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shorts and sweatshirts, mimes in white face and tails and street people, doing their own sad imitation of Atlas by carrying their whole worlds on their backs. The air was tempered by the bay and reeked of iced fish and crab boil. Steam leaked like camp fire smoke from sidewalk stands where fresh calamari, shrimp (both fried and boiled), red snapper, blue and king crabs and lobster could be had for a few dollars. Cyrus was gingerly poking at a squid with two fingers when Kyna grabbed his arm and pulled him over to a stand that sold fried sourdough bread dripping with honey and cinnamon. Afterward, he let her talk him into taking the tour boat over to Alcatraz Island. |
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Cyrus hated the prison from the moment he stepped foot inside the entrance. The walls were filthy and dank and seemed to vibrate with the accumulated misery of untold thousands of men. When the park guide led the group down into the blocks, all the steel and masonry closed around him like a fist and the inhumanly small cells brought a rash of cold sweat to his neck. Halfway through the tour, Cyrus excused himself and practically ran back to the boat landing. He sat on the dock and let the bay air purge his nostrils of the stench of confinement. By the time the shuttle docked at Fisherman's Wharf he was back in control. |
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"You have a problem with tight places?" Kyna asked. |
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"Not that I was aware of." |
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She let it drop and he suspected that it was the sight of all those tiny cages that had precipitated the attack. The steel bars, everywhere the bars! The idea of being locked up like thatcagedmade him want to throw up. |
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Kyna bought Cyrus a soft drink, then informed him that she had to make a delivery at five o'clock. "I want to get the deliveries out of the way so we can take some time and see the city." |
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They returned to the hotel to pick up the briefcase and Cyrus's gun. He checked the clip and the safety, then slipped the pistol into the waistband of his slacks and covered it with his navy jacket. |
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The way to Kyna's meeting followed a circuitous route up |
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