The story opens with parapsychologist Pat Flinn being rushed from his California apartment to a Pentagon office, where he meets Dr. Jackson Wilmer and FBI agent Fred Hayes. The setting is deliberately mundane—a small room with desks and filing cabinets—contrasting with the high-stakes situation. Flinn's physical description—underweight, bloodshot eyes, needing a shave—signals a man worn by his work. The narrative voice is direct, with short paragraphs and a focus on concrete details like Hayes's broken nose and the 'muscular hardness' of his frame.

A Bureaucratic Setup with a Paranormal Twist

The opening pages establish a familiar Cold War thriller framework: a civilian expert summoned by the government, a mysterious threat, and a chain of command. But Wannamaker quickly subverts expectations. The threat is not a foreign power but a physicist named Dobbs, whose unspecified 'acts' at an atoll have made him dangerous. The government's response is not military action but the recruitment of a parapsychologist—Flinn. This blend of espionage tropes and psychic phenomena is signaled early when Wilmer tells Flinn, 'That's why we were chosen originally.' The reader is left to wonder what Dobbs can do and why conventional methods have failed.

The Failed Assassination and Its Aftermath

A key excerpt details Hayes's attempt to demonstrate his marksmanship by shooting an ashtray at twenty paces. The description is precise: 'With his left hand, Hayes unbuttoned his coat. With his right, he swept open the coat, turned in a crouch, simultaneously drew the revolver, and fired.' The ashtray shatters. Yet the next morning, word spreads that Hayes 'had failed'—and that he is still alive. The narrative withholds the mechanism of failure, but the implication is clear: Dobbs's power somehow prevented the shot. This scene establishes the central conflict: how to kill a man who can anticipate or neutralize any lethal action.

The Human Cost of a Desperate Plan

In a conference room, the President's representative and top officials debate 'the time and the method' for eliminating Dobbs. Hayes volunteers to use a revolver, stating flatly, 'In the head. Death will be instantaneous.' The military protests, but the plan proceeds. Later, Hayes admits he 'came as close as hell to swearing' after his failure. The story emphasizes the psychological toll: Hayes is described as 'shaken,' and the officials avoid looking at him. The narrative suggests that Dobbs's power may be tied to his own awareness of danger, making any assassination attempt a paradox—the more predictable the method, the easier it is for him to counter.

Voice and Structure: Efficiency and Unease

Wannamaker's prose is lean, favoring short sentences and action-oriented description. Dialogue is terse, often carrying subtext: when Hayes calls himself 'one of the expendables,' Wilmer replies, 'Aren't we all?' The story moves quickly between scenes, but the pacing allows for moments of quiet tension, such as the description of Hayes's 'hard gray eyes' and the 'visible stir' among the officials. The narrative withholds key information—what Dobbs's power actually is, how it works—creating an atmosphere of uncertainty. The reader, like Flinn, is left piecing together clues from fragmented conversations and physical details.

Readers should pay close attention to the early descriptions of Flinn's exhaustion and Hayes's composure; these physical details often hint at deeper psychological states. The story's brevity (under 12,000 words) means every scene carries weight. Notice how the setting—a cramped Pentagon office—mirrors the claustrophobic logic of the plot: the government's options are narrowing, and the characters are trapped by their own expertise. The excerpts suggest a story less about psychic powers than about the limits of human planning when faced with an unpredictable adversary.