You make no move to escape, but take the bowl
from the guard and discover to your surprise and
delight that the stuff that looks like oatmeal tastes
like fried chicken.
   After the guard has taken away your bowl, you
hear a tapping from the cell next to yours, the one
the woman was placed in.  You tap back.
   There's a ventilator high on the walls between
the two cells.  Maybe you can talk to her through it.
At least you can try.  There's not much furniture in
the cell, just a hard cot and a straight-backed chair.
You move the chair beneath the ventilator and
climb up.  Obviously the woman has had the same
idea because when you look through the ventilator
grate, your eyes meet hers.  Surprisingly she
doesn't look much older than you are.
   "I am Chih Ling," she whispers, "and I am an
intelligence officer of the People's Republic of
China.  I've been sent to investigate Omicron.  All
was going well until I was captured earlier today."
   You tell her who you are and how you came to
be a captive.  Chih Ling recognized Bill's name.
   "The world of really good spies is a small one,"
she says.  "Your friend Bill is among the best.  I
hope to meet him soon and, if he is willing, com-
pare notes about Omicron.  By the way, you may
call me Ling.
   "We must try to escape from our cells tonight,"
she goes on.  "The Masters of Omicron have plans
more evil than anything the world has ever seen.
We must stop them.  But we cannot risk talking any
longer -- the guards will investigate.  Be ready!"


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