“How did you know it would be today?”
“I wasn’t certain, but when I was with him this morning there were strong indicators. So I poisoned him. In the event that the operation was altered or canceled, I would have found a way to give him the antidote. It’s too late now. In about fifteen minutes, he’ll be dead. It will appear as if the excitement caused him to succumb to a coronary.”
“I should have been told about him,” Time said. “What if I altered my tactics to minimize the danger to him?”
Treeves allowed a perplexed expression to cross his features. He hated stating the obvious.
“Why on earth would you attempt to protect him? I didn’t tell you to protect him. Your tactics, as you put it, are to follow my instructions.”
“You know, there’s always the slight possibility that I’ll find myself out here on my own.”
Without saying a word, Treeves made it obvious that he believed Time wouldn’t last long on his own.
“Must I repeat what you were supposed to have absorbed in the first week of your training? Your first priority is to prevent anything from happening to me.”
Time knew this was an argument he had no possibility of winning. He decided to direct their discussion to more pressing matters.