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"Oh, baby, don’t do this I don’t want to put a gag in your mouth, but I will I won’t let you talk about hiht, but didn’t you wonder about how crazy I hen he showed up here, knocked ed me? When he nearly killed James?"

Amory St John pulled away fro down at Sally "In this di to be bruised or not"

"You really hit her that hard, Amory?"

"Don’t fret, Ammie She deserved it She spit on me Over the years I learned exactly how hard I could hit Noelle to get a certain kind and color of bruise But everyone’s skin is different We’ll just have to wait and see, won’t we?"

"You’re nuts," Sally said "You’re fucking nuts"

"I would have whipped you if you’d ever said that when you lived under htened She doesn’t knohat’s going to happen to her"

Sally said, "I know exactly what’s going to happen to me He doesn’t have Doctor Beader to kill me, Amabel You know that as well, otherwise you wouldn’t have ad to me No, don’t deny it You’ve already accepted it But I don’t really count What will bring both of you down is hurting the FBI agents You try killing James, and all hell will break loose I know his boss, and you can count on it"

"They’re stupid, all of theet even more difficult, but we’ll deal with it Actually I’ve already set things inyou away froain That’s what ripped it apart All ed It has put er dead, thanks to the two of you Now I’ll have to leave the country forever"

"Just try it They’ll catch you With those arot the Feds ready to tear the world apart looking for you"

"I know Such a pity But it will be fine I got most of o I left just a bit in all those foreign accounts, just to tantalize the Feds, just so they’d realize I knew exactly what I was doing It will make them crazy, and they won’t catch oing to catch a cold He won’t have tie she couldn’t stop herself She heaved up, hitting hi her back, his own fist raised

She heard A down, not toward her face but toward her ribs

31

"WELL, HELL," QUINLAN said" Sorry, guys, but the old codgers were thorough My arone I always taped it to ht Corey, what are you doing? Why are you heaving around like a gutted fish? Why are youhard "You’ll see I didn’t count on Quinlan finding that knife Just wait a h?" Quinlan said, desperately straining to see her in the darkness

"I was a gyent to go through the progra on through and in just a her than it used to be when I was younger and skinnier--" She stopped, breathing hard, straining "There"

She was panting, laughing "I did it!"

"What, Corey? For God’s sake, what did you do?"

"My hands are now tied in front of h leeway between her than the rope tyingto turn around and untie the rope around et to you guys"

"Corey," Quinlan said, "if you get us out of this, both Thoent in charge of the Portland field office Right, Tho her to marry me and be the SAC"