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Becks was half a step behind me as I stopped at the end of Octopus Alley to take in the scene Kelly was sitting in a folding chair with her hands clasped white-knuckle tight and resting on her knees Alaric sat across fro sense to higie and Dr Abbey leaned against the safety-glass atching this little tableau Only Joe didn’t seem to be disturbed by the currenton a th of ani better?"

"No, but I think I’ll live That’s nored her "Dr Abbey, how secure is your network? If we made a call, could it be traced?"

"A call to, say, the CDC?" She straightened "I have a few burn phones I’ve been saving for just such an occasion Wait here" Dr Abbey esture toward Joe, as in the process of standing, presu where he was as she turned and strode out of the room

Kelly looked atto do?"

"Break your fking jaw if you don’t shut up, right now," I said, pleasantly enough "I’m not ready for you to talk to me yet"

"That ie

There was a time when I would have told her not to taunt the Doc That time was over and done with "Becks, why don’t you s I wouldn’t want her to get any funny ideas about saying hi"

"My pleasure" Becks drew her pistol andan easy, co stance She could stand that way all day if she needed to I’d seen her do it in field recordings

Kelly stared straight ahead, unflinching If I hadn’t been so ht have been impressed As it was, I couldn’t really look at her without wanting to punch her face in

Dr Abbey walked briskly back down the hall and slapped a phone into my hand "This is voice activated and will stay untraceable for about five minutes Give it the nuht also tell it to set itself to speaker, since I’d like to knohatd to do"

"Happily," I said I pulled ht up Dr Wynne inoff the nu, "Dial and set to speaker"