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"Got it," I said, already eager for Harry to get here at the end of the week, because it would et the phone from Nico?"

Alice couldn’t bear to be parted froet another one Nico had prograraphs they snapped of the building and send them back to us

Cole looked down at his watch, then over my head down the hall where the others had just appeared "Taking his sweet-ass ti, isn’t he?"

"Or so," I pointed out

"Just ready," he said "Can we pick up the pace a little, Sunshine? It looks like a cat threw you back up"

"Better than you--you look like you carabbed Lia his cheek "See you later tonight"

He stepped down into the tunnel, shouldering a backpack Cole had left for hiood-bye to the other Stewart, he’d stooped, turned his cheek towardhiain

"You’re impossible," I infor the heavy bag on his shoulder "Take care of things, Boss"

"Take care of hiave one lastthe door to the tunnel I waited until the sound of his and the others’ steps faded co the door after hio back to sleep--just showering and crashing for a few ht to It already felt like a long day, and it had only just begun

At around two in the afternoon, I realized I was being followed

She never spoke, and she stayed well away, but Lillian Gray was there, observing from a safe distance It

Dr Gray was there, watching the training through the s of the gy the kitchen just as I was co in It took me another two hours to realize that it was likely she was trying to work up the courage to askAnd even then, it was only because Alice pulledthe woman into a short interview and toldmy expression, Alice added, "Look, I don’t have any kids of ht as to hooet rewired to unconditionally love the sa that scra she’ll be a lot warive you anything you could actually use?" I asked as alked back toward the big room

"She’s a true politician’s wife," Alice said ruefully "She talked for two hours anddoith me for a chat, by the way?"

"Not even a word about the president?" I asked, turning the subject back to the matter at hand That orried ement with Alban to help Clancy, and she’d done it behind her husband’s back As far as we knew, they hadn’t been in contact for years, but we had no sense of how she really felt toward the man His name caive , exactly, the president has known about Agent Ambrosia--but not for free Is there any way--"

"No," I said, firood idea" Clancy had been reasonably well behaved up until now I didn’t want to te hishe isn’t here"

Alice’s look of irritation morphed into one of aure out another way to get her talking before I leave tonight"

"Are you all set for the trip?

"We should be fine Our water treatment facility isn’t too far away, otherould have left early thislike the others"

I had no idea if Alice told the other woman that I was the roadblock, but it was about an hour later that Dr Gray found ether apantry stock had taken my mind off her until, like an unwanted chill, she stepped inside the kitchen and shut the door behind her

"If you’ve been following me in the hope that I’ll slip up and reveal where he is, you’re going to be disappointed And," I added, "you’re delaying his htened into a flat, bloodless line Everything about this family was cold and distant, wasn’t it? With both this wo onto keeptoward the open container of peanut butter I’d scraped clean "And he doesn’t like Granny S touched by this dee itself into one of total and coue to keep froets any food at all