KIP ALKS OUt of t  of .

    s o of ecting ts errace, and akes  against o .

    Surns back into t in front of cairs.

    tient turns to face ouc   leaves o te s, it begins to make trek toance of t of  redness against w seems like volcanic flesh.

    In ter by Caravaggio o  reac, and c in his hand.

    Caravaggio glances doo see t all through his cheeks.

    hinks suddenly he owes him a life.

    Kip begins to laug of the box of wires.

    Caravaggio  oronto street Caravaggio  out of a taxi and  Indian o get into it, and hen.

    No laugo t tohe ceiling.

    “I kno sarongs.” Caravaggio oronto I met t turned out to belong to an Indian family. to sleep in, and it intrigued me. e s to talk about and tually persuaded me to try it. I removed my clotepped into one, and tely set upon me and co t.” “Is t a true story?” She grinned.

    “One of many!” S o almost believe it. Caravaggio antly diverted by t during burglar-ies. Breaking into a mas, iced t calendar  been opened up to te to s left alone in orically discussing meals en greeted by turned to the scene of a crime.

    S of t random pulls out a book. Sions in a book of poetry and begins to e there.

    city. London is a recent tory.  gunpoeentury, court paintings recorded fireworks displays.

    mucaller timate smile up close t can c. A tougo ure  ss. But  is more rambunctious ts. Remember “I’ll rees—named for saints and emperors or wo.

    the word bungalow comes from Bengali.

    At four in ternoon to t in a il -deep in ter, o tip ten feet s nose sunk into t.

    Beneater al casing, mucired ruts at so stop mud collapsing in around  around t up t arted coming in; this was his second one.

    It  to immunize it. It o get a firm er.  s—ter t of it could break his ankles.

    c tal casing, trying to to rating on touc reaco ty-foot pit and fell on t  any moment, remored, ell anyone  murmur or a stroke reet innocently in front of you.

    toc t o insert tools into ts of unic. o te—  t Buckingop doh Mice.

    . topped to taped to tal. No again.

    ttle space beture already. If en minutes. Noand tures in an enclosed space. Captain Carlyle

    into flames. t fast, already unconscious in his harness.

    Road?

    Kip dipped cotton o ter and touc to t t meant o  longer. ton uck, it meant enougo the cup.

    t  in radius noes.  taped onto t er t morning in te kit sent to all bomb disposal units.

    hen is explosion reasonably permissible?

    If a man’s life could be capitalized as X, t Y, and timated damage from explosion at V, t contend t if V is less t if V over Y is greater ttempt so avoid explosion in situ.

    e suchings?

    inued feeding in t s, just to ,  h oxygen.

    (o cure ried tton ime it froze on.

    ty minutes. After t ttery temperature  for noo remove it.

    o detect any rips in tal. tion  oxygen could ignite if it came into contact o use liquid nitrogen.

    “It’s a top of t.

    “type-marked fifty, in a circle, B. ts, most likely. But  armed.

    Okay?” t time.

    “Put me on a microp back.” “Okay, sir.”Kip smiled. en years younger t  in tal discipline. tation by to call   out loud and entically.

    noo prise out tteries inert.

    “Can you le.... Okay, I . A last topping up  it bubble for ty seconds. tart. Fres. Okay, I’m going to remove tening to everyt in case somet  person ernatives.

    “I’m using ter key.”  out of  pocket. It   moved easily and old hardy.

    “t Buckingled. ing ring and let to ter.  . It ake anotes.

    “Alice is marrying one of terrible  out loud, trying to get more o  painfully cold.  trying to lean back far enougal in front of o keep moving o till o free t. It  to get t to grip the head.

    to ely.

    “rong, alk back to me, okay? t get to it. t at?”  above   o t.

    “Six more minutes of frost.” “Come up and  up.” “No, pass me doer being placed in it.

    “I’m going to dribble to ted—t into tal. Cill I can grip somet back noalk it t er. ed for t to appear and to sal off ed and c of , placed it betal and t, cs. t y against a spark.   as tteries.  cutting sideo tal around t fuze  off in layers,  t doly t t flashe gaine.

    It took five more minutes.  moved from top of t, instead ime left in t in trut area, and ter temperature to al.

    t dare cact of t quivering like a silver tendril. If . ried to rub o his hands.

    , ill for a fe tact in t of ts. the bomb was dead.

    “Fuze out. Gaine off. Kiss me.” rying to clip on ter;   igo traps still taco feel  corpse out of a bog.  rising out of ter. ed out of t into t, orso.

    epee of poles t aneously, letting c ty yards aoo close, far too close, for safety; troyed. But of course  been to keep them back.

    tcly, to o o t—tools and canisters and blankets and truments still o t.

    “I can’t o t.” t pausing, to go past taring faces unic, c didn’t recognize or ackno. Just stepping back to give  tarted s stand to lift ages, into t.

    , Kip slorousers and  too cold and tired even to unscre tea on t beside : I  even frig angry—ake, or ty t ting just to protect myself.

    Only hardy, he realized, keeps me human now.

    day at t o remove ty of lice, and ter. Lying back, , eyes closed against ture, looking more like a corpse from a myts beside imes alk about her in jail.

    up and flip o rub t o civilisation. s and sern and visionary, pausing only in times of sunligo be godless, informal, able so tra. Alt years of war assumed Englisiful son.

    “A my brotrusting turns to  in ill not a free continent, and  o Englis is a battle of opinion alized by t my brot. ing for independence.” Surns a darkness of to sit he Englishman.

    At nigs ellation, tors against  beturns of sleep. S and ribbons. As  pours. Sie it against . As o ness ts of electricity in ent.

    ion to terrace   of ion to t. tc in terms of t gataly  tried to see everyt emporary and human.

    t  sion of c thing safe is himself.

    ree s one sick brancoo ree. It stood in Lord Suffolk’s garden on tol Cinel. In spite of sucy ure  .

    urban outside in  at trees. But ices t  tens  if s colour o adore , so say.  if s t tently at eyes but not register  or stomac texture more taste or specific object.

    a mout eyes and t seems to er depending on t of a room, te of ty or smugness or any ot on trum of cer. For  intricate aspect effaces.  an eye reveals. But o callousness, suggest tenderness. One can often misjudge an eye from its reaction to a simple beam of sunlight.

    Everyt of an altering ions t alter ure, even y, te of lifeboats.

    t of rising ing dinner in t available lig te evening to tient, or a lamp o forage any. But ty. to oucips.

    “No more ligo  of leaping doairs one o be stopped. S travelling tting turning Caravaggio in tomach.

    S tennis stoned at t, ttoned as  disorder.

    On t from tced cyard. Four  let you into  at one time must ed room. tyard reminded o reveal pressed floo be glanced at during passing, never entered.

    It wo a.m.

    Eacered t doorrance by ty-six steps and  tyard. As epped into tc into an alcove at c level ed. tron of tal. S catc trousers. trapped to c stood turban, t against t tibule like a spear.

    tyard. o tcely sensed t it and tied it o table. curned to tyard. icks leaning against it. ered and closed t t moment snaking  to prop ticks up against to t do the can of condensed milk.

    Sed someto turned on t on  stretco unseen s above  could reveal itself to anyone in to see tside. S, searcly Italian books for t s to tient. So love talian spines, tispieces, tipped-in colour illustrations issue, too fast, as if breaking some minute unseen series of bones. Serhouse of Parma.

    “If I ever get out of my difficulties,” o Clelia, “I s to tiful pictures at Parma, and to remember t at t seemed t  arm ing redness onto  tton of s puffed sleeve at her shoulder.

    of the well.

    t diameter of ligo blackness, so it felt to Caravaggio t tucked t arm. As shers disappeared.

    Sood ter,  in Europe s

    come to tic face,  seemed cold,  during t toion. Years before, ried to imagine  but ed someone ies moulded out of y. Not tranger hing he had provided.

    Sed to t some point later sening, and quickly sc.

    as sy   on for a moment and t off again.

    to be in movement but Caravaggio.  all around  touco toraig around  glared o o still  t emerged into t, moved past Caravaggio’s face and stepped onto the boy’s neck beside him.

    Anot  on.

    “Got you. Got you.” t tline of . S, “I got you,  got you. I used Caravaggio—o s already all over o struggle out. t from boto climb and cra of terror. Confess. to calm  tening, excited at ture.  of t saying a  the room.

    tions o , and in to s o o est? Condensed milk?” Ss   of it, tasting   to see you.”  goes on and reaked , ion. owards him.

    s o to lean, puts all  into rusting o come rusting o break t in t  of ail of a mantis. till strapped against t of  arm. o t to kiss and lick and taste. oself in tness of her hair.

    t a  is noerritory.  tanding on t ten of  time  of  I got you, I got you,” ss. “I’m t so ts forcs off and is free of , t ancient rain still in it, t and grit on  arms. o  and clicks off . “I o t gesture sly a nod, partly a s.  see urns off  so they are equal in darkness.

    t in lovemaking tion, a  to be fucked. I don’t  to fuck you.  or so   tenderness to comes y. ter all, a mortal age. ted itself only in  sleep ug of .

    All evening  c aug and peace during co sleep it o sleep imate stranger from Sout up ed oo in earlier years, probably knoer of all of tter ts did.

    It ual affection. If Kip  ing love greater ter, side to find suconic intimacy, or at times timacy, of a stranger. e old before  about  question of w.

    Only once did , tood  into ’s room o till, just noo scratc aside and scratcender art,  tent, in , s met in a own.