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“What are you, writing a book?” Rio says sharply “Suddenly you’re reading books and now you’re trying to plumb the depths of my soul?”

“My usual appetite for fashion and Hollywood gossip isn’t being satisfied,” Jenou says, adopting a light, bantering lilt before restating her question in a more serious tone

Rio sighs “I don’t know, Jen” She pronounces the name with a soft j, like zh Jenou’s naenue, a perfectly inappropriate reference point for Jenou, who is far froests

Jenou is blond, with hair cut short to just below the ear General Patton has decreed that all female soldiers will have hair cut to above the bottoulations have not quite caught up with the realities of fe blond, Jenou is quite pretty, just shy of beautiful, and has a pinup’s body

Jenou re the pressure will build on Rio to say soht

“It was” Rio searches for a word picture, athat Jenou will not feel the need to ask anyabout it takes her back to that , Shoot!

Richlin! Suarez! Lay down so fire!

Rio remembers it in detail It had been as cold then as it is hot now Her breathing had becoular: a panicky burst followed by a leaden thud-thud-thud

She rehts of her M1 Garand She reer on the trigger And the way she slowed her breathing, the way she shut out everything, every extraneous sound, every irrelevant eet, a hts

The way her lungs and heart see with time itself

The er applied the necessary seven-point-five pounds of pressure and the stock kicked back against her shoulder

Bang

The way she had first thought that he had just tripped The way the Italian had seemed to be frozen in tiht his toe on a rock andAnd then the way the man fell back

Dead

“Like it wasn’tme Like I was a puppet, Jen Like I was a puppet”