"But I promised you I'd resign in your favor today, Fred. I don't think I ever used those words, but I certainly implied it, didn't I?"
"Of course you did. You told me to come here at 1100 and you'd arrange the transfer."
Walton nodded. "Exactly so." He waited a long moment and then said quietly, "I lied, Fred."
He had chosen the words carefully, for maximum impact. He had not chosen wrongly.
For a brief instant Fred's face was very pale against the blackness of his garb. Total disbelief flickered across his eyes and mouth.
Walton had considered his brother's mental picture of him--the elder brother, virtuous, devoted to hard work, kind to animals, and just a little soft in the head. Also, extremely honest.
Fred hadn't expected Walton to be lying. And the calm admission stunned him.
"You're not planning to go through with it, then?" Fred asked in a dead voice.
"You realize what this means in terms of the serum, don't you? The moment I get out of here and transmit your refusal to my employers, they'll begin wholesale manufacture and distribution of the Lamarre serum. The publicity won't be good, Roy. Nor the result."
"You won't get out of here," Walton said.
Another shock wave rippled over Fred's face. "You can't be serious, Roy. My employers know where I am; they know what I'm here for. If they don't hear from me within twenty-four hours, they'll proceed with serum distribution. You can't hope to--"
"I'll risk it," Walton interrupted. "If nothing else, I'll have a twenty-four extension. You didn't really think I could hand Popeek over to you on a platter, Fred? Why, I don't even know how secure my _own_ position is here. So I'm afraid I'll have to back down on my offer. You're under arrest, Fred!"
"_Arrest!_" Fred sprang from his seat and circled around the desk toward Walton. For a moment the two brothers stared at each other, faces inches apart. Walton put one hand on his brother's shoulder and, gripping tightly, forced him around to the front of the desk.
"You had this all planned, didn't you?" Fred said bitterly. "Yesterday, when you talked to me, you knew this was what you were going to do. But you said you'd yield, and I believed you! I don't fool easy, but I thought I had you pegged because you were my brother. I _knew_ you. You wouldn't do a sneaky thing like this."