ron Goulart - Challengers of the Unknown Read Online Free Page A

Would you amplify on that?"
    "Aw." Rocky gave a lopsided shrug. "Some guys tried to knock us off. Nothing serious."
    "Attempts were made on your lives? When?"
    "Yesterday," said Ace. He gave Hentoff a brief and concise account of what had befallen each of the other Challengers.
    Hentoff stroked his beardless chin. "Interesting, Ace, and yet I'm at a loss to see how it connects with this pending assignment of yours. Furthermore, no one but Holden Chote, Ms. Robbins and myself even knew NEA intends to bring you into this affair. In fact, until early yesterday the final decision hadn't even been made. Even if there were a leak, which I judge to be nearly impossible, there would have been no time to set up three separate schemes to do away with you fellows."
    "Probably just some free-lance killers," said Prof, "looking for practice."
    "Right," said Red, "probably out to earn their merit badges in mayhem and slaughter."
    "You weren't," asked Hentoff, after allowing another fleeting smile onto his face, "able to catch any of these people? Or to get some lead as to who they were?"
    "Nope," said Red. "Nobody at Bimm's circus saw any suspicious characters lurking around. The rope had been cut, but I couldn't determine when and by whom. I wasn't, in what time I had before hightailing it back here, able to get a single clue."
    "Similar situation prevailed in Southern Cal," said Prof. "Though I'll have the bomb fragments shipped to our lab here, once the police bomb experts get finished."
    "Be sure to have them send the stuff special bomb rates," suggested Red. "Saves postage."
    "Oh, really? I thought that only applied to letter bombs."
    "Come on, you guys," Rocky grumbled, "knock off the levity." Eyebrows nearly connected, he glanced once more at the entryway.
    As he did, a panel slid aside and a slim blonde girl, pretty face slightly flushed, came hurrying into the briefing room. "Sorry I'm late, one and all," she said.
    Rocky's chair rumbled when he hopped to his feet. "You okay, Juney? You look kind of flustered."
    "Oh, well, somebody tried to shoot me," June Rob-bins replied. "It sort of unsettled me."
    "Welcome to the club," said Red, standing and easing the one empty chair a few inches toward her.
    June sank into it, smiling a thank you at him. "I'm not the only one who's been playing target?"
    Ace leaned in her direction. "Before we fill you in," he said, "give us the details of what happened to you."
    Her long blonde hair brushed at her shoulders when she gave a self-deprecating shrug. "It was at the airport when I got in a couple hours ago." "You should have taken me up on my offer of a lift in the NEA jet," said Hentoff.
    Not looking at the agent, June said, "I had some things to take care of before I left Washington, Alex. Anyway, when I was walking from the plane to the airport. . . bam! Somebody shot at me. I hit the deck in my usual nimble fashion and no harm was done. At least not to me."
    "Anyone else hurt?" asked Ace.
    "No, none of my fellow passengers or any of the crew, but a lot of the suitcases on one of the baggage trucks got sliced in half and—"
    "Sliced in half?" said Rocky.
    June explained, "Seems my assassin was using some sort of laser gun."
    Hentoff bounced in his chair. "That's impossible, June. No civilian could—"
    "The airport police were of the same opinion," the blonde girl said. "But there were all those suitcases neatly cut open, not to mention the truck itself. After talking in circles with me for a while, they all gave up and turned me loose. Here I am." She smiled, spread her hands wide apart.
    Ace steepled his fingers. "I imagine they found no trace of the lad with the laser gun? No witnesses?"
    "They didn't," said the girl, "and I didn't. A very neat and clean job, except it failed."
    "Did it?" said Prof.
    Ace looked over at him. "Meaning?"
    "I'm commencing to wonder if our gaggle of assassins really want to kill us. Maybe they just want to incapacitate us, or simply scare us."
    "Aw, nobody can