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"Don’t wish your life away, Toainst leather, a blur ofcut that cleaved air with a whistle A laser burned across his chest as blood spilled down his front Crying out, Toot a fist in his hair and that newly blooded blade to Toasps and alar, trying to work their way up the steps, but it was Peter who broke frouards and started forward "Finn, no!"

"Be quiet, Peter," Finn said Through a sudden, wavering sheen of tears, To boy’s head snap A shriek bulleted froed His heart ha to cold stone A millimeter deeper and Finn would’ve flayed bone Hold on, Tom, you can stand this Just a few more minutes On the other hand, if Finn cut his throat, this would end for him a lot sooner Six of one, half dozen of the other "Leave hi? I don’t think so Look at what you’ve done, the lengths you’ve gone and what you’ve suffered, and then tell ht is with ainst er

"In the nao You know the real question, Yeager? How can your god allow for someone like ht, huge and terrible "You may think you’re used up, ready to die I promise you’re not The body endures even if the spirit does not I knohere the arteries are, what you really need to survive, how totiled the blade until that keen, silvered edge grazed the underside of Toers? Those hands? Believe me, you don’t--"

"Stop!" A sudden, very clear voice, from Tom’s left: "Don’t!" What? Over the boo to battle its way fro of new pain Above him, he saw Finn’s head snap up, those colorless cobra’s eyes suddenly huge with shock--and was that recognition? Who?

"Wait!" Quick as lightning, Finn let To readied Mellie’s huge Magnum was already in her fist as all of Finn’s uard next to Penny had clambered atop the brownstone balustrade, the better to aim

"No!" Finn shouted Half-turning, he spotted the guard on the balustrade and sprang,already sweeping up "Hold your fire, don’t--" There ca off a shot at the precise ht the barrel of the weapon Crying out, the ered as his shot ild, and then let out a loud screech as Finn cut the parang in a broad sweep across his uard clutched at his spurting sto froot a hand up "Don’t--"

Whatever else had been on his tongue died as Finn brought the parang down in a hard chop

"I said," Finn roared, as he booted adown the village hall steps, "no one fires!"

"Elias?" Still straight-ar at the sight of gouts of thick blood still puuard’s headless corpse "What are you--" "Do what I say!" Finn bellowed, brandishing the dripping parang

"No one fires! Let her through!"

My God, Finn knows her The realization blazed like a pillar of orange fire fro, Tom no that Simon--that boy with Chris’s face who had looked so beaten just a fewwith a look of disbelief that was quickly shifting to disround, not far fro: "No no no, don’t, this is what he wants, this is what Finn wants" They all knew her: Finn and Peter Simon But how? No, God

Tom’s heart beat even faster, this tih his veins to seep into his brain and bones, and he heard himself moan, felt himself die just a little bit h? What gling to his feet, he watched her coh She was tauter than he reht, steely with resolve Her eyes were very bright, a brilliant green; her long hair as deeply rich and red as his blood

She was his breath, and he would give all he had to save her He could; there was still ti Finn could do about the hidden ther metal, the buckets of homemade ANFO, the redundant coils of det cord that would, in a very few seconds, spark to life The bombs would blow Rule would die, but she didn’t have to Life with Finn wouldn’t be much of one, but without life, there was no hope--and she was hope, for hiet away either There were the kids to think about--and Ellie, only eight, just getting started

This was Afghanistan again, that day in the blare of sun and on the rocks, with that little boy and girl: an iood is a choice when it isn’t one? When it truly is between two evils, and neither less evil than the other? If I save Alex, Finn gets the kids If I say nothing and the boo

Choose, To to knock him down, make him bend and break Alex or the children: choose--and do it fast

Because he and Alex had less than eight minutes left

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After they’d taken her weapons, she’d coht As she passed, her hand brushed his, the touch so potent he nearly gasped at the scorch and sudden burn in his heart When she turned to face Finn, her eyes skih for Tom to see that minute shake of her head He wasn’t exactly sure what she arning him about, but he kept his mouth shut He wasn’t certain he could trust himself to speak anyway

"You wanted to find irl?" Mellie asked Her gray eyes shot to To his gored parang on the trousers of the headless guard, Finn sheathed the weapon His cobra-eyes ticked from her to Tom, then back Finn looked both fascinated--and wary "You killed one of my best hunters," he said to her

"It was an accident" If there was any fear there, To, and thought, fro hard, too But working hard at what? Or is she holding back? "You must not have cared about him too much, or else you wouldn’t have left the body and all his nice gear," she said "Thanks for that, by the way"