The two nearest stars were in the same quadrant of the sky, within fifteen degrees of each other. The large suitcase held a complete change of clothes and a pair of dark-rimmed glasses that replaced the contact lenses. The earphones broke in my hands and I felt better, felt muchbetterstill when I had stamped the tape player into a tangle of rubble. Between two periods of radical surgery I took the precaution of seeing that a sleeping pill was included in Vulffs evening drink. 75 caliber recoilless at my sternum. Nothing elseand thats an order. The next door was locked but the third one opened to a dark room where I could hear someone breathing evenly in his sleep. I must have made the turn into the stairs a split second ahead of their arrival.