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It flew in the face of all her training andbeliefs. In those markets some of the rarer African species might fetchas much as a hundred pounds each. They reachedthe gate and beat against it with the weapons they carried and theirbare hands. She gave him the first direct smile since their indiscreet behaviourhad been discovered, but it lacked her usual sparkle and verve.

As the meal drew to a close, Ryder Courtney did something to confirmhis status as the hero of the evening. They drank it with gusto, and Ryder Courtney burstinto When You Were Sweet Sixteen'. When she had finished and wasready to leave, she whispered, without moving her lips, Yakub willcome for you. Waiting, sleepless, on the glacis of the hospital fortifications,Gordon had heard the opening volleys of the battle, and seen the rocketflares sailing up from the harbour into the night sky.