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"Hoas it possible to run onto Koplin and the Russian patrol guard? Finding the on a needle in a frozen haystack"

"Needles don't bark," Pitt answered "I followed the sound of a dog on the hunt It led uard"

"The latter, of course, you ram said

"I suppose a prosecuting attorney estured airily "On the other hand, it see to do at the time"

"What if the guard had been one of ents also?"

"Coh the snow by the scruff of the neck, especially when one of them is seriously wounded"

"And the dog, did you have to kill the dog?"

"The thought occurred to ht have led a search patrol back to his master's body As it is, chances are neither will be discovered, ever"

"Do you always carry a gun with a silencer?"

"This wasn't the first time Admiral Sandecker called upon me for a dirty job outside my normal duties," Pitt said

"Before you flew Koplin to your ship, I take it you destroyed his sloop," Seagram said

"Rather cleverly, I think," Pitt replied There was no inflection of conceit in his tone "I bashed a hole in the hull, raised the sail, and sent her on her way I should judge that she found a watery grave about three miles from shore"

"You were far too confident," Seagra that didn't concern you You taunted Russian vigilance by taking a grave risk without authority And, you cold-bloodedly murdered a man and his animal If ere all like you, Mr Pitt, this would be a sorry nation indeed"

Pitt rose and leaned across the table until he was eyeball to eyeball with Seagralaciers "You left out the best parts It was I who gave your friend Koplin two pints of blood during his operation It was I who ordered the ship to bypass Oslo and lay a course for the nearest US military airfield And it was I who talked the base coht back to the States In conclusion, Mr Seagrauilty of salvaging the broken pieces of your sneaky little spy mission in the Arctic I didn't expect a ticker-tape parade down Broadway or a gold medal; a simple thank you would have done nicely Instead, your e of rudeness and sarcas coh loud and clear You are a Grade-A asshole And, as kindly as I can put it, you can go fuck yourself"

With that, Pitt turned and walked into the shadows and was gone