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Behind Mike there was a bend in the corridor, and from around that bend came the sound of running footsteps, followed by a bellowing voice: "I'll get the Commander; you go down and get the other boys started!" Multhaus. And then there was a glow of light. The Chief Powerman's Mate was carrying a light, which reflected from the walls of the corridor.
Unperturbed, it went on rising. Inside, Mike the Angel and Chief Multhaus watched worriedly as the meters wiggled their needles dangerously close to the overload mark.
The men lined the torches up on the desk in the corner, in order to shed as much light as possible over the banks of low-power wiring, and went over to where Multhaus and Mike the Angel were standing. "Dig out three replacement switches heavy-duty six-double-oh-B-nines," said Multhaus. There was a touch of disgust and a good-sized serving of anger and irritation in his voice.
Then Chief Multhaus approached from the other direction. The killer knew he'd have to get out of there, so he went in the opposite direction. He met Snookums, who was still obeying orders. Snookums smacked into me on his way down the hall. "He could do that, you see, because I was an angel. If he hurt me of his own accord, I couldn't take revenge on anyone but him.
"I'm ready any time you are, sir," Multhaus said, easing himself into a chair. "We'll have a cigarette and then run 'em through." Keku settled his bulk into a chair and fired up a cigarette. Mike sat on the edge of the table. "Philip Keku," Mike said musingly. "Just out of curiosity, what kind of a name is Keku?" "Damfino," said the lieutenant. "Sounds Oriental, doesn't it?"
If he keeps on coming, start swinging." And, to Chief Multhaus: "If Mellon jumps me, fire that stun gun only if he's armed with a knife or a gun. But if you do have to fire at Mellon, don't wait to get in a good shot; just go ahead and knock us both out. I'd rather be asleep than dead. Okay?" Multhaus had agreed. "The same goes for me, Commander. And the rest of the boys."
"Dunstan, you and Ghihara get out and watch the halls. If any other officer comes this way, sing out." "Yessir!" came the twin chorus. More footsteps pounded toward them, and the remaining men of the power crew arrived. "All right, now let's take a look at these circuits," said Mike. Chief Multhaus had already flipped open all the panels and was peering inside.
Mike the Angel surveyed the damage. "See anything else, Multhaus?" "No, sir. That's it." Mike nodded. "About five minutes' work to get the main switch going, which will give us power, and another ten minutes for the first and second stand-bys. Go ahead and take over, Multhaus; you won't need me. I'll go find out what the bloody unprintable is going on around here."
Chief Multhaus, one of the eight, turned his head to look at Mike the Angel. "I wish that thing would close as fast as my eyes are going to in about fifteen minutes, Commander." His voice rumbled deeply in Mike's earphones. "Yeah," said Mike, too tired to make decent conversation.
"Okay, Multhaus, shut it off. She's steady now." Multhaus just sat there, surrounded by a wall of concentration, his hands still on the verniers, his eyes still on the screen. He didn't move. Mike flipped off the switch. "Come on, Multhaus, snap to. We've still got that beat note to worry about." Multhaus blinked dizzily as the green line vanished from his sight.
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