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Two of Locsin’s ine with Vietnae of the warehouse, right between a heavy rescue vehicle destined for the Manila Fire Departantic yellow airport crash tender with nozzles jutting froht-wheeled truck were still wet, as if its water tank had just been filled

Locsin, who had been pacing around the rooy than he could contain,at the crash tender because he strode to theand boasted, “They were testing that this afternoon on the proving grounds outside I saw it myself Very impressive The nozzle is so powerful that its water can reach a burning plane frolish like an educatedthat he was

“Skip the ridiculous lecture,” Raven said “What do you want?”

She got the response she was expecting Locsin was obviously not used to being sneered at by a woer, and sasped, but Raven h the pain, which was nothing coht in the explosion of an IED in Afghanistan She had endured two abdoeries, and received the Purple Heart and a Bronze Star, for two h she just thought of it as her job The scars on her torso were a daily re this

But she could tell Locsin had held back He could easily have broken her jaw if he’d wanted to

“By the ti ant,” he said, letting that sit for a inations However, Raven felt sure that any assault would be limited to torture She knew heavy steroid use often left ed

Locsin reared back to strike Raven again, but Beth shouted, “Wait! I’ll tell you what you want to know”

Locsin lowered his hand “Which is what?”

“I was the one who planted the tracker on the finial Don’t take that out on her”

“You wanted the other paintings, didn’t you?” He sat on the edge of the desk, suddenly calain

Beth nodded “I thought I ht be able to follow you to them Do you have them?”

Locsin grinned “That would be so, wouldn’t it? Maybe I’ll keep you alive just in case I do Your services as an art historian ht be useful But I’m still confused about the man with the weaponized truck Who is he?”

“He’s a friend”

“Name?”

She looked at Raven, who nodded for her to tell the tortured