“And,” Pembroke pointed out eagerly, “these eight men, these top officers at Karp, are de facto criminals; they’ve deliberately met and conspired against the legal government. They’re on a par with the Sons of Job. With that Bertold Goltz. Even though they wear black bow ties every evening and drink vintage wine and don’t squabble in the gutters and streets.” “May I say,” Nicole said drily, “that all of us are de facto criminals. Because this government—as you pointed out—is based on a fraud. And of the most primary magnitude.”
