SURPRISINGLY, IT WAS O’Hara who seconded Andy Laney.
“Do what he says, Joe. I don’t know exactly what he has in mind, but it’s his pigeon. He’s steered us right this far; we might as well go whole-hog.”
“Thank you, Captain!” said Slops gratefully. And as he spoke the words, the Leo rocked violently. With gathering speed we began to move away from our erstwhile captors, their tractor beams now released. Upward we surged toward the web-work of flailing missiles that spelled pure destruction.
“Now, Joey!” almost screamed Slops. “Aim the cannon at the rubble. Hold it firm. Full strength!”
And I did. I yanked the controls over to full power and aimed the heat gun straight into the heart of the rubble. The radiation was invisible, of course. Our enemies couldn’t know we had an operative weap
