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"When we get there," he said "Rest"

It didn’t take much for her to drop into a dark, uneasy sleep filled with flashes of night, ie, dead on a TV screen, until it screamed

Last, she dreamed of her sister Sharon the final ti out on a norht out of the fa

She was screa out for help, while Bryn stood frozen and silent

Life-challenged

Chapter 7

The sound of voices outside the car woke her, finally Bryn yawned, made a face at the horrible taste in her mouth, and blinked to clear her eyes She couldn’t see much Is it already dark? No, it couldn’t be A jolt of shock and fear went through her My shot Is it late?

Then she calht in the distance McCallister had parked the car inside a less building, so like an open, deserted factory She could dimly make out an empty expanse of concrete, soe machinery had once been installed

It didn’t look like anyplace she’d have voluntarily visited

Bryn listened more carefully She heard McCallister’s voice, and saw hi to … no one Wait He was addressing a speaker grille set into the wall next to a solid e, Manny I know you don’t like it when I bring strangers, but I didn’t have a choice Open up It’s dangerous to let her sit out here"

"No, it’s not," the speaker said, with a faint crackle of static "We intercepted the tracking signal half ain all the wrong places by this tinal out to soh half the state for as long as I want"

"Thanks"

"Don’t thank o"

"Manny, we talked about this You said you had soive it to you But she’s not coo and--" Manny fell silent, then sighed "Well, crap"

A light switched on above the door, and it opened with a heavy scrape On the other side was a seboy style; she had a lovely, heart-shaped face, and a wicked s her in, Pat I can’t stand to hear the two of you ya at each other anymore, and I kno stubborn you both can be"

McCallister leaned forward and kissed the woman on the cheek "Thanks, Pansy"

"Don’t thankto pout for days about this, and he ht?"

"He’ll help," McCallister said, "once he meets her"

Pansy lifted a shapely eyebrow and shot an alance at the car Bryn suddenly felt far too unprepared for whatever was going on Damn it, why couldn’t McCallister part with details once in a while? What was so hard about that?

He turned and ot out of the car Mr French woke up and started barking in confusion, but she shut hiood it did When she turned around the wo her a hand to shake

"Pansy Taylor," she said "You must be Bryn"

"You knoho I am"

Pansy smiled "You’ve been a hot topic around here, believe uns, Pat; you know the rules better than I do"

McCallister sighed and took out his own guns--two of thelove compartment of the car He silently demanded Bryn’s, and she handed it over Reluctantly Once the weapons were locked up, Bryn grabbed Mr French, iggled excitedly, and Pansy led them up a narrow, featureless concrete staircase as the door boomed shut behind them, and at the top of the steps entered a complex code into the keypad, then put her hand on a scanner

"In case you’re wondering if you can cut et inside, you can’t," Pansy said "It checks pulse"

"I wasn’t wondering," McCallister said Bryn was, but she didn’t say so

"Who exactly are we going to uely mad-scientist about all this, crossed with evil-villain It was surprisingly disturbing