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bb10a42
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tightly and a vein throbbed at his temple. The two guards led Rogers down a long hallway. On each side were barred cell doors. The men behind them had been talking, but when Rogers came into view they abruptly stopped. The prisoners
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David Baldacci |
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ec08f80
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I don't know. I just heard the shots." "Who are you? What is this place?" "I'm . . . I'm Sheila." "Who's the guy down there?" "Luke." "And who is Luke?" "Just a guy I know."
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David Baldacci |
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2a6625e
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Decker stirred and pointed to a purple smudge on the back of Berkshire's hand. "What's that?" "Let's have a closer look," Wainwright said. She gripped a magnifying glass set on a rotating arm and positioned it over the mark. She turned on a light and aimed it at the dead woman's hand. Peering through the glass, she said, "Appears to be a stamp of some sort." Decker took a look through the glass. "Dominion Hospice." He looked at Milligan, wh..
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David Baldacci |
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d59db1d
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If it's not, it's a coincidence the size of Russia." "And you don't believe in even small coincidences, I know." He looked at the cup of tea, picked it up, and took a sip. "Todd ran the plate on the Camaro." Jamison stiffened. "And?" "And it was stolen from a couple who live in Woodbridge."
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David Baldacci |
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5f662dd
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Decker blinked awake and sat up in his bed. He looked around, for a few moments unsure of where he was. Virginia. Quantico. The FBI gig. Right. He got up and padded to the bathroom. After that he walked into the kitchen and looked out the window. It was still well dark. He slid out the coffeepot with the intent to make and drink a pot while he went over case notes. Then he looked down at his massive gut and the slight wheezing apparently ca..
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David Baldacci |
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56e0934
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The prisoners had also turned to look at Mars. Those doing push-ups and pull-ups stopped. They wiped off their hands and moved back against the wall. And waited. Their expressions were clear. Thank God it's not me. The news had spread fast. Mars might be getting out after nearly being put to death.
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David Baldacci |
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1da30f5
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In his trip to Bethlehem Mark Twain had reported that all sects of Christians, except Protestants, had chapels under the roof of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. However, he also observed that one group dared not trespass on the other's territory, proving beyond doubt, he noted, that even the grave of the Savior couldn't inspire peaceful worship among different beliefs.
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David Baldacci |
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65b249e
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hob-gob of folks. And sometimes it's
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David Baldacci |
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e5cbe40
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astonishingly slimy and dangerous
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David Baldacci |
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eb7cc0a
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I had my papers in for detective before I left. I've got my forensics certifications. I notice stuff. I sweat the details. And this is my town," she added. "I know everybody here. And I mean everybody, because there aren't that many of us."
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David Baldacci |
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5fd8913
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He spent the next two days in careful, decisive preparation efficiently conducted around his day job. The three imperatives of his mission were embedded in every action he performed: (1) keep it simple; (2) provide for every contingency; and (3) never panic no matter how much your plan goes awry, which it occasionally did. However, if there were a fourth rule, it would have to be: exploit the fact that most people are fools when it comes to..
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David Baldacci |
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2d8e826
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Persons seeking to find scholarship herein will be sued; persons motivated to discover meaning will be exiled; persons seeking to find an allegory will be summarily ordained.
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David Baldacci |
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06552b1
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We've got some unholy badasses in here, as you know. But nobody
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David Baldacci |
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1b9c374
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Dead by her hand. All dead. The price of her freedom? Chung-Cha's soul.
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David Baldacci |
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5d48960
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At the end of a lifetime's worth of lights and nights, it seemed that family was really the only important thing there was. And yet how many of us truly appreciated that significance before our last breath left us?
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David Baldacci |
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d3cdf23
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Everyone has choices. You make them and then you live with the consequences.
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David Baldacci |
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4005eb3
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I've fought for and against pretty much every cause there is. There will always be war of some kind. At first it was over fertile soil and good water, then precious metal and then the most popular version of human disagreement, 'My God is better than your God.' Whether you draw your faith from Jeremiah and Jesus, Allah and Muhammad or Brahma and Buddha, it doesn't matter. Someone will tell you you're wrong, and he'll fight you over it. Me, ..
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humans
religion
war
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David Baldacci |
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7ec8181
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I'm not saying that riding the train will change your life, or that passenger rail will be a big moneymaker one day. But no matter how fast we feel we have to go, shouldn't there be room for a train, where you can just sit back, take a breath, and be human for a little while? Just for a little while? Is that so bad?
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David Baldacci |
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c80d86a
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You know people who read are a lot more tolerant and open-minded than those who don't." "Great,"
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David Baldacci |
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52f2a3e
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with the way the world is now, we all have to think about things beyond our lifetime. Beyond our children's lifetime, in fact. It's our right. It's our duty, my good friend told me.
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David Baldacci |
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0d35c60
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john was smart, but he was also a young male with a usually empty belly. sometimes it was simple as that
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human-society
humanity
life
the-finisher
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David Baldacci |
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890372c
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Planning something never seems risky. It's in the execution where all the risk comes." "And"
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David Baldacci |
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03b0210
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Life had coincidences. Serendipity abounded. Wrong place, wrong time. It came as the result of seven billion people jostling each other within the span of a single planet. But there was an unwritten rule in police work: There are no coincidences. All you needed was more in-depth investigation to show that there are no coincidences.
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David Baldacci |
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988d3f6
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But in the end, you can't kill what you can't see coming . . .
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David Baldacci |
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23bc45e
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discussion. Just know that one answer over the other does not equal a solution. It's only a decision. And decisions have ramifications
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David Baldacci |
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7fae2b9
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You really think so?" said Robie. "These are guys. All guys think girls talk to each other. They'll come back for the kid for sure." "You're just tryin' to scare me," said Emma smugly. Reel shrugged. "We don't need to. They killed one sister. They've probably got Sara now. They'll kill her too, like they tried to do last night." "What?" said Emma, looking startled. "Robie, I'm telling you, let's just ride"
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David Baldacci |
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7c52ba6
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lay there, listening for the squeaks of the final
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David Baldacci |
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8023f68
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More guns! No guns! Second Amendment! Guns kill! No, people kill!
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David Baldacci |
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a4136e5
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You know what happened to her predecessors?" "Of course. It's sort of like the Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers. Bad things happen to them." "Defense Against the Dark Arts?" "You know, in ."
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harry-potter-reference
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David Baldacci |
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8a3cb7e
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It is asking a lot. But when you're attempting to do something truly extraordinary, isn't it fair to ask a lot in return?
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David Baldacci |
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eae3ffc
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Facing fear is better than running from it," he said. "What if it's fear you can't beat?" "Then it might be better to be dead," he answered."
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David Baldacci |
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bb7c462
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He rose, placed another small log on the fire, sat back down in his armchair, and opened his book. "What are you reading?" Reggie asked. "On a wild night like this? Agatha Christie, of course. I still feel compelled to see if Hercule Poirot's 'little gray cells' will do their job one more time. It seems to often inspire my own brain, however inferior it might be to the diminutive Belgian's."
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baldacci
poirot
tribute
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David Baldacci |
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57aa8e6
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Find something to believe in, Carter, other than your work. Because when you leave this life, you leave work behind. If that's all you have, then you have nothing. And eternity is a long time for nothing.
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David Baldacci |
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945ff3a
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It had been so long since we were a family that I had almost forgotten the joy that came with having one. All the small and large moments, many that I had taken for granted while they were occuring, no doubt bolstered by the certainty that there would be many more. Yet such endearing and memorable engagements in life are promised to no one. They come and go and one has to be aware that there is no assurance they will ever come again. It mad..
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David Baldacci |
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000dea4
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He knew exactly what it was like to lose a child. And that fact wouldn't matter in the least in this circumstance. There could be no commiseration among such people despite the seeming commonality of loss, because it was actually each parent's totally unique hell.
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David Baldacci |
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90a1066
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there?" "Doubtful. While"
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David Baldacci |
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06105bf
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It would cut into him at unpredictable moments, like a gutting knife made of colored light.
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past
trauma
traumatic
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David Baldacci |
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bb18b5b
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the business of politics, which essentially meant screwing others before they got around to screwing you.
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David Baldacci |
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93ea3bf
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Everybody's got somewhere to go. Just takes some folks longer to figure out where to.
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David Baldacci |
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51d05ff
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What happened to you as a child, particularly something bad, changed you, absolutely and completely. It was like part of your brain became closed off and refused to mature any further. As an adult you were powerless to fight against it. It was simply who you were until the day you died. There was no "therapy" that could cure it. That wall was built and nothing could tear it down."
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David Baldacci |
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b0ab397
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The place smelled of sweat and burned coffee and the passage of time, which held its own moldy stink.
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David Baldacci |
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28ddc31
|
Woe be to the wug who forgets that destroying one part of a thing does not equal victory
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escape
mystery-suspense
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David Baldacci |
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2fdea91
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Kids make everything better. And harder.
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David Baldacci |
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bff05e4
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Robie took a deep, cleansing breath. He had never played well with others. For the last dozen years he had worked in almost total isolation. He preferred it that way. He was better alone than with a team. That's just how he was built.
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David Baldacci |