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And the gun made clear the man had no need to lead him on. "Do you know what you're neutralizing?" |
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The guy shrugged. "It gets to the right level, we pack up and move on." |
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Calvin stared at the stolid eye of the silencer. "You mean you dig up streets and drain wells and kill people and don't ask why?" |
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During the exchange Terry stood in numbed silence. But suddenly all the grief-nurtured outrage that had been dammed up burst out of her. "You rotten bastards . . ." and she lunged at the man, who swiped her with his free hand, sending her against the van. |
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Calvin made a move toward him, but a chop to his neck from behind dropped him to his knees. The others were back. |
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"Nobody out there," Raiders said. |
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"Good." The blond nodded, then handed the pistol to Raiders. "Take them out back." |
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The pain in Calvin's neck was near blinding. He pulled himself up against the van and helped Terry to her feet. |
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Raiders prodded him with a gun to turn around. |
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With a plastic cord they bound Calvin's hands behind him, then Terry's. |
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The blond cut her off. "Dig a hole," he said to the other one. "A nice one just for two." |
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They put duct tape across their mouths and pushed them out back. |
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The blond and the monitor held their guns on Calvin and Terry, the other two led the way toward the woods. The one in red carried a shovel in each hand, the other a pick. |
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They crossed the lawn. Calvin looked at Terry. Matty's death seemed to have leeched her will to live. She did not struggle against the gunman, did not make a sound. These men were executing the inevitable. |
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As they made their way across the lawn, Calvin could only think he had brought this on, not Terry. |
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They were halfway up the diving-board end of the pool when |
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