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7:27 PM I insisted that Skarda drive slowly I told the boys we had plenty of tih they didn’t seem to believe me I was just as anxious as they were, yet the cautionary ad inabout so and headed for the hole Skarda had cut in the fence Jimmy wanted to remove his mask I told him to wait until we reached the creek Roy walked backward, sweeping the open ground with his assault rifle, covering our rear like he had been trained I used the cell to contact Josie She answered in the

"Are you there?" I asked

"Yes"

"We’re on our way"

She wanted to say more, yet I ended the call before she could It was no time for chitchat We reached the hole in the fence and h it and down the abandoned road The vehicle hopped and skipped across the uneven terrain, and a couple of tis would slide off the back Finally we approached the pontoon boat The boas up against the shore; the seat cushions had been removed, and all of the lockers were open Three wo for us at the bow all dressed in swimsuits--Josie in a one-piece and Claire and Liz in bikinis--and irls, don’t you just love thee Jirabbed the sacks of money and heaved theed the sacks into the center of the pontoon They opened the bags and, with help froirls, stashed the cash in the lockers "Oh my God, look at all of this," Claire said She was the only person who spoke

I boarded the pontoon, went to the wheel, and started the engine I called to Roy He ju to watch the trail Skarda and Daniel pushed us off the shore and hopped on I maneuvered the pontoon around and headed up the narrow channel toward Pike Bay and sprawling Lake Ver away the money, closed the lockers, and returned the cushions to their proper places by the tilance at the watch 7:41 PM If ere lucky, the cops hadn’t even arrived at the vault yet

I stripped off thewith the AK-47 Jis Roy wanted to keep his weapon

"We’ll need it e go to free Jill," he said I told him I had it covered He didn’t believeit into the lake Roy wanted to fight Daniel over that Daniel wouldn’t let him He moved to the stern of the pontoon and sat on the back wall just above the motor while the others tried to calm down Roy

I had expected the Bandits to be more excited by e had just accomplished, yet Roy’s outburst made it clear toraid on a remote vault All they did was steal the ransom money they needed to buy back their wife, their sister, their cousin, their friend They were still afraid

As well they should be, ain 7:44 PM with about an hour and twenty ht left By then we had all stripped down to swi Skarda’s sneakers, and Jimmy’s cell phone was in my pocket

"Where’s the beer?" I asked My co the beer?"

"We thought you were kidding," Liz said

"We’re supposed to be a party boat, re she caured out I hadn’t realized she was sitting on a cooler until she stood and opened it She reave me a bottle The others helped themselves The pontoon had an AM/FM radio, and I dialed in WELY It was playing Bruce Springsteen

"I saw him once at the old Civic Center in St Paul when I was a kid," I said "Best rock concert ever"

"I thought you were a jazz guy," Josie said

"We were all young once Listen There are tays to do this One is sly and sneaky The other is loud and boisterous Loud and boisterous is more fun"

"If you say so"

I eased the throttle forward until the pontoon boat was ski across the lake as fast as it could At the sa along with the Boss--"Tramps like us, baby ere born to run…"

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