"What are you doing?" "Look at it, Van." "Mixtecs' work." "Postclassical period, probably 700 years old." " And worth a quarter of a million, eh?" " Oh, no, more than that." "It's beautiful." " And you'd like to keep it." " Yeah." "One job six months in the planning, one museum guard dead, six different police bureaus after us for looting a precious national treasure." "The answer is no." "We've been partners for eight years, Van." "Now it's over." "I want a new name, a new identity, a whole new life." "You wanna sell your half, fine." "But I'll decide what happens to mine." "I half expected it." "Thanks." "Set up the lights." "I'll unload." "Beautiful." "Makes me think of some fountains I've seen in Italy." " Such as the Fontana di Trevi?" " That's right." "Designed by Nicola Salvi, 1762, I think." "Good morning, Mr. Phelps." "The Azteca Museum was recently looted of over $5 million worth of pre-Columbian art by a brilliant thief, Van Cleve, and his partner, Matthew Royce, now missing, presumed dead." "In the process, a guard was murdered." "Conventional law-enforcement agencies have been unable to move against Van Cleve." "We've determined that the stolen art has been brought into the United States and is hidden here." "Our government is most anxious to return this national treasure to its rightful home." "Your mission, should you decide to accept it, will be to locate the treasure and prove Van Cleve's guilt." "This tape will self-destruct in five seconds." "Good luck, Jim." "Are we set, Barney?" "I've arranged our government credentials, including files in Washington." " Willy?" " Van Cleve's in Florida now." "The accident will happen just outside his hotel." "It's been timed out precisely, and both of our agents have rehearsed every element, including Casey's death mask." " You ready with the purse?" " I think so." "And the casino's all set." "They'll cooperate." "Hydraulic jacks?" "He'll swear he's been in an earthquake." "And I'm pat on this." "That should do it." "Now, Van Cleve is brilliant, ruthless, resourceful." "He always covers his tracks fast." "So our plan depends on two things:" "his reliance on his own intelligence and our ability to convince him he's even smarter than he thinks he is." "Ready?" "He's dead." "You saw it, he just stepped in front of me." "He must be drunk or on something." "It wasn't my fault." "You all saw it." "Let me guess, your father was a riverboat gambler, you were brought up in a poker parlour, and you played as a child on a crap table rather than in a sandbox." "Not exactly." "I'm a graduate student." "The probability theory, psychology of gambling." "Hi, can I offer you something to drink?" " Oh, champagne, please." " Okay." "Bourbon and water." "Thank you." "Thanks." "Here's to graduate study." " I have a feeling you're very good at it." " Not really." "I'm an outstandingly unlucky gambler." "Yes, that is modesty." "Well, I don't understand." "I didn't mean to spy on you, but I couldn't help seeing all that money in your purse a moment ago." " In my purse?" " Well, yes." "I'm sorry." "I could have sworn I saw a lot of money in there." "Well, I wish you had." "To be probably too honest," "I was studying gambling and I got hooked on it." "And pretty well tapped out." "As a matter of fact, this is the last of my stake." "And I'm planning to run it up at the tables." "My luck's about due to change." "I'll not only drink to that, I'm willing to go as far as dinner." "Well." "Maybe you have second sight." "I don't believe in witches, ghosts, or in second sight." "Sceptic." "But if I do make a killing," "I'll buy dinner." "Hey." "Hey, hold it." "Let us show you our identification." "I can't say I'm really interested." ""United States Department of the Interior."" "That's right." "We're doing a geological survey." "All very official." "Then why did you break in?" "Why were you trespassing on my land?" " Well, we were just doing what we..." " Mike." "We assumed that you'd been notified." "But you see, that's typical." "Somebody in the department fouled up." "Anyway, we went right ahead, and I'm sorry." "Are you in the habit of breaking into private property?" "Mistakes happen, mister." "Anyway, I said we're sorry." "Yeah, we were sort of under pressure, you know?" "What sort of survey are you doing?" " I ask him." "Mike, isn't it?" " Yeah." "Yeah, Mike Dalby." "Well, we're the advance unit for the full geological-survey team." "You see, there's no terrible rush." "You know how Uncle Sam is." "You do a geological survey for 20 years, suddenly, bang, gung ho, straight ahead." "Tell me more." " It's pretty technical." " If I get bored, I'll let you know." "All right." "We're doing a primary topographic study, identifying stratification patterns." "Then the full crew comes in:" "a petrologist, palaeontologists to identify the fossils." "There will be an aerial survey too." "What sort of topographical study are you doing?" "Photogrammetric." "And engineers to do the polyconic projection, I assume." "You know a lot about geology." " My hobby is curiosity." " And now your curiosity is satisfied." "Course, Mr. Younger." "Still, I'd be very interested in seeing your report." "I'm afraid they're classified for the time being." "Petty bureaucracy, eh?" "I suppose that's out of you fellows' hands." "Ed, see to it these gentlemen get back to their work site, will you?" " Thank you." " My pleasure." " Mr. Billing, please." "Van Cleve calling." " Their gear is government issue." "Jeep has federal plates and registration." "They sound clean." "They're legitimate, all right." "Tell me this, Ed:" "Exactly why is the United States government doing a hush-hush geological survey here?" " What are those two men after?" " I wouldn't know." "Suppose you go to work finding out, huh?" "Okay." " Ralph?" " Right here, Van." "How can I help you?" "I want you to check on a couple of names for me." "Two government geologists:" "an Isaac Younger and Michael Dalby." "I wanna know who they are, why they were sent here, what they're looking for." "Simple enough." "No, look, I don't want just a surface check through routine channels." "Use your connections." "Dig in deep, huh?" "And they may have a cover story, but I'd like to know exactly why they were sent here." "And if you find out anything offbeat about their survey, you let me know, huh?" "I may have to pull some strings, but can do." "All right, then, get at it." "Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen." "The wheel is rolling." "No more bets, please." "It's two, black and even." "Here they go." "Bets down." "Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen." "The wheel is spinning." "No more bets, please." "And it's seven, red and odd." "Bets down." "Here we go now." "Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen." "It's 20, black and even." "Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen." "Here we go now." "Eleven, black and odd." "Here we go now." "Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen." "Nine, zero, nine, 20." "No more bets, please." "Twelve, red and even." "Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen." "No more bets, please." "Double zero." "That's the way she bounces." "Come on, Mike, that's enough." "Hey, leave me alone, will you?" "I gotta get even." " Cool it." "Let's go get something to eat." " No, not now." "Hey, listen, Ike, let me have another hundred, will you?" "Fifty?" "Twenty-five?" "My luck has gotta change." "Come on and be a pal." "Yeah, that's great." "Thanks." "Okay." "Okay, my friend." "Set me up and watch out." " Yes?" " I've got something for you, Van." "Your survey project?" "It's top-secret, all fenced in." "I got blocked." "Did you get anything at all on Younger or Dalby?" "Yes." "Well, go ahead." "I'm listening." "Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen." "No more bets, please." "Five, red and odd." "Sorry, I guess you can't win for losing, mister." "Yeah, thanks for telling me." "Hey, how about the house buying a drink for a change, huh?" "It would be our pleasure." "Scotch and water." "Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen." "No more bets, please." "The wheel is spinning." "No more bets, please." "And it's red, 34 and even." "Twenty-nine, black and odd." " That kind of a night, huh?" " Yeah." "Any luck?" " Yeah, plenty, all bad." " That's tough." "You can't get even unless you bet, and you can't bet if your pockets are full of holes." "Let me get you a drink, Mike." "Yeah, I'll have a Scotch and..." "A Scotch and Scotch." "How'd you know my name?" " Oh, yeah, yeah, I told you." " That's right." "I know a lot about Michael Dalby." "He's divorced." "A child, a daughter." "Behind on his child-support payments." "He's considered a gambler's pigeon, and he has a lot of bad paper around Washington." "Come on, what is this?" "Just an opportunity, that's all, for you to tell me exactly what you and Mr. Younger are really doing here." " What?" " Now, wait a minute." "In return, I'll give you some money." " Oh, come on..." " Now, wait a minute, it's not a bribe." "It's just a little something from an anxious citizen who wants to know how the government's spending his money." "That stuff's classified." "Ike told you that." "Well, Ike doesn't have your debts." "How much would you pay?" "If the information's worth it, a lot." "It's worth it, all right." "I don't know." "I gotta think about that." "Maybe I'll talk to you later." "Maybe not." "Put that on my tab." "No more bets." "It's 13, black and odd." " Van, hi." " Hi." " Look." " Fabulous." "No, I'm good." "Pay me." "Oh, fantastic." "That's enough for me." "And besides, I wanna talk to my luck." " Cashing in." " You bet." " What you saw on the plane?" " I remember." " Well, look at it." " Yeah, I am." "Hey, I owe you something." "Dinner with all the trimmings." " Well..." " Well, I can afford it." "Come on." "You're not gonna believe it, but this is my territory." "Let me be the host here." "Besides, my chef can fix things better than any restaurant in the area." "Well, all right." "But you just missed your chance to be a fortune hunter." "Van, what you saw on the plane." "Lookit, it happened." "It did." "Look, I still don't believe in precognition or visions." " We'll talk about it over dinner." " All right." "I very distinctly saw the man's face as a death mask." "Well, then what you actually saw was a drunken man, heavy traffic, and your brain did the rest." "It put together the factors and computed a high probability of death." " Yeah." "Coffee?" " Yes, black, please." "The money in your purse..." "Well, there, again, your brain was acting like a computer, putting together bits of data." "I was playing cards, I was well dressed, other input, and your mind computed a high probability of success." "And you were right." "That's interesting, because my mental functions had nothing to do with my conscious intent." "My mind constantly evaluates probabilities on an unconscious level." "Yes." "You've heard of deja vu?" "That certain feeling when you enter a strange room that you've been there before?" "Of course." "Well, that's actually caused by the mind's ability to predict what that room will look like, and predict it so accurately that you'll believe it's memory and not recognition." "In modern terms, that's what we call "cybernetic evaluation."" "It's a beautiful night." "Very beautiful." "An entirely new function of the mind." "It's exciting." "Yes, it is." "And so are you." "More brandy?" "Stay there." "Stoner?" "Stoner?" " Yeah?" " Somebody took a shot at me." "I saw him heading toward the feedlot." "Get after him." "He's heading for that ghost town." "Jim." "We lost him." "Yeah." "But he left his prints." "This is all we found." " Nine millimetre, eh?" " Yeah, and foreign." "Heavy artillery." "Well, he's gone now." "Tell the boys they can go back to sleep." " Okay." " Now I have to get you back, huh?" "Van," "I'm worried about you." "Well, there may be some reason to worry, dear." "I used to have a partner that swore by a 9 mm Mauser." "A partner?" "Still, I find it difficult to believe he's the one that took a shot at me." "And yet it's possible." " Van, you've got to get out of here." " Well, I can't." "I have some important business that's yet to be concluded." "I can't go." "Come on." "Did you get a look at whoever shot at us?" "No, he got away from us, Casey." "But we did get his fingerprints and sent them via telefax." "We're waiting for an answer now." "Well, Van Cleve identified the gun as a 9 mm, possibly a Mauser." "He has an idea that it might have been his ex-partner." "Van Cleve was right." "Matthew L. Royce." "One dead partner come back to life." "Yeah, with a certain grudge against Van Cleve." "What does Van Cleve plan to do, Casey?" "Well, stay where he is and take his chances." "His business deal's not closed yet." "He's the only one who knows where the treasure is." "That gives us a problem, because if Van Cleve is killed, our whole mission is shot." "We have to keep the pressure up, make him go after that treasure now." "Says you're expecting him." " I'm not." "Get rid of him." " Hey, wait a minute." "What we're doing here is important to you." "Let me tell you how important it is." "What's this place worth to you?" "How much is your life worth?" "All right, we'll talk." "You want a drink?" " No, let's get right to business." " By all means." " I want $10,000." " Oh, well." "In exchange for what?" "Just what I told you." "All of this." "And my life?" "That's right." "Is that worth 10,000 to you?" "You show me the proof, you've got yourself a deal." "Okay." "Here's a map of the area." "Your canyon, the dam." "We found a fault structure at the base of the dam, here and here." " What's the displacement potential?" " It's enormous." "Enough to make the whole dam collapse." "But that's not all." "There have been a series of earth tremors in this area." " How much on the Richter scale?" " One-point-five." "That's minor so far, but we're convinced that the series is building." "One median-level quake and the entire structure could go." "Why don't they lower the water level at the dam?" "A big runoff could cause further slippage." "Repairs?" "Shoring up the structure?" "We thought about that, but any major construction would simply put more stress on the bedrock structure." "Are you trying to tell me the whole valley will be flooded the next time there's a quake, any quake at all?" "That's what I'm telling you." "Is that worth $10,000?" "Okay." " Hey, that's government property." " It was." "Come on, Mike, relax, huh?" " Look..." " Relax." "This has gotta be kept confidential." " I'd get hauled up on charges so fast..." " Mike, trust me." "Okay." "It's ten after 12." "He won't be asleep yet." "He's got to be keyed up." "Yeah, we'll give him enough time." " Willy?" " Ready." "The hydraulic-jack controls and the oscillator are operative, Jim." "Good." "All right, we pull the plug at 3 a.m." "Let's go." " Better take this to bed with you." " Thanks." "Better still, why don't you clear out for a while?" "A 9 mm Mauser, now, that can put a slug through a 4-inch slab of green oak." " That's dangerous." " No, I'll stay." "Nervous and careful, but I'll stay." "I've got a deal too big, too important, to let it slide." "You're the boss." "Time." "Cut the power." " summarises the market news for today." "We interrupt for this special bulletin." "A series of tremors have been felt in the Stone Valley area, with the quake epicentre at Martin's Ridge." "The quake is reported as registering 3.6 on the Richter scale, but no serious damage has been reported as yet." "Valley residents are warned to stand by for further developments as we receive them in the newsroom." "Meanwhile, the state disaster office is sending an observation team to the scene." "Stay tuned for further developments." "Due east." "Not too close, Willy." "Right." "He's turning on East Canyon Road, Willy." " and further earth tremors are expected within the hour." "State University Professor of Geology Arnold Gamble has warned that more severe shocks are likely." "Stay tuned for further developments." "He's stopped." "Let's move in." "Thank you, Van." "Royce?" "Like Lazarus, up from the dead, partner." "Well, there's not much I can say, is there?" "That's right." "I knew if I took a shot at you, you would lead me to the right place." "It wasn't you." "It was the earthquake." "What earthquake?" " Very good question." " Drop the gun, Royce."