CHAPTER VIBehind Tauncer came an older man, as gray and solid and rough at the edges as an old brick. He could have been an Earthman and probably was. He was loaded down with a porto, and some other piece of equipment in a carrying case slung over his shoulders.
Taking no chances at all, but allowing himself to feel a deep and vicious pleasure, Kirk fired from behind the table.
Even so, warned by some faint sound or perhaps only by the instinct of the hunter, Tauncer swung toward him in the instant before the burst of energy hit. He did not quite have time to fire. The impetus of the turn made him hurtle halfway across the room to hit the floor headlong.
The brick-like man was slower. He had only managed to open his mouth and lift his hand halfway toward his armpit when Kirk’s second bl
