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"We&039;re hanging out in the wrong places, Terris Let&039;s go get dirty"

McKendry grunted in agreement He didn&039;t need to co enough that they often seemed to read each other&039;s mind For that reason, they had hardly spoken about Arthur&039;s death Each kne much the other wouldtheir friend back, theylost friends before, McKendry understood his own process For him, acceptance would co the open wound of loss into one et out of Caracas, the better" Keene slurped the last of hismichelada, a concoction of lireat liking to the drink, which he co around the oil operations I&039; Selene&039;s moved from Maracaibo and is headed east to focus on Frikkie&039;s operations near the Orinoco Delta"

McKendry knew that at any other tihtclub after nightclub, where the dancers were topless and the salsa le," McKendry said

"And you don&039;t?"

McKendry gave a sible response which seeht about Caracas Someone like Selene was unlikely to be here by choice Besides, at this moment in their lives, the city was far too civilized a place for the two of thenificent, the jewel of Venezuela, but a postcard would have sufficed Shining buildings and upscale restaurants, sidewalk cafes with bright yellonings, lavish htlife never had been his idea of a good tiht, the search for Paul Trujold&039;s daughter needed to start soood a place as any He hadn&039;t actually expected to find her here - Frikkie&039;s information said that Green Impact worked primarily in the western oil fields of the Maracaibo Basin - but this here he had contacts in Venezuela He knew people who could potentially lead them to Green Impact, or lead them to someone who could lead them to someone

People like Rodolfo The Spanish action-film star, one of McKendry&039;s former eh his career had gone nowhere in the United States He had hired McKendry as a bodyguard and tough guy, a brawny piece of furniture to hover behind him every time he went out, even when they here nobody kneho Rodolfo was

The work had been a profitable and not unpleasant contract job The star was less obnoxious than several full-of-theuarded in the past But when the six-month contract came up for renewal, he politely declined further service and nment He preferred to provide real protection rather than testosterone-filled eye candy

When the two Daredevils were arranging to fly down to Venezuela and begin their search for Selene, McKendry had called the action star and asked what connections he hted to hear from him and offered to do what he could At Si tropical sunshine, the star had welco-lost Italian uncle During their first few nights in Caracas, the grinning and too- tanned filne and front-row tickets to all the hottest nightclub shows He took them to dinner at Tambo, Il Cielo, and other jet-set favorites, and provided the Hotel, far frole- covered h on the horizon; they were further yet from the political, economic, and natural disasters that inevitably piled one upon the other in various parts of the South A for five days, asking questions and enduring the pahtclubs They had been seen by all the local celebrities, by iers and casino owners Rodolfo was doing his best and glorying in the doing of it

For a different assignht have been able to use these new connections he had e But not this ti member of Green Ietting nowhere," Keene shouted across at McKendry He pounded on the table, signaling the nearest waitress for anotherthe nightclub&039;s expensive minimum-consumption requireirls jiggled coffee brown breasts as they danced past the table en route to the small central area cleared for occasional performances "Nice," McKendry said "Very nice"

Keene ran his fingers through his curly hair He s When his fresh e, tasted it with an extravagant flourish, and handed the waitress a large tip

The dance number finished with a brassy finale followed by a shower of applause fron guests

"If Selene Trujold is an ecoterrorist, self-proclaiht dead in Caracas," Keene said "She wouldn&039;t let any of these bozos so much as buy her a drink"

McKendry drained his too-sweet drink and stood up "Get a good night&039;s sleep We&039;ll check out tomorrow"

"Not quite yet" Keenewith it as if it were a sword "Zorro the Gay Blade approaches"

McKendry turned toward the door He really does look like George Ha Rodolfo weave his way through the crowd

"So soon you leave me?" The star arrived with his latest accessory "But I have just found a wonderful ht hier accompanied Rodolfo, a small, wiry man with quick eyes and a feral slamorous but prosperous, overnment, and well placed at that More important, as far as McKendry was concerned, thestare showed hi evenyou, Rodolfo" Keene rolled ther and lengthened the vowels "Think of us as lost sheep and knoe&039;ll find our way hoht, not for the first time, that his partner should have been in movies

Keene went on, "But who is your friend here? We haven&039;t had the pleasure" He thrust his hand toward the official