Pete wandered aimlessly away from the observation deck, only half-aware of the crowd dispersing slowly. Someone tapped his shoulder, and startled, he whirled around.
“Gus!”
“Yeah, it’s me. Hello, sonny.”
“I thought you said we wouldn’t have to meet any longer.”
“Yeah, I said that. But I just wanted to thank you for the message you sent the other day.”
“Don’t thank me! I had no choice, but I wouldn’t have done it, not unless…”
“Relax, sonny. Look—I like you. I mean that, I really do. But your trouble is you don’t understand me.”
“What’s there to understand? You’re a cheap, no-good crook!”
“Sonny!” Ganymede Gus admonished. “Sonny! Let me tell you a story. Wait, don’t run away! It will only take a minute. Years ago, I was washed out of space. Why? Because they suddenly decided you had
