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"Bring ’ehter

"No," Guilder said, waving them to silence "All of you are well acquainted with the spectacle that is about to unfold But tonight, we have so very special planned Minister Hoppel, would you please coot to his feet and joined Guilder at the front Tall, with a square-jawed face and brush-cut hair Grinning with embarrassment, he said, "Gosh, Horace, it’s not even my birthday"

"Maybe he’s about to dehter Guilder waited for it to die down "Mr Hoppel here," he said, placing a fatherly hand on the man’s back, "as everyone knows, has been with us froanda, he has provided us with a key element in support of our efforts" His expression abruptly hardened "Which is ith the greatest regret, I must tell you all that incontrovertible evidence has coue with the insurgency" He darted a hand toward thetheave a shriek of pain as he drew his arm up over his eyes "Guards," said Guilder, "take hirabbed Hoppel by the arms; more quickly surrounded hih the bleachers What? What is he saying? Hoppel, could it really be ?

"Yes, my friends Minister Hoppel is a traitor It was he who passed crucial intelligence to the insurgency that led to last week’s boues were killed"

"Jesus, Horace" The ht He tried to shrug the th "You know me! All of you know me! Suresh, Wilkes, somebody-tell him!"

"I’m sorry, my friend You’ve done this to yourself Take him to the field"

He was dragged away Beside the silver truck, Hoppel was bound to the stake with heavy rope One of the cols produced a bucket and poured the contents over hi, hair, face He wriggled helplessly, uttering the most pitiful cries Don’t do this Please, I swear, I’!

Guilder cupped his mouth "Is the prisoner secure?"

"Secure!"

He lifted the radio to his hts"

The thunk of tu fro, her bound wrists stretched above her head, holding aloft her slowly creaking weight She was tired, so tired Rivulets of dried blood ran down her nad legs The h the days of his dark business, had left no part of her untouched He had filled her ears and nose with the hot stench of his grunting exhalations He had scratched her, struck her, bitten her Bitten, like an animal Her brsts, the soft skin of her neck, the insides of her thighs, all eh it all, she had not wept Cried out, yes Screaive hiain, lazily swinging the chiood eye down the length of her body, wearing a greedy, bestial sht, since everybody’s all off at the stadiuht have a little bit of alone ti

"Now, I’ new The bench feels soian to undress, a complicated business of leather and buckles He kicked off his boots, his pants As he went about his grand unveiling, Alicia could only watch in mute revulsion She felt like she had about ten different Alicias in her head, each with a single scrap of infor any reference to the others And yet: alone tiht That was a definite wrinkle in the proceedings Usually there were four of them: one to operate the winch, two to take her down, plus Sod Where were the others?

Alone ti you," she croaked, "just don’t ood for you"

"That’s very sporting"

"Let ood"

He considered this

"Just tell ive it to you"

"You’re full of shit"

"You can leave the shackles on I pro you want"

In his face, she saw the idea taking hold She was nad, beaten What could a woman in her condition do? The keys were clipped to the belt loop of his trousers, lying on the floor behind hiht be soh a block hung fro, were operated by a lever affixed to the wall Pantless, engorged, Sod stepped toward it and unlocked the brake A rattle overhead; Alicia’s feet touched down

"More slack," she said "I’ll need to "

The pressure on her wrists released "A little more"

Her tactic had to be obvious, but the ht feet of slack to play with

"No funny stuff, now"

She lowered herself to all fours in invitation Sodher on the floor

"I’ll ood for you," she said "I proht foot to her chest and smashed it into his face A crack and then a yelp; Alicia shot to her feet and swung around He was sitting on the floor, holding his nose, dark blood gushing through his fingers

"You fking bitch!"

He lurched toward her, going for her throat The question ho got to whom first Alicia stepped back, arced one hand fro a lasso with the chain, and tossed it forward

The loop dropped over his head She yanked hi his momentum to spin him around Now she had him from behind With the other hand she formed a second loop of chain and dropped it around his neck A quick hop and she had her legs around his waist He wasat the air Die, you pig, she thought, just die, and with all her strength she rocked her weight backward, tugging the chains like the reins of a horse, sending theround until with a hard jolt the slack ran out, the block above theed for: a satisfying pop of bone