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"No. A Reaper goes missing and they'll know someone's poking around. Go back to the house, keep to thick cover, and wait for me. Or Duvalier."
"What will you do?"
"I'm going to get past the Reaper sentries. Then keep down until the day watch comes, if any. If I'm lucky, I'll be inside the sentry line and outside the wire, and I can get a real look at the place by daylight. At dusk I'll creep out again."
"If you're not lucky?"
"You and Ali get back to Southern Command. Hopefully they'll try again with a better-prepared team."
"I remember having this conversation before. We only just found you. Would it not be better to look around from inside the wire, my David?" '
"Of course. How do we do that?"
"It is a hospital. One of us just has to be sick enough."
Valentine nodded. "I know a couple of old tricks. One or two can even fool a doctor. Let's get back to Ali first. If this blows up in our faces, I have a feeling we'll never get outside that wire again."
* * * *
Valentine, Ahn-Kha, and Duvalier stood at the crossroads. The river road stretched off east and west, the road leading to the well-guarded hospital branching off.
She didn't discuss her "date" the previous night-save to deny that she got anything of use out of the soldier. "He's going on a long patrol. He offered to see me again in four days."
"Are you going to wait for him?" Valentine asked.
"Depends if you and the jolly gold giant here go through with this insanity."
"It will work," Valentine said.
"Price left us a bass boat," Duvalier said. "And I've still got our Spam. How much action do you want?"
"Just a little fire or two on the other side of the river. Tonight. Nothing too hard."
"And your illness?"
"A little ipecac and other herbs with unfortunate pharmacological side effects."
"Will that be convincing enough?" Ahn-Kha asked, scanning the road and woods. "I think I see your dinner, Alessa. My David, may I see your pistol?"
Valentine handed over the gun. Ahn-Kha checked it over, then pointed it at his neck.
"Ahn-"
The gun went off with a sharp crack. Valentine and Duvalier stood dumbfounded. Blood and flesh flew from the Golden One's neck. He lowered the gun to his elbow and shot himself through the arm. Then again, at the hip point.
Valentine tried to wrestle the gun from Ahn-Kha's grip, burning his hand on the barrel, but the Grog was too strong. It fired again.
"Urmpf," Ahn-Kha grunted, releasing the gun.
"What the hell, man?" Duvalier asked.
"No need for insults," Ahn-Kha said. "I just decided-"
"You wounded yourself to get into the hospital?" Duvalier asked.
"Why not just shoot yourself once?" Valentine asked, putting the gun back on safety and digging for his first-aid kit.
"One bullet wound with powder grains around it might be self-inflicted. How many desperate cowards avoid combat by shooting themselves four times? But I fear the last penetrated my intestines."
