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“I’ve seen and participated in worse,” I said

“Oh?” Al asked “The service?”

I nodded Hesound in his mouth and then nodded himself

“I saorse things in my one year in Vietna to do doesn’t have the cover of a ood with that?”

“Does it et Desiree back alive?” I asked

“You bet your ass”

“Then yes I’ht”

“Me too,” Brett said

I turned to hirin on his face

“What friends are for,” I said

“What friends are for,” he repeated

“Call the nuht be able to trace where the phone is if you can get them on the hook for a few minutes”

“I need ninety seconds,” a voice said from the kitchen A man I had barely noticed as part of the crew, tall and lanky but bookish, sat at the table He wasit into a boith meat sauce “Ninety seconds and I can trace it within two blocks”

“Ninety seconds, then,” Al said “See if we can pinpoint the bastards, and ill go get her” He turned to another one of hisin Italian, and the man nodded Without a word, he left the cabin and went out to the car As I dialed Desiree’s nu out a s

He was barely in the door before the rest of the un to unload and disperse weaponry a the men in the room

28

Desiree

They hit me and kicked me a few times, usually just to push o I could take it I was tougher than that My only worry was a few of the tiht to my stomach Each time they hit ed thenant I knew better