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The last to be es and cuts, dark with bruised flesh and as waxy as ain his eyes as he looked at his friend He would, he thought, forever relive that dreadful moment when he had searched for the pulse and not found it, and heard Val screae, and if so, then he was partly responsible for her present situation Hoas he to know that he was feeling for the pulse in the wrong place? He was a politician, not a para their fingers into the carotid arteries and reported that Croas still alive, Terry felt at once massively relieved and abo spot on Crow’s neck and had, of course, felt no pulse He tried to tell Val, to explain and apologize for his mistake, but she had passed out In shock, the medics told him Comatose Out of it for now, and better for it Terry wondered if that was true Knowing that Croas still alive would probably do her a power of good

Terry touched Crow’s face, feeling the iciness of the skin, the slickness of sweat

"Jesus, Crow…" he raze on the left side," paramedic had reported after a quick exalanced off his belt"

"Is he going to die?" Terry had asked, dreading the sound of his oords

The parae Two hits and neither of theuy But he has lost so piss out of hiht have been a pipe or so Now, sir, if you’ll just step back…"

Terry had let theet to work, and now here Croas, all trussed up and ready to be carted away to the hospital and the surgeon

"Okay, Jack, we’re ready for him," called one of the medics fronosed Crow as being a came over and double-​checked the buckles on the straps

"Okay down here"

The two rabbed either end of the stretcher, and as one lifted Croith great care and practiced ease

"Take good care of him," Terry said in his lance They heard that sort of thing fifty times a week, as if they would take less care if someone didn’t tell them to do it in an officious voice

"Ouch!" said so voice

Terry stared

Crow opened his eyes, looked around, then closed theily "Nohat?"

Unbelieving, delighted, Terry crowded the stretcher, touching Crow’s arm "You bloody idiot," he said

"I love you, too," Crow mumbled hoarsely He blinked a couple of times "Christ, was I that drunk?"

"No, you numbskull, you were shot"

Crow’s eyes snapped wide and his face hardened as everything ca back "Val!" He tried to sit up but he hit a brick wall of pain and collapsed back down, aided by the hands of the paramedics

"Shh, shh, she’s okay," said Terry "She’s in the other aood care of her She’ll be fine"

Breathing out a heavy sigh, Crow said, "Oh, thank God" Darkness welled up in Crow’s mind, and he could barely fored to say, "Terry…did I…do it?"

"Do what? Did you do what?"

"Did I…kill the rotten son of a bitch?"

Terry patted Crow’s areant Ferro’sat each other, you fell down, and when the officer joined in and started to shoot, Ruger ran off"

"Ruger?" Crow’s eyes widened "That was really…him?"

"Yeah…are you ih bastard Alht him?"

Crow licked his split lips and then quickly--but disjointedly--told Terry everything that had happened "We beat the living shit out of each other…and then he shot rabbed Terry’s sleeve "She dead?"

"No, but she’s hurt pretty bad They took her to the hospital"

"You sure Val’s okay?"

"She’ll be fine," Terry said, though he felt that he was lying

Cro dark shapes materialize out of the confusion and there were two ed, the other taller, white, and younger They had the cop look about them

"Mr Crow?" the black man said