Crossword by Alan Bricklin

the right decision, for
you and for Helen." He started to get up, as if the matter was at an end,
a deal struck and handshakes all around.
    "Wait. I need to know more. Where does the money come
in and just how much are we talking about?"
    Julian stood and arched his back, as if he had been sitting
too long, and used the stretching as an excuse to once more check the vicinity
for any onlookers. About seventy-five meters behind them on the path, a woman
sat on a bench, an infant in hand and a stroller in front of her. He had
noticed her when she sat down, several minutes ago, had heard the baby making
soft crying sounds and as she had picked up the baby to quiet it, that part of
his mind that was always on sentry duty had removed her from the potential
threat list. Nonetheless, he glanced her way again to make sure his initial
assessment was still correct, and reassured that she was just what she seemed
to be, he sat down again and turned once more to the man who he hoped to lure
into the Great Game as his personal pawn. "There should be a few hundred
thousand in it for each of us from the sale of the plutonium." He paused
briefly to access Kent's reaction, noticed the slight flare of his nostrils,
the inhalation that was just a little deeper than the one before and the
fleeting dilation of his pupils; all of these reassuring him that the amount of
the pay off was enough to hook his prey.
    Julian was hoping not to have to tell him any more, at least
not now. Later, when he had taken the first step from which there was no
turning back, when he was committed to the point that any revelation of his
activities would end his career, if not get him thrown in jail, not to mention
losing the woman for whom he had done it all, then that would be the time when
the operational details of the plan could be revealed. Templeton, however, was
neither a fool nor an optimist, and he didn't really expect Kent to be
satisfied with the sparse information he had received so far. He was hooked,
the money had done that, but to reel him in would require that his conscience
be assuaged; he had to know that what he was doing would not hurt the United
States nor cost the lives of Americans.
    "Who's going to buy the plutonium? If it's going to end
up in the hands of some other Axis country or diehard Nazi sympathizers, then I
don't want to have anything to do with it. Shit, they could make a bomb just to
get back at us for kicking Hitler's ass. And who's going to arrange the
sale?" The last question, for Julian, was the only one of importance, and
he was glad that Kent had asked it because it confirmed that, whatever other
qualities he might lack, he was sufficiently astute to realize that the
plutonium was the trump card and whoever controlled it, controlled the game.
    "First of all, relax. You don't have to worry about a
bomb being made by any enemy of the United States because the plutonium will
never, under any circumstances, be sold to anyone who might turn around and use
it on us. I can be really positive about this point since I'm the one who'll
arrange the sale and I would never do anything to endanger my country, ever! As
to who the buyer is, I can't tell you because I don't know yet. There are
several prospects I'm talking to, I can't tell you who now, but no deal has
been made. This is a delicate issue and I have to maintain my confidences;
besides, I think you'll agree that it's better if you don't know too many
details until the sale is finalized. I just want to emphasize that I share the
concerns you raised, which is why I've already eliminated several potential
buyers. It will go to a friendly country, one that might end up getting
plutonium or info on how to make it from our government anyway, but doesn't
want to wait or take a chance. In any case, it will be out of the hands of the
Nazis or any of their friends.
    "Are you in? This will go a lot smoother if we're both
working on it"
    Kent replied so quickly it surprised even himself.