Working alone in a secluded area of the armory, Hayes was startled when he heard Malcolm's voice. "You do good work when you're not plotting my death." Hayes turned and saw the phase pistol aimed at his head. Malcolm went on conversationally, "Archer wants the prisoner back. We're likely to run into nasties over there. I can do something about that, if you cooperate, and capitalize on it to our advantage in a way the captain never could. Put that into your equation." He saw the interest, holstered the weapon and walked nonchalantly away. A most dangerous game had begun.