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That lit a fire under n of irls or Yi Min-chin We found evidence of Kel’s or Chance’s passage in several corridors, strewn bodies and pools of blood where they had swept through and cleared the way for us Jesse and I had covered almost the whole second story e entered a lavish bedroom It looked like a woman would sleep here, and as I stepped inside, I smelled Min’s perfume, White Linen

"She was here," I said "I’ht for h the roo When we opened up the desk drawer, razed a ?"

Chance and Eva stood in the doorway I hadn’t noticed their arrival Kel and Chuch crouched behind the watch for more of Montoya’s men The mechanic muttered beneath his breath about the need to hurry "Yeah So a deep breath, I curled ift Agony sizzled through e Min sat at this desk, writing a note I watched her, and then she rose, folded the thin paper into a tiny square, and slipped it into the fra beside the

The pen slipped froers, struck the floor Wordlessly I beckoned to Jesse, who aiht for me My hands shook as I delved for what she’d left behind

Yes, here

In the circle of light I read her words with him The shepherdess

"What the?" I took the Maglite from Jesse and shone it around the rooh shelf

"What did it say?" Chance asked

I sensed his tension as he came toward me I passed him the note as I moved toward the far wall And the corridor exploded

"Inco!" Chuch shouted

Oh, Christ, not fire Not Fire Despiteup the wall Shit, they were trying to burn us out Smoke filled the room in a deadly haze Chuch fired at Montoya’sinto our pyre, which meant Montoya was safe so about a panic room Well, I needed to be there because I could feel terror rising inht in ered toward the shepherdess Min had found it ih toI did And it , I reached up to the shelf and touched it Tried to pick it up, but it wouldn’t budge The room swam, and the heat threatened to blisterI pitched forward and the statue slid forward as in a groove Through distance roaring in my ears, I heard a click

Then soo"

If These Shadows Have Offended

I did what now?

I felt diuide me down so but a bizarre whorl of ht spun around the walls until soht Saldana said that "It’s reinforced steel behind the plaster; it’ll provide a fire break for us"

"Everyone okay?" I tried to ask

One foot after the other I could do this We’d reached the bottoain

"Chuch got burned" I heard Eva’s voice, but I couldn’t see her until the Maglite shone on her face, now covered with blood and soot Her eyes glistened with tears, rage, or both "I don’t kno bad"

"Molotov cocktails are a bitch," Chuch grunted "But I’m okay Just need soh"

If Chuch got burned, Kel probably did too But nobody gave a shit about him In a weird way, that saddened me

She sniffed "That’s exactly why I worry about you You’re too ‘tough’ to admit how bad you’re hurt"

Kel rejoined us then I hadn’t even realized he’d slipped off to scout "It’s like a vault down here," he reported "There’s another reinforced door down at the end of this corridor, and it’s locked Nothing else There ht be another exit fro himself an escape tunnel to where they keep the chopper," Saldana said "I knoould"

"The hijo de la chingada better be in there," Chuch growled "He owes me some skin and blood"

Chance had been oddly silent I sensed his tauish, but we could only move forward We’d find Min here, one way or another

"I have a grenade," I said then "Any way that’ll get us through the door?"

"Not without a little luck," Chance said

Saldana had the flashlight, so he shone it on ht, I saw Chance smile

So be it