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"You knew!" He launched himself from the ledge with all the fury of i a wounded leopard.

"You'll tell me!" he shrieked. "In the end you'll tell me." He hit Tungata in the face with the barrel of the Tokarev.

"Tell me!" he screamed. "Tell me where they are!" And the steel thudded into Tungata's face as ie struc again k and again.

"Tell me where the diamonds are! The barrel crunched against Tungata's cheekbone, split- i ting the flesh, and he fell to his knees.

Peter Fungabera pulled himself away, and braced himself against the rock ledge to contain his own ri".

"No," he told himself. "That is too easy. He's going to suffer __2 He folded his own arms tightly across his chest to restrain himself from attacking Tungata again.

"In the end you will tell me you will plead with me to allow you to take me to the diamonds. You'll plead with me to kill you-2 abes in the fornicating woods," said Morgan Oxford.

"That's what you two are! By God, you have dropped us in this cesspool as well, right up to the eyebrows." Morgan Oxford had flown down from Harare as soon as he had heard that a Botswana border patrol had brought Craig and Sally-Anne in from the desert.

"Both the American ambassador and the Brits have had notes from Mugabe. The Brits are hopping up and down and frothing at the mouth also. They know nothing about you, Craig, and you are a British subject. I gather that they'd like to lock you up in the tower and chop your head off.1 Morgan stood at the foot of Sally-Anne's hospital bed.

He had declined the chair that Craig offered him.

you, Missy, the ambassador has asked me to As inform you that he would like to see you on the next plane back to the States."

"He can't order me to do that." Sally-Anne stopped his flow of bitter recriminations. "This isn't Soviet Russia, and I'm a free citizen." "You won't be for long. No, by God, not if Mugabe gets his hands on you! Murder, armed insurrection and a few other charges-"

"Those are all a frame-up!"

"You and your boyfriend here left a pile of warm bodies behind you like empty beer cans at a labour-day picnic.

Mugabe has started extradition proceedings with the Botswana government-"

"We are political refugees," Sally-Anne flared.

"Bonny and Clyde, sweetheart, that's the way the Zimbabweans are telling it."

Sally' Anne Craig intervened mildly. "You are not supposed to get yourself excited-"

"Excited!" cried So4yAnne. "We've been robbed and beaten, threatenedowith rape and a firing squad and now the official representative of the United States of America, the country of which I happen to be a citizen, barges in here and calls us criminals."

"I'm not calling you anything," Morgan denied flatly.

"I'm just warning you to get your cute little ass out of Africa and all the way home to mommy."

"He calls us criminals, and then patronizes me with his male chauvinistic--2

"Throttle back, Sally-Anne." Morgan Oxford held up hand wearily. "Let's start again. You are in big trouble one we are in big trouble. We've got to work something out."

"Now will you sit down?" Craig pushed the empty chair towards him and Morgan slumped into it and lit a Chesterfield.

"How are you, anyway?" he asked.

"I thought you'd never ask, sweetheart," Sally' Anne snapped tersely.

"She was badly desiccated. They suspected renal failure, but they've had her on a drip and liquids for three days.

She is okay that end. They were also worried about the crack on her head but the X,rays are negative, thank God.

it was only a mild concussion. They have promised to discharge her tomorrow morning."

"So she's fit to travel?"

"I thought your concern was too touching-" 41 _,oak, Sally' Anne this is Africa. If the Zimbabweans get hold of you, there will be nothing we can do to help.

It's for your own good. You've got to get out. The ambassador-" "Screw the ambassador," said Sally-Anne with relish, "and screw you, Morgan Oxford."

"I can't speak for His Excellency," Morgan grinned for the first time, "but for myself, when can we begin?" And even Sally-Anne laughed.

Craig took advantage of the softening of attitudes.

"Morgan, you can rely on me to see she does the right thing-_2 Immediately Sally-Anne puffed up in the high bed, preparatory to fending off another chauvinistic onslaught, but Craig gave her a tiny frown and shake of the head and she subsided reluctantly. Morgan turned on Craig instead.

"As for you, Craig. How the hell did they find out you the agency?" Morgan demanded.

4, were working for

"Was ! Craig looked stunned. "If I was, nobody told me."

"Who the hell do you think Henry Pickering is anyway Santa Claus?"

"He my, he is- a vice-president of the World Bank!"

"Babes," moaned Morgan, "babes in the tupping woods." He braced up. "Well, anyway, that is over. Your contract is terminated. If there was anything sooner than immediately, that would be the date of termination."

"I sent Henry a full report three days ago-"