Crane: "Yes sir."

There was a pause.

Crane:. "Sir?"

Shawn: "Yes?"

Crane: "Did you see that?"

Shawn: "See what?"

Crane: "Back there, on the sidewalk. It looked like a body."

Shawn: "You're imagining things."

Another pause, and then Comroe heard the van come to a halt, brakes squealing.

Shawn: "Judas."

Crane: "It's another one, sir.

Shawn: "Looks dead."

Crane: "Shall I-"

Shawn: "No. Stay in the van."

His voice became louder, more formal, as he ran through the call. "This is Caper One to Vandal Deca. Over."

Comroe picked up the microphone. "Reading you. What's happened?"

Shawn, his voice tight, said, "Sir, we see bodies. Lots of them. They appear to be dead."

"Are you certain, Caper One?"

"For pete's sake," Shawn said. "Of course we're certain."

Comroe said mildly, "Proceed to the capsule, Caper One."

As he did so, he looked around the room. The twelve other men in the skeleton crew were staring at him, their eyes blank, unseeing. They were listening to the transmission.

The van rumbled to life again.

Comroe swung his feet off the desk and punched the red "Security" button on his console. That button automatically isolated the Mission Control room. No one would be allowed in or out without Comroe's permission.

Then he picked up the telephone and said, "Get me Major Manchek. M-A-N-C-H-E-K. This is a stat call. I'll hold."

Manchek was the chief duty officer for the month, the man directly responsible for all Scoop activities during February.

While he waited, he cradled the phone in his shoulder and lit a cigarette. Over the loudspeaker, Shawn could be heard to say, "Do they look dead to you, Crane?"

Crane: "Yes Sir. Kind of peaceful, but dead.'

Shawn: "Somehow they don't really look dead. There's something missing. Something funny… But they're all over. Must be dozens of them."