covered all of them? Come on!"
    "Jutht the probable oneth. Could thith Thadwick guy afford it?"
    "Well, yes . . . "
    "He'd have to thpend ath much or more hunting you down if you got wind of it and ethcaped the firtht guy, wouldn't he?"
    "Yes, you're right. But now I think of it, he knows me awfully well. If he'd arranged for that confiscation of my load just where it occurred, he might have guessed I'd pulled in at the next stop to think things over."
    "Maybe. You willing to take the thanthe?"
    "What chance? That there's someone at the next stop, and the next, and the next?"
    "Could be, couldn't it?"
    "Yeah, you're right. I was too busy just now thinking of something more immediate. Like, that fellow who was supposed to take me out not being wherever he was to be picked up after the job was done. It must have been earlier this evening. When they learned I'd killed him and was still here, what do you figure they did?"
    "Hard to thay."
    "Could they be out there right now, waiting?"
    "It doeth theem pothible, doethn't it? Could they be covering thith back door?"
    "Perhaps. That's why we're going to look first, then make a dash for the trees. I think it's more likely, though, that they'd be watching the pickup, either from the trees or from another vehicle. Therefore, we'll work our way around through the woods."
    He reached the door, cursed when he discovered it to be heavy and windowless, eased it open a crack, looked out. Farther, then . . .
    "Nothing," he said. "No talking