Datasets:

Marcus2112

/

minipile_k440

like 0

Ghazi Muhammad Qazi Mullah (Russian: Кази-Мулла, Kazi-Mulla, early 1790s–1832) was an Islamic scholar and ascetic, who was the first Imam of the Caucasian Imamate (from 1828 to 1832). He was a staunch ally of Imam Shamil. He promoted Sharia, spiritual purification, and facilitated a jihad against the invading Russians. He was also one of the prime supporters of "Muridism", a strict obedience to Koranic laws used by imams to increase religio-patriotic fervor in the Caucasus. Early life He was a close friend of Imam Shamil during his childhood in Dagestan. They both studied the Koran and Sufism together at Yaraghal, a Murid centre, and both disliked the loose customs of the mountain people that contradicted the laws in Koran. His mentor was Mullah Mohammed Yaraghi, a Naqshbandi Sufi scholar that brought the Mullah into the ulema. He preached that Jihad would not occur until the Caucasians followed Sharia completely rather than following a mixture of Islamic laws and adat (customary traditions). By 1828, Mullah began proselytizing and claiming that obeying Sharia, giving zakat, prayer, and hajj would not be accepted by Allah if the Russians were still present in the area. He even went on to claim that marriages would become void and children bastards if any Russians were still in the Caucasus. Qazi Mullah became one of the most prominent preachers of Islam in the Caucasus. His memorization of over four hundred ahadith allowed him to win many debates against rival preachers in the area. As his reputation grew, he was invited by many khanates and kingdoms loyal, indifferent, and hostile to the Czar. As a sign of humility and austerity, he refused to ride, but would walk. Popularity, reception, and rise During the early to mid 19th century Russian political strategy in Dagestan included supporting local, indigenous law, known as ‘adat. This was a careful and strategic investment against the growing religiosity and resistance founded on sharia law, which was championed by Ghazi Muhammad. The popularity and rise of Ghazi Muhammad has been attributed both to his charismatic personality and to an indigenous Dagestani population that had grown tired of Russian intrusion and reorganization of local land and resources. Due to conflicting local political, legal, and religious interests, the war led by Ghazi Muhammad has been characterized as a war in the name of Muslim resistance just as much as a war against Russian Imperial encroachment into the North Caucasus. While Ghazi Muhammad gained popular support for his religious policies and military tactics, he did not find widespread support among the region's other political leaders and indeed launched assaults both against local leaders who preferred to ascribe to ‘adat and against the encroaching Russians. As such, support for Ghazi Muhammad was not ubiquitous in Dagestan and his rise to power resulted in unrest among local political stakeholders. Holy war (For military details see Murid War.) In 1829, he was proclaimed imam in Ghimry, where he formally made the call for a holy war. He also decreed that all wine should be destroyed publicly. In 1830, Qazi Mullah and Shamil unsuccessfully tried to capture the Avar capital of Khunzakh from the khanum Pakkou-Bekkhe. Following the setback, Shamil prevailed upon him to bide his time for a while, until all the tribes became united in following shariat law. In 1831, after a few months of quiet, he attacked Northern Dagestan, and met with success there. His guerilla tactics caught the Russians unprepared. By 1832 he was able to menace Vladikavkaz, however, the Russians repulsed the Mullah's assault, and when they took Ghimry, according to legend, they found The Russians took his body to Tarku and gave it to the Khan, who had been loyal to them. The body was displayed in the marketplace for a few days, before being buried in the hills. Song A posthumous song was composed for him, Хьэтхым и къуэ к1асым Мыхьэмэт и уэрэд, Song for Qazi Mohamed. References The Russian empire: historical and descriptive.John Geddie. Oxford University, 1882 Caucasus Mountain Men and Holy Wars. Nicholas Griffin. Thomas Dunne Books, 2003. The Shade of Swords: Jihad and the Conflict Between Islam and Christianity. Akbar, M.J. Routledge, 2003. The Sabres of paradise Lesley Blanch. Carroll & Graf, 1984. Kaziev, Shapi. Imam Shamil. "Molodaya Gvardiya" publishers. Moscow, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2010 Notes Category:1832 deaths Category:Avar people Category:19th-century Islamic religious leaders Category:People of the Caucasian War

French Patent No. 2 667 979 describes a method for adjusting a thermal overload cutout having bimetallic strips, a pickoff system, and a cutout mechanism which has an adjustment device. The position of the bimetallic strips is first matched to the pickoff system, and a preadjustment of the cutout mechanism is performed by setting a predefined cutout distance, the bimetallic strips are then acted upon by a specific current. Adjustment methods and thermal overload cutouts of this kind are already known. Protective devices having delayed-action overload cutouts of this kind must, according to specifications, cut out within specific response limits (e.g. International Electratechnical Commission IEC 947-2, IEC 947-4-1). According to these specifications, a cutout must occur within 2 hours under a load equal to 1.2 times the preset current, and no cutout must occur within 2 hours of current application with 1.05 times the preset current. In devices having thermal overload cutouts, this is usually achieved by converting the current, via the electric heat, into a deflection of bimetallic strips, and adjusting to these bimetallic strips a mechanical system which contains a kickover function. The effective deflection of the bimetallic strips depends on a variety of influencing factors, for example the current path resistance of the thermal overload cutout, the specific deflection of the bimetallic strips, the cutout force and resilience of the mechanical system, etc. Individual deflections thus exist for each protective device. FIG. 2 shows a schematic sketch of a conventional thermal overload cutout. It contains three bimetallic strips 1, a mechanical pickoff system 2, and a cutout mechanism 3 having a compensation strip and an adjusting device 5. In the conventional adjustment method, it is assumed that protective devices of uniform design have an average effective deflection. This deflection travel is set as the distance y between the bimetallic strips and the mechanical shutoff point of the cutout mechanism (preadjustment), and the position of the bimetallic strips is then matched to the pickoff system (synchronization). The cutout time of the thermal overload cutout at a specific current is then measured. If the cutout time falls outside a predefined time window determined by the current response limits, the distance must be corrected based on the time deviation. The cutout time measurement is repeated after the protective device has cooled to ambient temperature. In order to ensure that response limits are within specifications, randomly sampled measurements of the response limits are made. If the results show a trend toward a change in the response limits, the latter are corrected toward the middle of the specified response limits by shifting the time window when the cutout time is checked.

Islamist insurgents have issued an ultimatum to northern Iraq’s dwindling Christian population to either convert to Islam, pay a religious levy or face death, according to a statement issued by the Islamic State (Isis) and distributed in the militant-controlled city of Mosul. The al-Qaida offshoot that led last month’s lightning assault to capture swathes of northern Iraq said the ruling would come into effect on Saturday . . . The Nineveh decree echoes one that the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, the former name for the Islamic State, issued in the Syrian city of Raqqa in February, demanding that Christians pay the jizya levy in gold and curb displays of their faith in return for protection . . . The Mosul residents who saw the Islamic State announcement estimated the city’s Christian population before last month’s militant takeover at around 5,000. The vast bulk of those have since fled, leaving perhaps only 200 in the city. Wow. That is absolutely horrible! This truly is ethnic cleansing. I imagine that if they can afford to do so, they would pay the tax. But what if they are too poor to do so? Will they then be killed regardless of their ability to pay? I read a story a week or two ago when a family who was unable to pay had the wife raped by ISIS members. The husband then committed suicide because of the traumatic event. May he rest in peace. I tell you, I am getting pretty worried about the situation going on in Iraq because of what the Iraqi Christians are having to deal with. It makes me so sad to see that they are having to go through all of this horrific stuff but yet our government (United States) seems to be mum on the plight of Middle Eastern Christians who are persecuted by Islamists. I really haven’t even heard much information at all about anything being done to take Iraq back from ISIS.

Lack, I like the idea of mixing up settings. I think you should probably have a round limit for each game, but could change the level of the round limit. Other than that, I like that there is a mix of settings Would be real interesting to see an assassin game (OK, I just started going through the settings in my head and all of them would be cool). Any chance of speed BR's becoming a possibility? Maybe once a month at a scheduled time. I don't see them filling on a regular basis, but if you did it on like the 15th of every month or something, I bet you could find some takers. agentcom wrote:Lack, I like the idea of mixing up settings. I think you should probably have a round limit for each game, but could change the level of the round limit. Other than that, I like that there is a mix of settings Would be real interesting to see an assassin game (OK, I just started going through the settings in my head and all of them would be cool). Any chance of speed BR's becoming a possibility? Maybe once a month at a scheduled time. I don't see them filling on a regular basis, but if you did it on like the 15th of every month or something, I bet you could find some takers. Assassin? Are you kidding me?? After one or two rounds the game would be over!Team BR would be more interesting. AoG for President of the World!!I promise he will put George W. Bush to shame! The is always one Sequential and one Freestyle Battle Royale game open. The other game options are shuffled, so if you don't like the settings of an open Battle Royale just wait for it to fill and join the following one. Premium members can join one Battle Royale every 30 days. Player colours change each time you enter a Battle Royale game. If you have trouble figuring which player is which in the game, click on [colour codes]. It should start as "There" not "The" I'm assuming I wrote this previously: Gillipig wrote:I noticed a minor spelling error in the text describing battle roayales. Instead of "There is" or "There's" it say "The is".A little nail in the eye for the average spelling nazi lol. Still no change. AoG for President of the World!!I promise he will put George W. Bush to shame! The is always one Sequential and one Freestyle Battle Royale game open. The other game options are shuffled, so if you don't like the settings of an open Battle Royale just wait for it to fill and join the following one. Premium members can join one Battle Royale every 30 days. Player colours change each time you enter a Battle Royale game. If you have trouble figuring which player is which in the game, click on [colour codes]. It should start as "There" not "The" I'm assuming I wrote this previously: Gillipig wrote:I noticed a minor spelling error in the text describing battle roayales. Instead of "There is" or "There's" it say "The is".A little nail in the eye for the average spelling nazi lol. Thanks guys for all that you do to keep this site interesting. It is a great place to play risk type games and to meet others. Love the Battle Royale concept. Most of the changes have been very positive. The only thing that I could ever suggest would be to create the tournament trophy so that it can hold numbers higher than 30. I have noticed people who have won many tourneys but the trophy on profile only shows 30. just an FYI. Thanks for everything!!!! Pirlo wrote:damn.. the members of this community are too freaking demanding! =) Yeah but can we also have...... I would have done this before that..... I don't wanna play with cooks to protect my precious point stack.....(Like your odds of winning a battle royal are more than slim.)(Like it's not Terminator, and those cooks aren't little points crackers for the snacking.) HighlanderAttack wrote:Just make it that you can only be in one battle royal at a time --then the 30 day wait is not a factor I don't think this is cool though... your game may, and will probably, last months. Meanwhile, you wouldn't be allowed to get into your next game, and you may not even have a hope to win when it gets down to 5 players who just stack and wait for a suicider to make them a favor by attacking other opponents. It could also motivate some people to suicide in order to put an end to that painful game so they can get into the next one. It's better if you have the luxury to be in more than one BR game! HighlanderAttack wrote:Just make it that you can only be in one battle royal at a time --then the 30 day wait is not a factor I don't think this is cool though... your game may, and will probably, last months. Meanwhile, you wouldn't be allowed to get into your next game, and you may not even have a hope to win when it gets down to 5 players who just stack and wait for a suicider to make them a favor by attacking other opponents. It could also motivate some people to suicide in order to put an end to that painful game so they can get into the next one. It's better if you have the luxury to be in more than one BR game!

You Are Naturally Short Housing Your house is not an asset. It is a hedge. You are born with a natural short housing position. For the rest of your life, you will need somewhere to live. Ideally, somewhere with a roof. To use a (slightly tortured) trading analogy, you are born with a short housing position. There are several ways to cover this short. In the beginning, your parents usually pay it for you. Once you are on your own, you have various options that can generally be divided up into two categories: A floating rate (e.g. a short-term lease) A fixed rate (e.g. a long-term lease or a house purchase) The best option for you will depend on many things e.g. the relative cost of renting v. owning, your need to be geographically flexible (i.e. your liquidity requirement), your ability to obtain credit etc. There is not necessarily a “correct” answer. I have done both at various times of my life. Whatever option you choose, however, you need to understand that you are only covering a short position. If you choose to buy a house, you are not going long the housing market. You are going flat the housing market using a fixed rate product to lock in your exposure. If house prices rise, the value of your house (the hedge) increases but so does the cost of shelter, which you are always going to need. If house prices fall, your home loses value, but the cost of shelter falls. Why does this distinction matter? Because if you purchase a house, you should not fall into the trap of getting excited when house prices rise. You should especially not fall into the trap of borrowing against the rising value of your house (your hedge) to fund increased consumption. Think about it this way. Imagine if a gold producer used the futures market to hedge future production and lock in a sales price. If the gold price fell (not that it ever will, of course. Fiat money and all that), then the producer would have a gain on its hedge. However, that gain would be offset by the fact that they can only sell their production at a lower price. If the producer borrowed against that gain in the hedge to buy jet-skis and a winter chalet in Vermont, it would be clear that they were taking a massive gamble. The same thing applies to your house. If you buy a house, you have covered a short rather than gone long. This means that you need to be very careful about borrowing against that hedge, and even about counting your house value as part of your total assets. This is hard to do, since a house is usually a large part of someone’s assets, and it is tempting to include it when counting up retirement assets. Except that you still have a natural housing short when you are 66. Sure, you can downsize your house, but then you are playing more of a big house/small house spread game. You are born naturally short shelter. Your house is not an asset. It is a hedge. Your second house makes you long housing. Your lake house makes you short weather volatility. Your Swiss chalet gives you a CHF exposure. Your Hamptons mansion legs your into a first spouse/second spouse spread…. 😉 From Wikipedia: A hedge is an investment position intended to offset potential losses/gains that may be incurred by a companion investment. In simple language, a hedge is used to reduce any substantial losses/gains suffered by an individual or an organization. A hedge is also a line of closely planted trees and shrubs, so I imagine there is a punny joke to be made about your back yard incorporating a “hedge”… SP Your assessment is entirely fallacious. Housing is a binary decision and rent is a sunk cost. Mortgage payments, by contrast, are investments that offer you partial ownership of an asset in the same way that purchasing equities offers partial ownership of a company. Your argument ignores these fundamental facts. SP, I agree that mortgage payments leave you with partial ownership of an asset. The point is what that asset purchase is for. I am arguing that buying a house (whether using a mortgage, cash or self-build) can be viewed as paying a fixed price to cover a long-term position. Once you have done that, you are largely unexposed to changes in the cost of shelter. Using a short-term lease leaves you open to pain if the cost of shelter goes up, or benefit if the cost of shelter goes down. Purchasing a partial equity stake is generally an outright long position: you benefit if the equity value rises, and suffer if the equity value falls. There is no offsetting “short” position. Unless, perhaps, you consume an extraordinary amount of bananas each day and buy shares in a banana company. Rent is a sunk cost. So are mortgage interests, property taxes, maintenance costs, and all other costs you never have to worry about as a renter. Not to mention the opportunity cost of being to able to pack up and leave on short notice. vinocat Well, two things about rent vs. mortgage… #1: in your example, your $3k rent has no residual value, i.e., when you move, all that rent money is gone. #2: with the $5k mortgage example, it’s a bit more complicated. Initially, it’s true that most of the payment is interest, but over the life of a 30-year note, only about half to 2/3 of the payments go toward interest, so it depends on where you are in the life of the loan. Either way, with the mortgage, when you sell the house and move, you get the proceeds, less any remaining mortgage balance, but you also get any appreciation that has occurred. True, in the 2008 meltdown, housing values declined sharply, but this is not the long-term norm — it was really a return to scale after several years of over-appreciation. The “normal” housing market appreciates at roughly 3-4%/year over the long run — pretty much in line with inflation. Absolutely agree with the sentiment, debt is a liability, plain and simple. But I like the way you’ve illustrated the ‘need’ for housing as a future liability. Which it clearly is also. By extension then we are ‘naturally short’ other things like food, access to clean water and sleep. The difference is that those items are hard-to store, relatively easy to obtain (for westerners) or intangible and so not prone to the same sort of effects as houses are. In Europe, for a long time, it was more common for average people to rent their homes than own them. Home ownership is a relatively new phenomenon, it’s quite simple but it keeps surprising us! I’ve been “short” on housing a few times in my life, no doubt about it. And I agree that housing is definitely a hedge – a hedge against dying from exposure! In all seriousness, I love the analogy here – your title immediately caught my attention – well done. I like your analogy – however it’s difficult to assess the value of this short position. you might add that being short in housing varies over time, since you acquire more stuff in your life and need the additional storage space or even a home for your family. so you might say it makes sense to not just cover your housing exposure as needed, but it might actually make sense to go long (renting out apartments which you don’t need and profit from the convenience yield), because the price to cover the underlying asset (ie. buying a house) will probably increase in the future. The only problem with your theory, is that it assumes that house prices on a whole will move up and down across the board. This is rarely the case, with only local house prices moving in line with the property you own. Even within the same country, one area of house pricing can be rising, while another is falling. Therefore the position would only be flat, if you plan to move to a house in the same location as your existing house. If however, you choose to relocate to another location, or perhaps even another country (with a completely different economy) then you may have gone long on your house in an area where house prices are rising and then you move somewhere later where the house prices were falling or flat, and make a profit. For example. In the south of England (London) house prices have still been rising over the last few years, where as the north of England house prices have been falling. If you factor in moving to a completely different country as an option, then it makes your house a bet not on house prices rising or falling, but rather your countries economy rising versus others. Ensuring that you can sell your property and move to an equal house in another cheaper country and make a long term profit. I do see your point though, that ultimately the rise in house prices assuming you will always stay in a similar location and expect a similar house is not a gain. Thanks for commenting. Several people have commented that I have assumed that the housing market is homogenous and that there are no regional variations etc. I don’t think I have, but I obviously need to clarify that somehow. Part of the answer is that you still have the risk of the difference in prices between where you live and where you might end up living. Excellent post! This is a great way to look at housing. I employ this thinking myself. One point to add to the equation though, typically we buy a house with leverage. In that respect buying a house if very much like futures trading or options trading. The leverage is very high. So if you own a house and the house price goes up, your investment increases at a scale much larger than the cost to rent. Quick example with fictitious numbers: I buy a house for 100k, I put 10k down payment, rent would cost me 1k per month. House goes up to 150k value in 5 years. I sell the house and get 40k return on my investment. Rent goes up to 1.5k per month. My net gain is 40k which is 40k / 1.5k = 26 months of rent. Contrast that to renting during the same time period. Great article none-the-less, this is how we should think about housing. “If house prices rise, the value of your house (the hedge) increases but so does the cost of shelter, which you are always going to need. If house prices fall, your home loses value, but the cost of shelter falls.” What exactly does this mean? What cost of shelter, the general cost of shelter? I live in Chicago where purchase prices are dirt cheap, and rent prices are sky high. The United States, as a whole, came out of period were rent was cheap and purchase price was through the roof. The market isn’t working as efficiently as it should because of the meddling by our fearless & too helpful overlords in Washington, among other issues. I feel that in your post there are sweeping generalizations — including the one about the gold hedge — that do not take into account transaction costs or leveraging for that matter. Maybe you were just looking to get stir up a little controversy. If so, I say: well done! I was trying, rather inelegantly, to describe how a hedge works. If you hedge something, the value of your hedge generally moves in the opposite direction to your underlying exposure, creating a net zero effect on your balance sheet. My arguement is a simplification, but I believe that it is a useful one. Notice that I never said that owning was better than renting, or vice versa. Whether one makes more sense than the other will vary with e.g. prices, time, geography (as you correctly observed) and your stage of life. My point was that if you do buy a house, then you should not be super-excited if house prices rise, because even if you sell your house at a higher price you will still need somewhere else to live. Can anyone explain this article to someone who is not an investor? Every single piece of jargon, including “born with a short position” is inscrutable to me, the layman, and I have the feeling there’s valuable information trapped in those words. Try this: – You are always going to need somewhere to live. – Your basic choices are between renting and buying. – If you choose to buy a home, you can think of it as paying a lifetimes’ worth of rent in advance. – That may or may not be a good idea: it will depend on how house prices change, how rents change, transactions costs, if you want to move, etc. It might work out, it might not. – If you do buy a house, then you should not be super-excited if house prices rise. – That is because even if you sell your house at a higher price, you still have to find somewhere to live. – You will either need to buy another house or go back to renting, and the costs of those two are likely to have gone up as well, leaving you no better off. Does that help? My arguement is obviously a simplification, but I believe it is a helpful one. John Galt Inflation tax. You buy a house for $100,000. The dollar inflates by 10%. You sell for $110,000. You now have $10,000 that is taxed as capitol gains. Inflation tax, it’s not just for those with cash assets. Gerry Bamberger Owning a house only hedges you insofar as it neutralizes the costs of housing yourself. In fact, in the real world, homeowners are taxed by government entities as well as monopolistic utilities, and therefore the hedge is a poor one. And it promises to get worse and worse, for all the following reasons: 2. Homeowners are viewed (correctly or otherwise) as wealthier than renters (many of whom are former homeowners) and populist sentiments will favor punishing homeowners to achieve some form of equalization; 3. Apartment complexes are better risk-spreaders and are better equipped than individual, unassociated homeowners to obtain favorable terms from taxing entities and utilities. Jason The size of your natural short position does change over time though. My natural short position was small as a bachelor, larger now that I have a family, and will be smaller when the kids are finally gone. However, when you die – you are no longer in need of housing – so your house becomes an asset at that point. If you can generate income on the house as well as extract value from the home to trade for other needs, such that when you die, the value of the house is now 0 (e.g. you’ve borrowed your equity and spent it), then it has performed just like an asset. I can imagine this is where the idea of reverse mortgages might come in. Is there any way I can buy into some kind of diversified residential housing fund to hedge this short position, rather than have to buy, like, a real house? Ideally it would still correlate well with local housing costs. Terry Omond The short analogy explains why a mortgage on a house you are living in is a poor strategy for wealth creation – a leveraged covered short. However, borrowing against the house you live in to purchase real estate is a leveraged long position, a much better exposure to a rising market. This is cold comfort to those that couldn’t make payments & lost their house early in the downturn. It’s hard to cash in the short unless you exit the market. The death dividend? These market analogies are getting strained. This is an excellent analogy for home ownership. Khan Academy has a couple videos running the numbers on renting vs. owning. A lot of people look at home ownership as an investment; yet, as you mentioned, the actual benefits are garnered from tax deductions and home equity loans rather than checks in the mail (rent). A mea culpa: I should not have said that your house is not an asset. Your house is an asset. My point is that the value of that asset is offset by a corresponding liability (your lifelong requirement for housing) that is not often acknowledged. Ira I remember when someone first explained a hedge to me as investing in futures. If I run a bakery and want to be sure that I can buy flour at a price that I need to make a profit, then I buy futures in flour at the price I need. If I buy a house and know what my annual housing costs are fixed except for re taxes, then I’ve bought futures in housing. A future is a hedge, hence “hedging your bets/” vinocat It’s an interesting way of looking at what housing means, but it’s also a fundamentally wrong analogy, and over-generalizing on a couple of other points. Any time you deploy capital in a way that you can recover some, all, or more than what you put in, that is an investment. Most beginner investors (and non-investors) fail to understand that investments can have a negative ROI, in capital terms; in terms of shelter, however, that is a necessary expense, so you don’t necessarily factor it into the notion of the capital investment’s ROI, but it is a benefit. To illustrate: owning may or may not turn out to have a positive capital ROI, and renting by definition has a negative ROI (-100%); but both have the same nominal shelter benefit. Your most valid point is that one shouldn’t carelessly borrow against one’s home value, lest the value go down, and you wind up underwater (and in a leveraged way). Doing so is the investing equivalent of counting your chickens before they are hatched. But frankly, calling it a short position is pretty misleading, and deeply inaccurate as an investment analogy. A short position in investing is where you sell an asset you don’t own (by borrowing it from somewhere else). For this sale, you *receive* money, which is where the analogy totally fails. Buying a house is buying a house (call it an asset, which is increasing or decreasing in value). If you don’t have the money to buy the house outright, you borrow the *money* (not the house) in the form of a collateralized loan called a mortgage. It’s your name on the deed, and the mortgage lenders claim a lien (but not ownership) on the property in the event you default on the loan. If the house loses value, you still own it, but you also owe the lender the amount you have borrowed. This is the exact opposite of short investing, in which you *want* the value of the asset you shorted to decline, so you can buy it back for less than you short-sold it, and close out your position with a profit. I was taught that you are “short” a market when you will make money/ be better off if the price falls. It is a wider concept than simply selling something you do not own. You do not necessarily have to borrow something you do not own in order to be short: in the futures and fx markets you can instigate a short position without borrowing. In equities, you can purchase a put option to get short. In cash equities you have to borrow stock you don’t own to sell and get short, but that is confusing how you get a short position with what it means to be short. In your final paragraph, you have misunderstood what I said. I did not say that buying a house was equivalent to shorting housing. Buying a house is a way of covering your pre-existing short, not the short itself. vinocat Well, fair enough to define being “short a market” in that way, but by that definition, you are only short in the housing market if you are homeless. And yes, I understand the intricacies of the different ways one can be “short” on an investment or market — I’ve been in and around the financial services world (including investment houses) for many years, and am an active portfolio manager of my own family’s accounts, trading equities, options, commodities and more… If you pay to live somewhere, you are by definition long in that market, not covering a short (in other words, you wouldn’t say you’re short the horse market simply because you don’t own or rent any horses). As a renter, your long (monthly) investment has -100% capital ROI, but you get the benefit of shelter. As a home owner, you have taken a long position as a result of your purchase (regardless of how you got the money to buy the house), and may wind up with a positive, negative or zero capital ROI, and you also get the shelter benefit. If the value of housing goes up, your investment as an owner goes up, not down as with a short position; if home prices go down, your investment declines, plain and simple. I’ll grant that you are inherently short the *benefit* of housing until you cover that benfit shortage by buying or renting someplace. But that is quite different from looking at it as a matter of capital investment. Lastly, one investment industry tenet you didn’t mention is the one that says that nothing matters until a transaction is executed. Until then, all those gains and losses, long and short positions, are just paper (or in one’s mind). This is where people who use(d) their home as an ATM went wrong, thinking that the notional value of their home was as good as gold, when in fact the true value turns out to be the value you receive from a real transaction at a specific time and place. Thanks for the reply. Imagine that you are 18 years old and about to head out in the world on your own. Would you prefer it if house prices and rents were high or low? Generally, such a person would want houses to be cheap and rents to be low. i.e. they would be better off if house prices and rents fall…. which is the definition of being short. It is only once people buy a home that they start thinking they are better off if prices rise. If you buy a house, then you are going long that market, but you cannot forget about your pre-existing short position. Long + short = net flat (in a simplifed model, where you don’t buy a bigger house than you need). Another way to think about it is that your house is an asset, but you have a corresponding liability that offsets it. The difference with the horse market is that I have no long-term need to buy horses, whereas I have a lifelong requirement for shelter. vinocat I suppose you can make the claim that you are short on anything that you *need* but don’t have (as opposed to electively want, like a horse). But I personally see that as a situational observation, not an investment analogy. You have many good and useful points in your original post that could benefit your readers, especially the less savvy ones. Ultimately, I think the analogy you chose undermines the strength of those good points, by being confusing at best (as witnessed by many of the other comments), or indefensible at worst. If you wanted a money analogy/metaphor in there for spice, perhaps you could have titled your post “shelter is a hedge against the elements, and your home is not an ATM”…! Alex “Imagine if a gold producer used the futures market to hedge future production and lock in a sales price. If the gold price fell (not that it ever will, of course. Fiat money and all that), then the producer would have a gain on its hedge. However, that gain would be offset by the fact that they can only sell their production at a lower price.” what do you mean they can only sell their production at a lower price? they hedged their price (i.e. locked in the higher pricer). that’s the whole point of hedging. have i missed smth here? If the gold price falls after they hedge, they will get less for their product in the physical market, but they will make a profit on their short futures position. Net, they will effectively have sold at the higher price. The “Fiat money and all that” was a flippant and sarcastic dig at the “end of the world” crowd.

Adult Silicon Resuscitators We are proud to introduce ourselves as the leading Exporter, Manufacturer, and Supplier of superlative quality Adult Silicon Resuscitators. These are processed by utilizing high grade materials like rubber with modern production techniques which help us to improve the grades of the product. Adult Silicon Resuscitators are suitable for the treatment of the adults who are anesthesia patients. The patrons can purchase the product from us in various specifications and diameter.

Tonight on an all-new Launch My Line, designers are brought to the Citizens of Humanity wash house, the largest in Los Angeles. Merle is already pissed about the upcoming challenge because she thinks denim is for farmers. Then when the designers start working on their outfits, none of them are immune to construction problems. Check out the following previews…

Snooki And Jwoww Snooki and JWoww is an MTV reality series starring Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi and Jennifer "JWoww" Farley. The series is a spin-off from MTV's wildly popular Jersey Shore, where Snooki and JWoww first gained popularity. The first season followed them as roommates, but after Snooki became pregnant, the focus of the series changed to reflect her pregnancy and becoming a new mom.

Chapter 11 – Mr. Clean “Fine! You can touch them!” Sookie finally conceded, hoping it would end this continual perusal of her, or more frustratingly, her chest, which was making her feel things she didn’t want to know she could feel, especially in the chest area. His continued silence only unnerved her further, “One squeeze, Mister. That’s it!” “Very well,” Eric grinned excitedly, his tongue tracing his top lip hungrily, forgetting all about the clusterfuck of traffic they were stuck in and the room full of people awaiting them. “And no kissage after!” “I’ll hold you to that,” he smiled while releasing the buckle of his seat belt, successfully unsettling her even further while he stretched out his entwined hands before him with a crunch, as if in preparation for something far more daunting than a simple fondling of flesh. She breathed heavily, her eyes somewhere between scrunching and closing as his fingers neared, crying out with the suddenness of it all in the next moment. “You purple-eyed piece of shit!” Miraculously her boobs had remained untouched, if you discounted the hold the seat belt already had on her. The rest of her body was a different matter altogether. While Eric was brushing the shattered glass of the windshield from his hair and set to inspect the damage to his favourite girl, the car, her door opened while she remained in a confused haze at the sudden turn of events. “You okay, Babe?” a deep voice asked while all she could do at this point was blink in reply. “Do not fucking touch her or I’ll use that fugly ass hide of yours as the upholstery for my new car!” Eric roared, scaring Sookie with the intensity of it, causing her to whimper and cower towards the other man. “Are you his, Babe?” the subdued voice asked her again, seemingly unimpressed by the testosterone display and successfully keeping Eric from access with his position at her door. There was something so gentle and kind about the shiny bald headed man, she really only was able to focus on one thing at a time as her head seemed to be ringing in a relentless echo from the impact with the dashboard. “Are you?” She shook her head. She wasn’t even quite sure what she was answering or whom, for whatever reason she wanted to call him Mr. Clean. He seemed nice enough though. “Wanna be mine, Gorgeous?” he grinned with a wink. Oh my God, it is Mr. Clean! “He is NOT your boyfriend!” Eric roared with perhaps a little too much vigour, scaring her in the process. “Well, I sure hope it’s not you, Mr. Grumpy!” she yelled back, groaning in pain with the sudden strain. “Fuck!” he growled, falling to his knees and looking her over carefully. “Sookie, what’s my name?” Her eyes searched him warily, “I… I don’t know.” “She needs a hospital, man.” “Shut your face, Captain Obvious! This all your fault,” Eric growled, warning the Were to a safe distance while loosening Sookie’s safety belt. “Can you stand?” he asked in a gentle whisper, aiding her out. “I feel dizzy,” she complained with a whimper. “All these noises, they’re only getting louder in my head. It hurts.” “Come here,” he instructed, pulling her close, remembering the relief he had provided her during Jason’s bachelor party when she’d looked about as haggard as she did now. “Hold me tight.” “OK,” she agreed begrudgingly, at least he seemed to be nice to her now, and the invading noises appeared to magically disappear in his embrace. Mr. Grumpy wasn’t too bad to look at either. “I’m going to fly us out of here, okay?” “Mmmkay,” she murmured, then a mild panic set in, “Wait, fly?” He hovered them slowly above the ground, testing her reaction, assuring he wasn’t adding to her injuries. Instead she cried out in shock, struggling against his hold with the sudden sensation. “What are you?!” “A vampire,” he answered with a grin, proudly flashing his fangs. “Let me go!” she screamed, frightened by the sudden physical change, struggling against him so much he feared she’d fall to the ground if he didn’t let her go and set her back on the ground safely. “Sookie!” he tried, chasing after her as soon as they were down again, her tiny form moving much smoother between the jam packed cars than he could, honking noisily. “You have to go to the hospital!” “He’ll take me,” she whimpered, struggling against the pain of her resurging telepathy, yet unaware of it cause, inching herself closer to Mr. Clean who eagerly encouraged the turn of events with inviting arms. “He’s a fucking tiger!” Eric spat, her face only scrunching up in confusion. “No, he’s not!” she protested, reaching for the clearly human arm, only to be confronted with a whir of growls and snarls in her mind with the barest touch, forcing her to cry out in shock and jump back into the safety of Eric’s arms instead. “Believe me now?” he chuckled, enjoying her eager scramble onto his body, latching on like a leach. “Ready to go?” “You won’t bite me?” “No,” he said with a shake of his head. “Unless you ask.” A small giggle escaped her, “Maybe another time.” Fuck where was this Sookie hiding all along? He briefly wondered how much Dr. Ludwig would charge for a personality transplant, because, well, the Tits of Terror were fabulous after all and those were the type of implants money couldn’t buy. He shifted her, careful not to harm her further and keep her head steady in his hold. Frustratingly, he knew vampire blood was too much of a gamble with brain injuries, more likely to make it worse than better, the legend of Bubba all too fresh in his mind. Not to mention the wrath of Niall, along with the extortionate cost the faery prince would demand for another transgression. He didn’t waste time flying her to the Emergency Room where Dr. Ludwig stood ready and waiting with an eager set of dollar signs in her eyes. “She has no memories,” Eric explained with worry while the little doctor examined her. “She’ll need a scan or two,” she concluded. “Call her great-grandfather.” “I’ll pay,” he insisted. “Get it done NOW!” “This isn’t about money, fanger,” she scowled. “She’s his favourite and I’d like to live another day.” “Fine,” he growled. “Make sure she gets in there before anyone else.” She hopped down off her stool and with a nod, wandered off with more haste than he’d ever seen in the little doctor’s step. “Calm down!” Eric growled, continuing in a clipped tone, “We were in a car accident, not my fault, she doesn’t know who she is. Or who I am for that matter. She needs some scans, Ludwig won’t do them without your permission.” “She’s lucid?” he asked with worry, popping into the room and causing Sookie to cry out with sudden fright again, scrambling into Eric’s side. “Yes,” Eric replied tersely, a soothing arm moving over her back, fucking hell she was naked under that frumpy hospital gown, stupid gown was supposed to be his friend covering all her best bits and keep his mind clear, there wasn’t supposed to be nudity involved, damn it, “Give Ludwig the go ahead.” He nodded immediately, “I’ll find her! How dare she make my great-granddaughter wait!” The doctor shrugged in reply, addressing Eric with amusement over the nickname, “Well, it’s not like the radiation will kill you, I think?” “You think?” he posed dubiously. “Pretty sure, but there’s a first for everything.” “Fine,” Eric replied tersely, Sookie’s worried look making him comply instantly and wonder what was left of his otherwise impeccable survival skills. Death by radiation for a pair of tits, it is. With a big grin, her bed was rolled to the scanning room, and while helping Sookie into the machine, once more at her insistence after being exposed to the attending nurse’s thoughts, he managed to catch a glimpse of her bare behind that he would have to add to his mental map of Sookieland. Well, that was almost worth bursting into a million pieces for from the radiation. Almost. He was beginning to like those hospital gowns more and more. With a grave face he followed her into the control room. Eric couldn’t quite hear their conversation, but he noted with some amusement the nervous sweat present on Ludwig’s brow while watching Niall lose his shit. First time I ever heard the word ‘please’ come from that tiny mouth. He couldn’t wait until Niall sunk his claws in the oversized, purple-eyed pussy next. “Eric?” Sookie whispered. “I’m scared.” “You’ll be fine,” he replied with assurance while the machine started to whir around her. “You’ll be a pain in my ass again before you know it.” She smiled back nervously, exhaling a deep breath and doing her best to stay as still as possible per the doctor’s repeated instructions over the speaker. It went quicker than she expected and before she knew it, Eric was helping her up again, the second sighting of her ass leaving him in pain, indeed. “Thank you,” she spoke softly, placing a soft kiss to his cheek, barely reaching him on her tippy toes. An orderly returned her to the hospital’s best suite available, filled with several bouquets of her favoured daisies where they awaited the news from Niall and Dr. Ludwig. “Don’t worry,” he said when it appeared she’d be chewing her lips off. “They wouldn’t take their time like this if it was really bad.” “What if it’s so bad they don’t know how to tell me?” “Then you don’t know Ludwig,” he grinned with an assurance that, thankfully, seemed to ease the worst of her worry. She shifted to her side, facing him and pulling the hand that rested on the bed towards her, “You have nice hands,” she noted as if seeing them for the first time. “Strong, but gentle.” “Don’t tell anyone,” he winked, a small snort escaping her. “Will you lay with me?” Sookie asked shyly, the nerves escaping her to look him in the eyes, adding lamely, “It doesn’t hurt my head so much when you’re close.” “Very well,” he agreed, toeing off his shoes, taking up the narrow space left on the bed, and repositioning them both carefully, her head cradled against his chest. “But you want to be?” she whispered, her lips suddenly very close to his, her breath heavy and warm. “Wouldn’t object to the thought,” he smiled back. “You’re not really yourself though, are you?” “I don’t care,” Sookie replied, tentatively pressing her lips against his and letting out a whimper of relief when he kissed her back ever so gently, an altogether different sensation to the frantic ones previously shared. Lost in the other for a moment, she couldn’t help but smile when they disengaged. “You can stop pretending now.” “What?” she gasped, her eyes narrowing. “How did you know?” “Got it back just before the scan, didn’t you?” he hazarded correctly. “Knew my name out of nowhere. I believe I was a ‘Mr. Grumpy’ earlier.” “Damn,” she huffed. “Like you like this though, wouldn’t have minded pretending a little longer,” he grinned, caressing her cheek for emphasis. “I won’t stop you if you want to carry on for a few more days. I can be your nurse, give you a sponge bath or two.” “Pervert,” she replied with a poorly contained smile. “Besides, as I recall, you were passed over for Mr. Clean when my brain checked out.” “Mr. Clean?” “Captain Obvious,” she explained, remembering his nickname for the were-tiger. “If you ever cleaned a thing in your life you’d know exactly who Mr. Clean is.” “In that case,” he grinned, making a mental note to research this Mr. Clean, “it’s good to have you back.” “Ms. Stackhouse,” Dr. Ludwig interrupted with a gruff tone, “You should be fine in a few hours, no haemorrhage, no bleeds, just a bump to the head. Your memories should recover soon enough. Your great-grandfather however, is insisting on ten different second opinions, but you have mine.” “Thank you, Doctor,” she smiled. “My memories are back already, though the accident is a little woozy, but I remember everything else.” Dr. Ludwig eyed her curiously, then proceeded to run a series of tests to assess the scope of her brain function. “Can I go home?” Sookie asked impatiently, no matter how nice her hospital room was, she wanted out of there as soon as possible. It was only bearable now due to Eric’s presence. “Ask the Prince,” she huffed. “It’s not like my medical opinion seems to matter to him.” “I’ll tell him you did a good job,” Sookie offered, softening Ludwig’s scowl with a minute increment. “How’s the telepathy?” she asked, resuming her task. “Scrambled, it helps when he’s near.” “Figured as much, all those dead brainwaves, must be a delight,” she mused while making the last of her notes. “The dead have their uses now and then.” “Of course,” she replied evenly, wondering if people would wait that long on him, hours had passed since the accident. “Tell them I’m sorry I couldn’t make it.” He nodded, opening the door only to be replaced by a worried Gran, Godric, Jason, and Pam piling in, not giving her a chance to carry the look of disappointment on her face for long as she put on her best smile to alleviate the worry of her grandmother. “You have a visitor,” Claudine announced cheerfully. “Let them in,” she sighed, the forced enthusiasm with the prospect long lost on her. There wasn’t much variation in her visitors, and they either worried too much about her, Gran, Godric, and Niall, or were completely obsessed with their own lives, Pam, Jason, Claude and Claudette. Eric had been noticeably absent. The grumpybastard. “Hey,” interrupted her thoughts, forcing her to look up quite high into the room at the man carrying a large bouquet of her beloved daisies. Speaking of bastards. “Hi,” she returned shyly. “I wanted to apologise for what happened,” he said gently, his free hand scratching the back of his neck. “Should probably have come sooner.” “You came now,” she said, sitting upright in her sickbed that Niall had insisted on while she insisted, like Dr. Ludwig and the ten other doctors, that she was perfectly fine. “That’s something right?” “Something’s better than nothing, I guess,” he shrugged, taking the seat she gestured at. “How’ve you been?” “Okay, I guess. How’s your car?” “A wreck,” he replied unaffected. “I’ll get a new one.” “And you?” “I heal quick.” “Was it the boyfriend stuff?” she asked with a hint of insecurity, eyes peeking out seductively from beneath her lashes. “Is that what made you stay away? I probably shouldn’t have said anything.” He laughed, easing her nerves, “Hardly, wouldn’t mind being that at all to you. Needed to get my act together first, that’s all. I’m sorry for what happened, that you got hurt.” She smiled, “Well, Mr. Clean, that’s awfully nice of you, but I never did catch your name.” “OUT!” Eric roared in interruption, Claudine hot on his tail, and unsuccessfully deterring him from reaching Sookie’s bedroom in a fit of rage, fangs out, and his hands already around the were-tiger’s throat. “Eric!” Sookie cried out angrily. “LET HIM GO!” “Fine,” he growled, dropping the large hunk of flesh to the floor where it wheezed pathetically. A well-aimed kick to the behind was accompanied with an enunciated, “Now out!” Sookie was out of the bed, face flushed full of anger ready to deliver an aggravated set of pokes to his chest to punctuate her sentences, “Listen to me, Eric Northman! You don’t get to barge in here and commandeer MY guests, especially when I’ve heard hide nor hair from you in days! Then you conveniently show up when someone else comes over here to apologise?!” “Sooki-” “Shhh! I wasn’t done yet,” she replied angrily, turning to Claudine, “Is he OK?” her cousin nodded, easing the were-tiger’s ability to breathe with a soothing touch to his back. “You better have something of importance to tell me because your face is the last one I want to see right now!” “Do not be fooled by Mr. Clean over there,” he growled. “He’s anything but clean. The tiger’s always working an angle, he’s not to be trusted!” “Leave.” “Sookie!” “I said, leave,” she warned. “Don’t make me repeat it a third time.” “I’m sorry, okay,” he whispered, trying desperately to make her follow him to a secluded spot away from her bedroom and out of the were-tiger’s hearing range, which thankfully, she did. “I suddenly smelt him and lost it with the stench, I meant what I said. He’s not to be trusted.” “I’m not an idiot,” she scowled, her voice equally low. “I know he works for de Castro and I know he’s been trying for a hostile takeover here for years.” He could only stare back dumbfounded. “You really have to stop undermining my telepathy.” “You’re helping me? Why?” “We’re family,” she shrugged. “We take care of our own. You were there for me in the hospital, I owe you.” He grinned, “So we’re good?” “Define good?” she returned sceptically, really not in the mood to be felt up in that moment. Her boobs were rather black and blue from the accident and she knew he’d bring it up eventually. Eric Northman never seemed to forget a debt or a promise. “This good,” he whispered, taking her hand in his and brushing her knuckles with his lips, depositing a soft kiss. “Yeah,” Sookie smiled back, failing miserably at staying mad, “We’re good. Now get out of here.” A/N: Feel free to wipe that nervous sweat from your brow, that ‘Oh no, not *bleep*’ moment wasn’t what it appeared to be. I detest the were-tiger so much I a.) won’t even contemplate anyone who says Babe as even a pathetic potential side interest for anyone let alone Sookie and b.) sully my writing with the man’s name, Mr. Clean suits him much better, though Purple-Eyed Pussy has a certain ring to it too… Much thanks to msbuffy as ever! Happy New Year to those just joining back, now I did the writing bit you all do the comment bit! Thank god Mr Clean is gone, I hate the term babe as well. I really like Sookie with no memories, she was here only for a short time. That girl was funny, maybe I liked her with Eric. But then again it wouldn’t be real. Eric should have stopped by more, that rascal. I’m glad they are good. Babe, baby, they both make me cringe but CH really made my skin crawl with ‘Babe’. Ha well Sookie without memories may be funny, she was also a bit of an idiot. Eric was busy… he has things to do, companies to run, you know and it’s not like they’re anything but pains in each other’s asses. That was a close shave! (Apparently closer than the close shave Mr. Clean has) –at least the amnesia was very temporary –and it allowed some of Eric’s shields to fall when he showed that he sincerely cared how she was doing….. Love this smart Sookie! Cracked up about her trying to tricking Eric into thinking she hadn’t gotten her memories back. At least the little time without them got them both to leave their walls behind show some of their true feelings. And a kiss to boot! Glad she is onto to the Purple Eyed Pussy! (I too hate ‘Babe’ and his character) Hoping next update comes quickly! loved the update and how she played him for a while… i think these two will be great friends once they get past all the BS they dish out to one another… yeah Mr Clean needs his clock cleaned and i am sure Sookie has a plan, looking forward to it. KY What friendship is left if they can’t annoy the hell out of each other? It’s their entire purpose of being 😀 Crap I nearly read clock as something else and I couldn’t figure out why you’d want that cleaned on the giant pussy… Oh Sookie, don’t try to bullshit a bullshitter, especially one with a 1000 years of experience at it! I thought they made a lot of good progress here. I’m happy this Sookie is smart and uses her telepathy, especially on douchebags like Quinn!

Principles of Crisis & Disaster Management Course Subject Course ID Course Name Grade Level Homeland Security HS102 Principles of Crisis & Disaster Management College HS102 Principles of Crisis & Disaster Management (3 Credit Hours) This course is designed to enable students to identify and explain the emergency management system and process. Students will recognize preparedness, response and recovery issues and will conduct an in-depth analysis of the All-Hazards Approach and various mitigation techniques. Additionally, students will become NIMS certified in the IS-230.a Fundamentals of Emergency Management FEMA training course.

Q: How to reset the Redux state in all browser sessions (tabs) So lets say a user has multiple tabs open, each would have a its own redux session (state). I am saving user's access token in Redux and Local Storage. Because I dont want to check Local Storage every time if the access token exists in Redux. But on Logout, it deletes from Local Storage and from the current Redux session. But if the user has multiple tabs open, the access token persisted in other tabs until refreshing the page. How can I remove something from all the Redux states in all the different tabs? So that if you logout from one tab, you will be logout from all. A: You can use redux-state-sync https://github.com/AOHUA/redux-state-sync to fix this issue. This broadcasts event which will be caught by other tabs and state will remain same across tabs. See the docs for more details.

January 17, 2012 The Travis Process Learning About You We want to communicate your passion and excitement when we talk to candidates, so we begin by learning about you and your business. During our first meeting, we will meet with you and other key people at your company who will be involved in the recruiting process. Armed with in-depth knowledge your business, we strive to sell opportunities to prospective candidates as well as you would yourself, and to provide deep and meaningful assessment of candidates. Specification Development During the initial meeting we discuss details of the target position and what you are looking for in candidates. We then draft a detailed position description and candidate specification based on your input. We work with you to ensure that key stakeholders at your company agree on the specification before we begin the search. Candidate Recruiting We identify target companies and individuals who may be candidates or sources of candidates. This is accomplished through original research, networking with our contacts, search of our database, and use of other appropriate sources. Our research staff then contacts potential candidates to determine their suitability and interest. It’s important to note that our small size means we can source candidates with a free hand, unconstrained by client blockages, to deliver the best candidates for every job. Interviewing & Assessment The principal interviews qualified and interested candidates by phone, and interviews the best candidates in person. After face-to-face interviews, we present the best candidates as finalists, along with insightful and objective assessment of their strengths and weaknesses in relation to your needs. Referencing We take referencing seriously. We conduct detailed reference checks focused on supervisors, peers and subordinates who have had a meaningful relationship with the candidate. We keep talking to people until we have built a consistent and detailed story of the candidate. The resulting reference report provides the hiring manager with important information on how best to manage the new hire. The Offer We often play an important role in negotiations. The negotiating process may involve a series of sensitive issues including compensation, relocation and details of the assignment. After the Hire We follow up with both client and candidate during the year after completion of the assignment to make sure both parties are satisfied. Contact Us “What differentiates Mike from the average executive recruiter is his effort to understand the role and the company before he starts the search. This gave Mike the insight to represent our company to the talent market that attracted qualified and interested candidates. He did a fantastic job keeping me and our CEO aware of his progress along the way. Most importantly the search was a success.”David Lester VP, Global Human Resources – Taconic Biosciences

Q: Nginx conditional redirect to https I have a situation where although all the traffic should redirect http to https except when the context is /publish http{mydomain.com/*} should force redirect to https{mydomain.com} but not in case if the url is http{mydomain.com/publish}, no redirect needed. Thanks in advance A: The best way to do redirect in nginx is using multiple server{} blocks. You should be fine with something like that: server { server_name mydomain.com; listen 80; location / { return 301 https://$server_name$request_uri; } location /publish { # Here goes your usual request handling, with proxying and so on # Nested location can be used if needed } } server { server_name mydomain.com; listen 443; ssl on; # Here goes all your request handling }

Increased adoption of energy efficient technologies as well as cogeneration and waste heat recovery systems will reduce energy use by an additional 4.7 quadrillion BTUs from business-as-usual. These and other changes (energy changes due fuel switching or transformation in other sectors) can reduce projected primary energy use by 27% in 2050. In Reinventing Fire, non-cropland biomass provides 16 quads of primary energy in 2050. That’s six times today’s biomass consumption and 60% higher than U.S. government projections extrapolated to 2050. There are different types of biofuels as well as processes to create them. RMI analysis uses the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s cellulosic ethanol process from corn stover as the basis for processing biofuels for the transportation sector. Considering budding technologies that could be commercially available in the future, the potential U.S. generation capacity from renewables is overwhelming. Wave and tidal generators, offshore deep-water wind farms, and enhanced geothermal power (which uses the Earth's heat but doesn’t require a natural steam source) are all in development and represent a huge potential energy resource.

The Guardian reported that a panel at the National College of Teaching and Leadership heard that Muslim pupils were told that women who refused to have sex with their husbands would be “smited” and go to hell. Boys were allegedly deliberately not taught how to put on condoms, because "within Islam you only have sex with your wife as a good Muslim that is what you do [sic]". According to witnesses, sex education was only taught within the context of marriage, and school prefects who were party of a so-called “Morality Squad” were instructed to spy on pupils, reporting any who appeared to be in a relationship. Allegedly the punishment for this was a day in the school's isolation unit. Two teachers, Akheel Ahmed, 41, and Inamulhaq Anwar, 34, are accused of trying to force extreme Muslim teaching onto the school’s agenda. Ahmed and Anwar are part of the “Park View Brotherhood”, which was involved in a larger Trojan horse plot to promote conservative Islamic practices within state schools. The Trojan horse saga began with an anonymous letter in early 2014, alleging widespread conspiracy by hardline Muslims. Following lengthy investigations, management changes and rebranding (Park View is now known as Rockwood Academy), the current disciplinary hearings are expected to continue into 2016. Many more teachers will appear before the NCTL panel, including Lindsey Clark, Park View’s former headteacher, who was awarded an OBE for services to education, and Hardeep Saini, who was the school’s executive head at the time the anonymous Trojan horse letter was published. Clark and Saini, neither of whom are Muslim, are accused of allowing other staff members and governors to exert "undue religious influence". Before the scandal, Park View's Ofsted rating was "outstanding". Despite the controversy, the school remains a popular choice, with seven applications received for every available place. The school’s 2014 GCSE results placed it in the national top 10 for value-added improvement.

Penn CS Theory Research Group Welcome Researchers in the University of Pennsylvania's's Department of Computer & Information Science focus on a broad array of research areas in theoretical computer science. The CS Theory Research Group has active projects spanning the domains of algorithms, combinatorial optimization, complexity theory, machine learning, algorithmic game theory, communication complexity, cryptography, and coding theory.

Full-time employment is on the rise in the UK. Photograph: SolStock/Getty Images The pressure on employers to find skilled staff appeared to push up wages by more than expected in November as UK job vacancies reached a new peak. City economists had expected the uncertainty surrounding the Brexit talks to limit wage rises, excluding bonuses, to 2.3%, the same rate as in October, but they increased to 2.4% in the three months to November. The figure rose to 2.5% when bonuses were included. Brexit helped push down living standards in 2017 – experts debate the data Read more Vacancies hit the highest level since comparable records began in 2001, up 60,000 on a year earlier at 810,000. Further indications that the labour market remained in rude health could be found in figures for the total number of people in employment, which hit 32.2 million, the highest on record. The Office for National Statistics also said the employment rate, which measures the proportion of 16- to 64-year-olds in work, reached 75.3%, a figure that was higher than for a year earlier and the joint highest since comparable records began in 1971. On Friday the ONS will publish its first estimate of GDP growth covering the last three months of 2017 and it is likely to show that the buoyant jobs market has helped the UK achieve at least 0.4% growth. Some economists said the Bank of England could react to the expectation that wages growth would jump to between 3% and 4% in 2019 by increasing interest rates several times this year. But pay growth continued to lag behind November’s inflation rate of 3.1%, indicating that Britain’s workforce still lacks the bargaining power to prevent living standards slipping. Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit, said the figures showed the UK labour market displayed signs of strength late last year, with employment rising and pay growth “creeping higher”. He said: “The data corroborates business survey evidence which indicated that the economy maintained a solid pace of expansion towards the end of 2017. Pay growth nevertheless continues to run below inflation, squeezing consumer spending power and dampening households’ views on their financial wellbeing in January. Under such conditions, it seems likely that the recent disappointing consumer spending trend will persist into 2018, restraining economic growth.” Debbie Abrahams, Labour’s shadow work and pensions secretary, said that despite the small increase in wage growth millions of people remain trapped in low pay and insecure work “while the cost of basic essentials soars”. She said: “These figures mask both regional inequalities and the employment gap faced by women, disabled people and BAME groups, who have too often borne the brunt of austerity cuts.” A measure of wages that uses one month’s figures, and not the three-month rolling measure preferred by the ONS, shows that the growth in total wages including bonuses declined in November and October compared with September. The month-on-month figures are notoriously volatile, but they indicate that despite rising vacancy rates, employers are not using higher wages as a recruitment tool. Frances O’Grady, the TUC general secretary, said: “The government must raise the minimum wage to £10 as quickly as possible. And hardworking teachers, midwives and other public servants must get a proper pay rise after years of artificial pay restrictions.” Most of the increase in employment came from a rise in full-time employment at the expense of self-employment. The ONS said 2017 marked a turning point in self-employment, which had risen every year since 2000, as employers sought to put workers on full-time contracts. Self-employment fell slightly to 4.77 million. However, the rise in job recruitment since the summer has not been fuelled by the private sector. In the period from June to September, much of the rise in employment came from a increase in hiring by the public sector and in particular a recruitment drive by the National Health Service. Follow Guardian Business on Twitter at @BusinessDesk, or sign up to the daily Business Today email here.

If you really want to see a good example of the auteur theory and how much difference a director makes, see this. Robert Lorenz (producer and assistant director of many of Eastwood's films for the past decade) directs, using most of Eastwood's regular crew. The difference between this and an Eastwood-directed film: Night and day. Eastwood would've found a way to BS his way though this (not very good) screenplay, and probably would've come up with something fairly enjoyable. As it is, it's an unfocused mess--it's a baseball movie, when it's not Grumpy Old Men, when it's not a father-daughter drama, when it's not a romantic comedy, when it's not the anti-Moneyball--and it never comes together as anything interesting or memorable. There are some good moments, but some truly risible ones as well (where we see a flashback of why Eastwood sent Amy Adams away when she was young.) The real bottom line is that Lorenz just doesn't have the natural filmmaking ability that Eastwood has. You can dislike Eastwood, but I don't think anyone who knows anything about film would argue that he's inept. Lorenz though seems to have no clue where to place his camera at some points--one scene between Eastwood, Timberlake, and Adams at the bar is just ineptly shot, and the way it's edited is beyond jarring. (Same for the scene where Timberlake and Adams are walking down the street on their date.) It's edited by Eastwood's regulars, Cox/Roach, but you never see editing like this in an Eastwood directed film, ever. Editing in Eastwood films isn't exactly invisible, exactly (and isn't meant to be), but it's rhythmic, and there's no rhythm to the way some of these scenes are edited. Just a phony, poorly constructed movie. Eastwood, Adams, and Timberlake are fine. John Goodman is really excellent as a decent guy who tries to do right by everyone in the movie. I think Damien would've really liked that performance. Trouble with the Curve: Film Review10:25 AM PDT 9/16/2012 by Todd McCarthy The old pro scores with another hit right up the middle. Clint Eastwood's first film as an actor for a director other than himself since In the Line of Fire in 1993, Trouble with the Curve is a corny, conventional and quite enjoyable father-daughter reconciliation story set mostly in the minor league baseball world of the South. Playing a sort of PG-13-rated version of his ornery coot in Gran Torino, Eastwood is vastly entertaining as an old-fashioned scout who disdains computers and fancy statistical charts in favor of his own time-tested instincts. Making his directorial debut, Eastwood's longtime producer Rob Lorenz knows just how to pitch the story to take advantage of the humorous side of his star's obstinate crankiness and Amy Adams makes a good match as the career-driven daughter with festering resentments. The Warner Bros. release looks to score well with Eastwood's bedrock Middle American fans, the great majority of whom were likely unphased by Eastwood's co-starring role at the recent Republican convention. As in Gran Torino four years ago, Eastwood does not hesitate to spotlight the debilitations of old age, in fact doing so right off the bat as his Gus Lobel patiently coaxes out a morning piss, struggles with vision problems and stumbles banging into a coffee table at his modest home. A legendary baseball scout responsible for discovering some major stars in his day, Gus is one of the last of the cigar-chompers, a guy who relies on what he sees, hears and intuits but, with just three months left on his contract with the Atlanta Braves, “may be ready for pasture.” Anybody who's seen Moneyball will know which side of the table he sits on. His only kid, conspicuously named Mickey (Amy Adams), is a high-powered young Atlanta lawyer on the verge of becoming a partner at her firm. Still stewing over having been palmed off on relatives when her mother died young so Gus could continued to troll the minors for talent, Mickey has commitment issues with men and the last thing this workaholic could imagine is accompanying her dad through southern backwaters on what could be his final swing. But her old man's pal (John Goodman) talks her into it, suggesting that it could be a last chance to patch things up. First-time screenwriter Randy Brown puts his players on base and then comes through with what feels like a solid hit through the infield that scores a couple of runs. When Mickey joins her dad in North Carolina, their nearly every exchange almost immediately turns into an argument that ends with her stomping out and him telling her to go home. But good sense and some interesting developments keep her around: A former recruit of Gus's, Johnny Flanagan (Justin Timberlake), who made it to the bigs, then threw his arm out and is now a Red Sox scout, starts hound-dogging Mickey. She has great baseball sense herself and, alongside Gus, evaluates the season's top prospect, Bo Gentry (Joe Massingill), a beefy slugger who hits it out nearly every time he comes up to the plate. Filming in a charming old minor league park and peppering the stands with veteran baseball guys provides nice echoes of the game the way it used to be, and it feels good when director Lorenz also brings his star back to the sort of working class settings—Southern honkytonks, pool halls, cheap motels, cut-rate sports facilities—where his characters used to spend a good deal of time. In a modest, appealing way, Trouble with the Curve is another last-stand-of-the-old-timers movie, which might include Gran Torino, Space Cowboys and In the Line of Fire, with Eastwood as actor and sometimes director, in which experience, intuition and character get to carry the day against technology, numbers and other newfangled developments. Even though he's still in the minors, the outsized Gentry amusingly carries on as if he already knows he's the new century's Babe Ruth, refusing to low-five his third base coach when he hits homers and boasting of glories to come. But despite his deteriorating vision, Gus has suspicions, as suggested by the film's title, that Gentry has a fatal weakness. It's a conviction he shares with Mickey, who herself contributes to her father's cause in a surprising, if somewhat far-fetched, way. Having begun with Eastwood as a second assistant director on The Bridges of Madison County in 1995 and working as a producer or executive producer on his films since 2002, Lorenz knows well his collaborator's strengths as an actor and doesn't stray far from the style and tone customary at Malpaso. This is a handsomely directed film; there's a nice crispness to the pacing and images, as Lorenz keeps things moving briskly and has had house cinematographer Tom Stern move away from his recent darker, more subdued look to a brighter, fuller palette, which suits the vibrant characters and settings. Adams scores as the career woman who's a tomboy at heart and discovers some new horizons by breaking with her routine. Timberlake is energetic but too puppy-doggish as her eager suitor; given Johnny's background as a failed would-be baseball player, some shades of regret and disappointment would have deepened characterization. Distinctive character actors such as Goodman, Matthew Lillard, playing a Braves scouting executive contemptuous of Gus's antiquated ways, and Robert Patrick, as the team's hardnosed g.m., are hardly tested but lend weight to the supporting cast. But, of course, the show belongs to Eastwood. In just his third acting gig in a decade, the star has a role not dissimilar to the old crank he played to such great success in Gran Torino and provokes similar laughs with his blunt assessments and pissed-off comments. But despite living alone and his remoteness from his daughter, Gus Lobel is not retired but still engaged in life, carrying on with what he's always done well despite the disparagement of young rivals and the obvious physical encroachments of age. Still physically fit enough to pitch to his daughter for fun (Eastwood reveals himself to be a southpaw on the mound), Gus may be an anachronism but, like the actor who plays, him, he remains a force to contend with. And despite his hard-headedness, he's also able to see that it's never too late to open up to Mickey. His medical issues are unrealistically shoved aside at the end, which might have benefited from a melancholy undercurrent, but the result is satisfying in an old-fashioned way, which also might be part of the point. This doesn't sound like the Oscar vehicle some were touting (and Eastwood's recent political foray was obviously no help in that regard), but it's a likely audience-pleaser. Trouble With the Curve By Justin Chang Playing a somewhat milder, creakier but no less stubborn curmudgeon than he's tackled in recent years, Clint Eastwood makes a trusty one-man mascot for all things old-fashioned and dependable in "Trouble With the Curve." A defiantly analog rejoinder to last year's tech-savvy baseball drama, "Moneyball," Robert Lorenz's square but sturdy directing debut rests on the wonderfully spiky chemistry between Eastwood and Amy Adams as a testy old scout and his equally strong-willed daughter, thrown together on a conventionally well-carpentered journey of reconciliation. Eastwood's recent political kerfuffle notwithstanding, Warners should have little trouble fielding an audience, especially in heartland states. If "Moneyball" wryly observed the rise of sabermetrics as a depersonalized system of player evaluation, then "Trouble With the Curve" pointedly tells the story from the perspective of the old guard, those hardened pros who scorn computer-based mumbo-jumbo to assess things with their own well-trained eyes. One of those insistently old-school types is veteran Atlanta Braves scout Gus Lobel (Eastwood), who's introduced in the bathroom, grumpily dealing with one of old age's many indignities. More inconvenient professionally is Gus' failing eyesight, visualized in blurred p.o.v. shots, and what many around him perceive as a waning sense of judgment. Concerned that the old man may be on his way to retirement, his colleague Pete (John Goodman) asks Gus' daughter, Mickey (Amy Adams), to constructively intervene. A whip-smart attorney about to make partner at her firm, Mickey has some heavy emotional baggage clearly stemming from her strained relationship with her father. Still, feeling a sense of responsibility, she puts a major case on hold and joins Gus on his latest scouting trip to North Carolina, a decision he initially greets with spluttering protests. But as they hang out in the bleachers -- where they're occasionally joined by Johnny (Justin Timberlake), a young Boston Red Sox scout who clearly has a thing for Mickey -- their comfortable old dynamic, itself forged on past daddy-daughter scouting trips like this one, begins to re-emerge. With his familiar rasp and usual array of grunts and scowls directed at the audience with the subtlest of winks, Eastwood strikes a limited but appropriate range of notes. As conceived, the role is a broad and obvious one, as Gus snorts about the "Interweb" and at one point tells someone to "Get outta here before I have a heart attack trying to kill you!" (It's not quite "Get off my lawn," but it'll do.) But it's a part that fits Eastwood, ahem, like a glove, and his performance is sharpened and energized at every step by Adams' engaging turn as a woman who's sympathetic but tough as nails, and just as comfortable shooting pool in a seedy bar as she is dressing down a rival at work. The actors' effortless interplay is full of tetchy, bickersome humor, but also believably steeped in the characters' shared history, the defining incident of which will be unpacked in somewhat heavy-handed flashbacks. Fortunately, the film frequently shifts its focus from Mickey's daddy issues toward her slowly blossoming relationship with Johnny, an expected but winning development that affords no shortage of charming moments between Adams and the ever-appealing Timberlake. Lorenz has served as a producer and/or assistant director on numerous Eastwood-helmed pictures dating back to "The Bridges of Madison County," and the apprenticeship seems to have taught him well. Availing himself of the talents of such seasoned Eastwood collaborators as cinematographer Tom Stern, editors Gary D. Roach and Joel Cox, and production designer James J. Murakami, Lorenz works in the same clean, aesthetically conservative register as his mentor, evincing a style of restrained classicism, no-nonsense craftsmanship and subdued but quietly enveloping emotion. It's an apt approach for the screenplay by Randy Brown (another first-timer), which unapologetically embraces the people, places and traditions that modern society has deemed obsolete and decries the relentless drive to technologize and commodify everything in life, including but not limited to baseball. This is a picture that aims to teach young 'uns a thing or two about respecting their elders, turning off their smartphones and listening to the people around them for a change. The work done by Lorenz and his estimable cast and crew here is solid enough to make the medicine go down smoothly. Harder to accept are some of the overly tidy, black-and-white formulations of the script, which saddles both Gus and Mickey with backstabbing corporate nemeses (Matthew Lillard and James Patrick Freetly, respectively), and conveniently turns minor characters, including a key MLB draft pick (Joe Massingill), into easy villains -- all of whom exist to be taken down a peg as the film moves toward its upbeat conclusion. "Trouble With the Curve" will obviously have particular appeal to baseball fans, as Gus, Mickey and Johnny frequently spout statistics and drop references to everyone from Sandy Koufax to Albert Pujols; the title's literal if not thematic meaning is carefully explicated for the viewer's benefit. Tastefully shot and scored, the picture was lensed primarily in Georgia, with extensive access to Atlanta's Turner Field.

I went back and reread the SLATER SIGNALS from November a year ago. Seems that last year about this time I was writing the sad story of Captain Greg Krawczyk in Korea. Having nothing to do in his spare time, he spent all his idle hours stripping parts off an old Korean APD, the USS CAVALLARO, hauling them back to his apartment, and preparing to ship them to us. Well, a year has come and gone for Greg. Quite happily, I might add, Greg has since gotten married to a fine girl named Lynn. Barry Witte, Joanne and Scott McFadden and I attended their wedding party in the Officer's Club at Newport, Rhode Island. A beautiful affair. Greg, true to form, left the wedding recepti on to hand deliver us a bag of fragile vacuum tubes that he had carried all the way from Korea, for fear of them getting damaged in shipment. We, in turn, gave Greg what every sailor wants most; a set of four navy officer's plates and soup bowls. About the only thing he didn't find on the CAVALLARO. A fair exchange for two tons of DE electrical parts. We're sure Lynn was thrilled with the pattern. The only downside for Greg and Lynn is that Greg still has five months of duty to do in Korea. The time he picked to be there has not been the most relaxed billet of his career. He and Lynn are returning to Korea to his apartment that has been cleaned out of all the ship parts, just in the nick of time I might add. As for the parts, we found that the Government will forward the shipment from Ft. Belvior Virginia to Albany for $430.00. The cheapest rental truck we could find was a minimum of $500.00 not including gas and road expenses. And the best quote we got to motor freight the items up here was $1,500.00. This time somebody negotiated a good government contract. When I told Greg the shipping story at his wedding, his response was, "So, I suppose you want me to pay the $430.00 too?" I had an amazingly uncharacteristic response and said, "Don't worry Greg, we can handle that part." We still have another ton or so of parts in Chin Hae that were flooded out in a typhoon including lighting transformers, a "K" gun roller loader and the whole L.P. air compressor. He's still working on getting this stuff military airlifted from Korea. As for the CAVALLARO, the story isn't so happy for her. After serving the US and Korean Navies for over sixty years, and several years of target service, she was finally put under this fall for good. She will live on in the spirit of the SLATER. The last reunions of the season were the USS MCNULTY and the USS INCH. We were especially honored at the USS MCNULTY reunion when one of her shipmates, Bud Lovett, presented us with a beautiful builders-quality model of the ship. Everyone was surprised when our area Congressman, whose name just happens to be Mike McNulty, showed up at the reunion with his father and spoke at their memorial service. While the Congressman wasn't directly related to the ship's namesake, in talking with members of the McNulty family who were present, they all found out that they were from the same county in Ireland There must be a connection there somewhere. It was suggested that we loan the MCNULTY model to the Congressman to display in his office, and he seemed very excited about the prospect. Our thanks go to Tessa Gillespie and her dad who worked so hard to organize the event. Later that same day USS INCH DE146 crew joined us. On 11 June, the ship, along with sister ships, made a contact and proceeded to attack and destroy U-490. The entire crew of 60 German sailors was rescued by the escorts. Fiete Barhahn, a survivor of U-490, joined INCH's reunion and participated in their Memorial Service. The USS INCH crew happened to get interviewed by a reporter from the Albany Business Review on the economic impact the SLATER is having on our town, so they too played an important role in getting us more recognition. Also thanks to Gina Mintzer from the Convention Bureau for all the kind things she said about us. All in all, it was a good Saturday for the SLATER. We had an emissary from the Naval Historical Center in Washington D.C. visit. Karen French, a uniform curator, was in town for a conference on textile preservation. She spent an afternoon with Pat Perrella sharing advice and was quite impressed with Pat's sense of organization and how well she has set up the museum exhibits. The museum exhibit in C-203L continues to receive more and more artifacts from your destroyer escorts and has become the national center for the preservation of our artifacts and documents. The whaleboat is back aboard for the season. The crew came down on Saturday November 1st to hoist it aboard. The weather was unusually warm and sunnzy. Not like the cold and rain we usually experience on such evolutions. Rocky, Royand Dennis tried a new trick. They hoisted the boat up backwards, so that the starboard side is now facing inboard and will be easier to paint and caulk next spring. This led to a lot of jokes about who doesn't know forward from aft, or, "The whaleboat is okay, the SLATER is backwards!" And then the inevitable confusion on the windlass crew when they said "Hold the stern and raise the bow!" "You mean the whaleboat bow that's facing aft or the stern that is now facing forward?" Anyway, we learn a little every year and this year she came up with a minimum of kibitzing and without any trouble. The cover is on and the engine has been winterized for the season. We pulled the water from the ship, drained the heads and disconnected the shoreline. It's back to bottled water that we haul from home for the coffee and the good old Port-a-Johns for everything else. I guess winter must be just around the corner. The crew continues their familiar cycle of maintenance, repair and hosting visitors. The deck force, Smitty, Chris, Ed, Peter, Erik, Stan and Earl, are finishing up their outside work. They've been chipping, priming and painting under the gun tubs and director tubs to get that last bit of outside work done before it gets too cold to spread paint. Rafael Suarez is back with us and has begun restoration of the bosun's locker with a vengeance. We got all the gear stowed below so he has room to work, and the paint chips have been flying ever since. Shipfitters Doug, Tim, Clark, Gene and Chuck continue work on the chocks and the never ending odd welding jobs that come up for their shipmates. Gunners Dave and Andy are back to chipping in the ordnance shack. Rich Pavlovick has pulled in all the MK14 and three inch gunsights for the winter. Erik Collin has developed an obsession with the depth charge projectors, and is disassembling all the breech mechanisms; getting them in working order and putting them back together so they are "factory new." Electricians Barry, Gary, Mike,Bob, Ken, Don Shattuck and Larry have been working on sound powered phone circuits, fire alarms and the cease fire alarms to the 40mm gun mounts. Larry and Don Bulger have the engine order annunciators working throughout the ship. The Radio guys, Jerry, Don, Stan, Walt, Joe, and Dick are aboard every Monday and Saturday, tweaking their equipment, connecting more antennas, making more contacts and sending out QSL cards. It's very satisfying to work in my office right around the corner from them and hear the chirp of Morse code and the sounds of big band music. Down below the engineers plug along, Larry Lachance and his apprentices getting the fire and bilge pump back together, and Gus Negus maintaining the emergency diesel. And a big thank to all the guides, without whom we couldn't function. We have several new faces aboard who have joined the crew since September. Our intern from last year, David McGarrigle, is back with us for another semester. His expertise is diesel engines, but since none of the other engineers are aboard when he's here, he's become a mainstay on the boat crew, and is getting tired of me saying, "Hey David, why don't you clean out the shop today." MacDonald Smith is retired from AMTRAK, and has joined us as a welder taking his place on the infamous "Chock project." Maybe it will move a little faster now. Mac served out his Navy days as a seaman aboard the EDSON DD946. Texan Les Yarborough started his Navy career as a corpsman. When he got out, he went to veterinary school and then to the Army where he retired as a major. Not having much need for veterinary services aboard, he joined Rafael chipping paint in the bosun's locker. And we have two new interns aboard, Seth Siegel and Guillermo Trujillo. They are aboard Wednesdays and Fridays and have both learned the ropes of being tour guides and have done a great job helping keep the ship clean. The Great Coffee Crisis of 2003 We were approaching a coffee crisis. For the last four years donations of coffee have been so plentiful that we have never had to make a purchase. Dave Floydand Earl Gillette, in particular, have been most generous with their donations of the fuel that keeps the crew running. Now, this may make a lot of people who have been contributing to the coffee fund suspicious, about just where that money has been going. Well, the coffee fund continues to serve as a back up change fund for the gift shop, has paid for the cream, sugar (these guys use a hell of a lot of sugar), the annual volunteer breakfast, and a bunch of small maintenance purchases by the volunteers over the years. We have a bag of receipts to show for it if you ever want to do an audit. But this month we got down to our last five pounds of coffee, and it looked like we were going to finally have to use the coffee fund for it's intended purpose. Just as things were looking desperate, in came Earl Gillette from Connecticut with enough to last us for another month. We'll keep you posted if the crisis develops further. We accomplished a lot this past year. We completely restored forward berthing space A-205L, the upper sonar shack, the sickbay and after officer's stateroom. We repainted the entire superstructure port and starboard, the entire starboard side main deckhouse, and got deck blue nonskid on the whole main deck. We repainted all the three-inch mounts and all three 40mm mounts. The gunners also completely disassembled and restored 20mm mounts 23 and 26. The ship fitters completed installation of the new gangway amidships, the fabrication and installation of the rangefinder platform and rangefinder, and rebuilt three more chocks and the wasted decking underneath them. The engineers replaced the plastic cooling piping on the emergency diesel generator with copper and successfully ran the engine on a six-hour test run. The radio gang restored all the insulators on the superstructure deckhouse and participated in the national emergency response drills. We took delivery of 3,000 pounds of scarce destroyer escort electrical parts salvaged from CAVALLARO in Korea before she was sunk as a target. Shore side, we put the new visitor center into operation for the first year. We completely furnished and equipped it with gift shop shelving and library shelving, installed gutters, put down carpeting, and scrounged furniture. The electricians ran 220 volt power to the trailer, got the heating system restored, wired in the lights, PA system, speakers telephones and two computer work stations, and networked all these systems to the ship. We installed a high-speed Internet hookup to free up our second phone line, stocked the gift shop, and installed the furniture. We built benches, developed a presentation for the classroom and stained the deck. We lifted the old ticket booth onto the deck, and completely rebuilt it as a restroom facility and completed the fresh water and sewerage hookups. And finally we moved our tent to the deck so visitors have a place to wait out of the rain, and the crew has a place to relax out of the sun. This winter we plan to refurbish the mess deck, chipping out the wire ways and lockers that we never got to when we did the initial restoration in 1999. We plan to replace the wasted deck on the reefer decks and continue restoration of that area. We will restore the anchor windlass room and the passageway leading up to it. We also hope to restore the laundry and the chemical warfare locker aft. Other projects include the installation of a grinder pump in the sewerage tank, and continuing to rebuild the wasted chocks on the portside, while we are tied starboard side to the pier in Rensselaer. What this, of course, is leading up to is my "Winter Fund Appeal." This keeps us from eating up our precious savings during that time of the year when we have no ticket income, but are still working hard to keep the restoration going. I went back and read over my previous appeals looking for inspiration. Alas, I found none. What's worse is that I found that every catchy tear-jerking line I had planned to use this year, I had already used in years past. I even bored myself. One might ask how I can keep up this incessant begging year after year? The answer is that I possess those two characteristics that are vital to the director of any not-for profit--a total sense of commitment to the ship, and a total lack of personal dignity. So please give again! This past year we made a total of $270,190 in operating income, grants and contributions. During that same period we spent a total of $274,444. However, during the time we put an additional $89,882 into the endowment fund, making the total endowment donations $476,826. as of October first. I just paid a quarterly insurance bill that was $6,000. Our electric bills average $1,200 and heating oil runs $500 a month, when I let them turn on the heat. So, on behalf of all the volunteers who will be working through the winter, and sitting on that cold Port-a-John seat, if you are in a position to help us out, please send in an extra hundred bucks to the winter fund. If you can afford to send more we certainly appreciate it. If you can only afford to send less, or can't afford to give at all, we appreciate that, too. We are equally devoted to saving the SLATER for all of you, regardless of your ability to contribute. Once again, I missed the mark on being the first contributor, but my hundred bucks has gone to the fund, and we hope yours will, too. Enclosed you'll find a little envelope with a freezing cold sailor on it to help inspire you. Also, if you're not getting this monthly newsletter, SLATER SIGNALS, in the mail, it's available on line at our website at www.ussslater.org. Email me at [email protected] to get on our notification list. If you're not a computer geek, and you want to be on our monthly mailing list, drop me a note with your contribution and we'll be glad to put you on the snail mail list. The last big event of the year will be the Pearl Harbor memorial service scheduled for Sunday December 7th, to begin at 12:45 p.m. so the service will coincide with the time of the actual attack in Hawaii. You are all invited. The following Monday we will pull the gangways and make preparations for getting underway. We hope to move that second week in December depending on the availability of the tugs. Then we'll button up the trailer and pull the camels soon thereafter. We hope the weather is kinder to us this year. It's always kind of a shame. Right now, at the end of the season, the ship looks better than she ever has. The result of a lot of hard work. You can all be proud, because you're a part of it. See you next month. Here is a PDF form for donating to the Winter Fund. Download it, fill it in, make check payable to DEHM and mail it to:

Beaphar Toothbrush and Toothpaste Kit €8.95 Notify me when this product is available: Contains one tube of toothpaste, as well as a toothbrush, to offer cost-effective, easy to use protection for your dog or cats teeth. Early plaque formation must be brushed away in order to prevent bad breath and tooth decay.

[0] BioSequences = "2" FASTX = "1.1.0-1" ["0.2-0.3"] julia = "1.1.0-1" ["0.4-0"] julia = "1"

TensorFlow RNN Regressor model. - - - #### `tf.contrib.learn.TensorFlowRNNRegressor.__init__(rnn_size, cell_type='gru', num_layers=1, input_op_fn=null_input_op_fn, initial_state=None, bidirectional=False, sequence_length=None, attn_length=None, attn_size=None, attn_vec_size=None, n_classes=0, batch_size=32, steps=50, optimizer='Adagrad', learning_rate=0.1, clip_gradients=5.0, continue_training=False, config=None, verbose=1)` {#TensorFlowRNNRegressor.__init__} Initializes a TensorFlowRNNRegressor instance. ##### Args: * <b>`rnn_size`</b>: The size for rnn cell, e.g. size of your word embeddings. * <b>`cell_type`</b>: The type of rnn cell, including rnn, gru, and lstm. * <b>`num_layers`</b>: The number of layers of the rnn model. * <b>`input_op_fn`</b>: Function that will transform the input tensor, such as creating word embeddings, byte list, etc. This takes an argument x for input and returns transformed x. * <b>`bidirectional`</b>: boolean, Whether this is a bidirectional rnn. * <b>`sequence_length`</b>: If sequence_length is provided, dynamic calculation is performed. This saves computational time when unrolling past max sequence length. * <b>`attn_length`</b>: integer, the size of attention vector attached to rnn cells. * <b>`attn_size`</b>: integer, the size of an attention window attached to rnn cells. * <b>`attn_vec_size`</b>: integer, the number of convolutional features calculated on attention state and the size of the hidden layer built from base cell state. * <b>`initial_state`</b>: An initial state for the RNN. This must be a tensor of appropriate type and shape [batch_size x cell.state_size]. * <b>`batch_size`</b>: Mini batch size. * <b>`steps`</b>: Number of steps to run over data. * <b>`optimizer`</b>: Optimizer name (or class), for example "SGD", "Adam", "Adagrad". * <b>`learning_rate`</b>: If this is constant float value, no decay function is used. Instead, a customized decay function can be passed that accepts global_step as parameter and returns a Tensor. e.g. exponential decay function: ````python def exp_decay(global_step): return tf.train.exponential_decay( learning_rate=0.1, global_step, decay_steps=2, decay_rate=0.001) ```` * <b>`continue_training`</b>: when continue_training is True, once initialized model will be continually trained on every call of fit. * <b>`config`</b>: RunConfig object that controls the configurations of the session, e.g. num_cores, gpu_memory_fraction, etc. * <b>`verbose`</b>: Controls the verbosity, possible values: * 0: the algorithm and debug information is muted. * 1: trainer prints the progress. * 2: log device placement is printed. - - - #### `tf.contrib.learn.TensorFlowRNNRegressor.__repr__()` {#TensorFlowRNNRegressor.__repr__} - - - #### `tf.contrib.learn.TensorFlowRNNRegressor.bias_` {#TensorFlowRNNRegressor.bias_} Returns bias of the rnn layer. - - - #### `tf.contrib.learn.TensorFlowRNNRegressor.config` {#TensorFlowRNNRegressor.config} - - - #### `tf.contrib.learn.TensorFlowRNNRegressor.evaluate(x=None, y=None, input_fn=None, feed_fn=None, batch_size=None, steps=None, metrics=None, name=None)` {#TensorFlowRNNRegressor.evaluate} Evaluates given model with provided evaluation data. See superclass Estimator for more details. ##### Args: * <b>`x`</b>: features. * <b>`y`</b>: targets. * <b>`input_fn`</b>: Input function. * <b>`feed_fn`</b>: Function creating a feed dict every time it is called. * <b>`batch_size`</b>: minibatch size to use on the input. * <b>`steps`</b>: Number of steps for which to evaluate model. * <b>`metrics`</b>: Dict of metric ops to run. If None, the default metrics are used. * <b>`name`</b>: Name of the evaluation. ##### Returns: Returns `dict` with evaluation results. - - - #### `tf.contrib.learn.TensorFlowRNNRegressor.export(*args, **kwargs)` {#TensorFlowRNNRegressor.export} Exports inference graph into given dir. (deprecated arguments) SOME ARGUMENTS ARE DEPRECATED. They will be removed after 2016-09-23. Instructions for updating: The signature of the input_fn accepted by export is changing to be consistent with what's used by tf.Learn Estimator's train/evaluate. input_fn (and in most cases, input_feature_key) will become required args, and use_deprecated_input_fn will default to False and be removed altogether. Args: export_dir: A string containing a directory to write the exported graph and checkpoints. input_fn: If `use_deprecated_input_fn` is true, then a function that given `Tensor` of `Example` strings, parses it into features that are then passed to the model. Otherwise, a function that takes no argument and returns a tuple of (features, targets), where features is a dict of string key to `Tensor` and targets is a `Tensor` that's currently not used (and so can be `None`). input_feature_key: Only used if `use_deprecated_input_fn` is false. String key into the features dict returned by `input_fn` that corresponds toa the raw `Example` strings `Tensor` that the exported model will take as input. Can only be `None` if you're using a custom `signature_fn` that does not use the first arg (examples). use_deprecated_input_fn: Determines the signature format of `input_fn`. signature_fn: Function that returns a default signature and a named signature map, given `Tensor` of `Example` strings, `dict` of `Tensor`s for features and `Tensor` or `dict` of `Tensor`s for predictions. prediction_key: The key for a tensor in the `predictions` dict (output from the `model_fn`) to use as the `predictions` input to the `signature_fn`. Optional. If `None`, predictions will pass to `signature_fn` without filtering. default_batch_size: Default batch size of the `Example` placeholder. exports_to_keep: Number of exports to keep. Returns: The string path to the exported directory. NB: this functionality was added ca. 2016/09/25; clients that depend on the return value may need to handle the case where this function returns None because subclasses are not returning a value. - - - #### `tf.contrib.learn.TensorFlowRNNRegressor.fit(x, y, steps=None, monitors=None, logdir=None)` {#TensorFlowRNNRegressor.fit} Neural network model from provided `model_fn` and training data. Note: called first time constructs the graph and initializers variables. Subsequently, it will continue training the same model. This logic follows partial_fit() interface in scikit-learn. To restart learning, create new estimator. ##### Args: * <b>`x`</b>: matrix or tensor of shape [n_samples, n_features...]. Can be iterator that returns arrays of features. The training input samples for fitting the model. * <b>`y`</b>: vector or matrix [n_samples] or [n_samples, n_outputs]. Can be iterator that returns array of targets. The training target values (class labels in classification, real numbers in regression). * <b>`steps`</b>: int, number of steps to train. If None or 0, train for `self.steps`. * <b>`monitors`</b>: List of `BaseMonitor` objects to print training progress and invoke early stopping. * <b>`logdir`</b>: the directory to save the log file that can be used for optional visualization. ##### Returns: Returns self. - - - #### `tf.contrib.learn.TensorFlowRNNRegressor.get_params(deep=True)` {#TensorFlowRNNRegressor.get_params} Get parameters for this estimator. ##### Args: * <b>`deep`</b>: boolean, optional If `True`, will return the parameters for this estimator and contained subobjects that are estimators. ##### Returns: params : mapping of string to any Parameter names mapped to their values. - - - #### `tf.contrib.learn.TensorFlowRNNRegressor.get_tensor(name)` {#TensorFlowRNNRegressor.get_tensor} Returns tensor by name. ##### Args: * <b>`name`</b>: string, name of the tensor. ##### Returns: Tensor. - - - #### `tf.contrib.learn.TensorFlowRNNRegressor.get_variable_names()` {#TensorFlowRNNRegressor.get_variable_names} Returns list of all variable names in this model. ##### Returns: List of names. - - - #### `tf.contrib.learn.TensorFlowRNNRegressor.get_variable_value(name)` {#TensorFlowRNNRegressor.get_variable_value} Returns value of the variable given by name. ##### Args: * <b>`name`</b>: string, name of the tensor. ##### Returns: Numpy array - value of the tensor. - - - #### `tf.contrib.learn.TensorFlowRNNRegressor.model_dir` {#TensorFlowRNNRegressor.model_dir} - - - #### `tf.contrib.learn.TensorFlowRNNRegressor.partial_fit(x, y)` {#TensorFlowRNNRegressor.partial_fit} Incremental fit on a batch of samples. This method is expected to be called several times consecutively on different or the same chunks of the dataset. This either can implement iterative training or out-of-core/online training. This is especially useful when the whole dataset is too big to fit in memory at the same time. Or when model is taking long time to converge, and you want to split up training into subparts. ##### Args: * <b>`x`</b>: matrix or tensor of shape [n_samples, n_features...]. Can be iterator that returns arrays of features. The training input samples for fitting the model. * <b>`y`</b>: vector or matrix [n_samples] or [n_samples, n_outputs]. Can be iterator that returns array of targets. The training target values (class label in classification, real numbers in regression). ##### Returns: Returns self. - - - #### `tf.contrib.learn.TensorFlowRNNRegressor.predict(x, axis=1, batch_size=None)` {#TensorFlowRNNRegressor.predict} Predict class or regression for `x`. For a classification model, the predicted class for each sample in `x` is returned. For a regression model, the predicted value based on `x` is returned. ##### Args: * <b>`x`</b>: array-like matrix, [n_samples, n_features...] or iterator. * <b>`axis`</b>: Which axis to argmax for classification. By default axis 1 (next after batch) is used. Use 2 for sequence predictions. * <b>`batch_size`</b>: If test set is too big, use batch size to split it into mini batches. By default the batch_size member variable is used. ##### Returns: * <b>`y`</b>: array of shape [n_samples]. The predicted classes or predicted value. - - - #### `tf.contrib.learn.TensorFlowRNNRegressor.predict_proba(x, batch_size=None)` {#TensorFlowRNNRegressor.predict_proba} Predict class probability of the input samples `x`. ##### Args: * <b>`x`</b>: array-like matrix, [n_samples, n_features...] or iterator. * <b>`batch_size`</b>: If test set is too big, use batch size to split it into mini batches. By default the batch_size member variable is used. ##### Returns: * <b>`y`</b>: array of shape [n_samples, n_classes]. The predicted probabilities for each class. - - - #### `tf.contrib.learn.TensorFlowRNNRegressor.restore(cls, path, config=None)` {#TensorFlowRNNRegressor.restore} Restores model from give path. ##### Args: * <b>`path`</b>: Path to the checkpoints and other model information. * <b>`config`</b>: RunConfig object that controls the configurations of the session, e.g. num_cores, gpu_memory_fraction, etc. This is allowed to be reconfigured. ##### Returns: Estimator, object of the subclass of TensorFlowEstimator. ##### Raises: * <b>`ValueError`</b>: if `path` does not contain a model definition. - - - #### `tf.contrib.learn.TensorFlowRNNRegressor.save(path)` {#TensorFlowRNNRegressor.save} Saves checkpoints and graph to given path. ##### Args: * <b>`path`</b>: Folder to save model to. - - - #### `tf.contrib.learn.TensorFlowRNNRegressor.set_params(**params)` {#TensorFlowRNNRegressor.set_params} Set the parameters of this estimator. The method works on simple estimators as well as on nested objects (such as pipelines). The former have parameters of the form ``<component>__<parameter>`` so that it's possible to update each component of a nested object. ##### Args: * <b>`**params`</b>: Parameters. ##### Returns: self ##### Raises: * <b>`ValueError`</b>: If params contain invalid names. - - - #### `tf.contrib.learn.TensorFlowRNNRegressor.weights_` {#TensorFlowRNNRegressor.weights_} Returns weights of the rnn layer.

[Clinical and construction of combined fixed and removable prostheses in the lacunar set of teeth]. Decisive for a long-term maintenance of the structure of the oral tissues for the prosthetic providing by combined fixed and removable prosthesises are the preparation of the residual set of teeth according to the therapy, the periodontally supported coupling by suitable connecting elements, and the scaffold construction corresponding to a suitable saddlekinematies. The basis for all that are a rather fixed connection with the residual set of teeth and simultaneously the consideration of perioprosthetic constructive principles. The coupling may be done by casting cramps, telescopes or debris, having a different valency.

2321 (Mention this number should you need to contact us about this logo) Status Sold (This logo has been sold and we cannot resell it to you - and you can't bribe us either!) Title Logo with a Horse and Semi-Circle Tags red blue horses stallion ranch stables head mane Upload Date 2012-02-17 Logo Collection pre-designed-17 Text Description Something caught the attention of this horse. The logo design indicates the horse's attentiveness. The head, neck and back is designed. The ears of the horse are standing upright and turned to the fore. A small portion of its mane is visible.

The IT Salary ‘Wave’: Skills, Salaries, and the Coming Reckoning - nealabq http://switchon.eaton.com/plug/article.aspx/the-it-salary-wave-skills-salaries-and-the-co?utm_source=End_User_Outbrain&utm_medium=Content_Distribuition&utm_campaign=Plug&utm_content=The-IT-Salary-?Wave?-Skills-Salaries-and ====== bencollier49 What a misanalysis! Those "top skills" closely mirror the size of the departments which are hiring for them. Of course "service desk" is in demand, they need a lot of people. Am I going to rush out and brush up on my call handling skills? Nope, I don't want to work on the service desk right now. They could at least have looked at growth trends by area, rather than just size. ------ mathattack It seems strange that they talk about 2.3% raises. 2.3% may be the mean, but it's probably not the median or mode. Very few people actually get 2.3% raises. The good people do a lot better. The less skilled folks get downsized, replaced with cheaper resources and forced to get pay cuts.

Animal collars having expandable and contractable characteristics already known in the prior art. Such collars are commonly made of elastic material which inherently expands and contracts, and in some instances the expansion permits the collar to be slipped over the animal's head without opening the collar. Also, the prior art is aware of elasticized animal collars which have identification tags attached thereto. U.S. Pat. No. 2,810,368 is acknowledged herein as showing an expandable and contractable animal collar. Likewise, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,539,098 and 2,648,150 are acknowledged as showing animal collars with identification tags attached. In the present invention, the animal collar is made of an expandable and contractable material to accommodate the pressures such as those exerted by the neck of the animal wearing the collar or by any object pulling on the collar. However, the free-body configuration of the collar, that is, when there is no force on the collar, is such that the collar will be confortably snug on the neck of the animal even though it can be slipped off over the head of the animal in even unusual circumstances, such as when the collar is inadvertently attached to an object which would otherwise restrain the movement of the animal. That is, if the animal had its collar caught on a fence or on vegetation or the like, then the animal would not be restrained, but instead could actually pull its head out of the collar and release itself without being unduly restrained or injured. Still further, in an example of utilizing the collar for sheep, the growth of wool underneath the collar could cause an ordinary collar to become tight on the sheep's neck. However, in this invention the collar will automatically expand to accommodate the undergrowth of wool and will therefore not choke or otherwise annoy the sheep wearing the collar. Still further, the collar of this invention can be made basically in one size such that the overall circumference of the collar when it is disposed in a circle will accommodate the various neck sizes of animals without actually being too loose or too tight, but instead only always assuming a snug fit on the animal's neck. This objective is achieved through the combined flexibility and elasticity possessed by the collar of this invention. Still further, the collar of this invention is arranged such that an identification tag can be attached to the collar, and, in fact, the tag itself can serve as a fastener for presenting and holding the collar in a restrained circle on the animal's neck. Again, as with sheep or the like, and in the context mentioned above, collars commonly are not used because of the expansion and contraction requirements of the collar, and therefore the animal usually has an identification tag placed on its ear which is therefore pierced. If that ear tag becomes entangled with a foreign object, then the animal is inclined to pull away to a consequence of where the animal injures its own ear where the tag was attached. Other objects and advantages will become apparent upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawings.

DNA Database FAQs Does the DNA collection card need to be dried after sampling and prior to mailing? No, but it must be mailed in the paper envelopes provided. What if the pink sampling area does not change color? Sometimes only a slight color change will occur if the arrestee has a dry mouth but the DNA is still present. If possible, the arrestee can rinse their mouth out with water prior to collection. Why can't I just submit the DNA collection swab? The procedure in place allows the CBI to easily extract DNA directly from the card and to store it at room temperature. Does our agency have to perform the DNA collection at the same time fingerprints are taken? Collecting the DNA at the same time fingerprints are taken in the booking process helps ensure that the DNA was collected from the individual identified on the 10 print card. Why do we have to collect DNA from an individual for convicted offender submission when we know they were collected as an arrestee? Currently, the CBI is not allowed to change arrestee samples to a convicted offender status upon conviction. Because the arrestee law could be challenged and overturned we want to ensure these individual’s DNA profile stays in CODIS. Why does our agency not collect the DNA if we do not upload or mail the arrestee's fingerprints for CCIC entry? If your agency were to collect and submit the DNA sample to the CBI and then take this same arrestee to be booked at a different agency for the same arrest a duplicate DNA submission will be created. This causes confusion if charges are filed because two PCN numbers will reference one arrest. Why do we need to put the barcodes provided in the kit on the 10-print card(s)? These barcodes link the arrestee’s fingerprints with the DNA sample on the FTA card which helps to properly identify them. For agencies that submit inked cards, barcodes must be on all 10-print cards (including those for CCIC entry) because a PCN number is not generated by the submitting agency. Who do we contact to order more arrestee collection kits? Please contact the CBI to order more collection kits. These kits will then be shipped to your agency by the manufacturer, Tri-Tech Forensics. DNA Phone: (303) 463-7128. Email:[email protected] Can we use the convicted offender kits for arrestee collection or vice versa? No, while the DNA collection procedures are similar, the process as a whole is not the same. Also, the arrestee samples will be mailed to our Grand Junction laboratory and cannot be processed until charges are filed. The convicted offender samples are mailed to our Denver laboratory and are processed immediately. What is the lead time for ordering more arrestee collection kits? Please allow at least a two to three week lead time for ordering more kits. If our agency has questions about the statute will the CBI be able to help? We can only help with questions about the DNA collection process but cannot answer any legal questions. Please contact your legal authority regarding any legal concerns you may have.

class Networks(object): def __init__(self, session): super(Networks, self).__init__() self._session = session def getNetwork(self, networkId: str): """ **Return a network** https://developer.cisco.com/meraki/api/#!get-network - networkId (string) """ metadata = { 'tags': ['Networks'], 'operation': 'getNetwork', } resource = f'/networks/{networkId}' return self._session.get(metadata, resource) def updateNetwork(self, networkId: str, **kwargs): """ **Update a network** https://developer.cisco.com/meraki/api/#!update-network - networkId (string) - name (string): The name of the network - timeZone (string): The timezone of the network. For a list of allowed timezones, please see the 'TZ' column in the table in <a target='_blank' href='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tz_database_time_zones'>this article.</a> - tags (string): A space-separated list of tags to be applied to the network - disableMyMerakiCom (boolean): Disables the local device status pages (<a target='_blank' href='http://my.meraki.com/'>my.meraki.com, </a><a target='_blank' href='http://ap.meraki.com/'>ap.meraki.com, </a><a target='_blank' href='http://switch.meraki.com/'>switch.meraki.com, </a><a target='_blank' href='http://wired.meraki.com/'>wired.meraki.com</a>). Optional (defaults to false) - disableRemoteStatusPage (boolean): Disables access to the device status page (<a target='_blank'>http://[device's LAN IP])</a>. Optional. Can only be set if disableMyMerakiCom is set to false - enrollmentString (string): A unique identifier which can be used for device enrollment or easy access through the Meraki SM Registration page or the Self Service Portal. Please note that changing this field may cause existing bookmarks to break. """ kwargs.update(locals()) metadata = { 'tags': ['Networks'], 'operation': 'updateNetwork', } resource = f'/networks/{networkId}' body_params = ['name', 'timeZone', 'tags', 'disableMyMerakiCom', 'disableRemoteStatusPage', 'enrollmentString'] payload = {k.strip(): v for (k, v) in kwargs.items() if k.strip() in body_params} return self._session.put(metadata, resource, payload) def deleteNetwork(self, networkId: str): """ **Delete a network** https://developer.cisco.com/meraki/api/#!delete-network - networkId (string) """ metadata = { 'tags': ['Networks'], 'operation': 'deleteNetwork', } resource = f'/networks/{networkId}' return self._session.delete(metadata, resource) def getNetworkAirMarshal(self, networkId: str, **kwargs): """ **List Air Marshal scan results from a network** https://developer.cisco.com/meraki/api/#!get-network-air-marshal - networkId (string) - t0 (string): The beginning of the timespan for the data. The maximum lookback period is 31 days from today. - timespan (number): The timespan for which the information will be fetched. If specifying timespan, do not specify parameter t0. The value must be in seconds and be less than or equal to 31 days. The default is 7 days. """ kwargs.update(locals()) metadata = { 'tags': ['Networks'], 'operation': 'getNetworkAirMarshal', } resource = f'/networks/{networkId}/airMarshal' query_params = ['t0', 'timespan'] params = {k.strip(): v for (k, v) in kwargs.items() if k.strip() in query_params} return self._session.get(metadata, resource, params) def bindNetwork(self, networkId: str, configTemplateId: str, **kwargs): """ **Bind a network to a template.** https://developer.cisco.com/meraki/api/#!bind-network - networkId (string) - configTemplateId (string): The ID of the template to which the network should be bound. - autoBind (boolean): Optional boolean indicating whether the network's switches should automatically bind to profiles of the same model. Defaults to false if left unspecified. This option only affects switch networks and switch templates. Auto-bind is not valid unless the switch template has at least one profile and has at most one profile per switch model. """ kwargs.update(locals()) metadata = { 'tags': ['Networks'], 'operation': 'bindNetwork', } resource = f'/networks/{networkId}/bind' body_params = ['configTemplateId', 'autoBind'] payload = {k.strip(): v for (k, v) in kwargs.items() if k.strip() in body_params} return self._session.post(metadata, resource, payload) def getNetworkSiteToSiteVpn(self, networkId: str): """ **Return the site-to-site VPN settings of a network. Only valid for MX networks.** https://developer.cisco.com/meraki/api/#!get-network-site-to-site-vpn - networkId (string) """ metadata = { 'tags': ['Networks'], 'operation': 'getNetworkSiteToSiteVpn', } resource = f'/networks/{networkId}/siteToSiteVpn' return self._session.get(metadata, resource) def updateNetworkSiteToSiteVpn(self, networkId: str, mode: str, **kwargs): """ **Update the site-to-site VPN settings of a network. Only valid for MX networks in NAT mode.** https://developer.cisco.com/meraki/api/#!update-network-site-to-site-vpn - networkId (string) - mode (string): The site-to-site VPN mode. Can be one of 'none', 'spoke' or 'hub' - hubs (array): The list of VPN hubs, in order of preference. In spoke mode, at least 1 hub is required. - subnets (array): The list of subnets and their VPN presence. """ kwargs.update(locals()) if 'mode' in kwargs: options = ['none', 'spoke', 'hub'] assert kwargs['mode'] in options, f'''"mode" cannot be "{kwargs['mode']}", & must be set to one of: {options}''' metadata = { 'tags': ['Networks'], 'operation': 'updateNetworkSiteToSiteVpn', } resource = f'/networks/{networkId}/siteToSiteVpn' body_params = ['mode', 'hubs', 'subnets'] payload = {k.strip(): v for (k, v) in kwargs.items() if k.strip() in body_params} return self._session.put(metadata, resource, payload) def splitNetwork(self, networkId: str): """ **Split a combined network into individual networks for each type of device** https://developer.cisco.com/meraki/api/#!split-network - networkId (string) """ metadata = { 'tags': ['Networks'], 'operation': 'splitNetwork', } resource = f'/networks/{networkId}/split' return self._session.post(metadata, resource) def getNetworkTraffic(self, networkId: str, **kwargs): """ ** The traffic analysis data for this network. <a href="https://documentation.meraki.com/MR/Monitoring_and_Reporting/Hostname_Visibility">Traffic Analysis with Hostname Visibility</a> must be enabled on the network. ** https://developer.cisco.com/meraki/api/#!get-network-traffic - networkId (string) - t0 (string): The beginning of the timespan for the data. The maximum lookback period is 30 days from today. - timespan (number): The timespan for which the information will be fetched. If specifying timespan, do not specify parameter t0. The value must be in seconds and be less than or equal to 30 days. - deviceType (string): Filter the data by device type: 'combined', 'wireless', 'switch' or 'appliance'. Defaults to 'combined'. When using 'combined', for each rule the data will come from the device type with the most usage. """ kwargs.update(locals()) if 'deviceType' in kwargs: options = ['combined', 'wireless', 'switch', 'appliance'] assert kwargs['deviceType'] in options, f'''"deviceType" cannot be "{kwargs['deviceType']}", & must be set to one of: {options}''' metadata = { 'tags': ['Networks'], 'operation': 'getNetworkTraffic', } resource = f'/networks/{networkId}/traffic' query_params = ['t0', 'timespan', 'deviceType'] params = {k.strip(): v for (k, v) in kwargs.items() if k.strip() in query_params} return self._session.get(metadata, resource, params) def unbindNetwork(self, networkId: str): """ **Unbind a network from a template.** https://developer.cisco.com/meraki/api/#!unbind-network - networkId (string) """ metadata = { 'tags': ['Networks'], 'operation': 'unbindNetwork', } resource = f'/networks/{networkId}/unbind' return self._session.post(metadata, resource) def getOrganizationNetworks(self, organizationId: str, **kwargs): """ **List the networks in an organization** https://developer.cisco.com/meraki/api/#!get-organization-networks - organizationId (string) - configTemplateId (string): An optional parameter that is the ID of a config template. Will return all networks bound to that template. """ kwargs.update(locals()) metadata = { 'tags': ['Networks'], 'operation': 'getOrganizationNetworks', } resource = f'/organizations/{organizationId}/networks' query_params = ['configTemplateId'] params = {k.strip(): v for (k, v) in kwargs.items() if k.strip() in query_params} return self._session.get(metadata, resource, params) def createOrganizationNetwork(self, organizationId: str, name: str, type: str, **kwargs): """ **Create a network** https://developer.cisco.com/meraki/api/#!create-organization-network - organizationId (string) - name (string): The name of the new network - type (string): The type of the new network. Valid types are wireless, appliance, switch, systemsManager, camera, cellularGateway, or a space-separated list of those for a combined network. - tags (string): A space-separated list of tags to be applied to the network - timeZone (string): The timezone of the network. For a list of allowed timezones, please see the 'TZ' column in the table in <a target='_blank' href='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tz_database_time_zones'>this article.</a> - copyFromNetworkId (string): The ID of the network to copy configuration from. Other provided parameters will override the copied configuration, except type which must match this network's type exactly. - disableMyMerakiCom (boolean): Disables the local device status pages (<a target='_blank' href='http://my.meraki.com/'>my.meraki.com, </a><a target='_blank' href='http://ap.meraki.com/'>ap.meraki.com, </a><a target='_blank' href='http://switch.meraki.com/'>switch.meraki.com, </a><a target='_blank' href='http://wired.meraki.com/'>wired.meraki.com</a>). Optional (defaults to false) - disableRemoteStatusPage (boolean): Disables access to the device status page (<a target='_blank'>http://[device's LAN IP])</a>. Optional. Can only be set if disableMyMerakiCom is set to false """ kwargs.update(locals()) metadata = { 'tags': ['Networks'], 'operation': 'createOrganizationNetwork', } resource = f'/organizations/{organizationId}/networks' body_params = ['name', 'type', 'tags', 'timeZone', 'copyFromNetworkId', 'disableMyMerakiCom', 'disableRemoteStatusPage'] payload = {k.strip(): v for (k, v) in kwargs.items() if k.strip() in body_params} return self._session.post(metadata, resource, payload) def combineOrganizationNetworks(self, organizationId: str, name: str, networkIds: list, **kwargs): """ **Combine multiple networks into a single network** https://developer.cisco.com/meraki/api/#!combine-organization-networks - organizationId (string) - name (string): The name of the combined network - networkIds (array): A list of the network IDs that will be combined. If an ID of a combined network is included in this list, the other networks in the list will be grouped into that network - enrollmentString (string): A unique identifier which can be used for device enrollment or easy access through the Meraki SM Registration page or the Self Service Portal. Please note that changing this field may cause existing bookmarks to break. All networks that are part of this combined network will have their enrollment string appended by '-network_type'. If left empty, all exisitng enrollment strings will be deleted. """ kwargs.update(locals()) metadata = { 'tags': ['Networks'], 'operation': 'combineOrganizationNetworks', } resource = f'/organizations/{organizationId}/networks/combine' body_params = ['name', 'networkIds', 'enrollmentString'] payload = {k.strip(): v for (k, v) in kwargs.items() if k.strip() in body_params} return self._session.post(metadata, resource, payload)

2014 NFL Draft Re-Draft Part 3 If you’ve read the first two parts of my 2014 NFL Draft Do-Over and have thought to yourself, “With all these references to string theory and parallel universes, Adam, is there any way you could write about your improved picks from three drafts ago in a nerdier way?” Oh. Oh yeah. In the second season episode of Star Trek the Original Series entitled, “Mirror, Mirror.,” a transporter malfunction sends Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott, Communications officer Nyota Uhura, Chief Medical Officer Doctor Leonard “Bones” McCoy and Captain James Tiberius Kirk to a parallel universe where the United Federation of Planets has been replaced by the evil Terran Empire. Needless to say, Kirk, Bones and the gang figure out their predicament from the beginning and work to get back to their original timeline and escape the madcap insanity that was the Mirror Universe. Sulu had a scar, for God’s sake! Spock, a goatee! Kirk, a serious girlfriend! It was madness. Hopefully my new, improved 2014 draft and peak into an alternate universe butting up against ours isn’t quite so jarring. You can check out part one by clicking here. Read part two by clicking here. Fun fact: The Mirror Universe with Goateed Spock and the Evil Terran Empire would show up again in the Star Trek mythos about 30 years later. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine set five episodes in that same Mirror Universe and Star Trek Enterprise had probably two of its best episodes showing how the Terran Empire got so far ahead of every other warp enabled civilization and took over the Alpha Quadrant of the Milky Way Galaxy (that’s where we live). And this will blow your mind. The current Star Trek movies since the 2009 J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek starring Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto all take place in yet another alternate universe. The Giants take a hit in the worst way, losing the NFL’s best wide receiver and one of its most marketable stars in Beckham Jr. It didn’t change the need for New York and Benjamin fits the bill over Sammy Watkins, Jarvis Landry and a few other legitimately fantastic receivers nabbed in this draft. He gives Eli Manning the big outside target he needs. Benjamin obviously doesn’t have the super human athleticism OBJ has, but he’s knows how to use his body, especially when he has his weight in the correct range. In his two healthy years, he’s caught a combined 1,949 yards worth of passes, has 263 catches and has scored 16 touchdowns. The Rams absolutely stole Aaron Donald at this spot in 2014. But he’s off the board and long gone. Los Angeles (then St. Louis) got a nice selection at No. 2 in Clowney, but picking Jake Matthews here fixes the biggest problem in that original Rams draft; Greg Robinson. While Matthews has had his issues at left tackle, he’s an NFL starter and potential star. He’s just now entering his fourth season in what will likely be a 15-year-plus career. Only now, four seasons later, did the Rams actually fix their problem at left tackle by signing Andrew Whitworth. Matthews will only get better for the Falcons and has already been a key contributor in a Super Bowl run. Fuller was not a bad pick here at all and actually came into the league on fire. He started every game he was healthy but two, but missed all last season with a knee injury. Fuller should be back to full strength this season, even though the Bears have signed plenty of insurance at his position. The reason I made the switch here is the Bears had quality corners in 2014. What the didn’t have was a legitimate middle linebacker. They had brought in D.J. Johnson from the Denver Broncos the year before to replace Brian Urlacher and the guy couldn’t stay healthy. It took another two years and a coaching chance for Chicago to field solid interior linebackers with free agents Danny Trevaithan and Jerrell Freeman. Mosley gives them a day one star and tackle machine from the minute he steps on the field. When the Ravens drafted him, they wanted a Ray Lewis replacement and while that might seem a lofty goal, Mosley might be on his way. He has 360 tackles, three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, 23 passes defended and six interceptions in his first three seasons. Back when I ran this mock draft in 2014, I actually made this pick for the Steelers, Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix. They ignored me then and went with Shazier. Shazier has been a star for Pittsburgh when he’s on the field and is, legitimately, one of the fastest players in the NFL. But he also gets hurt a lot. Shazier has missed seven games over the last two seasons and only played in nine as a rookie. Clinton-Dix should have been their pick then because they were losing Troy Polamalu at the end of the 2014 season and that left a gaping hole at safety the team has yet to satisfactorily fill. Right now they’ll probably be starting Mike Mitchell, who they brought in as a free agent in 2014 and last year’s second round pick Sean Davis, who honestly could turn into a real star eventually. But Clinton-Dix has blown past all of them to become one of the best safeties in the game. In three years he has 284 tackles, 4.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, 19 passes defended and eight interceptions. They should have listened to me. To be continued in Part 4. To make a wager on any sport, go to the world famous Diamond Sportsbook by clicking here. Summary Event ​2014 NFL Draft Description If you've read the first two parts of my 2014 NFL Draft Do-Over and have thought to yourself, "With all these references to string theory and parallel universes, Adam, is there any way you could write about your improved picks from three drafts ago in a nerdier way?" Check Also Somewhere lost in the euphoria of the New England Patriots being denied another Vince Lombardi Trophy, the news that the Washington Redskins were considering using the franchise tag on Kirk Cousins even after trading for Alex Smith and signing him to a four-year extension didn't get a lot of play. Never has taking a loss in my straight up picks felt so good. I woke up this morning with a spring in my step. The air never smelled so sweet. The New England Patriots fell to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII and all is right with the world.

We are always ordering at NY pizza since a year almost every week. However since the last month every order was delivered with delays and with mistakes (not the right pizza). We had to call multiple times to get finally a pizza after more than an hour.

Below is the most recent list of political and “security risk” prisoners in Gohardasht which was obtained through a confidential and reliable source in Iran. Many of the prisoners named above are “forgotten” and lesser known prisoners who have been in the Islamic Regime Prisons for many year and have lengthy prison sentenced due to their political activities. Gohardasht (Rajaishahr) Prison which is located in Karaj is one of the worst prisons for political prisoners as it is a facility which houses extremely dangerous offenders who have been convicted of serious criminal offences such as murder and drug trafficking. In many instances political prisoners are put into same sections and same cells as individuals who have been convicted of serious criminal offences and risk being assaulted and abused by these convicted criminals. Gohardasht Prison also has a notorious torture section also called Section 1, “the dog house” and “the end of the road” where prisoners are tortured on a regular and systematic basis with electric batons, prisoners are handcuffed at all times while in their cells and are only allowed to use the washroom facilities 3 times a day. They are allowed to bathe once every few weeks, and the quality of food is much worse than the rest of the prison. Prisoners are given enough food just to survive and are not allowed any medical treatment or any medication while in Section 1 of the Prison. It must be noted that the conditions in other parts of Gohardasht is not much better, and according to news received from confidential and reliable sources the water at the prison has been shut down for the past 3 days. Prior to that the water used by the prisoners for drinking, bathing and cooking was contaminated which has caused infections and various other illnesses among the prisoners. The medical clinic in the prison has refused to treat the prisoners or give them the necessary medications to treat their infections and other illnesses. List of Political and “Security Risk” Prisoners currently in Gohardasht Prison (This is not a complete list and the names of other prisoners will be added as they are received) 1. Mr. Ali Saremi- Sentenced to death- has been in prison for more than 3 years 2. Mr. Mansour Radpour- Sentenced to 8 years of imprisonment- has been in prison for more than 3 years. 3. Mr. Ali Mansouri- sentenced to 17 years of imprisonment- has been in prison for more than 3 years. 4. Mr. Sadegh Kohandel- sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment- has been in prison for more than 4 years. 5. Mr. Saeed Masouri- sentenced to life in prison- has been in prison for more than 8 years 6. Mr. Hod Yazarlou- sentenced to 3 years of imprisonment- has been in prison for 3 years 7. Mr. Misagh Yazdan-Nejad- sentenced to 13 years of imprisonment- has been in prison for more than 2 years. 8. Mr. Ali Moezi- sentenced to 3 years of imprisonment-has been in prison for one year 9. Mr. Afshin Beymani-sentenced to life imprisonment- 10. Mr. Reza Joshan-His current situation is unknown, has not received his sentence. 11. Mr. Karim Merfazez- sentenced to life imprisonment 12. Mr. Mehdi Fetrat- his case has not been dealt with- has not been sentenced 13. Mr. Mansour Osanlou- sentenced to 5 years of imprisonment 14. Mr. Arjang Davoudi 15. Mr. Alireza Karimi Kheyrabadi 16. Mr. Behrouz Javid Tehrani- has been sentenced to 7 years of imprisonment 17. Ms. Kobra Banazadeh- sentenced to 5 years of imprisonment 18. Ms. Zahra Joshan- her case has not been dealt with, the status of her case is unknown 19. Mr. Naser Yousefi-has been sentenced to 6 years of imprisonment 20. Mr. Hashem Shahin Niya- sentenced to 7 years of imprisonment 21. Mr. Saeed Sahghalei- sentenced to life in prison 22. Mr. Khaled Hardani-sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment, has never been able to benefit from prison leave which is given to some prisoners, is not given permission to go to a hospital for treatment, even though the prison doctor has written to the prison officials stating Mr. Hardani must go to the hospital for treatment. 23. Mr. Farhang Pourmansouri- sentenced to life in prison 24. Mr. Shahram pour mansouri- sentenced to life in prison 25. Mr. Masoud Bastanei 26. Mr. Ahmad Zeydabadi Down with the Islamic Regime in IranLong Live Freedom in Iran 0 Comments: About This Writer Sayeh Hassan is a criminal defense lawyer with Walter Fox & Associates and an Iranian Pro-Democracy activist. She is the author of the shiro-khorshid-forever blog (www.shiro-khorshid-forever.blogspot.com) which focuses on the pro-democracy movement and Regime Change in Iran. Through her pro-democracy activities she stays in close contact with activists in Iran as well as retaining contacts with various human rights and pro-democracy organizations abroad. She regularly speaks at conferences, has appeared on television and radio programs and her writing has been published by publications such as National Post, Toronto Star & Ottawa Citizen. She can be contacted at [email protected]

David Casale of clean tech-focused merchant bank Turquoise International argues that solar power could revolutionise the global energy market With PV prices falling, efficiencies increasing and global installations doubling in volume every year, has a clear winner emerged in the race to find an economic low carbon energy source for the next 100 years? Whilst recent statistics released by the International Energy Agency have stated that renewable power has reached nearly 15 per cent of worldwide energy generation include traditional hydroelectric generation they hide the true scale of the dash for solar. Combine this with international targets in 66 countries to substitute more than a quarter of non-renewable global energy consumption before 2020 and we see that solar is at the start of what could become a very material and disruptive run for everyone else. The revolution is coming Over the past decade, the global impact of solar power has increased dramatically. Although previously considered a minority solution due to its perceived high costs and intermittent production capabilities, ongoing research and technological development has seemingly turned such preconceptions upside-down. The latest research from America, for example, has identified a notable fall in installation prices. Homeowners are now, on average, paying 80 per cent less for the installation of PV panels, compared to the same period in 2008. With every set-up generating significant long-term returns and typically taking less than a day to fully install, the technology has not only changed the way in which we view environmental alternatives, but also provided a cost-effective tactic to minimise reliance on mains supply. But it's not just consumers who are seeing the light. Earlier this year, Wal-Mart announced a group-wide eco initiative to substitute its entire energy consumption with renewable alternatives before 2020. Partner this with the announcement of similar strategies by almost every single top 50 global company and we start to see the enormous impact solar is making worldwide. The facts are simple. Solar is sexy, straightforward and delivers superb results. What's more, it's getting cheaper than, for example, nuclear power, it's far quicker to build than any other energy technology, the public like it and, best of all, it's fuel is delivered at home reliably and completely free! Solar seems to tick all the boxes and, for that reason, is taking the global energy market by storm. Innovative influence For the first time in solar's history, the technology is quickly overtaking more traditional reserves as an effective and sustainable global resource. In some markets, the renewable alternative is surpassing fossil fuels and can account for more than half of consumption. Germany, for example, has already installed more than 35GW of solar in the past 10 years, while the US and UK are each targeting significant consumption goals before 2020. Notoriously sunny countries, like Saudi Arabia, are taking the benefits even further, using the technology as an economic driver - creating a significant volume of new jobs in the sector and using the free power alternative to preserve oil for export. Storage companies, like Isentropic and Moixa in the UK, are driving innovation to meet this trend, developing ingenious ways to store solar at scale and in the home. Although some way off domestic use, considerable R&D into further developing technologies has already shown massive breakthroughs and many storage prototypes are already being trialled in large commercial solar sites. It seems, therefore, that solar is racing ahead - overtaking traditional resources and changing the face of the energy market. However, a few hurdles remain before the renewable resource can cross the finish line. A thorn in the side Whilst in sunnier climates and where no grid currently exists the economics are competitive without subsidy, to encourage the uptake of renewable technologies in North West Europe, many countries have introduced subsidy initiatives to sweeten the deal of switching to solar. These financial incentives counterbalance the initially high installation costs and provide ongoing motivation to maintain a high-volume of self-generated energy. In the UK, for example, homeowners and businesses can benefit from the Feed-In Tariff (FIT), Green Deal and Renewable Heating Incentive (RHI) to name but a few. These financial support programmes provide a cost-effective way to switch to green alternatives, as well as providing ongoing return for generating renewable energy. However, despite the promises of ongoing support and continued financial backing, falling installation costs have made home generation more cost-effective than ever before. Many countries, therefore, are now debating the requirement for these programmes and looking to reduce or disband subsidies going forwards. In practice, this could make little overall financial difference, as the cost of solar panels continues to drop; however, a loss of incentives has the potential to dampen the current demand for installing eco-solutions. There is a significant challenge therefore, not only to maintain the momentum of solar, but also to retain demand through an uncertain period of change in the energy sector. How does solar slot in to the future? Despite a few small barriers on the solar horizon, its influence is reaching far beyond the panels installed to date. The technology is being deployed at rates faster than any other renewable technology and in many cases being used in preference to more traditional resources. In Europe, the balance sheets of the major utilities are decimated and fossil plants are becoming obsolete. Utilities will also find their cost of capital increasing as they no longer own the demand increase from consumers. Home generators look like highly efficient users to a traditional utility. Although subsidies may not last forever, the cost of panels will fall further as manufacturing capacity increases and economies of scale take further effect. Customers left out of the energy market by tired and grey utilities born in an age of coal and pylons will emerge as self-generators lowering carbon emissions by 80 per cent - proud and engaged advocates of new companies, rather than neglected customers of the big six. The stage is therefore set for the continued march of solar and the emergence of effective storage technologies to revolutionise the way energy is used, generated, owned and distributed. In short, the race isn't won, but there is a horse coming up fast on the rails and it looks set for a very strong finish. David Casale is a chartered engineer and director at London-based Cleantech merchant bank Turquoise International, which specialises in energy and the environment

Hotel Details Property LocationLocated in Madikeri, Leisure Vacations Woodstock Villa is convenient to Gaddige - Raja's Tomb and Madikeri Fort. This hotel is within the region of Raja's Seat and Abbey Falls. RoomsMake yourself at home in one of the 12 guestrooms featuring minibars and LCD televisions. Bathrooms have showers and hair dryers. Conveniences include phones, as well as safes and coffee/tea makers. AmenitiesMake use of convenient amenities, which include wireless Internet access (surcharge) and tour/ticket assistance. You must present a photo ID when checking in. Your credit card is charged at the time you book. Bed type and smoking preferences are not guaranteed.Your reservation is prepaid and is guaranteed for late arrival. The total charge includes all room charges and taxes, as well as fees for access and booking. Any incidental charges such as parking, phone calls, and room service will be handled directly between you and the property. Laundry Dry cleaning service Note: It is the responsibility of the hotel chain and/or the individual property to ensure the accuracy of the photos displayed. Getaroom.com is not responsible for any inaccuracies in the photos. The room rates listed are for double occupancy per room unless otherwise stated and exclude tax recovery charges and service fees.

Men\'s health as an issue warranting specific attention has begun to attract more notice as growing evidence emerges of differential epidemiological trends between men and women ([@B1]), particularly with respect to men\'s premature mortality from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and morbidity linked to poor health-seeking behaviors, mental health and violence, including homicide and injuries. In almost every country of the world, men are more likely than women to die before age 70 ([@B2]--[@B4]), and data from the World Health Organization (WHO) ([@B5]) suggest that approximately 52% of all NCD deaths worldwide occurred among men. Across the life course, mortality is higher in men than in women, and overall life expectancy for men is universally shorter. Compared with women, men have a mortality rate 4 times greater due to external causes and a 7 times greater risk of dying from homicide. The probability of men dying from cardiac ischemic diseases is 75% higher compared with women. Furthermore, 36% of deaths in men are preventable, compared with 19% in women. Unhealthy diet and lifestyles, tobacco use, and harmful use of alcohol are well known to be the major risk factors for NCDs ([@B5]), and underutilization of primary health care services by men has been identified as a problem in many countries around the world. The reasons why these risk factors disproportionately affect men are often related to the ways in which society educates us to understand our identities and roles as men and women -- whether in relation to family responsibilities, working life, leisure time activities, or the need to access health services ([@B6]). In other words, men\'s risk-taking behaviors and their underutilization of health services are strongly linked to gender differences and predominant norms of masculinity -- what it means to be a "man." Across the life course, the way men learn to think about and project an image of themselves is often an inextricable part of the explanations of men\'s premature death due to stress and unhealthy behaviors such as reckless driving, alcohol consumption, and drug abuse as well as risky sexual behaviors, high-risk sports and leisure activities ([@B7]). These gender norms vary according to social and cultural contexts but are often consistent across countries in terms of health behaviors ([@B8]). Socioeconomic inequities also play a role in determining how these norms affect health, as beliefs and expectations about men\'s behavior -- for example, that men should be the sole provider of family income -- can become risk factors when exacerbated by lack of economic opportunities and social marginalization, thereby contributing to men\'s poor health behaviors and high rates of morbidity from preventable diseases, particularly suicide ([@B9]). To date, little systematic research has examined the relationship between masculinity and men\'s health ([@B10]). While some studies have focused on the hazardous influences of male behavior, many of these have been criticized for seeming to assume that women and men have innate psychological traits and needs governing their behavior ([@B11]). Gender analyses of health have examined the ways in which social constructions of gender identity affect health. However, such studies have tended to focus on the negative effects of gender inequalities and "toxic masculinities" on women and their health ([@B12]) and the need to empower women in order to guarantee their right to health. Much less attention has been paid to the relationship between the gendered nature of men\'s identities and aspects of men\'s ill health. More gender-sensitive health research and practice, along with integrated approaches, are urgently needed to better understand the relationship between masculinities and different aspects of men\'s health ([@B13]). This improved knowledge base could help health policy makers and practitioners to address some of the health-related beliefs and behaviors and work with men to improve their health to accelerate progress toward universal health. Promoting a more diverse understanding of what it is to be a man and addressing how these beliefs influence health can also address the often negative relationship between masculinity and other structural drivers of health -- such as ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, income, etc. Such efforts clearly have benefits for men\'s health and well-being but also contribute to gender equality and women\'s empowerment, as combatting "toxic masculinities" is likely to reduce various forms of violence, STIs, unwanted pregnancies, absent fatherhood, and lack of shared unpaid caring responsibilities ([@B14]). In these and other ways, increased attention to the issue of masculinities and men\'s health could potentially contribute to a number of Sustainable Development Goals, including those related to NCDs, gender inequality, and reducing inequalities in physical and mental health and well-being. For the Pan American Health Organization, addressing masculinity and men' s health is a priority to advance universal health and the gender equality agenda. We at PAHO are convinced that efforts to improve public health must include attention to both men\'s and women\'s health, reducing gender inequality, and improving well-being across the life course ([@B15]). The articles in this special issue of the *Pan American Journal of Public Health* provide valuable evidence to inform health policies in the Region that will support this transformative agenda for gender equality and universal health going forward. **Suggested citation** Etienne CF. Addressing masculinity and men\'s health to advance universal health and gender equality Rev Panam Salud Publica. 2018;42:e196. <https://doi.org/10.26633/RPSP.2018.196>

Girl In The Mirror – The Anushka Knitted Boot Since taking the rather large step to introduce more fashion onto Anoushka Loves, I have become a woman obsessed. I’ve always taken a keen interest in fashion and prefer to pick up key pieces to introduce into my rather neutral based wardrobe, with classic shapes and basics that will last for seasons. As fashion changes so quickly, it’s sometimes hard to keep up with trends, so being selective with fashion does have it’s advantages. I’m more of a seasonal shopper, and tend to choose things ready for the weather changes, although I have to take into consideration that I may need floaty beach kaftans in December for work, and a thick winter coat for when I land home. Lately, I’ve started to update my shoe wardrobe, and selecting pieces that will take me from this late Indian Summer that we are expecting, into Autumn and the early stages of winter. Keeping fast fashion in mind, the Anushka knitted boot from Ego Official was chosen not just for the name, but for their ease of transitioning throughout the seasons. With the weather being a rather tropical 20 degrees recently and expected to hit the mid twenties (we are so lucky), it’s been quite nice to wear outfits without having to think about the need for an umbrella. A classic black jersey midi dress was my choice of the day. Not too tight fitting, with room to move around, and although plain and simple in style, it can be dressed up or down. Teaming the dress with my favourite denim jacket, which I’ve had for an age, I feel smart yet not over dressed and prepared for the British weather. Keeping my jewellery simple, I’ve worn a DanFrank Jewellery original beaded necklace with tassel detail and a ChloBo Hamsa Hand Rose Gold Bracelet. The Hamsa Hand is a protective sign and symbolises happiness, luck, health and happiness. I’ll be wearing this every day as it’s just what I need right now. As this is my first ChloBo bracelet, I am really looking forward to adding to my collection and wearing these as stackable bracelets, with each charm representing something important in my life. Onto the boots. Oh, I adore these boots so much. Knitted, beige and with a high heel, they aren’t for someone who shies away from wearing heels. The Ego Official Anushka Knitted Boot is gorgeous and versatile. The heel is around 5 inches, and with no platform on the shoe, I was expecting some discomfort when walking, yet there was none. As the material of the boot sits snugly around the foot, it holds the foot in place with no sliding around inside the shoe. They’re actually one of the most comfortable pairs of shoes, aside from my slippers, that I’ve owned. The mid calf length did give me cause for concern with my muscular calves causing issues when it comes to boots, but I had no need to worry. With the colour and the shape of the boot, I found them to be really flattering on my leg, as well as making my legs look even longer. Although I’ve worn them with a midi dress to show them off today, they also look great with leggings and an oversized t.shirt, as well as an ultra glam LBD. I’m really looking forward to bringing my wardrobe into the Autumn season. What key pieces will you be looking for to update your wardrobe?

This fan-made Leica instant camera is the best of all worlds It isn’t quite like Leica to foray into instant-cameras. It doesn’t coincide with their philosophy of producing only the finest, most premium cameras ever, backed by superior lensmaking and finesse, all bound together in a beautifully minimal packaging. An instant camera doesn’t fall within those parameters. They’re meant for instant gratification, for capturing images that are often filtered/distorted for flair, and aren’t high-resolution, given that they’re developed on a tiny canvas and subsequently forgotten about. It is, however, a designer’s job to explore uncharted territories, often imagining scenarios that don’t exist, or aren’t even thought about. So here’s Daniel Huang’s self-made Leica Instant M, a minimalist camera featuring a viewfinder display of 1:1 ratio to film, designed to mount Leica’s M Lenses… or as he calls it, a premium instant photo camera. Huang believes Leica’s first and only instant model, the Sofort failed to capture the Leica spirit. It based itself on Fujifilm’s Instax Mini 90 and even used Instax film. “Traditionally, Leica lens and cameras are highly treasured collectibles. Their manual lenses produce a recognizable “Leica look” –Notilux lens continue to increase its resell value. Leica camera bodies are prized for its build quality, although they don’t have the highest specs. Their entry-level TL camera bodies, each hand polished for 40 minutes, became a minimalist icon. On the contrary, Leica Sofort’s plastic body and fixed lens feels like an unjustifiably expensive rebadge.”, Huang says. Huang’s Leica Instant M takes advantage of a hybrid digital and analog system to reduce its flange focal length, effectively allows the camera to mount full-frame lens for the first time. The camera would sport an interchangeable lens system, allowing you to mount and use any of Leica’s lenses on it, something that’s innately Leica-esque in quality. The camera comes in a simple box-shaped design that definitely exudes a quality of seriousness, unlike the playful nature of the Instax Mini 90. You’ve got the M-Mount on the front that sits atop Leica’s sensor (the hybrid arrangement), and a 1:1 ratio viewfinder on the back that lets you compose your shots and gives you a WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) sort of deal. The Instant M is stripped of digital adjustments and post-processing, and analog controls like aperture and focus are done via the manual lens. The viewfinder is slightly inset, giving you a curved surface to dig your fingers into for better grip, and the shutter button on the front lets you click the picture you see in your viewfinder, before the film slowly ejects off the top of the camera. The Instant M isn’t an official Leica camera, but is, on the other hand, a brilliant interpretation of what Leica’s instant cameras (if they ever decided to re-enter the market) should look like. Clean aesthetics, a design that feels pure and precious, and integrates into it the ability to use all of Leica’s M-mount lenses… the Instant M is the Leica instant-camera that should have been but never was!

Content: (RoRo, B, LLL, V, S, NN, AA, D, M) Romantic worldview, with some moral elements, including a positive father figure, but a really bad message favoring premarital sex; about 17 mostly light obscenities, one strong profanity regarding Jesus and 12 mild profanities; mild violence such as fighting in bar, girl teaches her friend how to punch, girl punches man in face, and girl falls down stairs; implied fornication between young adult couple, pregnant woman talks about the rape that made her pregnant & nearly naked high school graduate invites his friend in bra and panties to fornicate but they decide against it; partial male nudity & women in skimpy costumes or underwear; alcohol use, underage alcohol use and underage girls perform at karaoke bar; smoking; and, tattoos and high school graduate ignores her father’s wishes. Summary: In CROSSROADS, pop music star Britney Spears plays a bright high school graduate who goes on the road with two friends and a young man with a questionable background, in order to meet the mother who abandoned her when she was three. The sexual message in this movie is not appropriate for the teenagers and pre-teens most likely to see this movie, although Dan Aykroyd does play a somewhat positive father figure. Review: Women singers and songwriters are big these days in the pop music world. And, there’s no bigger woman in pop music today than Britney Spears. Spears already has become a popular figure in TV commercials, where she’s managed to parlay her nubile tanned body and beautiful blonde hair to sell soda pop. Now, she’s decided to try taking Hollywood by storm by appearing in her first movie, CROSSROADS. In CROSSROADS, Britney Spears plays Lucy, a high school valedictorian in Georgia. After rejecting her nearly naked, nerdy lab partner’s amorous intentions in the bedroom on graduation night, Lucy takes off on a road trip west with two old girlfriends and a handsome young rock and roller, Ben, with a questionable background. One girlfriend, Mimi, is pregnant after being raped. Mimi and Ben are headed for a rock audition in Los Angeles. Lucy’s other girlfriend, Kit, intends to surprise her fiancé who’s going to school at UCLA. Lucy wants to see her estranged mother in Arizona, who abandoned Lucy and her father when Lucy was three. Needless to say, not everything goes as planned, but Lucy gets discovered as a talented new singer – after losing her virginity, of course. Britney Spears has come under attack for the sleaziness and sexual innuendo she often incorporates into parts of her concerts and her commercials. In this respect, Spears seems to be following in the footsteps of Madonna. The same thing happens with CROSSROADS. In fact, the movie actually opens with Lucy, dressed only in her panties and a loose-fitting blouse, lip-synching to a song by Madonna. Although Lucy eventually rejects her lab partner, that rejection doesn’t come until he strips down to his underwear and she appears in a sexy red bra and panty outfit. Later, however, Lucy has no second thoughts about losing her virginity to Ben. The sexual immorality in Spears’ act and her first movie, CROSSROADS, is terribly unfortunate, especially since she seems to be such a popular star for young teenagers, and even pre-teens. In fact, at the press screening for CROSSROADS, many parents brought their pre-teen children. Happily, however, CROSSROADS is not much of a movie, so, hopefully, not many pre-teens or teenagers will see it. This will increasingly become true, hopefully, as word gets out that the movie is not very good. Although Spears does not fare as badly as Mariah Carey in her movie debut, GLITTER, the CROSSROADS filmmakers have saddled Britney with a poorly structured story that lacks focus. The story meanders in the middle and isn’t all that entertaining or energetic in the other parts. It is clear, however, that Spears has a good singing voice and may develop her acting talent as she gains more experience. In addition to the movie’s bad message about premarital sex, CROSSROADS has a Romantic worldview. Follow your dreams, no matter what your parents say, is the primary message of this movie. Thus, even though Dan Aykroyd plays a positive father figure in CROSSROADS, the movie’s worldview leads to false, immoral conclusions. In Brief: In CROSSROADS, Britney Spears plays Lucy, a high school valedictorian in Georgia. After rejecting her nerdy lab partner’s amorous intentions in the bedroom on graduation night, Lucy takes off on a road trip west with two old girlfriends and a handsome young rock and roller, Ben, with a questionable background. One girlfriend, Mimi, is pregnant after being raped. Mimi and Ben are headed for a rock audition in Los Angeles. Lucy’s other girlfriend, Kit, intends to surprise her fiancé who’s going to school at UCLA. Lucy wants to see her estranged mother in Arizona, who abandoned Lucy when she was three. Needless to say, not everything goes as planned, but Lucy gets discovered as a talented new singer – after losing her virginity, of course. Britney Spears fares better here than Mariah Carey did in GLITTER, but the filmmakers saddle her with a poorly written, meandering story that should have been more entertaining and energetic. The sexual message in CROSSROADS is not appropriate for the teenagers and pre-teens most likely to see this movie, although Dan Aykroyd does play a somewhat positive father figure. The movie’s Romantic worldview also dilutes the movie’s positive moral qualities

Mini nuclear reactor could power apartment blocks New Scientist A nuclear reactor designed to generate power in the basement of an apartment block is being developed in Japan. In the past few months government-backed researchers have been testing a fail-safe mechanism for the reactor, which will close down automatically if it overheats. The Rapid-L reactor was conceived as a powerhouse for colonies on the Moon. But at six metres high and only two metres wide this 200-kilowatt reactor could relatively easily fit into the basement of an office building or apartment block, where it would have to be housed in a solid containment building.

If I Ruled The League Table of Contents Nov. 11, 2013 David Ortiz is brute October force, inarguably one of the greatest postseason sluggers ever, but there is a Tao of Papi that goes beyond the raw power and three rings. As a study in resilience and in seizing big moments, his story is the story of Boston itself If I Ruled The League I'm Richard Sherman. I'm a guy who plays cornerback for the Seahawks, who makes $550,000 a year to control a small sliver of one of 32 NFL fields on any given Sunday. But let's imagine, for a moment, I'm a much more powerful man, one who earns a salary—$30 million—higher than the best-paid player in the league. I'm the man who, for better or worse, holds the future of pro football in his palm. It's a difficult job, I'm sure, working for the owners while looking out for the welfare of the players. It always seems like a happy balance is being struck in late April, when a parade of draftees crosses the stage at Radio City Music Hall, each one giving commissioner Roger Goodell a handshake and a hug after his name is called. But for the rest of the year it's clear that the interests of the 1,700 players pale in importance to those of the 32 owners. But I, Commissioner Sherman, am here to fix that, so let's get started. The first thing I would do is give up some of my power. I'd leave the whole fine system for on-field actions to a committee of former players and former coaches. I'd create a system of checks and balances, something like a democracy. (Crazy, right?) If I were commissioner, I'd listen to Brandon Meriweather because he's expressed something that many players think but are afraid to say. When the Redskins safety said he was going to start targeting the ACLs of offensive players, his message was understood by his peers but confusing to fans and media. The defenseless-receiver rule is forcing tacklers to target knees. Offensive players bend down to protect their knees, and if we target the waist, we collide with their heads and get fined. If we target the knees, we don't get fined, and sometimes they don't get up. If I were commissioner, I'd listen to Hamza Abdullah, too. He's the former pro who just blasted the league on Twitter for several things, including its handling of retiree benefits. I'd streamline the system to make it easier for players who need disability money to get it. Many ex-players would rather suffer than jump through the NFL's hoops. They have to file paperwork, wait several months, go see this doctor on this day, a specialist on that day, and if they miss a deadline, they're ineligible. That's just how the league is, but not the way it has to be. If I were commissioner, I wouldn't ask a player to take a pay cut to play for a championship. Players are now paid postseason bonuses that are usually less than their standard regular-season game check. The compensation should consistently mirror the profits, regular season or not. If I were commissioner, I'd be very transparent about where fines end up. In my regime all the money from helmet-to-helmet fines would go directly to fund treatment for players suffering from injuries from head trauma. If I were commissioner, I'd give the players back their individuality. I wouldn't pretend that knee and thigh pads prevent injuries. I'd never fine players for wearing the wrong length socks or cleats with too much or too little of one team color. I'd let them wear whatever they want for interviews at their own lockers. Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch would be free to promote his Beast Mode merchandise—which supports his charity—in any way he chooses, as long as he doesn't do it during a game. I'd understand that this league is not all about "the Shield" and all the name brands this commissioner has sold it to. The NFL is nothing without the players, individuals whose creativity should be celebrated. If I were commissioner, I'd actually care about my players. I'd recognize that most of them don't spend more than three years in the NFL, and when they're done, many of them are broken in mind and body, and I'd do everything I could to genuinely help them in their transition from athlete to retiree. And if that were too difficult, if I found it was impossible to do the job asked of me by NFL owners and still do right by players, I'd do those incoming rookies the favor of not offering a hug they'll soon regret. The first thing I'd do is give up some of my power. I'd create a system of checks and balances, something like a democracy. (Crazy, right?) The MMQB When he's not shutting down opposing receivers, Richard Sherman writes a regular column for The MMQB. Before he became the premier postseason performer of his generation, the Patriots icon was a middling college quarterback who invited skepticism, even scorn, from fans and his coaches. That was all—and that was everything

James Gunn Reveals Who David Bowie Would Have Played in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ 2016 was a sad year when it comes to celebrity’s deaths. One that arguably hit the hardest however was the untimely passing of singer David Bowie. Before his death, it was revealed that James Gunn, director of Guardians of the Galaxy, had planned to include Bowie in the highly anticipated sequel, but never said who he’d be playing. Now, in a Q&A on Facebook, Gunn has finally settled the mystery of who Bowie was going to be. A ravager. When asked by a fan, Gunn had this to say: “I wanted David Bowie to play a member of Yondu’s original crew.” Yondu’s original crew appeared twice during Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Their first appearance was from Sylvester Stallone and Michael Rosenbaum’s characters. Both blacklist Yondu and his current crew from the Ravager clan due to their constant breach of the Ravager code. However, following Yondu’s heroic sacrifice near the end of the film, Stallone’s Stakar Ogord lifts the exile on Yondu and gives him the Ravager funeral he deserves. The funeral brings Yondu’s entire original crew back together for the first time in years and they all agree to work together once more. The crew had Michael Rosenbaum, Ving Rhames, Michelle Yeoh and Miley Cyrus playing the roles of Martinex, Charlie-27, Aleta Ogord and Mainframe and now it looks Bowie would have played one of these characters. It’s a shame that Bowie passed before being able to play a role in the MCU film. While the film was not short on its celebrity cameos, including Seth Green returning as Howard the Duck and Sons of Anarchy’s Tommy Flannagan as a member of Yondu’s current crew, it would have been an incredible sight to see Bowie as an out-of-this-world, cosmic Marvel character. What do you think of David Bowie being in the MCU? What other singer’s do you want to appear in a Marvel film? Let us know in the comments and on social media! The next Marvel Cinematic Universe film to hit theatres is Thor: Ragnarok which will be released on November 3, 2017. Share this: Published by Talkies Network Three friends talking about movies, video games, comic-books and anime. We do videos and articles. Be warned, you chose this. Site created by Nick Poulimenakos, Artur Galvao and Mathew 'JJ' Simoes. View all posts by Talkies Network Advertisements Follow Our Website via Email Enter your email address to follow this website and receive notifications of new posts by email.

720 F.Supp.2d 1274 (2010) Selenia WILBORN, Plaintiff, v. SOUTHERN UNION STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE; et al., Defendants. Civil Action No. 3:08cv928-MHT. United States District Court, M.D. Alabama, Eastern Division. March 30, 2010. *1282 Ann Carroll Robertson, Temple Deanna Trueblood, Candis Annette McGowan, Wiggins Childs Quinn & Pantanzis, PC, Birmingham, AL, for Plaintiff. John Stephen Johnson, Mark Waggoner, Stephen Noble Fitts, III, Hand Arendall, LLC, Birmingham, AL, for Defendants. *1283 OPINION AND ORDER MYRON H. THOMPSON, District Judge. Plaintiff Selenia Wilborn filed this lawsuit against defendants Southern Union State Community College, Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA), and Alabama Department of Postsecondary Education (ADPE), charging sexual harassment, sex discrimination and retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981a, 2000e to 2000e-17, and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as amended, 20 U.S.C. § 1681(a). Wilborn also names John Lee and Doug Conaway as defendants in their individual capacities, alleging violations of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, as enforced by 42 U.S.C. § 1983. She further alleges that various groups of these defendants are liable for state-law torts committed against her. Jurisdiction over Wilborn's federal claims is proper under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 (federal question), 1343 (civil rights) and 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5 (f)(3) (Title VII). Jurisdiction over her state-law claims is appropriately invoked pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1367 (supplemental). This lawsuit is before the court on the defendants' motion for summary judgment. For the reasons that follow, that motion will be granted in part and denied in part. I. SUMMARY-JUDGMENT STANDARD Summary judgment is appropriate "if the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(2). In deciding whether summary judgment should be granted, the court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of that party. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). II. BACKGROUND A. The Defendants This lawsuit arises out of Wilborn's experience as the lone female participant in the summer 2007 session of the Central Alabama Skills Training Consortium (CASTC) Tractor-Trailer Truck Driver Program (Truck Program), a vocational program physically located in Selma, Alabama. Wilborn names two individual defendants: Truck Program instructors Lee and Conaway. Lee, the "lead instructor," supervised Conaway. The program involved a combination of classroom instruction and driver training with tractor-trailers. The instructors, each an experienced truck driver, shared responsibility for teaching classroom and driving sessions. They also cooperatively and separately administered a series of written and driving tests that participants were required to pass to complete the program. Lee graded all written examinations, but each instructor scored the driving tests he administered. Neither man is currently employed by the Truck Program, which has been discontinued, or by any other defendant in this lawsuit. Wilborn also names three institutional defendants: Southern Union, ADECA, and ADPE. Wilborn initially named CASTC as a defendant in this lawsuit, but the parties have subsequently stipulated that CASTC "is a subdivision of Southern Union Community College." J. Stip. and Mot. to Dismiss at 1 (Doc. No. 35). It is thus undisputed that the CASTC Truck Program is operated by Southern Union and *1284 that Lee and Conaway are Southern Union employees. It is also undisputed, however, that the Truck Program was not administered on a Southern Union campus. Unfortunately, the parties have provided only a sketchy, and often confusing, account of ADPE and ADECA's respective relationships with the Truck Program, Lee, and Conaway. Indeed, deposition testimony suggests that even program administrators were confused about these relationships. The evidence before the court, however, supports at least the following conclusions: CASTC, and two other regional consortiums, were initially approved and created by ADPE to "provide . . . a variety of employment and training services to certain populations" in Alabama. Pl.'s Ex. F at 19:19-20 (Doc. No. 43-9). The consortiums provided these services through so-called "Careerlink Centers." One level of service provided by the centers is directed at helping eligible participants acquire "a new marketable skill in order to become employed." Id. at 23:6-7. The CASTC Truck Program was this type of service. Participants in consortium programs, including the Truck Program, were not required to pay for their training. Rather, they received federal grants under the Work Force Investment Act (WIA) through ADECA, a self-described "partner" in the Careerlink Centers. See Pl.'s Ex. G at Dep. Ex. 24 (Doc. No. 43-10). The day-to-day operations of the Truck Program were also completely funded by WIA funds, provided through ADECA to Southern Union. Thus, for example, Lee, Conaway and other program employees received paychecks from Southern Union, but the money was distributed to the college by ADECA. ADECA also provided guidelines for the operation of the Careerlink Centers and the training programs. Bud Edwards, the Training Coordinator for CASTC, stated that "as a consortia, you're under [ADECA] guidelines all the time." Pl.'s Ex. B at 20:21-22 (Doc. No. 43-4).[1] ADECA provided all program application and enrollment forms; dictated the rules and regulations for participant eligibility; and set minimum requirements for program enrollment and post-program employment. Apparently, even the substance of the Truck Program curriculum was, in part, dictated by ADECA guidelines.[2] B. The Truck Program Wilborn, seeking new employment opportunities, applied for participation in the Truck Program through the Selma Careerlink Center. When she expressed an interest in truck driving, she was referred to Ron Brown, the program's case manager. Brown's job was to recruit participants for the program, determine their eligibility under ADECA guidelines, complete ADECA paperwork, and enroll them in the program. Brown explained that his job was also to "maintain those participants in the program until they complete the program." Pl.'s Ex. G at 12:8-9. To this end, Brown monitored each participant's progress and helped them to resolve any difficulties they might face. *1285 Although Brown determined whether Wilborn and other applicants were eligible for the program, he did not have the power to select the students who were ultimately enrolled. Rather, he created a list of eligible applicants, who were then interviewed by Lee. Following these interviews, Lee selected six to eight people to participate in the program. According to orientation materials distributed to Wilborn and other program participants, "The CASTC Tractor-Trailer Truck Program is a six week, highly intensive occupational training program with the end result being employment in the field." Pl.'s Ex. B at Dep. Ex. 1. Lee testified that this description was apt, "It was a job orientated school." Pl.'s Ex. C at 49:23-50:1 (Doc. No. 43-6). In fact, Lee was required to place 70 percent of program participants into a job. In order to achieve this goal, the program did much more than simply train participants to drive trucks. For example, program participants were provided with application materials for various trucking companies. They were also required, over the course of the program, to file five employment applications with five different companies. Lee and Conaway assisted participants with their applications and helped them to fax the completed materials to potential employers. In fact, a fax machine was dedicated to this purpose. In some cases, the instructors would also call local employers to inquire about available positions. The instructors regularly invited six to twelve trucking company employment recruiters to visit the program. Recruiting visits were scheduled over the duration of the program, with some companies visiting as early as the first week. According to Conaway, the purpose of these visits was "[t]o help the students get employment." Pl.'s Ex. D at 17:15-16 (Doc. No. 43-7). But the visits also helped trucking companies procure employees. As Lee explained it, "when a recruiter comes in, he . . . tells them all the benefits the company has [and] why they should come to work for this company as opposed to another company." Pl.'s Ex. C at 45:6-10. Indeed, program orientation materials informed participants that "there will be several truck driver company recruiters coming to the class to `sell' you on their respective companies. List[en] to each and make a decision based upon your particular need and goal in finding employment." Pl.'s Ex. B at Dep. Ex. 1. Lee testified that participants "were mostly required to fill out an application [prior to a recruiter's visit]. Some of the recruiters would stand there and wait for them to fill out their applications while they were there." Pl.'s Ex. C. at 47:5-9. Some of the recruiters would also conduct interviews and conditionally hire participants, pending successful completion of the course. Lee selected program participants with employment in mind: "If they came in with a bad [Motor Vehicle Record], no work history or [a] criminal record, they were not going to get selected into a job. So I was not doing my job if I actually let them in the class." Pl.'s Ex. C at 37:13-17. And Lee considered the hiring desires of the trucking companies themselves; he selected Wilborn for the program, in part, because she was a woman. He explained, "Trucking companies were trying to get us to . . . train female drivers." Id. at 67:21-23. The program continued to help participants procure employment even after they completed their training. Brown explained, "Once they complete the program, they either go to a job or they don't have a job, then it's my job . . . to be out there looking for a job for them . . . in the *1286 trucking industry." Pl.'s Ex. G at 152:14-19. C. Truck Program Grievance Procedures On the first day of the program, Wilborn and the other participants attended an orientation session conducted by Edwards, who supervised Lee and Conaway. He provided each participant with a packet containing, among other things, the Truck Program's "Grievance Procedures." It states, in pertinent part, "Discuss any problem that arises as soon as possible, do not let it `grow' into a major problem. If there is a problem in class, talk to your immediate instructor first. If there is no satisfaction after this process, discuss it with the lead instructor. If there is still no satisfaction, discuss the situation with your Case Manager. If there is still no satisfaction, the Training Coordinator will be called in to resolve the situation. . . . These policies and procedures must be complied with in every case and it is imperative to work within the system." Pl.'s Ex. B at Dep. Ex. 1. Although not spelled out in the written policy, Edwards explained to participants that if they felt uncomfortable reporting a problem to either instructor, they could report it directly to him or Brown.[3] If Brown received a serious complaint, including complaints about sexual harassment, he was obligated to inform Edwards. At some other time, Brown presented a second written grievance policy to program participants, this one from ADECA. This document states, in relevant part, "If you think someone discriminated against you because of your race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, political relationships or beliefs[,]. . . you may file a complaint within 180 days of the date you think the discrimination happed with either Ms. Lillian Patterson, Equal Opportunity Grievance Officer at [ADECA], Workforce Development Division, 401 Adams Avenue, PO Box 5690, Montgomery, Alabama [XXXXX-XXXX] or the Director, Civil Rights Center (CRC), U.S. Department of Labor, 200 constitution Avenue NW, Room N-4123, Washington, D.C. 20210." Pl.'s Ex. G at Dep. Ex. 24. Brown went over the document quickly, "hitting points here and there." Pl.'s Ex. A at 253:19 (Doc. No. 43-2). After participants signed the document, acknowledging that the procedure had been explained to them, he collected it from them and did not return it. In spite of the two written grievance procedures, Lee told participants on the first day of the program, "whatever goes on [in] this motherfucking class stays in this class." Pl.'s Ex. A at 87:13-14. D. Sexual Harassment Training As noted above, the Truck Program's written grievance procedure directs participants to bring any problems to Conaway, Lee or Brown. According to Edwards, this included complaints about sexual harassment in the program. See Pl.'s Ex. B at 59:19-60:10. However, the document itself does not mention sexual harassment or any kind of discrimination.[4] As instructors in the program, Lee and Conaway received informal training on sexual harassment policy from Edwards. As Lee explained it, *1287 "[W]e had an ongoing thing. Mr. Edwards, he would reiterate constantly. He was so conscientious about sexual harassment, that we would talk. It wasn't a prescribed class, per se. But it was an ongoing conversational-type training as time went on. We never had a meeting that we didn't discuss some kind of harassment, whether it be sexual [or] racial." Pl.'s Ex. C at 15:15-23. When asked what he "learned from all this discussion with Mr. Edwards about sexual harassment," Lee replied, "Touching, dirty language, sexual innuendoes about jokes or something of that nature [were all prohibited]. Definitely no touching. Even when we were in the truck, I could not hold her hand to teach her how to shift the gears. That's how adamant [Edwards] was about touching and sexual harassment." Id. at 19:22-20:7. Lee also acknowledged receiving a written policy on sexual harassment from Southern Union and ADPE. Edwards confirmed that he held informal trainings on sexual harassment with Lee and Conaway. He stated, "I'll take all of my instructors, pull them in and we'll sit down and discuss the policy, and I give them a copy of it." Pl.'s Ex. B at 80:16-19. He specifically stated that he provided a written sexual harassment policy to Lee and Conaway. In contrast, and although Edwards expected program participants to bring complaints to their case manager, Brown lacked even informal training on sexual harassment. Indeed, he testified that, in his thirteen years as a case manager, he received no training on sexual harassment. When asked if he trained program participants on sexual harassment, Brown replied, "No. They would get the grievance form that would encompass any complaint that you might have." Pl.'s Ex. G at 27:22-27:1. E. Wilborn's Experience in the Truck Program As discussed above, Wilborn applied for admission to the Truck Program through the Selma Careerlink Center. After Brown determined that she was eligible for the program, Wilborn was interviewed by Lee. During this initial interview, Lee stated, "Young lady, you look like you should be at home making babies instead of trying to drive a truck." Pl.'s Ex. A at 57:19-21. This remark bothered Wilborn and so, after the interview, she went to discuss it with Brown. She asked Brown, "is this man prejudiced against women or is he just prejudiced or what?" Id. at 60:8-10. Rather than offering to address the problem, Brown responded with a question of his own: "[W]ell, Selenia, are you tough enough to handle it?" Id. at 60:13-14. Lee did not initially select Wilborn for the program. However, two people he had selected withdrew before the program began. Lee testified that Brown called to notify him of these withdrawals and asked Lee to select Wilborn. Lee agreed, in part because trucking companies had been encouraging him to train female drivers. On the first day of the program, while introducing himself and Conaway to the participants, Lee told a joke that ended with the punchline, "there is nothing wrong with a little pussy." Id. at 89:4-5. According to Wilborn, "all the guys start[ed] laughing and looking right [at] me." Id. at 89:7-8. She was alone in a room full of men; the only female among the eight people Lee selected for the 2007 summer session of the program. Wilborn reported the joke to Brown after class. The next day, Lee told the participants for the second time that if they have a problem in class, they needed to keep it in the class. According to Wilborn, "He said that when he was standing *1288 in front of the whole class, but he looked directly at me." Id. at 174:3-5. Lee's behavior on the first day set a trend that would continue for the duration of the program. Wilborn testified that, throughout the program, Lee "was constantly telling nasty jokes; constantly." Id. at 170:19-20. Asked to describe the jokes, she explained that, "They were pertaining to women, parts of their body . . . [and] to men and women having sex." Id. at 172:6-9. Wilborn frequently expressed her disgust with the jokes by standing up and walking away. She also continued to make complaints to Brown. Lee also touched Wilborn. On at least two occasions he "popped" her across the buttocks. One of those times, he told her that she was "sweet smelling" while striking her. Both times she told him to stop. These incidents prompted at least one of Wilborn's classmates to refer to Lee as a "dirty ole man." Wilborn reported these events to Brown. At one point during the program Wilborn was bitten by a spider in one of the trucks. When she told Lee about the bite, which was on her back, he pulled her shirt up from behind. Wilborn had to hold her arms across her chest to prevent exposure of her breasts. Despite her protests, Lee continued to hold up her shirt and called Conaway over to examine her back. He said, "come here, Doug, let me show this spider bite on Selenia; it must be a man spider because it didn't bite nobody but her." Id. at 141:7-10. When Wilborn tried to pull down her shirt and walk away, Lee pulled out the elastic part of her pants, exposing her underwear. Again, she told him to stop. Again, she reported the incident to Brown. Early in the program, Wilborn and Conaway were sitting outside when he noticed a pair of plastic handcuffs hanging from the rearview mirror of her car. He made an inappropriate comment about them. On another occasion, when the students were practicing hitching a truck to a trailer, Conaway provided verbal instructions to each of the male students. However, when it was Wilborn's turn, he refused to provide assistance. When she asked for help he replied, "your good looks ain't going to help you all the time[.] . . . [W]hat are you going to do when there's no guys around . . . to help you[?]" Pl.'s Ex. A at 155:23-156:6. Wilborn reported the comment to Brown. Another time, a male participant brought a pornographic film to class. Conaway set up the classroom projector to display the film and then stood near the door, stating that he needed to keep watch so that they would not get caught by another program employee. Wilborn tried not to watch the movie, keeping her eyes on a piece of paper on her desk. However, Conaway drew her attention to the film, stating: "I bet you never had one that big, Selenia." Id. at 180:1-2. When she looked up, she saw a woman having sex with a horse. Wilborn walked out of the classroom. She later told Brown about the movie. Although Lee yelled and cursed in front of the class from time to time, he was especially harsh with Wilborn. She testified to this differential in treatment: "Q: And did he fuss at everyone like you say he fussed at you? "A: No ma'am. "Q: You never heard him say anything that you thought was, you know, gruff or angry towards any other student?" "A: No ma'am. He was always, always trying to help the men out; always." Id. at 234:13-20. One example of this gruff treatment occurred during Wilborn's final test. At the time, she had completed all other requirements for the course, and needed only to *1289 pass a road-driving test administered by Lee. She described the episode as follows: "[W]e were going down the road [and] there was a little bitty car in front of the truck. If you're going to up your speed, once you get to six[th gear,] you have to push the splitter up. If you are going to like try to stop the truck, you have to push the splitter down. . . . I see that I have to reduce my speed. I start down shifting. And before I got to the splitter, [Lee] snatches the gearshift out of my hand [and yelled] `dumb ass.' I mean, I was just stunned. I sat there— my hand was on the splitter, his hand was on the splitter. Once you stop a truck like that, there [is] so much in the back of that truck, it's going to make [a] big clashy-like noise like a boom, boom, boom, because everything is coming from your back into the front." Id. at 121:13-122:6. She was very nervous about hitting the car in front of them: "To my remembrance, I was right up on the car. I actually thought I was going to hit that person in that car." Id. at 121:11-13. On the way back to the program facilities, Lee stated, "see, I told you some women are supposed to be at home making babies instead of trying to drive a truck." Id. at 206:13-16. Although she could have retaken the road test—Lee had failed her for "stalling the engine"—Wilborn elected to quit the program.[5] She explained, "I saw clearly, because everything they did to me, they were trying to prevent me [from] getting my license, so I left." Id. 132:19-21. When she got home, Conaway called her and asked her to come back, but "[a]t that point in time, [she] . . . was in tears." Id. 133:3-4. In fact, she was on the verge of a panic attack and opted to go to the emergency room. Nor was this the first time that she had visited her doctor as a result of the "abuse [she] was going through." Id. at 239:21. She had previously had panic attacks related to the Truck Program and, approximately two weeks into the program, her doctor placed her on medication. She later explained that her anxiety influenced her decision to quit the program: "How could I not walk out? I had taken all that I could take. I had started having anxiety attacks, I had started getting nervous." Id. at 199:1-4. The day after she walked out, Wilborn went to Careerlink to make a complaint to Brown. On her way, she stopped at the program and spoke with Conaway, who offered to re-test her. Again, she declined. When she arrived at Careerlink, she was in tears. She briefly spoke with one of Brown's superiors, Cliff Hunter, who told her that Brown was not at the office. She described their interaction: "He kept asking me what was wrong or could he do anything. I didn't tell him what was wrong because I hadn't been talking to him, and at that point in time, I was so emotional there was no sense in me trying to sit there and explain everything that I had [already] told Mr. Brown. I wanted to speak to Mr. Brown." Id. at 202:14-21. Later that evening, she was able to meet with Brown to again make complaints about the program. For the first time, he asked her to make a written complaint. Although Brown did not contact Edwards, Hunter did. Edwards later met with Wilborn to interview her about her complaints. At that time, he offered to *1290 allow her to re-take the final road test with different instructors. She declined again, later explaining, "they knew what these instructors [were] doing . . . to me, why would I want to go to another part of their school?" Id. 224:10-11. Wilborn timely filed claims of sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and subsequently received authorization to file a private lawsuit. She filed her complaint with this court, and defendants responded with a motion for summary judgment on all claims. That motion is now before the court. III. DISCUSSION A. Federal Claims 1. Title VII Wilborn brings claims to redress sexual harassment, sex discrimination, and retaliation in violation of Title VII against Southern Union, ADECA and ADPE. Defendants claim that Title VII provides her no cause of action, as they were neither her employer nor acted as an employment agency with respect to her. Defendants argue that, even if the statute applies under the latter theory, a Title VII sexual harassment claim requires the existence of an employment relationship between a plaintiff and defendant, and thus cannot be asserted against an employment agency. In any event, defendants contend that Title VII does not extend liability for the alleged discriminatory acts to either ADECA or ADPE, because neither employed the alleged perpetrators of the acts. Finally, defendants assert that each of Wilborn's Title VII claims fail on the merits. The court first addresses the group of arguments regarding the applicability of Title VII to the named parties and alleged facts, and then turns to the merits of Wilborn's claims. a. Applicability of Title VII Title VII applies to employment agencies as well as employers. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)-(b). The statute defines an "employer" as "a person engaged in an industry affecting commerce who has fifteen or more employees for each working day in each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year." § 2000e(b). "The term `employment agency' means any person regularly undertaking with or without compensation to procure employees for an employer or to procure for employees opportunities to work for an employer and includes an agent of such a person." § 2000e(c).[6] "Unlike the definition for `employer[,]' . . . the definition for `employment agency' does not require a minimum number of either employees or weeks of employment for the agency." Jones v. Southeast Ala. Baseball Umpires Ass'n, 864 F.Supp. 1135, 1138 (M.D.Ala.1994) (Thompson, J.). "Nevertheless, the definition does require that, in order to be an `employment agency,' the entity must regularly do business with an `employer,' and the term `employer' as used in the definition of `employment agency' is limited to those employers that fall within the definition of `employer.'" Id. Wilborn "has not alleged [that] the defendants acted as her `employer' in the traditional sense, but rather that in relation to her they acted as an `employment agency' under Title VII." Pl.'s Br. at 31 *1291 (Doc. No. 42). Thus, in ascertaining whether Wilborn may properly bring Title VII claims against the defendants, the court must first determine whether the Truck Program allegedly operated by the defendants is an "employment agency." As suggested by the definitions provided above, this "task is two-fold: first, to determine whether the [program] `regularly undertakes with or without compensation to procure employees . . . or to procure for employees opportunities to work'; and, second, to determine whether the [program] does this for an `employer' as that term [is] defined in [Title VII]." Jones, 864 F.Supp. at 1138. In addressing the first part of this two-fold task, the court finds little guidance from other courts. Almost thirty-five years ago, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals observed that, "Litigation concerning the meaning of the term employment agency is rather sparse." Cannon v. University of Chicago, 559 F.2d 1063, 1075-76 (7th Cir.1976). And the term has rarely been the subject of meaningful dispute in the intervening years. See Scaglione v. Chappaqua Cent. Sch. Dist., 209 F.Supp.2d 311, 316 (S.D.N.Y.2002) (McMahon, J.) ("There are very few cases invoking 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(b) . . . and the few that do almost invariably involve an entity that is indisputably an `employment agency.'"). Perhaps the most frequently cited case on the scope of the term "employment agency" is Brush v. San Francisco Newspaper Printing Co., 315 F.Supp. 577 (N.D.Cal.1970) (Sweigert, J.). In that case, the court found that, "the statutory requirement that an employment agency be one that `regularly' undertakes to procure employees or employment opportunities indicates that the Congress had in mind to include only those engaged to a significant degree in that kind of activity as their profession or business." Id. at 580 (emphasis in original). This court, like others before it, concurs with this reading of the statute. See, e.g., Scaglione, 209 F.Supp.2d at 316 ("Several cases have approved of Brush's reasoning."); Bonomo v. National Duckpin Bowling Congress, Inc., 469 F.Supp. 467, 472 (D.Md.1979) (Blair, J.). Thus, the court agrees that "an entity would not be an `employment agency' within the meaning of Title VII if it never, rarely, or even occasionally sought to secure employees for an employer." Barbara T. Lindemann, Paul Grossman & C. Geoffrey Weirich, Employment Discrimination Law 1598 (4th ed. 2007). A reasonable jury would have little difficulty concluding that the Truck Program "engaged to a significant degree" in procuring employment opportunities for program participants as part of its business. Indeed, the program billed itself as a "highly intensive occupational training program with the end result being employment in the field." Pl.'s Ex. B at Dep. Ex. 1. And the program sought to achieve this "end result" for program participants, not simply through the quality of its training or by cultivating a reputation for such, but by actively assisting participants in the job search process. Defendants make much of the fact that "Wilborn herself estimated that only about twenty percent of her time in the program was devoted to filling out job applications," def.'s br. at 13 (doc. no. 30), arguing that even reading the evidence in Wilborn's favor, "no Defendant is engaged to any significant degree in job placement as a profession," id. at 12 (emphasis in original). But the undisputed facts support a contrary conclusion. Lee testified that he was "required to place 70 percent of [his] students into a job." Pl.'s Ex. C at 37:12-13. To reach this target, Lee and Conaway required each program participant to file applications with five different companies; *1292 helped participants fax job applications; invited recruiters from trucking companies to visit the program; and, facilitated job interviews on-site.[7] Not only did the program provide participants unique access to employment opportunities, it required them to actively pursue these opportunities. Indeed, the pursuit of employment in the trucking industry was a central and recurring component of the program. Presented with the evidence above, a reasonable jury could conclude that the Truck Program "regularly under[took] . . . to procure for employees opportunities to work" for trucking companies. And because there is no dispute that the trucking companies at issue in this case are "employers" under Title VII, the court sees no reason to conclude otherwise. Summary judgment will be thus be denied on this issue. Perhaps anticipating this ruling, defendants argue that, "Even if a Defendant is an employment agency, that Defendant cannot be liable for sexual harassment absent evidence of an actual employment relationship with the plaintiff." Def.'s Br. at 13. Defendants therefore maintain that summary judgment is due with respect to Wilborn's Title VII sexual harassment claims. Defendants do not fully articulate this argument, but their citations to caselaw suggest that the court may reach the desired conclusion through a comparative analysis of the language of § 2000e-2(a) (unlawful employer practices) and § 2000e-2(b) (unlawful employment agency practices). Section 2000e-2(a)(1) states that, "It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer . . . to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's . . . sex." (Emphasis added.) Under § 2000e-2(b), it is "an unlawful employment practice for an employment agency to fail or refuse to refer for employment, or otherwise discriminate against, any individual because of his . . . sex, or to classify or refer for employment any individual on the basis of his . . . sex." (Emphasis added.) Comparing these statutes, at least one court has observed that § 2000e-2(b), "which catalogs the list of unlawful employment agency practices, does not bar discrimination with respect to the `terms, conditions, or privileges of employment.'" Riesgo v. Heidelberg Harris, Inc., 36 F.Supp.2d 53, 58 n. 2 (D.N.H.1997) (Diclerico, J.). The court concluded that, "Because it is this prohibition that provides the basis for a hostile work environment claim under Title VII, [such] claims are not cognizable under § 2000e-2(b)." Riesgo, 36 F.Supp.2d. at 58 n. 2 (internally citing Harris v. Forklift Sys., Inc., 510 U.S. 17, 21, 114 S.Ct. 367, 126 L.Ed.2d 295 (1993)).[8] The Riesgo court found support in the reasoning of Kellam v. Snelling Personnel Servs., 866 F.Supp. 812 (D.Del.1994) (Latchum, J.). In that case, the court directly addressed an argument that the phrase `or otherwise discriminate' indicates that § 2000e-2(b) "covers more than just referral *1293 activities, and extends . . . to all those activities employers are prohibited from engaging in." Id. at 817. The court rejected this argument, stating that: "If Congress had intended the language `or otherwise to discriminate' to be all inclusive in its prohibitions then there would have been no need to include the supplemental phrase following this language, namely, `or to classify or refer for employment any individual [because] of his . . . sex.' . . . This Court will not read the statute so as to make this additional language surplusage. . . . It is certainly possible to give effect to this language. . . . This Court understands the language `or otherwise to discriminate' to modify the phrase `to fail or refuse to refer for employment' and thereby to encompass prohibited discrimination with respect to referrals that fall short of failure or refusal to refer." Id. at 817. This court is not convinced that Congress intended the broad phrase "or otherwise to discriminate" to be read so narrowly.[9] Even on this narrow reading, however, the court finds that § 2000e-2(b) authorizes sexual harassment claims against employment agencies. For example, this reading would clearly bar so-called "quid pro quo" harassment; if an employment agency cannot refuse to refer on the basis of sex, it certainly cannot demand sexual favors as a prerequisite for a referral. Furthermore, the court finds it unreasonable to assume that Congress intended that a prospective employee must endure a sexually "hostile environment" in order to obtain employment, when the same conditions would give rise to a cause of action in a place of employment. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has cautioned against "a requirement that a man or woman run a gauntlet of sexual abuse in return for the privilege of being allowed to work and make a living." Henson v. City of Dundee, 682 F.2d 897, 902 (11th Cir. 1982). This court will not assume that Congress nonetheless intended to allow that the same gauntlet be run in return for the privilege of being referred to employment. "Control over access to the job market may reside, depending upon the circumstances of the case, in a labor organization, an employment agency, or an employer." Zaklama v. Mt. Sinai Medical Center, 842 F.2d 291, 294 (11th Cir.1988) (citation omitted). Courts have recognized that, through Title VII, "Congress has determined to prohibit each of these from exerting any power it may have to foreclose, on invidious grounds, access by any individual to employment opportunities otherwise available to him." Id. (citation omitted). Indeed, Title VII "addresse[s] itself directly to the problems of interference with the direct employment relationship by . . . employment agencies—institutions which have not a remote but a highly visible nexus with the creation and continuance of direct employment relationships between third parties." Sibley Memorial Hospital v. Wilson, 488 F.2d 1338, 1342 (D.C.Cir.1973). "To permit a covered [entity] to exploit circumstances peculiarly affording it the capability of discriminatorily interfering with an individual's employment opportunities with [an] employer . . . would be to condone continued use of the very criteria for employment that Congress has prohibited." Zaklama, 842 F.2d at 294 (citation omitted). An employment agency may so interfere in its failure or refusal to refer an individual for employment. But *1294 an agency may also interfere by requiring an individual to endure a sexually hostile environment in order to obtain such a reference. Such a possibility is of particular concern when, as here, employment assistance is one component of a multi-week on-site training program operated by the agency. Although such discrimination may "fall short of failure or refusal to refer," Kellam, 866 F.Supp. at 817, it is an example of "otherwise discriminat[ing]" because of sex, and thus actionable under § 2000e-2(b).[10] Finally, defendants contend that neither ADECA nor ADPE is liable to Wilborn under Title VII. As noted by defendants, all of Wilborn's claims are based on allegations that Lee and Conaway sexually harassed her, otherwise discriminated against her on the basis of sex, and retaliated against her for reporting said harassment and discrimination. Defendants claim that, "Lee and Conaway were agents or servants solely of Southern Union," and not of either ADECA or ADPE. Def.'s Br. at 14. Courts "accord a liberal construction to the term `employer' under Title VII." Lyes v. City of Riviera Beach, 166 F.3d 1332, 1341 (11th Cir.1999). "In keeping with this liberal construction, . . . [the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has] identified three circumstances in which it is appropriate to [treat] multiple entities [as an employer] for the purposes [of Title VII]." Id.[11] First is the "single employer" test: "where two ostensibly separate entities are highly integrated with respect to ownership and operations, [courts] may . . . [treat them as one employer] under Title VII." Id. (citations and quotation marks omitted). Second is the "joint employer" test: "where two entities contract with each other for the performance of some task, and one company retains sufficient control over the terms and conditions of employment of the other company's employees, we may treat the entities as `joint employers.'" Id. Third is the "agency" test: "where an employer delegates sufficient control of some traditional rights over employees to a third party, we may treat the third party as an agent of the employer." Id. Although her brief is hardly a model of clarity on this issue, Wilborn apparently believes that she can establish that ADECA and ADPE are liable to her under Title VII through each of these three tests. Of course, she need only show that she can satisfy one of the tests to move forward against these defendants. Wilborn has produced sufficient evidence from which a reasonable juror could conclude that Southern Union and ADECA were joint employers with respect to the Truck Program. "The joint employer concept recognizes that the business entities involved are in fact separate." Virgo v. Riviera Beach Assocs., 30 F.3d 1350, 1360 (11th Cir.1994) (citation omitted). The question is whether the entities "share or co-determine those matters governing the essential terms and conditions of employment." Id. (citation omitted). *1295 Whether an entity "retained sufficient control is essentially a factual question." Id. While Truck Program employees, including Lee and Conaway, received paychecks from Southern Union, all wages and operational funds for the program came from ADECA. Deposition and physical evidence indicate that ADECA provided all application and enrollment forms; dictated the rules and regulations for participant eligibility; and set minimum requirements for program enrollment and post-program employment. Truck Program participants also received grievance and complaint procedures from ADECA, which directed them to file discrimination complaints regarding "treatment" in the program with ADECA's "Equal Opportunity/Grievance Officer." Pl.'s Ex. G at Dep. Ex. 24. Furthermore, it is significant that, in the grievance and complaint document, ADECA described itself as "a partner in the . . . Alabama Career Centers located throughout the state." Id. Brown put it more strongly, describing Southern Union as "the physical agent for ADECA." Pl.'s Ex. G at 69:6. By contrast, Wilborn has made little effort to direct the court to specific evidence from which a fact-finder could conclude that Southern Union delegated control over "the essential terms and conditions" of employment in the Truck Program to ADPE (joint employment test), or vice versa (agency test). If sufficient evidence of delegation exists in either direction, the court has been unable to locate it on its own. Likewise, Wilborn has failed to meet the more difficult challenge of establishing that these "two ostensibly separate entities are highly integrated with respect to ownership and operations" and thus a single employer.[12] To summarize, the court finds that Title VII prohibits employment agencies from subjecting job-seekers to a sexually hostile environment. A jury must decide whether the Truck Program operated as an employment agency with respect to Wilborn. A jury must also decide whether Southern Union and ADECA were joint employers with respect to the Truck Program, and thus whether ADECA may be liable to Wilborn for the alleged violations of Title VII. However, summary judgment will be granted on Wilborn's Title VII claims against ADPE. The court now turns to the merits of Wilborn's Title VII claims. b. Merits of Title VII Claims i. Sexual Harassment In order to bring a successful "hostile-environment sexual-harassment claim under Title VII," a plaintiff must establish the following: "(1) that . . . she belongs to a protected group; (2) that [she] has been subject to unwelcome sexual harassment, such as sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other conduct of a sexual nature; *1296 (3) that the harassment must have been based on the sex of the employee; (4) that the harassment was sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the terms and conditions of employment and create a discriminatorily abusive working environment; and (5) a basis for holding the employer liable." Mendoza v. Borden, Inc., 195 F.3d 1238, 1245 (11th Cir.1999) (en banc). Defendants address only the fourth and fifth factors, arguing that Wilborn's claim "fails because the alleged harassment was not sufficiently severe or pervasive and she failed to use the grievance procedures for reporting such harassment." Def.'s Br. at 16. It is well-established that Title VII "does not reach genuine but innocuous differences in the ways men and women routinely interact with members of the same sex and of the opposite sex." Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Servs., 523 U.S. 75, 81, 118 S.Ct. 998, 140 L.Ed.2d 201 (1998). "The prohibition of harassment on the basis of sex requires neither asexuality nor androgyny in the workplace; it forbids only behavior so objectively offensive as to alter the `conditions' of the victim's employment." Id. "The employee must `subjectively perceive' the harassment as sufficiently severe and pervasive to alter the terms or conditions of employment and this subjective perception must be objectively reasonable." Reeves v. C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc., 594 F.3d 798 (11th Cir.2010) (en banc) (citation omitted). "Conduct that is not severe or pervasive enough to create an objectively hostile or abusive work environment—an environment that a reasonable person would find hostile or abusive—is beyond Title VII's purview." Oncale, 523 U.S. at 81, 118 S.Ct. 998 (citations and quotation marks omitted). The Supreme Court has "emphasized. . . that the objective severity of harassment should be judged from the perspective of a reasonable person in the plaintiff's position, considering `all the circumstances.'" Id.; see also Reeves, 594 F.3d at 808 ("[T]he evidence of harassment is considered both cumulatively and in the totality of the circumstances."). This "inquiry requires careful consideration of the social context in which particular behavior occurs and is experienced by its target." Oncale, 523 U.S. at 81, 118 S.Ct. 998. "The real social impact of workplace behavior often depends on a constellation of surrounding circumstances, expectations, and relationships which are not fully captured by a simple recitation of the words used or the physical acts performed." Id. at 81-82, 118 S.Ct. 998. "Common sense, and an appropriate sensitivity to social context, will enable courts and juries to distinguish between teasing . . . and conduct which a reasonable person in the plaintiff's position would find severely hostile or abusive." Id. at 82, 118 S.Ct. 998. While courts are "directed . . . to determine whether an environment is sufficiently hostile or abusive by `looking at all the circumstances,'" special attention is given to four factors: "`the frequency of the discriminatory conduct; its severity; whether it is physically threatening or humiliating, or a mere offensive utterance; and whether it unreasonably interferes with an employee's work performance.'" Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, 524 U.S. 775, 788, 118 S.Ct. 2275, 141 L.Ed.2d 662 (1998) (citation omitted). Of course, when "isolated incidents [are] extremely serious. . . [they may] amount to discriminatory changes in the `terms and conditions of employment.'" Id. at 788, 118 S.Ct. 2275; see also Reeves, 594 F.3d at 808 ("Either severity or pervasiveness is sufficient to establish a violation of Title VII."). In this case, Wilborn alleges that from the first day of the training program, *1297 Lee was "constantly telling nasty jokes; constantly," pl.'s dep. at 170:19-20, and that these jokes were often "pertaining to women [and to] parts of their body," id. at 172: 6-7. "[W]ords and conduct that are sufficiently gender-specific and either severe or pervasive may state a claim of a hostile work environment, even if the words are not directed specifically at the plaintiff." Reeves, 594 F.3d at 811. "Similarly, words or conduct with sexual content that disparately expose members of one sex to disadvantageous terms or conditions of employment may also support a claim under Title VII." Id. (citing Petrosino v. Bell Atlantic, 385 F.3d 210, 222 (2d Cir. 2004) for the proposition that, when "[t]he depiction of women in . . . offensive jokes and graphics was uniformly sexually demeaning[,]. . . [it] communicated the message that women as a group were available for sexual exploitation by men."). Of course, Lee did more than simply joke about women. Some of his demeaning comments were specifically directed at Wilborn, and implied that because of her sex she did not belong in the program. During her initial interview he told her, "young lady, you look like you should be at home making babies instead of trying to drive a truck." Pl.'s Ex. A at 57:19-22. He repeated the sentiment following her road test, and just before she quit the program, telling her, "see, I told you some women are supposed to be at home making babies instead of trying to drive a truck." Id. at 206:13-16. Offensive and discriminatory in themselves, these comments also provide a basis for finding discriminatory intent in Lee's "constant" jokes about women. And the harassment was not limited to verbal behavior. Rather, the gender-specific jokes and demeaning comments were combined with objectionably offensive touching, which continued despite Wilborn's protests. Regardless of the frequency of the offensive, gender-specific comments and unwanted touching, a reasonable jury could conclude that the inexplicable classroom screening of a pornographic film depicting women and animals engaged in sexual activity was "severe . . . enough to create. . . an environment that a reasonable person would find hostile or abusive." Oncale, 523 U.S. at 81, 118 S.Ct. 998. And the severity of this conduct was amplified by Conaway's statement in reference to images of a woman having sex with a horse: "I bet you never had one that big, Selenia." Pl.'s Ex. A at 180:2-4. In making this statement, Conaway directly connected the images on the screen—images of bestiality—to the only woman in the room. The fact that Wilborn was, at all relevant times, the only woman in the room must also be considered, as it was part of "social context in which particular behavior occur[ed] and [was] experienced by its target." Oncale, 523 U.S. at 81, 118 S.Ct. 998. It is not unreasonable to conclude that a woman (or man) suffers gender-specific harassment more acutely when isolated among members of the opposite sex. Viewing the totality of the evidence in the light most favorable to Wilborn, a reasonable jury could conclude that the alleged harassment was sufficiently severe and pervasive to amount to a violation of Title VII.[13] This, however, does not end the court's severity analysis. For Wilborn ultimately resigned from the Truck Program, and she claims that the harassment was sufficiently severe to amount to a constructive discharge. *1298 The Supreme Court has recognized that "constructive discharge resulting from sexual harassment, or `hostile work environment,' attributable to a supervisor" is "one subset of Title VII constructive discharge claims." Pennsylvania State Police v. Suders, 542 U.S. 129, 143, 124 S.Ct. 2342, 159 L.Ed.2d 204 (2004). As discussed above, "[f]or an atmosphere of sexual harassment or hostility to be actionable . . . the offending behavior `must be sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of the victim's employment and create an abusive working environment.'" Id. at 146-47, 124 S.Ct. 2342 (citation omitted). "A hostile-environment constructive discharge claim entails something more: A plaintiff who advances such a compound claim must show working conditions so intolerable that a reasonable person would have felt compelled to resign." Id. at 147, 124 S.Ct. 2342. Once again viewing the totality of the evidence in the light most favorable to Wilborn, this court finds that a reasonable jury could conclude that the alleged harassment was sufficiently severe and pervasive to cause a reasonable person to quit. The court now turns to the issue of liability. The Supreme Court has held that, "An employer is subject to vicarious liability to a victimized employee for an actionable hostile environment created by a supervisor with immediate (or successively higher) authority over the employee." Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, 524 U.S. 775, 807, 118 S.Ct. 2275, 141 L.Ed.2d 662 (1998). However, "[w]hen no tangible employment action is taken, a defending employer may raise an affirmative defense to liability or damages, subject to proof by a preponderance of the evidence." Id. "The defense comprises two necessary elements: (a) that the employer exercised reasonable care to prevent and correct promptly any sexually harassing behavior, and (b) that the plaintiff employee unreasonably failed to take advantage of any preventive or corrective opportunities provided by the employer or to avoid harm otherwise." Id. As a preliminary matter, the court must address whether Lee and Conaway acted as "supervisors" with respect to Wilborn. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has "held that `a `supervisor' is not merely a person who possesses authority to oversee [a] plaintiff's job performance but a person with the power directly to affect the terms and conditions of the plaintiff's employment.'" Lewis v. United States DOL, 368 Fed.Appx. 20, 31-32 (11th Cir.2010) (quoting Bryant v. Jones, 575 F.3d 1281, 1300 (11th Cir.2009)). While the Court of Appeals has done little to elaborate on what constitutes a "power directly to affect the terms and conditions of the plaintiff's employment," even under a narrow reading, a reasonable jury could conclude that Lee and Conaway were supervisors.[14]Compare Parkins v. Civil Constr., Inc., 163 F.3d 1027, 1034 (7th Cir. 1998) ("This authority primarily consists of the power to hire, fire, demote, promote, transfer, or discipline an employee."), with Dinkins v. Charoen Pokphand USA, Inc., 133 F.Supp.2d 1254, 1266 (M.D.Ala.2001) (DeMent, J.) ("[A]n employee is a supervisor . . . for purposes of Title VII if he has the actual authority to take tangible employment actions . . . or to direct another employee's day-to-day work activities in a manner that may increase the employee's workload or assign additional *1299 or undesirable tasks.") (emphasis added). Truck Program participants were required to pass multiple written and performance tests to complete the program, and Lee and Conaway each administered and graded one or more of those tests. Thus, each had the ability to increase her workload and to prevent her from completing the program. Turning to the first prong of the affirmative defense, there is ample evidence from which a jury could conclude that the defendants failed to exercise reasonable care to prevent and correct sexual harassment. To be sure, it is undisputed that Wilborn received two separate documents describing grievance procedures. Moreover, she provided written acknowledgment of her receipt of each policy. The mere existence of a written anti-harassment policy, however, is not "sufficient. . . to establish the first prong of [the] affirmative defense." Dinkins v. Charoen Pokphand USA, Inc., 133 F.Supp.2d 1237, 1251 (M.D.Ala.2001) (DeMent, J.). Rather, the burden is on the employer "to show that its sexual harassment policy was effectively published, that it contained reasonable complaint procedures, and that it contained no other fatal defect." Frederick v. Sprint/United Mgmt. Co., 246 F.3d 1305, 1314 (11th Cir. 2001). Of course, "[a] policy is `defective' if those responsible for its enforcement lack training and knowledge sufficient to recognize, prevent, and correct workplace discrimination." Dinkins 133 F.Supp.2d at 1252. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued enforcement guidance on the issue of vicarious liability for unlawful harassment by supervisors. See EEOC Notice 915.002 (July 18, 1999), available at http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/harassment.html (last modified June 21, 1999). "As an `administrative interpretation of [Title VII] by the enforcing agency,' [this guidance], `while not controlling upon the courts by reason of [its] authority, do[es] constitute a body of experience and informed judgment to which courts and litigants may properly resort.'" Meritor Sav. Bank, FSB v. Vinson, 477 U.S. 57, 65, 106 S.Ct. 2399, 91 L.Ed.2d 49 (1986) (citations omitted); see also Dinkins, 133 F.Supp.2d at 1251 (citing EEOC Notice 915.002 as a persuasive authority). According to the EEOC, "[a]n anti-harassment policy and complaint procedure should contain, at a minimum, . . . [a] clear explanation of the prohibited conduct . . . [and a] clearly described complaint process that provides accessible avenues of complaint." EEOC Notice 915.002 at V.C.1. "Moreover, reasonable care in preventing and correcting harassment requires an employer to instruct all supervisors to report complaints of harassment to appropriate officials." Id. at V.C.1.c.[15] "An employer should ensure that its supervisors and managers understand their responsibilities under the organization's anti-harassment policy and complaint procedure." Id. at V.C.2. To achieve this end, an employer should periodically train its managers and supervisors, "explain[ing] the types of conduct that violate the employer's anti-harassment policy; the seriousness of the policy; [and] the responsibilities of supervisors and managers when they learn of alleged harassment." Id. In this case, only the ADECA policy refers specifically to discrimination. However, neither the word "harassment" nor a description of what might constitute harassment appears in the policy. And *1300 Wilborn has raised questions of fact with respect to whether any program official adequately explained sexual harassment or the ADECA policy to her. She has testified that when Brown distributed the policy, he only briefly discussed it, "hitting points here and there." Pl.'s Ex. A at 253:19. This testimony is consistent with Brown's admission that he did not discuss the policy or sexual harassment "in depth," Pl.'s Ex. G at 28:5. Indeed, Brown himself had never received any training on sexual harassment. Even if the ADECA policy adequately explained harassment, all the evidence before the court indicates that the policy was not effectively published. Although Wilborn admits that she read and signed the policy, the document was immediately collected by Brown and never returned to her. Defendants have provided no evidence that the policy was posted in program facilities, or that it was otherwise readily available to Wilborn or other participants. Compare Jackson v. Cintas Corp., 391 F.Supp.2d 1075, 1091-92 (M.D.Ala.2005) (DeMent, J.) (noting that "some district courts have concluded that `simply posting one's harassment policy on a bulletin board in a central location is enough to establish a reasonable dissemination of the policy'") (citations omitted). The failure to publish adequately the ADECA policy is amplified by the fact that the policy directs program participants to file discrimination complaints with Lillian Patterson at an address in Montgomery, Alabama. There is no evidence that Patterson ever visited the program, that Wilborn ever met Patterson, or that Wilborn otherwise knew how to contact Patterson.[16]See Madray v. Publix Supermarkets, Inc., 208 F.3d 1290, 1298 (11th Cir.2000) (finding a policy adequate in part because "designated, appropriate company representatives were accessible to . . . store employees"); Wilson v. Tulsa Junior College, 164 F.3d 534, 541 (10th Cir. 1998) (finding a policy deficient in part because employees were directed to make complaints to an official who was "located in a separate facility" and inaccessible during some work hours). Of course, Wilborn was aware of an alternative procedure. The Truck Program orientation materials informed her that she could bring any complaints to either Lee or Conaway, her instructors, or to Brown, her caseworker. All three of the men were readily available, and Wilborn knew how to contact them. Lee and Conaway, however, were the subjects of her complaints. And, as noted above, Brown admitted that he had never received any training on sexual harassment. Even if there were no disputed issues of fact with respect to the first prong of the affirmative defense, a reasonable jury could conclude that Wilborn did not "unreasonably fail[] to take advantage of any preventive or corrective opportunities provided by the [defendants]." Faragher, 524 U.S. at 807, 118 S.Ct. 2275. Wilborn has testified that she took advantage of such opportunities—limited though they were—by making oral and written complaints to Brown. Defendants make much of the fact that Wilborn did not file grievances with either Patterson or Edwards. As suggested above, the court is unwilling to conclude on summary judgment that Wilborn's failure to contact Patterson was unreasonable. The ADECA policy was not adequately published and there is no evidence that Wilborn otherwise knew how to contact Patterson. Nor was the failure to contact Edwards was unreasonable. While the orientation *1301 packet directed Wilborn to bring any complaints about her instructors to Brown, there was no such instruction to contact Edwards. Rather, the plain language of the written procedure directed that in the case of a grievance, she should take the initiative and "talk with [her] immediate instructor"; "discuss it with the lead instructor"; and, "discuss the situation with [her] Case Manager." Pl.'s Ex. B. at Dep. Ex. 1 (emphasis added). But, according to the text, no further effort by the aggrieved individual is required. Rather, "If there is still no satisfaction, the Training Coordinator will be called in to resolve the situation." Id. (emphasis added). Thus, Wilborn arguably followed procedure by bringing her complaints to Brown. In short, a reasonable jury could conclude that defendants are not entitled to the Faragher affirmative defense. For this reason, and others discussed above, summary judgment will be denied with respect to Wilborn's Title VII sexual harassment claim against Southern Union and ADECA, including her claim that the harassment was sufficiently severe to amount to a constructive discharge. ii. Sex Discrimination In addition to her sexual harassment claim, Wilborn alleges that defendants otherwise discriminated against her in violation of the substantive provisions of Title VII. Although the court has struggled to separate this claim from her harassment claim, it is apparently based on allegations that defendants terminated Wilborn from the Truck Program because of her sex.[17] To make out a prima facie case of sex discrimination in violation of Title VII, Wilborn must show that "she was a qualified member of a protected class and was subjected to an adverse employment action in contrast with similarly situated employees outside the protected class." Wilson v. B/E Aero., Inc., 376 F.3d 1079, 1087 (11th Cir.2004). This standard "require[s] an employee to establish an `ultimate employment decision' or make some other showing of substantiality in the employment context in order to establish an adverse employment action." Crawford v. Carroll, 529 F.3d 961, 970 (11th Cir.2008). In the employer context, "ultimate employment decisions [are] those `such as termination, failure to hire or demotion.'" Id. (citation omitted). In the employment agency context, termination from a training program prior to receiving a referral surely qualifies as an adverse employment action. In this case, however, Wilborn has not alleged sufficient facts from which a reasonable jury could conclude that she was terminated from the Truck Program. Rather, the evidence before the court, including Wilborn's own testimony, indicates that she withdrew from the program.[18] For this reason, summary judgment will *1302 be granted with respect to her claim that defendants discriminated against her on the basis of sex by terminating her from the program.[19] iii. Retaliation Wilborn also claims that she was the victim of adverse retaliatory action, in violation of Title VII. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3(a) makes it "an unlawful employment practice" for an employment agency to "discriminate against any individual . . . because he has opposed any practice made an unlawful employment practice by [Title VII,] or because he has made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under [Title VII]." "A prima facie case of retaliation under [§ 2000e-3(a)] requires the plaintiff to show that: (1) she engaged in an activity protected under Title VII; (2) she suffered [a materially adverse] action; and (3) there was a causal connection between the protected activity and the adverse . . . action." Crawford v. Carroll, 529 F.3d 961, 970 (11th Cir.2008); see also Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Ry. v. White, 548 U.S. 53, 66, 126 S.Ct. 2405, 165 L.Ed.2d 345 (2006).[20] The substance of the alleged retaliatory action is unclear in Wilborn's complaint. But her brief in response to the motion for summary judgment clarifies the complaint, arguing that "a reasonable juror could find that being terminated from an occupational program and the related loss of two conditional offers of employment would dissuade [a person] from making a complaint of sexual harassment or discrimination." Pl.'s Br. at 56. While termination would surely qualify as a materially adverse action, Wilborn quit the program and thus has failed to allege a prima facie claim of retaliation. 2. Title IX Wilborn's Title IX claims mirror those she raises pursuant to Title VII; she alleges that Southern Union and ADECA are liable for sexual harassment, sex discrimination, and retaliation.[21] Defendants argue that Wilborn's Title IX claims are preempted by Title VII and, furthermore, that her claims fail on the merits. The court first addresses the preemption issue, and then turns to the merits of her Title IX claims. a. Preemption "Title IX prohibits sex discrimination by recipients of federal education funding." Jackson v. Birmingham Bd. of Educ., 544 U.S. 167, 173, 125 S.Ct. 1497, 161 L.Ed.2d 361 (2005). "The statute provides that `[n]o person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.'" Id. (quoting 20 U.S.C. § 1681(a)).[22] The Supreme *1303 Court has "held that Title IX implies a private right of action . . . [and] that it authorizes private parties to seek monetary damages for intentional violations of Title IX." Id. (citations omitted). Despite the broad language of Title IX, some circuit courts have held "that Congress intended Title VII to exclude a damage remedy under Title IX for individuals alleging employment discrimination." Lakoski v. James, 66 F.3d 751, 755 (5th Cir. 1995); see also Delgado v. Stegall, 367 F.3d 668, 670 (7th Cir.2004) ("[S]exual harassment of university employees is not actionable under Title IX if the employee could obtain relief under Title VII."). In reaching this holding, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals accepted that, "[a]lthough phrased differently, both Title VII and Title IX protect individuals from employment discrimination on the basis of sex." Lakoski, 66 F.3d at 756. But the court also found that "the Title IX right to be free from sex discrimination in employment is no different from the Title VII right." Id. Thus, in most cases, an employment discrimination claim cognizable under Title IX could also be asserted under Title VII. Working from this finding, the court explained that if employment discrimination that violates Title VII could be asserted under Title IX, "a complainant could avoid most if not all of [Title VII's] detailed and specific provisions of . . . law [and] . . . could completely bypass the administrative process, which plays such a crucial role in the scheme established by Congress in Title VII." Id. at 755.[23] The court did not accept "that Congress offered Title IX to employees of federally funded educational institutions so as to provide a bypass to Title VII's administrative procedures," and therefore arrived at the above-stated holding. Although neither the Supreme Court nor the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has directly addressed this issue, "various district courts within the Eleventh Circuit. . . have [persuasively] held that Title VII preempts Title IX and provides the exclusive remedy for employment discrimination claims against federally funded education programs." Schultz v. Bd. of Trustees of Univ. of West Florida, 2007 WL 1490714 at *2 (N.D.Fla. May 21, 2007) (Smoak, J.) (citing Hankinson v. Thomas County Sch. Dist, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25576 (M.D.Ga. Oct. 28, 2005) (Lawson, J.); Morris v. Wallace Cmty. College-Selma, 125 F.Supp.2d 1315 (S.D.Ala.2001) (Vollmer, J.); Blalock v. Dale County Bd. of Educ., 84 F.Supp.2d 1291 (M.D.Ala.1999) (DeMent, J.); Hazel v. School Bd. of Dade County, 7 F.Supp.2d 1349 (S.D.Fla.1998) (Moore, J.); Gibson v. Hickman, 2 F.Supp.2d 1481, 1484 (M.D.Ga.1998) (Owens, J.)). This court, however, need not reach the preemption issue, as it finds that Wilborn's case is distinguishable from those cited above. Unlike the plaintiffs in those cases, all of whom were employees asserting claims against their employers, Wilborn is a student asserting claims against a federally funded education program. Moreover, although her Title VII and Title IX claims are based on the same *1304 set of facts, the latter set of claims clearly assert discrimination with respect to her education, not her employment.[24]Cf. Delgado v. Stegall, 367 F.3d 668, 670 (7th Cir.2004) ("We cannot find any cases dealing with the question but it seems to us that harassment of a student interferes with her educational experience whether or not she is also a part-time employee."). Unlike Title IX, Title VII provides no cause of action for discrimination that interferes with an individual's education, and thus cannot be read as preempting such a claim. For this reason, the court rejects defendants' preemption argument. b. Injunctive Relief Under Title IX Before turning to the merits of Wilborn's Title IX claims, the court addresses whether she has standing to pursue her prayer for injunctive relief under the statute. "[B]ecause the constitutional standing doctrine stems directly from Article III's `case or controversy' requirement,. . . [it] implicates [the court's] subject matter jurisdiction, and accordingly must be addressed as a threshold matter regardless of whether it is raised by the parties." Nat'l Parks Conservation Ass'n v. Norton, 324 F.3d 1229, 1242 (11th Cir. 2003). As she summarized in her brief, Wilborn has requested "specific injunctive relief related to the implementation and monitoring of anti-discrimination policies and procedures for the defendant entities in receipt of federal funds." Pl.'s Br. at 56. "As an irreducible minimum, Article III requires a plaintiff to meet three standing requirements." Williams v. Bd. of Regents, 477 F.3d 1282, 1302 (11th Cir. 2007). Among these requirements is a "show[ing] that it is likely, rather than speculative, that a favorable decision will redress her injury." Id. "Additionally, `[b]ecause injunctions regulate future conduct, a party has standing to seek injunctive relief only if the party alleges, and ultimately proves, a real and immediate—as opposed to a merely conjectural or hypothetical—threat of future injury.'" Id. (citation omitted). In this case, Wilborn "lack[s] standing to pursue [the requested] injunctive relief because the threat of future harm to [her] and other students is merely conjectural." Id. at 1303. Lee and Conaway are no longer employed by any defendant. "Therefore, as for harm that may come from them, granting injunctive relief would not prevent future harm to [Wilborn] or other students or remedy the past harm [she] suffered." Id. Moreover, Wilborn is no longer a participant in any educational program administered by the defendants, nor has she alleged a plan to become such a participant in the future. Consequently, the relief she requests will not protect her from future injury. c. Merits of Title IX Claims i. Sexual Harassment As noted above, the private right of action for monetary damages under Title IX is an implied right. Over the course of *1305 several cases, the Court has "defined the contours of that right of action." Jackson, 544 U.S. at 173, 125 S.Ct. 1497; see also Gebser v. Lago Vista Indep. Sch. Dist., 524 U.S. 274, 284, 118 S.Ct. 1989, 141 L.Ed.2d 277 (1998) ("Because the private right of action under Title IX is judicially implied, we have a measure of latitude to shape a sensible remedial scheme that best comports with the statute."). For example, the Court has recognized that Title IX, like Title VII, "authorizes private parties to seek monetary damages for . . . sexual harassment." Jackson, 544 U.S. at 173, 125 S.Ct. 1497. As defined by the Court, however, Title IX's cause of action for sexual harassment differs in important respects from Title VII's parallel cause of action. Defendants maintain that these differences are material in Wilborn's case. In contrast to its test for employer liability in Title VII sexual harassment cases, the Supreme Court has found that "it would `frustrate the purposes' of Title IX to permit a damages recovery against a [recipient of federal funds] for a teacher's sexual harassment of a student based on principles of respondeat superior or constructive notice." Gebser v. Lago Vista Indep. Sch. Dist., 524 U.S. 274, 285, 118 S.Ct. 1989, 141 L.Ed.2d 277 (1998); compare Faragher, 524 U.S. at 807, 118 S.Ct. 2275 (Under Title VII "[a]n employer is subject to vicarious liability to a victimized employee for an actionable hostile environment created by a supervisor with immediate (or successively higher) authority over the employee."). The Court explained that "the express remedial scheme under Title IX is predicated upon notice to an `appropriate person' and an opportunity to rectify any violation, 20 U.S.C. § 1682 . . . [and concluded that] in the absence of further direction from Congress, . . . the implied damages remedy should be fashioned along the same lines." Gebser, 524 U.S. at 290, 118 S.Ct. 1989. "An `appropriate person' under § 1682 is, at minimum, an official of the recipient entity with authority to take corrective action to end the discrimination." Id. Working from this understanding of the statute's remedial scheme, the Court held that "a damages remedy will not lie under Title IX unless an official who at minimum has authority to address the alleged discrimination and to institute corrective measures on the recipient's behalf has actual knowledge of discrimination in the recipient's programs and fails adequately to respond." Id. "[M]oreover . . . the response must amount to a deliberate indifference to discrimination." Id. Thus, to survive summary judgment on her Title IX sexual harassment claim—at least with respect to her claim for damages—Wilborn must produce sufficient evidence that: (1) an "appropriate person" at Southern Union or ADECA had actual notice of the discrimination, and (2) once an "appropriate person" had actual notice, that person was deliberately indifferent to the harassment. See Sauls v. Pierce County Sch. Dist., 399 F.3d 1279, 1284 (11th Cir.2005).[25] For the sake of clarity, the court addresses Southern Union and ADECA separately. Southern Union: Wilborn has testified that she repeatedly made complaints *1306 about the alleged harassment to Brown. To be sure, Brown lacked the power to fire or discipline the alleged perpetrators of the harassment. However, Wilborn has offered evidence that Southern Union granted him the power, and imposed the obligation, to collect complaints from program participants and report them to Southern Union officials endowed with the power to fire or discipline. Moreover, while it was not Brown's job to directly supervise program instructors, such supervision was a de facto result of his duty to record and report on the experiences and progress of the participants. A reasonable juror could conclude from these facts that Brown thus had the requisite authority to take corrective action to end the harassment. See Warren v. Reading Sch. Dist., 278 F.3d 163, 173 (3d Cir. 2002) ("The authority to supervise a teacher and to investigate a complaint of misconduct implies the authority to initiate corrective measures such as reporting her findings to her superior."). The conclusion that Brown was an appropriate person with respect to Southern Union is buttressed by the fact that the Truck Program's written grievance policy directed participants to bring to Brown those complaints that they could not resolve in class. This suggests, and a reasonable jury could conclude, that Brown was internally viewed as an appropriate person to institute corrective measures on Southern Union's behalf. Moreover, and as discussed in the court's Title VII analysis, the text of the program's grievance policy strongly suggests that once a participant lodged a complaint with Brown, she need take no further initiative to set corrective measures in motion. Rather, "the Training Coordinator will be called in to resolve the situation." Pl.'s Ex. B at Dep. Ex. 1.[26] While, "the failure to promulgate a grievance procedure does not itself constitute `discrimination' under Title IX," Gebser, 524 U.S. at 292, 118 S.Ct. 1989, a recipient of federal funds should not be able to construct a grievance procedure so as to shield itself from Title IX liability. It is undisputed that Brown took no action on Wilborn's grievances until after she had quit the program. A total failure to act in the face of repeated complaints is the very definition of deliberate indifference. Summary judgment will be denied with respect to Wilborn's Title IX sexual harassment claim for damages against Southern Union. ADECA: Wilborn contends that, if Brown is an appropriate person with respect to Southern Union, he must also be an appropriate person with respect to ADECA. She bases this argument on her assertion that ADECA and Southern Union were joint employers of Brown and other Truck Program staff. Resolving the issue of joint employment, however, does not resolve the issue of Title IX liability. Gebser, 524 U.S. at 285, 118 S.Ct. 1989 ("[I]t would frustrate the purposes of Title IX to permit a damages recovery against a [recipient of federal funds] for a teacher's sexual harassment of a student based on principles of respondeat superior or constructive notice."). And in this case, some of the very factors that suggest that Brown was an appropriate person with respect to Southern Union are absent with respect to ADECA. As noted by defendants, "Wilborn cites no portion of any . . . polic[y] . . . that would require Brown to report any alleged complaint of *1307 sexual harassment to anyone other than. . . Southern Union." Def.'s Br. at 11. And the court is aware of no other evidence that Brown was obligated to report complaints of harassment to ADECA. Moreover, ADECA developed its own grievance policy, which explicitly directed that all complaints of discrimination be reported to Lillian Patterson. Thus, at least with respect to discrimination, it would appear that ADECA intended to over-ride the program's more general grievance procedure. For these reasons, the court finds insufficient evidence to support a conclusion that Brown was an appropriate person with respect to ADECA. Summary judgment will be granted with respect to Wilborn's Title IX harassment claim for monetary damages against ADECA. ii. Sex Discrimination As was the case in its Title VII analysis, the court has struggled to separate Wilborn's Title IX "discrimination" claim from her harassment claim. Her brief provides little assistance, as it notes only that "a Title IX sex discrimination claim is analyzed under the same framework as a Title VII sex discrimination claim" and "respectfully refers the Court to her . . . Title VII sex discrimination argument." Pl.'s Br. at 60. Thus, the court can only conclude that this claim is also based on Wilborn's supposed "termination" from the Truck Program. Because Wilborn quit the program, summary judgment will be granted with respect to this claim. iii. Retaliation Wilborn's Title IX retaliation claim also appears to be based on the assertion that she was terminated from the Truck Program. See Pl.'s Br. at 61 ("[A] reasonable juror could easily find a causal connection between the plaintiff's complaints of sexual harassment and the defendants['] termination of her from their program."). Because Wilborn quit the program, summary judgment will be granted on this claim as well. 3. Equal Protection Wilborn brings claims against Lee and Conaway in their individual capacities, alleging violations of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, as enforced by 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Specifically, Wilborn alleges that each man sexually harassed, discriminated and retaliated against her in violation of her constitutional right to equal protection. Although defendants moved for summary judgment on these claims, they offered little argument specific to them.[27] "To state a claim under § 1983, a plaintiff must allege the violation of a right secured by the Constitution and laws of the United States, and must show that the alleged deprivation was committed by a person acting under color of state law." West v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 42, 48, 108 S.Ct. 2250, 101 L.Ed.2d 40 (1988). Defendants make no attempt to contest Wilborn's assertion that Lee and Conaway committed the alleged violations while acting under color of state law, and the court sees no reason to reach such a conclusion on its own. Thus, the court turns to whether Wilborn has alleged a violation of a right secured by the constitution. *1308 It is well-established that the Equal Protection Clause protects individuals from sexual harassment committed by a person acting under color of state law. See Downing v. Board of Trustees of the Univ. Of Alabama, 321 F.3d 1017 (11th Cir.2003). Moreover, the "elements of a sexual harassment claim under Title VII and the Equal Protection Clause are the same—meaning that the employee must prove that the state actor intended to discriminate because of the employee's sex." Id. at 1024. Under this analysis, summary judgment will be denied with respect to Wilborn's 14th Amendment-based sexual harassment claim, just as it was with respect to her Title VII-based sexual harassment claim. Wilborn's additional sexual discrimination and retaliation claims apparently rely on her claimed termination from the program. Because she quit the program, summary judgment is due on these claims.[28] B. State Claims Wilborn alleges that one or both of the individual defendants, Lee and Conaway, committed various intentional torts against her. She further claims that the institutional defendants, Southern Union, ADECA and ADPE, are vicariously liable for these torts. Defendants maintain that the institutional defendants are shielded from suit by state sovereign immunity, and that the individual defendants are likewise protected by state agent immunity. They also argue that Wilborn's tort claims fail on the merits. 1. Immunity a. State Sovereign Immunity "Under Ala. Const. of 1901, § 14, the State of Alabama has absolute immunity from lawsuits." Ex parte Tuscaloosa County, 796 So.2d 1100, 1103 (Ala.2000). "This absolute immunity extends to arms or agencies of the state." Id. And, "`[a]bsolute immunity' means just that—the State and its agencies are not subject to suit under any theory." Ala. Dep't of Corr. v. Montgomery County Comm'n, 11 So.3d 189, 191 (Ala.2008). Wilborn does not dispute that Southern Union, ADECA, and ADPE are agencies of the state and therefore protected by state immunity. In fact, she explicitly "concedes any monetary damages against these defendants under her Alabama State law claims." Pl.'s Br. at 62. Nonetheless, Wilborn maintains that her claims for injunctive relief are due to proceed under an exception to state sovereign immunity. She is incorrect. To be sure, "caselaw going back nearly 40 years supports the proposition that the prohibition of § 14 [of the Alabama Constitution] is subject to certain exceptions." Ala. Dep't of Corr., 11 So.3d at 194. But the Alabama Supreme Court has recently made clear that "the exceptions are relevant only as they relate to claims against State officials in their official capacities, not as they relate to the State agency or the State itself." Id. "For actions against the State or one of its agencies, there are no exceptions." Id. Wilborn's complaint fails to name a single state official in his or her official capacity, *1309 and "[t]he jurisdictional bar of § 14 simply `preclud[es] a court from exercising subject-matter jurisdiction' over [a] State or a State agency." Id. at 191-92 (citation omitted). "Any action taken by a court without subject-matter jurisdiction—other than dismissing the action—is void." Id. at 192. For this reason, Wilborn's state-law claims against Southern Union, ADECA and ADPE will be dismissed. b. State-Agent Immunity The Alabama Supreme Court has held that, "A State agent shall be immune from civil liability in his or her personal capacity when the conduct made the basis of the claim against the agent is based upon the agent's [engagement in certain specified types of activities]." Ex parte Butts, 775 So.2d 173, 177 (Ala.2000) (citation omitted) (emphasis in original). These activities include, inter alia, the "exercising [of] judgment in the discharge of duties imposed by statute, rule, or regulation in . . . educating students." Id. at 178. However, "a State agent shall not be immune from civil liability in his or her personal capacity: "(1) when the Constitution or laws of the United States, or the Constitution of [Alabama], or laws, rules, or regulations of [Alabama] enacted or promulgated for the purposes of regulating the activities of a government agency require otherwise; or "(2) when the State agent acts willfully, maliciously, fraudulently, in bad faith, beyond his or her authority, or under a mistaken interpretation of the law." Id. (emphasis in original). The Alabama Supreme Court has "established a `burden-shifting' process when a party raises the defense of State-agent immunity." Giambrone v. Douglas, 874 So.2d 1046, 1052 (Ala.2003) (citation omitted). "In order to claim State-agent immunity, the [defendant officials] bear the burden of demonstrating that [the plaintiff's] claims arise from a function that would entitle them to immunity." Id. "If the [defendants] make such a showing, the burden shifts to [the plaintiff]," who must show that the defendants actions fell into one of the two exceptions listed above. Defendants argue that they have carried the initial burden because, "[a]s state instructors, Lee and Conaway were delegated the authority to use their judgment and discretion in order to run their classrooms." Def.'s Br. at 28. Even if this is true—and defendants provide no evidence in support of this assertion—Wilborn has presented sufficient evidence that the actions of Lee and Conaway, including sexually explicit jokes, unwanted touching and the displaying of pornographic videos, were violative of policies by which they were bound and thus exceeded their authority. Both Lee and Conaway testified that they received on-going training on sexual harassment from Edwards. When asked about the content of this training, Lee stated his understanding that, "Touching, dirty language, sexual innuendos about jokes or something of that nature" were all prohibited by policy. Pl.'s Ex. C at 20:1-3. He further stated that Edwards emphasized, "Definitely no touching." Id. at 20:3. This description of prohibited activities essentially mirrors the alleged behavior that forms the basis of Wilborn's state tort claims.[29] *1310 A reasonable jury could thus conclude that, if Lee or Conaway engaged in the alleged behavior, it was "beyond his . . . authority." Ex parte Butts, 775 So.2d at 177. See Ex parte Yancey, 8 So.3d 299, 306 (Ala.2008) ("A State agent acts beyond authority and is therefore not immune when he or she fail[s] to discharge duties pursuant to detailed rules or regulations.") (citation and quotation marks omitted). The court cannot, therefore, find that either Lee or Conaway is entitled to state-agent immunity. 2. Merits of State-Law Claims a. Assault and Battery Wilborn asserts a claim of assault and battery against Lee. "The plaintiff in an action alleging assault and battery must prove `(1) that the defendant touched the plaintiff; (2) that the defendant intended to touch the plaintiff; and (3) that the touching was conducted in a harmful or offensive manner.'" Harper v. Winston County, 892 So.2d 346, 353 (Ala.2004) (citation omitted). It is well-established that "[a]n actual injury to the body is not a necessary element of a civil assault and battery." Surrency v. Harbison, 489 So.2d 1097, 1104 (Ala.1986). Defendants do not, and cannot, argue that Wilborn has failed to allege that Lee intentionally touched her person. Wilborn has testified that Lee "popped her on the butt at least twice (once while remarking how `sweet smelling' she was), pulled her pants out to expose her panties, and lifted her shirt up and touched her back." Pl.'s Br. at 64. Rather, defendants argue that the touching was not sufficiently "severe" to support Wilborn's assault-and-battery claim. See Def.'s Br. at 42. In other words, defendants apparently contend that she has failed to present evidence that the alleged touchings were sufficiently "harmful" or "offensive." Alabama caselaw, however, supports a contrary conclusion. In Ex parte Atmore Community Hosp., 719 So.2d 1190, 1194 (Ala.1998), the plaintiff "presented evidence indicating that [defendant] touched her waist, rubbed against her when passing her in the hall, poked her in the armpits near the breast area, and touched her leg." The plaintiff "also presented evidence indicating that each of these touchings was intentional, was conducted with sexual overtones, and was unwelcome." Id. The court concluded that "[t]hese factual assertions constituted substantial evidence that [defendant] committed a battery." Id. The evidence presented against Lee is sufficiently similar. Summary judgment will be denied with respect to this claim. b. Invasion of Privacy Wilborn brings invasion-of-privacy claims against Lee and Conaway. In Alabama, "the invasion of privacy tort consists of four distinct wrongs: 1) the intrusion upon the plaintiff's physical solitude or seclusion; 2) publicity which violates ordinary decencies; 3) putting the plaintiff in a false, but not necessarily defamatory, position in the public eye; and 4) the appropriation of some element of the plaintiff's personality for a commercial use." Phillips v. Smalley Maintenance Services, Inc., 435 So.2d 705, 708 (Ala.1983). Wilborn "claims invasion of privacy under the `intrusion upon seclusion' theory." Pl.'s Br. at 64. To succeed on a claim of intrusion upon seclusion "relating to sexual harassment, a plaintiff must show: (1) that the matters intruded into are of a private nature; and (2) that the intrusion would be so offensive or objectionable that a reasonable person subjected to it would experience outrage, mental suffering, shame, or humiliation." Ex parte Atmore, 719 So.2d 1190, 1194 (Ala.1998). Thus, a plaintiff must allege "something in the nature of prying or intrusion" by a defendant. Stevenson, *1311 762 So.2d at 826 (Ala.1999) (citation and quotation marks omitted). However, "acquisition of information from a plaintiff is not a requisite element of [this] cause of action." Phillips, 435 So.2d at 709. Defendants make no effort to distinguish between Lee and Conaway. Instead, they argue generally that "there is no showing that the instructors invaded private matters warranting protection." Def.'s Br. at 31. This court disagrees, finding that Wilborn has made such a showing with respect to Lee. The Alabama Supreme Court has explained that, "looking up one's skirt may constitute an invasion of privacy." Ex parte Atmore, 719 So.2d at 1194; see also Restatement 2d. of Torts § 652(B), cmt. c.[30] ("Even in a public place . . . there may be some matters about the plaintiff, such as his underwear or lack of it, that are not exhibited to the public gaze; and there may . . . be invasion of privacy when there is intrusion upon these matters."). And that court has held that a plaintiff presented substantial evidence of an invasion of privacy by alleging that a defendant "made several lewd comments[,] asked [her] to meet him outside of work hours for other than business purposes[,] . . . [and] looked up her skirt on more than one occasion." Ex parte Atmore, 719 So.2d at 1194. Wilborn has testified that Lee pulled her shirt up from behind in such a manner that she had to cross her arms to prevent her chest and bra from being exposed. Despite Wilborn's protests, Lee continued to hold up her shirt; invited Conaway to view her exposed back; and commented, "let me show you this spider bite on Selenia; it must be a man spider because it didn't bite nobody but her." Pl.'s Ex. A at 141:7-10. On that same occasion, Lee pulled out the elastic of her pants, exposing her underwear. To be sure, Conaway made inappropriate comments about a pair of plastic handcuffs that were hanging in Wilborn's car. He also facilitated the showing of a pornographic film in the classroom and, in reference to depictions of a woman having sex with a horse, stated, "I bet you never had one that big, Selenia." Pl.'s Ex. A at 180:1-2. While Conaway's behavior surely contributed to the creation of a hostile environment—in ways at least as serious as Lee—none of it was in the "nature of prying or intrusion." Thus, summary judgment will be granted with respect to Wilborn's invasion of privacy claim against Conaway. c. Outrage Wilborn brings claims of outrage against Lee and Conaway. The Alabama tort of outrage "is essentially equivalent to what many states refer to as `intentional infliction of emotion distress.'" K.M. v. Ala. Dep't of Youth Servs., 360 F.Supp.2d 1253, 1259 (M.D.Ala.2005) (Thompson, J.). In order to prove a claim of outrage, a plaintiff must establish that, "(1) the defendant. . . intended to inflict emotional distress, or should have known that his or her acts would result in emotional distress; (2) the act [was] extreme and outrageous; (3) the act . . . caused plaintiff['s] distress; and (4) plaintiff['s] emotional distress [was] so severe that no reasonable person could be expected to endure it." Id. at 1259 (citing Harrelson v. R.J., 882 So.2d 317, 322 (Ala.2003)). The Alabama Supreme Court has emphasized "that this tort does not recognize recovery for *1312 `mere insults, indignities, threats, annoyances, petty oppressions, or other trivialities.'" American Rd. Serv. Co. v. Inmon, 394 So.2d 361, 364-65 (Ala.1980) (citation omitted). Rather, recovery is only appropriate for "conduct so outrageous in character and so extreme in degree as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency, and to be regarded as atrocious and utterly intolerable in a civilized society." Id. at 365. As indicated by the elements, "The tort of outrage is an extremely limited cause of action." Potts v. Hayes, 771 So.2d 462, 465 (Ala.2000). Nonetheless, the Alabama Supreme Court has recognized the claim for conduct that amounts to "egregious sexual harassment." Id. (citations omitted). Wilborn bases her outrage claim on all her alleged mistreatment in the Truck Program, not just the sexual harassment sex. In other words, her outrage claim is based on Title VII sex harassment—which is, by definition, severe sexual harassment—plus additional inappropriate conduct. A reasonable jury could conclude that the totality of the alleged conduct was sufficiently "extreme and outrageous" to support an outrage claim. Wilborn has also alleged severe emotional distress proximately caused by the conduct, and the defendants reasonably should have known that emotional distress would result from their actions. For these reasons, the court will allow her outrage claim to proceed to trial. d. Negligent and/or Wanton Supervision, Training and Retention Count VII of Wilborn's amended complaint asserts claims of negligent and/or wanton supervision, training and retention against Southern Union, ADECA and ADPE. As noted above, these state agencies are protected by state sovereign immunity, and thus are not subject to suit. Moreover, Wilborn explicitly conceded this claim in her response to the motion for summary judgment. See Pl.'s Br. at 62 n. 23 ("Plaintiff also concedes . . . Count VII of the Amended Complaint . . . in its entirety.") * * * For the forgoing reasons, it is ORDERED as follows: (1) Defendants Southern Union State Community College, Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA), Alabama Department of Postsecondary Education (ADPE), John Lee, and Doug Conaway's motion for summary judgment (doc. no. 29) is denied with respect to plaintiff Selenia Wilborn's: (a) Title VII sexual harassment claim against defendants Southern Union and ADECA, including her claim of hostile-environment constructive discharge; (b) Title IX sexual harassment claim for damages against defendant Southern Union; (c) Fourteenth Amendment sexual harassment claim, through 42 U.S.C. § 1983, against defendants Lee and Conaway; (d) Alabama state-law claims for assault, invasion of privacy, and outrage against defendant Lee; and, (e) Alabama state-law claim for outrage against defendant Conaway. Only these claims will go to trial. (2) Said motion is granted in all other respects, with judgment entered in favor of defendants Southern Union, ADECA, ADPE, Lee, and Conaway and against plaintiff Wilborn in these respects, with plaintiff Wilborn taking nothing by her complaint in these respects. NOTES [1] As Training Coordinator, Edwards was responsible for "supervis[ing] the instructors. . . [and] the operations of the class, as far as the purchasing of equipment, purchasing of supplies, maintenance of equipment[,] . . . budgeting . . . [and] ensuring that the classes were run properly." Pl.'s Ex. B at 23:10-16. [2] When asked whether Lee and Conaway could "just wing off and decide they were going to teach their course in a way that contradicted what ADECA had set out," Edwards responded, "No." Pl.'s Ex. B at 83:15-20. Edwards also agreed that it was part of his job to "mak[e] sure that [the instructors] kept in with [ADECA] guidelines." Id. at 83:22-84:1. [3] Brown's office was at the Selma Careerlink Center, near the Truck Program facilities. Edward's office was in Opelika, Alabama, over 100 miles from Selma. [4] Nor does the ADECA policy use the word "harassment," although it does note a prohibition against discrimination in "[p]roviding opportunities or treatment in a WIA program or activity." Pl.'s Ex. G at Dep. Ex. 24. [5] "[S]he still had two full days to test when she walked out of the class." Pl.'s Ex. C at 144:9-11. [6] There is no dispute that each defendant is a person as that term is used in Title VII. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e(a) ("The term `person' includes one or more individuals, governments, governmental agencies, political subdivisions, labor unions, partnerships, associations, corporations, legal representatives, mutual companies, joint-stock companies, trusts, unincorporated organizations, trustees, trustees under title 11, United States Code, or receivers."). [7] It is also noteworthy that Brown continued to help participants procure employment even after they had completed the program. [8] In Harris, 510 U.S. at 21, 114 S.Ct. 367, the United States Supreme Court explained that, "The phrase `terms, conditions, or privileges of employment' evinces a congressional intent `to strike at the entire spectrum of disparate treatment of men and women' in employment, which includes requiring people to work in a discriminatorily hostile or abusive environment." (Citation and quotation marks omitted.) [9] At least one court has "noted that the meaning of the phrase `or otherwise to discriminate' is not elucidated by legislative history." Vick v. Texas Employment Com'n, 514 F.2d 734, 736 (5th Cir. 1975). [10] Of course, a hostile environment will not always fall short of a failure to refer. In this case, the plaintiff has alleged that the environment was sufficiently hostile to cause a reasonable person to quit (i.e. that she was "constructively discharged" from the employment agency). [11] See also Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, 524 U.S. 775, 807, 118 S.Ct. 2275, 141 L.Ed.2d 662 (1998) (upholding the foundational principle that "[a]n employer is subject to vicarious liability to a victimized employee for an actionable hostile environment created by a supervisor with immediate (or successively higher) authority over the employee."). The related issue of whether Lee and Conaway were supervisors is addressed below. [12] It is noteworthy that the burden on a plaintiff is heightened when she attempts to establish that "governmental subdivisions denominated as separate and distinct under state law should . . . be aggregated for purposes of Title VII." Lyes, 166 F.3d at 1345. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held that, "where a state legislative body creates a public entity and declares it separate and distinct, that declaration should be entitled to a significant degree of deference, amounting to a presumption that the public entity is indeed separate and distinct for purpose of Title VII." Id. at 1344. Although defendants have not pointed the court to a legislative declaration that Southern Union and ADPE are distinct entities, they have noted that "the Alabama Supreme Court [has] upheld a judgment finding that . . . Alabama's postsecondary institutions did not operate as a single system for the purpose of tenure." Holland v. Pearson, 20 So.3d 120, 122 (Ala. Civ.App.2008) (citing Hulcher v. Taunton, 388 So.2d 1203 (Ala. 1980)). [13] There is no dispute the Wilborn subjectively perceived the harassment as sufficiently severe and pervasive to alter the terms and conditions of employment. [14] Although a broader interpretation is perhaps most consistent with Faragher, 524 U.S. at 781, 118 S.Ct. 2275, where the Supreme Court found that an employee "responsible for making . . . daily assignments, and for supervising [other employees'] work and fitness training" was a supervisor. [15] See also EEOC Notice at V.C.2. ("An employer's duty to exercise due care includes instructing all of its supervisors and managers to address or report to appropriate officials complaints of harassment regardless of whether they are officially designated to take complaints.") (emphasis added). [16] It is noteworthy that, upon examining the ADECA policy during her deposition, Wilborn testified that she might have contacted Patterson if she had possessed a copy of the policy. [17] See Pl.'s Br. at 53 ("Evidence has been submitted that Lee . . . terminated [Wilborn] from the program . . . . She clearly suffered an adverse employment action as she was effectively prevented from pursuing [available] employment opportunities by the actions of the defendants."). [18] It is also noteworthy, although not decisive, that Wilborn's complaint makes no reference to termination. Rather, it alleges that, "As a result of the continued sexual harassment, sex discrimination and retaliation, [Wilborn] withdrew from the program on August 3, 2007, as she could no longer endure the sexually hostile and retaliatory environment." Am. Compl. at ¶ 59 (emphasis added); see also id. at ¶ 103 ("As a result of these Defendants subjecting [Wilborn] to sexual harassment, sex discrimination and retaliation she withdrew from the employment program under circumstances in which a reasonable person would have felt compelled to resign. Thus, these Defendants have constructively discharged [her]."). [19] Of course, as discussed in the previous section, she may nonetheless proceed on her hostile-environment constructive discharge claim. [20] "[T]he Burlington Court effectively rejected the standards applied by [the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals] . . . that required an employee to show either an ultimate employment decision or substantial employment action to establish an adverse employment action for the purpose of a Title VII retaliation claim." Crawford, 529 F.3d at 973-74. [21] Wilborn also brings Title IX claims against ADPE. However, the court has already determined that Wilborn failed to offer evidence from which a reasonable juror could conclude that ADPE and Southern Union were a single employer, joint employers, or in an agency relationship with respect to the Truck Program. As Wilborn offers no other basis for ADPE's liability under Title IX, summary judgment will be granted on these claims with respect to ADPE. [22] It is undisputed that the Truck Program, Southern Union and ADECA received federal financial assistance. It is also undisputed that the Truck Program was an "educational program" for purposes of Title IX. [23] See, e.g., Alexander v. Gardner-Denver Co., 415 U.S. 36, 44, 94 S.Ct. 1011, 39 L.Ed.2d 147 (1974) ("Cooperation and voluntary compliance were selected as the preferred means for achieving [Title VII's goals]. To this end, Congress created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and established a procedure whereby existing state and local equal employment agencies, as well as the Commission, would have an opportunity to settle disputes through conference, conciliation, and persuasion before the aggrieved party was permitted to file a lawsuit."). [24] Compare Lakoski, 66 F.3d at 752 (Plaintiff "alleg[ed] that the University intentionally discriminated against her on the basis of sex in denying her tenure."); Schultz, 2007 WL 1490714 at *2 n. 3 ("The allegations constituting the Title VII and XI claims are identical. Both claims allege that the University has discriminated `against Schultz because of her sex in the terms, conditions and privileges of her employment.'") Hankinson, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25576 at *6 ("[T]he portion of Plaintiff's Title IX damage claim that alleges Defendant discriminated against her individually, in failing to offer her the same employment opportunities that it offered her male counterparts, is preempted by Title VII."); Blalock, 84 F.Supp.2d at 1298 ("[I]n her Title IX claim[,] . . . Plaintiff alleges that she `has been discriminated against in employment based on . . . sex.'"). [25] The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held that, in cases of "involv[ing] teacher-on-student harassment, [a plaintiff] need not establish [that the alleged] misconduct was `so severe, pervasive and objectively offensive' that it denied [her] equal access to educational programs or opportunities." Sauls, 399 F.3d at 1284. Nonetheless, and out of an abundance of caution, the court notes that it has already found that a reasonable juror could conclude that the alleged harassment was sufficiently severe to support a Title VII claim. Were it required, the court would reach the same conclusion with respect to her Title IX harassment claim. [26] Wilborn also testified, "Once I reported it to Mr. Brown, I just felt like he was going to take the necessary steps to report it to whoever it needed reporting to." Pl.'s Ex. A at 258:1-4. Given the text of the policy, this belief was reasonable. [27] In fact, defense counsel made no direct reference to Wilborn's § 1983 claims in their brief in support of the motion for summary judgment. After Wilborn referenced this deficiency in her response brief, defendants replied that they had "clearly moved for summary judgment with respect to each and `every claim asserted against them.'" Def.'s Reply at 11 (Doc. No. 45) (quoting Mot. for Summ. J. at 1). The court takes note of this exchange out of concern that counsel may have focused their attention on their institutional clients at the expense of their individual clients. [28] The court also notes that retaliatory action is not prohibited by the Equal Protection Clause. Watkins v. Bowden, 105 F.3d 1344, 1354 (11th Cir.1997) ("A pure or generic retaliation claim . . . simply does not implicate the Equal Protection Clause."); Ratliff v. DeKalb County, 62 F.3d 338, 341 (11th Cir.1995) ("The right to be free from retaliation is clearly established as a first amendment right and as a statutory right under Title VII; but no clearly established right exists under the equal protection clause to be free from retaliation."). [29] Wilborn does not bring a state claim of sexual harassment because "[i]t is well settled that Alabama does not recognize an independent cause of action for sexual harassment." Stevenson v. Precision Std., Inc., 762 So.2d 820, 825 n. 6 (Ala. 1999). In Alabama "claims of sexual harassment are maintained under common-law tort theories such as assault and battery, invasion of privacy, . . . and outrage." Id. As discussed below, Wilborn's complaint asserts these three claims. [30] Phillips, 435 So.2d at 708-09. ("Restatement (Second) of Torts, § 652(B), and its Comment, enunciate a clear and concise definition, and establish the perimeter, of the `wrongful intrusion' tort, which, when read in light of our own case law, affords meaningful guidelines for the adjudication of such actions.").

Dear Diary This past week has been one of the hardest I have ever had. My heart is feeling heavy and down, like part of me is missing. I’m waiting for it to return. It’s the kind of waiting that has no certain end date. It’s the kind of waiting that could last forever. To get through it, I have been listening to playlists made for me and buying useless things online to fill the hole in my heart. Here are some of my most recent journal pages, a look into my brain. Xo, Gabi. P.S – you can check out my new website for my photos here! Tell me what you think!

Gödenroth Gödenroth is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (district) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Kastellaun, whose seat is in the like-named town. Geography Location The municipality lies in the Hunsrück. Constituent communities Some 150 m from Gödenroth going towards Hollnich is a two-house hamlet called “der Kleinbergerhof”. It is home to two families and is a constituent part of Gödenroth. History The village belonged in the Middle Ages to the County of Sponheim. The family Boos von Waldeck and the Counts of Katzenelnbogen drew income from the village. Beginning in 1794, Gödenroth lay under French rule. In 1815 it was assigned to the Kingdom of Prussia at the Congress of Vienna. Since 1946, it has been part of the then newly founded state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Religion Gödenroth has an Evangelical church with a congregation of some 339. Together with several other nearby places it forms the Evangelical parish of Gödenroth-Heyweiler within the church district of Simmern-Trarbach. Notable clergyman in this parish have been, among others, Friedrich Langensiepen, Manfred Josuttis and Klaus-Peter Jörns. Politics Municipal council The council is made up of 8 council members, who were elected at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman. Mayor Gödenroth's mayor is Klaus-Peter Müssig. Coat of arms The municipality's website devotes a great deal of text to explaining the charges in its arms, but unfortunately, this does not include a blazon. The red and silver fields refer to the village's former allegiance to the “Hinder” County of Sponheim, which beginning in the 14th century was the local landholder. The three gold ears of wheat stand for the three watermills that ran within Gödenroth's municipal limits in the Deimerbach valley until 1949, and also for the municipality's character, which is still agricultural today. The building standing as a charge in the arms is the old 18th-century town hall, which was dismantled and reassembled at the “Roscheider Hof” open-air museum near Konz. The clearing hoe stands for the way the village arose, namely as a clearing, which surely happened in the period of Frankish expansion in the 10th to 12th century. It is also, in a way, a canting charge, at least for the last syllable in the municipality's name (the —roth ending stems from the same root as the German verb roden, meaning “clear”, with reference to woods, and the German name for this tool is Rodehacke, literally “clearing hoe”). Culture and sightseeing Buildings The following are listed buildings or sites in Rhineland-Palatinate’s Directory of Cultural Monuments: Hauptstraße 33a – Evangelical church; Early Baroque aisleless church, 17th or 18th century, 1844-1851 transept and apse added, quarrystone; whole complex of buildings with graveyard Hauptstraße 33 – former school; timber-frame house, slated, mid 19th century; whole complex of buildings Hauptstraße 36 – former rectory; building with half-hipped roof, slated, earlier half of the 19th century; whole complex of buildings with garden and wall Hauptstraße 65 – timber-frame house, partly solid and slated, hipped mansard roof, marked 1824 Im Faller 4 – timber-frame house, partly solid and slated, marked 1783 Raiffeisenstraße 2 – L-shaped estate; timber-frame house, partly slated, 19th century Salzgass 3 – timber-frame house, sided, hipped mansard roof, early 19th century Gödenroth’s former town hall became in 1974 the first building to be moved in pieces and reassembled at the “Roscheider Hof” open-air museum. It stands as an example of town halls in Evangelical municipalities in the Hunsrück. Catholic municipalities were subject to the Electorate of Trier, which would brook no municipal self-governance. The ground floor was for a time used as a municipal poorhouse. The carriage house served first to lodge small animals and then later to house the firefighting equipment. Regular events Besides the village kermis held on the second weekend in August and the fire brigade festival held on the second weekend in September, there are also Carnival events and a sport festival. A fortnightly “seniors’ afternoon” and a “village evening” for getting acquainted and playing together each Monday round out the village's events. Among the village's clubs are the sport club, the fire brigade, a choir and a theatre group. Economy and infrastructure Transport The nearest Autobahn interchanges are Emmelshausen, Pfalzfeld and Laudert on the A 61. The nearest railway station is at Emmelshausen, 11 km away. Running there and also to Koblenz, Kastellaun and Simmern are bus routes. Since the village is split by Bundesstraße 327, the Hunsrückhöhenstraße (“Hunsrück Heights Road”, a scenic road across the Hunsrück built originally as a military road on Hermann Göring’s orders), the local inhabitants have been trying for more than 40 years to have a village bypass built. It has since been decided that an alignment to the south would be best, as the natural area in the north should be preserved. The process for finalizing the planning for this project was completed in 2009. Nevertheless, construction will not begin until funding becomes available. According to estimates, each day, well over 12,000 vehicles pass through Gödenroth. Facilities and businesses Primary school Kindergarten Bank Sporting ground Grocer's shop Carpentry shop Small appliances and automotive Metalworking operation Roofing business References External links Municipality’s official webpage Category:Municipalities in Rhineland-Palatinate Category:Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis

QUEEN & SLIM World Premiere To Open AFI FEST 2019 The 33rd edition of AFI FEST presented by Audi will open with the world premiere of Makeready and Universal Pictures’ QUEEN & SLIM. Directed by two-time Grammy® winner Melina Matsoukas (AFI Class of 2005) and written by Emmy® winner Lena Waithe from a story by Waithe and James Frey, the film is a consciousness-raising love story that confronts the staggering human toll of racism and the life-shattering price of violence. The film stars Academy Award® nominee Daniel Kaluuya, Jodie Turner-Smith, Bokeem Woodbine, Academy Award® nominee Chloë Sevigny, Flea, Sturgill Simpson and Indya Moore. Matsoukas was awarded AFI’s Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal earlier this year. The Opening Night Gala screening will take place Thursday, November 14, 2019, at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre, followed by an after-party at the Roosevelt Hotel. In making the announcement, AFI President and CEO Bob Gazzale said, “Melina’s powerful voice is the embodiment of the AFI ideal, for we believe in the revolutionary power of visual storytelling to share perspectives, inspire empathy and drive culture forward. We are honored to shine a proper light upon her and QUEEN & SLIM.” For Matsoukas, the AFI world premiere represents a homecoming. “I feel privileged to present my first feature film, QUEEN & SLIM at the opening night of AFI FEST, a place that is integral to my story as a filmmaker. The tools I learned while receiving my Master of Fine Arts from AFI informs my artistry every day, and to have this moment come full circle is deeply moving,” said Matsouskas. “My mission as an artist is to create change in the world. My time at AFI further instilled the power of film as a tool for change, and I hope that QUEEN & SLIM sparks dialogue, leaving viewers thinking about themselves and the world long after leaving their seats.” Said Michael Lumpkin, director of AFI Festivals: “The film is an outstanding debut – a fearless, gorgeous and powerful cinematic achievement that speaks, better than any film this year, to the effects of racism and violence in our country today.” About The Film While on a forgettable first date together in Ohio, a black man (Daniel Kaluuya) and a black woman (Jodie Turner-Smith), are pulled over for a minor traffic infraction. The situation escalates, with sudden and tragic results, when the man kills the police officer in self-defense. Afraid for their lives, the man — a retail employee — and the woman — a criminal defense lawyer — are forced to go on the run. But the incident is captured on video and goes viral, and the couple unwittingly become a symbol of trauma, terror, grief and pain for people across the country. As they drive, these two unlikely fugitives will discover themselves and each other in the most dire and desperate of circumstances and will forge a deep and powerful love that will reveal their shared humanity and shape the rest of their lives. QUEEN & SLIM will be released on November 27, 2019. AFI FEST 2019 takes place November 14-21, 2019, at historic theaters in Los Angeles. Screenings, Galas and other events will be held at the TCL Chinese Theatre, the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres and the Hollywood Roosevelt. The full festival lineup and schedule will be unveiled in October. Audi returns for the 16th year as the exclusive Presenting Sponsor of AFI FEST, enabling the festival to host the very best of world cinema. Audi and their visionary support reflect a continuing commitment to create opportunities for equality in film and television. Audi also supports AFI through the Audi Fellowship for Women, a full-tuition scholarship created in 2017 to support promising female directors entering the AFI Conservatory. This Fellowship is part of the Audi commitment to drive progress and a landmark investment in the future of the storytelling community. Audi is the exclusive presenting sponsor of AFI FEST 2019. Additional top sponsors include AT&T and American Airlines, the official airline of AFI. Passes will be available on September 4. Individual tickets will be available for purchase for AFI members beginning October 29 and for the general public on October 30.

# [Snow Report for Spring Mountain](http://alexa.amazon.com/#skills/amzn1.ask.skill.49db5294-7589-4a65-9512-80015ef67705)  0 To use the Snow Report for Spring Mountain skill, try saying... * *Alexa, open Spring Mountain* * *Alexa, ask Spring Mountain for the snow report* * *Alexa, ask Spring Mountain for latest conditions* The Spring Mountain Snow Report brought to you by SnoCountry brings you the latest snow fall, snow surface conditions, base depth, trail, and lift operations information. *** ### Skill Details * **Invocation Name:** spring mountain * **Category:** null * **ID:** amzn1.ask.skill.49db5294-7589-4a65-9512-80015ef67705 * **ASIN:** B01MQDCKJG * **Author:** SnoCountry * **Release Date:** November 4, 2016 @ 08:16:57 * **In-App Purchasing:** No

First, she's attacked and terrorized outside her Maine home. Then the noted art authority finds her reputation nearly destroyed when a Renaissance bronze is declared a hoax. To her horror, Miranda Jones sees a connection – and her life is still in danger. "The prose is taut and the story is well researched."—People

Sumanta Mandal Sumanta Mandal is involved in healthcare market research since 2008. He is passionate about herbal health, organic health and alternative medicines. He has written many articles on various health care topics. Each year thousands and thousands of people are diagnosed or are undergoing ongoing treatment for any one of a number of anxiety disorders which affect people either on a physical or emotional level. Because anxiety is thought to be associated with personality traits, thought processes and or chemical imbalance in the brain, treatment and recovery require … When it comes to causes of stress, there are some obvious ones and some not-so-obvious ones. Obvious stressors include things like the loss of a loved one, a house fire, the loss of a job, illness, or any number of traumatic situations. Some more subtle causes of stress could be a difficult work relationship, finances, … Find The Best Anxiety Solution Anxiety attacks can strike people of any age at any time. There is often no warning that an anxiety attack is about to occur and its suddenness can cause people a lot of distress. The period following an anxiety attack can be an upsetting one no matter if the person … If you find yourself worrying about things that are unlikely to happen or you tend to feel anxious, tense or worried all day long when there is really no reason to, then you may well be showing a few of the symptoms of GAD. Everyone has worries, fears and concerns about certain aspects of our … Anxiety is a normal reaction to stressful situations in life but, for a few people, anxiety can become a tremendous burden. If anxiety is beginning to change how you live your life, then you might be being affected by a panic or anxiety disorder. Social anxiety (or social phobia) could be the name for anxiety … Experiencing a panic attack does not necessarily mean that you already have a panic disorder because there are cases where people suffer from panic disorder symptoms without further episodes or developing any form of complication. However, if you are experiencing more than one episode, which goes on, then you might be developing a panic disorder. … Even if anti-depressants are very commonly prescribed to treat depression, it is hard to argue with the fact that they are not completely safe. You have to take into consideration that mixing drugs with a mental illness is something that is very volatile. These drugs are not naïve; they are very strong and will have … Treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) in adults is based on certain protocols, diagnosis, principles and management. Along with psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy, there are several norms and directions, which has to be followed by the therapist for proceeding with anti depression methods. When an individual faces symptoms of MDD, he/she may be clueless as to … While most of us believe that stress is stress is stress, there are actually many different types of anxiety to consider. By learning which type affects you, you will be able to choose the proper treatment for your symptoms and specific causes. Here are some of the bigger categories you might find yourself in. 1. … Have you ever had trouble with anxiety before? Absolutely, every human being who ever lived has experienced anxiety before: the quickened heart beat, the dizzy spells, difficulty breathing evenly, and even numbness in their extremities. But what is it exactly, and what are the causes of anxiety? First off, too many people look at anxiety … If you are even wondering what are some of the effects of depression, then it most likely means that someone you know who is close to you, or even you yourself, are suffering from depression. While it is very important to know what some of the effects are, it is also important to understand how … There are many common causes of depression. Depression is a very serious condition affecting millions of people. While there is some debate in the medical community as to what exactly causes depression, there are some common causes that the majority will agree upon. What are some of the factors that may cause depression? There is … There are different kinds of depression affecting a significant number of people. While many depression sufferers have manageable symptoms and reactions as a result of depression, others have more chronic forms of depression, requiring advance management procedures. Some depression patients are confined to a hospital setting for the duration of their treatment. Others are treated as out-patients through … Although depression is largely known for its emotional symptoms, people who suffer from this condition also experience physical symptoms. The physical symptoms usually make the condition even worse especially if they are not checked on time. In fact, studies on depression have revealed many people who suffer from depression do not get help because they … Depression refers to a type of illness which results in a continued feeling of sadness as lack of interest in activities or things that would usually appeal to a person. Depression usually has an impact on how a person behaves, thinks or even feels and if it is not controlled then it is likely to … Anxiety panic attacks indicate that a person is undergoing a high level of constant stress, tension or worrying. It is important to diagnose the real causes behind this debilitating disorder and learn how to take control of the situation in the beginning; otherwise it can get worse and can lead to constant state of fear, anxiety … Since the last century, it has been classified under the science of psychiatry when it was observed that fear and apprehension could affect the mental and physical functions of those afflicted. It is manifested in various symptoms classified into mental anxiety, physical tension and panic attacks. In many instances, the anxiety persists continuously even if … Anxiety and panic attacks can occur in people with medical problems who may or may not have an underlying anxiety disorder. Particularly susceptible to anxiety and panic attacks are people experiencing such medical ailments as bronchial asthma, persistent obstructive lung illness, coronary heart illness, extreme pain or health related weight problems. Anxiety and panic attacks … An anxiety remedy is often the treatment of choice for people who are frightened about the risk of side effects and dependency if prescribed traditional medication. It is normal to experience anxiety in response to a frightening event but when the anxiety becomes overwhelming, it can take over a person’s life. There are numerous anxiety … Many Anxiety sufferers have never told anyone about their problem. If you feel ashamed or embarrassed about having Anxiety you might feel quite unable to talk to anyone about it. You may also feel that you’ll be labelled forever as someone who was mentally ill, that you won’t receive any sympathy, or that you’ll be … Trying to find your way out of depression can be difficult. You have to find a place to start, reading this article is the perfect beginning point. Check out the following article, and put any information that seems useful into practice to escape from the pit of depression. You may want to consider using antidepressants … Depression can intrude on your life without warning. It can demand your total attention and make your life difficult. There are many ways that you can be helped. Doing research and seeking treatments for the kind of depression you have will help you to live a happy life. The tips below can help you with … Stress is a persistent problem. It’s all around you; in your workplace, sociable existence, and even in the home. When remaining to run its course, emphasize can intensify into persistent frustration, grief, nervousness, and melancholy. Stress is a mental situation usually presented on by worrying about issues you cannot change and/or experiencing overwhelmed by a … 4 Crucial Causes! Panic and anxiety attacks are the most common words heard everywhere. Wherever you go, you hear these words. Many people wonder what causes anxiety and panic attack. How come a person suffers from anxiety and panic attack suddenly? How are anxiety and panic attack caused? Your child may also get anxiety and … You can recognize the all too familiar symptoms almost immediately, like a rapidly beating heart, sweaty palms and shortness of breath. Maybe you even experience nausea or other abdominal issues. You may get dizzy, faint or have trouble swallowing. All of these physical symptoms can be the sign of an anxiety attack. But what causes … Since anxiety is caused by a number of factors, psychoanalysts categorize them into three main groups: genetic factors, environmental factors / life experiences and brain chemistry. These three factors are outlined below: 1. Genetic Factors Research has proven that your family history can determine if you will develop anxiety issues. For instance, if your parents … A prolonged anxiety in women can cause different kinds of disorders. The very first onset of this situation is like an alarm bell – act now otherwise it will be too late. Hence, it is advised by the experts not to take it for granted. The longer it will stay in your body – the … Panic attacks are caused by the body over-reacting to an anxiety or fear. A great deal of research has been done to try to find out the causes of panic attacks and why some people are more susceptible to them than others. It has been found that there are a number of different factors that can make … Frightening is the first word that comes to mind for most people when asked to describe their first panic attack. Unless you have the good fortune to be medically trained, panic attack symptoms will probably leave you convinced that you are on the verge of some kind of break down or in the throes of your … If you suffer from generalized anxiety disorder symptoms, then one of the biggest questions is without a doubt how you can get rid of it. Well, though it is not possible to simply repeat a mantra over and over again and cast it out of your system, you can at least take heart in the … How to treat anxiety is something most people ask nowadays Stress is causing anxiety in large number of people. Some people confuse anxiety with weakness, before you know things that can treat anxiety; you have to first know all the symptoms of this condition. The most common symptom of anxiety is chest pain, breathing problems, … Simple And Effective Tips The amount of stress and anxiety you have before a test can sometimes have an impact on your performance. You have a lot of tests to take during your school years, so the sooner you learn to manage stress better. Before putting pen to paper, here are some ways to calm … If you are looking at how to stop panic attacks naturally, here are some ideas to help you. Panic attacks are brought on by anxiety and worry, two very common emotions in today’s world. Nobody is immune to having a panic attack, but everyone is able to put preventative measures into place so that their … Acupuncture for anxiety treats the underlying cause of the anxiety, while also eliminating symptoms. All conditions have a cause associated with an organ system, though they can also be exacerbated by external pathogens, such as damp or heat. The meridians carry energy and nourishment to each organ and support all body functions. When the Qi … Many people today suffer from anxiety and panic attacks. While one individual may be suffering from an anxiety attack and not be aware of it, another may believe they are suffering an anxiety attack and it may be something entirely different. Here a few symptoms so you’re aware of what an anxiety attack feels like. … What is anxiety and what are anxiety disorders? Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States affecting over 40 million adults. One type of an anxiety disorder is termed Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), which affects 6.8 million adults. Women are twice as likely as men to suffer from this disorder. Pressures … If you often ask yourself ‘what does anxiety mean’, you are likely one of the many people who have heard the term ‘anxiety’ in the past, however, without having fully understood what it represents or how to properly deal with it. Misconceptions about Anxiety So what does anxiety mean really, and why do so many … Atypical depression is a subset of depression distinguished by overeating, oversleeping and heaviness in your extremities. People with this type of depression ask how to stop depression eating. Monoamine oxidise inhibitors are the best antidepressants for atypical depression, but they cause numerous interactions and are associated with weight gain in certain patients. Some scientists believe … Best Natural Remedies For Anxiety Anxiety isn’t constantly bad! I think that it is the stress and anxiety as well as inquisitiveness in one’s life that makes one do things that wouldn’t have been possible or else, do not you think so? However, there is a difference in between fearing in life and living a … A lot of people suffer from anxiety and stress to varying degrees. Anxiety and stress are generally natural body’s defence mechanisms; however they could possibly get out of control. Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is more compared to normal anxiety persons experience every day. It’s serious and fills one’s day having overstated stress and panic, despite … Anxiety is a normal reaction when a person is confronted with stress. It happens if we particularly experience events and circumstances that cause us to be anxious or nervous. But, if you experience anxiety accompanied with other indications such as having nightmares, sleeplessness, obsessive compulsion, among others, then you will be suffering from an anxiety … Many people who suffer from depression have a hard time understanding why. As mentioned earlier it is not an illness that you can really reason with. Of course, a lot of the time there will be several reasons behind ones depression but equally a lot of the time it can be very hard to pinpoint … When you hear people talking about depression, one term that will often be used is clinical depression. Whilst many people only have a basic grasp of the signs of depression, clinical depression symptoms can be even harder for them to understand. In actual fact, clinical depression is the term that is given to anyone who … The most commonly diagnosed of all anxiety disorders, generalized anxiety disorder, and is nothing to laugh about. Millions of people all over the world suffer from some form of generalized anxiety disorder and many don’t seek treatment or even realize that they have this condition. For those that do suffer with it, it affects their … Anxiety and depression are psychological conditions that affect a large degree of people at various circumstances in life. Attacking anxiety depression can be somewhat puzzling because anxiety and depression are two separate conditions thought it has similar symptoms and can occur together or separately. Anxiety and depression usually occur due to direct stress affecting our … Are you having trouble socializing with people in various events and prefer spending your time all alone? You might think you are just too shy to mingle with other people but you could already be having worse. And because of this, you will not be able to deliver a speech in front of other people … Anxiety is unavoidable; you’re going to experience high levels of it at various times throughout your life. Some people are lucky enough to never end up accumulating enough anxiety to ever experience a full-fledged anxiety attack while others are unfortunate enough to have a low anxiety tolerance level before an attack occurs. Anxiety is a mental/emotional issue. … Individuals who suffer from social anxiety disorder have a strong fear of being in social situations. These fears generally are excessive and unreasonable, meaning they come from thoughts that are over-analyzed inside of the person’s own head. Most sufferers think that whenever they go out in social situations they are going to be judged, watched … Panic can arise in many ways and for many reasons, but panic is much more than dealing with a little bit of concern or worrisome issues from time to time. Panic takes this to a whole other level that is not good for your mental status, physical health, or energy fields. Disruption to its … If you have Googled “define anxiety, anxiety definition” or “definition of anxiety” you have done it for a reason. Either you are researching anxiety out of curiosity or you have started to feel that your own reaction to anxiety is inappropriate. It may be that you are experiencing unusually high levels of anxiety or even … Social anxiety disorder treatment is more than for just shyness. Unlike nervousness, it interferes with a person’s life more deeply and it hinders him from living his life to the fullest. Social nervousness has become a great problem for many people. Therefore, some helpful information about treating societal nervousness is vital. This article will help … If you want to avail information on the best methods of treating anxiety, then let me inform you that to get rid of anxiety and panic attacks in the most effective manner, first of all, you need to educate yourself on specific details associated with anxiety disorder. Guys, bear in mind that anxiety is a … By far the most serious symptom of depression is having suicidal thoughts. Depression is a factor in most suicides. When a person is caught in the throes of depression, it is very difficult for him or her to see a light at the end of the tunnel. This condition can be treated if the individual … Anxiety is one of the by-products of living in a hectic and demanding modern world, where we are constantly bombarded with a huge number of things to worry about, whether it is making sure that we are earning enough at work to support our family, or handling a variety of offline and online social relationships. … If you suffer panic attacks, you will be in a position to needless to say utilize a panic or anxiousness attack remedy that you can adhere to in your home. Even so ahead of carrying out which, make sure that an nervousness attack‘s what you are going through. Fulfil a healthcare doctor for any whole … How to relieve from depression? Well, the obvious answer is to get help, and there are many treatment options available for depression. This time we are focusing on the different treatment methods available around you. Hopefully it can help you to overcome depression. In the treatment of depression, different methods may be used. Firstly you can … After a long day at work or with the kids, it’s normal to feel a bit stressed even anxious at the end of the day. You may even feel like there are never enough hours in the day to finish everything on you’re to do list. Thoughts like that can leave a person feeling anxious … Despite the fact that most people do knowledge some kind of stress or nervousness, there are a couple of folks whose signs can get out of management. Stress and anxiety are actual all-natural defence mechanisms that are brought on by events or worries. Nonetheless, there are some men and women who experience the identical symptoms … Social anxiety disorder happens when you are interacting with people in a social situation and you get a little too self-conscious and start to become anxious. Consequently, you experience a lot of distressing emotions as you are convinced that those around you are passing judgement on you. Social anxiety symptoms will occur under these circumstances: … Those who suffer from panic disorders are most often terrified about the possibility of triggering their next panic attack. This is a mental disease that many people associate with depression and poor stress management. Fortunately, there are plenty of warning signs before the onset of any attack, and your ability to single out these signs … There is a lot of information out there on how to hide, mask, or just cope with your fear but not much on how to overcome fear. Franklin D. Roosevelt said; “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Many people suffer from fears in the form of phobias that can be crippling … When you have feelings of anxiety and panic, it is leading your entire body to respond to the menace of danger that you feel. Your human body has no way to know whether the threat is actual or imagined. Some of the finest suggestions that deal with how to overcome stress are quite fundamental techniques that support … If you have been having difficulty sleeping recently, or haven’t been eating frequently, you may have one or more anxiety anomalies due to acute stress. Here is some info about the different types of conditions and afflictions that are related to stress, as well as ways you can treat them. Oftentimes, somebody with an anxiety … What do people mean when they say they have anxiety attacks? Or even more severe panic attacks? Lots of people suffer from differing levels of anxiety in their lives. Other words that define anxiety are: apprehension, concern, anguish or dismay at some time in our life. Because we are human, we have all experienced some … Treating your depression is an integral part of your life. You have to research your options and ask people to help. You aren’t alone when fighting against this illness. There are tips listed below to help you begin understand and then getting treatment for your depression. Get out and get a little bit of sun … So you want instant stress relief? Stand up on your chair right now, stick the little finger on your right hand into your left nostril, put your left hand down the back of your pants or skirt and squeeze your right butt cheek and start singing ‘Hey Diddle Diddle, the Cat and the Fiddle’ as … Someone who is trying to deal with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) often needs more than just therapy and medication to overcome their anxiety. One of the most important things, that can contribute to and speed up recovery time, is understanding friends and relatives who will offer them support and understanding without judging them. Friends and … Have you been thinking about how to help someone with depression? There are certain situations in life that trigger us to feel sad such as death, betrayal or loss. And these are all times when depression occurs naturally. The problem comes in when the symptoms continue for extended periods or occur without any obvious triggers. … Diving deeper into the many unpleasant symptoms found amongst people who are suffering from anxiety, we learn some of the terrible effects of untreated anxiety. Anxiety disorders elevate the fear experienced by an individual which causes the increase of adrenalin levels in the body. This, in turn causes a drastic alteration of related physical functions … You see, it’s all too easy to plan ahead and take the necessary steps to help your anxiety when it surfaces, but sometimes, you feel so anxious that accomplishing seemingly simple tasks becomes impossible. The problem with anxiety is that when you’re overwhelmed with worry you exhaust your emotional energy. This means you’re less able to … Treating depression can be important and a difficult time in your life. You have to research your condition and ask for the right kind of help, so you can get better. Keep in mind that you are not the only one battling this illness. Here are some tips to help you start understanding it, help … I am assuming that if you are reading this article on “How to Get Rid of Social Anxiety” then you are suffering through social anxiety disorder and desperately want to overcome from social anxiety. But first, let me ask you one question! What is Social Anxiety? Social anxiety is a discomfort or a fear when … People are really starting to pay attention to the End Your Depression guide mainly because it has been getting results. Those who have problems with depression are actually trying to find a simple system that actually will give you results and this could it be. People that are dealing with depression might finally end up … Once in a while, you will find yourself feeling the “blues”. It is a normal part of everyday life. However, not all of the low feelings can be considered as normal. Depression is a condition that is more than just feeling the blues or feeling down now and then. Clinical depression is something much more … Clinical depression is something that many elderly people suffer from commonly. In fact, there are over 6 million Americans alone over the age of 65 who are clinically depressed. And because of their old age, a very small number of them seek treatment for this depression. One reason that many elderly people do not seek … It is the start of a new day. You have to drag your feet down on cold floor once again, and literally ‘drag’ yourself to the workplace against your will? Do you feel panicky, anxious and irritated at the thought of going to your desk today? Does the scenario get worse once you hit up … If you are suffering from depression it is important to get proper medical advice on how to deal with it. But you may be able to help yourself in some ways as well – most specifically with exercise. If you’re asking yourself how exercise can help depression, the answers you want are below. Keep reading … Breathing is automatic and is controlled by your involuntary nervous system but at the same time we do have a certain amount of control over it. You can choose to hold your breath, or to pant like a dog. Athletes, singers and actors use breath control to improve their performance. People who do yoga or … How are you handling anxiety and depression? Many who suffer from anxiety and depression take medication to relieve their pain. Doctors may prescribe antidepressants, tranquillizers and sleeping tablets for your condition. But there are healthier alternatives that can be used in attacking anxiety and depression. Exercise is extremely important for many reasons but even more … Anxiety and depression are two debilitating disorders that are often associated as one in the same. Although anxiety and depression may occur at the same time they are very different disorders. Anxiety and depression are connected because many people who are suffering from depression exhibit symptoms that are common with anxiety. Anxiety disorders create so … To possess a clear understanding of what is causing anxiety attacks we end up needing to get rid of the mild thoughts of being anxious. These types of feelings are absolutely normal and quite effective in our lives and are generally not causes of anxiety attacks. The anxiety that is a matter to is when … The ability to manage stress is one of the most important lessons that anyone can learn. The reason for this is that at one point or another each one of us goes through some tough times in life where these skills come in handy. Stress is a typical physical or physiological reaction of the body … Stress is characterized by an individual’s failure to properly cope with emotional, mental, or physical demands. If gone unchecked, this may develop to an even worse kind called chronic or prolonged stress. Measured based on the condition between the stressor and its stimulus, stress can be detrimental to an individual mainly because it gives … Stress arises when the body reacts to certain changes that need immediate response and adjustment. The body’s physical, emotional and mental aspects react to these changes. Stress is known to normally occur to everybody and has become a natural part of life. When stress continuously occurs without relief, a person can experience negative stress response, … One undeniable statement is that college brings up a lot of stress to students. Balancing exams, projects and different activities both in and out of the classroom can be overwhelming. More often than not, students spend more time being stressed than anything else. College life involves a lot of adjustments in many aspects of a … Anxiety disorders are always a product of stress. It is quite possible for you to cut back on the anxiety in you just by reducing stress. This condition is common in day to day life no matter who you are, but if you permit it to be in charge of your life, serious snags will … How to manage stress is a never-ending story. Lots of sites sell you pills, potions and promises to get rid of it. The thing is, life is a balancing act with stress. We need some stress to motivate us when we’re lazy, misbehaved or goal-oriented. It is unnecessary stress, attacks on our self-esteem or sense … Do you feel like you’re a high-wire acrobat sometimes? Funny question, is not right? But do you feel like you’re balancing on a tightrope while juggling milk bottles and trying to hula hoop at the same time? Those milk bottles are like work, home, and motherhood. The plate you’re balancing? That would be your questionable … It’s a fact that we all get stressed from time to time – stress is one of those 21st century modern afflictions that weaves itself into each of our lives at some time or other, to varying degrees. In reality, so long as we have children, parents, husbands and wives, partners, extended family, jobs, homes, … Stress can affect both your mind and body. Knowing what causes your stress and how you can deal with it can greatly improve your health. Follow these tips to get started in your efforts to get rid of the stress in your life. Make a list of everything that is causing you stress and rank … How many hours do you work each week? 30? 40? As our lives get busier and busier, and as we focus more on our careers each and every year – work weeks and hours seem to continue to grow. It is now uncommon to find someone who doesn’t take a portion of their work home … Stress and anxiety are major problems in today’s speedy life style. There never seems to be an end to the daily list of things to do and things to worry about. A certain amount of stress is normal, to feel about things you can’t control. But if you worry about every little thing, then that … As such, a healthy relationship demands time, support and commitment. The irony is that our fast-paced life acts as a hindrance to devote all the necessities a healthy relationship requires in order to sustain for long. This eventually leads to undesirable stress in our lives. Below are a few means to deal with the stress … Do not fight stress by overloading your body with unhealthy foods and alcohol. Learn to fight the impulse of overeating, smoking, and drinking excessively which can bring more health problems. Learn to make healthy choices to help you overcome stress in the workplace without adding fats around your waistline. Make smarter choices to keep the … Anxiety Attacks In Children – The Tips And Info You Need Since anxiety attacks are so common, chances are that you’ve already experienced one without knowing it. Many adults fail to realize that their own children can also experience these episodes. Not only will such an event be traumatic for the parent, but also for … What Is Generalized Anxiety Disorder? There is heightened interest in medical somatic specialties to mental disorders. Among them, special place is occupied by generalized anxiety disorder. The main manifestation is a chronic anxiety. Anxiety – is an emotional experience, in which a person feels uncomfortable with the uncertainty of prospects. Evolutionary importance of anxiety is … How To Calm Anxiety And Prevent Future Anxiety Attacks The question of how to calm anxiety has been one that puzzled numerous psychologists, psychiatrists, doctors and other experts for a very long time. Today, however, the knowledge and experience collected by various people throughout the past decades and centuries is extensive enough to fill entire … Vagus Nerve Stimulation Depression is a medical illness that affects millions of individuals daily. The causes of depression are not always easy to ascertain. It can be caused by a genetic predisposition, a psychological trauma or change, or an environmental situation. Despite, the cause of depression, it is a treatable illness with the help of … Holistic Treatment For Anxiety Do you have an issue with anxiety? While it is normal to experience some stress and anxiety in life, if you feel overly anxious without a specific reason and filled with persistent worry and dread, you may have an anxiety disorder. When you have or suspect you have, an anxiety disorder, … Stress Management Stress management is made up of very many aspects. To manage stress, you must have a clear understanding of what stress is and how it can affect our daily lives. Therefore, the first place to begin is with the definition of stress. Many models or views of stress have been brought forth over … Posts navigation Quick Links Categories Categories Follow Us Search The Site Search for: Disclaimer: None of the statements made on www.stressreliefadvice.com have been reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The advices and products mentioned on www.stressreliefadvice.com are not intended to diagnose, treat or prevent any diseases. You should consult with your doctor before using any product mentioned on www.stressreliefadvice.com. We may receive commission or other income on certain products. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons mentioned on www.stressreliefadvice.com. We try our best to keep things fair and balanced, in order to help you make the best choice for you. Any and all trademarks, logos, brand names and service marks displayed on www.stressreliefadvice.com are the registered or unregistered trademarks of their respective owners.

JACK HIGGINS DRINK WITH THE DEVIL _To Denise Best of girls_ ## Contents Cover Title Page Belfast - 1985 Chapter 1 London: The Lake District - 1985 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 New York State - 1995 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 The Lake District - 1995 Chapter 15 About the Author Also by Jack Higgins Publisher's Note Copyright About the Publisher BELFAST 1985 Chapter 1 Rain swept in from Belfast Lough and, as he turned the corner, there was the rattle of small-arms fire somewhere in the darkness of the city centre followed by the crump of an explosion. He didn't hesitate, but started across the square, a small man, no more than five feet five, in jeans, reefer coat and peaked cap, a seaman's duffel bag hanging from one shoulder. A sign said Albert Hotel, but it was more a lodging house than anything else, of a type used by sailors and constructed originally by the simple expedient of knocking three Victorian terrace houses together. The front door stood open and a small, balding man peered out, a newspaper in one hand. There was another explosion in the distance. 'Jesus!' he said. 'The boys are active tonight.' The small man said from the bottom of the steps, 'I phoned earlier about a room. Keogh is the name.' His voice was more English than anything else, only a hint of the distinctive Belfast accent. 'Ah, yes – Mr Keogh. Off a boat are ye?' 'Something like that.' 'Well, come away in out of the rain and I'll fix you up.' At that moment a Land Rover turned the corner followed by another. They were stripped down, three paratroopers crouched behind the driver, hard young men in red berets and flak jackets, each one carrying a sub-machine gun. They vanished into the darkness and rain on the other side of the square. 'Jesus!' the old man said again then went inside and Keogh followed him. It was a poor sort of a place, a square hall with a reception desk and a narrow staircase. The white paint had yellowed over the years and the wallpaper was badly faded, damp showing through here and there. The old man pushed a register across the desk for Keogh to sign. 'RUC regulations. Home address. Next port of call. The lot.' 'Fine by me.' Keogh quickly filled it in and pushed the register back across the desk. 'Martin Keogh, Wapping, London. I haven't been to London in years.' 'A fine city.' Keogh took out a packet of cigarettes and lit one. The old man took a room key down from a board. 'At least they don't have Paras hurtling around the streets armed to the teeth. Crazy that, sitting out in the open, even in the rain. What a target. Suicide, if you ask me.' 'Not really,' Keogh told him. 'It's an old Para trick developed years ago in Aden. They travel in twos to look after each other and, with no armour in the way, they can respond instantly to any attack.' 'And how would you be knowing a thing like that?' Keogh shrugged, 'Common knowledge, Da. Now, can I have my key?' It was then that the old man noticed the eyes which were of no particular colour and yet were the coldest he had ever seen and for some unaccountable reason he knew fear. And at that moment Keogh smiled and his personality changed totally. He reached across and took the key. 'Someone told me there was a decent café near here. The Regent?' 'That's right. Straight across the square to Lurgen Street. It's by the old docks.' 'I'll find it,' and Keogh turned and went upstairs. He found the room easily enough, opened the door, the lock of which had obviously been forced on numerous occasions, and went in. The room was very small and smelled of damp. There was a single bed, a hanging cupboard and a chair. There was a washbasin in the corner, but no toilet. There wasn't even a telephone; still, with any luck, it would only be for one night. He put his duffel bag on the bed, opened it. There was a toilet bag, spare shirts, some books. He pulled them to one side and prised up the thick cardboard base of the bag, disclosing a Walther PPK pistol, several clips of ammunition and the new small Carswell silencer. He checked the weapon, loaded it and screwed the silencer into place then he slipped it inside his jeans against the small of his back. 'Regent, son,' he said softly and went out whistling a small sad tune. There was a public telephone by the reception desk, of the old-fashioned kind in a booth. Keogh nodded to the man, went inside and closed the door. He found some pound coins and dialled a number. Jack Barry was a tall, pleasant-looking man whose horn-rimmed spectacles gave him a bookish look. He had the look also of the schoolmaster, which was exactly what he had once been. But not now – now he was Chief of Staff of the Provisional IRA and he was seated by the fire at his Dublin home reading the paper, his portable phone at his side, when it rang. He picked it up and his wife, Jean, called, 'Now don't be long. Your supper's ready.' 'Barry here.' Keogh said in Irish, 'It's me. I've booked in at the Albert Hotel under the name of Martin Keogh. Next step is to meet the girl.' 'Will that be difficult?' 'No, I've organized it. Trust me. I'm off to this Regent Café now. Her uncle owns it.' 'Good man. Keep me posted. Use the mobile number only.' He switched off his phone and his wife called again, 'Come away in. It's getting cold.' He got to his feet obediently and went into the kitchen. Keogh found the Regent Café with no trouble. One window was boarded up, obviously from the bomb blast, but the other was intact, offering a clear view of the interior. There were hardly any customers, just three old men at one table and a ravaged-looking middle-aged woman at another who looked like a prostitute. The girl sitting behind the counter was just sixteen; he knew that because he knew all about her. Her name was Kathleen Ryan and she ran the café on behalf of her uncle, Michael Ryan, a Protestant, and a gunman from his earliest youth. She was a small girl with black hair and angry eyes above pronounced cheekbones. Not pretty by any conventional standard. She wore a dark sweater, denim miniskirt and boots and sat on a stool engrossed in a book when Keogh went in. He leaned on the counter. 'Is it good?' She looked him over calmly and that look told him of someone infinitely older than her years. 'Very good. _The Midnight Court_.' 'But that's in Irish, surely?' Keogh reached for the book and saw that he was right. 'And why shouldn't it be? You think a Protestant shouldn't read Irish? Why not? It's our country too, mister, and if you're Sinn Fein or any of that old rubbish I'd prefer you went elsewhere. Catholics aren't welcome. An IRA street bomb killed my father, my mother and my wee sister.' 'Girl, dear.' Keogh held up his hands defensively. 'I'm a Belfast boy home from the sea who's just come in for a cup of tea.' 'You don't sound Belfast to me. English, I'd say.' 'And that's because my father took me to live there when I was a boy.' She frowned for a moment then shrugged. 'All right.' She raised her voice. 'Tea for one, Mary.' She said to Keogh, 'No more cooking. We're closing soon.' 'The tea will do just fine.' A moment later, a grey-haired woman in an apron brought tea in a mug and placed it on the counter. 'Milk and sugar over there. Help yourself.' Keogh did as he was told and pushed a pound coin across. The woman gave him some change. The girl ignored him, reached for her book and stood up. 'I'll be away now, Mary. Give it another hour then you can take an early night.' And she went through to the back. Keogh took his tea to a table by the door, sat down and lit a cigarette. Five minutes later Kathleen Ryan emerged wearing a beret and an old trench-coat. She went out without looking at him. Keogh sipped some more tea, then got up and left. It was raining harder now as she turned on to the waterfront and she increased her pace, head down. The three youths standing in the doorway of a disused warehouse saw her coming as she passed under the light of a street lamp. They were of a type to be found in any city in the world. Vicious young animals in bomber jackets and jeans. 'That's her, Pat,' the one wearing a baseball cap said. 'That's her. The Ryan bitch from the café.' 'I can tell for myself, you fool,' the one called Pat said. 'Now hold still and grab her on the way past.' Kathleen Ryan was totally unaware of their existence as they stayed back in the shadows. It was only the quick rush of feet that alerted her and by then it was too late, one arm round her neck half choking her. Pat walked round in front and tilted her chin. 'Well, now, what have we got here? A little Prod bitch. Ryan, isn't it?' She kicked back, catching the youth in the baseball cap on the shin. 'Leave me be, you Taig bastard.' 'Taig bastard, is it,' Pat said. 'And us decent Catholic boys!' He slapped her face. 'Up the alley with her. Time she learned her manners.' She didn't scream for it was not in her nature, but cried out in rage and bit the hand that fastened on her mouth. 'Bitch!' Baseball Cap called out and punched her in the back and then they ran her along the alley through the rain. There was a stack of packing cases clear under an old-fashioned gas street lamp. As she struggled, two of them pulled her across a packing case and Pat moved up behind and racked her skirt up. 'Time you learned,' he said. 'No, time you learned!' a voice called. Pat turned and Martin Keogh walked up the alley, hands in the pockets of his reefer. 'Put her down. I mean, she doesn't know where you've been, does she?' 'Stuff you, wee man,' the one in the baseball cap said, released his hold on the girl and swung a punch at Keogh who caught the wrist, twisted and ran him face-first into the wall. 'You bastard!' the third youth cried and rushed him. Keogh's left hand came out of his pocket, holding the Walther and he slashed the youth across the face, splitting the cheek from the left eye to the corner of the mouth. He raised the gun and fired, the distinctive muted cough of the silenced weapon flat in the rain. Baseball Cap was on his knees, the other clutching his cheek, blood pouring through his fingers. Pat stood there, rage on his face. 'You bloody swine!' 'It's been said before.' Keogh touched him between the eyes with the silenced end of the Walther. 'Not another word or I'll kill you.' The youth froze. Kathleen Ryan was pulling her skirt down. Keogh said, 'Back to that café of yours, girl. I'll see you soon.' She hesitated, staring at him, then turned and ran away along the alley. There was only the rain now and the groans of the injured. Pat said wildly, 'We did what you told us to do. Why this?' 'Oh, no,' Keogh said. 'I told you to frighten the girl a little and then I'd come and save her.' He found a cigarette one-handed and lit it. 'And what were we into? Gang rape.' 'She's a dirty little Prod. Who cares?' 'I do,' Keogh told him. 'And I'm a Catholic. You give us a bad name.' Pat rushed him. Keogh swayed to one side, tripping him with his right foot and dropped one knee down hard in his back. Pat lay there sobbing in the rain. Keogh said, 'You need a lesson, son.' He jammed the muzzle of the Walther against the youth's thigh and pulled the trigger. There was a muted report and Pat cried out. Keogh stood up. 'Only a flesh wound. It could have been your kneecap.' Pat was sobbing now. 'Damn you!' 'Taken care of a long time ago.' Keogh took an envelope from his pocket and dropped it down. 'Five hundred quid, that was the price. Now get yourself to the Royal Victoria Casualty Department. Best in the world for gunshot wounds, but then they get a lot of experience.' He walked away, whistling the same eerie little tune and left them there in the rain. When he reached the café there were no longer any customers, but he could see Kathleen Ryan and the woman Mary standing behind the counter. The girl was on the telephone. Keogh tried the door, but it was locked. Kathleen Ryan turned as the door rattled and nodded to Mary who came from behind the counter and unlocked it. As Keogh entered Mary said, 'She told me what you did for her. God bless you.' Keogh sat on the edge of a table and lit a cigarette. The girl was still talking. 'No, I'll be fine now. I'll be at the Drum in twenty minutes. Don't fret.' She put the phone down and turned, her face calm. 'My Uncle Michael. He worries about me.' 'And why not?' Keogh said. 'Desperate times.' 'You don't take prisoners, do you?' 'I could never see the point.' 'And you're carrying. A Walther, from what I saw.' 'Very knowledgeable for one so young.' 'Oh, I know guns, mister, I was raised on them. What did you do after I left?' 'I sent them on their way.' 'Home, was it, with a pat on the head?' 'No, the nearest casualty department. They needed a lesson. They got one. The one who seemed to be in charge will be on sticks for a while, if that's a comfort to you.' She frowned, her eyes dark. 'What's your game?' 'No game. I didn't like what was going on, that's all.' He stood up and stubbed out his cigarette. 'Still, you seem fine now so I'll be on my way.' He got the door open. She said quickly, 'No, hang on.' He turned and she added, 'You can walk me to my uncle's pub. That's the Orange Drum on Connor's Wharf. It's about a quarter of a mile. My name is Kathleen Ryan. What's yours?' 'Martin Keogh.' 'Wait for me outside.' He did as he was told and saw her go to the phone again. Probably speaking to her uncle, he thought. A few moments later she joined him, this time carrying a large umbrella. As she put it up against the driving rain he said, 'And wouldn't a taxi be safer?' 'I like the city at night,' she told him. 'I like the rain. I've got a right to go my own way and to hell with those Fenian bastards.' 'A point of view,' he replied as they started to walk. 'Here, get under this,' she said, pulling him under the umbrella and taking his arm. 'A sailor, you said?' 'Just for the past couple of years.' 'A sailor from Belfast raised in London who carries a Walther.' There was a question in her voice. 'A dangerous place, this old town, as you saw tonight.' 'Dangerous for you, you mean, and that's why you're carrying.' She frowned. 'You're not a Fenian or you wouldn't have done what you did to that lot.' 'I'm not anybody's, girl dear.' He paused to light a cigarette. She said, 'Give me one.' 'I will not and you with your green years ahead of you. God, but you're one for the questions, Kate.' She turned to glance at him. 'Why do you call me that? No one else does.' 'Oh, it seems to suit.' They were walking along the waterfront now, container ships anchored at the Quay and, further out, the red and green lights of a freighter moving out to sea. Kathleen Ryan said, 'So, the gun? Why are you carrying?' 'Jesus, it's the persistent one you are. A long time ago I was a soldier. Did three tours of duty in this very town and there's always the chance of someone with a long memory and a grudge to work off.' 'What regiment?' '1 Para.' 'Don't tell me you were at Bloody Sunday in Londonderry?' 'That's right. Like I said, a long time ago.' Her hand tightened on his arm. 'God, but you lads gave those Fenians a roasting that day. How many did you kill? Thirteen wasn't it?' The lights of the pub were plain across a cobbled quay now. Keogh said, 'How old are you?' 'Sixteen.' 'So young and so full of hate.' 'I told you. The IRA killed my father, my mother and my wee sister. That only leaves Uncle Michael.' The sign said The Orange Drum and one was painted on the brick wall beside it with the legend Our Country Too. The girl put the umbrella down, opened the door and led the way in. The interior was a typical Belfast pub with several booths, a few tables and chairs and a long mahogany bar. Bottles of every kind of drink were ranged on shelves against a mirrored wall. There were only half-a-dozen customers, all old men, four of them playing cards by an open fire, two others talking softly to each other. A hard-looking young man with one arm sat behind the bar reading the _Belfast Telegraph_. He glanced up and put the paper down. 'Are you OK, Kathleen? Michael told me what happened.' 'I'm fine, Ivor. Thanks to Mr Keogh here. Is Uncle Michael in the back?' At that moment a door opened and a man walked through. Keogh knew him at once from the photos Barry had supplied at his briefing in Dublin. Michael Ryan, aged fifty-five, a Loyalist of the first order who had served in the UVF and Red Hand of Ulster, the most extreme Protestant group of all, a man who had killed for his beliefs many times. He was of medium height, hair greying slightly at the temples, eyes very blue, and there was an energy to him. 'This is Martin Keogh,' the girl said. Ryan came round the bar and held out his hand. 'You did me a good turn tonight. I shan't forget.' 'Lucky I was there.' 'That's as may be. I owe you a drink anyway.' 'Bushmills whiskey would be fine,' Keogh told him. 'Over here.' Ryan indicated a booth in the corner. The girl took off her raincoat and beret and eased behind the table. Her uncle sat beside her and Keogh was opposite. Ivor brought a bottle of Bushmills and two glasses. 'Can I get you anything, Kathleen?' 'No, I'm OK, Ivor.' He plainly worshipped her, but nodded and walked away. Ryan said, 'I've checked with a contact at the Royal Victoria. They just received three very damaged young men. One with a bullet in the thigh.' 'Is that a fact?' Keogh said. Kathleen Ryan stared at him. 'You didn't tell me.' 'No need.' 'Let's see what you're carrying,' Ryan asked. 'No need to worry. All friends here.' Keogh shrugged, took the Walther from his pocket and passed it across. Ryan examined it expertly. 'Carswell silencer, the new job. Very nice.' He took a Browning from his pocket and passed it over. 'Still my personal favourite.' 'Preferred weapon of the SAS.' Keogh lifted the Browning in one hand. 'And the Parachute Regiment.' 'He served with 1 Para,' the girl said. 'Bloody Sunday.' 'Is that a fact?' Michael Ryan said. 'A long time ago. Lately I've been at sea.' 'Belfast, but raised in London, Kathleen tells me?' 'My mother died in childbirth. My father went to London in search of work. He's dead now.' Ryan had ejected the magazine from the butt of the Walther. 'And a good Prod. You must be because of what you did for Kathleen.' 'To be honest with you, religion doesn't mean a thing to me,' Keogh told him. 'But let's say I know which side I'm on.' At that moment, the door was flung open and a man in a cloth cap and raincoat rushed in, a revolver in one hand. 'Michael Ryan, you bastard, I've got you now,' he cried and raised the revolver. Ryan was caught, the magazine from the Walther on the table beside it. Keogh said, 'What do I do, shoot him? All right. Bang, you're dead.' He picked up the Browning and fired once. The man dropped the hand holding the revolver to one side. Keogh said, 'Blanks, Mr Ryan, I could tell by the weight. What kind of a game are we playing here?' Ryan was laughing now. 'Go on, Joseph, and get yourself a drink at the bar.' The supposed gunman turned away. The old men by the fire continued their card game as if nothing had happened. Michael Ryan stood up. 'Just a test, my old son, in a manner of speaking. Let's adjourn to the parlour and talk some more.' There was a fire in the grate of the small parlour, curtains drawn as rain drummed against the window. It was warm and comfortable and Ryan and Keogh sat opposite each other. The girl came in from the kitchen with a teapot, milk and cups on a tray. Ryan said, 'If you're a seaman you'll have your papers.' 'Of course,' Keogh said. Ryan held out his hand and Keogh shrugged, opened his reefer and took a wallet from his inside pocket. 'There you go. Ships' papers, union card, the lot.' The girl poured tea and Ryan examined everything closely. 'Paid off the _Ventura_ two weeks ago. Deck hand and diver. What's all that?' 'The _Ventura_ 's a supply ship in the North Sea oilfields. Besides general ship's duties, I did some diving. Not the really deep stuff. Just underwater maintenance, welding when necessary. That sort of thing.' 'Interesting. A man of parts. Any special skills from the Parachute Regiment?' 'Just how to kill people. The usual weaponry skills. A considerable knowledge of explosives.' Keogh lit a cigarette. 'But where's all this leading?' Ryan persisted. 'Can you ride a motorcycle?' 'Since I was sixteen and that's a long time ago. So what?' Ryan leaned back, took out a pipe and filled it from an old pouch. 'Visiting relatives, are you?' 'Not that I know of,' Keogh said. 'A few cousins scattered here and there. I came back on a whim. Nostalgia if you like. A bad idea really, but I can always go back and get another berth.' 'I could offer you a job,' Ryan said and the girl brought a taper from the fire to light his pipe. 'What, here in Belfast?' 'No, in England.' 'Doing what?' 'Why, the kind of thing you did tonight. The kind of thing you're good at.' It was very quiet. Keogh was aware of the girl watching him eagerly. 'Do I smell politics here?' 'Since nineteen sixty-nine I've worked for the Loyalist cause,' Ryan said. 'Served six years in the Maze prison. I hate Fenians. I hate the bloody Sinn Fein because if they win they'll drive us all out, every Protestant in the country. Ethnic cleansing to the hilt. Now if things get that bad I'll take as many of them to hell with me as I can.' 'So where's this leading?' 'A job in England. A very lucrative job. Funds for our organization.' 'In other words we steal from someone,' Keogh said. 'We need money, Keogh,' Ryan said. 'Money for arms. The bloody IRA have their Irish American sympathizers providing funds. We don't.' He leaned forward. 'I'm not asking you for patriotism. I'll settle for greed. Fifty thousand pounds.' There was a long pause and Ryan and the girl waited, her face sombre as if she expected him to say no. Keogh smiled. ' That's a lot of money, Mr Ryan, so you'll be expecting a lot in return.' 'Back-up is what I expect from a man who can handle anything and, from the way you've carried yourself tonight, you would seem to be that kind of man.' Keogh said, 'What about your own people? You've as many gunmen out on the street as the IRA. More, even. I know that from army days.' He lit a cigarette and leaned back. 'Unless there's another truth here. That you're in it for the money, you're in it for yourself.' Kathleen Ryan jumped up. 'Damn you for saying that. My uncle has given more for our people than anyone I know. Better you get out of here while you can.' Ryan held up a hand. 'Softly, child, any intelligent man would see it as a possibility. It's happened before, God knows, and on both sides.' 'So?' Keogh said. 'I can be as hungry as the next man where money is concerned, but my cause is a just one, the one certainty in my life. Any money that passes through my hands goes to the Protestant cause. That's what my life is about.' 'Then why not use some of your own men?' 'Because people talk too much, a weakness in all revolutionary movements. The IRA have the same problem. I've always preferred to use what I call hired help and for that I go to the underworld. An honest thief who is working for wages is a sounder proposition than some revolutionary hothead.' 'So that's where I come in?' Keogh said. 'Hired help, just like anyone else you need?' 'Exactly. So, are you in or out? If it's no then say no. After what you did for Kathleen tonight you'll come to no harm from me.' 'Well, that's nice to know.' Keogh shrugged. 'Oh, what the hell, I might as well give it a try. A change from the North Sea. Terrible weather there at this time of the year.' 'Good man yourself,' Ryan smiled. 'A couple of Bushmills, Kathleen, and we'll drink to it.' 'Where are you staying?' Ryan asked. 'A fleapit called the Albert Hotel,' Keogh told him. 'Fleapit indeed,' Ryan toasted him. 'Our country too.' 'May you die in Ireland,' Keogh replied. 'An excellent sentiment.' Ryan swallowed his Bushmills in a single gulp. 'So what happens now?' 'I'll tell you in London. We'll fly there – you, me and Kathleen. There's someone I have to see.' Keogh turned to the girl. 'An activist, is it? A little young, I would have thought.' 'They blew up my family when I was ten years old, Mr Keogh,' she said fiercely. 'I grew up fast after that.' 'A hard world.' 'And I'll make it harder for the other side, believe me.' 'You hate well, I'll say that.' Keogh turned back to her uncle. 'So that's it, then?' He shook his hand. 'What am I really getting into? I should know more.' 'All right, a taster only. How well do you know the north-west of England? The Lake District?' 'I've never been there.' 'A wild and lonely area at this time of the year with the tourists gone.' 'So?' 'A certain truck will be passing through there, a meat transporter. You and I will hi-jack it. Very simple, very fast. A five-minute job.' 'You did say meat transporter?' Ryan smiled. 'That's what this truck is. What's inside is another matter. You find that out later.' 'And what happens afterwards?' 'We drive to a place on the Cumbrian coast where there's an old disused jetty. There will be a boat waiting, a Siemans ferry. Do you know what that is?' 'The Germans used them in the Second World War to transport heavy equipment and men in coastal attacks.' 'You're well informed. We drive on board and sail for Ulster. I've found a suitable spot on the coast where there's a disused quarry pier. We drive the truck off the boat and disappear into the night. All beautifully simple.' 'So it would seem,' Keogh said. 'And the crew of this Siemans ferry? What are they doing?' 'Earning their wages. As far as they are concerned it's just some sort of illegal traffic or other. They do it all the time. They're those sort of people.' 'Crooks, you mean.' 'Exactly. The boat is tied up near Wapping at the moment. That's why we're going to London. To finalize things.' There was a pause and then Kathleen Ryan said, 'What do you think, Mr Keogh?' 'That you'd better start calling me Martin as it seems we're going to spend some time together.' 'But do you think it would work?' 'Its greatest virtue, as your uncle says, is its simplicity. It could work perfectly, just like a Swiss watch. On the other hand, even Swiss watches break down sometimes.' 'Oh ye of little faith.' Ryan smiled. 'Of course it will work. It's got to. My organization needs the means to buy arms for our people. It's essential. There's a passage in the Koran that says there is more truth in one sword than ten thousand words.' 'I take your point.' Keogh stood up. 'It's late. I'd better get back to my hotel.' 'Join us here for breakfast in the morning,' Ryan told him. 'We'll catch the noon plane. I'll take care of the tickets.' 'I'll say goodnight, then.' 'The bar is closed. Kathleen will let you out. I'll keep your Walther here. No way of passing through airport security with that, but it doesn't matter. Our London connection will provide any weapons we need.' He held out his hand. 'I'll see you in the morning.' The girl opened the door and rain drove in on the wind. 'A dirty old night,' she said. 'You can say that again.' Keogh turned up his collar. 'An Ulster fry-up will do me fine for breakfast especially if you cook it yourself. Two eggs and don't forget the sausage.' 'Go on, get on your way.' She pushed him out and laughed that distinctive laugh of hers and closed the door. Keogh had difficulty finding a phone box. Most of them seemed to be vandalized. He finally struck lucky when he was quite close to the hotel. He closed the glass door to keep out the rain and rang the Dublin number. Barry was seated at the desk of his small study with his Chief of Intelligence for Ulster, a man named John Cassidy, when he took the call. 'It's me,' Keogh said. 'Worked like a charm. I'm in it up to my neck. Ryan's taken me on board.' 'Tell me everything.' Which Keogh did in a few brief sentences. Finally, he said, 'What could be in this meat transporter?' 'Gold bullion if it's the job I'm thinking of. It was put to the Loyalist Army Council about a year ago and thrown out as being too risky.' 'So Ryan has decided to do it on his own initiative.' 'Exactly, but then he always was the wild one. That's why I wanted you in there when I got the whisper through an informer that he was up to something.' 'Up to something big,' Keogh told him. 'That's right. Stay in close touch. You've got those alternate numbers for the mobile phone and watch your back.' Barry leaned back thoughtfully and lit a cigarette. Cassidy said, 'Trouble?' 'Michael Ryan up to his old tricks.' He ran through what Keogh had told him. Cassidy said, 'My God, if it is gold bullion, the bastards would have enough money to arm for a civil war. What are you going to do?' 'I don't need to do a thing except have a suitable reception committee waiting when that boat delivers the truck somewhere on the Ulster coast. Then we'll have enough money to start a civil war.' 'And you're certain of knowing the time and place?' 'Oh, yes. The man on the other end of the phone just now is one of our own. He's infiltrated under a false identity. He'll be going along for the ride every step of the way.' 'A good man?' 'The best.' 'Would I be knowing him?' Barry told him Keogh's real name. Cassidy laughed out loud. 'God save us, the Devil himself, so God help Michael Ryan.' * * * There was no one at the reception desk when Keogh entered the hotel. He went up the stairs quickly and unlocked the door to his room. It was unbelievably depressing and he looked around with distaste. It certainly wasn't worth taking off his clothes. He switched off the light, lit a cigarette, lay on the bed and went over the whole affair. The astonishing thing was, as had been said, the simplicity of it. He'd have to consider that again once Ryan had taken him fully into his confidence, of course. Not a bad fella, Ryan; a man hard to dislike. And then there was the girl. So much hate there in one so young and all blamed on the bomb which had killed her family. He shook his head. There was more to it than that, had to be, and, finally, he drifted into sleep. Kathleen Ryan took a cup of tea in to her uncle just before she went to bed. Ryan was sitting by the fire smoking his pipe and brooding. 'You think it will work?' she asked. 'I've never been more certain, and with Keogh along . . .' He shrugged. 'Fifty million pounds in gold bullion, Kathleen. Just think of that.' 'A strange one,' she said. 'Can you trust him?' 'I've never trusted anyone in my life,' he said cheerfully, 'not even you. No, don't you fret over Keogh. I'll have my eye on him.' 'But can you be sure?' 'Of course I can. I know him like I know myself, Kathleen, my love. We're cut from the same bolt of cloth. Like me he's got brains, that's obvious. He's also a killer. It's his nature. He can do no other, just like me.' He reached up to kiss her cheek. 'Now off to bed with you.' She went out and he sat back, sipping his tea and thinking of a lonely road in the Lake District, a road that not even his niece knew he had visited. [LONDON THE LAKE DISTRICT](contents.html#part_02) 1985 Chapter 2 If there is such a thing as an Irish quarter in London it's to be found in Kilburn along with a profusion of pubs to make any Irish Republican happy. But there are also the Protestant variety, identical with anything to be found in Belfast. The William & Mary was one of those, its landlord, Hugh Bell, an Orange Protestant to the hilt, performing the same function in London for the Loyalist movement as Sinn Fein did for the IRA. In the early evening of the day they had arrived in London, Ryan, Keogh and Kathleen sat with him in a back room, an assortment of handguns on the table. Bell, a large, jovial man with white hair, poured himself a whiskey. 'Anything you like, Michael and there's more where that came from.' Ryan selected a Browning, hefted it and put it in his pocket. Keogh found a Walther. 'Would you have a Carswell for this?' he asked. 'A man of taste and discernment I see,' Bell observed. He got up, went to a cupboard, rummaged inside and came back. 'There you go. The latest model.' Keogh screwed it on to the end of the Walther. 'Just the ticket.' 'And the young lady?' Bell asked. 'My niece doesn't carry,' Ryan told him. The girl bridled instantly. 'I'm as good a shot as you, Uncle Michael, and you know it. How am I expected to protect myself? Kick them in the balls?' Bell laughed. 'I might have a solution.' He went back to the cupboard and returned with a small automatic. 'Colt .25, quite rare. Slips in a lady's handbag or stocking quite easily.' 'And no bloody stopping power,' Ryan told him. 'Enough if you're close enough,' Bell said. The girl took the weapon from him and smiled. 'This will do me just fine.' She slipped it into her handbag. Ryan said, 'All right. What about the _Irish Rose_?' 'Sieman's ferry, tied up in Wapping near the Pool of London. Captain Frank Tully, but you know that. The kind of rat who'll do anything for money. The worst kind of drugs, anything that pays. He's twice run arms for the IRA to the Republic.' 'What about his crew?' 'There's four.' Bell opened a drawer and took out a piece of paper. He put reading spectacles on the end of his nose. 'Mick Dolan and Jock Grant – they're from Liverpool. Bert Fox from London and a Kraut named Muller – Hans Muller. They've all got form – all been inside.' 'Well at least we know what we're dealing with,' Keogh observed. 'That's right,' Ryan told him. 'Just your average scum.' Bell said, 'These aren't good people, Michael. I hope you know what you're doing.' 'I usually do.' Ryan grinned and took a folded piece of paper from his pocket. 'These are my requirements. See if you can fill the bill.' Bell had a look. 'Stun grenades, smoke grenades. That's fine. Two AK assault rifles. OK. Semtex? Is that essential?' 'I might have to blow my way into my target.' 'All right, I'll see what I can do.' 'That's it, then.' Ryan smiled at his niece and Keogh. 'Something to eat and then we'll go and see Tully.' It was very cold on the Thames, Tower Bridge on the right and the floodlit Tower of London just beyond it. A couple of ships passed from the Pool of London, red and green lights clear in the evening darkness as the taxi stopped at the end of Cable Wharfe and Ryan, Kathleen and Keogh got out. The taxi moved away and they walked along the waterfront. The ferry was moored at the far end, cables reaching to the pier and in the sickly yellow light of two lamps they could see the legend on the stern plain. _Irish Rose_. 'Enough to make a man feel at home,' Ryan said. 'I'm not sure that's the right word for it,' Keogh told him. They started up the gangway and a man in reefer coat and peaked cap appeared. 'And where do you think you're going?' he asked in a hard Liverpool voice. 'We're expected,' Ryan said. 'Tell Captain Tully.' The man laughed out loud. 'Captain Tully? Is that what he calls himself?' He laughed again. 'All right, this way.' The boat was very flat, the central section including the wheelhouse rising up from the deck three quarters of the way along. She was about five hundred feet in length. 'What do you think?' Ryan whispered to Keogh as they followed. 'That they weren't designed for heavy weather,' Keogh told him. They went up a ladder to the wheelhouse, stopped on the landing below. Their escort opened a door and stood to one side. 'Here we are then.' 'Thank you, Mr Dolan.' The man who sat behind the chart table wore a seagoing officer's coat, had hair down to his shoulders and a face that was so ravaged by drink and bad living that it was impossible to determine his age. 'Mr Ryan, here we are again.' He stood up and extended his hand. 'And who might this gorgeous young lady be?' 'My niece, Captain Tully. You might well remember that. This is my associate, Martin Keogh.' 'Mr Keogh.' Tully shook his hand enthusiastically. 'A real pleasure.' 'I'm sure it is,' Keogh told him. 'To business then,' Tully said. Ryan opened the briefcase he was holding and took out a folded chart. 'There is your destination. Marsh End, south of Ravenglass on the Cumbrian coast. You have two days. Can you manage that?' Tully unfolded the chart and examined it. 'No problem. What then?' 'I'll arrive by truck which we'll take across to Kilalla on the coast of County Down.' He took out another chart. 'There's a disused quarry pier there. We put the truck on shore and you sail away.' 'We do indeed, Mr Ryan. There is, of course, the small matter of recompense.' Ryan took a large envelope from the briefcase and passed it across. 'Fifty thousand pounds there. Another fifty on the termination of the contract at Kilalla. Satisfactory?' 'Oh, very, Mr Ryan, I can assure you of that.' 'Excellent, then we'll see you on Friday morning at Marsh End.' 'No problem,' Tully said. 'We won't let you down.' 'Good. We'll be off then.' As they walked along the waterfront Kathleen Ryan said, 'I didn't like anything about that bowser.' 'You aren't expected to.' Ryan turned to Keogh. 'What about you?' 'He'll cut your throat if he thinks there's a pound in it.' 'Which is why I have you along, so let's get back,' and Ryan walked to the corner and waved to a taxi. The man who had greeted them at the gangway was Dolan. When he went back into the chartroom he found Tully examining the charts Ryan had given him. 'What do you think?' 'It's big,' Tully said. 'Fifty thousand now and another fifty when we hit the Ulster coast. Whatever is in that truck must be worth more.' 'So?' 'The number he gave me to contact him. It's a pub in Kilburn called the William & Mary, I think I'll go up there and have a nose around.' He folded the charts. 'You look after things here.' He moved to the door and turned. 'This could be a big pay day, Mick.' 'Well I'm with you on that,' Dolan said. 'Whatever it takes.' 'Good man,' Tully said and went out. The saloon bar of the William & Mary was packed, men standing shoulder-to-shoulder at the bar as they drank. It was a cheerful enough scene and very noisy as Tully peered in through one of the windows. He decided to take his chances round the back and followed a narrow alley that brought him to a high wall, a gate opening into a yard. There was a chink of light showing at a window, curtains partly drawn. He approached cautiously and peered inside. Ryan, Bell and Kathleen sat at a table, a map unfolded before them. Keogh stood by the fire. Ryan laughed as Bell said something to him, but Tully couldn't hear what it was. It was then that he noticed the back door in the shadows. He tried the handle gingerly and the door opened to his touch. He found himself in a narrow corridor. There was no light on and he groped his way forward, aware of coats hanging from a peg rack. At that moment a door opened, light flooding out, and Bell appeared. Tully froze, trying to bury himself in the hanging coats and Bell called, 'I'll only be a minute.' He went down the corridor, opened a door and went inside. A few moments later there was the sound of a toilet flushing. He returned, went into the back room and closed the door. Tully went forward and put his ear to the door and was instantly aware of everything being said inside. 'Right, then, cards on the table,' Ryan said. 'It's time you knew what the rest of us do, Martin.' 'I'm all in favour of that,' Keogh told him. 'I put this job together a year or so ago. Hugh here helped with the planning of the English end of things. Unfortunately the Army Council turned it down flat, thought the whole thing too risky.' 'Bunch of old women,' Bell said. 'So what's it all about?' Keogh demanded. 'What's on the meat transporter?' It was Kathleen who answered. 'Gold, Martin. Gold bullion. Fifty million pounds.' 'God save us,' Keogh managed to look astonished. 'And why would it be transported in such a way?' 'Let me explain,' Ryan said. 'Bullion used to be landed at London Docks on the Thames, but over the past twenty-five years the waterfront has been in decline. Shippers prefer Amsterdam. However bullion deliveries were rerouted to Glasgow.' 'How long has this been going on?' 'Five years. Ever since they built a new smelter at Barrow-in-Furness. See it there on the map right at the bottom of the Lake District? Mainly shipbuilding there. The latest atomic submarine came out of their yards.' 'So what's the smelter got to do with things?' 'They melt the gold down and re-process it into smaller ingots. The banks prefer it that way. Gold is heavy stuff.' 'I see,' Keogh said. Ryan continued. 'The transporter travels from Glasgow to Carlisle then cuts across to Maryport on the coast and follows the coast road down to Barrow.' 'And we hit it somewhere on that road?' 'Exactly. This coming Friday.' 'But how do we stop it and, what's more to the point, how do we get in?' It was Bell who answered. 'It's no ordinary truck. There's a driver and two armed security guards in the cabin behind him. The truck looks standard, but it's reinforced in every possible way and there's a battery of electronic security devices and a first class radio system.' 'And how do you handle that?' Keogh asked. Bell opened a drawer in the table and took out a black hand-held computer with several rows of buttons and a read-out screen. 'I know this looks as if you use it to turn your television on and off, but it's a bit of pure genius called a Howler. You see, privileged information again, we know the code for the security system of the truck. The Howler has already selected it. You press the red button three times and the entire security system in the truck, electronic door locks, radio, the lot, are neutralized. That means the doors are open.' 'And where in the hell did you get that?' Keogh asked. 'Oh, a young electronic whiz kid at Queen's University in Belfast who is sympathetic to our cause.' Keogh nodded slowly. 'And the driver and the guards? What happens there?' 'A stun grenade should take care of them.' Ryan looked bleak for a moment. 'Mind you, I'll kill them if I have to. This is serious business.' Keogh nodded. 'All right, what happens after the heist?' 'We drive it to Marsh End where the _Irish Rose_ will be waiting.' He smiled. 'We'll be well out to sea and on our way and the police running round in circles.' There was a long silence while Keogh brooded. Finally he nodded. 'You know, you're right. It could work.' Ryan laughed delightedly. 'Good man yourself, Martin. Let's have a drink on it.' Bell got up, opened a cupboard and took out a bottle of Bushmills and three glasses and at that moment there was a crash in the yard outside as a trash can went over. When Ryan suggested the drink, Tully decided it was time to go. He opened the back door, closed it softly behind him and started across the yard. It was then that he blundered into the trash can, dislodging the metal lid which clanged as it fell to the stone flagging. He carried on, got the gate open and ran along the alley. As he reached the far end Keogh emerged into the alley but by then it was too late as Tully crossed the busy main road and was lost in the evening crowd. When Keogh returned, Bell had turned on the yard light and was standing at the back door with Ryan and the girl. 'Was there someone?' Ryan demanded. 'Oh, yes,' Keogh said. 'And you're not going to like it one little bit. I just caught a glimpse of him as he turned into the road. It looked remarkably like Tully to me.' 'The bastard was checking up on us,' Ryan said and led the way back into the parlour. 'So what do we do now?' Bell demanded. 'This blows everything.' 'No, I don't agree,' Keogh said. 'He wants to see the affair go through because he wants the rest of his money.' 'That makes sense.' Ryan nodded. 'I'd say he was simply sniffing around to find out more.' 'Which means he's a shifty swine,' Kathleen put in. 'Who now knows more than he did before, if he overheard our discussion.' Keogh pulled on his reefer coat. 'Where are you going?' Ryan demanded. 'Back to the _Irish Rose.'_ Keogh took out his Walther and checked it. 'I'm going to do some sniffing around myself.' 'I'll come with you,' Ryan told him. 'No need, I can handle it.' Keogh smiled. 'After all, that's what you're paying me for.' As he turned for the door, Kathleen Ryan said, 'Take care, Martin.' 'Ah, but I always do, girl dear.' He smiled and went out, there was the sound of the yard gate opening and closing and he was gone. It was raining again as Keogh paid off the taxi and turned along Cable Wharfe. It was a place of shadows, a touch of fog in the air. He kept to those shadows by the old disused warehouses and paused when he was close to the gangway. There was no sign of life. He thought about it for a while then decided to take a chance and darted across to the stern of the ferry which at that point was lower than the wharf. He dropped down to the deck, paused for a moment, then moved through the darkness to where the central section and the wheelhouse reared into the night. There was a light up there. Keogh went up an iron ladder to the landing below the wheelhouse, then approached, crouching. He could hear voices, smell cigarette smoke. They were all in there, Tully and his crew. Keogh stood, protected by a life raft, and listened. He heard the man Dolan say, 'Gold? Are you kidding us, Frank?' 'No. I'm bloody not. The truck that we pick up at Marsh End will be loaded with the stuff. They're going to knock it off on its way to the smelters in Barrow-in-Furness.' 'But who are _they?'_ Dolan demanded. 'Well, they're Irish, that's for certain. I'd have said IRA, but I don't think so.' 'Why not?' 'Two things. Our destination, Kilalla. That's Ulster, not the Republic. Another thing. The William & Mary in Kilburn. That's a Prod pub, not Catholic. I think they're probably the other side.' 'Loyalists?' Dolan asked. 'Same difference, as far as I'm concerned,' Tully told him. 'I couldn't care less which side they're on. All I'm interested in is that gold.' There was a stirring amongst the crew. Dolan said, 'You mean we're going to knock it off?' 'Who knows?' Tully laughed. 'After all, lads, anything can happen at sea, but let's get moving. Prepare to cast off. We've only got two days to get up there.' Keogh crouched behind the life raft as the crew emerged and descended to the deck. He stayed there thinking about it then stood up and moved to the wheelhouse door. Tully, leaning over the table, was aware of a small wind that lifted the chart for the Cumbrian coast a little. He looked up and found Keogh leaning against the door lighting a cigarette. 'As they used to say in those old Agatha Christie plays, all is revealed. I was outside, old son, and I heard your little speech to that motley crew of yours.' Tully tried to open a drawer and Keogh's hand came out of his pocket holding the Walther. 'Don't be stupid.' Tully glowered at him. 'What do you want?' 'Well, I know you were at the William & Mary. By rights I should put a bullet between your eyes, but I'll settle for the fifty thousand pounds Ryan gave you earlier.' 'You can go to hell.' Keogh raised the Walther and fired. There was the usual dull cough and the lobe of Tully's right ear disintegrated. He cried out sharply and clutched at the ear, blood spurting. 'That was for starters,' Keogh said. 'Come on, the envelope.' Tully got the drawer open with his free hand, took out the envelope and tossed it over. Keogh put it in his pocket. Tully took a handkerchief from his pocket and held it to his ear. 'My God, look what you've done.' 'So what's the difference?' Keogh said. 'You couldn't look worse than you do.' 'Fuck you.' Tully opened a cupboard one-handed, took out a bottle of Scotch and pulled the cork with his teeth. He took a long swallow. 'Now what?' 'Now nothing,' Keogh told him. 'I'll see you at Marsh End on Friday.' Tully looked astonished. 'You mean it's still on?' 'Too late to get anyone else now,' Keogh told him. 'This is what I call an "I know that you know that I know" situation, so behave yourself and you'll get this envelope back plus the other fifty thousand pounds when we reach Kilalla.' 'Sod you!' Tully said. 'Yes, I know that,' Keogh told him, 'but you will be at Marsh End on Friday.' 'Yes, damn you, I will.' 'Good man yourself. Now you can escort me to the gangway and we'll say goodnight.' The engines rumbled into life at that moment. Tully led the way out, negotiating the ladder with difficulty, blood streaming from his ear. Only Dolan and the German, Muller, were working on deck. Muller was casting off and Dolan was about to haul in the gangway. He looked up in astonishment. 'Here, what's going on?' 'What's going on is that you leave the gangway alone until I've gone down it,' Keogh said. Dolan tried to rush him and Keogh swiped him across the face with the Walther. Dolan staggered back with a cry of pain and Keogh went down the gangway. He turned at the bottom and smiled up at Tully. 'To our next merry meeting at Marsh End.' 'Bastard!' Tully called. Keogh laughed and walked away through the rain. Jack Barry was sitting at the desk of his study when the portable phone went. Keogh said, 'It's me.' Barry said, 'Where are you?' 'Wapping High Street in old London Town.' 'So what's happening?' 'You were right about the gold.' 'Is that a fact? Tell me.' 'It's complicated, but here goes,' and Keogh went through the whole business step-by-step. When he was finished, Barry said, 'Christ, but it's the ruthless bastard you are. Will Tully play?' 'He will. A hundred thousand pound pay day. He isn't going to turn that down.' 'Right. Let's say everything works. What happens on board the _Irish Rose_ once you put to sea? They'll try to take you.' 'Of course, but we'll be prepared.' 'You, Ryan and his niece? God save us all.' 'Oh, He will, He will. What about the Kilalla end?' 'Oh, I think I can promise you an interesting reception. A considerable contribution to IRA funds. It could win us the war.' 'Just think of that,' Keogh told him, 'and it's only taken seven hundred years.' Barry laughed. 'Go on, dark hero, get on with it and keep in touch,' and he switched off his phone. In the parlour at the William & Mary, Ryan and Kathleen sat at the table and listened to what Keogh had to say. Keogh helped himself to a Bushmills on the side. Bell said, 'You shot him?' 'Only a little.' Keogh sipped a little Bushmills. 'The lobe of his right ear.' Kathleen's face was infused with excitement. 'That taught the bastard a lesson.' Ryan said, 'You think he'll still come?' 'Of course he will. He wants his hundred thousand pounds.' 'But he'll try for more on the run to Ulster?' 'Yes, well we know that so we'll just have to be prepared, won't we?' 'I suppose so.' Ryan took a deep breath. 'We'll catch the Glasgow Express in the morning. We'll leave at Carnforth and take the local train to Barrow.' 'Then what?' 'We'll be met,' Ryan told him. 'Something else I didn't tell you. I have a cousin who runs a sheep farm in the Lake District not far from Ravenglass. But enough of that now. I'm for bed. We'll need an early start.' As the _Irish Rose_ moved down the Thames, Tully stood at the wheel, his head disembodied in the light of the binnacle. His right ear was covered by a taped bandage. The door of the wheelhouse opened and Dolan entered with a mug in one hand. He put it down by the wheel. 'Tea,' he said. 'Are you OK?' 'I'm fine,' Tully told him. 'So what about that little bastard?' 'Oh, when the right time comes I'm going to cut his balls off.' Tully reached for the mug and drank some tea. 'There's an old Sinn Fein saying: Our day will come. Well mine certainly will where Keogh's concerned.' He swung the wheel and increased power. Chapter 3 The Glasgow Express wasn't particularly busy. Keogh sat opposite Kathleen at a corner table. Ryan took the one opposite. Almost immediately he opened his briefcase and took out a file. He started to work his way through it, reading glasses perched on the end of his nose. The girl took the copy of _The Midnight Court_ from her carrying bag and an Irish dictionary which she put on one side. A strange one, Keogh thought, a strange one indeed. He sat there gazing out of the window wondering what she would say, what her reaction would be if she knew he was everything she hated. A Roman Catholic and an IRA enforcer. God, but the fat would be in the fire the day that got out. About an hour out of London an attendant appeared pushing a trolley with tea, coffee, sandwiches and newspapers. Ryan stopped working and took a coffee. The girl asked for tea and so did Keogh. He also bought _The Times_ and the _Daily Mail_ and spent the next hour catching up on the news. There wasn't much on the Irish situation. A bomb in Derry which had taken out six shops in one street, a tit-for-tat killing of two Catholics on the Falls Road, retaliation for the shooting of a Protestant in the Shankill and an Army Air Corps helicopter flying in to the command post at Crossmaglen had come under machine-gun fire. Just another day, they'd say in Ulster. And then, half-way through _The Times_ , he came to an article entitled HOW LONG, OH LORD, HOW LONG? It was written by a retired Member of Parliament, once a Minister at the Northern Ireland Office, who not unreasonably felt that sixteen years of bloody war in Ireland was enough. His preferred solution was an independent Ulster as a member of the British Commonwealth. Incredible how naive on the subject even politicians could be. Keogh closed the paper, lit a cigarette and sat back, watching the girl. To his amusement he saw that she frequently consulted the dictionary. She glanced up and saw him smile. She frowned. 'What's so funny?' 'Not much. You just seem to be having some difficulty with that.' 'It's not easy. I only started learning three months ago. There's a phrase here that's damned difficult to work out.' Keogh, a fluent Irish speaker, could have helped, but to disclose the fact would have been a serious error. People who spoke Irish were Catholics and Nationalists, it was as simple as that. Ryan had finished the file, put it back in his briefcase and leaned back in the corner, closing his eyes. 'He seems tired,' Keogh observed. 'He does too much, almost burns himself out. He's a believer, you see. Our cause is everything to him. Meat and drink.' 'You too, I think.' 'You have to have something to believe in in this life.' 'In your case, the death of your family gave you that?' 'The murder of my family, Martin, the murder.' There was no answer to that, could never be. Her face was white and intense, eyes filled with rage. Keogh said, 'Peace, girl dear, peace. Go on, read your book,' and he picked up the _Daily Mail_ and started on that. Another half hour and the attendant returned. They had more tea, and ham sandwiches. Ryan was still asleep. 'We'll leave him be,' the girl said. They ate in companionable silence. When they were finished Keogh lit another cigarette. 'Sixteen, Kate, and the whole of life ahead of you. And what would you like to do with it if peace ever comes to Ireland?' 'Oh, I know that well enough. I always wanted to be a nurse, ever since my time in hospital after the bomb. I was at the Royal Victoria for three months. The nurses were great.' 'Nursing, is it? Well, for that you need to pass your exams and you not even at school.' She laughed that distinctive harsh laugh of hers. 'You couldn't be more wrong, mister. Most people do their ordinary level exams at sixteen. I did mine at fourteen. Most people do the advanced levels at eighteen. I did mine four months ago in English Literature, French and Spanish. I have a thing for languages, you see.' There was a kind of bravado in her voice. 'I'm qualified to go to university if I'm so minded and I'm only sixteen.' 'And are you?' She shrugged. 'I've more important things to do. For the moment, our struggle is all that matters. Now shut up, Martin, and let me get on with my book,' and she returned to _The Midnight Court_. * * * They got off the train at Carnforth. It was desolate enough, hardly anyone about, rain drifting across the platform. Ryan checked his watch. 'There's a local train to Barrow-in-Furness leaving in forty minutes. We'll get a cup of tea. I need to talk to you both.' The café was deserted, only an ageing woman serving behind the bar. Kathleen Ryan went and got the tea and brought it back on a tray. 'I mind the time when this station was open for business twenty-four hours,' Ryan said. 'Steam engines thundering through one after another.' He shook his head. 'Everything changes.' 'You know the area well?' Keogh asked. 'Oh, yes, I've visited the Lake District a number of times over the years. I was up this way only four weeks ago.' His niece said in genuine surprise, 'I didn't know that, Uncle Michael.' 'You thought I'd gone to Dublin,' Ryan said. 'Well I didn't. I was up here arranging things and there's a lot more you don't know and now is the time for the telling.' 'Go on,' Keogh told him. Ryan produced the Ordnance Survey map of the area which they had consulted in London and unfolded it. 'There's Ravenglass on the coast. A bit of a winding road from Barrow to get there. Maybe thirty-five miles. Marsh End is about five miles south of Ravenglass.' 'So?' Keogh said. 'See here, to one side of Ravenglass, the valley running up into the mountains? Eskdale, it's called. I've got what you might call friends there.' 'But you never told me that,' Kathleen Ryan said in astonishment. 'I'm telling you now, am I not? Now, this is the way of it. My own cousin, Colin Power, had an English wife, a farmer's daughter from Eskdale. Colin was a tenant farmer in County Down, but when her parents died, the farm in Eskdale was left to his wife, Mary.' 'So they moved over?' 'Exactly. This was twenty years ago. They brought with them a young boy, Colin's nephew, Benny. He had brain damage from birth. His parents wanted to put him in a home, but Mary, having no child of her own, took him on and raised him.' 'And they're up there now in Eskdale?' Kathleen demanded. 'Right at the head of the valley. A remote, desolate place. Folly's End, it's called, and that's an apt name for it. Too much rain, too much wind. The sheep don't thrive.' Ryan shrugged. 'It was too much for Colin. He died of a heart attack five years ago. Only Mary and Benny to run the place.' 'A lot of work for two people, I would have thought,' Keogh said. Ryan laughed out loud. 'Just wait till you see Benny.' At that moment the local train pulled in at the platform and he glanced through the window. 'That's us. Let's get moving,' and he stood up and led the way out. There were only a handful of passengers getting off the train at Barrow-in-Furness. They went through the ticket barrier, passed into the concourse and stood outside. A voice called, 'Uncle Michael, it's me,' the words heavy and slurred. There was an old Land Rover parked on the other side and the man standing beside it was quite extraordinary. He was at least six feet four in height and built like an ox with enormous shoulders. He wore a tweed cap and a shabby tweed suit with patches on the elbows. He rushed forward eagerly, a childlike expression on his fleshy face. 'It's me, Uncle Michael,' he said again. Michael gave him a brief hug. 'Good man yourself, Benny. Is your aunt well?' 'Very well. Looking forward to seeing you.' The words came out with difficulty, slow and measured. Ryan said, 'My niece, Kathleen. You and she will be second cousins.' Benny pulled off his cap revealing a shock of untidy yellowing hair. He nodded, beaming with pleasure. 'Kathleen.' She reached up and kissed his cheek. 'It's good to meet you.' He was overcome, nodding eagerly and Ryan introduced Keogh who held out his hand. Benny's grasp was so strong that Keogh grimaced with pain. 'Easy, son – easy does it.' He turned to Ryan. 'I see what you mean about running the farm. This lad must be up to the work of ten men.' 'At least,' Ryan said. 'Anyway, let's get going.' Benny took Kathleen's suitcase and Ryan's and raced ahead to the Land Rover. Ryan said to Keogh and Kathleen, 'He could beat five men in any bar room brawl but in the heart of him he's a child. Mind that well and give him time when he speaks. Sometimes he has difficulty getting the words out.' Benny put the luggage in the back and Keogh slung his duffel in. Benny ran round to open the front passenger door. He pulled off his cap and nodded eagerly again to Kathleen. 'In you go, Kate,' Keogh told her. 'Make the big fella's day. We'll sit behind.' They all got in and Benny ran round and climbed behind the wheel. He started the engine and Ryan said, 'A great driver, this lad, make no mistake:' He patted Benny on the shoulder. 'Away we go, Benny. Is the truck all right?' Benny nodded. 'Oh, yes.' He turned into the main road and Ryan's niece said, 'What truck would that be?' 'Later girl, later. Just sit back and admire the scenery. Some of the best in England.' When they reached the coast road it started to rain. Ryan said, 'It does that a lot up here. I suppose it's the mountains.' They lifted up on the right, a spectacular sight, the peaks covered by low cloud. On the left the sea was angry, rolling in fast, whitecaps everywhere, a heavy sea mist following. 'The Isle of Man out there and then dear old Ireland,' Ryan told them. Keogh said, 'I don't know whether you've had a forward weather forecast for Friday, but one thing's for sure. If it's rough weather that Siemens ferry is in for one hell of a ride.' 'We'll just have to see, won't we?' Ryan told him. About forty-five minutes out of Barrow they came to an area where there were marshes on their left stretching out to sea, vanishing into the mist. There was a sign up ahead and Ryan touched Benny on the shoulder. The big man slowed down and Ryan said, 'Marsh End. Let's take a quick look, Benny.' Benny turned down a track and drove slowly along a causeway through a landscape of total desolation, reeds marching into the mist. There was an old cottage to the right and then a jetty about one hundred yards long stretching out into the sea. Benny cut the engine. 'So that's it?' Keogh said. 'That's it.' Ryan nodded. 'Only something like the Siemens with its shallow draught could get in.' 'You can say that again. When the tide's out I'd say it's nothing but marsh and mud flats.' Ryan tapped Benny on the shoulder. 'Off we go, Benny,' and the big man nodded obediently and reversed. Towards the upper end of Eskdale Valley, mountains rearing before them, Benny turned into a broad track and dropped down into a low gear. There were grey stone walls on either hand, sheep huddled together in the rain. 'A desolate sort of place,' Keogh said. Ryan nodded. 'A hard way to make a living.' They came to a wooden signpost that bore the legend Folly's End. 'And that just about sums it up,' Ryan observed. A moment later and they came to farm gates wide open and beyond it the farm, two large barns, the farmhouse itself, all built in weathered grey stone. Benny turned off the engine and got out. As they followed the front door opened and a black and white sheepdog bounded out. A moment later a woman appeared. She wore a heavy knitted sweater, men's trousers and green Wellington boots. Her hair was iron grey, the face strangely young looking. Ryan went forward as she held her arms open. They embraced warmly and he turned. 'Here you are then, my cousin, Mary Power.' The beamed kitchen had a stone-flagged floor, a wood fire burning in an open hearth. She served them herself, ladling lamb and potato stew from a large pot, moving round the table, then sat at the end. 'It's good to see you, girl,' she said to Kathleen. 'When you reach my age relatives are hard to come by.' 'And it's good to meet you,' Kathleen told her. 'And you, Mr Keogh, what would your speciality be?' Mary Power asked. 'Well, I like to think I can turn my hand to most things.' Keogh spooned some stew to his mouth and smiled. 'But I'll never be the cook you are.' Ryan pushed his plate away. Mary Power said, 'More?' He shook his head. 'Tea would be fine.' She got up and started to clear the plates and Kathleen helped her. Keogh said, 'Could we all know where we stand here?' 'You mean where Mary stands?' Ryan said. 'Simple. She's backing me to the hilt on this. If things go well, she gets a hundred thousand pounds. That means she can kiss this place goodbye and go back to County Down.' She showed no response at all, simply took plates to the sink then reached for the kettle and made tea. 'Everything's in order. The truck is in the back barn. I've aired the cottage at Marsh End and there's a fire in the stove. Somebody will have to stay there.' Ryan nodded and accepted a mug of strong tea. 'Perhaps Kathleen could stay with you and Martin and myself could make out at the cottage.' 'Fine.' She opened a tin box and took out a cake. 'Try this. I made it myself,' and she reached for a knife and cut it into slices. There was a motorcycle on its stand just inside the barn, a black leather biker's jacket draped across it, and there was a helmet. Keogh recognized it at once. 'Heh, where did you get this beauty, Benny, a Montesa dirt bike?' 'You know this model?' Ryan asked. 'Of course. Spanish. They'll do half a mile an hour over very rough ground if you want them to.' 'And is that good?' Kathleen asked. 'It is if you're a shepherd operating in hill country,' Keogh told her. 'These things will go anywhere.' He turned to Ryan. 'You bought this for Benny?' 'Not really. A bit small for him. I thought it might suit our circumstances. I'll explain later.' He said to Mary, 'Let's have a look at the truck.' She turned to Benny. 'Show us, Benny.' He nodded eagerly, almost ran to the back of the barn, tossed some bales of hay to one side then felt for a hidden catch. The wooden wall swung open. Inside in an extension of the barn stood a large truck painted green and white. The legend on the side of the truck read shelby MEAT IMPORTERS. Keogh said, 'Is this what I think it is?' 'An exact replica of the truck we're going to heist.' 'So what's the point?' 'A decoy, that's all. Benny will dump this down on the coast road, all doors locked and so on. That should hold the police up nicely while they try to get inside. It'll give us extra time, if we need it, to get away with the real McCoy.' 'Very ingenious. And Benny can handle this?' 'Benny can handle anything with an engine, like you wouldn't believe. Benny should be a Formula One driver only he's too big.' Benny nodded delightedly. 'Right, let's go back inside and have a cup of tea and then Benny can take us to the front line, so to speak.' The coast road was down below, a secondary road joining it at the side of a wood. The Land Rover pulled in and Ryan got out with Keogh and Kathleen and Benny followed. 'So this is it?' Keogh asked. 'That's right,' Ryan told him. 'Four o'clock, Friday afternoon, give or take fifteen minutes, and the transporter reaches this junction. Take my word for it, all carefully checked.' 'There's one thing I don't understand,' Keogh said. 'It's all right saying the Howler takes out the truck's security system, but how do you get the damn thing to stop in the first place?' 'A good point, but that's where Kathleen comes in.' Ryan put an arm around her. 'I'll explain when we get back.' The second barn was filled with farm machinery. There was also an old Ford van. Ryan said, 'Now if you were driving along a country road and you saw that van burning and a young girl lying in the road, blood on her face, would you stop?' 'I'd have to say I would,' Keogh said. 'And so will they.' Ryan put an arm around Kathleen. 'A chance to earn your Oscar, girl.' 'I won't let you down.' 'I know you won't. Now let's go in and we'll take it step-by-step.' 'As I told you, the transporter reaches the junction at approximately four o'clock on Friday.' They were all there in the kitchen. Mary and Kathleen at the table with Ryan, Benny at the door and Keogh by the fire. Ryan said, 'Kathleen and I will drive to the scene of the action in the Ford van. You follow on the Montesa. I've got a couple of two-way radios in the case. You'll have one with you. You'll carry on a couple of miles and wait for the transporter. When you see it you call me. Use Eagle One as a call sign, I'll use Eagle Two.' 'What do I do then?' 'Overtake the truck and join us. We'll set fire to the Ford and Kathleen lies down in the road and does her thing. I've some of that false blood actors use. She'll put it on her face.' 'Then they stop, or we hope they do, and you use the Howler to screw up the transporter's whole security system.' 'They'll be cut off from the world.' 'And if they fight?' 'No problem. I've got two AK rifles in my case, stun grenades and gas grenades. Even Semtex and pencil timers, but the doors will be unlocked anyway thanks to the Howler. Fifteen minutes after we leave the farm, Benny will drive the replica transporter down to the coast road where he'll dump it and clear off back to the farm on foot.' 'So, we neutralize the guards. What then?' 'You and Kathleen get the hell out of it on the Montesa, all the way to the jetty at Marsh End. I'll follow in the truck.' 'But why can't we all go together in the truck?' Keogh asked. Ryan put an arm around Kathleen again. 'Because the truck's the vulnerable end of things. If anything goes sour that's where it will. I want her out of it. If things do go wrong then, as long as you and Kathleen get to the _Irish Rose_ , there's always the chance of getting away.' Kathleen said, 'What do you think, Martin?' Keogh said, 'That it's going to be one hell of a Friday.' In Kilburn, just before evening, Hugh Bell was sitting at the desk in his office when the door opened and the barman looked in. 'Some gentlemen to see you, sir.' He was pulled to one side and a very large man in a navy blue raincoat entered, hands in pockets. 'So there you are, you old bastard.' 'Scully. What do you want?' and Bell knew fear. 'I've brought an old friend to see you.' He stood to one side and a small man entered. His face was thin and wasted, he wore wire spectacles beneath an old trilby hat and a fawn raincoat. 'Mr Reid,' Bell said, his mouth dry. 'Nice to see you, Hugh.' The Belfast accent was very pronounced. 'A word would seem to be in order.' 'A word?' Bell said. 'I don't understand.' 'You don't?' Reid took off his hat and sat at the table. 'And me all the way from Belfast on behalf of the Army Council.' 'But what would they want with me?' Reid took out an old silver case and selected a cigarette. Scully lit it for him with his lighter. 'Don't fence with me, Hugh. The other year Michael Ryan put up a hare-brained scheme to knock off some bullion truck up in the north-west of England. Don't deny it because you were involved. The Army Council turned it down.' 'That's true,' Bell said lamely. 'I do recall something of that.' 'Don't bullshit me, Hugh. Things get out as things always do and the whisper is that Michael is going ahead with this job on his own initiative right now.' He smiled thinly. 'It would seem obvious that you would be the man to know the truth of the matter.' He turned. 'Wouldn't you agree, Scully?' 'Oh, I would indeed, Mr Reid.' And Scully's smile was terrible. He was in deep trouble, Bell knew that, but also knew that disclosing what he did know would do him no good at all. When Scully was brought in, it always meant a bad end to things. He was not known as the Shankill Butcher for nothing. Bell made his decision and took a deep breath. 'Sure and I can't deny I know something of the matter, Mr Reid. Michael did come to me the other day and discussed certain aspects.' 'The word I got was that a bullion truck would be heisted, is that true?' 'Well, it was in the original plan submitted to the Army Council.' 'And trans-shipped to somewhere in County Down. Do you know where?' 'God save us, but I don't.' 'Scully!' Reid said. The big man took a Browning from his pocket and advanced. Bell said hurriedly, 'No need for that. I know where Ryan is staying here in London. I'll take you there now.' Scully relaxed and Reid smiled. 'Very sensible, Hugh.' 'I'll get my coat.' Bell went into the bedroom, picking up his jacket, put it on, then, quickly opening the opposite door, darted along the corridor, exited into the alley at the side of the pub and ran for the main road. When the phone in the hall rang at Folly's End it was Mary Power who answered it. She came into the kitchen and said to Ryan, 'It's for you. Mr Bell.' Ryan went out to the hall and picked up the phone. 'Yes, Hugh?' 'We're in trouble. Reid turned up from the Army Council with that sod Scully. They know, Michael, they've heard a whisper.' 'Did you tell them anything?' 'Did I hell. I ran for my life, but they knew the plan. I mean they would, wouldn't they? You submitted it to them originally.' 'The original plan was sketchy, Hugh. No mention of Folly's End or the precise target and, at that stage, the boat was only an idea. Did you tell them about the _Irish Rose_? Did you tell them we'd be putting in at Kilalla?' 'Of course not.' 'Good. Then we'll get on with it. Keep your head down and mind your back, Hugh. Go to ground for a while.' After replacing the phone he stood there in the hall, lighting a cigarette and thinking about it. No point in alarming anyone. No point at all. He returned to the kitchen. 'Hugh Bell. Nothing important.' He smiled at Keogh. 'I'll stay up here in case there are any more calls from Hugh. You'll have to spend the night at the cottage down at Marsh End on your own. No room here. Take the Ford van.' 'I'll be on my way then.' Keogh swallowed his tea and got up. 'I'll see you in the morning.' Bell didn't know where he was going. He hesitated and started across Kilburn High Road. At that moment, an old Mercedes limousine turned out of a side-street, Scully at the wheel, Reid beside him. 'He's there,' Reid said, 'crossing the road. Get him.' Scully gunned the motor. Bell, alarmed at the sound, turned. He tried to run and slipped in the rain. The Mercedes hit him at fifty miles an hour, bounced him into the gutter and moved on. A woman screamed as a crowd converged. A uniformed Woman Police Officer pushed her way through, but by the time she knelt down beside Hugh Bell he was very dead indeed. Chapter 4 The morning was bleak, heavy clouds draped across the mountains. After breakfast, Ryan sat at the table drinking tea and thinking about things, wondering about Bell and Reid and that bastard Scully. On the other hand, there shouldn't be any danger from them as long as Bell kept out of their clutches. The original plan submitted to the Army Council had been simply the idea of the thing. That he knew of a truck somewhere in the north-west of England that carried bullion, that he thought it could be lifted and taken to Ulster by boat. So Reid was at a dead end without Bell. He decided to take a chance, went out into the hall and phoned the William & Mary. The barman answered at once. Ryan said, 'Ryan here, Angus. I was wanting a word with Hugh. Is he there?' 'He's dead, Mr Ryan. Killed in Kilburn High Road last night.' 'What happened?' Ryan said. 'He was knocked down crossing the road. Hit and run accident. The police found the car that did it abandoned a few streets away.' 'Have they traced who was in it?' 'The police sergeant who called earlier said it had been stolen in Hampstead a year ago. He thinks it must have been standing in some garage.' 'All very unfortunate,' Ryan said. 'Indeed it is, Mr Ryan. Will you be coming in?' 'No, I've got business to attend to.' 'Well if you let me know where you are and give me a phone number I'll keep you posted.' It was enough. Ryan smiled softly. 'I'm away now, but just one more thing, Angus. Put Mr Reid on the phone.' 'Mr Reid? I don't understand,' Angus said. 'Stop arsing around and put him on.' Reid, who had been standing beside Angus listening in, took the phone from him and shoved the barman across to Scully. 'Michael, old son. Don't you think it's time to be reasonable?' 'Was it you or Scully at the wheel? Not that it matters. When the time comes you're my meat.' 'You always did have a touch of the theatrical about you, Michael. So you intend to carry out that hare-brained scheme of yours?' 'Goodbye, Reid,' Michael Ryan said and put down the phone. He opened the back door, lit a cigarette and stared into the rain thinking of Hugh Bell, good friend and comrade in arms for so many years. At least Scully hadn't had the chance to squeeze the truth out of him. There was some comfort in that. The kitchen door opened and Kathleen looked out. 'There you are. Is everything all right?' 'Fine.' 'I thought I'd take Martin something to eat down at the cottage. Benny says he'll drive me.' 'That's fine. I want to go over the planning again so don't mind me.' 'I'll see you later then.' She went back into the kitchen and Ryan stayed there, looking at the rain, thinking about Reid and Scully. They would have to go back home now, nothing else for it. There would be a confrontation eventually, had to be, but he would handle that when the time came. He thought of Reid, the skull-like face and wire spectacles and his smile was terrible to see. 'You little bastard,' he said softly. 'You want it all yourself, don't you? Well I'll see you in hell before I allow that to happen.' Keogh hadn't bothered with the bedroom of the small cottage at Marsh End, simply built up the fire and lay on the couch. He slept surprisingly well, got up at seven and put the kettle on. He stood at the open door looking out at the rain and noticed the creek on his right hand. On impulse, he went back inside, stripped, found a towel in the small bathroom and ran naked across the yard. He draped the towel over a bush and plunged into the creek, swimming strongly to the other side, passing into the reeds for a while, disturbing wildfowl and birds of every description which rose in clouds into the rain, calling angrily. The salt water was cold and invigorating. 'What a grand way to start the day,' he said softly as he emerged from the creek and reached for the towel. He went back to the cottage, towelling himself vigorously, then he dressed and made a cup of tea. There was milk, bread, eggs and bacon in the larder. He stood there, sipping tea, wondering whether to leave. He looked out and saw the Land Rover with Benny and Kathleen. * * * In London at the William & Mary Reid and Scully were getting ready to leave. Their search of Bell's small office had yielded no clues. Scully said, 'Nothing, Mr Reid; what do we do?' 'We go back to Belfast,' Reid said. 'Don't worry. Ryan has got to come home and no place for him to hide. We'll bide our time, but we'll get the bastard in the end.' He raised his voice. 'Angus, get in here.' Angus stumbled through the door. 'Yes, Mr Reid.' 'Anything – anything at all you can tell me?' 'They took a train, that's all I know. I did hear the Glasgow Express mentioned.' 'Glasgow?' Scully said. 'Why would they go there?' 'Not Glasgow, you fool. That line goes up through the north-west. They'll get off somewhere.' He turned back to Angus. 'Anything else?' 'I don't think so.' Angus brightened. 'Oh, yes. The other week I overheard Mr Bell on the phone. It must have been a shipping office because he said he needed to charter a flat bottom ferry. The kind that could transport vehicles. After a while I heard him say the _Irish Rose_ , Captain Tully and it's here in London.' Angus nodded. 'Yes, that's what he said.' 'Did you hear him mention that name again?' Angus nodded. 'Just before they left I was in the stillroom checking bottles. I heard Ryan say to Mr Bell the _Irish Rose_ is well on her way by now so we'll see her Friday morning.' 'But he didn't say where?' 'Definitely not.' 'All right,' Reid said. 'You've got my number. You phone me in Belfast if you hear anything.' 'Yes, sir.' 'Another thing. Keep your mouth shut. Give me any trouble and I'll send Scully to give you a seeing to. They'll find you in the Thames with your balls cut off.' Reid went through the door and Angus, plainly terrified, stood back. Scully patted his face. 'You mind what Mr Reid says, there's a good boy,' and he went out. Keogh ate the ham sandwiches Kathleen had brought, sitting at the end of the table, and she sat opposite, a mug of tea in her hands. Benny had gone back to the farm. Keogh finished it and lit a cigarette. 'How are you? How do you feel?' 'About the job, you mean?' She shrugged. 'I'll be fine. I've done things for Uncle Michael before; dangerous things. I can look after myself.' 'At your age you shouldn't have to.' He stood up. 'Come on. We'll get a breath of air.' The mist drifted in, creating a strange and sombre world. Reeds lifted on either side of the creek, water gurgled in the mud flats and as they walked along the broad track, birds lifted in protest on either hand. 'A strange place this,' Keogh observed. 'Yes, I'm not sure that I like it.' She frowned. 'It makes me feel uneasy.' 'I know what you mean.' They reached the jetty and paused. The tide was out and iron girders were exposed, corroded by rust. 'I wonder what it was built for?' she said. 'God knows. Been here for years. Victorian from the look of it, but it still looks substantial enough.' They walked along it, waves lapping around the girders below with a hollow booming sound. There was no rail at the end, only at the sides. Keogh peered over and noticed a jumble of granite blocks in the shallows. 'There's your answer,' he said. 'They must have shipped granite from here in the old days.' 'I see.' She stood to one side, hands gripping the rail and looked out to sea, a strangely forlorn figure in her raincoat and beret. Keogh leaned on the rail beside her. 'What do you want, Kate? What do you really want out of life?' 'God knows. All I've ever known was the Troubles. I was born the year they started. All I know is the bombing and the killing. My family, friends, all gone.' Her face was bleak. 'Life is supposed to be for the living but all I see is death. Does that make any sense to you?' 'Perfect sense.' Keogh nodded. 'The terrible thing and you so young.' She laughed. 'You're not exactly a greybeard yourself.' 'A very old thirty-two,' he said and he laughed. Steps boomed along the jetty and they turned and saw Ryan coming towards them. 'God, what a lousy day,' he said. Keogh pointed down into the water. 'It's to be hoped the tide is in at the right time tomorrow.' 'It will be, I've double-checked and it's a high one.' He took out a cigarette. 'One more thing. Hugh Bell is dead.' 'My God,' Kathleen said, 'how did that happen?' So Ryan told them. As they walked back along the jetty Keogh said, 'Reid can't touch you once you're back home with that transporter. All right, maybe your Army Council don't like people going their own way and acting without orders, but you'll be a bloody hero to them. They'll welcome you with open arms when they hear about the bullion.' 'Let's hope so. It's Reid I'm concerned about. Unless I miss my guess he'd like to have it all for himself.' 'Well fuck him,' Kathleen said angrily. 'You mind your tongue, girl,' Ryan told her. 'But if he doesn't know about Kilalla he isn't a threat,' Keogh said. 'Not when we land, but later,' Ryan shrugged. 'Who knows? Anyway, let's go back to the farm. I've got the Land Rover at the cottage.' Mary Power provided a simple meal at one o'clock – vegetable soup, a cheese salad and the inevitable tea. Afterwards, as she cleared the table, she said to Benny, 'Mind your chores now. The sheep in the North meadow need seeing to.' He nodded eagerly, got his cap and went out. A moment later Keogh, standing at the window, saw him cross the yard, a sack across his shoulders against the rain, the dog at his heels. 'He's a worker, that lad, I'll say that for him.' 'And in the mind still a child,' she said. 'He has to be told everything.' Ryan finished his tea and stood up. 'I want to look at the ambush site again. We'll go in the Ford van, me and Kathleen. You follow on the Montesa. I'll give you one of the radios. When we get there you carry on up the road a mile or two then contact me. Use the call sign Eagle One, like I said. I'll be Eagle Two.' 'Fine by me,' Keogh told him. As the Ford turned into the track towards the road leading down Eskdale, the girl was at the wheel. She glanced at her uncle. 'You know I'm not even licensed to do this. I'm under age.' 'And you handling a wheel to the manner born since you were fourteen. I mind that night when I took a bullet and crashed my car near Kilkelly.' 'And you phoned me from a roadside phone box and told me to get the boys to come and get you.' 'And came yourself, you little Devil and in a stolen car.' 'Well who showed me how to hot wire a stolen car?' 'I know and to my shame.' He laughed. 'The state I was in when you got there. Soaked to the skin in a stinking ditch, a bullet in the shoulder and then you crashed through that RUC roadblock.' 'Great days, Uncle Michael.' 'Were they?' He lit a cigarette and opened the window. 'Sometimes I'm not so certain any more. I must be getting old.' He smiled suddenly. 'One thing I am sure of. You're a remarkable girl, Kathleen, and you deserve better. Dammit, you could be an early entrant for the university.' 'Oh, hold your tongue,' she told him. 'I've more important things to do with my life.' He sat there, thinking about it and a moment later they reached the junction and pulled in. Keogh followed two hundred yards behind. He was wearing the biker's black leather jacket and the helmet. In spite of the rain, he was enjoying himself and the Montesa responded well. The Ford van turned into a layby a few yards from the junction. Keogh raised a clenched fist in greeting and carried on. Ryan sat in the van, the two-way radio in his hand, opened the door and looked out at the layby. 'This will do fine. After all, we don't want to block the road so effectively and this thing burning so that I can't get by in the transporter.' At that moment Keogh's voice crackled over the radio, 'Eagle Two, this is Eagle One. Are you receiving me?' 'Loud and clear,' Ryan said. 'Anything to report?' 'Nothing but birds, the sea and this bloody rain. Can I go now?' 'I'll see you back at the farm. Over and out.' Ryan switched off the radio and smiled at Kathleen. 'I've seen enough, girl, so back to Folly's End it is.' Mary Power served the evening meal at seven o'clock – roast lamb, potatoes, carrots, cabbage. What fascinated Keogh was the vast amount of food Benny managed to put away. 'Jesus, but you'd think it was going to be his last meal on top of earth,' Keogh said. 'Well if he does the work of three men he's entitled to eat three men's food,' Kathleen put in. 'But not to forget his manners,' Mary Power said and she reached over and hit Benny over the knuckles with a wooden spoon. 'Now be a good boy and go and do the milking.' He pulled on his cap, bread and cheese in one hand. 'Yes, aunty,' he mumbled and went out. 'Away into the parlour with you and I'll serve tea in there,' she told them. Kathleen Ryan started to clear the plates and Keogh said firmly, 'My turn. Off you go with your uncle, there's a good girl.' 'Good girl yourself,' she said, but went anyway, following Ryan out. 'No Irishman I ever knew would volunteer to do the work of a woman so I take it you wanted to speak to me,' Mary Power said. 'Something like that.' Keogh stacked the plates for her. 'Are you happy with everything so far?' 'Happy?' She filled the sink with hot water and slid the plates in. 'I've forgotten what that word means. My husband and I came here full of hope, but this is only a place to die in. Subsistence farming of the worst kind. The land is a cruel master here.' 'I can see that.' 'So, when Michael came to me with word of this ploy he wanted to organize it was like a line thrown to a drowning man. If it comes off, Benny and I can go back to Ulster.' 'And if it doesn't?' 'We'll be trapped here forever. Michael made it clear there would be no police trouble whatever happens. Nothing to connect us with you lot.' 'And with luck that's the way it should stay.' 'Let's hope so. Politics mean nothing to me, but Michael is a good man and I trust him.' Keogh left her there and went into the parlour. The girl sat in the window seat with her copy of _The Midnight Court_. Ryan was filling his pipe by the fire and lit it with a taper. 'A good woman that,' Keogh said. 'She's had a bad time.' 'The worst,' Ryan told him. 'But better times coming, God willing. We'd better check the weaponry in the barn after we've had our tea.' 'That suits me fine,' Keogh said. 'And me,' Kathleen put in. 'I'd like to try out that Colt pistol Mr Bell gave me.' 'Well, we'll see,' Ryan told her and at that moment Mary Power brought in a tray with the tea things. Later in the dimly lit barn, Keogh and Ryan laid out the weaponry from Ryan's big case. There were the two AK assault rifles, spare clips, the stun and smoke grenades and the Semtex with its timing pencils. There was even a spare Walther in a leather ankle holster. Keogh checked it out. 'Where did that come from?' 'Oh, I thought it might come in useful. I always liked the idea of an ace-in-the-hole,' Ryan said. Keogh examined each AK separately, running his hands over the various parts expertly. He loaded one and passed it to Ryan. 'That latest silencer they have is pretty damn good. Try it.' He took a wooden plank to the other end of the barn, propped it against the bales of hay and came back. Kathleen and Benny stood watching. Ryan raised the AK and fired three single shots, there was the familiar crack the weapons always made in the silenced mode and three bullet holes appeared in the plank. Keogh loaded the second AK and passed it across. 'And that one.' Ryan pressed the trigger again and achieved the same result. He lowered the weapon and placed it on the trestle table. 'That's all right then.' Kathleen came forward holding the Colt .25 automatic. 'Now me.' Keogh said, 'It's all yours.' She raised the Colt in both hands, took careful aim and fired, kicking up straw to one side of the plank. 'Try again,' Ryan told her. The anger showed on her face, but she took aim again and achieved the same result. She was furious now and Keogh said, 'Look, most people can't hit a barn door with a handgun so don't take it to heart. Come with me.' He stopped six or seven feet away from the plank. 'I wouldn't try it from any further away than this, if I were you. Just point and shoot.' She tried again, clipping the plank with one shot, but her second was on target. 'Much better,' Keogh said. 'But holding the barrel against the target and pulling the trigger gets an even better result.' He turned and walked back and Ryan was laughing. Even Benny was smiling and she was annoyed. 'Well, what about you, small man? Lots of advice for others, but little on display from yourself.' Keogh turned, face calm and it was as if she was only noticing for the first time how cold his eyes were. His hand went under his jacket at the rear, the Walther swung up, he fired six times, double-tapping splinters flew from the plank and it toppled over. Benny had his hands over his ears in spite of the silencer and Kathleen Ryan's look of astonishment was something to see. Keogh didn't say a word, simply ejected the clip and re-filled it. It was Michael Ryan who put it into words. 'Here endeth the lesson. Now let's turn in. It's going to be a hell of a day tomorrow.' About forty miles south of Marsh End and some five miles off the coast, the _Irish Rose_ was on course, rolling heavily in a troubled sea, winds four to five. In the wheelhouse the German, Muller, was at the wheel. Tully sat at the chart table, a cardboard box in front of him and the crew crowded round. 'Seven or eight handguns in there so take your pick. I want every man armed.' Dolan took a Smith & Wesson .38. 'This will do me fine.' The others helped themselves. Jock Grant, the engineer, said, 'What's our estimated time of arrival?' 'About eleven o'clock in the morning, but I can't be sure. I mean I don't know this Marsh End place so navigating could be awkward and we need to go in on the tide.' 'So what happens?' Dolan asked. 'I don't know, is the answer. When Bell first spoke to me he said we'd to be ready to leave late afternoon. He said the tide would be turning then and the timing was essential. We'll go in and wait. I mean, Ryan's bound to turn up to finalize things.' 'But he's bound to expect trouble after what happened,' Dolan persisted. 'Look, he doesn't have any choice. Once he has that truck, he's got to get it away. I'll tell him it was all a mistake, that I didn't mean any harm, that I was just making sure everything was on the level, that's all. What happens when we get to sea is another matter.' Dolan said, 'But that little Keogh bastard is red hot. I mean, look what he did to your ear.' 'I'm not forgetting, but just remember, there's five of us and only Ryan and Keogh and the girl, and she's the key. If we can get our hands on her, Ryan will cave in soon enough. We'll have to make it up as we go along. We won't hit the Irish coast till dawn. I'll think of something, but to start with, everybody behaves.' 'I don't know,' Bert Fox sounded dubious. 'It could get nasty.' Tully exploded in anger. 'The biggest pay day ever. Are you in or out? Make your minds up.' It was Dolan who spoke for all of them. 'We're with you, Mr Tully, no question. Isn't that right, lads?' There was a chorus of approval and Tully said, 'Get back to work.' They all went, leaving Muller at the wheel. Tully went out on the bridge and stood there staring into the darkness. He touched his bandaged ear which still hurt like hell and it was Keogh he was thinking of and what he'd do to the little bastard when the time came. Chapter 5 The following morning when Keogh rose at seven the weather seemed to have deteriorated. There was heavy mist now over the marsh and when he opened the front door, the rain was relentless. He made a cup of tea and shaved at the kitchen sink. There was a small portable radio on the windowsill. He switched it on and managed to find the early morning BBC news broadcast. He continued to shave and was wiping his face clean when the weather forecast came on and he listened intently. For the Irish Sea it was winds three to four with some sea fog and rain squalls. _Which could have been worse._ He finished his tea and started to dress when there was the sound of a vehicle outside. He pulled on his boots and went to the window and saw Kathleen getting out of the Ford. Keogh took his reefer down from a peg and opened the door. 'Another dirty old morning,' he said cheerfully. 'We thought you'd like a proper breakfast. I've come to fetch you.' 'Now isn't that the kind thought?' He got into the passenger seat. 'First we'll take a run to the end of the jetty. I'd like to see how things are.' 'Fine by me.' She drove along the broad track and moved on to the jetty, stopping just before the end. Keogh got out and went and peered over and she joined him. 'Only a few feet of water down there at the moment,' he said. 'The tide must be way out.' 'And that's bad?' 'They wouldn't get in. Still, it's supposed to start turning around about ten-thirty.' He looked out to sea. 'Pity about this damn mist. _Irish Rose_ could be hove-to out there, but we can't see.' He smiled suddenly and squeezed her shoulder. 'Never mind, it's going to be fine. I have a good feeling about it. Now let's get that breakfast.' And the _Irish Rose,_ Muller at the wheel, was indeed hove-to about a mile out. Tully stood on the bridge with Dolan, peering into the mist. 'God damn this weather,' Dolan said. 'Can't see a thing.' He turned to Tully. 'Is it off?' 'Is it hell,' Tully said. 'If there's one thing I do well it's navigate, you know that. No, we wait for the turn of the tide and go in.' He turned fiercely. 'Nothing stops me getting my hands on that truck. Nothing,' and he went into the wheelhouse. It was about half-ten and Keogh and Ryan were in the barn carefully checking the weapons again. Keogh picked up the Walther in the ankle holster. 'Can I take this? I've always liked an ace-inthe-hole myself.' 'Be my guest.' 'I'll put it on just before we leave,' and he put it in the pocket of his reefer. 'Everything else goes with us in the large case,' Ryan said. 'I'll bring it with me in the transporter.' 'Just in case we have to impress our friend Tully?' 'Exactly.' Kathleen looked in. 'I'm going down to Marsh End in the Ford with Benny. He thinks he's lost some sheep and they might have wandered that way.' 'All right,' Ryan told her. 'But if there's any sign of the _Irish Rose_ don't go near. Martin and I will be along in a wee while in the Land Rover.' 'I'll see you there,' she said and went out. * * * Kathleen left the Ford outside the cottage and she and Benny walked down the track into the marsh. It was still raining heavily and very misty. Suddenly there was the sound of a sheep baaing over on the right. Benny paused, a curiously intent look on his face and then he smiled and nodded and moved off at surprising speed considering his size and Kathleen went after him. There were five sheep, standing in water up to their bellies, marooned from the look of it, as miserable as any living creature could be. Benny laughed, waded through the creek, picked one up and carried it across to dry land. 'Good,' he said. Kathleen nodded. 'I'll walk down to the jetty,' and she turned away as he waded back to the other sheep. She walked along the track, cocooned in mist and somewhere a dog barked and then the _Irish Rose_ emerged as she went forward, moored stern first against the end of the jetty. The ramp wasn't down yet for the tide was still too low and a boy of perhaps twelve in a hooded anorak stood watching. He had a fishing rod in one hand and a small terrier at his heel. The legend _Irish Rose_ was plain across the stern and the boy moved forward to examine it. As he did so, Tully vaulted over the rail. 'Now then, you little bastard, what do you want?' He grabbed the boy by the front of his anorak and shook him and Kathleen Ryan ran forward. 'You great bully, let him go.' She struck out at Tully who released his grip in astonishment and the boy turned and ran away followed by the dog. Tully grabbed for the girl's wrist. 'So it's you, is it?' 'Leave me be.' She slapped his face and Dolan and Fox appeared at the stern, laughing. 'A hot one there, Captain. Needs sorting out. Are you up to it or do you need help?' Tully was angry now as she slapped at him again. 'You little bitch. I'll teach you.' He had both her wrists now and pulled her towards him and somewhere there was a terrible cry and Benny arrived on the run. He grabbed Tully from behind, pulling him away and threw him to the ground. Then he turned to the girl. 'You go now.' Tully scrambled up and punched him in the back. Benny swung an arm backwards and knocked him down again with casual ease and Tully cried out, 'Dolan, get down here.' Dolan and Fox vaulted the rail, Fox carrying an iron bar. Benny took a fist in the face from Dolan with no apparent ill-effect, but punched him in the breastbone in return, knocking him on to his back. Kathleen screamed, 'Stop it!' Fox rushed in wielding his iron bar. Benny actually took the blow on his left arm, twisted Fox's wrist so that he dropped the bar. Then he gave him a slap back-handed that spun Fox around and sent him on his face. 'Benny, look out!' Kathleen called. Tully had got to his feet and picked up the iron bar. He swung at Benny's skull, but the big man turned just in time so that it bounced off his shoulder. He tore the iron bar from Tully's hand then wrapped his great hands around his throat and actually lifted him off his feet. There was a shot, flat in the rain and Keogh and Ryan ran out of the mist. 'Benny, no!' Ryan called out. Benny paused, still holding Tully off the ground, then gently lowered him. Tully collapsed groaning, sitting on the ground, head on his knees. 'What brought this on?' Ryan asked. She told him. When she was finished Keogh said, 'So some boy saw the boat. So what? It might mean something later, but not now.' 'I agree.' Ryan turned to Benny. 'Good lad, Benny, for looking after Kathleen. Back to the farm with you now.' He nodded to her. 'Go with him. We'll sort things here.' 'I'm sorry, Uncle Michael.' 'Not your fault, girl. It comes from having to deal with scum.' She took Benny's hand and led him away. Tully, Dolan and Fox were on their feet, distinctly the worse for wear. Ryan stood looking at them. 'What a sorry bunch of shites you are. Go on, get on board before I forget myself and shoot the lot of ye.' In the wheelhouse Tully sat at the chart table, the rest of the crew grouped around him. Ryan said, 'The only reason I'm talking at all is that I need you. We'll be back here between four-thirty and five with the transporter so you be ready for sea, do you understand?' The crew shifted uncomfortably. It was Tully who said, 'Yes, we'll be ready to go.' 'You came snooping at the William & Mary,' Ryan said, 'so Mr Keogh informs me. Now why would you do that?' 'I was worried,' Tully said. 'I just wanted to make sure everything was kosher.' 'It's kosher enough for me to promise to blow your fucking head off if you try anything on the trip to Kilalla. Do you hear me?' 'Yes.' 'Good, we'll be off now and you be ready to leave at the appropriate time.' He went down the ladder followed by Keogh and then crossed to the rail and dropped down to the jetty. 'What do you think?' Keogh asked. 'Oh, they'll try to cut our throats half-way across.' 'And doesn't that bother you?' 'Why should it? That's why I have you along, Keogh.' Dolan said, 'Who was that bloody great ape, King Kong?' 'I don't know,' Tully replied and massaged his neck. 'I thought I was on the way out.' 'So what happens now?' Fox demanded. 'We wait. We do as we're told. Just remember one thing. When we put to sea King Kong won't be along for the ride. The boot will be on the other foot then.' Just before three, Keogh stood beside the Montesa in the barn and pulled on the biker's leather jacket. He lifted the dark cord slacks he was wearing above the right ankle and strapped the Walther into place. He slipped the silenced version into the back of his waistband under the jacket and was ready to go. Kathleen was wearing a denim jacket and jeans and she carried the Colt .25 in an inside pocket. Ryan inspected the inside of the weaponry case, then snapped it shut and put it in the back of the Ford. He turned to them, embracing Mary Power, then took Benny's hand. 'We're going now, Benny, you understand?' Benny nodded eagerly. 'Yes, Uncle Michael.' You do as Aunty Mary tells you.' 'Yes, Uncle Michael.' 'You're a good lad.' Michael Ryan turned to Kathleen and Keogh. 'Time to go then, the moment of truth.' And it was just like the test runs, Keogh told himself, trailing the Ford on the Montesa and the damn rain. Didn't it ever stop up here? The Ford pulled into the layby, he swerved to one side and halted. Ryan was round the back of the Ford, the door wide and opening the big case. He took out one of the AK assault rifles, stock folded, came across, unzipped Keogh's leather jacket and shoved it inside. 'On your way, boy.' Keogh gunned the engine, reaching eighty in fifteen seconds, arriving at the junction in three minutes. He pulled in and waited. When the green and white transporter with SHELBY MEAT IMPORTERS on the side drove by, so exactly the same as the replica, it had a dreamlike quality to it as if it was not really happening and he hurriedly switched on his radio. 'Eagle One to Eagle Two. Target on course.' There was a pause and then a crackle. 'Eagle Two – message received. Come home.' Keogh put the radio away, gunned his engine and went after the truck fast. For a few seconds he trailed it, then pulled out to overtake, one arm raised in salutation, went round a bend ahead and disappeared. 'Crazy bastard,' the transporter driver said to the two security guards sitting in the cabin behind him. They wore blue serge suits, for uniforms would have given the game away, but each man carried a Browning in a shoulder holster. 'Probably kill himself one of these days,' one of them said. 'Guys like that usually do.' 'Well that's his business,' his friend told him. 'So let's have a cup of coffee.' He opened a Thermos and somewhere up ahead there was the muffled sound of an explosion and smoke lifted into the air. 'Jesus, what's that?' the driver demanded and they went round the corner leading to the junction. Keogh swerved into an open field gate, got off the motorcycle and pushed it up on its stand. The suitcase containing the weaponry was on the ground by the wall and he saw Kathleen at the side of the road smearing the false blood on her face as Ryan ran to the back of the Ford. A moment later there was a muffled explosion and flames flickered around the vehicle. A larger explosion followed as he ran and black smoke lifted into the sky. The transporter came round the corner and skidded to a halt at the horrific scene. Keogh pulled out his AK and unfolded the stock, but it wasn't necessary. Ryan switched on the Howler and punched the buttons. 'The door,' he cried to Keogh. 'The door.' Keogh ran to the off-side door, pulled on the handle and it opened to his touch. He was aware of the driver, the two behind, one already with a gun in his hand. Ryan lobbed in a stun grenade. It was enough. A moment later, he had the driver from behind the wheel, dazed and bewildered. Keogh pulled out the two security guards. They dragged them behind the field wall and secured them with the plastic handcuffs. Kathleen was on her feet, wiping the blood away. Ryan said, 'Good, you got your Oscar.' He ran to the back of the truck and opened the doors, revealing the containers inside. 'Would you look at that now? Keogh said. 'Would you, indeed.' Ryan picked up the suitcase with the weaponry and shoved it up into the cabin of the transporter. 'Go on, Martin, get the hell out of it.' Keogh folded the AK and put it back inside his biker's jacket. 'Come on, girl,' he said to Kathleen. He flung a leg across the motorcycle. She jumped onto the pillion behind him and put her arms around him. As they drove away, Ryan switched on the engine of the transporter and followed, leaving only the burning van hissing in the rain and the three men slowly regaining their senses behind the wall. It was almost half an hour later that a local farmer in his station wagon came upon the scene of destruction. When Keogh and Kathleen on the Montesa reached Marsh End and turned along the track to the jetty, the _Irish Rose_ already had the ramp down. Tully was waiting on deck with Dolan and Fox and Keogh ran the Montesa straight on board and braked to one side. Kathleen slid from the pillion and Keogh dismounted. He had the AK out in seconds and unfolded the stock. 'There's no need for that,' Tully said. 'Did it work?' 'Like a dream.' 'Then where is it? We've got to get out of here. I've got the engines turning over and a man on the wheel.' 'Take it easy,' Keogh said. 'He'll be here. Go and make sure everything's ready.' Tully turned away reluctantly and Keogh smiled at Kathleen Ryan and took out a cigarette. 'We did it, Kate, we did it.' She was incredibly excited. 'I know, I know, Martin, but where is Uncle Michael?' 'He's coming, girl dear. That transporter isn't as nippy as the Montesa.' But it was another agonising twenty minutes before the green and white transporter appeared from the mist, came along the jetty and bounced on board. It rolled to a halt and braked and Ryan got out. 'I thought I'd had it. The damned engine died on me.' Already Dolan and Bert Fox were hurriedly clamping the huge wheels to the deck. Kathleen said, 'What happened?' 'There's an automatic choke system. It was jammed full on. Must have been the blast from the stun grenade. Once I'd got it in I managed to get going again.' Tully called from the bridge. 'Can we go, for Christ's sake?' Ryan waved. 'As soon as you like.' The _Irish Rose_ slipped out into the estuary and fled into the mist, leaving the land behind. 'We did it,' Ryan said. 'We certainly did.' Keogh offered him a cigarette. 'Only one matter of interest still to be resolved.' 'And what's that?' Ryan asked, accepting a light. 'Oh, exactly at what point on the way to Kilalla they intend to hit us.' 'Well, the best way of handling that is to impress them,' Ryan said. 'Get your AK out and I'll do the same. Conspicuous display at all times.' 'And I'm carrying too,' Kathleen said. 'I've got my Colt in my inside pocket.' 'For God's sake stay out of it, girl, and leave it to Martin and me.' He got back in the cab, opened the case and took out the other AK. He got down again, held it against his thigh and moved to the rail. There were a couple of ship's boats on either side at the stern suspended in davits and an inflatable in yellow plastic with an outboard motor. 'Handy that for his illicit runs ashore,' Ryan observed. 'The outboard looks pretty good to me,' Keogh said. 'Close to brand new.' 'Probably stolen, if I know Tully.' 'So what do we do now?' Keogh asked. 'Give him time. He's got to work the ship. We'll wait till we're a few miles out to sea then we'll have words.' He looked up at the wheelhouse and saw Tully looking down at them from the stern window. Ryan waved, grinning. In the wheelhouse Muller was again at the wheel. Tully sat at the chart table, Dolan standing beside him. Grant and Fox were below in the engine room. 'You see what they're carrying?' Dolan demanded. 'Yes, AKs.' 'Those things could cut us to pieces.' 'I know. We've got to box clever. Hide your gun in the chart drawer, Muller's too, then go below and tell Fox and Grant to stow theirs somewhere in the engine room. I'll keep mine in my pocket.' 'But I don't understand.' 'Look, it's obvious he's leaving us to make our way out to sea. After a while, he'll be coming to see me and armed like that there's nothing we can do. They'll search the lot of us at gun point and won't find anything.' 'Except yours.' 'Which might make Ryan think that's all there is.' Dolan looked dubious and Tully pushed him. 'Go on, get moving. I've got a course to lay.' Dolan went out and Muller said in his heavily accented English, 'So, we still go to Kilalla?' 'Well we can't exactly turn due south. Ryan's no fool. For the time being we'll simply make for the coast of County Down in a general way until we see what happens.' 'With guns such as they have it could be difficult.' 'You worry too much,' Tully said. 'It's going to work and I'm going to take that truck from them one way or another, I promise you.' Ryan waited for an hour before making his move. 'Right,' he said, 'you stay up in the cab, Kathleen, nice and comfortable, while Martin and I go and sort out the bad guys.' 'I could die for a cup of tea.' 'Well if you look in the case, besides the weapons, you'll find a damn great Thermos flask, courtesy of Mary Power and there's an old cake tin in there too. No cake, just ham and cheese sandwiches.' 'Uncle Michael, you're the wonder of the world. You think of everything.' 'Not this time. Thank Mary Power.' He turned to Keogh. 'Here we go, Martin, moment of truth.' Tully watched them coming, Ryan in the lead, and debated for a wild moment about trying to shoot him as he mounted the steel ladder to the bridge but hastily abandoned the idea as Keogh stood back, AK raised to cover Ryan. Ryan reached the bridge safely and stood outside the open door, covering Tully, Muller at the wheel and Dolan. 'Top of the morning,' Ryan said and raised his voice. 'Come away up, Martin.' Keogh joined him a moment later. 'There you are, Tully, how's the ear?' Tully glowered at him. 'It's been better.' 'I'm sorry to hear that.' 'Search them,' Ryan told him. Keogh quickly ran a hand over Muller then Dolan. He found the Smith & Wesson revolver Tully had in his pocket. 'Very naughty,' Ryan said. 'I'm surprised at you.' 'I'm the captain,' Tully protested. 'What do you expect?' 'Oh, almost anything from you. Where are the other two?' 'Grant and Fox are in the engine room.' 'We'll pay them a visit and take another look at this pig boat on the way.' 'As you like.' Tully shrugged and went to the voice pipe and whistled. Fox replied and Tully said, 'Mr Ryan wants a look at the engine room. We're on our way down.' 'Good,' Ryan said. 'Let's get moving.' He nodded to Dolan. 'You too.' From the deck below the wheelhouse a companion-way led to a narrow passage, door on either side. One of the doors had toilet painted on it. Keogh opened it and found a stall lavatory, a washbasin and shower. 'Is this for the whole boat?' 'No, I have a separate one,' Tully said. 'It goes with my cabin. That's under the wheelhouse.' 'And these other doors?' 'Crew quarters.' Keogh opened the doors and had a glimpse of untidy bunks and general disorder. 'What a stink. Doesn't anybody wash on this boat?' Tully was enraged, but kept his mouth shut. Ryan said, 'So where's the engine room?' 'End of the passage.' 'Right, lead the way the both of you.' Tully opened a door at the end and the throbbing of the engines became very pronounced. They went down a companionway and found themselves in the engine room itself, Grant and Fox oiling the pistons and other moving parts. They paused in their work and Tully said, 'Is everything OK?' 'As much as it ever will be with this old bag of bones,' Grant told him. Keogh said, 'Hands high, boys.' Ryan raised his rifle and, sullenly, they did as they were told. Keogh retired, satisfied. 'Clean as a whistle.' 'Fine,' Ryan said. 'We'll go back then.' Chapter 6 The sea was building up as they went out on deck and the _Irish Rose_ was already beginning to roll from side to side. Rain swept in, clearing the mist a little. They went back up to the wheelhouse, climbing the ladder one-by-one. Tully sat down at the chart table. 'So, what now?' 'I've done a boat crossing from the Lake District coast to Ulster twice over the years,' Ryan told him. 'Is that a fact?' 'Yes, so I know where the Isle of Man is – halfway between the two and we pass south, skirting what they call the Calf of Man?' 'If you say so.' 'Oh, but I do and there it is on your top chart. I'd say we should be seeing the lighthouse there at midnight.' 'So what?' 'That should give us a landfall at Kilalla around three.' 'It depends on the weather.' 'And so it does, but keep on course. I have a marine compass in any case and I'd be very hurt if I discovered we weren't proceeding in a west-erly direction.' 'All right,' Tully said sullenly. 'Now what happens?' 'Well, as there is nowhere else I'd particularly like to spend the night on this disgusting pig boat we'll use the cab of the truck. It even has a bunk behind the driver's seat.' He turned to Keogh. 'Give him your radio, Martin.' Keogh took it from his pocket and put it on the chart table. 'There you go.' 'What's this?' Tully demanded. 'Two-way radio. I have one too so we can keep in touch, us down there and you up here. Another thing. You have one of your men standing on the deck down there where I can shoot him if anything untoward happens.' 'You bastard.' 'I always was, but I keep my word and I'm going to give you a chance to be sensible.' He took an envelope from his pocket and threw it down. 'That's the fifty thousand pounds Mr Keogh took from you.' Tully was truly shocked. 'My God!' 'Count it when we're gone. It's all there.' Ryan smiled looking like the Devil himself. 'No bloodshed, no aggravation and you get another fifty thousand at Kilalla in a few hours. Think about it.' He nodded to Keogh. 'Let's go. You first, Martin. I'll mind your back and you cover me.' They went down the ladder one after the other and Tully opened the envelope and examined the money. 'Damn him!' he said. 'What's he playing at?' Dolan asked. 'He's giving me a way out, isn't he? Play the game and settle for a hundred thousand.' 'And will you?' 'There's fifty million pounds in gold sitting out there, Dolan, fifty million.' 'All right,' Dolan said, 'but these are hard bastards.' 'Well so am I.' Tully sat there frowning and examining the chart. Dolan said, 'Have you any ideas?' 'Not at the moment. If we don't pass the Calf of Man he'd know it. On top of that he's got a marine compass.' He shook his head. 'No, we'll have to stay on course and wait for our chance. There's bound to be one. Maybe in the early hours of the morning when we're closer to Ireland.' Dolan nodded. 'They'll be tired then.' 'And seasick with any luck. I didn't tell the bastard, but I checked the weather forecast and it's deteriorating. Winds gusting to seven around midnight and you know what this old tub is like in rough weather.' 'The original beast.' The radio crackled and Keogh's voice sounded. 'As the song says, is that the captain of the ship?' Tully pressed the answer button. 'What do you want?' 'A man on deck.' 'All right.' Tully turned to Dolan. 'Down you go, Mick, two hours then I'll have Muller relieve you and you'd better take an oilskin, you'll need it.' He smiled savagely. 'See, it's started to rain again.' Dolan's shift being over it was Muller who stood by the ladder, clearly visible in the sickly yellow glow of the deck lights, a miserable looking figure as he tried to shelter from the rain under the lower canopy of the wheelhouse. 'Now isn't that the great sight!' Keogh demanded as he devoured one of Mary Power's ham sandwiches. Kathleen laughed as she passed him a cup of tea. 'You're a terrible man, Martin.' Ryan said, 'His bad luck he's on the wrong side. Here, I'll put the heater on for a while.' A warm glow spread throughout the cabin within seconds. 'God, but that's nice,' Kathleen said. Ryan took another sandwich. 'You'll be fine back there in the cabin. Nice and cosy on that bunk bed. You get your head down and get some sleep.' 'What about you and Martin?' 'Oh, we can snatch an hour or two just sitting here. We'll take it in turns.' They finished eating and she put the rest of the sandwiches and the Thermos away and looked out into the darkness where the sea was angry, white-caps driving in, rolling the _Irish Rose_ from one side to the other. Kathleen clutched at Keogh's arm. 'Exciting, isn't it?' he said sardonically. 'Damn you, Martin, I'm bloody terrified and you know it.' 'It always gets worse before it gets better, that's the way of it,' he teased her. She punched him in the shoulder. 'You can stop that.' Ryan looked at his watch. 'Nine o'clock. Get on the bunk and try to sleep. You'll be better off.' 'Yes, well, first I want to go to the toilet.' 'The one thing we don't have,' he said. 'It's all right for you and Martin. You can stand at the side of the truck. I can't do that.' 'Dear God.' Ryan picked up the radio and called the wheelhouse. 'Tully, come in.' 'What do you want?' Tully demanded, 'My niece wants the toilet. Keogh is going to escort her and just to keep you in order he'll take Muller with him.' 'All right,' Tully said. Keogh opened the door on his side and stepped down, his AK at the ready, the stock unfolded. The wind was much stronger now, driving in the rain as he approached Muller. 'The lady needs the toilet so you lead the way and watch yourself.' Muller glared at him, but did as he was told, opening the door to the companionway and leading the way down. Keogh followed, the girl at his heels. He kept Muller covered while she went inside. When she came out Keogh said to Muller, 'Go on, you first.' Muller did as he was told sullenly and took up his station under the wheelhouse canopy whilst Keogh and Kathleen returned to the truck and climbed inside. 'Lie down now,' Ryan told her. 'There are blankets there. Try and sleep.' She did as she was told and Keogh and her uncle sat there, looking out as rain streamed down the windscreen and the ship rolled. 'Better than a roller coaster this,' Ryan said. 'The Germans built them for inshore work,' Keogh told him. 'The bottom's almost flat.' He lit a cigarette. 'I've been thinking. Very convenient, Tully having the one pistol.' 'I know. I wouldn't believe that for one minute.' 'That ploy of yours, giving him the fifty thousand back. Will it work?' 'I'd like to think so, but I doubt it. He's a greedy animal, that one, but it was worth the try.' 'So what's your best guess?' 'Oh, he'll stay on course because I can check with my marine compass. I should imagine he'll wait till we're close to the Irish coast. The early hours would be best. They'll expect us to be tired so I suggest you get your head down for a while and I'll keep watch.' And Keogh, with the soldier's habit ingrained of snatching an hour of sleep when he could, simply leaned back in his seat, closed his eyes and was asleep in the instant. His breathing deepened and Ryan watched him for a while. Hell on wheels, this one, and capable of anything, but who are you, Martin? he thought. Who are you really? He sat there, the AK in his lap, watching Muller, occasionally glancing up at the light in the wheelhouse, and waited. * * * Keogh came awake with a start, Ryan's hand on his shoulder. He checked his watch and saw that it was midnight. 'You should have wakened me, Michael. You need your sleep too.' 'Less than you do. I'm older. Will you look over there.' Keogh saw the light at once, flickering out there in the darkness. 'Would that be the Calf of Man?' 'That's right and we're dead on course. I've checked with the compass.' 'So far so good then. I'll just step out for a moment. Call of nature.' He opened the door and stepped down, the wind so strong that it bounced against him. It was Dolan on duty again and Keogh waved cheerfully. 'Try to smile, you miserable sod,' he called and relieved himself at the side of the truck. He climbed back inside and Ryan said, 'Now me,' and got out on his side. Tully, watching all this from the stern window of the wheelhouse, suddenly clenched his fists, excitement surging through him. 'That's it. Christ, that's it.' He turned to Muller. 'I'll take the wheel. Relieve Dolan. Tell him to get up here. Go on, it's important.' Muller did as he was told and a few moments later Dolan came in, water streaming from his oilskins. 'What's up? I only did an hour.' 'I think I've got it,' Tully said. 'That girl is going to want to go to the toilet again, she's bound to.' 'So what?' 'Well try this for size. Keogh held Muller at gunpoint while she went in?' 'That's right.' 'What would happen if there was someone waiting in there with a shooter? Someone who'd bring her out with the barrel under her chin? What would Mr Bloody Keogh do; what could he do?' 'My God, it's a thought,' Dolan said. 'Yes, well you can't do it. They'll miss you if you're off the deck too long so get down to the engine room and get Fox. Grant will have to manage on his own. Tell Fox to get his shooter and go to that toilet now. He can sit there and wait.' 'How long for?' 'As long as it bloody well takes. Now get out of here,' and he hung on to the wheel as a sudden squall hit the _Irish Rose_ from the north. It was just after two, the wind very strong now and Ryan checked his watch. 'We must be close. Three o'clock was a fair arrival time.' Kathleen came awake with a groan and sat up. 'Jesus, I feel awful. What time is it?' Ryan told her and she swung her legs to the floor. 'I'll have to go to the toilet again.' 'All right. Give me a minute.' He called Tully. 'What do you want?' Tully replied. 'My niece needs the toilet. We'll handle it the same as last time.' 'That's OK,' Tully replied then shaking with excitement he got the two guns from the chart-table drawer and passed one to Muller. 'When the right moment comes, put the wheel on the chain lock.' 'In this weather?' the German asked. 'It'll only be for a moment.' Tully whistled down the voice pipe and when Grant answered said, 'Jock, we're in business. Get your gun and wait at the top of the engine-room companionway. The girl's going to the toilet.' 'I'll be there,' Grant answered. Tully punched the chart table with one fist. 'It'll work, it bloody well has to.' Dolan went down the companionway and stood sullenly under the threat of Keogh's AK. 'I shan't be long,' Kathleen said. Fox, hearing the voices, had moved into the shower, pulling the curtain closed. She went into the toilet cubicle and he waited, pouncing when she came out, twisting her left wrist behind her back and ramming the muzzle of his pistol into her neck. 'Now then, you bitch, get that door open.' She cried out, 'Martin, watch yourself!' and Fox released her wrist, got the door open and pushed her out between Keogh and Dolan, his pistol still against her neck. 'Give that rifle to Dolan,' he ordered. 'Go on, do it!' Kathleen screamed, 'Shoot them, Martin, the both of them. Don't mind me.' 'I'll kill her, I swear it!' Fox cried. 'No need. Just cool it.' Keogh handed the AK, butt first, to Dolan, who stepped back covering him with it, a look of unholy pleasure on his face. 'Now then, you bastard.' The door to the engine-room companionway opened at the end of the passage and Grant stepped out, a revolver in his hand. 'I'm here, boys,' he called. Fox lowered his pistol and turned to look at him and everything happened at once. Kathleen half-turned, her hand slipping inside her denim jacket. She found the Colt .25, pulled it out, rammed the muzzle in Fox's stomach and pulled the trigger twice. Keogh hitched his right trouser leg revealing the Walther in the ankle holster, dropped to his left knee, pulling the gun out in one fluid motion, his first bullet catching Dolan in the left shoulder. He dropped the AK, spinning round, and Keogh's second smashed his spine. Grant got off one wild shot. Keogh fired back, creasing his shoulder, and the Scotsman disappeared fast. Keogh picked up the AK and put a hand on the girl's arm. 'Are you all right?' 'Fine.' She laughed shakily. 'I did what you told me and you were right. Hold it against them and you can't miss.' 'So let's get out of here.' He got the door of the companionway open and called across to the truck. 'Michael, they tried to jump us.' 'Are you all right?' Ryan called, opening his door and sheltering behind it. 'Fine. Cover us. We're coming through.' He pushed Kathleen out. 'Keep behind my back, girl,' and he turned, looking up at the wheelhouse and fired a quick burst into the air when he saw a movement up there at the window. Kathleen reached her uncle in safety. 'Get back into the rear cabin. You'll be safe there.' She did as she was told and he called to Keogh who was sheltering behind the passenger door. 'What happened?' Keogh told him. 'So you were right after all.' 'I usually am. A bad habit.' In the wheelhouse it was several minutes before Grant reached the bridge by a circuitous route involving the engine-room hatch. He was very pale, eyes wild, blood staining his left shoulder. He pulled off his jacket, found a piece of engine-room rag and tried to bandage his shoulder. 'That little bitch shot Fox. She had a gun, then Keogh killed Dolan and had a go at me. What do we do now?' 'I don't damn well know, do I?' Tully answered. He went to the stern window, killed the wheel-house light then opened the window, keeping in the shadows, and peered down. He saw the truck doors standing open like wings and realized Ryan and Keogh must be standing behind them. He took careful aim at Keogh's side, aiming below the door in the hope that he might get lucky and catch feet or ankles. He emptied his revolver, firing six times. The response was terrible, as both Ryan and Keogh fired a long burst back, dissolving the wheelhouse windows into a snowstorm of flying glass. Tully and Grant went down on the floor fast, but Muller wasn't so lucky, several rounds catching him in the back. He fell, the wheel started to spin and Tully crawled to it and, half-crouching, pulled it round then secured the wheel with the chain lock. 'That'll hold for a while.' 'But how long for and what do we bloody do?' Grant asked. 'I don't know, do I?' * * * It was ten minutes later that the radio crackled and Ryan said, 'You there, Tully?' 'Yes, there's still three of us,' Tully lied. 'Muller, Grant and me.' 'Are you going to be sensible?' 'Why should I be? You need me more than I need you, Ryan.' The _Irish Rose_ rolled heavily as the wind howled in. 'Unless you can handle a ship, and I don't think so, especially not in weather like this.' 'So what do you suggest?' 'I don't know. Only one thing's certain. You can't touch us up here if we keep our heads down and we can't get at you. I'd call that stalemate.' 'So, what do you suggest?' 'I don't know. I'll think about it.' 'He's right,' Keogh called across to him. 'No way of storming the wheelhouse. They'd have every advantage.' 'And even if we did and by some miracle succeeded in knocking them off, where would be the advantage?' Ryan said. 'Could we sail this thing on our own, you and me, Martin? I doubt it.' 'Keep pointing it at Ireland is about the best you could do as long as the engines kept going.' 'With no one to handle them?' Ryan shook his head. 'I don't think so.' * * * Nothing happened for some fifteen minutes and then Tully's voice crackled over the radio. 'Ryan, are you there?' 'What do you want?' 'We're three miles off the Down coast.' 'Still aiming for Kilalla? You could still land us there, take the other fifty thousand and go your way and no harm done.' 'I don't believe you. You'd shoot me like a dog after what's happened. It's not on and Kilalla is miles away north of here anyway.' 'So what do you suggest?' 'I can turn this tub round and put out to sea again any time I want.' 'And we sail on forever like _The Flying Dutchman,_ you up there in the wheelhouse and us down here?' Ryan said. 'And where would that get us?' 'Nowhere, from your point of view.' Tully went off the air again. 'It's no good,' Keogh said. 'I'll have to try and rush the ladder and you can give me covering fire.' 'Covering fire? Are you mad or what?' Ryan said. 'You wouldn't stand a chance and you know it.' Crouched down in the wheelhouse Tully said to Grant, 'How's the arm?' 'It hurts like hell but it was only a crease. I'll survive.' 'With you in the engine room and me up here we could still sail back to England, couldn't we?' 'I suppose so. What are you suggesting?' 'I'm going to try him with an offer one last time.' Tully's voice sounded over the radio. 'Ryan?' 'What do you want?' 'I could turn out to sea like I said, we could go round in circles till the diesel oil runs out then we'd just drift until someone called the Coastguard and they came to investigate and then the fat would be in the fire for all of us.' 'True enough,' Ryan said. 'So what do you suggest?' 'Why not cut your losses? There's the big yellow inflatable behind you in the stern with a good outboard motor. We're only two miles off the coast now, as far as I know. You could make it easily now that the wind's dropping.' 'And leave the gold to you?' Ryan demanded. 'So what do we get out of this?' 'Your lives,' Tully said. 'And you trying to pick us off as we get in the inflatable.' 'I can't even see it from the wheelhouse. The truck's in front of it. Think about it. I'll give you five minutes and then I'll turn this thing around.' He went off the air and Kathleen said angrily, 'We can't do it, Uncle Michael, not after all we've been through.' 'I know, girl, I know.' He turned to Keogh. 'What do you think, Martin?' 'I don't think we have much choice.' 'So it's live to fight another day?' And then Ryan smiled that unholy smile of his. 'Of course, there is another possibility, which is to make sure Tully doesn't get the gold either.' Kathleen gasped and Keogh said, 'And how would you do that?' So Ryan told them. A minute later he called Tully. 'All right, you're on. Give me a few moments while Keogh checks that you really can't see that inflatable because of the truck and I'll come back to you.' In the wheelhouse Tully laughed hoarsely and turned to Grant. 'It's worked. The bastard's going to go. We've won.' 'If he means it.' 'Of course he does. No other way out. Nothing for him here now.' Ryan's voice sounded again. 'OK, Tully, everything checks. I'll see you in hell one of these days.' The transmission ended and Tully laughed exultantly. 'I've beaten the bastard. Fifty million pounds and it's all mine.' 'All ours, you mean?' Grant said. 'Of course.' Tully smiled. 'We need each other so let's get this tub turned around.' Sheltered by the truck, Keogh and Ryan slid the inflatable over the stern rail and tethered it by its line. Keogh went over first and got to work on the outboard motor. It roared into life instantly with a strong heartbeat. 'Over you go, girl,' Ryan told Kathleen. Keogh helped her in and the inflatable tossed this way and that in the choppy sea, the stern of the _Irish Rose_ rising up and falling again just above them. 'Come on, Michael, for God's sake,' Keogh called. 'Not before I leave Tully his going-away present.' Ryan held up a half-pound block of Semtex and a one-minute timing pencil. He pulled open the stern deck hatch, dropped the Semtex inside and closed the hatch again. He was over the rail on the instant, untied the line and Keogh gunned the motor. They were perhaps fifty yards away when the stern of the _Irish Rose_ exploded into the darkness in a vivid tongue of flame. The end was incredibly quick, the ship tilting, the prow rising dramatically, and it slid backwards under the surface, vanishing in seconds in a hiss of steam. 'And you can chew on that, you bastard!' Michael Ryan said and put an arm around his niece. 'All right, Martin, take us to some sort of shore.' It was four o'clock in the morning, the sky lightening just a little, when they coasted into a wide beach, the land rising on the other side cloaked with trees. Keogh killed the outboard motor, jumped over with the line and waded out of the water. Ryan helped Kathleen over the side and followed her. 'What do we do with the inflatable?' Keogh asked. Ryan was inspecting it in the light of a small torch. 'No name on it as far as I can see. Shoot a couple of holes in it, Martin.' Keogh waded in again and pushed the inflatable out to sea again. It drifted for a while, then an eddy took it out some distance. He took careful aim with his silenced Walther and fired twice. After a while the inflatable went down. 'And where do you think we'd be, Uncle Michael?' Kathleen asked. 'God knows, girl, but it hardly matters. We're home.' He turned to Keogh. What now, Martin?' 'I think it best we part company,' Keogh told him. 'You go your way, Michael Ryan, and I'll go mine.' 'Martin?' Kathleen sounded distressed. 'Can't we stay together?' 'I don't think so, Kate. Your uncle will have his plans and the Army Council and Reid to consider. One trip back home to dear old Ireland has been exciting enough for me. I'll say goodbye, Michael.' He shook Ryan's hand. The girl grasped his arm, reached up and kissed his cheek. 'God bless you, Martin, and thanks for all you've done.' 'I didn't have the chance to pay you,' Ryan said. 'I'm sorry.' 'Not to worry.' Keogh smiled. 'It was a great ploy.' He started to walk away and Ryan called, 'Who are you, Martin, who are you really?' 'God save us, there are days in the week when I don't know that myself,' and Keogh turned into the trees. He disappeared and Ryan said, 'Off we go, girl. We'll find a road, follow it and see where we are.' He led the way up through the trees, a ghostly passage as dawn came, so that it was comparatively easy to see the way. They came to a narrow country road in a few minutes. There was a turning opposite and a signpost. 'You stay here in shelter and I'll see where we are.' He walked through the rain to the signpost, examined it and came back, standing beside her in the shelter of the trees to light a cigarette. 'Drumdonald three miles to the left. Scotstown five miles the other way. We might as well go for the shorter walk.' They stayed there for a moment and she said, 'All for nothing. We don't even know where the _Irish Rose_ went down.' 'Don't we?' He laughed and took another black instrument from his pocket that looked rather like the Howler. 'Another gadget that young electronic genius at Queen's University found for me. It's called a Master Navigator. I gave him Marsh End and Kilalla and he programmed in their positions. This thing has given a constant reading of course and position all the way across. I know exactly where the _Irish Rose_ went down.' 'My God,' she said, 'and you never told me.' 'There are things I keep close to myself.' 'So what do we do now? Reid will be looking for us and that swine Scully.' 'And the Army Council,' Ryan said. 'No, time to take a trip, I think. They say America's grand at this time of the year. We'll get to the safe house at Bundoran. False passports there. You know how careful I am. They're always in stock.' 'But money, Uncle Michael, what about that?' 'Oh, I wasn't exactly honest with Martin. I still have the second fifty thousand pounds I was to pay Tully in an envelope in my breast pocket.' 'My God, what a man you are.' 'It should keep us going for a while. When it runs out I'll think of something.' 'Such as?' 'I've robbed banks in Ulster and got away with it. No reason I can't do the same in America.' 'Sometimes I think you're a raving madman.' 'And sometimes I am, but let's get going.' He took her arm and they started along the road to Drumdonald. There was silence, only the rain, and then Keogh stepped out of the trees where he had sheltered while listening to the conversation. 'You bloody old fox,' he said softly and there was a kind of admiration there. He turned and started to walk the opposite way towards Scotstown. It was six o'clock in the morning and in Dublin Jack Barry was half-awake, lying in the big bed beside his wife, when the portable phone he'd placed at the side of the bed sounded. He slid out of bed, picked it up and went into the bathroom. 'Yes.' 'A reverse charge call for you from a Mr Keogh. Will you take it?' 'Of course,' Barry said. A moment later Keogh's voice sounded in his ear. 'That you, Jack?' 'Where are you?' 'A public telephone box in a village called Scotstown on the Down coast.' 'What's going on? I have twenty men from the County Down Brigade waiting at Kilalla.' 'Send them home, Jack, the _Irish Rose_ won't be coming.' 'Tell me,' Barry ordered. Which Keogh did. When he was finished Barry said, 'Christ, what a ploy and to end like that.' 'I know. Quite a fella, Michael Ryan.' 'I was thinking,' Barry said. 'Standing in the trees listening to him talk to his niece you could have shot the bugger and taken that Master Navigator thing. We'd have known the location of the damn boat then.' 'A major salvage operation to get that gold up, Jack.' 'That sounds like an excuse. Have you gone soft on me?' 'I liked him, Jack, and I liked the wee girl. The bullion didn't reach its destination, the Loyalists won't be able to arm for a civil war. Let it end there.' Barry laughed harshly. 'Damn you, right as usual. Scotstown, you say? There's a pub there called The Loyalist, but don't believe it. The landlord, Kevin Stringer, is one of our own. I'll phone him now and tell him to expect you. I'll send a car for you later.' 'Sounds good to me.' 'Watch your back.' Keogh came out of the phone box and stood there for a moment in the rain thinking of Michael Ryan and his niece, aware with some surprise that he wished the enemy well, then he lit a cigarette and went down the village street in search of the pub. NEW YORK STATE IRELAND LONDON WASHINGTON IRELAND 1995 Chapter 7 Green Rapids Detention Centre in Upper New York State was the pride of the penal system, totally secure yet civilized and liberal in its regime. It had within its boundaries a hospital system second to none and specialized in particular with prisoners who were serving terms up to and including life who also had serious medical problems. Many were transferees from the infamous Sing-Sing on the Hudson River, some with heart conditions, others with various forms of cancer. The outer perimeter, with every electronic security system possible, was so secure that prisoners were allowed considerable freedom on the inside, which applied not only to the various work-shops but also to the park area where visitors, either family or lawyers, were allowed to walk freely with prisoners. * * * Paolo Salamone walked across the grass with his lawyer, Marco Sollazo. In spite of the Sicilian names, they were both good Americans born and bred. There the similarity ended. Salamone was off the streets of New York's Little Italy and he'd followed the usual Mafia route. First as one of the boys, the _Piccioti,_ gaining advancement, gaining respect. He'd acted as an executioner three times which had gained him entry into the family of Don Antonio Russo as a _Sicario,_ a specialist assassin. He'd been to prison twice on comparatively minor matters including drug dealing. His downfall had been two years earlier when, on taking out one of Don Antonio's rivals, a street policeman had unexpectedly arrived on the scene. Salamone in a gun battle had received a bullet in the leg which had put him down. Unfortunately his own bullet had killed the police officer who just happened to be a woman. His sentence of twenty-five years instead of life reflected the skill of his lawyer, Don Antonio's nephew, Marco Sollazo. The only reason Salamone had been transferred to Green Rapids from Sing-Sing was because he had taken a full nursing course and was therefore thought of more use in the Green Rapids medical facility. Marco Sollazo was thirty-five, a saturnine, rather handsome man in an Armani striped suit and college tie, dark hair swept back. A product of Groton and Harvard Law School, carefully nurtured by his uncle, he was Don Antonio's pride and joy. 'Marco, you told me there was a chance you'd get me a re-hearing. Involuntary manslaughter. Now you tell me I could be here another twenty-three years.' 'I'm doing my best,' Marco said. 'It's difficult.' 'Yeah, well I'm doing my best. I know plenty about the family, but I don't speak out.' 'Paolo, I don't think Don Antonio would be pleased to hear you speak like that. It would distress him.' Paolo said hastily, 'Hey, don't get me wrong, I'd never betray my Godfather. It's just like I could do with some help here.' 'I know, I know.' Marco sounded sympathetic. 'I'll explore every avenue. I mean, the Don has much influence. Who knows?' Salamone plucked at his arm. 'What if I give you something good? Something real good?' 'And what would that be?' There were prisoners and their visitors wandering everywhere on the grass and Salamone pulled Sollazo over to a bench and sat down. He pointed across to a man who was in his mid sixties with grey hair. The young dark-haired woman with him seemed about twenty-five. 'Liam Kelly, he calls himself. The woman is his niece, Jean Kelly. She's a theatre nurse down at Green Rapids General Hospital.' 'So?' 'He's doing twenty-five for shooting a policeman in Pleasantville ten years ago when he was robbing the bank. I met him in Sing-Sing then he had an angina attack and they moved him down here because of the hospital. I followed a few months later to join the staff. You see, we've got a good facility here, but Green Rapids is very special. Any problem and we send the patient straight down there.' 'So where is this leading?' 'The other month he had an attack. I should tell you they're Irish, but not the usual kind. That funny accent they have in the north of Ireland. Anyway, he's not in good health and he got a fever. They had him on a drip in a private room. I was night nurse at the time and had to check him out.' 'So?' 'When he was delirious he said all sorts of crazy things. Kept going on about some ship called the _Irish Rose_ and then he would say he was the only one who knew where it had gone down, the only one who knew where the gold was.' There was a long pause. Sollazo sat there frowning. 'The only one who knew where the gold was? He said that?' 'That's right.' 'So what did you make of it?' Salamone was enjoying himself. 'I went to the prison library. We've got a great computer service here. I tapped in the _Irish Rose_ name and hey presto.' 'Go on,' Sollazo told him. 'There was an item in the _New York Times_ in the autumn of nineteen eighty-five. It seems a truck carrying fifty million pounds in gold bullion was knocked off up in the north-west of England on the coast. It said police enquiries indicated that it had put to sea on a ferry called the _Irish Rose_.' 'Then what?' 'The ship disappeared, but lifebelts and what was left of a lifeboat were washed up on the Irish coast. End of story.' 'And it said nothing about who was behind it?' 'Not a word.' 'Interesting,' Sollazo said. 'Let's take a walk.' They strolled, across the grass and passed the bench where Kelly and his niece were sitting, heads together. She glanced up casually and Salamone said, 'Hi, Liam.' 'How's yourself, Paolo?' was the reply. Sollazo and Salamone passed on and Kathleen Ryan said, 'Who was that one, Uncle Michael?' 'Paolo Salamone. He's a nurse in the hospital. We've something in common. We're both doing twenty-five years for shooting a policeman, only in his case it was for shooting a policewoman. Anyway, how are you?' 'I'm fine. They keep me busy at the hospital.' 'Still no man in your life?' 'Too much bother.' She smiled. 'Lucky I managed the job at Green Rapids. At least I can see you regularly.' 'And for how long, another fifteen years?' He shook his head. 'You can't waste your life like this, Kathleen.' He was angry now and stood up. 'God, how could I have been so stupid? A small town bank, I said. A piece of cake and then that policeman came round the corner.' 'It was just one of those things.' 'Well thank God you managed to drive off and get the hell out of it.' He took out a pack of cigarettes and lit one. She said, 'You know you shouldn't smoke.' 'So I can extend my life a year or two here in good old Green Rapids Detention Centre?' He grinned wryly and dropped the cigarette to the ground. 'All right, I'll be good. Come on, I'll walk you to the gate.' There were a number of people going in the same direction and she noticed Salamone and Sollazo. They reached the security exit and paused. Ryan kissed her on the cheek. 'Thanks for coming.' 'I'll see you Friday.' She went through security and approached her car. As she unlocked her door she saw Sollazo walking towards a silver Porsche. He glanced at her casually then looked away. For some reason it made her feel uncomfortable and she got in her car quickly and drove off. Sollazo watched her go and reached for his mobile phone and called his office. When his secretary answered he said, 'Rosa, check the files for a report in the _New York Times_ of a robbery in the north of England connected with a ship called the _Irish Rose_ , which apparently went down at sea.' 'Very well, sir, anything else?' 'Yes, get our people in London to check for any newspaper stories there. They'll probably be in more detail. I want this like yesterday.' 'I'll get right on to it.' 'I'm having dinner early with Don Antonio.' 'At the Long Island house?' 'No, the Trump Tower apartment. As soon as you get that stuff from England fax it to me there.' 'I will.' Sollazo drove away thinking about it and particularly the fact that, the way gold prices had climbed, fifty million pounds in bullion in nineteen eighty-five was now worth double. In her room at Green Rapids General Hospital Kathleen Ryan undressed and went to the shower. She was due on the evening shift in an hour, on call for emergency surgery until six in the morning, not that she minded for she loved her work, was good at it. It had been her uncle who had insisted that she find a life for herself after his trial and sentencing and she'd put in five hard years of training. SingSing had been the bad time. She hadn't been able to see him much while he was at that grim fortress. In a way his heart problem had been a blessing. The less restrictive regime at Green Rapids allowed a great deal of visiting and getting a post at the town hospital had made all the difference. But it hurt her to see him there, a shadow of the man he had been in those great days back in Ireland when they'd taken on the might of the IRA, even on occasion the British Army, and won. At that memory, a thrill passed through her that was almost sexual. She towelled off, dried her cropped hair and put on her uniform. She combed her hair, checking herself in the mirror, strong face, dark eyes, not pretty, but striking, this girl who had at the age of fourteen killed two members of the IRA with a hand grenade, who at the age of sixteen had shot dead at close quarters a man named Bert Fox. It all came back. The Lake District, that lonely road and the taking of the transporter and Martin Keogh and the final brutal confrontation on the _Irish Rose._ And at the memory, the old excitement surged through her. 'There's got to be more than this,' she said aloud. 'He can't rot in there for another fifteen years.' Despair flooded over her and she sat down, opened a bottom drawer in her desk and took out a briefcase. Inside was a large envelope containing fifty thousand dollars in cash, money she had painstakingly saved, mad money against the day they would have to move fast, she and Uncle Michael, for from the time he had been moved from Sing-Sing to the easier regime of Green Rapids she had entertained the wild hope that he might be able to escape. She had even approached a forger in New York, an old cell mate of her uncle in SingSing, who had provided her with two false Irish passports at a thousand dollars each, a special price as a favour. She found them now and examined them. Daniel Forbes, that was her uncle, and she was Nancy Forbes. A waste, the whole thing, for as she soon discovered, in spite of its liberal regime, security at Green Rapids was stringent. She looked at the photos in the false passport and somehow it was a stranger. 'Whatever happened to Kathleen Ryan?' she asked softly. At that moment the door opened and another nurse looked in. 'Ready, Jean?' 'On my way,' Kathleen told her. 'I'll be right with you.' She closed the briefcase, put it back in the drawer and went out. Don Antonio Russo was seventy years of age and of ample proportions, his loose cream linen suit accentuating his bulk. His hair was long and grey, swept back from his fleshy, arrogant face. A man who had always been used to having his own way. He got up, leaning on his cane as Sollazo entered the sumptuous living room of the Trump Tower apartment. 'Marco, good to see you.' They embraced. 'A glass of champagne?' Don Antonio snapped his fingers at a manservant. 'Oh, by the way, there are some faxes for you. Can't your office give you a night off?' 'Sorry, Uncle, this is important. May I?' 'Of course.' Sollazo went into the office, found the faxes and read them quickly. He returned to the living room, accepted his glass of champagne and sat opposite Russo. 'Can we talk business?' 'Always.' 'Good.' Sollazo told him in detail of his conversation with Salamone. When he was finished the Don said, 'More than interesting. And the faxes?' 'They confirm the mention in the _New York Times_ , but in more detail. Naturally, as usual with newspapers, the accounts differ, but broadly speaking they agree as to general details. A truck carrying fifty million pounds in gold bullion was knocked off on a country road in the English Lake District. A young boy told the police he'd been chased away from a ferry called the _Irish Rose_ at an old disused jetty not far from the scene of the action. He also said he'd seen a truck of the right description turn off the main road towards the ferry later in the day.' 'So?' 'Obviously the bullion truck put to sea on the ferry.' 'And what happened?' 'Over the next few days a smashed up ship's boat, lifebelts and so on, all bearing the name _Irish Rose_ , were washed up on the coast of County Down.' 'I see.' Don Antonio sat there frowning. 'And Salamone said that, in a fever, this man Kelly spoke of being the only one who knew where the boat went down?' 'That's right.' 'And you said bullion of the order of fifty million pounds?' 'Yes, but that was ten years ago. Gold prices have greatly increased. I'd say at least one hundred million pounds in present terms.' 'Now, that kind of money is always interesting.' 'I was thinking,' Sollazo said, 'with the right kind of salvage boat these recovery jobs are quite easy these days, as long as you know where the ship is, which the authorities don't.' 'So they tell me.' Don Antonio sat there thinking about it. Finally he nodded. 'I wonder who this man Kelly was working for. Was it just business or the IRA or something like that?' 'It's a thought,' Sollazo said. 'You know a few years ago I had dealings with the IRA. We used to provide arms through a Sicilian connection. Their Chief of Staff was a man called Barry – Jack Barry.' Sollazo said, 'It's all peace talk with the IRA these days. Gerry Adams at the White House speaking for their Sinn Fein party.' 'So what?' the Don said. 'Barry is an old fox. If anyone will know anything of this affair it will be he. His private number in Dublin will be in my special address book in the top right hand drawer of my desk. See if you can get him.' In Dublin Jack Barry was sitting by the fire, bored out of his mind and reading a newspaper, rain brushing the window when the phone went. 'Barry here.' 'Mr Jack Barry? Is that you? An old friend, I hope. Don Antonio Russo.' 'Dear God,' Barry said, 'and what can I do for you?' 'More what can we do for each other, Mr Barry. I'm talking serious business here. Does the name _Irish Rose_ mean anything to you?' Barry swallowed hard. 'Should it?' 'What would you say if I told you that I know the whereabouts of a man who calls himself Kelly, but in a fever speaks of being the only one who knows where the ship has gone down, the only one who knows where the gold is?' 'I'd be more than interested.' 'Fine. It seems to me we might have a mutual interest here that could profit both of us. My nephew, Marco Sollazo, who is also my lawyer, will be with you tomorrow.' 'I look forward to meeting him.' Don Antonio put the phone down. 'We have a good source at Green Rapids Detention Centre?' 'An excellent one.' 'Phone now. We need a copy of Kelly's photo as quickly as possible then get in touch with the airport and tell them to have the Gulfstream ready to go. Let's say midnight. They're four hours ahead in Ireland so you'll be able to see Barry late morning.' 'Of course, Uncle.' 'And then dinner.' Don Antonio smiled. 'Suddenly I have quite an appetite.' In Dublin on the following morning it was just coming up to noon when Barry answered the sound of the bell at his front door and found Marco Sollazo standing there. 'Mr Barry?' 'And you'd be Mr Sollazo?' 'That's right.' 'Come in for a moment while I get my coat. You'll have to excuse the mess, I'm on my own these days. My wife died last year.' Marco Sollazo waited in the small parlour. There was a sofa, two easy chairs, a fireplace, faded family photos of children at various stages of their development. It all fitted with the image of the pleasant-faced sixty-year-old man in the cardigan whom he had just met and yet this man had been for several crucial years Chief of Staff of the Provisional IRA. Barry came in wearing a raincoat and cloth cap. 'We'll take a walk in the park and then have a drink and a bite to eat at Cohan's Bar.' 'Anything you like.' Barry took an umbrella down from a hatpeg in the hall. 'Just in case,' he said. 'This is Ireland, remember.' They crossed the road to where the park waited behind green-painted railings. Sollazo said, 'Your home, is it unsafe to talk there? Do they have you wired for sound?' 'Hell, no. Oh, they tried it back in the old days, the British Secret Intelligence Service, Irish Intelligence, Dublin Special Branch. I had my own experts who used to come round once a week and sweep the house. I expect your uncle had to take the same precautions.' 'And still does.' 'Well I'm not Chief of Staff for the IRA any more.' He smiled. 'A time for peace, Mr Sollazo, that's what they tell me.' 'So no more IRA?' Barry laughed out loud. 'If you believe that you'll believe anything. There's another Chief of Staff in my place, our command structure intact throughout the country and, as your President and the British Prime Minister have found to their cost, we don't intend to give up our arms.' 'Yes, I understand from the newspapers that the refusal of your people to comply in the matter of arms is a main talking point when the President visits London on Friday.' 'They can talk until they're blue in the face, it won't make any difference. We'll hang on to our arms come what may.' 'You don't think this peace will last?' 'It never has before.' They turned through the park gates and it started to rain and Barry raised the umbrella. 'I told you it would. Anyway, let's get down to business.' Sollazo took the photo his contact at Green Rapids had provided the previous night. 'Do you know this man?' 'I certainly do,' Barry nodded. 'His name is Michael Ryan, once a notorious gunman for the Loyalist cause, a black Orangeman from Belfast.' 'Would it surprise you to know that he's been in prison in America for the past ten years?' Barry smiled. 'Now there's a wonder. He dropped out of sight in nineteen eighty-five, but totally, and I could never figure that out. What did he do?' 'He shot a policeman while robbing a bank. They gave him twenty-five years.' 'Poor sod.' Barry whistled. 'He must be sixty-five now. I don't suppose he's got much chance of seeing the light of day.' 'Not really. He can apply for probation after fifteen years but he'd be around seventy by then and not much chance of probation anyway. He shot a policeman, remember.' 'What name is he using?' 'Liam Kelly. He has a history of heart trouble so they moved him from Sing-Sing to Green Rapids Detention Centre. The medical facilities are good and the general hospital in the town is exceptional. He's visited regularly by his niece who is a nurse at the hospital. She calls herself Jean Kelly. I've seen her. Small and rather ugly in a peasant kind of way. Dark hair, around twenty-five or six.' 'That would be Kathleen Ryan – she _is_ his niece. Well, now, fancy that, and after all these years.' The rain increased in a sudden rush and he took Sollazo by the arm. 'Let's make for the shelter over there. I'd like to hear what you've got to say about the _Irish Rose_.' When Sollazo had finished talking, Barry sat there, frowning slightly. Finally he spoke. 'Tell me something, why have you come to me?' 'Business,' Sollazo told him, 'strictly business. That bullion would be worth one hundred million pounds at today's prices.' 'And you'd like to get your hands on it?' 'Let me be explicit. My uncle feels that a joint venture would be the way to tackle this affair between ourselves and you of the IRA. A half share each. What could be fairer? If peace fails, fifty million in gold would buy you a great many arms, my friend.' 'Indeed it would and your uncle with his usual instinct for doing the right thing has sent you to entirely the right place and not for the reason you think.' 'I think you should explain.' 'You see, I know as much as anyone about the _Irish Rose_ affair, as much as Ryan himself.' 'But how could you?' 'I knew Ryan was up to something, the usual whispers, even a hint that it was gold, so I infiltrated one of my own men into his organization, a man we'll call Martin Keogh.' 'Not his real name?' 'That's right. One of my very best operators. He actually was with Ryan every step of the way and took part in the robbery. He was on the _Irish Rose_ when it went down.' 'Tell me,' Sollazo said. 'Tell me everything.' Later, sitting in a corner booth at Cohan's Bar drinking Guinness and eating ham sandwiches, Sollazo said, 'A remarkable story; and this man Keogh? Is he still around?' 'In a manner of speaking. He left the IRA some years ago and worked as a freelance or mercenary, call it what you like. He's worked for just about everybody in his time, the old KGB, the PLO, even the Israelis.' 'And where is he now?' 'With British Intelligence.' 'That seems rather surprising.' 'The Brits set up a highly secret outfit to combat terrorism and handle the really dirty jobs back in nineteen seventy-two. Since then it's been headed by a man called Brigadier Charles Ferguson and he isn't responsible to the Director of the Security Services. He's responsible only to the Prime Minister. That's why it's known in the trade as the Prime Minister's Private Army.' 'And the man you call Keogh works for this Ferguson?' 'Indeed he does. He's Ferguson's trouble shooter. The old fox blackmailed him into joining him some three years ago. Offered to wipe his slate clean. No repercussions as to his IRA past. He needed someone like that on his team. Set a thief to catch a thief, you get the idea.' 'I do indeed. And what is this Keogh's real name?' 'Dillon – Sean Dillon, in his day the most feared enforcer I had.' They walked back through the park. Sollazo said, 'Quite a man this Dillon, but hardly likely to give us any assistance.' 'We don't need him. He told me everything there was to know about the whole affair and now I've told you.' 'The man Reid, the one who killed the man in London. Is he still around?' 'Serving a sentence for murder. He's in prison in Ulster.' 'One thing. This Loyalist Army Council you mentioned? I'm right in assuming they would dearly like to get their hands on the bullion?' 'They certainly would. The Loyalist side are heavily dissatisfied with the way the peace process is going. They think of themselves as being sold out. The militant elements envisage civil war eventually. That gold would be more than useful. It would help them to obtain the kind of weaponry they would need.' 'And you wouldn't like that so may I take it that you will join us on this venture?' 'Not officially, not at the moment. Let me explain. People are desperate for peace here. You can't trust anybody and that includes Sinn Fein and the IRA itself. If I approach the present Chief of Staff he'd have to discuss it with members of the Army Council and the whole thing would leak in no time.' 'I see. So what do you suggest?' 'We keep it between ourselves for the moment.' Barry smiled wryly. 'And don't think I'm after it for myself. Money means nothing to me, but my cause does. You get the position of the _Irish Rose_ out of Ryan, then a quiet sort of expedition is all we need to start with. Small boat, a diver to go down and make sure it's there.' 'And afterwards?' 'That would be up to you. I'm sure you can arrange some sort of phoney marine expedition. A suitable front while the real business of raising the gold goes on.' He grinned. 'I've every faith in you.' There was a black limousine parked at the kerb by the house, a hard-looking man with a broken nose leaning against it. He wore a dark blue chauffeur's uniform. 'My driver.' 'And bodyguard from the look of him.' 'Giovanni Mori.' Sollazo took Barry's hand. 'A real pleasure. I like meeting legends, Mr Barry, one so seldom gets the chance. I'll be in touch.' He got into the passenger seat and Mori went round and slid behind the wheel. 'Did it go well, _signore?'_ he asked as he drove away. 'Very well,' Sollazo told him. 'To the airport, Giovanni. We return to New York,' and he leaned back, closed his eyes and went over everything Barry had told him. It was nine o'clock in the evening in New York when he presented himself once again at the Trump Tower apartment. Don Antonio sat there, hands clasped over the silver handle of his cane and listened as Sollazo told him everything he had learned from Barry. When he was finished the old Don nodded. 'An amazing story.' 'So we proceed?' 'Of course. A very lucrative venture. The essential first step is to obtain the location of the _Irish Rose_ from this man Ryan.' 'I agree. On the other hand why should he deal with me at all when there is nothing in it for him?' 'Do you think you could accomplish his release from prison?' 'I doubt it. It was a policeman he killed, remember.' The Don nodded. 'There are more ways than one of skinning a cat. I'm sure you will come up with something and you do have Salamone at the prison. He could prove invaluable. I leave this in your capable hands.' He smiled. 'Now, a glass of wine. I see the President is visiting London, by the way?' Chapter 8 Don Antonio was right, for in London the most important matter on the Prime Minister's agenda was his meeting with the President of the United States at the end of the week. It was also at that point Brigadier Charles Ferguson's sole concern. He was agitated and showed it as his Daimler languished in heavy traffic. 'Sometimes I think this whole damned city has ground to a halt.' 'Sure and sometimes it has,' Sean Dillon said sitting on the jump seat opposite. He was a small man, no more than five feet five, with hair so fair that it was almost white, handsome enough with a slight perpetual smile on his mouth as if mocking the world he saw about him. He wore an easy fitting blue flannel suit, the jacket single-breasted and a dark blue silk polo. 'I'd like to remind you that my appointment is with the Prime Minister, Dillon, I can hardly be late for that.' 'He's a decent enough stick,' Dillon said. 'He'll see you right.' The woman sitting next to Ferguson wore a fawn Armani trouser suit and black horn-rimmed glasses that contrasted with her red hair. She was in her late twenties and attractive enough to be worth a page or two in _Vogue_. She was in fact Detective Chief Inspector Hannah Bernstein from Special Branch at Scotland Yard, on loan to Ferguson as his assistant. 'You're hopeless, Dillon,' she said. 'No respect for anyone, you Irish.' 'It's all that rain, girl dear,' he said. 'Don't waste your time on him,' Ferguson told her. 'A hopeless case.' The Daimler was admitted through the security gates at the end of Downing Street and drew up at the door of Number Ten. 'I shan't be more than twenty minutes,' Ferguson told them. 'Will that old bowser Simon Carter be there?' Dillon asked. 'That is no way to refer to the Deputy Director of Security Services,' Ferguson said. 'Yes, well don't forget to tell him I think his security plans for the American President's visit stink.' 'Hardly appropriate, Dillon. Try and possess yourself in patience until I return.' He crossed the pavement, the policeman on duty saluted, the door opened and he went in. 'The grand gentleman that he is. Sure and the Empire is in safe hands.' Dillon took a cigarette from his old silver case and lit it. 'We don't have an Empire any longer, Dillon,' she said. 'Is that a fact and does the Government know that?' She shook her head. 'Hopeless, Dillon, that's what you are and you'll kill yourself if you keep on smoking those things.' 'True, but then I always knew I'd come to a bad end.' When Ferguson was shown into the Prime Minister's study Simon Carter was already seated. A small man in his early fifties with snow white hair, he had once been a Professor of History. Never an agent in the field himself, he was one of the faceless men who controlled Britain's security system. He disliked Ferguson, had done for years, and resented the Brigadier's privileged position and the fact that he was answerable to the Prime Minister only. 'Sorry I'm late, Prime Minister.' He made no excuses and the Prime Minister smiled. 'That's all right.' He picked up a file. 'The security plans the Deputy Director and his people have planned for the President's visit. You've read this?' 'Naturally.' 'I'm particularly anxious that his visit to the House of Commons goes well on Friday morning. Refreshments on the Terrace at ten-thirty.' 'No problems there, Prime Minister,' Carter said. 'The one place during his whole trip which will provide no security problem at all is the House of Commons.' He turned to the Brigadier, the usual arrogant look on his face. 'Don't you agree, Ferguson?' Ferguson would have let it go, but Carter's look made him angry. 'Well, do you, Brigadier?' the Prime Minister asked. 'Seems all right on the surface of things, but, to be frank, Prime Minister, Dillon doesn't think much of it at all. He believes general security at the House of Commons to be very poor indeed.' 'Dillon?' Carter's eyes bulged. 'That damned scoundrel. I really must protest, Prime Minister, that Brigadier Ferguson continues to employ a man once an IRA gunman, a man with a record in the general field of European terrorism that can only be described as infamous.' 'I protest in my turn,' Ferguson said. 'Dillon has been of considerable service to the Crown as you well know, Prime Minister, not least to the Royal Family itself.' 'Yes, I'm well aware of that.' The Prime Minister frowned. 'But this is too important for personal bickering, gentlemen. My decision.' He sat back and said to Carter, 'I'd like you to meet with the Brigadier and Dillon at the House of Commons. I'd like you to hear what he has to say.' Carter controlled his anger with difficulty. 'If you say so, Prime Minister.' 'Yes, I'm afraid I do. And now you must excuse me. I have a Cabinet meeting.' Everyone stands in line to get into the House of Commons, not only tourists, but constituents waiting to see Members of Parliament. Ferguson, Dillon and Hannah Bernstein waited their turn, Ferguson with some impatience. 'The grand place this,' Dillon said. 'They tell me they have twenty-six restaurants and bars and the food and drink subsidized by the taxpayer. A fine job being an MP.' 'Yes, well at least they don't have to queue to get in the damn place,' Ferguson told him. A very large police sergeant watching the line intently saw Hannah, stiffened to attention and came forward. 'Chief Inspector Bernstein. Nice to see you, ma'am. Here, let me pass you through. You won't remember me.' 'Oh, but I recall you very well. Sergeant Hall, isn't it?' 'Yes, ma'am. I was first on the scene when you shot that bastard who held up the supermarket. You were on your way to the American Embassy.' 'Your wicked past catches up,' Dillon murmured. 'This is a colleague, Mr Dillon, and my boss, Brigadier Ferguson,' she said. Sergeant Hall became very military. 'Let me pass you all through, Brigadier.' 'That's very kind, Sergeant.' 'My pleasure, sir.' He led them through the barrier and saluted and they walked on towards the Central Lobby. 'How fortunate you were here, Chief Inspector,' Ferguson told her. 'We could have stood in that wretched queue forever.' 'Humiliating, isn't it?' Dillon said. They moved on through various corridors, and finally went out on to the Terrace overlooking the Thames, Westminster Bridge to the left and the Embankment on the far side of the river. A row of tall Victorian lamps ran along the parapet. There was quite a crowd, visitors as well as MPs enjoying a drink from the Terrace Bar. Dillon hailed a passing waiter. 'Half a bottle of Krug non-vintage and three glasses.' He smiled. 'On me, Brigadier.' 'How generous,' Ferguson said. 'Though remembering how you made six hundred thousand pounds out of that Michael Aroun affair in ninety-one, Dillon, I'd say you can afford it.' 'True, Brigadier, true.' Dillon leaned over the parapet and looked down at the waters of the Thames flowing by. He said to Hannah, 'You notice the rather synthetic carpet we're standing on is green?' 'Yes.' 'Notice where it changes to red? That's the House of Lords end, you see, just there where the scaffolding goes down into the water.' 'I see.' 'Great on tradition, you Brits.' 'I'm Jewish, Dillon, as you well know.' 'Oh, I do. Grandad a Rabbi, your father a Professor of Surgery and you an MA from Cambridge University. Now what could be more British?' At that moment Carter appeared and approached them impatiently. 'Right, Ferguson, please don't waste my time. What have you got to say?' 'Dillon?' Ferguson said. 'I think your security is shot full of holes,' Dillon told Carter. 'Too many people, twenty-six restaurants and bars, scores of entrances and exits not only for MPs, but staff and workmen.' 'Come now, everyone has a security pass, everyone is checked.' 'Then there's the river.' 'The river? What nonsense. It's tidal, Dillon, and the current is lethal. Never less than three knots and sometimes five.' 'Is that so? Then I'm sorry.' 'I should think you would be.' Carter turned to Ferguson. 'May I go?' Ferguson looked at Dillon and the Irishman smiled wearily. 'The great conceit of yourself you have, Mr Carter. A little bet with the man, Brigadier. I'll turn up on the Terrace on Friday morning when the President and the Prime Minister are here, and all quite illegal. Mr Carter gets five hundred pounds if I fail and a five-pound note if I succeed.' 'You're on, damn you,' Carter told him and held out his hand to Ferguson. 'Shake on it.' He started to laugh. 'What an amusing little chap you are, Dillon,' and he walked away. 'Do you know what you're doing, Dillon?' Ferguson demanded. Dillon leaned over the parapet and looked at the water swirling fifteen feet below. 'Oh, yes, I think so, especially if the Chief Inspector here can come up with the right information.' Ferguson's suite of offices was on the third floor of the Ministry of Defence overlooking Horse Guards Avenue and it was an hour later that Dillon and Hannah Bernstein went into her office. She sat down at her desk. 'All right, what do you want?' 'The biggest expert on the Thames river. Now who would that be? Someone in Customs & Excise or maybe the River Police.' 'I'll try them both,' she said. 'Good. I'll go and make the tea while you're doing it.' He went into the outer office whistling and put the kettle on. When it had boiled he made the tea, arranged the cups and a milk jug on a tray and took it in. Hannah was on the phone. 'Thank you, Inspector.' She put the phone down and sat back as Dillon poured the tea. 'How domesticated. That was the River Police telling me who the greatest expert on the River Thames is.' She turned to her computer and tapped the keys. 'Subject coming up, Dillon. Not River Police, not Customs but a London gangster.' Dillon started to laugh. The information rolled on the screen. 'Harry Salter, aged sixty-five, did seven years for bank robbery in his twenties, no prison time since,' Hannah said. 'But look at his record from Criminal Intelligence. Owns pleasure boats on the river, the Dark Man pub at Wapping, a warehouse development worth more than one million pounds.' 'The cunning one him,' Dillon said. 'A smuggler, Dillon, every racket on the river. Cigarettes, booze, diamonds from Holland. Anything.' 'Not quite,' Dillon told her. 'Look what it says. No drug connection, no prostitution, no strip clubs.' He sat back. 'What we've got here is an old-fashioned gangster. He probably objects to men who swear in front of women.' 'He's still a gangster, Dillon, suspected of killing other gangsters.' 'And where's the harm in that if they leave the civilians alone? Let's see his picture.' It rolled around and Dillon studied the fleshy face intently. 'Just as I expected. Fair enough.' 'Well he looks like Bill Sykes to me,' Hannah said. 'Known associates?' 'Billy Salter, age twenty-five, his nephew.' The information came up on the screen again. 'Six months for assault, another six months for assault, twelve months for affray.' 'A hot-tempered lad.' 'And these two, Joe Baxter and Sam Hall; more of the same, Dillon. A very unsavoury bunch.' 'Who might just suit my purposes.' 'Except for one thing.' 'And what would that be?' 'The River Police had a tip-off. Salter and his gang will be downriver tonight at nine in one of his pleasure boats, the _River Queen_. There's a Dutch boat coming in called the _Amsterdam_. The _River Queen_ will be at anchor off Harley Dock. As the Amsterdam goes past one of the stewards throws a package across. Uncut diamonds. Two hundred thousand pounds.' 'And the River Police waiting to pounce?' 'Not at all. They'll be waiting for the _River Queen_ to berth at Cable Wharfe by Salter's pub, the Dark Man, at Wapping. They'll pick him up there.' 'What a shame. It could have been such a lovely relationship.' 'Anything else I can do for you?' Hannah Bernstein demanded. 'Not really. I can see you've shafted me pretty thoroughly and taken pleasure in it. I'll just go away and think again.' At eight-thirty, Dillon was waiting on Harley Dock in an ancient and inconspicuous Toyota van he had borrowed from the vehicle pool at the Ministry of Defence. He was already wearing a black diving suit, the cowl up over his head. Occasionally a boat passed on the river and he sat behind the wheel of the Toyota and watched through a pair of infra-red night glasses as the _River Queen_ arrived and anchored. There was movement on deck; two men and two more on the upper-deck wheelhouse. He waited and then there was a noise of engines downriver and the _Amsterdam_ appeared, a mediumsized freighter. With his night glasses, he could actually see the man at the rail and the bundle he hurled. It landed on the pleasure boat's canopy. The freighter moved on and Dillon was already clamping a tank to his inflatable. He picked up his fins, moved to the edge of the dock and pulled them on. Then he pulled on his mask, reached for his mouthpiece and jumped. He surfaced by the anchor line, pulled off his inflatable and the tank, then his fins and fastened them to the line. He waited for a moment then went up hand-over-hand. He went in through the anchor-chain port and crouched on deck, listening. There was the sound of laughter coming from the deck cabin and he went forward, stood and peered through a port hole. Salter was there, his nephew Billy, Baxter and Hall. Salter was cutting open a yellow life jacket at the table. He took out the cloth bundle. 'Two hundred grand.' Dillon unzipped his diving suit and took out the silenced Walther. He went to the door, paused, then threw it open and stepped inside. 'God bless all here.' There was silence, the four of them grouped around the table like some tableau, Harry Salter and his nephew seated, Baxter and Hall standing, beer glasses in their hands. Salter said. 'And what's your game then?' 'Open the bundle.' 'I'm fucked if I will, I don't think you've got the bottle to use that thing.' Dillon fired on the instant, shattering the whisky glass on the table at Salter's right hand, doing the same thing to the beer glass Baxter was holding. Billy Salter cried out sharply as a jagged splinter of glass cut his right cheek. There was silence and then Dillon said, 'More?' 'OK, you made your point,' Salter said. 'What do you want?' 'The diamonds – show me.' 'Tell him to get stuffed,' Billy said, a hand to his cheek where blood flowed. 'Then what?' Salter asked him. He unfastened the cloth bundle. Inside was a yellow oilskin pouch with a zip fastener. 'Open it,' Dillon ordered. Salter did as he was told and tossed the pouch across where it fell at Dillon's feet. He picked it up, unzipped the front of his diving suit and stowed it away. He half turned and took the key out of the door. Salter said. 'I'll find you. Nobody does this to Harry Salter and gets away with it.' 'And didn't I hear James Cagney saying that in an old gangster film on the _Midnight Movie_ show on television last week?' Dillon grinned. 'I know it doesn't look it right now, but I've actually done you a good turn. Maybe you can do me one sometime.' He slipped out and closed the door. Hall and Baxter rushed it, but too late as Dillon turned the key in the lock. He vaulted over the stern down into the water, retrieved his inflatable jack, air tank and fins and pulled them on. Then he went under the surface and swam back to Harley Dock. On board the _River Queen_ in the saloon Baxter stood on the table and unclipped the deck hatch above his head. When it was open Harry Salter and Hall gave him a push up. A few moments later and he was outside the saloon door and opening it. 'Here, how's my face?' Billy asked his uncle. Salter inspected it. 'You'll live. It's only a scratch. There's sticking plaster in the medical kit in the wheelhouse.' 'So what are we going to do?' Billy demanded. 'Find out who shopped us,' Salter said. 'Let's face it, only a limited range of people knew about this job. So, the sooner I run that bastard to earth, the sooner I'll find our friend.' He turned to Baxter and Hall. 'Haul up the anchor and let's get out of here and back to Wapping.' Dillon had stripped his diving suit, dressed in shirt, jeans and his old reefer, and was already making his way to Wapping. It was ten-thirty as he drove along streets that were deserted and lined by decaying warehouses of what had once been the greatest port in the world. Eventually he cut through a part of the city that was considerably more busy and then passed the Tower of London and reached Wapping High Street. He parked the Toyota at the kerb and proceeded on foot to Cable Wharfe. He had already checked out Salter's pub, the Dark Man, earlier. It was almost eleven o'clock and closing time. A drink would give him an excuse to be in the area so he walked along the wharf openly and went into the saloon bar. There were two old women at a marble-topped table drinking stout and three men at the end of the bar with beer in front of them who looked as if they might be seamen, but only just. The barmaid was in her forties, blonde hair swept back from a face that was heavily made up. 'What's your pleasure, sunshine?' she asked Dillon. Dillon smiled that special smile of his, nothing but warmth and immense charm. 'Well, if it's only drink we're talking about, let's make it Bushmills.' 'Sorry, but you'll have to drink up fast,' she told him as she gave him the Bushmills. 'Closing time and I've got to think of my licence with coppers around.' 'And where would they be?' 'The three at the end of the bar. They're no more seamen than my arse.' 'So what are they up to?' 'God knows.' 'Then I'll get out of it.' Dillon swallowed his Bushmills. 'I'll say goodnight to you.' The two old women were leaving and Dillon followed them along the wharf, aware of a police van parked in a courtyard to the left, a police car across the road. 'A trifle conspicuous,' he said softly, reached Wapping High Street and doubled back. He found what he wanted, another disused warehouse, carefully negotiated stairs leading to the first floor and crouched on one of the old loading platforms beneath a crane. He had a perfect view of the river, the wharf and the Dark Man. He took out his infrared night glasses, focused them, and the _River Queen_ came into view. As the _River Queen_ docked all hell broke loose. The police van and car that Dillon had noticed earlier drove on to the wharf and at the same time two River Police patrol boats moved out of the shadows where they had been waiting and pulled alongside. As uniformed police came over the rail they found Hall and Baxter tying up. Salter and Billy came out of the saloon and looked up at the half dozen policemen on the wharf. The line parted and a tall man in his fifties in the uniform of a superintendent came forward. 'Why it's Superintendent Brown, our old friend, Billy,' Salter said. 'And how are you, Tony?' Brown smiled. 'Permission to come aboard, Harry,' and he climbed down followed by the other police officers. 'So what's all this?' Salter demanded. 'Well, Harry, I know there wouldn't be anything in the pub. You're too smart for that and we've turned you over often enough. However, I've reason to believe you're carrying an illegal shipment of diamonds on this vessel to the amount of two hundred thousand pounds. Very silly, Harry, to slip like that after all these years.' Brown turned to the sergeant at his elbow. 'Read him his rights and, the rest of you, start looking.' 'Diamonds on the _River Queen,'_ Salter laughed out loud. 'Tony, my old son, you really have got it wrong this time.' It was almost one o'clock in the morning when they finished. Salter and his crew were sitting at the table in the saloon playing Gin Rummy when the Superintendent looked in. 'A word, Harry.' The police had finished their fruitless task and were getting into the van. The two patrol boats started up and moved away. It was raining now and Salter and Brown stood under the canopy on deck. 'So what gives?' Salter asked. 'Harry, I don't know what happened tonight, but I had what seemed like the hottest tip in my life.' 'Well, whoever your snout was, I hope you didn't pay the bastard.' Brown shook his head. 'You're getting old, Harry, too old to do ten years in Parkhurst. Think about it.' 'I will, Tony.' Brown clambered up on to the wharf and turned. 'We've known each other a long time, Harry, so I'll do you a favour. I'd be very careful in future about the Dutch end of things.' He got in the police car beside his driver and they moved away. 'Jesus,' Billy said. 'We could all have gone down the steps for a long time. That bastard back there when he took the stones, what was it he said? That he'd done you a good turn.' 'That's right, quite a coincidence,' Salter said. 'Only I don't believe in them. Anyway, let's go up to the pub and get a drink.' Dillon waited until all was quiet, then went back down the stairs of the old warehouse and walked to the pub. There was a light on in the saloon and when he looked in he saw Salter sitting on a stool at the end of the bar. Billy, sticking plaster on his face, sat drinking at one of the tables with Baxter and Hall. Dillon moved on, turned up the side alley and looked in the kitchen. The barmaid was drinking a cup of tea and reading a newspaper. He opened the kitchen door. She looked up in alarm. 'I see the peelers have gone,' Dillon said. 'Christ, who are you?' 'Old friend of Harry's. If he's as bright as I think he is he might even be expecting me. I'll go through to the bar.' Harry Salter drank his Scotch and waited, looking at his reflection in the old Victorian mirror behind the bar. A small wind touched his cheek as the door opened, there was a sliding sound as the yellow oilskin bag slid along the bar and stopped in front of him. 'There you go,' Dillon said. The other three stopped talking and Salter lifted the bag in one hand, then turned to look at Dillon standing there at the end of the bar in his old reefer coat. Dillon took out a cigarette and lit it and Salter, a crook from the age of fifteen, knew trouble when he saw it. 'And what's your game, my old son?' he asked. 'It's him,' Billy cried. 'The fucking bastard.' 'Leave off, Billy,' Salter told him. 'After what he did? Look at my bleeding face.' Billy picked up the lager bottle in front of him, smashed it on the edge of the table and hurled himself at Dillon, the broken bottled extended. Dillon swayed to one side, caught the wrist and hammered Billy's arm against the bar so that he howled with pain and dropped the bottle. Dillon held him face down on the bar, Billy's arm tight as an iron bar. 'God, Mr Salter, but he never learns, this nephew of yours.' 'Don't be a silly boy, Billy,' Salter said. 'If he hadn't nicked the stones downriver we'd be booking in at Tower Bridge Division Police Station with the prospect of going down the steps for ten years. All I want to know is the reason for all this.' He smiled at Dillon. 'You've got a name, my old son?' 'Dillon – Sean Dillon.' Salter went behind the bar and Dillon released Billy who stood there massaging his arm then went and sat down with Baxter and Hall, his face sullen. Salter said, 'You're no copper, I can smell one of those a mile off.' 'God save us,' Dillon said, 'I've had enough trouble with those bowsers to last me a lifetime. Let's put it this way, Mr Salter. I work for one of those Government organizations that isn't supposed to exist.' Salter stood there looking at him for a long moment then said, 'What's your pleasure?' 'Bushmills whiskey if you don't have Krug champagne.' Salter laughed out loud. 'I like it, I really do. Bushmills I can manage right now. Krug I'll supply next time.' He took a bottle down from the shelf and poured a generous measure. 'So what's it about?' 'Cheers.' Dillon toasted him. 'Well, the thing is I wanted to meet the greatest expert on the Thames River and when I accessed the police computer it turned out to be you. The trouble was that no sooner did I find you than I discovered I was going to lose you. Someone I work with, very big at Special Branch, found out the River Police were going to stiff you.' 'Very inconvenient,' Salter said. 'Well it would have been so I decided to do something about it.' Dillon smiled. 'The rest you know.' Salter poured himself another drink. 'You want something from me, that's it, isn't it? Some sort of kick back?' 'Your expertise, Mr Salter, your knowledge of the river.' 'What for?' 'You may have read in the papers that the President of the United States and the Prime Minister are to meet on the Terrace at the House of Commons on Friday morning.' 'So what?' 'I think the security stinks and I have to prove it so sometime after midnight on Friday morning I want you to help me float in to the Terrace. I'll hide out in one of the store rooms behind the Terrace Bar and give them a nice surprise at the appropriate moment.' Salter stared at him in amazement. 'You must be raving bloody mad. Are you a lunatic or something?' 'It's been suggested before.' Salter turned to the other three. 'Did you hear that? We've got a bleeding loony here.' He turned back to Dillon. 'But I like you. Not only will I do it, you can call me Harry.' 'Terrific,' Dillon said. 'Could I have another Bushmills?' 'I can do better, much better.' Salter opened the fridge at the back of the bar, took out a bottle and turned. 'Krug champagne, my old son. How does that suit you?' Chapter 9 The following day was Thursday and when Dillon went into Hannah Bernstein's office on the third floor at the Ministry of Defence it was just before noon. 'My God, Dillon, what time do you call this? He's been asking for you.' 'The hard night I had, girl dear. In fact I only came in to ask you to have a delicious light luncheon with me.' 'You're quite mad.' She pressed her intercom. 'He's here, Brigadier.' 'Send him in.' There was a pause. 'And you, Chief Inspector.' She led the way, opening the door for Dillon who advanced to the desk where Ferguson was working at a pile of papers. He didn't look up. 'God save the good work,' Dillon said and waited. Ferguson ignored him and the Irishman laughed. 'God save you kindly is the correct answer to that, Brigadier.' Ferguson sat back. 'I am well aware that as a boy you went to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Dillon. I am well aware that you actually acted with the National Theatre.' 'Lyngstrand in _The Lady from the Sea_. Ibsen that was,' Dillon reminded him. 'Until you decided to take up the theatre of the street for the IRA. As my mother, God rest her, was Irish, I do my best to understand you, but your constant role of the stage Irishman proves wearisome.' 'God save us, your honour, but I'll try to mend my ways.' 'For God's sake, be serious. You're leaving me with egg on my face because of this ridiculous bet with Carter. You know how much the Intelligence Service hates our very existence. They'd like nothing better than to make me look a fool in front of the Prime Minister.' 'Don't I know that?' Dillon said. 'That's why I thought I'd make Carter look the fool.' Ferguson frowned. 'Are you seriously telling me you think you can?' 'Of course.' The Brigadier frowned. 'Where have you been? It's almost noon.' 'I had a hard night preparing the way, so to speak.' 'Tell me.' 'You wouldn't want to know,' Dillon said. 'But one thing I'll promise you. The next time you'll see me will be at ten-thirty tomorrow morning on the Terrace together with the President of the United States and the Prime Minister.' Ferguson sat back staring at him. 'My God, Sean, you actually think you can do it.' 'I know I can, Brigadier and watch yourself. You just called me Sean.' 'Are you going to tell me how?' 'Aspects of it are so illegal that it's better you shouldn't know. I'll discuss it with this good-looking woman here if I can take her to lunch.' Ferguson laughed in spite of himself. 'Oh, go on, you rogue. Get out of here; but if it costs me five hundred pounds it comes out of your salary.' They returned to Hannah's office. She said, 'You really think you can pull it off?' 'Nothing is impossible to the great Dillon. A magician, that's what British Intelligence called me in the great days in Ulster. They never laid hands on me once, Hannah, your lot. The master of disguise. Did I tell you about the time I dressed as a woman?' 'I don't want to know this, Dillon, because if I do, I have to consider how many you killed.' 'Fighting a war, Hannah, that's what I was doing, but that was then and this is now. Get your coat and we'll away. I am right about Jewish people? No seafood but you can eat smoked salmon?' 'Of course. Why?' 'Good. Krug champagne, scrambled eggs and smoked salmon, the best in town.' 'But where?' He held her coat for her. 'Jesus, girl, but will you stop asking all these questions?' He took her to the Piano Bar at the Dorchester, the best in London, with its magnificent mirrored ceiling, was greeted by the manager as an old friend and led to a booth. Dillon ordered his usual, Krug champagne non-vintage and scrambled eggs, smoked salmon and a salad for both of them. 'God, but you live well, Dillon,' she said. 'That's an Armani suit you're wearing and you can afford these prices.' 'I'm still trying to spend some of that six hundred thousand pounds I got out of Michael Aroun for failing to blow up the Prime Minister and the War Cabinet at Number Ten during the Gulf War.' 'You've no shame, have you? None at all?' 'Why pretend? It's what I was and it's what I am. The same man, Hannah my love, and times you've been glad of it.' The champagne came, was opened and poured. He toasted her. 'To the best-looking policewoman in London.' 'That kind of flattery gets you nowhere. Now tell me what's going on.' When he was finished she gazed at him in horror. 'You used me, you used privileged police intelligence to get a notorious gangster and his men off the hook?' 'He's not such a bad old stick.' Dillon sipped some champagne. 'And I needed him.' 'How could you do such a thing?' 'Come off it, Hannah, Ferguson does things to suit himself all the time. What about that Lithuanian bastard, Platoff, the other month? If ever a man deserved to be shot it was him, but he was more useful to us than the other people so Ferguson did a deal and, as I remember, you brokered it.' She glared at him. 'Damn you, Dillon.' 'Sure and you look lovely when you're angry.' The waiter approached at that moment with their food. 'Eat up like a good girl.' 'Dillon, you are a sexist pig.' 'And you are a nice Jewish girl who should be having babies and making her husband's life miserable instead of shooting people on behalf of Scotland Yard.' She laughed, in spite of herself. 'This is lovely. So tell me how you intend to do it.' 'The river. I'll swim in.' 'But the current there can be ferocious with the tide running. It's suicide, Dillon. You mustn't.' 'Yes, you're right. That's why the Terrace is a weak spot in the security system.' 'But how can you hope to get away with it?' 'Difficult, but not impossible,' and he explained. The _River Queen_ was still tied up at Cable Wharfe when Dillon turned up in the Toyota at eleven o'clock that evening. The pub was just closing and he sat there watching the last customers emerge and walk away towards Wapping High Street. The barmaid stood at the door talking to Billy. She closed the door and he crossed to the boat. Dillon got out of the Toyota. 'Good man yourself, Billy, could you be giving me a hand?' Billy looked at him, a kind of reluctant admiration on his face. 'You know you're mad, don't you? I mean my uncle's told me what you're up to. Crazy. For one thing you won't even get into the Terrace. The current's real murder out there.' 'If I don't get back you can sell the Toyota. My hand on it.' He held it out and Billy shook it instinctively. 'Mad bastard. OK, what have we got here?' and he opened the rear door of the van. In the saloon, Dillon laid out his gear watched by Harry Salter and the other three. There was his heavy nylon diving suit with hood, nylon socks and gloves. 'You're going to need that bleeding lot,' Salter told him. 'That water's bloody cold tonight.' 'I never thought it wouldn't be.' Dillon laid out his fins and clipped the air tank he'd brought to the inflatable. He checked his weight belt, then opened a hang bag and took out a small Halogen lamp and a waterproof purse. 'You won't need that lamp,' Salter said. 'I've passed the Terrace regularly in the early hours and they leave that row of Victorian lamps on. Even if you get there, Dillon, you could get done. They must have security guards prowling. One glimpse and you've had it.' 'Yes, well, I know that.' Dillon opened the waterproof pouch and checked the contents. 'And what's that?' 'Picklocks. I need to get into one of the storerooms as I told you to spend the rest of the night.' Salter shook his head. 'And you know how to use those things.' He shook his head. 'No, don't answer that. With that accent of yours are you sure you're not going to shoot the Prime Minister?' 'Perish the thought.' Dillon unzipped a waterproof bag and checked the contents. 'And what have you got there?' Salter asked. 'White shirt, bow tie, nice white jacket, black slacks and shoes.' Dillon smiled. 'After all, I _am_ supposed to be a waiter.' He zipped the bag up again and Billy fell about laughing. 'Dillon, I like you, I really do. You're crazy, you don't give a stuff, just like me.' 'I'll take that as a compliment.' Dillon stood up and looked down at his gear. 'That's it, then.' He turned. 'I'm in your hands now, Harry.' 'All right, my old son, let's go over it.' There was a very large-scale map on the table and they all gathered round it. 'Here we go. House of Commons, Embankment opposite and there's Westminster Bridge. Now I'm telling you this is one of the worst times of the year. A very high tide, turning around three o'clock in the morning and, to float you in, I need the tide on the turn and driving downriver, but it's an abnormal speed. A good five knots. Maybe you should consider that.' 'I have,' Dillon told him. 'There's no way you can control that current by swimming. It's too strong. But if you're hanging on the stern as I approach and I drop you at just the right moment you could have a chance.' 'Fine,' Dillon said. 'It'll do me.' 'Crazy.' Salter shook his head. 'Crazy.' Dillon grinned, found a packet of cigarettes and went out on deck, standing under the canopy and looked at the rain. Salter joined him. 'I love this old river.' He leaned against the bulk head. 'I was a river rat when I was a kid. My old man did a runner and my mum did bits of cleaning to keep body and soul together. Anything I could nick I did, fags, booze, anything.' 'And progressed from there.' 'I've never done drugs, never done women, that's filth as far as I'm concerned. Mind you, I've always been a hard bastard. I've killed in my time, but only some sod who was out to kill me.' 'I see.' 'And you?' 'Oh, I've been at war with the world for more than twenty years.' 'With that accent does that mean what I think it does?' Dillon said, 'Not any longer, Harry; as I said, I do work for a rather shadowy branch of the Security Services. Let's leave it at that.' 'All right, my old son.' Salter grinned. 'But with what you've got ahead of you you're going to need food in your belly. We'll all go up to Wapping High Street. Best fish and chip shop in London there.' Just before three the _River Queen_ passed under Westminster Bridge and turned, fighting the surging tide. The deck lights were out, only a subdued light in the wheelhouse. Dillon's gear was laid out in the stern and Salter stood there with him. 'I'm going to take over from Billy at the wheel. When he comes down here he'll have a two-way radio. You hang off at the stern. You'll be OK as far as the propellers go. With the design of this boat they're well underneath.' 'Then what?' 'At what I consider the right moment I'll call Billy on the radio and, when he gives you the shout, you go. If I get it right, the current could bang you against the Terrace. If I don't, God help you.' 'Thanks, Harry,' Dillon grinned. 'You're a hell of a fella.' 'Get stuffed, you bloody lunatic,' Salter told him and walked away. Dillon turned to Hall and Baxter who stood waiting. 'All right, lads, let's get this lot on.' * * * Ten minutes later, he hung on a line from the stern rail, his two equipment bags trailing from his belt, aware of Billy leaning over the rail above him. They were in the shadows, the water very turbulent, and Dillon was conscious of the fierceness of the current. And then Billy called down to him and he let go the line. He went down five or six feet and the force of the current was incredible, like a great hand seizing him in a relentless grip. He was thrown to the surface, was aware of the _River Queen_ disappearing into the dark, of the lights of the Victorian lamps on the Terrace and then he went under again. A moment later he banged against the stonework of the Terrace, surfaced and cannoned into the scaffolding that dropped down into the water at the division of the Lords and Commons. He hung there for a long moment and then unbuckled his inflatable and air tank and let the current take them. He did the same with his fins and mask, paused then started to climb. He went over the parapet, trailing his two equipment bags, and crouched in the shadows. A door opened further along the Terrace and a security guard appeared. He walked forward and stood at the parapet and lit a cigarette, the smoke pungent on the damp air. Dillon waited for five agonizing minutes until finally the man tossed the stub of his cigarette into the river, turned and went back inside. Dillon unfastened the lines of his equipment bags then unzipped his diving suit and stood there naked except for swimming trunks. He dropped the diving suit into the river then picked up the equipment bags and went to the side of the Terrace Bar where there were storerooms. He opened the small equipment bag, took out the Halogen lamp and opened the purse containing the picklocks. He switched on the lamp and went to work. It took him less than five minutes and the door opened. He made a quick exploration. There were stacks of towels and tablecloths, cartons of wine glasses. There were also two toilets and a washbasin in another room at the rear. He opened the larger equipment bag, took out the clothes it contained and a towel he had put in. He dried himself thoroughly, took off the swimming trunks and dressed in the waiter's clothes he had brought. He checked his watch. It was now a quarter to four. Depending on what time the Terrace staff started, he had about four to five hours to kill. There was a sizeable stock cupboard with various kinds of linen inside. There was no key in the door so he locked it from the inside and arranged some piles of towels into a rough bed. It was surprising how cheerful he felt. 'Harry will be pleased,' he thought and fell almost instantly asleep. He came awake with a start, aware of the door handle rattling. He glanced at his watch and saw it was almost nine o'clock. He heard a voice call, 'The bloody door's locked. I'll go and see if I can find a key.' Footsteps retreated, the outer door opened and closed. Dillon opened the door in seconds, moved into one of the toilet stalls and locked it. He waited and, after a while, the outer door opened and someone entered. There were two of them because after the door was opened a man said, 'Right, take those tablecloths and get cracking.' A woman said, 'All right, Mr Smith.' The door banged and the man started whistling and moving around. After a while he moved into the next toilet stall and sat down and lit a cigarette. Dillon flushed the toilet and went out. The man's white jacket hung on a peg by the basin, a plastic identity card on the jacket. Dillon unpinned it and fastened it to his own jacket so that it was half obscured by his lapel. When he went outside, the Terrace was already a scene of activity, waiters everywhere at work in the bar and making up tables. Dillon picked up a napkin from a table, draped it over one arm and reached for a tray. He went straight out past two security guards and up the steps. For an hour he went walkabout, visiting restaurants, not only in the Commons, but the House of Lords, keeping constantly on the move, his tray at the ready. Not once was he challenged. God knows what Ferguson would make of that. As for Carter . . . It was just after ten that he made his way back to the Terrace. It was a hive of activity. He went in past the security guards and paused. A grey-haired man in black coat and striped trousers was ordering waiters here and there, telling them what to do. He didn't even give Dillon a second glance when he spoke to him. 'You – canapés from the rear table.' 'Yes, sir,' Dillon said. He stood against the wall with other waiters and a few moments later, Members of Parliament started to flood in. It was amazing how quickly the Terrace filled up and the waiters got to work and served refreshments. Dillon did his bit, taking a tray of canapés around and then he caught sight of Ferguson, Hannah Bernstein and Carter entering. Dillon turned away, but stood close enough to hear Carter say, 'Sorry for you, Ferguson, that little bastard's left you with egg on your face.' 'If you say so,' Ferguson said. A moment later, an announcement sounded over the Tannoy. 'Ladies and gentlemen, the Prime Minister and the President of the United States.' They came through the entrance and stood there and the crowd broke into spontaneous applause. Dillon crossed to the table, picked up a canapé dish with a lid, hovered over it for a moment then turned. The President and the Prime Minister were moving through the crowd, pausing to speak to people. They reached Simon Carter, Ferguson and Hannah Bernstein and stopped. Dillon heard the President say, 'Brigadier Ferguson. Good to see you again.' He greeted Carter, then Hannah. Dillon walked forward. 'Excuse me, gentlemen.' He was aware of the look of amazement on Hannah's face, of Ferguson's incredulous frown and on Carter's face nothing but shock. Dillon lifted the lid of the canapé dish, disclosing a five pound note nestling on top. 'Your fiver, sir.' Carter was incandescent with rage, but the most interesting reaction was from President Clinton. 'Why, Mr Dillon, is that you?' he said. It was the middle of the afternoon and they were together in Ferguson's office, the three of them. There was a look of unholy joy on Ferguson's face. 'You cunning Irish bastard.' 'And you a half one.' 'The look on Carter's face. Delicious. I had to explain to the President and the Prime Minister, of course, which didn't help Carter. The President thought it was fantastic. I must tell you that after our previous help to him with the peace process in Ireland last year he had a high opinion of you, Dillon. It's now even higher. So, how did you do it?' 'From the river, Brigadier, but I'd rather not get into details.' Ferguson turned to Hannah Bernstein. 'Do you know, Chief Inspector?' 'I'm afraid I do, sir.' 'As bad as that, is it?' 'Let's put it this way: the background to it is so criminal that if I were still working for Special Branch at Scotland Yard I'd have no other choice but to read Dillon his rights and arrest him. However, under the peculiar circumstances of my employment with you such considerations do not apply.' 'Good God.' Ferguson shook his head. 'Still, I knew what I was taking on when I recruited you, Dillon; only myself to blame. Go about your business, the both of you,' and he opened a file in front of him. * * * At the same time at Green Rapids Detention Centre Kathleen Ryan and her uncle walked through the park. There were as usual, thanks to the Warden's liberal visitation policy, a large number of visitors. Paolo Salamone walked some little distance behind. He had received a phone call from Sollazo as his lawyer just after breakfast. It had been brief and to the point. 'Regarding the matter we discussed the other day and the individual concerned, any further information would certainly help your case.' Salamone hadn't known such excitement in a long time. There was a real chance now, with Sollazo and the Don on his side, that he might get some review of his sentence and anything was worth that, which was why he kept an eye out for the Kelly girl. He knew from talking to her uncle that she mainly worked the night shift at the hospital which allowed her to visit three, sometimes four times a week. They didn't seem to be talking much and he saw them stroll towards one of the small rustic shelters beside the lake. Salamone hurried through a small plantation of trees behind the hut and stood at the back. He could hear them talking quite plainly. 'You seem depressed today, girl.' 'And why shouldn't I be, you in here like a caged animal.' 'Little I can do about that, little anyone can do.' 'You know, when they transferred you here I was full of hope. That's why I saw that fella Cassidy you shared a cell with once at Sing-Sing and got the forged passports. I thought there would be a chance of making a break,' Kathleen said. 'Not from here. You know why the regime here is so liberal. Because the security is so tight. Every modern electronic marvel on these walls, cameras scrutinizing every move. I'm going to die here, Kathleen, and that's the truth of it. Time we talked about your future, time you moved on and, when you decide to go, I've things to say.' 'Such as?' 'It can wait.' 'Then don't talk rubbish. How's your health?' 'Not bad. I take the pills, do as I'm told. They'll be taking me down to Green Rapids General Hospital on Tuesday morning for another heart scan.' 'I'm on the night shift, but I'll go in and look out for you. I'll see you again tomorrow anyway, I've got the time in the morning. Around eleven.' 'That's nice.' They got up and walked away and Salamone went back up through the trees. As they approached the security gates Kathleen said, 'Are you still on the same pills?' 'No, a new one.' He took a plastic bottle from his shirt pocket. 'There you go.' She checked it. 'Dazane? That's a new one on me. I'll check it out at the hospital.' She gave the bottle back to him and kissed his cheek. 'I'll be seeing you.' Salamone phoned through to Sollazo's office using one of the prisoners' call boxes. The secretary was dubious. Mr Sollazo was busy, but she finally gave in to Salamone's persistence and put him through. 'What have you got?' Sollazo asked. 'It better be good.' 'I overheard Kelly and his niece talking. She talked about how she'd hoped he'd be able to make a break when he transferred from Sing-Sing to Green Rapids. Some chance. Nobody's crashed out of here since it opened.' 'So why should this interest me?' 'She was talking about false passports she'd got from some forger called Cassidy who used to share a cell with Kelly at Sing-Sing.' 'Now that is interesting,' Sollazo said. 'Anything else?' 'Not really. Oh, yes, he's going to Green Rapids General Hospital on Tuesday morning to have a heart scan. As I said, he suffers from angina. By the way, she said she was going to see him again in the morning at eleven.' 'You've done well, Paolo, keep up the good work. Just one thing I didn't tell you. Liam Kelly is actually Michael Ryan, once a big activist in Irish politics on the Protestant side. He's killed more men than he can remember.' 'Jesus!' Salamone said. 'His niece is Kathleen Ryan. She, too, has killed in her time. These aren't ordinary crooks, Paolo, they are revolutionaries and, as we know, such people are like wild dogs, a little touched in the head. Never take them for granted.' 'I won't, Mr Sollazo, and you'll do what you can for me?' 'That goes without saying.' Sollazo put down the phone, sat there thinking about it then buzzed his secretary. 'Find Mori for me, he should be somewhere about.' He went back to the legal brief in front of him, smiling slightly as he saw the fatal flaw in the District Attorney's case. There was a knock at the door and Mori entered. 'Yes, _signore_ ,' he said in Sicilian. Sollazo sat back. 'I've heard from Salamone, more information on Ryan and his niece. It seems she got false passports from a forger called Cassidy who shared a cell with Ryan in Sing-Sing. Find him and bring him to me. Somebody will know him.' 'No problem,' Mori told him. 'I'll make a few calls,' and he went out. It was only one-and-a-half hours later that he parked his limousine outside the small photo and print shop in a Bronx side street and entered. A black youth was attending a machine that churned out holiday snaps. He paused and came to the counter. 'Yes, sir?' 'Mr Cassidy. Tell him he's wanted.' 'He's in the back, I'll get him.' 'No need, kid, I'll handle it myself.' Mori went behind the counter and opened the door. Cassidy, a small balding man with wire spectacles, was working on what to Mori looked like a share certificate. Mori said, 'Up to your old tricks?' Cassidy, who knew trouble when he saw it, stood up. 'What is this?' he blustered. 'I represent the Russo family and Don Antonio's nephew and lawyer, Mr Marco Sollazo, would appreciate your help in a small matter.' Cassidy went very pale and removed his spectacles with a shaking hand. 'Anything I can do.' 'I thought you'd feel like that. You do a nice line in false passports and I take it you're the careful kind of guy who keeps records. Am I right?' Cassidy licked his lips nervously. 'That's right. Who are we talking about?' 'A guy you shared a cell with at Sing-Sing, Liam Kelly. His niece came to see you some time ago.' 'Sure,' Cassidy said. 'I've got all the details.' 'Then stick them in a file and let's go. Mr Sollazo doesn't like to be kept waiting.' 'Irish passports, you say?' Sollazo said to Cassidy who stood before his desk. 'Sure, Mr Sollazo, in the names of Daniel and Nancy Forbes. There was no problem getting a current photo of Kelly. They have one of those photo machines at the prison. They're always needing pictures for various security tags the cons use up there.' 'When was this?' 'Eighteen months ago. They're current passports of the European Community variety with brown covers. Kelly's supposed to be an artist. I thought that was good because he paints in his cell.' 'And the girl?' 'Nurse, which is what she is.' 'I know,' Sollazo said. 'And this was first class work?' 'Oh, sure, entry and exit stamps for everywhere from Hong Kong to the UK. I even gave them visas for Egypt. Good work, I swear on my life, Mr Sollazo.' 'I'm sure you're telling the truth.' Sollazo turned to Mori. 'If he proves false, Giovanni, you have my permission to break both his legs and arms.' 'A pleasure.' Mori didn't even smile. Cassidy was sweating. 'Please, Mr Sollazo, I'm an honest guy.' Sollazo burst out laughing. 'Get out of here.' Mori saw him through the door then returned. 'Anything else, _signore_?' 'Yes, I want you to go and see Salamone. It seems Ryan is being taken to Green Rapids General Hospital on Tuesday morning for a heart scan. Find out all you can, how the system works when they take one of the inmates for that kind of check.' 'Does the _signore_ mean what I think he means?' 'Perhaps. Afterwards, check out the hospital. I don't need to tell you to be discreet. You always are.' 'Thank you, _signore,_ ' Mori said, face impassive as he went out, and Sollazo went back to work. Salamone was desperately afraid of Mori, but then most people were for he was the Russo family's most feared enforcer, so he received him with some trepidation. They walked over the grass towards the lake and Mori told him why he had come. Salamone, eager to please, was more than helpful. 'They use a special security ambulance to take guys down to the hospital. I've gone myself when they've had a stretcher case needing a nurse.' 'How many guards?' 'The driver and a guy riding shotgun beside him. Usually another two in the back with the cons. It depends how many, but I can tell you Tuesday morning is light, just Kelly or Ryan or whatever they call him and a guy called Bryant who's going to have a keyhole op on his prostate. I've seen the schedule.' 'Fine,' Mori said. 'So where would they take Ryan?' 'Third floor. There's a clinic there called General Heart Surgery.' 'So a guard takes him up there, or two maybe?' 'Usually one. I mean the guy has a heart condition. He's handcuffed, of course.' 'At all times?' 'Not while he's having treatment.' 'Good,' Mori said. 'That's all I need to know. You know the old saying from Sicily? Keep the tongue in the mouth or it gets cut out.' 'Jesus, Giovanni.' Paolo sounded shocked. 'I mean, I love my Don.' 'Sure you do.' Mori patted his face and walked away. * * * The hospital car park was full, but someone pulled out as Mori arrived so Mori took the space which he noted was reserved for the Chief of Surgery. He went in through the main entrance. It was very modern, lots of tiling and high technology, staff everywhere, nurses in uniform, doctors in white coats and many people who were presumably visitors. He strode confidently through the concourse and took a lift to the fourth floor quite deliberately. The corridor he stepped out into was very quiet. A door opposite said storeroom, then there was a lift with very wide doors, obviously designed to carry stretchers and trolleys. Next to it a door said Staff Rest Room. Mori opened it without hesitation and went in. There were washbasins and toilet cubicles and a row of pegs, some of them occupied by overalls and white coats, one of which had a plastic security card pinned to it in the name of a Doctor Lynn, Radiology. Mori put it on and went out. He took the lift down to the third floor, exited and strolled confidently along, looking for the clinic Salamone had described, and there it was: General Heart Surgery. He opened the swing door and went in. There were two or three patients on the benches, a young black nurse at reception. She looked up and smiled and Mori put his hands in his pockets so that the white coat parted, just in case she knew the name on the identity card. 'Can I help you, Doctor?' 'I'm new, I'm afraid; Radiology. I've got to see a patient up here on Tuesday morning, an inmate from Green Rapids Detention Centre. I was just checking. You know, getting my bearings. A heart patient.' 'Oh sure, Mr Kelly. He's been here on several occasions. Yes, you're in the right place. Clinic Three right down the hall, that's where he's treated.' 'Well thank you,' Mori told her and went down the hall. He glanced through the round window in the door of Clinic Three, saw a patient on a trolley, a nurse bending over him. He passed on to a door marked Fire Exit, opened it and found himself in a quiet corridor. The doors opposite were marked Freight Elevator. He called it up and, when it arrived, punched the basement button. When he stepped out, he found doors standing wide to an underground car park, walked through and found himself in the car park where he had left his limousine. He stood there smiling then went and opened the driver's door, took off the white coat and threw it in the back, then he got behind the wheel. When Kathleen Ryan entered the Pharmacology Department of the hospital the young doctor on duty was Indian, a Doctor Sieed. She wore a sari. She knew Kathleen and liked her. 'What can I do for you, nurse?' 'My uncle is an angina patient. I was just talking to him and he told me he was on new pills, something I'm not familiar with. Dazane.' Doctor Sieed nodded. 'A recent addition. It has an excellent record but the dosage is critical. One, three times a day.' 'Yes, I noticed that.' 'Overdose can be a problem. Three at the same time would actually promote a severe angina attack.' 'Of a critical nature?' 'Probably not, but it would give the patient a bad shock for a couple of days. Tell him to be careful.' 'Thank you.' Kathleen went along to the staff room, got her coat and shoulder bag and left by the main entrance. As she walked across the car park Giovanni Mori drove past her in the limousine and turned into the main road. Chapter 10 The Don was in an expansive mood when Sollazo went to see him. 'You look pleased with yourself, Marco.' 'I think I have a solution.' 'Good, but family business first. Anything for me to sign?' 'A couple of property deeds, a transfer. I have them here.' Sollazo opened his briefcase and took out various papers. 'Let's get on with it.' He produced a pen and did what was necessary. 'Good. Now a couple of my very special Vodka Martinis. 'The best in the world.' 'Of course.' Russo went behind the bar and mixed the drinks and Sollazo sat on a bar stool. The Martini was excellent and he savoured it with pleasure. The old man toasted him. 'The Ryan business. Tell me.' Which Sollazo did in finest detail. When he was finished the Don said, 'You really think Mori could manage this on his own?' 'Absolutely and so simple. No one else involved.' 'It would require Ryan's co-operation.' 'But of course.' 'And he'll want his niece with him.' 'Naturally.' 'So how will you persuade him?' 'To quote your favourite film, I'll make him an offer he can't refuse.' The old man nodded. 'There must be no link between you and Ryan, no link with the family. In the event of success we don't want the police tying us in.' 'No problem there. When I go to Green Rapids it's to see Salamone, all perfectly legitimate, but the regime there is so ridiculously liberal, prisoners walking around the park area with their families or attorneys, that it's possible to talk to anyone. Salamone tells me the girl visits her uncle again tomorrow at eleven. I'll see him then and take the opportunity of speaking to Ryan.' The Don sipped his Martini thoughtfully. 'Tell me, Salamone's expectations of some sort of movement as regards reducing his sentence – have you any hopes there?' 'None at all, but I try to keep his hopes up for other reasons. He knows a great deal about family business.' 'Too much. There is an old Sicilian saying, "Better to lop the branch than lose the tree."' The Don nodded gravely. 'And there would be the point that he is the only link between us and this Ryan affair.' 'He's entirely disposable,' Sollazo said calmly. 'So he has an accident one day. We have friends in there happy to oblige.' 'Good. I'll let you get on with it then.' It was a fine bright morning just before eleven when Sollazo strolled through the park with Salamone. 'You've done well for us,' the lawyer said. 'The Don is pleased.' 'Great.' Salamone nodded eagerly. 'And how's my case going?' 'I'm working on it, Paolo; these things take time.' At that moment he saw Michael Ryan and Kathleen move down towards the lake and sit down in one of the rustic shelters. Kathleen was saying, 'Dazane, that new heart pill you're on. You have to be careful to stick to the right dosage.' 'Sure and I know that. One three times a day.' 'I checked with Doctor Sieed. If you took three at the same time it would actually promote an angina attack.' 'And that would be curtains?' 'Let's say you wouldn't feel too good for a while.' At that moment Marco Sollazo appeared before them, elegant in his dark suit and long Armani raincoat. 'Good morning, Mr Ryan.' He smiled at Kathleen. 'Miss Ryan.' Ryan went very still. 'You've got the wrong names, mister, you must have made a mistake.' 'I don't think so.' Kathleen said, 'Leave off, Uncle Michael.' She looked at Sollazo grimly. 'What's it about?' 'To start with, I know all about you. Michael and Kathleen Ryan, still wanted in Ulster for a number of terrorist activities on behalf of the Loyalist cause. I suppose the British could apply for your extradition if they knew where you were, Miss Ryan.' 'Damn you,' she said. 'What is it you want?' 'The gold bullion that went down ten years ago on the _Irish Rose_ off the coast of County Down, and please don't say you don't know what I'm talking about.' They both sat there staring at him. Finally Ryan said, 'You seem to know a great deal.' 'I know everything.' 'Right then,' Ryan told him. 'Then you must know that the _Irish Rose_ sank in the darkness with a bad sea running. We were off course. I don't know where it went down.' 'Yes, you do. You had a gadget called a Master Navigator in your pocket, a sort of mini computer that perfectly calculated your course and position.' Ryan, for once, looked amazed. 'But how could you know such a thing? Only myself knew that and Kathleen when I told her.' 'Someone was standing behind a tree listening when you told her. A man you knew as Martin Keogh.' It was Kathleen who spoke now, her face solemn. 'You speak as if he was someone else?' 'Oh, he was. Did you ever meet the IRA Chief of Staff at that time, Mr Ryan, Jack Barry?' 'Not face-to-face.' 'He knew your original plan had been turned down by your Army Council, heard a whisper that you intended to go ahead privately so he ordered his best man to infiltrate you.' Kathleen's face was very pale. 'Who was he?' 'A man called Sean Dillon. You've heard of him?' 'Oh, yes.' Ryan nodded. 'A legend. The man of a thousand faces, they used to say. He was once an actor. Foiled the Army and the RUC for a year.' He shook his head. 'Never got lifted once. So he was Martin.' 'The bastard.' Kathleen said. 'He could have killed you on the road that morning and taken the Master Navigator. Barry was annoyed with him for not doing so. He told Barry he liked you.' He smiled at the girl. 'And you.' 'Fuck him.' There were hot tears in her eyes. 'I hope he rots in hell.' 'Actually he's working for a highly secret branch of British Intelligence these days.' 'God save us.' Ryan laughed out loud. 'And wouldn't that be the Martin we knew and loved.' 'I know who you are now,' Ryan said. 'You're the Mafia attorney who looks after Paolo Salamone. You work for the Russo family.' 'Does that matter? Look, to business. I know everything right down to the fact that you, Miss Ryan, are in possession of false Irish passports in the names of Daniel and Nancy Forbes. I know that you're a nurse at Green Rapids General Hospital.' 'You know a lot, mister, but where is this leading?' 'To me arranging the escape of your uncle from hospital when he goes for his heart scan on Tuesday morning.' There was a total silence and a kind of awe on Ryan's face. 'Dear God and you actually mean it.' 'Certainly.' 'Just a minute,' Kathleen put in and her face was hard. 'What would he have to do in exchange for that?' 'Disclose the position of the _Irish Rose,_ ' Sollazo said calmly. 'We've done a deal with Jack Barry. I saw him the other day in Dublin. He's no longer Chief of Staff, but he's willing to cooperate on behalf of his movement. A preliminary survey to locate the ship first then my organization will lay on some suitable salvage operation as a front.' 'You're working with the fucking IRA?' Kathleen said. 'Yes, on a fifty-fifty basis.' 'And they get the fruits of my uncle's labours? What's in it for him?' 'I could say one million pounds, but let's be fair. I'll make it two million.' 'Jesus, son, you've got your nerve,' Ryan said. 'You do have an alternative,' Sollazo told him. 'You could sit here for another fifteen years.' Ryan's face was pale. 'But to work with Barry and the bloody IRA.' Kathleen put a hand on his arm. 'We've got to be practical.' She turned to Sollazo. 'I'm included.' 'Of course. Once he's out, you join in. You'll be taken to a safe retreat to start with.' 'And leaving the country will be no problem?' 'Absolutely not. We'll fly to Ireland, probably in a Gulfstream. I'll be with you.' 'So that's it?' 'No. I'd like the location of the _Irish Rose_ , the bearings indicated on that Master Navigator. Don't tell me the figures aren't burned into your brain.' Kathleen put a hand on her uncle's arm. 'Oh, no, mister. You get that when we're safe out of here and in Ireland and not before.' Sollazo smiled. 'Of course, Miss Ryan, I accept your terms. Now, let me explain exactly what I expect to happen.' It was raining when the prison ambulance turned into the car park on Tuesday morning and pulled into a special parking spot close to the main entrance. Kathleen Ryan sat in her own car watching and saw her uncle and another man get out of the ambulance each handcuffed to a guard. Another guard and the driver got out and lit cigarettes as the prisoners were led inside. She got out of the car, picked up the suitcase and walked round to the underground car park, doing exactly as she had been told, seeking a green-panel truck that carried the sign henley laundry. She found it easily enough, Giovanni Mori sitting behind the wheel smoking a cigarette. 'I'm Kathleen Ryan. You're Mori.' 'That's right.' He got out, reached back inside and produced the white doctor's coat he'd stolen. As he pulled it on he said. 'So they've gone up?' 'Just now.' 'Sit in the passenger seat. I won't be long.' He reached inside the truck, took out another white coat and draped it across his arm. 'You've never met my uncle.' 'I've seen his picture,' he said calmly, went to the freight elevator and punched the button for the third floor. He paused in the corridor then opened the fire door and entered the hallway of the General Heart Surgery Department. He glanced through the round window of the door marked Clinic Three. Ryan was lying on a table and a young doctor was busy attaching various wires to him. Mori walked down the hall and looked through the window of the swing door leading to the reception area. There was a duty nurse behind the desk, a couple of patients and the uniformed prison guard sitting on the benches reading magazines. Mori went back to Clinic Three, opened the door and went in. The young doctor looked up, continuing to fasten the wires. 'Hello, doctor, what can I do for you?' The leather sap Mori took from his pocket was filled with leadshot. It swung once and the doctor went down with a groan. Ryan was already swinging his legs to the floor, pulling the wires and connectors from his body. Mori threw the white coat to him. 'Put it on.' He opened the door leading into the toilet and shower room and hauled the doctor inside, closed the door and turned. 'Out we go, turn left and through the fire door.' A moment later, they were descending in the freight elevator. They emerged into the underground car park and crossed to the laundry truck, Kathleen watching, her face pale with excitement. Mori opened the rear door. 'In you get. You'll find what clothes you need in there. Get out of the prison uniform and make it fast. We haven't got long.' He took off his white coat, tossed it into a nearby trash can, got behind the wheel and drove away, passing the prison ambulance at the main entrance, the two guards lounging beside it, and turned out into the highway. By unfortunate chance it was a good fifteen minutes before a nurse went into Clinic Three and was surprised to find it unoccupied. She went down to Reception and spoke to the duty nurse there. 'What happened to Doctor Jessup and the patient?' 'They should still be there. Treatment takes an hour.' 'Well they aren't.' 'I'll come and see.' The prison guard was still reading his magazine, when the door swung violently and the two nurses, having found the doctor's unconscious body in the toilet, rushed in. At that precise moment, the laundry van turned into the crowded car park of a large supermarket fifteen miles down the highway and Mori pulled in beside a dark sedan. 'This is where we change,' he told Kathleen, went round to the rear and opened the door. 'Out you get.' Ryan clambered out wearing a brown tweed suit and a raincoat. Kathleen kissed him impulsively. 'You made it, Uncle Michael.' Mori unlocked the sedan. 'In you get.' Ryan and his niece got in the rear, Mori slid behind the wheel and put on a chauffeur's cap that perfectly matched his navy blue suit then drove away. Ryan said. 'Where are we going? They must have put the alarm out by now. There'll be cops everywhere.' 'Long Island.' 'But that's a hell of a way from here,' Kathleen said. 'They'll have roadblocks on the highway and at the toll bridges.' 'None of which will do them the slightest good. Trust me and just sit tight.' About ten minutes later there was the sound of sirens and three Patrol cars passed on the other lane of the highway. Ryan said, 'Christ, we could be in trouble here.' Mori shrugged. 'Keep the faith. We're nearly there.' A few moments later he took a slip road and then a left turn. A signpost said Jackson Aero Club and they came to it a few minutes later. There was a car park with a few vehicles, a single storey administration block, two hangars and an airstrip and twenty or so single and twin-engined aeroplanes parked. There was also a Swallow helicopter standing on the edge of the airstrip. Mori parked the sedan. 'This is it,' he said and got out. He reached for Kathleen's suitcase. 'I'll take that. Come on, let's get moving.' The pilot, a hard-looking young man in black sunglasses, started the engine as they approached. Mori opened the rear door. 'Go on, in you get. Let's move it.' Ryan and Kathleen scrambled in and Mori followed. He closed and locked the door, then belted up, turned to Ryan and smiled for the first time. 'Long Island next stop. See what I mean? Easy when you know how.' They landed at Westhampton Airport on Long Island. A limousine with a driver drove straight out to the helicopter to pick them up. As they drove away Kathleen said, 'Do I get time to catch my breath? Where to now?' 'The Russo residence at Quogue. Don Antonio wants to meet you,' Mori told her. 'Does he,' she said belligerently. 'And he always gets what he wants, does he?' 'Absolutely.' Mori turned and smiled for the second time. 'I'd remember that, if I were you, sweetness.' The word of the escape spread like lightning at Green Rapids Detention Centre. Salamone, on duty in the prison hospital, received the word from a man on laundry detail called Chomsky. He paused as he was pushing a trolley full of soiled linen out of the ward. 'Hey, Paolo, you heard the good word? That guy, Kelly, the Irish guy?' 'What about him?' 'Escaped when he was down at the General Hospital for treatment. I got it from Grimes up in the Warden's Office. All hell broken out. It's this joint's first escape.' 'Well all I can say is I wish him luck,' Paolo said. He thought about it for the next half-hour until his meal break. When it came, he went to one of the inmates' phone boxes and used his card to ring Sollazo who was just about to leave for Long Island when his secretary offered him the call. 'Yes, Paolo?' 'Hell, we did good, didn't we? I did good.' 'Only what I expected.' 'So I can look for some sugar? You promised you'd get me out. I've made my bones on this one. I've earned it. I mean, you wouldn't let me down?' There was urgency in his voice, but more. The hint of a threat and Sollazo recognized it at once. 'My dear Paolo, have no fear. I'm really going to take care of you and much sooner than you think. Be patient.' He sat there thinking about it then picked up the phone and dialled a number. It was picked up instantly. Sollazo didn't need to identify himself. 'In the matter of Salamone, we need a solution. Get in touch with your man at Green Rapids and tell him you want a result and I do mean now.' 'Consider it done.' Sollazo put down the phone, got his raincoat and briefcase and left. The great sitting room in Russo's magnificent house at Quogue seemed to stretch to infinity, glass sliding doors opening on to a kind of boardwalk platform above the water. In the dim light of early evening, Ryan and Kathleen sat at a table by the rail. 'I can't believe this,' she said. 'I know. I keep thinking I'll wake up and find it's morning and I'm in my cell.' Sollazo stepped out from the sitting room. 'Ah, there you are. Allow me to introduce my uncle, Don Antonio Russo.' The Don walked out behind him, leaning on his cane, a cigar in his mouth. He extended a hand. 'Mr Ryan, a pleasure and Miss Ryan.' He turned to Sollazo. 'A celebration is in order, I think.' 'Taken care of, Uncle.' Mori came in with a bottle of champagne in a bucket and glasses on a tray. 'Ah, the hero of the hour. You did well, Giovanni.' Mori managed to look modest. He opened the champagne and charged the glasses. The Don said, 'Go and get another glass. We won't drink without you.' Mori did as he was told. When he returned and filled his own glass the Don said, 'A toast. To you, Mr Ryan, and your return to the land of the living and to our joint enterprise, the _Irish Rose_.' At Green Rapids Salamone was just finishing his nursing shift at the prison hospital. He went into the men's room to wash his face and hands and one of the porters followed him in. When he looked up he saw it was Chomsky, who leaned against the wall and lit a cigarette. 'You heard anything else on Ryan?' 'Not a word,' Salamone said. 'Boy, but the joint is really humming.' Salamone dried his hands and moved out and Chomsky followed. 'What worries me is that they could kill some of our privileges, know what I mean?' 'I sure do.' They reached the end of the hallway. There was a mirror, flowers on a stand in front of it at the side of the elevator. Salamone pushed the button for the ground floor and then saw Chomsky's face in the mirror and knew he was in trouble. The elevator doors opened and there was no elevator, only the shaft, and he slewed to one side as the other man rushed him, arms stiff and went in head-first. There was a strangled cry and then a thud as he landed six floors down. Salamone didn't hesitate. He went straight to the fire exit at the end of the hall, opened it and went down the stairs two at a time. He didn't go to the ground floor, there would already be a fuss there, so he stopped on second and went to the nurse's rest room, got himself some very black coffee and sat there, sucking on a cigarette. He was in deep shit, he knew that, and there was only one direction it could be coming from, the only one that made sense. Chomsky had worked for the family on too many occasions for there to be any other explanation. There was one other disturbing fact to consider. It wouldn't be left there. There were other guys like Chomsky only too willing to do the Russo family a favour. 'I've got to get out of here,' he said aloud. 'But where? I mean, what in the hell do I do?' He got up and paced up and down, pausing suddenly, an intent look on his face. 'Johnson – Blake Johnson. Christ, if anyone can do anything he could.' Ten minutes later he was ushered into Deputy Warden Cook's office. Cook, sitting behind his desk, looked up. 'What is it, Paolo? You told my secretary life or death.' 'Mr Cook, I got a dynamite story. I want to see an FBI agent called Blake Johnson.' 'You do, do you, just like that?' 'Listen, Mr Cook, if I stay here I'm dead. You want that?' Cook frowned and he sat back. 'That bad?' He nodded slower. 'And that important?' 'It's big, OK. It could even give you a few answers on Kelly and how he bust out.' Cook was immediately on the alert. 'You know something?' 'Only for Blake Johnson.' 'All right. Wait outside. I'll check with the FBI.' It was perhaps half an hour later that he opened his door and called Salamone in. 'Mr Johnson is no longer with the FBI. He works with some Presidential Security unit in Washington. I'm going to phone him now and I'll let you talk to him.' 'That's fine by me.' Blake Johnson was forty-six, a tall, handsome man who wore a suit well. His hair was so black that it took ten years off his age. A marine in Vietnam at nineteen, he'd emerged with two Purple Hearts, a Vietnamese Cross of Valour and a Silver Star. A law degree had followed at Georgia State on the Marines. Afterwards the FBI, and with such resounding success that he had been appointed to his present position. For a year he had headed what was known at the White House as the Basement, the President's private hit squad as some termed it, totally separate from the CIA or the FBI, responsible to the President alone. When the phone rang in his office he found Cook on the line. The Deputy Warden explained the problem and ended by saying, 'You do know this man?' 'Oh, sure,' Johnson said. 'I put him away for bank robbery once. I'll talk to him. Give him privacy. He might find it difficult if he thinks anyone else is listening.' Ten minutes later after speaking to Salamone Johnson was talking to the Deputy Warden again. 'First of all, to establish my credentials, I work directly for the President. I'm in charge of his special security and intelligence unit.' 'I see,' Cook said, suitably impressed. 'I can assure you that what Salamone had to tell me is way beyond any normal criminal matter. It's no exaggeration to tell you that grave matters of national security are involved.' 'Good God!' Cook said. 'This is what you do. You place Salamone in a secure cell under guard. I take it you have a helicopter landing pad there.' 'Of course.' 'Good. I'll have a helicopter down to you within a couple of hours. The Federal Marshal who takes him in charge will have a Presidential warrant for him. That clears you.' 'One thing. We had a prisoner called Kelly escape today,' Cook said, 'while he was undergoing treatment at the local hospital. Salamone indicated that he might know something about that.' Johnson, who had told Salamone to keep his mouth shut, lied smoothly, 'Hell, no, he was worried you wouldn't get in touch with me so he said what he did to get you interested.' 'The bastard,' Cook said. 'His kind usually are, but he's of crucial importance to us. The President will be more than grateful for your assistance in this matter.' 'I'm only too happy to oblige, that goes without saying.' 'My thanks on his behalf.' In his office in the White House basement, Johnson sat back and thought about it then he pressed an old-fashioned buzzer. The door opened almost instantly and a grey-haired woman of fifty, Alice Quarbey, his secretary, entered, a pad in her hand. 'Mr Johnson?' 'Make out a general warrant in the name of Paolo Salamone. He's a prisoner at Green Rapids Detention Centre. Get it over to the Federal Marshal's office. I want him picked up by helicopter as soon as possible. They can bring him back to Washington and hold him at the Hurley Street Secure Unit.' 'Anything else.' 'Better start writing. Get on that computer and dig up everything there is on an Irish terrorist, Protestant variety, called Michael Ryan, also his niece, a Kathleen Ryan. Couple that with any information about a gold bullion heist in the English Lake District in the Autumn of nineteen eighty-five.' She was writing busily. 'Sounds intriguing.' 'It gets even better. Check out any information on a ship called the _Irish Rose_ that sank off the coast of County Down in Ulster at the same time.' He grinned. 'That's it. Naturally I expect all this yesterday.' 'I take your point.' She went out and Johnson sat there going over all of it in his mind. His office had direct access to both FBI and CIA computers and had friendly links with the British. There would surely be some really solid information on this. He needed that before speaking to the President. He opened a silver box on his desk, sighed and took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth and reached for a lighter. He'd actually stopped a year before and yet, whenever his gut feeling told him he was on to something, he reached for a smoke. Ah, well, just one wouldn't do any harm. At the house at Quogue they enjoyed an excellent dinner at six o'clock. Roast duck, potatoes, green salad, all washed down with more champagne. 'I haven't eaten like this in years,' Ryan said. 'I shouldn't imagine you have,' the Don told him drily, 'but the best is yet to come.' He rang a little silver bell and the maid apeared with a chafing dish. 'Cannolo, Sicily's favourite sweet. Very simple. Flour, eggs, cream.' 'Marvellous,' Kathleen said as the maid served them. 'Enjoy them. Later over the coffee we talk business.' Darkness was falling as they sat on the boardwalk and the maid served coffee. When she was finished he waved her away. 'What happens now?' Kathleen asked. 'Marco will take you to a small beach cottage not far from here. You'll be safe there. Mori will keep an eye on you.' 'And then?' 'McArthur Airport is not far away. I keep a Gulfstream there. You'll fly to Dublin with my nephew and Mori.' He smiled. 'Unless the circumstances change.' There was a certain menace to that smile and Kathleen shivered. Ryan said, 'What are we getting at here?' 'Your niece told my nephew that he could only have the position of the _Irish Rose,_ the bearings and so forth, when you are safe in Ireland.' 'That's right.' 'I require them now, an act of faith, if you like.' He smiled again. Kathleen shook her head and said stubbornly. 'Oh, no, mister, you wait until we're in Ireland.' 'Then that too must wait,' he said. 'At least for you, _signorina._ ' He turned to Ryan. 'You go, she stays here and takes her chances.' Ryan exploded. 'You can't do that.' 'I can do anything, my friend. I learned from my father many years ago to always look for a man's weakness. Yours is your niece, Mr Ryan.' He stood up. 'Think about it. Come, Marco, give them time.' When they had gone Kathleen said, 'The bastards. I'd like to shoot the lot of them.' 'Well you can't and we don't have a choice. We've got to get out of America as soon as possible. I couldn't face going back inside, but I also couldn't face leaving you here.' 'So you'll do it? What if they dump us? What if you give him the position and that bugger Mori shoots us?' 'I don't think so. I'm too useful to them for a number of reasons and if they intend to shoot us at some stage, they can just as easily do it in Ireland.' He smiled bleakly. 'No, I'll give him what he wants.' 'Then give him a false position,' she said. 'You're not thinking straight. At some point in time we'll be in a boat with these bowsers and a diver going down and if the _Irish Rose_ isn't there then that bastard Mori will give us a bullet in the head and over the side.' Ryan shook his head. 'No, we must get out of here and safely to Ireland. You see there's another reason. The truth is, I haven't been strictly honest with you.' She gazed at him searchingly, 'Tell me.' So he did. Afterwards she sat there holding his hand. 'All these years and you never told me.' 'I always did say I never trusted anyone in my life, not even you.' 'Well you do now and you're right. We must get to Ireland. Once we're there we'll think of something.' She raised her voice. 'Don Antonio?' He appeared with Sollazo. 'You've thought it over?' 'Yes and we agree.' 'Excellent.' Sollazo took his diary from his breast pocket and a pen. Don Antonio Russo smiled. 'I knew you were a practical young woman, _signorina,_ the moment I clapped eyes on you.' Chapter 11 In the Oval Office the President sat and listened as Blake Johnson told him the worst. 'I've seen the man Salamone at the Hurley Street Secure Unit since he got in and I've grilled him thoroughly. Everything he knows he's told me. You've read the file I sent up with all the relevant facts as to Ryan's background. As you can see, British Intelligence had a report on Ryan's involvement with the truck heist. It came from the Protestant terrorist Reid when he was arrested for murdering two soldiers and was trying to do a deal. He speaks of Ryan and his niece being responsible and a man named Martin Keogh. He, it seems, was a total mystery. No details available.' 'A wild one, this Ryan,' the President said. 'And this young woman.' He shook his head. 'I sometimes despair of human beings.' He straightened, 'So, where are we? What happens with these Russo people?' 'In my opinion, we'll get nowhere in that direction. Marco Sollazo is one of the most celebrated attorneys in Manhattan. If approached on this matter he would express shock and dismay, disavow any suggestion that he even knew Ryan. The new liberality of institutions like Green Rapids, the way visitors and prisoners are allowed to wander, facilitated Sollazo's ability to contact Ryan, but it's also a situation in which he would be able to deny all contact. Yes, he was at Green Rapids, but only to see Salamone and in Salamone we have only the word of a convicted felon, a bank robber who murdered a policewoman.' He shook his head. 'The District Attorney wouldn't waste five minutes on it.' 'And Don Antonio Russo?' 'Besides his nephew, the finest legal brains in New York are on his pay roll. He's never spent a day in a cell in his entire life.' 'But do you believe Slamone?' 'I'm afraid so.' 'So what do you think is happening?' 'I think Sollazo and his uncle took Ryan from gaol to get their hands on the bullion. They'll do some sort of a deal obviously. Let's say fifty-fifty. That bullion is worth one hundred and fifty million dollars now. Remember Ryan is a fanatic, totally dedicated to the Protestant cause.' 'Such a vast sum of money devoted to arms for that cause?' The President shook his head. 'Peace right out of the window. It is a prospect too bitter to contemplate. All my work and the work of Mr John Major to go for nothing.' 'Exactly, Mr President, so it seems to me that putting Don Antonio Russo or his nephew in a cell is of secondary significance. The only important thing would be to prevent that gold or part of it falling into Loyalist hands. Quite frankly, it would enable them to tool up for a civil war.' 'No, we can't have that. What's your best guess as to the next step?' 'They'll take Ryan and the girl to Ireland. Then, they'll try to locate the ship. Probably a relatively simple operation at first, a boat, a diver. Once located, some sort of salvage operation.' 'I want this stopped at all costs.' The President frowned and then suddenly smiled. 'I think this could be a job for Dillon.' 'Dillon, Mr President?' 'You remember what happened when I met Prime Minister John Major on the Terrace at the House of Commons the other week? The bogus waiter? Sean Dillon, originally the most feared enforcer the IRA had, now trouble shooter for Brigadier Charles Ferguson, your British counterpart, Blake.' 'Of course, Mr President.' 'Fine. So, to start with, get me the Prime Minister on the secure line.' In his study at Number Ten Downing Street, John Major listened. When the President had finished he said, 'I totally agree, Mr President, we can't allow this to happen. I'll empower Brigadier Ferguson to intervene at once and I'm sure Dillon will play his usual part. Leave it with me.' He put the phone down, sat there thinking about it then lifted the phone again and spoke to his aide. 'Brigadier Charles Ferguson. I want him here at the earliest moment.' He sat back frowning. _Ireland, God Dammit_. It never went away, in spite of everything he'd done, even to the extent of putting his political career on the line. Charles Ferguson sat quietly, a grave expression on his face, as the Prime Minister gave him the facts on the matter. When he was finished, he said, 'I want this stopped, Brigadier. There's no way I want to see such huge funds going to either of the two sides in Ireland. We've had enough bloodshed. We can't afford a civil war.' 'I couldn't agree more, Prime Minister.' 'I want Dillon on this, Brigadier,' John Major said. 'All right, I do not approve of his IRA and terrorist background which is why I distance myself, but there is no doubt of the man's extraordinary capabilities. He saved the Royal Family considerable anxiety over the Windsor affair the other year. All that nonsense over the Nazis. Then the attack on the Peace Process by the terrorist group January 30. He saved the life of Senator Patrick Keogh when he had the courage to address Sinn Fein and the IRA in Ireland and beg for peace. No, I know that Dillon is a totally ruthless man, but he's what we need for this business.' 'I agree, Prime Minister.' John Major looked up at him as Ferguson stood. 'They call your people the Prime Minister's Private Army, so it gives you extraordinary powers. Use them, Brigadier, use them.' When Hannah Bernstein and Sean Dillon were summoned to Ferguson's office, they found him standing by the window. He turned, very serious. 'Absolutely top priority. Everything else stops. I have direct orders from the Prime Minister to expedite a current problem to the utmost. There is a file there on my desk marked irish rose. Take it to your office, Chief Inspector. Read it, the both of you, then come back.' * * * Hannah Bernstein worked her way through the file, reading the old news clippings, the details of Ryan's activities, then Salamone's account of what had happened at Green Rapids. Dillon leaned over her shoulder and read it too. She said, 'All right, we have a very nasty Prod activist, Michael Ryan, and his vicious little niece, Kathleen. What do we know? The gold bullion heist in the Lake District, the _Irish Rose_ seen, according to the police, by a young boy and his dog out fishing at Marsh End. So we presume the truck went on board – _presume_. Next fact. Lifebelts and bits from _Irish Rose_ wash up on the Down coast. 'Then we have Salamone. For Ryan read Kelly, who robs a bank in New York State, kills a copper and gets twenty-five years. In the sweat of his fever he discloses that he's the only one who knows where _Irish Rose_ is. The rest we know. 'So Ryan and the girl are on the loose aided by the Russo family. So what? We know nothing, Dillon.' 'Except that logically, all roads lead to Ireland, girl dear, and there's more. I've a terrible confession to make. Let's go in and see the man and I'll tell you both at the same time.' * * * Ferguson sat behind the desk, Hannah Bernstein facing him. Dillon lounged by the window, hands in his pockets. 'Well, what do you think?' Ferguson said. 'Putting all things together including informer's tittle-tattle and rumours plus information from the swine Reid, back in nineteen eighty-five, one hell of a slick job was pulled by Michael Ryan, his niece Kathleen and some mystery man called Martin Keogh. That is confirmed in an obscure Royal Ulster Constabulary report of a raid they made on Ryan's pub in Belfast, the Orange Drum. Some wretched one-armed barman named Ivor-somebody remembers the girl being saved from gang rape by some Catholic youths, saved by this Keogh. This was only a day or two before he saw them for the last time. He said they left together in a taxi for the airport and he understood they were going to London.' 'That's right, Brigadier,' Hannah said. 'Reid mentioned their contact, a Protestant organizer called Hugh Bell who ran a pub in Kilburn called the William and Mary. Killed in a road accident.' 'Was he bollocks. Too convenient that,' Dillon said. 'He was seen off by Reid and his minder, a bastard called Scully.' They both stared at him. 'But that isn't in the file. How would you know?' 'Because I was Martin Keogh,' Dillon said and turned to Ferguson. 'I'll just help myself to your whiskey, Brigadier, and then I'll reveal all.' Ferguson said, 'Dear God, Dillon, you never cease to amaze me.' 'I had a past, Brigadier, you knew that when you took me on.' 'Yes, a past is one way of describing it. An IRA activist for something like twenty years.' 'British paratroopers killed my father, Brigadier; I was trying to make someone pay. When you're nineteen you look at things that way.' 'And the PLO. Was that for political belief or money?' 'A man has to earn a living, Brigadier.' Dillon smiled. 'I'd remind you I worked for the Israelis too.' 'But now you work here,' Hannah said. 'Don't you feel any duty of disclosure as to your past activities?' 'If that means selling out old friends in the IRA, no. I was Jack Barry's right hand for years, then let's say I got disenchanted with the glorious cause and left and don't forget how I came to be here. It was either a Serb firing squad or an agreement to work for his highness here and, don't kid yourself, he was willing to leave me to the firing squad. Don't let's be hypocritical, the pot calling the kettle black.' He shrugged. 'How clean are your hands, girl dear, after working for this office?' And that hurt. 'Damn you, Dillon!' Ferguson said, 'Cut it out. You've got work to do. Go through this thing with a fine tooth comb. Everything. Access all intelligence information computers, not only MI5 and 6 but Scotland Yard, the RUC in Ulster and the Garda in Dublin. I want a result so get on with it.' They went out to Hannah's office. Dillon said, 'Still friends?' She glared at him then suddenly smiled grudgingly. 'I've said it before. You're an absolute bastard, Dillon, but I like you.' Standing in his shirtsleeves with a cup of tea in the computer room Dillon watched as Hannah scanned the screen then sat back with an angry sigh. 'Not a thing on the RUC computer from Ulster, only Ryan's previous history and that stops ten years ago.' 'Well, it would, wouldn't it, he's been in the Nick since then. Nothing special when I tried Scotland Yard Intelligence records and nothing with Carter's bunch,' Dillon said. 'My eyes are falling out from looking at that damn screen,' she told him. 'I'm going to take a break and make some coffee. How about you?' 'I'll make a start on Garda Intelligence from Dublin.' As she got up he frowned and shook his head. 'I've gone over it again and again. The truck heist, the Farm at Folly's End, Marsh End, the voyage and then the sinking and that early morning in County Down. Michael and Kathleen taking the road to Drumdonald and me turning for Scotstown.' 'What is it?' she asked. 'I'm missing something. I've gone through my own memories and re-read all the newspaper clippings and there's something I'm missing.' 'That happens sometimes.' 'Not to the great Dillon.' He sat at the computer and she paused in the doorway. 'You could have killed Ryan on the road that morning and taken that Master Navigator. You would have had the position of the ship to give Barry.' 'I know.' He grinned. 'Aren't I the complicated one?' She went out and he started to tap into Garda files. At that precise moment the Gulfstream was halfway across the Atlantic. Sollazo was up front and appeared to be sleeping. Mori was on the other side of the aisle from him. Ryan and Kathleen sat on either side of the aisle at the back. He'd discovered the small bar and had poured himself a large whisky. 'Dublin's fair city next stop. Old Ireland.' He shook his head. 'A long time to be away and it's all changed, so they tell me. Nothing but talk of peace.' 'Bloody nonsense,' she said. 'Put Sinn Fein in the saddle and they'll drive every Protestant in the land into the sea. It will be worse than Bosnia.' 'The fierce one, you are.' 'And good reason to be as no one knows better than you.' He reached over and patted her hand. 'Just one thing. We'll have to box clever in Dublin so hold your tongue and don't vex Jack Barry when you meet him. Just bide your time till we see a chance to run for it.' He reached to the bar and got another whisky miniature. 'Money, that's what we need.' 'Well, in that respect I've not been honest with you! I've saved for years, always putting money on one side against that mad hope that you would break free. So, I cleared my account.' 'Jesus, girl, how much?' 'Fifty thousand, give or take a dollar.' She picked up her shoulder bag. 'There's a false bottom in here. It's in there. Half hundred dollar bills, the rest five hundreds.' His face was pale with excitement. 'God, but this is great.' He sat there thinking about it. 'Money buys everything in this life. In the old days when I was on Army Council jobs I used to use that fella Tony McGuire and his air taxi firm and that was in Down, just outside Ladytown. It was the quick way to England if I wanted to avoid security at Aldergrove Airport.' 'Would he still be in business?' 'I don't see why not. If not him, someone else. It would be a good way out if we did manage to do a bunk and the hounds hot on our heels.' 'What about approaching the Army Council in Belfast?' 'I don't know. It's been ten years, Kathleen; ten long years and everyone strong for peace so they tell me. I wonder where it leaves people like Reid and Scully.' 'Long gone now with any luck,' she said. 'So, how do we slip the leash?' 'I've had a thought.' She looked troubled. 'But I'm not sure you should risk it.' 'Christ, girl, I'll try anything. Tell me?' When she had finished he sat there thinking about it. 'Clever, I'll say that.' 'And maybe it won't be necessary. Maybe there'll be another way?' 'Who knows.' He grinned. 'What the hell, I think I'll have another whisky.' It was perhaps three hours later that Dillon, sitting at the computer screen, shouted, 'Bingo! Give the man a cigar.' Hannah rushed in. 'What on earth is it?' 'The Great Dillon does it again. Worked my way through all the information the Garda have on Loyalists and drew a blank. Not a word on _Irish Rose_ beyond the facts we had before I opened my big mouth.' 'So?' 'Then I tried the Sinn Fein and Provo connection.' He laughed. 'Then I thought, why not go back to the Dinosaurs, the hard men from the old days, and that brought me to Jack Barry, once Chief of Staff, now retired.' 'And?' 'Peace being so fragile, the Garda still keep an eye on all the main players and they pay for inside information. It's an old Irish custom, what we call informing, touts all over the place.' 'Touts?' 'Informers who do it for money. That's what we've got here.' He gestured to the screen. 'Tell me.' 'No, go and get the Brigadier and let's all enjoy it.' Ferguson stood to one side as Dillon tapped the keys again, Hannah sitting beside him. He sat back. 'Right, here it is. Last week some tout called O'Leary was in Cohan's Bar which is not far from Jack Barry's house. He said Barry came in with a very well dressed man, an American because O'Leary caught a word or two. They sat in a booth, had a snack lunch and a drink. He said they had their heads together the whole time.' 'So where does this get us?' Ferguson demanded. 'They left and took to the park. Barry's house is on the other side. O'Leary drove round there and saw a limousine with a driver parked outside. He waited until the American left in the limousine and followed it to Dublin Airport.' 'And then?' 'The American left in a private plane, a Gulfstream. Its flight plan was to McArthur Field in Long Island.' Dillon laughed. 'No prizes for guessing who owns that plane.' 'I'll get on to Johnson straight away,' Ferguson said, turned and hurried into his office. * * * At his desk, Blake Johnson was working his way through a file when Alice Quarbey came in with her pad. Johnson sat back. 'All right, tell me.' 'The details on the Gulfstream Brigadier Ferguson got from the Garda were easily checked. It's owned by the Russo Corporation and is usually based at McArthur Airport in Long Island. According to airport records it logged out with two passengers last week. Marco Sollazo and Giovanni Mori.' 'God, that's great,' Johnson said. 'We're getting somewhere.' 'Now comes the hard part. The same Gulfstream left McArthur nine hours ago. Passengers as before with the addition of two Irish citizens, a Daniel and Nancy Forbes.' 'Damn!' Johnson said. 'I must contact Ferguson.' 'A waste of time if you want to do anything,' Alice told him. 'I've just checked. They landed at Dublin two hours ago.' Johnson shook his head. 'You know something, Alice, I think it's time for another cigarette and get me Brigadier Ferguson anyway.' Ferguson sat with the phone in his hand and Dillon and Hannah waited. The Brigadier nodded. 'Thank you, Superintendent.' He put the phone down. 'That was Costello of Garda Special Branch. The Gulfstream landed, disgorged four passengers, refuelled and left.' 'Anything else?' 'Yes, one bit of luck. An airport security officer, a retired Detective Sergeant in Special Branch, noticed them at the main entrance getting into a large shooting brake. He noticed them because Jack Barry was at the wheel and he recognized him.' 'So we know where we are,' Dillon said. 'The Russos in cahoots with the Provisional IRA. I wonder how Michael Ryan likes that?' 'Not much, I suspect,' Hannah Bernstein said. 'On the other hand it's totally obvious that the Russo family got him out and now he has to pay.' 'One thing is certain,' Dillon said. 'No point in raiding Barry's home or rubbish like that. He'll have a safe house somewhere.' They sat there thinking about it and suddenly Charles Ferguson laughed. 'I know who we need, the greatest expert on the IRA in existence – Liam Devlin.' He opened a drawer in his desk, took out a small black book and leafed through it. Hannah Bernstein said, 'Liam Devlin?' 'Scholar, poet, once a professor at Trinity College, gunman for the IRA who probably killed more men than I did. Living legend of the IRA,' Dillon told her. Ferguson was talking. 'Is that you, Devlin, you old rogue?' In the parlour of his cottage in the village of Kilrea outside Dublin, Liam Devlin listened as Ferguson talked. When he was finished Devlin laughed. 'Jesus, but you've got a ton of trouble on this one, Brigadier.' 'It's important, Devlin, you must see that.' 'Oh, I do. I mean we're all big for the cause of peace. Send Dillon and that Chief Inspector of yours to see me, only tell him not to try and shoot me this time.' Ferguson put down the phone. 'He'll see you two and, believe me, if anyone can help, it's Devlin. He knows more about the IRA than anyone so order the Lear jet, pack your bags and get moving.' 'Sir.' Hannah moved to the door and Dillon went after her. Ferguson called, 'And, Dillon . . .' 'Brigadier.' 'He'd be obliged if you wouldn't try to shoot him this time.' Hannah looked shocked, but Dillon smiled. 'Now, do I look like the sort of fella that would do a thing like that, Brigadier?' Chapter 12 The Lear jet lifted off at Gatwick and climbed to thirty thousand feet. Dillon sat across the aisle from Hannah Bernstein. 'Devlin – Liam Devlin,' Hannah said. 'I always thought it was just a fairy story, the German attempt to kidnap Winston Churchill.' 'True enough. November nineteen forty-three. A strange one, Liam. He was born in Ulster. His father was executed by the English during the Anglo-Irish War in nineteen twenty-one. A brilliant scholar. He took first class honours in English Literature at Trinity College. He carried a gun for the IRA during the thirties, went to the Spanish Civil War and served with the International Brigade. The Italians took him prisoner and gave him to German Intelligence, what was called the _Abwehr_. They did what they could with him, but the trouble was he was very anti-fascist.' 'What happened?' 'After an abortive trip by parachute to liaise with the IRA in Ireland he managed to get back to Germany and spent his time lecturing in English at Berlin University.' 'Then what?' 'Oh, the ultimate commando job. A crack force of German paratroopers dropped into Norfolk in November nineteen forty-three to kidnap Winston Churchill. Devlin went on ahead as a kind of middle man.' 'But I thought you said he was anti-fascist?' 'Well, they paid him well – funds for the IRA and I suspect that if someone on the Allied side had asked him to snatch Hitler out of Berchtesgaden he'd have tried that too.' 'I see.' 'He told me once that the greatest question in life is to ask am I playing the game or is the game playing me.' He smiled ruefully. 'I know what he means.' 'And you tried to kill him?' 'And he me.' 'I assumed you must have been friends.' 'We were. He taught me a great deal.' He shrugged. 'I went through the purity-of-violence phase, the kind of Marxist revolutionary who'd kill the Pope if he'd thought it would further the cause. Liam was more old-fashioned. He wanted to meet his enemy face-to-face like a soldier of the revolution. We didn't agree to differ. Shots were exchanged and we parted, both of us the worse for wear.' 'And you regret that?' 'Oh, yes, the greatest man I ever knew in my life.' 'He must be pretty old by now.' 'Eighty-five next birthday.' 'Good God!' she said blankly. Barry had owned the old farmhouse just outside the village of Ballyburn, fifteen miles north of Dublin, for years. He rented the land to a local farmer, a Sinn Fein sympathizer, and used the house itself only for the occasional weekend since the death of his wife. When he unlocked the front door and led the way in there was a smell of damp. Kathleen Ryan shivered. 'God, you could catch your death here.' 'The fire's laid in the sitting room and in the kitchen stove. I'll light them up and we'll be fine in no time.' He had a carrier bag in his hand and he went into the stone-flagged kitchen and put the bag on the table. 'Fresh bread, milk, eggs and bacon. You could make us a fry-up, girl.' 'You can make your own bloody fry-up.' He smiled 'The hot one, Kathleen Ryan, aren't you? Suit yourself.' He opened the stove and put a match to it and turned. Michael Ryan was leaning against the wall, hands in pockets, an intent look on his face. 'Sure and you'd like to shoot me, wouldn't you, Michael?' 'Nothing would suit me better.' Barry laughed and turned to the girl. 'Well at least you could make us a nice cup of tea.' He went out into the hall and found Sollazo hanging up his raincoat. Mori was in the sitting room putting a match to the log fire. It was pleasant enough, a few rugs scattered on the flagged floor. There was a dining table with six chairs, a sofa and large wing-backed chairs on either side of the fire and the ceiling was beamed. There was a statue of the Virgin Mary on the mantelpiece and a picture on the wall. 'I didn't know you were a religious man, Mr Barry?' 'That was my wife, God rest her. Mass on most mornings when she could manage it. She worried about me, Mr Sollazo. All those wild years in the Movement.' He shook his head. 'The hard time I gave her.' 'And where are our friends?' 'In the kitchen. Don't worry. The back door is locked and I've got the keys of the brake.' He raised his voice. 'Where's that tea?' * * * Kathleen, waiting for the kettle to boil on the stove, was talking quietly to her uncle. 'Have you had your pill?' 'Yes.' 'Then just take it slowly and don't upset yourself. The last thing we need at this moment in time is you on your back.' 'All right, girl,' he said, 'don't fuss.' She made the tea and discovering a jar of instant coffee, spooned some into two mugs and added hot water. It was at that moment that Barry called. She put everything on a tray and they went through. 'Coffee for you two,' she told Sollazo. 'Only the instant variety, but you'll have to make do.' Mori tasted it and made a face. 'Disgusting.' Barry laughed. 'You can't have everything in this life, son, you should try the tea. Two things the Irish do extremely well, brew Guinness and make tea.' Kathleen poured. 'There you go then.' Barry took one of the cups and sipped his tea. 'And that's grand, the cup that cheers. I'll just finish it in peace and then we'll get down to business.' Kathleen, her uncle and Sollazo leaned on the table and watched as Barry unfolded a large-scale map of the east coast of Ireland, including both the Republic and Ulster. 'Here we are at Ballyburn. Now up through Dundalk into County Down and you see Drumdonald and Scotstown. That's the area where you landed. Now all I need are the bearings for the position of _Irish Rose._ ' He looked at Ryan. 'What was it again, Michael?' Pale in the face and with great reluctance, Ryan told him. Barry had a ruler and pencil at hand. 'A cinch, this. As you can see the map is marked in degrees top and bottom.' He quickly drew two lines, one bisecting the other. 'There you are, three miles out I make it. Just off Rathlin Island. Did you know that, Michael?' 'It was dark.' 'Ah, well, let's have a look at the Admiralty chart for the area. I got one of those too.' It was larger in scale and covered the Down coast, the Isle of Man and the north-west of England. He repeated the exercise. 'There you go.' He threw down the pencil. 'Fifteen to twenty fathoms she's lying in.' 'Between ninety and a hundred and twenty feet.' Sollazo nodded. 'No problem.' Barry nodded. 'When your uncle phoned me last night to say you were taking off he told me that as far as the preliminary dive to establish the ship's position was concerned, you'd do it yourself. He said you were an expert Scuba diver.' 'I've been diving in the Caribbean for years, the Virgins, St Lucia.' Sollazo shrugged. 'Mori dives with me. We can easily handle a dive like this.' 'Your uncle asked me to provide the equipment. I know the right man. Friendly to our cause, you might say. He has a place on a trading estate on the outskirts of Dublin. I thought you and I could take a run in this afternoon.' 'That's fine and Mori can baby-sit our friends here. He'll need to be armed. Can you see to that?' 'There's an arsenal here if you know where to look for it. I'll see to it.' 'Fuck you, mister,' Kathleen Ryan said and stormed out. Kilrea College was next to a convent on the outskirts of the village. The garden was a joy, flowers and bushes of every description, and the College itself was Victorian with Gothic gables and leaded windows. Dillon gave the bell pull a tug and it echoed inside. A moment later the door opened and Liam Devlin stood there. 'So there you are, you young bastard,' he said to Dillon, in Irish. 'As ever was,' Dillon replied in the same language. Devlin turned to Hannah. 'And you'll be that old sod Ferguson's good right hand, the famous Chief Detective Inspector Hannah Bernstein.' He looked her over with approval. 'The lucky one he is and always was. Anyway, _cead mile falte_ and that's Irish for a hundred thousand welcomes. Come away in.' Hannah was totally astonished. She'd expected an old man of eighty-five and instead found someone full of energy and life, still with some colour in his hair, wearing a black silk shirt and Armani slacks cut in the latest fashion. The eyes were the bluest she had ever seen and he had the same ironic quirk to his mouth as did Dillon. It was as if they were laughing at a world too absurd to take seriously. The sitting room was a delight, all very Victorian from the fire in the grate and the mahogany furniture to the Atkinson Grimshaw paintings. She was examining them when Devlin brought tea from the kitchen on a tray. 'Good God, these are the real thing?' 'Yes, I invested wisely a few years back. I've always had a thing for old Grimshaw. Love his night scenes. Whistler once said that to call him the master of the nocturne was false. That anything he knew he'd learned from Grimshaw.' He poured the tea and Hannah said, 'My grandfather has one. _The Thames Embankment at Night_.' 'Oh, a man of taste and discernment. What does he do?' 'He's a Rabbi.' Devlin laughed out loud. 'Jesus, girl, and that's a show stopper if ever I heard one.' Hannah felt suddenly breathless. _What an absolutely marvellous, marvellous man. One of the most extraordinary people she'd ever met_. Devlin sat in a chair by the fire. 'So it's working for the Brits now, is it, Sean?' 'Sure and you know I am.' 'Does that give you a problem, Mr Devlin?' Hannah asked. 'Call me Liam, girl dear. No, whatever I am I'm no hypocrite. I once worked for Ferguson myself.' 'He didn't say,' Hannah frowned. 'Well he wouldn't. He wanted someone to break an American Irish lad called Martin Brosnan out of a French prison on Belle Island and me being a friend of Martin's found it difficult to say no.' He glanced at Dillon. 'And he no friend of yours, Sean. Told me he thought they'd done for you after you tried to blow up the British War Cabinet during the Gulf War.' 'Yes, well I was wearing a nylon and titanium waistcoat and it stopped the bullets,' Dillon said. Devlin laughed. 'Nine lives this one and I taught him everything I know.' He shook his head and there was an edge to his voice. 'You know something, Sean, you're the dark side of me.' 'And you, Liam, are the good side of me,' Dillon said. Devlin frowned for a moment and then laughed out loud. 'You always did have a way with the words.' He shook his head. 'Still, let's get down to business.' They went through all the information available and Dillon once again gave a meticulous account of the robbery and the voyage to Down on the _Irish Rose._ When all this was finished, Devlin sat there frowning, a cigarette in one hand. 'All right. First of all, we don't want the Garda on this. Sure, they could arrest Ryan, hold him until the Americans asked for extradition. They could even hold Kathleen and this fella Sollazo and his bully boy as accessories, but none of that matters. The only thing that does is finding the _Irish Rose_ and making sure that gold can't be used for the wrong purposes.' 'So what can we do?' Hannah asked. 'I mean if Barry and the Provisional IRA are in this . . .' Devlin cut her off. 'I don't think so. Gerry Adams, Martin McGuinness and Sinn Fein have a big investment in the peace process. Sure there's still the problem of persuading the Provos to give up their arms, but nobody wants trouble at the moment, the politics are too finely balanced.' He shook his head. 'No, I'll bet you a fiver the Provisional IRA Army Council know nothing about this.' 'You mean Barry is in this for his own ends?' Hannah asked. 'Oh, no, a true patriot, Jack. My guess is he'll play it close to his chest because he knows damn well the Army Council don't want trouble at this stage of the political game.' 'So what do you suggest, Liam?' Dillon demanded. 'I'll go and see the Chief of Staff and sound him out. I know the Dublin pub where he has a bite to eat at lunchtime every day.' 'And he'll see you?' Hannah asked. Devlin laughed out loud. 'They all see me, girl dear, I'm the living legend and that can be very useful, but not you and the lad here.' He turned to Dillon. 'A time for peace, but there are those who see you as an apostate working for the Brits. They'd like nothing better than putting a bullet in you.' 'And that's a fact.' 'Take the Chief Inspector to Casey's in the village. What the English call good pub grub.' He smiled at Hannah. 'I'll see you later.' The pub on one of the quays on the Liffey was called the Irish Hussar, a haunt of Irish Republicans, and it was already half-full when Liam Devlin went in just after noon. Colum O'Brien, Chief of Staff of the Provisional IRA, was sitting in a booth at the far end, a pint of Guinness at one hand and a savoury looking dish before him. He tucked a napkin below his chin. Devlin said, 'Shame on you, Colum, and you tucking into a Lancashire Hot Pot, an English dish.' O'Brien looked up and smiled with genuine pleasure. 'Liam, you ould bastard. What are you doing here?' 'Oh, I was in town on business and a man has to eat.' A young woman came over and Devlin said, 'I'll have the same as your man here.' 'And give him a large Bushmills whiskey,' O'Brien said. 'Only the best for Liam Devlin.' The young woman was truly shocked. 'You're Liam Devlin? I've heard of you since I was a child. I thought you were dead.' 'And that says it all.' Devlin laughed. 'Away with you, girl, and bring me the Bushmills.' Devlin took his time raising politics only when they had eaten and were enjoying a pot of Barry's tea. 'So where are we with the peace process?' he finally asked. 'Still roadblocked,' O'Brien told him. 'It's the bloody British Government with their demands that we get rid of all our arms, Liam. That's too much. I mean, do they imagine the other side aren't stockpiling?' 'I suppose you see Gerry Adams and McGuinness regularly. What's the good word?' 'Hope, Liam, that's the good word. Anybody who thinks Gerry and Martin don't want this peace to last is crazy, but peace with honour.' 'And what about the Loyalist side of things?' 'Difficult that. They think the British Government have sold them out, or will do, and there's some truth in that, but they must face the fact that the day will come when they'll have to take their place in a united Ireland. That will take change.' 'From the Catholic side too,' Devlin said. 'Anyway, how do the old warhorses see it? What's Jack Barry up to these days?' 'Not much since he retired and not needed with the peace movement making changes. I see him now and then, but not often. You know his wife died?' 'Yes, I heard that. God rest her. Is he still in Abbey Road by the park?' 'As far as I know. I don't know how he fills his time.' 'Out to grass like me.' Devlin got up. 'Well, I've enjoyed the crack, Colum. We used to say our day will come. Let's hope it has.' * * * It was years since he'd visited Jack Barry's house in Abbey Road, but when he drove there and parked the car it all came back and he found the house easily enough. He tried the knocker on the front door and waited. He had no intention of confronting Barry about the _Irish Rose_ affair. Just an old friend who happened to be passing, but in any event he was disappointed. He went round to the small garden at the back and peered through the kitchen window. A voice said, 'Can I help you?' and he turned and found a young woman taking washing off the line next door. Devlin gave her his best smile. 'I was looking for Jack Barry.' 'I saw him getting into the big station wagon early this morning. He parks it in the street. If it isn't there now he'll be away somewhere. Is it important?' 'Not at all. An old friend who happened to be in the neighbourhood, that's all. So, you've no idea where he might be?' 'He's here most of the time. A lovely man. Used to be a schoolteacher then his wife died. They used to go away to the country at weekends. They had a cottage or something like that.' 'Would you know where?' 'I'm afraid not.' 'Ah, well, if he turns up tell him Charlie Black called,' Devlin lied cheerfully and went back to his car. He was smiling as he drove away, wondering what she'd say if she knew that the nice man next door had once been Chief of Staff of the Provisional IRA. The warehouse on the trading estate on the outskirts of Dublin was called Seahorse Supplies and the owner was a man called Tony Bradley, middle-aged and balding with a distinct beer belly. An IRA activist in his youth, a five year sentence in Portlaoise Prison fifty miles from Dublin had cooled his ardour. His sympathy and support were still with the Republican cause, however, and he had been a great fundraiser when he came home from the North Sea oilfields, where he had been a diver, and had set up Seahorse. The warehouse was packed with diving equipment of every kind and Bradley stopped at a goods table and took out an order pad. 'Great to see you again, Jack. In fact a great honour.' 'Last time was in the pub at Ballyburn when I was spending a weekend at my farmhouse,' Barry said. 'And that was just a happy chance, me passing through. So what can I do?' 'My friend, Mr Sollazo, needs some diving equipment. You hire as well as sell, don't you?' 'Of course.' Bradley turned to Sollazo. 'Just tell me what you need.' 'Two of everything,' Sollazo told him. 'Masks, diving suits, one medium, one large, and with hoods, gloves, fins, weight belts with twelve pounds in each, regulators, buoyancy control devices and four air tanks. Oh, and a couple of Orca diving computers.' He turned to Barry. 'They tell you how deep you are, how long you've got, when you should come up.' 'Great,' Bradley said. 'I tell you what, Jack, I'll open the freight door and you bring your station wagon in and we'll load up right here.' He bustled off, calling an assistant to help him, and Barry left Sollazo there and went and got the car. He stood watching as Sollazo carefully checked each item. 'You take a lot of care,' he said. Sollazo shrugged. 'I always take care, even though I've done two hundred fifteen dives. You wouldn't believe the number of people killed scuba diving each year and usually because of stupidity.' He smiled. 'You see, Mr Barry, we shouldn't be down there in the first place.' Bradley and his man finished stowing the gear and he said, 'Anything else?' 'Underwater lights,' Sollazo said. 'No problems. I've got the very thing.' He went to a stack, took down two cardboard boxes and brought them over. 'Halogen lamps like the Royal Navy use. Long-life batteries and a charger included.' He put them in the car and stood, hands on hips, frowning. 'Something missing.' And then he smiled. 'I know.' He darted away and came back with two diver's knives in sheaths with leg straps. 'Now I think that is it,' he said. Barry said, 'Just one thing. There used to be an item called a Master Navigator.' 'Still is,' Bradley said. 'Just been updated.' It was Sollazo who said, 'Could we see one?' 'Of course.' Bradley darted off again and was back in a few moments, a black box in his hand. He opened it and took out the Navigator. 'There you go.' Sollazo examined it, the rows of buttons and the read-out panel. He glanced at Barry enquiringly and the Irishman said, 'What happens if I insert the. bearings for, let's say, a wreck at sea?' 'Well what happens is a triumph of modern technology,' Bradley said. 'There's an instruction book here and it's very simple.' 'No need,' Sollazo told him. 'I'll give you the figures, you feed them in and we'll watch.' He took out his diary and dictated the position of the _Irish Rose_ to Bradley who punched it in. The figures appeared on the read-out panel. 'Check that they're correct,' Bradley said. Sollazo did so. 'Perfect.' 'Good.' Bradley pressed a blue button. 'Now it's on hold. You activate it by pressing the red button. You get a slow and monotonous pinging. When you reach the actual position, the pinging becomes frantic. You stop it by pressing the blue button again.' 'And that we'll definitely have.' Barry said. 'Send me a bill at Abbey Road, Tony, and you'll get my cheque.' 'Ah, sure, pay me when you return the gear, Jack.' Bradley stood to one side as they drove away and waved. 'Good,' Sollazo said. 'The one thing you haven't mentioned so far is a boat.' 'It's being taken care of. I mentioned Drumdonald and Scotstown as being in the general area of the Down coast where Ryan, his niece and Sean Dillon landed. Scotstown is a small fishing village. There's a pub there called The Loyalist. It's not what it seems. Kevin Stringer, the landlord, is one of our own. It was to there that Dillon went for sanctuary after landing from _Irish Rose_. Anyway, I've spoken to Kevin and he's found us something he thinks could be suitable. I think you and I should drive up there tomorrow. We can take all the equipment with us. If the boat is OK Kevin can stow the equipment on board and we'll come back. I'll take some Semtex and pencil timers, by the way, in case we have to blast our way into the boat.' 'And then?' 'Return the following day, all of us, Ryan and the girl included, and we'll go out to Rathlin Island and find the damned boat.' 'You think we will?' 'I always travel hopefully,' Jack Barry said. It was late in the afternoon when Devlin arrived back at Kilrea Cottage. Dillon was sprawled beside the fire, eyes closed and Hannah was reading a book when Devlin entered. He looked tired and she got up, concerned. 'Let me get you a cup of tea.' 'That would be grand.' He dropped into her chair and Dillon sat up. 'Any luck?' 'Well I saw Colum O'Brien, the present Chief of Staff, and satisfied myself that as far as he is concerned Jack Barry is not up to anything. As for the rest, I've made discreet enquiries of various sources, some of whom I have to check back with tomorrow.' 'So that's it?' Dillon said. 'For the moment.' Devlin sat up straight as Hannah brought tea in. 'Girl, you're the wonder of the world.' He took the cup. 'When I've had this, I'll have a bath and then take you for dinner.' When Sollazo and Barry went into the farmhouse they found Mori in the sitting room reading a book. He looked up. 'This is great stuff. _A History of the Saints of Ireland._ These guys make the Mafia look like kindergarten.' 'Where are they?' Sollazo asked. 'In the kitchen. She's cooking. I had to go and stand in the garden in the rain while her uncle dug up potatoes with a fork, also carrots. Then she got cucumbers and lettuce and tomatoes from the greenhouse. She could be a useful little broad.' 'Who's killed at least three men, to my knowledge,' Barry said. 'Exactly,' Sollazo told him. Sollazo went into the kitchen. There was a good smell, Kathleen standing at the stove checking pans. Ryan was at the table mixing a salad. 'A woman of many parts, I see,' Sollazo said. 'You'd better believe it, mister,' she replied. Seated at his desk, the phone in his hand, Ferguson said, 'I've spoken to Dillon. Our contact, Devlin, has feelers out, but no results of far.' In his office in the basement at the White House Blake Johnson said, 'Too much to hope for an early result. As you know, the President is concerned in this matter. Do keep me posted, Brigadier.' 'Of course I will.' Ferguson put down the phone and sat back. 'Come on, Dillon,' he said softly. 'Give me a result.' Devlin, as a favoured customer at his local pub, was given the best booth in the corner of the restaurant. He insisted on ordering for all of them so they started with a Lentil and Potato soup to be followed by Irish ham in a white sauce with new potatoes and boiled cabbage. Hannah said, 'I'm sorry, Liam, I'm Jewish; you've forgotten. Ham is out.' He was immediately contrite. 'Would poached salmon be in?' 'That I could manage.' 'I should tell you as a serving police officer that the emphasis is on poached.' 'Oh, dear.' He turned to Dillon. 'As for you, boy, forget your ideas about the Krug champagne. All they do is a house champagne here at twelve quid the bottle.' 'Irish champagne?' Hannah said. 'Well the name on the label is French.' Dillon raised his hands. 'Order it, I surrender.' The meal was delicious, the champagne almost acceptable and the conversation the most interesting Hannah Bernstein had heard in years. 'So your grandad's a Rabbi, your father a Professor of Surgery and you went to Cambridge University?' Devlin said. 'That's a terrible weight to bear and you a peeler? How did that come about?' 'I wanted to do something worthwhile. Money wasn't a consideration. I've got plenty of that.' 'God, you on the beat in a blue uniform must have been the grand sight.' 'Don't be sexist, Mr Devlin.' 'Liam. Do I have to tell you again? But a nice Jewish girl like you. I mean, didn't your Da want you to marry and have babies?' 'This nice Jewish girl shot dead Norah Bell,' Dillon said. Devlin stopped smiling. 'Jesus, big for the Protestant cause, that one.' 'And I killed the boyfriend, Ahern,' Dillon said. 'They were in London to knock off the American President.' Hannah looked strained and Devlin put a hand on hers. 'It is not on you, any of it, girl, it's the world we live in. Now, a Bushmills whiskey to put me to sleep and we'll go home.' He shouted the order across to the barman, turned back with a smile then suddenly frowned. 'I've had a thought.' 'And what would that be?' Dillon asked. 'They've got to go looking for the site of the _Irish Rose_.' 'That's right. Somewhere off the Down coast. We landed in the general area of Drumdonald and Scotstown.' 'I'm not thinking of that, I'm thinking they have to go looking, which means chartering a boat, but more than that, wouldn't they need diving equipment?' Dillon nodded. 'Of course.' 'And you, they tell me, are an expert in that field these days.' 'I've done my share. What are you getting at?' 'Well, they've got to get that equipment from somewhere and Dublin isn't exactly saturated with firms in that line of business.' 'No, it wouldn't be,' Dillon said. 'What if I told you there's a firm called Seahorse Supplies on the edge of Dublin that's owned by an old IRA hand called Tony Bradley? Served under Jack Barry, did five years in Portlaoise Prison. Now, if you were Jack Barry and you needed diving equipment where would you go?' 'Seahorse Supplies,' Hannah Bernstein said. Devlin smiled and raised his glass in a toast. 'Exactly, which is where we'll go first thing in the morning. Everything comes to he who waits.' Chapter 13 It was eight-thirty the following morning when Tony Bradley turned his Land Rover into the car park outside the Seahorse Supplies warehouse. The staff didn't clock on until nine, but he always liked to get there early. There were a number of vehicles parked already, to do with other businesses nearby. He walked through them and paused to get out his keys. There was a small Judas gate in the great sliding doors for easy access. He unlocked it and there was a step behind him. 'Good man yourself, Tony.' Bradley turned and found the three of them behind him but it was Devlin he recognized immediately. 'Dear God, Liam Devlin.' 'And another old friend. Surely you haven't forgotten Sean Dillon.' Bradley knew fear then of the kind that made his stomach contract. This had to be heavy, he knew that. 'Sean, it's been a long time.' He glanced at Hannah nervously. 'And who might you be?' 'She's with us, that's who she is, so in you go,' Dillon told him and pushed him in through the Judas gate. Bradley was very frightened now. 'I've done nothing. What is this?' 'Sit.' Dillon pushed him down on a packing case. 'A question or two then we'll let you go,' Devlin said. 'You had Jack Barry here.' He deliberately made it a statement of fact and it worked. 'That's right,' Bradley said eagerly. 'Yesterday afternoon.' 'Buying diving equipment?' 'Yes, he was here with an American, a Mr Sollazo. He was the expert. Hired a load of diving gear. I thought it was something to do with the Organization with it being Jack.' 'I'm afraid not,' Devlin told him. 'Jack's been a bit naughty. Up to no good, you might say. Colum O'Brien and the Army Council would not be best pleased.' 'My God,' Bradley said, 'and how was I to know that?' 'Yes, you're in bad trouble, old son,' Devlin told him. 'So you'd better retrieve your position. Colum O'Brien doesn't know of your part in this so maybe I can help.' 'Anything,' Bradley moaned. Devlin turned to Dillon. 'You're the diving expert?' Dillon lit a cigarette and said to Bradley, 'Tell me what they took?' Bradley hurriedly went through the list as he remembered it. 'I think that's all.' He paused then added quickly, 'No, I was forgetting the Master Navigator. I gave them the new model.' 'And a demonstration?' Dillon asked. 'More than that. The American gave me some bearings and I punched it in for them. Those things are like a homing device. They take you straight to the place.' 'Which was where?' Hannah cut in. 'How would I know, it was just bloody numbers.' He was getting upset. 'I've told you all I know.' 'Except where they were going when they left,' Devlin said. 'Barry lives in Abbey Road, everyone knows that.' 'Only he isn't there,' Devlin said gently. 'Now where else might he be?' 'How would I know?' Bradley said wildly. Dillon produced his Walther with the Carswell silencer. 'I'm wondering whether a bullet in your left kneecap might improve your memory.' 'For God's sake, Sean.' Bradley was terrified and then he remembered. 'Just a minute. The last time I saw Jack Barry was in a pub in Ballyburn. I was driving down from Dundalk and I stopped for a drink and there he was in the corner of the bar.' 'And what happened?' 'We had a crack and he told me he had an old farmhouse just outside the village. He'd intended to walk back, but I gave him a lift. It was an old place, all a bit run down. He said he didn't use it much since his wife died.' He was desperately searching for more information and found it. 'There was a sign on the gate where I dropped him. Victoria Farm. I remember because he made a joke about it being a Brit Royal Family name.' There was sweat on his face now. Devlin said, 'There, that wasn't too hard, was it?' 'The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?' Dillon said softly. 'It better be, Tony boy, or I'll be back to take care of that left kneecap.' He turned away and moved to the Judas gate, Hannah at his side. She murmured softly, 'You really are a bastard, Dillon.' 'Yes, well, it gets results, girl dear, and that's what counts.' Devlin smiled and put an arm around Bradley. 'Cheer up, Tony, it may never happen, but if you try and get in touch with Barry or speak of this to anyone I'm afraid Dillon will be very annoyed indeed and you know what that means.' 'Not a word, I swear it.' 'Good man yourself,' Devlin said and left him there. Dillon and Hannah were waiting beside Devlin's silver Toyota saloon. 'The game's afoot, as Sherlock used to say, so to Ballyburn and you can drive, Sean, I'm getting old.' Dillon got behind the wheel and Devlin held the rear door open for Hannah. 'You don't look pleased. You didn't like it back there.' 'I never do when I see the way he operates.' 'Yes, well he always was the hard man, our Sean,' and he went round to the other side and joined her. At Victoria Farm they all had breakfast in the kitchen. When it was finished, Kathleen cleared the table and stacked the plates and, strangely enough, it was Mori who helped her when her uncle, Barry and Sollazo went out. She half expected Mori to make a pass at her, was all ready for it. Instead, he filled the sink with hot water and put the dirty dishes in. 'Leave them to soak. Less work that way.' 'And what's got into you, you big lump?' she demanded. He laughed. 'My father owned a restaurant in Palermo. When I was a kid I worked there all the time in the kitchen. Later I was a waiter for him.' 'Then you took to the gun.' He shrugged and said calmly, 'It paid better.' When she went into the sitting room the three of them were looking at the map. 'That's it, then,' Barry was saying. 'Up to Dundalk then across the border. No trouble there these days since the peace talks. You can drive straight through.' 'And then Scotstown,' Sollazo said. 'Exactly. We might make it in a couple of hours, two-and-a-half at the most.' 'And who is "we"?' Kathleen asked. 'Sollazo and me,' Barry told her. 'You can stay here in Mori's tender care.' 'You've got your bloody cheek.' 'Yes, well, I'm in charge. Mr Sollazo and I will drive up to Scotstown with the diving gear. Kevin Stringer at The Loyalist thinks he has a suitable boat. We'll check it out. If it's OK, Kevin can stow the gear and we'll return. We'll probably be back here by five.' She glared at him then looked at her uncle. He shrugged. 'All for the best, Kathleen.' 'If everything is on course, we'll all drive up to Scotstown in the morning,' Barry said. 'Oh, do what the hell you like,' she said and stormed out. The Toyota coasted down the hill outside Ballyburn. Dillon slowed and there it was, the opened five-barred gate, the sign Victoria Farm and the farmhouse beyond. 'Pull up in the layby,' Devlin said. 'I've got some glasses in the glove compartment. He rummaged inside and found a pair of Zeiss binoculars. 'Just let me take a look.' He stood beside the Toyota and focused them on the station wagon in the farmyard and at that moment the house door opened and they all came out, Barry, Sollazo, Mori and the Ryans. 'Christ,' Devlin said. 'It's the whole damn bunch of them. Jack Barry for starters. Take a look, Sean.' Dillon took the binoculars, focused them and nodded. 'Barry, Michael and sweet Kathleen.' Hannah had got out of the Toyota and he passed the binoculars to her. She took a look. 'The other two are Sollazo and his minder, Giovanni Mori,' she murmured to Devlin. 'We had photos of them faxed from Blake Johnson.' She stiffened. 'Barry and Sollazo have got into the station wagon. The others are going inside.' 'Out of here, quick,' Devlin said to Dillon. They scrambled in and Dillon drove away quickly and took a side turning. He stopped. 'Give them a couple of minutes to see if they come this way. If not, I'll reverse and try and catch them up.' It was Hannah, a moment later, watching through the rear window who said, 'There they go.' 'And with luck, to where we all want to be,' Devlin said, 'so after them, Sean.' Dillon stayed well back, Devlin acting as look-out, and the amount of traffic on the road gave them plenty of cover. Drogheda was twenty miles, Dundalk another twenty and they were just under the hour as they passed through the town. 'The border soon,' Devlin told Hannah, 'then we cross over to Warrenpoint. If it's the Down coast, as it must be, we'll go through Rostrevor and down to Kilkeel and take the coast road.' 'Which would bring us to Drumdonald and Scotstown, the area where we landed after the _Irish Rose_ went down,' Dillon observed. 'What was the name of the pub you went to in Scotstown?' Hannah said. 'The Loyalist,' Dillon laughed. 'The wrong name entirely. Kevin Stringer who runs it worked for Barry for years.' He frowned and turned to Devlin. 'What do you think?' 'That it sounds promising. We'll see. Now I'll take a little nap and you young ones keep alert.' After Warrenpoint, the traffic thinned out, but there were still vehicles on the road, private cars and the occasional truck, enough to give cover if Dillon stayed well back. It started to rain, sweeping in from the Mourne Mountains. 'Sweeping down to the sea, as the song says,' Devlin commented. 'A grand sight.' 'It certainly is,' Hannah said. There were two cars and a large farm truck ahead of them and the station wagon in front. Devlin said, 'One thing, if we are going to end up in Scotstown or some such place we have a problem. Fishing villages only on this coast, a jetty, a harbour a few boats. Strangers stick out like a sore thumb.' 'We'll have to go gently,' Dillon said. 'Wait and see.' The rain increased to a solid downpour and Barry, at the wheel of the station wagon, swore softly. 'The curse of this country.' 'You can say that again,' Sollazo said. 'Kilkeel coming up. There's a grand café on the road just before we go through. I don't know about you, but a cup of tea and a bacon sandwich would go down fine.' 'Suits me,' Sollazo told him. A few moments later, they came to the very place and Barry turned into the car park. There were several trucks, a few cars and he parked beside them. There was a filling station and garage with a sign that said Patrick Murphy & Son. The café was at the other end of the car park. They ran through the rain and went in. Dillon pulled the Toyota in between two trucks and switched off the engine. Hannah said, 'I'll go and see what's happening, I need the toilet anyway.' She got out and hurried away through the rain. 'A darling girl,' Devlin said. 'She saved my life once and took a bullet in the doing,' Dillon told him. 'Jesus,' Devlin said, 'a nice Jewish girl like that.' 'I remember what Ferguson told me she said once,' Dillon said. 'It was after she shot Norah Bell; the bitch had stabbed me in the back twice. She said I'm not a nice Jewish girl at all, I'm a very Old Testament Jewish girl.' Devlin laughed. 'God save us, if I wasn't seventy-five years of age I'd fall in love with her.' 'Seventy-five?' Dillon said. 'It's the great liar you are.' Hannah came back and leaned down. 'They look settled. I saw Barry give the waitress an order. Look, I'm thinking about what you said, Liam, about us standing out like a sore thumb whenever we get where we're going. That might apply to you more than me. I mean if it turns out to be Scotstown, for example, this Kevin Stringer would know you, Sean, even you, Liam.' 'He _could_ recognize me,' Devlin said. 'I was well known in these parts, mainly because I was born in County Down.' He grimaced. 'Sometimes it's hell being a living legend.' Hannah said, 'Not me. I'm just an English tourist, or I could be. That garage has a car hire sign. Pass me my shoulder bag and I'll go and see what I can get. If our friends leave before I'm ready, just go. I'll follow the coast road Drumdonald and Scotstown way. I'll find you.' Devlin handed her the bag. 'On your way, girl.' There was a mechanic working on a car in the garage, a small man in a tweed suit and cap sitting in a glass office. He got up and came out. 'Patrick Murphy,' he said. 'And what can I do for you, Miss?' 'I've been touring with some friends, but they're going back to Belfast. They dropped me here because someone in Warrenpoint said you hired cars.' 'I do indeed. How long would it be for?' 'Two or three days. I want to roam the Down coast. Just take time off. Can you help?' 'Well, it's not the fancy stuff I can manage, but I've a Renault saloon over here if you've nothing against the French.' 'Nothing at all.' She followed him across the garage and had a look. 'Newly checked and the tank is full,' he told her. 'Wonderful.' She embellished her story a little. 'When I come back, I'll be wanting to return to Belfast.' 'No problem. I run a taxi service. We'll take you to Warrenpoint. You can catch the train. Now, if you'll give me your licence, we'll get on with it. How would you be paying by the way?' She opened her purse, took out the licence and checked her cards. 'Would American Express be all right?' He smiled. 'Well, as they say on the television, that will do nicely.' She drove out of the garage as Barry and Sollazo walked towards the station wagon. She pulled in behind the Toyota and briefly punched the horn. Dillon turned, raised a hand and gestured her forward. She pulled out between the trucks as the station wagon turned into the road and followed it and the Toyota came on behind. Scotstown was desolate in the rain, thirty or forty houses, the jetty, a dozen or so fishing boats in the harbour all enveloped in a damp clinging mist. There was a wood at the top of the hill overlooking the village. Hannah pulled in at the side of the road, looking down, and saw the station wagon turn into the car park of the public house. The Toyota stopped behind her and Dillon and Devlin got out. 'A long time since I was here,' Dillon said, 'but I was right, though. That's The Loyalist down there and, if Kevin Stringer's still there, he's Jack Barry's man.' 'Let's take a look at the harbour.' Devlin raised the binoculars. 'Not much, just fishing boats. No, wait a minute. There's some sort of motor launch anchored out there. Thirty or forty-footer, painted grey. Looks like serious business to me. Take a look.' Dillon peered through the binoculars. 'You could be right.' 'I've got to be.' Hannah took the binoculars from Dillon and checked for herself. She nodded. 'I agree, Liam, but what this needs is a closer look. I'll go and play the tourist. I could do with a nice cup of tea and a sandwich anyway. I'll try The Loyalist.' 'While we starve?' Dillon said. 'That's just your bad luck, Dillon,' she told him, went to the Renault, got in and drove away. * * * In the back parlour of The Loyalist Kevin Stringer embraced Barry. 'Jack, I can't tell you how great it is to see you again.' 'And you, Kevin. This is my associate, Mr Sollazo from New York. You've found a boat?' 'Indeed I have. _Avenger,_ a motor launch a friend of mine up the coast bought for the shark fishing, only the sharks went away.' Sollazo laughed out loud. 'That I like.' 'How far would you be going?' Stringer asked. 'Rathlin Island,' Barry said. 'Does anyone live there these days?' 'Not in years.' 'How far?' 'Only three or four miles.' 'Good, we can take a look.' 'Fine,' Stringer said. 'But come and have a drink and something to eat.' 'So you're doing food these days?' Barry said. 'We all need to make a living, Jack, and times are changing with the peace process. Tourists flooding back, Americans like Mr Sollazo. I have seven rooms here. In the summer I was full most weeks. But come and eat. Best Irish stew in the country.' There were a few regulars in the bar having a drink. Barry and Sollazo sat at the table in the bow window, ate rabbit pie and drank Guinness. On the other side of the bar, Hannah Bernstein did a good nervous act to the barman. 'Could I just have sandwiches?' Kevin Stringer moved in fast and smiled, at his most expansive. 'Anything you'd like.' 'Well, salad would be fine,' she said. 'No problem. Touring are you?' 'That's right.' 'And to drink?' 'A vodka and tonic would be nice.' 'Coming up. Just you sit yourself down.' There were some newspapers on a stand by the door. She took one and sat at a table at the far end of the room from the window. Barry had his back to her so it was Sollazo who noticed. Very nice, he thought. It was a strange quirk, but he'd always liked women who wore glasses. An hour later, Sollazo, Barry and Stringer went down to the harbour. Stringer led the way to the slipway and a green inflatable with an outboard motor. 'Here we go,' he said. Sollazo and Barry climbed in, Stringer followed and cast off. He started the outboard and they moved away. Hannah, wandering down from the pub, watched them go. * * * From the hill, Devlin followed their progress through the binoculars. 'I was right,' he said with some satisfaction. 'They're closing on the boat that looked promising.' He nodded. 'Now they're boarding. Have a look.' Dillon did, watching them board, then swung to the jetty and focused on Hannah Bernstein. 'Take care, girl dear, take care,' he said softly. On board _Avenger,_ Barry and Sollazo followed Stringer as he showed them around. 'One cabin, two bunks, the saloon with benches that allow for another two bunks, galley, toilet and that's it.' They ended up in the wheelhouse. Sollazo said, 'It seems as if it's seen better days.' 'Top show isn't everything. It looks shabby, but the hull is steel and by Akerboon. Penta petrol engine, twin screws. Good for twenty-five knots. She's got a depth sounder, radar, automatic steering. Everything you need.' Barry turned to Sollazo. 'Are you happy?' 'Sounds good to me.' Barry nodded and said to Stringer. 'Fine, Kevin. We'll unload the station wagon in your garage. You put the stuff on board later. We'll return to Dublin. We'll be back before noon tomorrow to put to sea.' 'That's fine, Jack.' They went to the rail and Sollazo dropped into the inflatable. Stringer said eagerly, 'It's important is it, Jack? I mean for the Movement? The great days back?' 'I know what you mean, Kevin,' Barry said. 'To hell with peace.' Hannah pulled in beside the Toyota at the top of the hill and got out. 'They came back from the boat and went to the pub.' Dillon had the binoculars raised. 'The station wagon's just leaving. No matter, only one road they can go. We'll catch them.' 'So, if they're leaving they'll be coming back,' Devlin said. 'And I think I should be here to receive them,' Hannah said. 'Have you got a bag of any description in your car, Liam?' 'As a matter of fact I do.' Devlin opened the boot of the Toyota and produced a large holdall. 'Empty, I'm afraid.' 'That doesn't matter. I'll book into The Loyalist and play the tourist. They'll be back.' 'And we with them,' Dillon said. Devlin put his hands on her shoulders. 'Take care. We'd hate to lose you.' 'Don't worry.' She raised her shoulder bag. 'I'm carrying.' 'Hannah, you're the wonder of the world.' Dillon kissed her on both cheeks and then softly on the mouth. Her eyes widened. 'Damn you, Dillon, that was a first,' and she got into the Renault and drove away. Ten minutes later and a delighted Kevin Stringer was showing her a bedroom with a view of the harbour. 'And how long would you be staying?' he asked. 'Two nights, possibly three. I'm just touring. Down from Belfast.' 'A great city. We don't have _en suite_ facilities, but the bathroom and the necessary is just next door.' 'Wonderful.' 'I'll see you later. Dinner at seven if you like,' and he went out. Dillon caught up with the station wagon within fifteen minutes and settled back. 'What do you think they're up to?' 'This was just a preliminary sortie to check the boat. They've probably dropped off the diving equipment. It's back to Ballyburn now. They'll return, maybe tomorrow, with the others.' 'And up we come again and what then?' Dillon asked. 'That's up to you and that young woman back there. She has the police authority, Sean. Scotstown is in Ulster and that's part of the United Kingdom. It's up to you and Ferguson.' Devlin leaned back. 'Maybe a little gunplay, who knows, but not as far as I'm concerned. I'm getting too old, Sean. The trigger finger isn't what it was. I'd let you down.' 'Cobblers,' Dillon said. 'I've done my bit. Good luck and God bless you, but count me out.' It was almost four o'clock and at Victoria Farm Kathleen was in the kitchen boiling the kettle. Ryan sat at the table and Mori was in the sitting room. She glanced at her watch. 'They're due back in an hour. If we're going to do it it should be now.' 'If you think it will work,' Ryan said. 'Look, Uncle Michael.' She held up the pill bottle. 'Three Dazane pills will bring on your angina symptoms. The effect will really start showing by the time Barry and Sollazo are back. Jack Barry isn't going to just let you lie there and die, he's not the kind.' 'You mean you hope he isn't?' 'Look, even if they did nothing, Dr Sieed told me the symptoms wear off in a couple of days. On the other hand, if Barry listens to me and takes you to a hospital, that'll be our chance.' He sat there looking at her and then laughed. 'Oh, what the hell, what have we got to lose?' She opened the bottle, put three pills in her palm, got a glass of water and went back to him. 'There you go then, Uncle Michael.' Ryan's symptoms first became apparent within half an hour. He stayed there at the kitchen table, head in his hands and then he started to sweat. Fifteen minutes later the trembling started. Kathleen called, 'Mori, get in here.' The Sicilian appeared on the instant. 'What is it?' 'He's having an angina attack. He's had them before. Get him into the sitting room on the sofa.' Mori pulled Ryan up and got an arm round him. They went out of the kitchen together and along the hall to the sitting room. Kathleen followed with a glass of water. Ryan looked terrible, his face grey and for the first time she felt doubt. 'Uncle Michael, drink this.' She put the water to his lips and at that moment he started to shake terribly. This was more, much more than she had expected and at that moment Barry came in the room, Sollazo at his back. 'For God's sake, what is it?' 'He's having another angina attack,' she said. 'He needs a hospital.' 'Don't be stupid.' Sollazo turned to Barry. 'Hospital is out.' Barry knelt down and put a hand on Ryan's forehead. 'He's in a bad way.' He stood up and said to Mori. 'Get him in the station wagon.' He turned to Sollazo. 'It's all right. There's a nursing home just outside Dublin we've been using for years. Decent doctors, good facilities. We'll take him there. Twenty-five minutes.' Standing beside the Toyota observing the farmhouse through the binoculars Devlin said, 'There's something up. Sollazo and the Mori fella have just brought Ryan out of the house. They're putting him into the station wagon. They looked as if they were supporting him.' 'Let me look.' Dillon took the binoculars. 'They're all getting in, Barry and Kathleen too. Let's get ready to move.' He slid behind the wheel and Devlin got in on the other side. A few moments later the station wagon turned into the road and Dillon followed. There was a telephone box in the village, but it was out of order. Hannah needed to speak to Ferguson – had to take a chance. She returned to The Loyalist and went up to her room. There was the usual system where she punched nine to get an outside line and she dialled Ferguson's direct line at the Ministry of Defence. It was bad luck that Kevin Stringer was sitting at his desk in the office doing accounts and was intrigued by the sound of the rather long series of numbers clicking through. He reached for the main switchboard phone and lifted it gently. 'Brigadier Ferguson, Chief Inspector Bernstein.' A little later Stringer heard a voice say, 'Ferguson here. What's happening, Chief Inspector?' 'I'm staying at The Loyalist in Scotstown, sir, on the Down coast. We followed them up here, Barry and Sollazo. They have a boat in the harbour and brought a load of diving gear. They've gone back to Barry's place outside Dublin, that's where the Ryans are. Dillon and Devlin are in hot pursuit.' 'You expect them to return?' 'Probably tomorrow. I'm staying on as an English tourist, lone female variety.' 'Well, for God's sake watch yourself.' 'Don't I always?' She put the phone down. In the office Stringer sat thinking about it then he rang Barry's phone number at Ballyburn. There was no reply. He sat there thinking about it some more and finally opened his desk drawer and took out a Browning automatic. Hannah, sitting at the dressing table, was aware of a slight noise and turned to find the door open, Stringer standing there, the Browning in his hand. 'Chief Inspector, is it? So what's your game, lady?' Chapter 14 The sign at the entrance to the drive said, Roselea Nursing Home. The station wagon turned in through the gates and Dillon in the Toyota stopped on the other side of the road. 'What in the hell is going on?' 'I'm not sure,' Devlin said, 'but my impression is something nobody counted on.' In the reception area, they sat waiting, Mori, Sollazo, Barry and Kathleen. She was in a bad way and Barry had an arm round her. 'Don't worry, it'll be fine. The guy who runs this place, Dr Ali Hassan, is a brilliant doctor.' He tried to make a joke. 'An Egyptian Irishman. He's patched up more bullet holes in more members of the IRA in the last twenty years than most doctors have had hot dinners.' 'It's my fault,' she said. 'You don't understand.' 'Don't be crazy, girl, your uncle has a history of heart trouble, you know that as well as I do.' Hassan, a small brown-skinned Arab in a white coat, a stethoscope around his neck appeared. 'How is he?' Barry demanded. 'Not good, not good at all.' Hassan turned to Kathleen. 'Your uncle has a history of angina? That's what he told me?' 'Yes.' 'But this attack is most extreme. I don't understand. What is his medication?' 'Dazane.' 'Good God, there's no chance he has overdosed?' She stared at him, her face bone white. He said urgently. 'Could he have overdosed?' She nodded slowly. 'He took three of the pills at four o'clock.' 'Oh, my God.' Hassan turned and ran along the corridor. Kathleen went after him and Barry and Sollazo followed, leaving Mori in reception. Ryan lay twitching on the bed in intensive care while Hassan and a male nurse worked on him. Kathleen, Barry and Sollazo peered in through the window and Barry held the girl tight. Suddenly, Ryan gave a terrible gurgle and reared up on the bed and then he relaxed, all life draining out of him. Hassan came out. 'I'm afraid he has gone.' Kathleen struck out at him. 'He can't have. It's not possible.' Barry restrained her. 'Hold on, girl, it's not your fault.' 'But it is,' she said. 'I'm a trained nurse, I'm supposed to know these things. I checked at my old hospital at Green Rapids. The doctor told me three Dazane would give him an angina attack, but not more than a couple of bad days. It was our way out, don't you see? You'd have to take him to hospital and we'd have a chance to get free.' She broke down entirely. Barry handed her over to Sollazo. 'Take her to the station wagon. I'll handle things here.' Sollazo took her out and Barry turned to Hassan. 'You've been a good friend to the IRA, Ali, and we appreciate it, so this is another special one.' 'I understand, Jack.' 'You get him up to the crematorium tonight and put him through the ovens. No name, no certificate.' 'Whatever you say.' 'Good man yourself,' Barry said, turned and went out. Dillon and Devlin sitting in the Toyota watched the station wagon drive away. Dillon said, 'Only the three of them and the girl and no Ryan. What goes on?' 'I know this place,' Devlin told him. 'An IRA safe house. It's run by a damn good surgeon, an Egyptian named Ali Hassan. Maybe we should pay him a visit?' Ali Hassan, sitting in his office, only a desk light on, was aware of the door opening and glanced up to see Devlin, Dillon behind him. Devlin said. 'Remember me? Liam Devlin. You took a bullet out of me eighteen years ago.' 'Oh, my God, Mr Devlin,' Hassan said. 'And this is a friend of mine, Sean Dillon, who's done as much for the cause as I have.' 'Mr Dillon,' Hassan said uncertainly. 'A few people we know were in earlier propping up a Mr Ryan between them,' Dillon said. 'They left without him. Why would that be?' 'I think you must be mistaken,' Hassan said desperately. Dillon produced his Walther. 'Well, this doesn't agree with you so think again.' Which Ali Hassan did and told them all. At Victoria Farm, Kathleen was in the bedroom, still weeping. Barry, Sollazo and Mori were in the sitting room drinking whiskey when the phone rang. Stringer said, 'Thank God you're there, Jack. Something's come up.' He started to talk. When he was finished Barry said, 'Hold her tight, Kevin, we're on our way. We'll leave now.' 'I will, Jack.' Barry put down the phone and turned to Sollazo. 'Do you recall a woman in glasses having lunch in The Loyalist today?' 'Sure,' Sollazo said. 'Good-looking lady in an Armani trouser suit.' 'She's not only a Detective Chief Inspector, she also works for Brigadier Charles Ferguson, the Prime Minister's special intelligence expert and guess who his trouble shooter is – Sean Dillon.' 'Christ!' Sollazo said. 'What do we do?' 'We get the hell out of here now. Don't ask me what's going on because I don't know, but we leave now for Scotstown and we check _Irish Rose_ out tomorrow morning.' Barry turned to Mori. 'Get the girl.' Mori glanced at his boss and Sollazo nodded. 'Do as he says.' Devlin and Dillon sitting in the Toyota watched the station wagon leave. 'There you go,' Devlin said, 'hot for Scotstown. I should imagine Ryan's unfortunate demise has brought things forward.' 'We'd better get going then,' Dillon said. 'No rush, Sean, we'll go to my cottage first. After all, you know where they're going.' At Kilrea Cottage, Devlin sat by the fire with a Bushmills in his hand. Dillon bustled in, his Walther in one hand, his spare in the ankle holster in the other. He pulled up his trouser, put his foot on a chair and fastened the ankle holster. He slipped the other Walther in his waistband against the small of his back. Devlin said, 'I always favoured a Walther myself, Sean, there's one in the desk drawer. Get it out.' Dillon did as he was told. 'Now put it in your pocket.' 'But why?' Dillon said. 'Sean, lad, I'm too old. I'd only be a hindrance if the bullets start flying, so you're on your own now. Only one thing I can do, which is offer sound advice. You've a gun in your pocket. In a search Barry would find that easy enough. Then he'd check your back because he knows you favour that position. He'll find the other Walther. That should satisfy him, give you a chance of getting away with the ankle gun.' Devlin smiled. 'I mean this is all supposition. Maybe Barry won't have the chance of turning you over, but who knows?' 'God bless you, Liam, you're the best,' Dillon said. 'Give them hell, Sean,' Liam Devlin said. 'Now get on with you. I'll phone Ferguson and bring him up to date.' It was four o'clock in the morning and Hannah Bernstein was sleeping fitfully on the sofa in the small parlour at the back of The Loyalist. There were security bars on the window and Stringer had locked her in. She came awake to the sound of a vehicle drawing up in the yard. She sat up and listened to the sound of voices. After a while, the door opened and Stringer led the way in. They were all there, Barry, Sollazo, Mori and Kathleen, who looked pale and subdued from much weeping. Stringer took Hannah's Walther from his pocket and gave it to Barry. 'This was in her shoulder bag.' Barry weighed it in his hand then put it in his pocket. 'So, Chief Inspector Hannah Bernstein and you work for that old dog, Charlie Ferguson?' 'If you say so.' 'Oh, but I do. Careless of you making a telephone call like that with a nosey one like Kevin in the office to listen in.' 'We all make mistakes.' 'You mentioned Devlin and Sean Dillon? We can expect them nosing around, can we?' 'Look, Mr Barry, it's over, can't you see that? American Intelligence is on to Mr Sollazo here and at a White House level.' 'That's a lie,' Sollazo said. 'They can't be.' 'They know everything. How do you think Brigadier Ferguson came into the picture?' She shook her head. 'There's no way either the White House or Downing Street will stand by and see that bullion fall into the wrong hands. You see, Mr Barry, Sollazo is in this for greed, but not you. With those kind of resources, the Provisional IRA could keep going for ever if it needed to.' 'Shoot the bitch,' Kathleen Ryan said dully. 'I can take care of it,' Mori said. Barry shook his head. 'She could still be useful as some kind of hostage.' He shook his head. 'Fancy that old fox Liam Devlin making a fool of me, but why? Why Liam?' 'Peace, Mr Barry, it's very fashionable these days,' Hannah told him, 'and most people want it.' 'To hell with polite conversation,' Sollazo said. 'What happens now?' 'Maybe we should get the hell out of here while we can,' Mori said. Barry shook his head. 'My hunch is that Ferguson sent the Chief Inspector here and Dillon on a fishing expedition with Devlin supplying the local expertise. No Garda, no RUC, not at this stage. All they wanted was to know where the _Irish Rose_ is lying. Once Ferguson knows that then it would be a job for a Royal Navy salvage team.' 'We've had it anyway,' Sollazo said bitterly. 'They know where we are.' 'Yes, but they still don't know where the _Irish Rose_ is. I say we go out at dawn and make the dive anyway. Dammit man, if that gold is reachable we could raise a few bars and be on our way. A million – two million for a morning's work.' And suddenly Sollazo smiled. 'What the hell, why not? I've been taking chances all my life. Too late to stop now, but what about Dillon and this guy Devlin?' 'Liam Devlin was the best in the business once, but he's eighty-five years of age. Dillon's the hard man.' 'Not to me he isn't,' Mori said. 'Well, it would make an interesting encounter, but no need. The Chief Inspector makes a very satisfactory hostage if Dillon and Devlin turn up.' He turned to Stringer. 'Right, Kevin, an early breakfast and we'll leave at dawn. You'll hold the fort here?' Ferguson on his secure line finished talking to Blake Johnson. The American said, 'What happens now that Ryan is dead? Would you say the location has died with him?' 'Definitely not otherwise why would they have returned to Scotstown? My Chief Inspector, as I told you, is there undercover, Dillon in hot pursuit. A man of infinite resource and guile. He'll sort it out, he always does. He'll find out where that damn boat is.' 'And then?' 'Job for the Royal Navy's salvage section. Something nice and discreet. Make it look like an exercise.' He laughed. 'One thing is certain. There's no way our friends can mount a proper salvage operation on that boat, not now.' 'The President will be pleased to hear that.' 'And so will the Prime Minister when I tell him in the morning. I'll keep you up to date on future developments, naturally.' 'I'd appreciate that, Brigadier.' Ferguson, sitting by the fire at his flat, put the phone down and went to the drinks cabinet and poured a large whisky. 'Come on, Dillon,' he said softly, 'sort the buggers out.' Dillon at that moment was on the hill outside the village, the Toyota parked in the shelter of the wood. He scanned the front of The Loyalist with his binoculars then had a look at the _Avenger_ at anchor out there in the harbour. 'And where will you be, Hannah my love. Still in bed at this time in the morning, I shouldn't wonder,' he said softly. Dawn was coming up fast now and the morning was grey and grim, the damp clinging mist shrouding everything and rain fell relentlessly. He lit a cigarette and wondered how he was going to play it and then the front door of The Loyalist opened and they all came out, Jack Barry, Kathleen, Sollazo and Mori with Hannah Bernstein between them. Stringer stood in the doorway talking to Barry then went inside. 'Sweet mother of God!' Dillon said and followed them with his binoculars as they walked down the slipway and got into the green inflatable and cast off. The outboard hammered into life and they moved away. Dillon got into the Toyota and started the engine. Kevin Stringer, making another pot of tea in the kitchen, was aware of a slight creaking as the back door opened. He turned and Dillon smiled at him. 'Dear God, it's you, Sean,' and Stringer's throat went dry. 'A long time, Kevin. So what's been happening here?' 'What do you mean?' Dillon took the Walther from his pocket. 'This thing makes hardly a sound and you know me. I'll put you on sticks, so tell me.' 'Please, Sean, I'm only a middle man on this. I listened in when the woman was on the phone. She identified herself as a Chief Inspector and spoke to a Brigadier Ferguson. Mentioned you and Liam Devlin.' 'So, as they say in bad movies, all is revealed.' 'Michael Ryan's dead,' Stringer said. 'A heart attack.' 'I know that,' Dillon said. 'I know everything. So they're going out to _Irish Rose_?' 'That's right.' 'And the Chief Inspector?' 'Jack said she'd be a useful hostage if you turned up. The Ryan girl wanted to kill her. So did that bastard Mori.' 'Is that a fact? Well we can't have that so let's get down to the jetty fast before they leave.' On the _Avenger_ Barry was at the wheel, the two women sitting on the bench beside him. Sollazo was on the stern deck with Mori and starting to raise the anchor when Stringer's voice boomed across the water. 'Jack, Dillon's here.' 'Jesus, Joseph and Mary!' Jack Barry said and switched off the engine. He went out on deck and Sollazo and Mori joined him at the rail. 'Is that him?' 'As ever was.' He raised his voice. 'Is it yourself, Sean?' 'And who else?' Dillon called back. 'Let's talk.' 'I'll be over.' Barry turned to Mori. 'Pull the inflatable in.' He shook his head. 'The mad bastard.' 'You sound as if you like him,' Sollazo said. 'He was like a son to me. The great days we knew together in Derry in the old days leading British paratroopers a fine old dance.' Mori shaded his eyes with a hand. 'He doesn't look much to me.' Barry dropped into the inflatable and looked up. 'On his worst day and your best he'd put you away without even thinking about it.' He cast off and started the outboard. Dillon lit a cigarette as the inflatable coasted in. 'You're looking good, Jack, the years have been kind.' 'Kinder still on you, you young bastard. Where's Liam Devlin?' 'Back in Kilrea. Eighty-five is a little old for gunplay.' 'The best of men in his day.' 'So here we are,' Dillon said. 'And what's to be done? You've had it, Jack, no point to it any more.' 'Not quite true, Sean. If we find the wreck, which we will, and the gold bars waiting . . .' He shrugged. 'A hard morning's work could net one million, perhaps two. Not to be sniffed at.' 'Ah, you were always the practical man,' Dillon said. 'Is Hannah Bernstein well?' 'Oh, yes. I like that one, a lady of parts.' 'And then some. Let her go. Take me.' 'And why should I?' 'Oh, I've been honing my talents since the old days. I can fly a plane, Jack, but I'm also the best damn diver you ever saw. I even blew up PLO boats in Beirut harbour for the Israelis.' 'You little rascal.' Barry laughed. 'No, Sean, she's too valuable to hand over just yet, too useful.' 'God help us then I'll just have to come along for the ride.' 'A nice thought, but let's check you out first.' Barry prodded his Browning. 'Check his pockets, Kevin.' Stringer did as he was told and found the Walther. 'Satisfied?' Dillon asked. 'When was I ever?' Barry smiled. 'Under his jacket and against his back, Kevin, he always favoured that position.' Stringer found the second Walther. 'You're right, Jack,' and he handed it over. 'I usually am,' Barry told him. 'You hold the fort, Kevin.' He smiled up at Dillon. 'In you get, Sean. I think I'll put you to work.' Dillon went over the rail first and Barry handed the line to Mori and followed. The two women came out of the wheelhouse. Dillon said to Hannah, 'Are you all right, girl dear?' 'I'm fine.' Dillon glanced at Mori. 'Christ, but he looks as if he just learned to walk erect this morning. If he gives you any trouble let me know and I'll select two items on his person and break them.' Mori erupted, but Sollazo got in between. 'Leave it, Giovanni.' He turned to Barry. 'Have you checked him out?' 'A Walther in his pocket and another in the back of his pants. A good job I remembered that, but I've got good news for you. Sean here is a Master diver. I mean, he's made money out of blowing things up. Don't you think we should put him to work?' Sollazo smiled. 'Why, that really makes my morning.' 'Good, then let's have the anchor up.' Kathleen Ryan had stood there staring at him and now she moved forward, a strange, dazed look on her face. 'Martin, it is you, isn't it?' There was something strange here, something not right. Dillon said gently. 'As ever was, Kate, I'm sorry about Michael.' 'I killed him,' she said. 'I persuaded him to overdose on his pills. Dr Sieed said it would be all right, that he'd just have an angina attack.' She ran a hand over her face. 'He died, Martin, and I killed him. Isn't that the terrible thing?' It was Hannah who put an arm round her. 'Come on, love, let's go down to the cabin,' and she led her away. The engines rumbled into life as Barry took _Avenger_ out to sea. Mori said. 'That's all we need, a crazy woman.' Dillon said. 'Tell me, son, do you work at being a shite or does it just come naturally?' and he turned and went and joined Barry in the wheelhouse. To get the Walther from his ankle holster and to kill Barry, Mori and Sollazo in seconds was not impossible, but it required the right moment and the fact that Hannah came up on deck didn't help. Dillon smiled out at her as she stood under the deck canopy shielded from the rain. He said to Barry, 'The great pity we end up dealing with scum, Jack.' 'I know, son, but one thing hasn't changed. Anything I get out of this goes to the organization we both served for so many years. Money for arms.' 'Times have changed, Jack.' 'We can't be sure.' Dillon sighed. 'All right, you'd better fill me in. Where are we going?' 'Just off Rathlin Island.' 'And the Master Navigator will home in on the position?' Barry looked startled. 'Is there nothing you don't know?' 'We've really been on your case Jack, thanks to Liam. Anyway, how deep will she be?' 'Well, off Rathlin Island, according to Admiralty charts, anything between ninety and one hundred and twenty feet.' 'That's not bad, not if you allow for the size of the vessel. Mind you it's how she's lying that matters.' Sollazo joined them. 'How much further?' 'Half a mile,' Barry said. 'I'm turning the Navigator on now.' He handed it to Sollazo. There was a monotonous pinging at regular intervals. 'Hey, it's working,' Sollazo said. 'The closer we get, the more urgent the sound and when we reach the final position the pinging becomes continuous.' 'Let's keep our fingers crossed.' Sollazo gave it back to him and turned to Dillon. 'I was going to dive with Mori, but as you're supposed to be such hot stuff –' He shrugged. 'You'd better come and check the gear.' 'My pleasure,' Dillon said and followed him out. Rathlin Island loomed out of the mist and Barry reduced power as they coasted onward through water which was extraordinarily calm. The pinging on the Master Navigator had increased in urgency and suddenly it changed into a long, single high-pitched shriek. 'That's it,' Barry called. 'Get the anchor over.' Mori and Sollazo hurried to comply. Kathleen was at the port rail and for a moment Dillon was at Hannah's shoulder. 'I'm carrying,' he whispered. 'Barry found two, but Devlin, the old fox, gave me a third. Ankle holster.' 'Careful,' she said. 'Not now. It could be a blood bath.' 'Not to worry, girl dear, I'd like to go down and take a look at an old friend, so to speak.' The anchor rattled down, the _Avenger_ stopped dead. There was silence then Barry came out of the wheelhouse. 'There you go, so let's get on with it.' Sollazo turned to Dillon. 'Let's get ready. I'll go first.' And he went down to the saloon. When he came back on deck he was wearing one of the diving suits and a weight belt and buoyancy jacket. 'Your turn,' he said to Dillon. Dillon went down the companionway to the saloon and undressed to his underpants, unstrap-ping the ankle holster. There was a cupboard marked Emergency Flares. He opened it and slipped the Walther inside. As he reached for the diving suit there was a step on the companionway and Sollazo looked in. 'Come on, let's get moving.' Dillon dragged on the suit awkwardly and the cowl over his head. He pulled on the socks then picked up the other weight belt and fastened it around his waist with the velcro tabs. Then he reached for the diver's knife in the sheath. Sollazo said, 'Leave it. You're the last man in the world I want to see with a lethal weapon.' 'Suit yourself.' Dillon picked up his inflatable then took the other Orca computer and went up on deck to where the others waited, sheltering from the rain under the deck awning. Sollazo followed him. 'I've been thinking,' he said. 'We've got to husband ourselves. We can only spend so much time down there, you know that, even less it it's lying at a hundred and twenty. You go first, Dillon, and see what you find.' It made sense and Dillon smiled. 'My pleasure.' With a skill born of long practice he lifted the inflatable and tank over his head, inserted his arms and strapped the velcro tabs across his chest. He sat down to put his fins on and took the Halogen lamp Mori passed to him, looping its cord round his left wrist. He leaned over the rail to swill out his mask then pulled it down and turned, sitting on the rail. He raised a thumb. 'We who are about to die salute you, and all that old Roman rubbish,' he said, put his mouthpiece in, checked that the air was flowing and went over backwards. He passed under the keel, found the anchor line and started down, pausing at fifteen feet to equalize the pressure in his ears. The water was extraordinarily clear yet strangely dark and he pulled himself down the anchor line, checking his Orca computer. Thirty, forty then sixty feet and there it was looking out of the gloom, tilted to one side, quite visible even without the lamp being turned on. He was at ninety feet and the ship lay on a smooth sandy bottom that sloped downwards. Here and there great fronds of seaweed undulated backwards and forwards in the current. Dillon closed in on the prow and switched on his Halogen lamp and there it was clearly visible in spite of being encrusted in barnacles, the ship's name, _Irish Rose,_ and this was special because he'd been part of what had happened here. He moved towards the stern, torn apart by the force of the explosion, and there was the truck to one side of the ship. Obviously the explosion had torn it free from the deck clamps and, incredibly, it had settled upright on all six wheels. Dillon moved to the rear, raised the door clamp and pulled. It refused to budge. He tried again, but got the same result. No point in wasting precious time at that depth so he made for the surface. He went up the small side ladder to the deck, pushed up his mask and spat out his mouthpiece. They all stood waiting. 'For Christ's sake, Sean, tell us the worst,' Barry pleaded. 'Oh, it's there,' Dillon said, 'and at ninety feet, which is useful. Gives more bottom time.' 'And the truck?' Sollazo demanded. 'That's there too. It obviously became detached from the deck in the explosion and it's standing upright beside the ship.' 'Marvellous,' Sollazo said. 'Only one thing I don't understand. When we grabbed the truck we used an electronic device called a Howler that screwed up the security system so everything unlocked.' 'So?' Sollazo said. 'I couldn't open the rear door.' 'So the electronics got shook up in the explosion,' Sollazo told him, 'or maybe the door jammed. We've got Semtex and pencil timers. Go down and blow it.' 'Yes, o master,' Dillon said. 'Just get me the necessary.' Barry crouched beside him with a Semtex block. 'Here you go, Sean, and a three-minute pencil timer.' 'Czechoslovakia's contribution to world culture,' Dillon said. 'Can you manage?' 'Can a fish swim?' Hannah called, 'Take care, Sean.' 'Don't I always?' He pulled down his mask, sat on the rail and went over. He hauled himself down the anchor line again, the quickest route, made for the truck and floated there, working the plastic block of Semtex around the door clamp. Then he broke the timer pencil. There was a gently fizzing and he turned and made for the surface. Barry reached a hand down to help him up the ladder. Dillon sat down and the others moved to the rail. After a while, the sea boiled, turning over angrily and a number of dead fish surfaced. Soon it was still again. Dillon grinned up at Sollazo. 'Don't tell me, down I go again.' The truck had moved to one side but was still upright and the rear doors had been blasted apart, one hanging on the hinges, the other lying some distance away where it had been thrown. Sand hovered in clouds. Dillon approached and switched on the Halogen light and experienced a considerable shock. The truck was empty. He hung at the bottom of the ladder, took out his mouthpiece and looked up as they all leaned over the rail. 'You're not going to like this one little bit, Jack,' Dillon said, 'but there's nothing there.' 'What do you mean there's nothing there?' Barry demanded. 'I mean the truck's empty.' 'It can't be empty,' Barry said. 'You told me you looked in the back when you knocked it off on that road. It was there then.' 'Yes it was,' Dillon said. 'But it isn't now.' Kathleen Ryan's face was burning, her eyes dark holes. 'Someone must have been here before.' 'Not possible,' Dillon said. 'The door was fast and no sign of blasting.' 'Mori, help me,' Sollazo said and reached for his inflatable and tank. 'You're going down again, Dillon, and I'm going with you. I think you're lying.' 'Suit yourself,' Dillon told him and went under again, starting down the anchor line. He hovered beside the wreckage of the stern of the _Irish Rose_ , hanging on to a rail, and Sollazo drifted down to join him. He poised there, then swam towards the truck. Dillon went after him. Sollazo hung on the edge of the door and peered inside. He turned once to glance at Dillon, his face clear, then turned to the dark interior again. Dillon came up behind him, pulled the diver's knife from Sollazo's leg sheath, reached over and sliced open his air hose. Bubbles spiralled at once, Sollazo swung round, eyes staring. His hands went to his throat and he started to rise. Dillon grabbed for an ankle and pulled him down. The kicking stopped surprisingly quickly and, finally, he hung there, arms outstretched. Dillon pulled off the mask and Sollazo stared right through him, straight to eternity. The Irishman took him by the hand and started up. It was Kathleen Ryan who saw Sollazo's body first as he surfaced to starboard. 'Would you look at that,' she said. Hannah joined her at the rail. 'Oh, my God.' Barry and Mori hurried over. The Sicilian, without hesitation, pulled off his jacket and shoes, jumped over the rail and swam to Sollazo. He got an arm around him, paused and turned and looked up. 'He's dead.' Dillon had released the body at ten feet and swam under the rail to the port side. He surfaced, unfastened his inflatable and tank and let them go, pulled off his mask and fins and peered cautiously on deck. Barry, Kathleen and Hannah were at the rail and he could hear Mori calling. 'Throw me a line.' Dillon hauled himself over the rail and slipped down the companionway to the saloon. He got the Emergency Flares cupboard open, found the Walther and went back up. Barry was standing at one side of Hannah and Kathleen engaged in unfastening a lifebelt. As he threw it over Dillon said, 'Easy does it, Jack.' He stood in the entrance to the companionway, a supremely menacing figure in the black diving suit, the Walther in his right hand. 'Get over here, Hannah.' She did so. Barry still leaned over the rail, glancing back over his shoulder. 'Still the eighth wonder of the world, aren't you, Sean?' 'Don't do it, Jack,' Dillon said gently. But Barry did, half-turning, Browning in hand and Dillon shot him twice in the heart. Barry was hurled against the rail, the Browning skidding across the deck, and he toppled over into the sea. Dillon ran to the rail, Walther extended. Mori stared up at him, an arm around Sollazo, and Dillon took deliberate aim and shot him between the eyes. There was silence, only seagulls calling, whirling above them in the mist. Dillon sat down against the rail. 'Jesus, but I could do with a cigarette.' Hannah went down on one knee beside him. 'Are you all right, Sean?' Kathleen Ryan said, her voice strangely dead. 'Martin, push the Walther over this way.' Dillon had put it on the deck beside him. He looked up and Hannah turned and there she was, Barry's Browning in one hand. The look on her face was that of the truly mad. 'Not there, Martin, not there in the first place. The cunning old bastard, my uncle. Only told me the other day, but clever, you must agree. It's there waiting for me and I'll fly in out of the sea to get it. Soon now, Martin, soon.' 'I know, Kate, I know.' 'Wouldn't hurt you, Martin, my lovely Martin, so down you go the both of you.' 'I think we'd better,' Hannah murmured. 'Anything you say, Kate.' Dillon smiled, stood up and kicked the Walther across. Hannah went down the companionway and Dillon followed. 'Close the door,' Kathleen called. He did as he was told, was aware of her footsteps on the companionway, the key turning in the door. It was only two or three minutes later that they heard the outboard motor start up. 'What do we do?' Hannah asked. 'Simple,' Dillon told her, 'now that she's gone. These things have a forward deck hatch, always do. I'll be back in a minute.' He went out into the galley and saw the hatch at once above his head, stood on a stool, unclipped it and pulled himself through. A moment later, Hannah heard him on the companionway and the door opened. She followed him out on deck and they saw the green inflatable disappearing into the mist. Dillon went into the wheelhouse and switched on the engines. He turned back towards Scotstown. 'Here, you take the wheel and I'll go and change.' When he returned, Hannah said, 'She's crazy, Sean, over the edge.' 'She always was a bit that way,' Dillon said. 'Something there, something really heavy, and I never knew what. Now she thinks she killed her uncle. By the way, is that Jack Barry's raincoat on the peg there? If so, I might just find those two Walthers he took off me.' He searched the pockets and turned. 'There you are, one for you and one for me. I'll take the wheel.' 'What did she mean that the gold wasn't there in the first place?' 'Remember I told you I felt there was something wrong when I went through the files and the newspaper clippings.' 'Yes.' 'Now I know what it was. Michael Ryan had a replica truck at Folly's End and Benny was to dump it on the coast road to put the police off for a while.' 'So?' 'It didn't strike me at first, but there wasn't a single mention of that truck in any police report or newspaper file. Now why would that be?' 'Oh, my God!' Hannah said. 'Exactly. After the robbery I took off for the _Irish Rose_ on the motorcycle with Kathleen. Michael followed in the truck, only he was late. Told us the automatic clutch was giving trouble.' 'Which it wasn't.' 'Of course not. He was late because he called at Folly's End and switched trucks. The bullion never went down with the _Irish Rose_ because it was never on board. It's locked away in that hidey hole at the back of the barn at the farm, at Folly's End. Isn't that the biggest laugh you've had in years?' THE LAKE DISTRICT 1995 Chapter 15 Kathleen Ryan coasted in out of the mist and grounded on the slipway beside the jetty. She didn't bother tying up, simply left the inflatable where it was and went up to the quayside and crossed to The Loyalist. She went round to the yard at the rear and found Barry's station wagon. When she tried the door it was locked. She stood there thinking about it. She had to get out of it, had to keep moving, so she crossed to the back door. Kevin Stringer sat at the table drinking tea and reading yesterday's newspaper. He looked up in surprise. 'What are you doing here?' 'Jack Barry's keys for the station wagon, where are they?' 'On the sideboard.' She reached for them and put them in her pocket. 'I need my shoulder bag. I left it in the bedroom. I'll go and fetch it then I'll be off.' She went out and left Stringer there, very disturbed. It was quiet, no staff due in for a couple of hours, and for some reason he knew fear. He heard her coming down the stairs and she came in. She'd got rid of the reefer coat she'd worn on the boat, was wearing a long raincoat and her old black beret. The bag hung from her left shoulder. 'Do you know where Ladytown is?' 'It's on the far side of Newcastle on Dundrum Bay. You just follow the coast road.' 'How far?' 'Twenty miles.' 'Good, I'll be away then.' It was noticeable that the American accent had disappeared and now she had reverted to the hard Belfast accent of her youth. Stringer got up and moved to block her way. 'What the hell is going on? Where's Jack?' 'Dead. Martin killed him – Martin Keogh – and he killed Sollazo and the other fella. He's still on the boat with that woman. I locked them in the cabin and came back in the inflatable.' Her voice was flat and monotonous and Stringer felt strangely light-headed. 'Not Keogh – Dillon. Have you lost your wits, girl? They can't all be dead, not all three.' 'Oh, yes they are. Anyway, I'll be off.' 'You're not going anywhere.' He put his hands on her shoulders. Her eyes seemed to burn in that pale face and she cried out, 'Don't put hands on me, you Taig bastard,' and she pulled the Browning from her right-hand pocket, jammed the muzzle against his side and fired. He gave a terrible groan and staggered back. 'Damn you, you've done for me.' She shot him again and he fell against the table and dropped to the floor. 'Good riddance,' she said. 'If I had my way, I'd shoot the lot of you.' She put the Browning back in her pocket and went out. A few moments later she drove away in the station wagon. Dillon eased _Avenger_ into the side of the jetty and Hannah scrambled over with a line. He cut the engines, went over the rail to join her and tied up. 'Right, let's get moving.' He took Hannah's hand and they ran across the street in the rain, going round the side to the yard at the back. Hannah peered cautiously in through the kitchen window. 'There doesn't seem to be anyone there,' she said, 'and I see the station wagon has gone.' 'All right, in we go,' Dillon told her and took out his Walther. There was the immediate pungent smell of cordite and then, of course, Stringer's body. Hannah dropped to one knee and searched for a pulse. She looked up and shook her head. 'He's quite dead.' She stood. 'She doesn't take prisoners, that girl. I wonder where she's gone?' 'Look, she gave her uncle those pills to get him away from Barry and Co., to a hospital from where they thought they'd be able to do a runner. He died and she blames herself, but she is running and on her own now,' Dillon said. 'To the Lake District in England?' 'Where else, but how to get there?' 'Fly to Manchester and hire a car.' 'A possibility or maybe a private flight. Several old airstrips on that coast from the Second World War. You only have to look in _Pooley's Flight Guide_.' 'It's a possibility,' Hannah nodded. 'And there was that strange remark she made back there on the boat. "It's there waiting for me . . ."' '"And I'll fly in out of the sea to get it,"' Dillon added. 'She's mad, Dillon, you do realize that? Did you notice she didn't sound American any more?' 'I know. She was talking pure Belfast just like the sixteen-year-old girl I saved on a dark street ten years ago, but never mind that now. We'll go into the office and call Ferguson.' * * * Ferguson at his flat in Cavendish Square had only just awakened and he sat up in bed and listened calmly to what Hannah had to say. When she finished he said, 'Give me your telephone number.' She did so and he scribbled it down. 'I'll call back. Give me fifteen minutes.' He put the phone down, picked it up and rang his office at the Ministry of Defence. When the duty officer answered he said. 'Ferguson here. Put me on to Flight Information.' When the telephone rang in the office at The Loyalist Hannah answered at once. 'Brigadier?' 'There is a Royal Navy Air-Sea Rescue base at Crossgar on the Down coast only ten miles from you. You're expected. From there you will be flown in a Sea King helicopter to the Air-Sea Rescue base at Whitefire. That's on the Lake District coast near St Bees.' 'What then, sir?' 'I'm leaving the office now for Farley RAF base. I'll be there in thirty minutes. They'll have a Ministry of Defence Lear jet waiting for immediate departure. They tell me we'll make Whitefire in forty-five minutes. We'll helicopter to this Folly's End place from there.' 'Fine, sir, looking forward to seeing you.' 'Stop being sentimental, Chief Inspector,' Ferguson told her. 'Just move your arse,' and he put the phone down. 'Now what?' Dillon asked. She filled him in quickly. When she was finished she said, 'What about Stringer?' 'Let the staff find him. Ferguson will handle the RUC later. Let's get moving, girl dear,' and he opened the door and led the way out. Kathleen Ryan found Ladytown with no difficulty and she pulled over in the village square, got out and spoke to an old woman who was walking by with a poodle on a lead. 'Would you be knowing where there's an airfield near here?' 'I would indeed, love. That would be Tony McGuire's place.' 'And how would I get there?' 'About two miles on. Let me explain,' and the old woman went into detail. It was a sad sort of place, obviously run down and neglected. The sign on the gate said, 'McGuire's Air Taxis' and the paint was peeling. The Tarmacadam of the drive was pitted with holes and she bumped along towards the administration buildings. There was a tower and two hangars and no sign of any planes. She parked outside what looked like a Second World War Nissen hut and the door opened and a small, wiry man in jeans and an old black leather flying jacket appeared. His grey hair was close-cropped and there was a watchfulness to him. 'Can I help you?' 'Would you be Tony McGuire?' 'Who wants to know?' 'Michael Ryan's niece, Kathleen.' McGuire said, 'I haven't heard of Michael in years. I thought he was dead.' 'Alive and well and waiting for me over in the English Lake District and, the thing is, he told me that if I needed a quick trip over there the man to see was Tony McGuire.' 'Did he indeed?' 'Oh, yes, told me he'd used you often in the old days.' He stood there looking at her, a slight frown on his face, and then he said, 'You'd better come in.' There was a stove in the office, the pipes going up through the ceiling, a camp bed in one corner, a map desk and an office desk cluttered with papers. McGuire lit a cigarette. 'So what do you want?' 'A quick trip to the Lake District.' 'And when would you want to go?' 'Now.' He stared at her, shocked. 'That's a pretty tall order.' 'You do have a plane, don't you?' He hesitated then nodded. 'Just one at the moment. The bank foreclosed on me and took my best plane, the Conquest, in lieu of debts, but I do have a Cessna 310.' 'So we could go?' 'I'll show you.' He led the way out and crossed to one of the hangars and rolled the rusting door back revealing a small twin-engined plane. 'How long would it take to get to the Lake District in that?' 'Probably about an hour.' 'Good. I'll take it.' 'Steady on,' he said. 'First of all it needs refuelling and I'll have to do that by hand and that takes time.' He turned and looked up at the sky. 'And the weather stinks. I'd need to wait to see if it would clear.' He turned to look at her. 'And then we have to decide where we're going.' 'As close as possible to a place called Marsh End. It's south of Ravenglass.' 'All right, let's go back to the office and I'll check in _Pooley's Flight Guide_. That shows every airfield and airstrip in the UK.' He leafed through the book for a while and then paused. 'I remember this place, Laldale. It was an emergency field for the RAF in the Second World War. I landed there once about fourteen years ago. There's nothing except a load of decaying buildings and an airstrip.' 'So we can go?' 'Well we'd need to land somewhere with Customs and Security facilities first.' 'Three thousand dollars,' she said, 'and we fly there direct.' She pulled up the false bottom of her shoulder bag and produced several wads of American dollars, obviously to a much greater amount, and McGuire's throat went dry. He swallowed hard and managed to speak. 'Is this some political thing? I know what your uncle and his people get up to. I don't want trouble. I mean, those days are gone.' 'Five thousand,' she said and held the money out. 'How long did you say it would take?' 'An hour,' he said hoarsely. 'An hour there and an hour back. I'd say five thousand dollars was good pay. Here, I'll count it out while you go and re-fuel.' She sat at the desk, took out wads of dollars and started to count. McGuire watched, fascinated and licked his lips. 'OK, I'll leave you to it. I'll re-fuel the plane.' He almost ran across the broken Tarmacadam of the runway to the hangar and the one image that wouldn't go away was the sight of all those dollar bills coming out of her shoulder bag. At the same moment, the Sea King helicopter landed at Whitefire Air-Sea Rescue base. The rotors stopped and, as Dillon and Hannah Bernstein emerged, a Range Rover pulled up and a Royal Navy Lieutenant-Commander got out. 'My name's Murray. You'll be Brigadier Ferguson's people.' 'That's right,' Hannah said. 'He's due to land in ten minutes. I'll take you along to the mess and you can have some tea.' They got in the Range Rover and he drove away. Tony McGuire came into the office and found her sitting by the stove. 'You all right?' he asked. She nodded. 'Your five thousand dollars are on the table.' He went and picked them up, a bundle in each hand. 'Count them, if you like,' she said. 'What the hell, I trust you.' He went and unlocked an old-fashioned safe in the corner and put the money inside. 'Can we go now?' she said. 'I don't see why not.' He turned and led the way out. As they walked across to the hangar she said, 'Can we get away with it?' 'Oh, sure,' McGuire said. 'There's more unrestricted air space out there than people realize and if I approach the coast of the Lake District at under six hundred feet I won't even show on radar.' 'I see.' They went into the hangar, she climbed over the wing and took the seat directly behind the pilot's. McGuire climbed in and closed the door. He fired one engine, then the other and turned. 'OK?' She nodded. 'Here we go then.' He taxied out on to the runway, bumping over holes, and turned into the wind at the far end. There was a slight pause and they moved forward. He boosted power and they lifted up into the mist and rain. In the officer's mess at Whitefire, Dillon and Hannah were having a cup of tea when Lieutenant-Commander Murray came in with Ferguson. 'Here you are, Brigadier,' he said. Ferguson gave him his best smile. 'I'd appreciate a word with my people, Commander. Ten minutes? After that we'll leave in that Sea King for the destination I've indicated on the map.' 'As you say, Brigadier.' Murray saluted and withdrew. Ferguson turned and smiled. 'Is that tea? I really would appreciate some, Chief Inspector.' 'Of course, sir.' Hannah found a clean cup and poured. Ferguson said, 'You have been having a ball, Dillon, haven't you?' 'Well it's been complicated, I'll say that.' Ferguson accepted the cup of tea from Hannah. 'And your usual kill ratio, I see. Barry, Sollazo and Mori. Really, Dillon, you constantly remind me of the tailor in the fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm who boasted of having killed seven at one blow, only in his case it turned out to be flies on a piece of jam and bread.' 'Jesus, Brigadier, have I disappointed you again?' 'Don't be silly, Dillon. What about the girl?' 'She's quite mad,' Hannah Bernstein said. 'Whatever mental state she was in before is one thing, but this business of the death of her uncle has put her right over.' 'So you think she'll turn up at Folly's End?' 'She doesn't have anywhere else to go,' Dillon told him. 'All right, calm down.' Ferguson put his cup on the table. 'Let's go and see, shall we?' Mary Power was feeding the chickens at her back door, a black and white sheepdog at her side. It was late afternoon, darkness tingeing the sky on the distant horizon. She finished with the chickens then went in search of Benny and found him in the barn sitting at the tackle table cleaning the barrels of a shotgun. 'There you are. Did you see to the sheep in North Meadow?' He nodded eagerly. 'I brought them down,' he said in his slow pedantic way, 'and put them in the paddock.' 'You're a good lad, Benny.' He reached for an ammunition box, took out two cartridges, loaded the gun and snapped the barrels up. For a moment it pointed at her and she cuffed the side of his head and pushed the shotgun to one side. 'I've told you before. Never point it at anyone. Guns are bad.' 'But the fox might come again,' Benny said slowly. 'Last time he killed twelve chickens.' 'Well you get the bastard when he comes, but don't shoot me,' she said. 'Now come and have your break. Cup of tea and that nice fruit cake I made.' He put the shotgun on the table and followed her out. The Cessna 310 came in from the sea at four hundred feet and banked to starboard. A few moments later it dropped in at the end of the runway at Laldale and taxied towards the far end. McGuire turned into the wind and switched off the engines. Kathleen reached for the door handle. He said, 'I'll get that for you,' and opened it. 'You first.' She went out over the wing, put a foot on the little passenger ladder and reached the ground and McGuire followed her. The mountains were shrouded in mist, and the rain was a persistent damp drizzle. 'You know where you're going?' he asked. 'Oh, yes, I can walk.' 'You're sure you'll be all right?' 'It's just three or four miles.' 'Only I was thinking about all that money in your shoulder bag. I mean anything might happen.' He reached and grabbed it from her. He stood there beside the plane scrabbling in the bottom of the bag and found the rest of the dollars. 'Jesus Christ!' he said. 'Bastard,' Kathleen Ryan told him. 'You're all bastards,' and she took out the Browning and shot him twice in the heart. McGuire bounced against the wing and fell to the ground. She picked up the bag, slipped the strap over her shoulder, turned and walked away. At Folly's End, Benny was forking hay in the loft of the barn when Mary Power went in search of him. 'I've done lamb stew. Do you want dumplings?' Benny nodded eagerly. 'I'd like that.' Suddenly, the air was filled with noise, an incredible roaring. Mary turned in alarm and ran into the yard, Benny following her, and the Sea King helicopter descended into the meadow beside the farm. The rotors stopped and Charles Ferguson, Hannah Bernstein and Dillon got out. Dillon ran forward and Mary said in amazement, 'Martin? Martin Keogh, is that you?' 'As ever was, Mary. Has Kathleen been here? Kathleen Ryan?' She looked bewildered. 'No, should she have?' Dillon turned and shook his head to Ferguson who still stood by the helicopter. Ferguson leaned in and spoke to the pilot, then stood back and the Sea King rose into the air and banked away. Ferguson came forward and smiled at Mary Power who stood outside the barn door, Benny at her shoulder. 'Whoareyou?'shedemanded.'What'shappening?' 'Brigadier Charles Ferguson, Mrs Power. Is the truck still in the barn?' She went very pale. 'The truck?' she whispered. 'Yes, is the truck still in the barn?' he said patiently. It was Benny who answered. 'Oh, yes, truck in the barn till Uncle Michael come back. Benny show,' and he turned and ran inside. It was raining hard now as Kathleen Ryan tramped along the Eskdale Road, a strange forlorn figure in her raincoat and beret, hands thrust into her pockets. She reached the gate with the sign Folly's End, paused then turned in and approached the farmhouse. It was almost dark, fading fast and there was no light in the house. She stood there in the yard, remembering this place ten years ago, her uncle and Martin and she ran a hand over her face. Was it then or now? And then she saw a glimmer of light at the door of the barn. Mary Power and Benny sat at the tackle table. Benny was polishing an old pony saddle, Mary watching him. The door creaked open, a small wind lifted straw in the hay bales. Mary looked up and found Kathleen standing there. 'So you've come back, Kathleen Ryan?' 'I had to,' Kathleen told her. 'It was meant to be from the beginning. Is the truck still here?' 'Oh, yes, it's always been here. Your Uncle Michael changed his mind. Told Benny not to dump the spare truck on the coast road after all. He came here after the robbery and exchanged them.' 'I know about that, he told me. He was afraid the crew of _Irish Rose_ would try to steal the bullion. More than that, he was afraid he would have problems with the Army Council in Ulster. There was a man called Reid.' Kathleen shrugged, looking very tired. 'He could have caused trouble. Can I see the truck?' 'Benny show,' he cried, got up and moved to the back of the barn. He tossed bales of hay to one side as if they were nothing, then pulled on the false wall, swinging it back. Kathleen went forward, turned the locking bar and opened the doors and there was the bullion in its boxes. Charles Ferguson said, 'Miss Ryan I believe?' She turned and found Ferguson, Hannah Bernstein and Dillon standing there. She stared at them blankly and then something stirred. 'Martin, is that you?' 'As ever was, Kate.' 'I've come for it, Martin, come for the gold like Uncle Michael wanted. We'll beat the IRA at their own game.' 'It's over, Kate,' he said. 'We're into peace now. We've got to give it a chance.' 'Peace?' She frowned as if having difficulty at taking the idea in at all and then her eyes blazed. 'Peace with the Taigs?' She was like an avenging angel and her hand came out of her raincoat pocket holding the Browning. 'You saved me, Martin, in the alley with those three bastards, remember?' 'Of course I do.' 'But you weren't there the other time when I was fifteen and there were four of them.' It was as if she was choking. 'Dirty, rotten Taig bastards. To hell with them for what they did to me. And Uncle Michael, he hunted them down personally. He killed each one himself.' The gun shook in her hand. 'We have to stand and fight. We have to face the Catholic scum.' And only at that moment did Dillon realize how truly mad she had become, but before he could speak it was Benny who interfered. He staggered forward, looking distressed, arms waving. 'No, Kathleen, guns bad. Mustn't point guns.' His hands fastened on her shoulders and she screamed, 'Get away, Benny,' and her finger fastened convulsively on the trigger of the Browning and she shot him. Benny cried out and fell back and Mary Power screamed, 'No!' picked up the shotgun from the tackle table, thumbed back the hammers and fired both barrels. Kathleen was lifted backwards off her feet into the hay bales, the Browning flying from her hand. Dillon ran to her and dropped to one knee. She grabbed for his hand. 'Martin, is that you?' Her body jerked once then went very still. Hannah crouched beside him as Dillon stayed there holding a hand. 'She's gone, Sean.' 'Yes, I can see that.' Benny, incredibly, got to his feet and stood, a hand to his side, blood oozing between his fingers. He looked shocked and dazed. Hannah examined him quickly and turned. 'Straight through his side. There's an exit wound. He'll live.' Ferguson gently took the shotgun from Mary Power. 'Oh, God, what have I done?' she asked. 'Not your fault, my dear,' Ferguson told her. 'You've nothing to worry about. I'll see to it personally.' He turned to Hannah. 'Chief Inspector, I'd be obliged if you'd take her inside. And Benny. Do what you can.' Hannah went and put an arm round her and led her out, giving her free hand to Benny to guide him. Dillon stood looking down at Kathleen Ryan. 'You poor silly little bitch, I always knew there was something more.' Ferguson said. 'I gave the Sea King an hour. He'll be back soon. Are you all right?' 'Of course I am, Brigadier.' Dillon found a cigarette and lit it. 'End of a perfect day, wouldn't you say?' and he turned and walked out. About the Author Jack Higgins lived in Belfast till the age of twelve. Leaving school at fifteen, he spent three years with the Royal Horse Guards, serving on the East German border during the Cold War. His subsequent employment included occupations as diverse as circus roustabout, truck driver, clerk and, after taking an honours degree in sociology and social psychology, teacher and university lecturer. _The Eagle Has Landed_ turned him into an international bestselling author, and his novels have since sold over 250 million copies and have been translated into sixty languages. Many of them have also been made into successful films. His recent bestselling novels include, _The Killing Ground, Rough Justice, The Khufra Run, A Darker Place, The Wolf at the Door, Confessional_ and _The Judas Gate._ In 1995 Jack Higgins was awarded an honorary doctorate by Leeds Metropolitan University. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and an expert scuba diver and marksman. He lives on Jersey. Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author. Also by Jack Higgins _The Valhalla Exchange_ _To Catch a King_ _Dillinger_ _The Run to Morning_ _The Eagle Has Landed_ _A Prayer for the Dying_ _The Last Place God Made_ _Day of Judgement_ _Solo_ _Luciano's Luck_ _Touch the Devil_ _Exocet_ _Confessional_ _Night of the Fox_ _A Season in Hell_ _Memoirs of a Dance-Hall Romeo_ _Cold Harbour_ _The Eagle Has Flown_ _Eye of the Storm_ _Thunder Point_ _On Dangerous Ground_ _Sheba_ _Angel of Death_ _Drink with the Devil_ _Year of the Tiger_ _The President's Daughter_ _Flight of Eagles_ _The White House Connection_ _Pay the Devil_ _Day of Reckoning_ _Edge of Danger_ _The Keys of Hell_ _Midnight Runner_ _Bad Company_ _A Fine Night for Dying_ _Dark Justice_ _Toll for the Brave_ _Without Mercy_ _East of Desolation_ _The Killing Ground_ _Rough Justice_ _A Darker Place_ _The Wolf at the Door_ _The Judas Gate_ Publisher's Note _Drink with the Devil_ was first published in the UK by Michael Joseph in 1996 and later by Signet in 1998. This amazing novel has been out of print for some years, and in 2011 it seemed to the author and his publishers that it was a pity to leave such a good story languishing on his shelves. So we are delighted to be able to bring back _Drink with the Devil_ for the vast majority of us who never had a chance to read the earlier editions. Copyright This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental. This paperback edition 2011 1 First published in Great Britain by Michael Joseph 1996 Signet Edition 1998 Copyright © Harry Patterson 1996 Jack Higgins asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books. ISBN: 978-0-00-730454-7 EPub Edition © 2010 ISBN: 9780007352296 About the Publisher **Australia** HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd. 25 Ryde Road (PO Box 321) Pymble, NSW 2073, Australia http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com.au **Canada** HarperCollins Canada 2 Bloor Street East - 20th Floor Toronto, ON, M4W, 1A8, Canada http://www.harpercollinsebooks.ca **New Zealand** HarperCollinsPublishers (New Zealand) Limited P.O. Box 1 Auckland, New Zealand http://www.harpercollinsebooks.co.nz **United Kingdom** HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. 77-85 Fulham Palace Road London, W6 8JB, UK http://www.harpercollinsebooks.co.uk **United States** HarperCollins Publishers Inc. 10 East 53rd Street New York, NY 10022 http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com

Legacy Introduction to New Relic Mobile for Android New Relic Mobile for Android monitors your mobile app, giving you a comprehensive view of your app's performance. It works for Android apps written using Java or Kotlin. Install the Android agent Before you install New Relic Mobile for Android, make sure your app follows the compatibility requirements. As part of the installation process, New Relic Mobile automatically generates an application token. This is a 40-character hexadecimal string for authenticating each mobile app that you monitor in New Relic Mobile.

Sorry, we're having problems with our video player at the moment, but are working to fix it as soon as we can Waiting for Video... Jennifer Logan Published:13:51Wednesday 01 March 2017 Share this article Almost 100 Haywards Heath residents gathered in Fox Hill on Saturday (February 25) to protest against three major developments proposed for the town. Despite the cold blustery weather, families wrapped up warm and held up banners and posters on the ‘ordered walk’, which set off at 10am at The Fox and Hounds pub. Almost a hundred residents came together with banners and posters in Fox Hill on Saturday (February 25) to fight against the three major developments proposed for the town. Picture: Derek Martin The proposed developments are 151 new homes in Gamblemead, 320 new homes in Rookery Farm, in Rocky Lane and up to 400 new homes in Hurstwood Lane – which are all yet to be considered by Mid Sussex District Council. Objections to the developments include: the danger of roads and increase in traffic, the lack of infrastructure in the town, an unrealistic transport plan, the ancient woodlands and wildlife and outlook for residents who moved to the town for a semi-rural lifestyle. Stephanie Went, 54, who organised the event moved to Fox Hill three years ago for the semi-rural lifestyle and has lived in Haywards Heath for 18 years. She said: “I am so pleased about the number of residents who came along. Let’s hope it’s a catalyst for a real turning point for our green belt, ancient woodland and communities as a whole.” The ordered walk set off at The Fox and Hounds pub. Picture: Derek Martin Adrian Warwick, 80, has lived in Fox Hill for 42 years and has been involved in the campaigning from the very start. He said he was ‘amazed’ by the number of residents who had become involved. He said: “It was bigger numbers than we had hoped for and was all down to Stephanie. “Today it sometimes feels that this spirit lives on as so many are obliged to fight again to protect their hard earned family homes, lifestyles and outlooks from outsiders. “Our town signs say that Haywards Heath is the heart of Mid Sussex. I have always loved living in this part of the country but the reality today is that this area of Haywards Heath is having its heart torn out whilst breaking the hearts of a captive and ageing community in the process.” Stephanie Went, 54, organised the ordered walk. Picture: Derek Martin Suzy Sambell, 43, a secondary school teacher who lives off Rookery Way in Fox Hill, came along to the protest and highlighted the ‘already overburdened’ infrastructure of the town. She said: “The pressure on school places, on doctors spaces and dentist appointments are virtually impossible to come by. “And with the additional increase in so many families living around this end of the town – that pressure will worsen. Not to mention the volume of traffic and the lack of through roads.” He said: “The whole burden of truth that’s been shifted in favour of the developers and the odds are just so stacked against us to make any sort of protest. “We are trying to protect the countryside and wildlife - which will be gone if this field goes. It is a sad story and we don’t feel like we have much power.” Claire Johnson, 46, of Rookery Way protested with her two daughters on the walk, Keira, 12 and Tayler, 14. She said: “Sadly we have watched the destruction of the ancient woodlands and what they plan to build on Rookery Farm is only going to destroy Haywards Heath. “It is going to increase the pollution and is not going to be a safe environment for children to walk along the street. The infrastructure is going to be affected substantially and the council will be paying for it for many, many years to come and the only winners will be the builders. So we feel that we need to fight to try and save it.” Paul Barber, 54, of Fox Hill Village echoed the concerns over infrastructure and said the new homes would ‘not be be bought by local people’, which would ‘bring more people to the area’. Despite the cold weather residents held up banners and posters on the ordered walk. Picture: Derek Martin Jenny Bailey, 56, who has lived in Fox Hill for most of her life, became emotional after the walk. After bursting into tears she said the developments would ‘destroy and kill the habitat’. In the past week MPs, councillors, and communities have united in opposition to new housing targets imposed on the district by a Government appointed planning inspector. This week the Mid Sussex Times has launched ‘Keep Mid Sussex Green’ in support of the campaign for fair and sustainable levels of development in the district. Since the Middy covered the protest Fox Hill, many nearby residents have got in touch to voice their objections and concerns too. Stephen Nash, of Fox Hill Village, has sent a letter of objection to the application for 151 new homes in Gamblemead, of which 30 per cent would be affordable. The full planning application was approved by Haywards Heath Town Council on February 13 and is now to be considered by district councillors. He said: “We are aware of the compelling need for housing. But that does not mean development should be at any cost – basic planning ‘development control’ criteria must still be met.” Dianna Tregenza, from Brighton, responded to the protest video posted on the Middy’s Facebook page and highlighted the growing concern over infrastructure in the town. She said: “There is not enough hospital care, doctors, dentists, school and nursery places, a hosepipe ban nearly every year for water shortages and thousands of empty properties including commercial. If we can bedroom tax the poorest, why can’t we second home tax the richest?” Don’t miss out on all the latest breaking news where you live. Here are four ways you can be sure you’ll be amongst the first to know what’s going on. 1) Make our website your homepage 2) Like our Facebook page 3) Follow us on Twitter 4) Register with us by clicking on ‘sign in’ (top right corner). You can then receive our daily newsletter AND add your point of view to stories that you read here. And do share with your family and friends - so they don’t miss out! Always the first with your local news. Be part of it. Trending Young apprentices in Burgess Hill raise cash in memory of friend Jesse Gasson St Francis Rangers Football Club folds: 'We hoped we could see the season out, but it was not to be'

The raising of horses cattle, sheep, goats and other livestock typically requires that the animals be kept, fed and watered in outdoor areas for large parts of a year, such as, for example, open range, pasturage areas or barnyards or feed lots. This requires the provision of fresh, liquid water to the animals to insure their survival, growth and well-being, including the prevention of disease and the provision of proper nutrition. Such water is typically provided to the animals by means of stock watering facilities including, for example, stock water tanks, automatic livestock waterers or various forms of reservoirs or ponds. A recurring and severe problem in providing such water to livestock is in keeping the water from freezing, particularly in the cooler and cold seasons and environments, that is, early spring and late fall and in some instances in winter or even in summer at higher altitudes. This problem is compounded because the livestock need easy and direct access to the water, so that the tops of the tanks, the ponds and other forms of reservoir, are open to the winter air and suffer significant heat loss due to conduction, convection, and evaporation. The systems and methods of the prior art to prevent freezing of livestock water range from recirculating pumps to keep the water moving to heating elements to directly heat the water above the freezing point. Keeping water moving, however, such as with recirculating pumps, is only successful down to temperatures near or slightly below freezing, and if temperatures fall below 15-20 degrees Fahrenheit, dependent upon wind chill and other factors, recirculating devices are inadequate. Therefore, most stock tank freezing prevention systems and methods rely upon direct heating of the water by means of electrically or fossil fuel powered thermostatically controlled heating devices immersed in the water. Some de-icers are floating, some are mounted on the bottom of the tank or reservoir or pond, and some are located somewhere between the surface and the bottom of the water, but all, whether electrically powered or powered, for example, by propane or natural gas, consume large amounts of power and are correspondingly expensive to operate. Electric tank de-icers, for example, are effective and reliable, but can cost several hundred dollars a month to operate. In addition, the use of electrical or other fossil fuel powered heating elements is environmentally detrimental and results in a significant carbon footprint. Other methods of the prior art have attempted to at least alleviate the above discussed problems. For example, various designs of proprietary watering devices have a smaller water access opening, thereby reducing the amount and area of water exposed to the environment. Another device provides a cover over the entire surface of the water wherein the cover has one or more openings, each covered by a floating element, so that any one of the floating elements may be pushed down by an animal to allow access to the water therebeneath, as illustrated U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,437,244, and 4,518,281. Such methods, however, are mechanically complex and correspondingly expensive, with resulting losses in reliability, and are unsuited for use with many animals, a number of which, for example, inherently will not or cannot operate a mechanism to gain access to water.

“Under the Affordable Care Act, if you have more than 50 full time employees in 2016, you are REQUIRED to offer group health insurance in 2017 or you could face fines up to $3,000 per employee. This could result in massive penalties for your company,” says Reese McFaddin Gately of Workplace Benefits. “Do you own several small businesses? This part of the law applies to you too. Be sure to add up the number of all of your employees at each of the businesses where you have common ownership, as this may push you to the 50+ mark.” In addition to Workplace Benefits, these local health insurance providers may be able to help answer your questions and make sure your business doesn’t face massive penalties in the coming year:

Dallas Software Companies It goes without saying that a large majority of Dallas Software Companies provide custom software. This is essential, due to the fact that these companies would be able to create programs to suit your exact necessities. In addition to custom software, however, it is important that you seek businesses that provide cloud-based software. Cloud-based software is the best type of software currently available. Thus, it is important that the company is capable of providing this type of program. Keeping good contact with your software provider means better relations. Being able to communicate well and easily with the software company allows for easier trouble shooting and possibly favorable management. And it never hurts to have an extra friend or ally within the field of business. This is vital in Dallas Software Companies because technical problems with the software are incredibly difficult to solve on your own. Dallas Software Companies have offices that are located in many different regions of the world. They are always expanding their market presence. They are eager to serve their customers all over the world. They create the modern technology of today. Software Companies invent solutions to the most challenging problems. They often meet or exceed their customers' needs. Software companies often deliver the best products and services to their customers. If you are searching for Dallas Augmented Reality Developer, then you may have some interest in the following sections where we shall describe a few helpful ways that you can use in order to shop for such companies. In addition, we shall also discuss some of the more notable attributes of augmented reality. One thing to note here however is that a number of games across the mobile platform may start out as free but if you wish to continue deeper into the game, there may be a small fee involved. It's a very plausible speculation that this type of shift is the reason behind the declining sales when it comes to console gaming. Dallas Augmented Reality Developer allows you to either view just a part of the figure or just the whole screen itself. This is key particularly for smaller screened devices like tablets or Smartphones for example. Augmented reality, aside from its benefit in the game engines, can also be useful in other programs such as adobe, 3d design applications amongst a variety of others. Like most areas of the technological world, Dallas IoT Developer is still developing and growing and that means that the software involved is constantly in a state of flux, being improved upon and tweaked to make it run more smoothly. That means there is always an opportunity to come up with something new and better and having an IoT software design business could put you on the cutting edge of this exciting trend. Whether you're Designing New Software or working to improve upon or simply repair what already exists, there are an almost infinite number of possibilities for you to launch a profitable internet business focused on Dallas IoT Developer. The idea is to identify your individual skills and package them in a way that makes you stand out as an expert in this emerging new field. If you can put together the right set of selling points, you'll have customers flocking to your door before you know it.

President Trump traveled to Florida to visit the victims of the devastating school shooting on Wednesday and dodged questions about stricter gun control laws before heading to his Mar-a-Lago resort. Trump, along with First Lady Melania Trump, spent about 15 minutes visiting victims at the Broward Health North medical center behind closed doors on Friday, according to pool reports. Advertisement While Trump commended the medical staff for doing an "incredible" job and said, "It's sad something like that could happen," he ignored a shouted question about gun control laws and simply walked into another room. Our entire Nation, w/one heavy heart, continues to pray for the victims & their families in Parkland, FL. To teachers, law enforcement, first responders & medical professionals who responded so bravely in the face of danger: We THANK YOU for your courage! https://t.co/3yJsrebZMGpic.twitter.com/ti791dENTy Trump, who didn't publicly address the community's grief beyond his mention of how sad it was to meet with victims, seemed to relish his banter with law enforcement officers at the Broward County Sheriff's Office instead. The President joked with Coconut Creek Officer Mike Leonard who arrested suspected shooter Nikolas Cruz about an hour after the 19-year-old gunned down 17 people at the school. "That was so modest, I would have told it much differently. I would have said without me, they never would have found him," Trump told Leonard. Angelina Lazo (C), an 18-year-old senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, reacts to honks of support from passing motorists as she joins other gun control proponents. (JONATHAN DRAKE/REUTERS) Trump said he originally planned to visit the Parkland area on Sunday or Monday, but decided he didn't want to wait. But as Trump arrived in Florida, some of the parents, survivors and others affected by the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School said they were more interested in firm action to prevent future assaults than a presidential visit. "I don't want Trump to come but we want more gun safety," said Kevin Trejos, a senior at the school. "It's a dream. It hasn't hit me yet. When I see empty desks, I'll feel it. I'm numb now." Trump, who frequently boasts about his support for the National Rifle Association, promised to tackle school safety and "the difficult issue of mental health," even though his proposed 2019 budget includes millions of dollars in cuts to federal programs addressing both issues. He tweeted Friday that he was "working with Congress on many fronts," although he did not offer any additional details about what new policies might entail.

Republican approval rating falls to lowest point in Gallup poll history Only 28 percent of Americans have a favorable impression of the Republican Party, according to the latest Gallup poll, taken after Sen. Ted Cruz’s 21-hour speech and the subsequent government shutdown. (Getty Images) No, Republicans, the Gallup Poll is not a limbo contest. Republicans seem to be playing “how low can you go.” Just 28 percent of Americans have a favorable impression of the GOP, according to the latest monthly Gallup tracking poll. The number ” is the lowest favorable rating measured for either party since Gallup began asking this question in 1992,” the polling company stated. The number is 10 points lower than the party scored in the same poll in September. Democrats, meanwhile, got a favorable rating from only 43 percent of respondents, down four points from last month. The contrasting numbers seem to demonstrate the way blame for the government shutdown is being allocated to the respective parties by the public. The poll surveyed 1,028 adults between Oct. 3 and Oct. 6. The only similar trend in the poll’s history was the rating of Republicans after the vote to impeach President Bill Clinton in December 1998. Then, Republicans dropped 12 points, from 43 percent to 31 percent, although the party’s popularity recovered somewhat in subsequent months.

A conspicuous question is, what would be our motivation for implementing genetic algorithms on a medium like blockchain, while more centralized approaches produce equally meaningful results without the cost of maintaining such a network? There are numerous reasons to store a neural network on the blockchain, many of which were explored in our previous work [ 4 ], but here we will narrow down the significant ones leading to our conclusion. By investigating six use cases and future applications, we demonstrate how AI entities can utilize the capabilities of blockchain for important purposes including, but not limited to, deep learning, Internet of things (IoT) and Monte Carlo analysis. We also explore the possibility of storing externally trained AI agents on such a medium and utilize them via pay per use. Finally, we describe an already trained neural network employed to recover the relevant physical variables, both in quantum and classical systems. 3.1. The Integrity and Validity of Information Blockchain as a data and framework store presents a number of advantages over the Internet or over internal stores. By way of two exemplary challenges to the AI world, we present how blockchain can address these in novel ways. One of the biggest challenges in data science today is the collection of a proper dataset, which can be utilized for training a neural network. The pluralism of data over the Internet is enormous, but the quality is minimal due to the habit of people to post inaccurate things, mainly, because there is no control. A characteristic paradigm is the “fake news” explosion in recent years, which tends to propagate faster than well documented and verified news [ 25 ]. Internet giants like Facebook and Google have tried to tackle the problem via several computational methods, but even though there seems to be a sufficient theoretical basis for separating “signal” from “noise” [ 26 ], the problem still thrives as of today. A second challenge is adversarial interference with the processing. Tesla’s autopilot was shown to be vulnerable to remote root privilege attacks that could control the steering system and disturb the “autowipers” function [ 27 ]. By introducing false information in the physical world such as minor changes in the road, it was possible to mislead the car into the opposite lane. The consequential risks of such vulnerability include, but are not limited to, human injuries and death. Many other examples abound. Blockchains can address these issues in a comprehensive way through integrity, security, triple entry and provenance. Data as fact integrity: The cryptographic inventions of digital signatures and hashes have led to a general technique for making data reliable within the context and limitations of the technical means, a characteristic called integrity. In practice this means that we can state with (cryptographic) certainty that a piece of data existed no later than a particular time, and that it remains untampered with. These cryptographic techniques need some software to deliver results. Timestamping [ : The cryptographic inventions of digital signatures and hashes have led to a general technique for making data reliable within the context and limitations of the technical means, a characteristic called integrity. In practice this means that we can state with (cryptographic) certainty that a piece of data existed no later than a particular time, and that it remains untampered with. These cryptographic techniques need some software to deliver results. Timestamping [ 28 ] involves taking the hash of a document and placing it in a timed sequence of hashes that is kept alive essentially without limit on time. Each new document’s hash is placed in a block, which is then hashed, along with a hash of the last block and the current time. As the cryptographic hash is essentially unforgeable without the actual block, this ensures both the inclusion of the new document(s) and the proof that the last block, and by induction all previous blocks and included documents, are securely timestamped. The reliability of the stamp of time is the reliability of the recording of the time in each block, and the space between the blocks. Facts by people, securely: Digital signing takes the evidence of a hash one step further by indicating who it was that made that stamp. Digital signatures are made by a private key, and verified by a public key, which latter also takes the form of an identifier for the private key called a pseudonym. This security model is essential for a blockchain as it ensures that only the proper pseudonymous agent, as holder of the private key, can make new transactions. Money is perhaps the most harshly attacked activity of humanity after wars, and therefore can only survive if protected by strong security. The cryptographic security model of pseudonymous digital signing used in blockchains is battle-hardened and is available for free for all other applications beyond transfers of value. This is no trivial benefit as the Internet has quite poor security models, and big Internet applications such as online banking and autonomous vehicles generally have trouble deploying robust security to users. Injection of information from unknown sources is rampant, and simply adding data stamping and signing as used in blockchain makes the attacker’s job harder. Facts as shared knowledge: A technique known as triple entry accounting [ A technique known as triple entry accounting [ 29 ] adds a further advantage captured by the aphorism “I know that what you see is what I see.” Triple entry takes the above integrity techniques and makes records such as offers and acceptances, payments, receipts and invoices both shared and reliably the same to all relevant parties, which allows software to work with reliable raw data as facts produced by other parties; triple entry accounting does for trading groups what double entry accounting did for the firm. Independence from weak data, whether summarized, prepared, or sanitized, results in the elimination of diverging data sets and unreliable outcomes. For example, clearing and settlement in financial trading is highly simplified if the data is already guaranteed to be the same for all. Blockchains go further and incorporate a public database that ensures everyone has access to the same data, and some parties are financially motivated to keep that database alive. This ability to always find the data comes at the cost of privacy—whatever is posted to the blockchain as a document is readable by all. There is some promise of more exotic cryptography and software techniques to allow posting and recovery of private data into a public store, but these techniques remain experimental, and the bar of confidentiality or privacy is typically a high one. Knowledge as truth: What remains is the provenance of the data at the time of posting. The blockchain supports two easy controls, and one hard control. Firstly, if the data is a financial transaction on a blockchain, in an asset mediated by that very blockchain, then the transaction record can support its own provenance, gained in part that someone went to the effort of moving money, and in other part that it cost a small fee. Secondly, the use of the pseudonymous digital signatures provides a minimal form of identity system: A document’s utility and provenance can be analyzed within the context of all the documents posted by the same agent. If Alice generally posts good documents, then the next is likely to be good; if Bob posts fake news then people should expect more of the same. Pay on demand is discussed in the next section. Consider two trivial statements, “this statement is true” and the equally light “this statement is false”. Both can as easily be posted, but only one is reliable. Software can guarantee both statements were made at a time, but cannot guarantee the content is reliable or even meaningful. Then, to encourage statements that may be relied upon by others requires more: Posters need to be incentivized to post useful and reliable statements, and to not post useless and unreliable ones. Due to the pseudonymous nature of blockchain, posting stake or gamification is suggested as a control however these methods limit participation through the cost of capital and time, and leave aside the question of how to punish [ 24 ]. A more serious feedback control on bad participation would be a due process to also incentivize agents to not post unreliable data. The process itself would also need to pass the same test of reliability as the statements delivered. Such a due process is typically called Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). The more common Internet secure browsing form organizes a certification authority to make signed statements, called certificates. Its due process is described in documents such as a certificate practice statement, which are reviewed and approved by browsers and other relying parties. Reliance based on commercial authorities and their statements is typically only strong enough for relatively weak statements because it lacks an incentive model to properly handle the liability for bad data [ 30 ]. CAcert has extended the concept to cover a wide range of stronger statements through a cooperative form that includes arbitration to allocate liability in the case of bad data [ 31 ]. Blockchains are therefore not only ideal storage for the data of deep learning, they include much data worth analyzing, and they are ideal storage for the trained frameworks themselves. In time we expect the discrimination between good and bad data to become easier based on pseudonyms and incentive models.

THE INSIDER AUTHORITY ON GATOR SPORTS Bradham commits to FSU Wakulla High School linebacker Nigel Bradham committed to Florida State this weekend. The 6’2 220 War Eagle is widely considered among the best linebackers prospects in the country. “I did commit to them (Florida State) the other day. I was just real comfortable with all of their coaches, even the new ones that joined their staff. I like Coach (Bobby) Bowden, Coach Mickey (Andrews), Coach (Jimbo) Fisher, Coach (Chuck) Amato, and Coach (Rick) Trickett. I have always liked the school. Bradham attended the Florida practice session with teammate CJ Holton last Wednesday afternoon. I asked if something that he saw during that session last played a role in helping secure his decision. “I kind of already knew, but yeah, I looked out there and saw all of those linebackers and they’re all going to be there a long time,” Bradham said. “I enjoyed visiting the practice. It was nothing against them or the coaches there. I really like Coach (Chuck) Heater, Coach (Urban) Meyer, and Coach (Charlie) Strong. I have a good relationship with them. They probably don’t like it, but I think they understand. They sent me a text message and I just told them it was true.” Bradham said that the fact the Gators did not offer Holton during the visit played a very small part in his decision. Holton and Bradham have both said in interviews that they would enjoy playing at the college level together. However, by no means was it something they insisted upon. “I think this is finally over,” he said, “I’m the kind of person who when I give my word, it means something. I’m committed now and I just plan on keeping it.” Wakulla High School linebacker Nigel Bradham committed to Florida State this weekend. The 6’2 220 War Eagle is widely considered among the best linebackers prospects in the country. “I did commit to them (Florida State) the other day. I was just real comfortable with all of their coaches, even the new ones that joined their staff. I like Coach (Bobby) Bowden, Coach Mickey (Andrews), Coach (Jimbo) Fisher, Coach (Chuck) Amato, and Coach (Rick) Trickett. I have always liked the school. Bradham attended the Florida practice session with teammate CJ Holton last Wednesday afternoon. I asked if something that he saw during that session last played a role in helping secure his decision. “I kind of already knew, but yeah, I looked out there and saw all of those linebackers and they’re all going to be there a long time,” Bradham said. “I enjoyed visiting the practice. It was nothing against them or the coaches there. I really like Coach (Chuck) Heater, Coach (Urban) Meyer, and Coach (Charlie) Strong. I have a good relationship with them. They probably don’t like it, but I think they understand. They sent me a text message and I just told them it was true.” Bradham said that the fact the Gators did not offer Holton during the visit played a very small part in his decision. Holton and Bradham have both said in interviews that they would enjoy playing at the college level together. However, by no means was it something they insisted upon. “I think this is finally over,” he said, “I’m the kind of person who when I give my word, it means something. I’m committed now and I just plan on keeping it.”

Plus, hardcore music legend and Renzo Gracie black belt Harley Flanagan joins Jim Norton and Matt Serra in studio to talk about his life in music and jiu jitsu. And, the guys discuss all things UFC Fight Night Halifax. Related Topics Related News Media Recent Popular Don't miss Rafael Dos Anjos square off against Robbie Lawler in the main event of Fight Night Winnipeg on Saturday, December 16 live on FOX. Dec 12, 2017 Former UFC champions Robbie Lawler (welterweight) and Rafael Dos Anjos (lightweight) meet in a five-round main event Saturday night in Winnipeg live and free on FOX. Both contenders have championships dreams and a win here brings them one step closer. Dec 12, 2017 In a third heavy-hitting showdown, welterweights Santiago Ponzinibbio and Mike Perry once again look to unleash their stunning finishing power.

Y axis homes in correct direction, but moves in wrong direction On my printer, all other axis/motors are performing correctly, it is just the Y axis. In the configuration, it is set to be a Min Endstop (M574 Y1 S1), and the motor needed to be reversed (M569 P1 S0). This cause the homing to work perfectly - it homes to the same location (front left). However, and this is where it gets strange, when I use any of the jog commands, the movement is completely inverted: I can't command it to move a negative amount (since it just homed), but commanding it to move a positive amount (away from the endstop), causes it to simply ram the head further into the endstop. After having rammed it into the endstop (skipping steps), I am able to command negative values, and it then moves away from the endstop. I found it: while looking through the code to paste, I checked the homey.g file, and noticed that for some reason, when moving in the Y direction, it is not negative the maximum. So it was like Kezat said, it homed backwards and was inverted. Undoing the invert fixed the issue. Thank you for the help. When starting this thread I knew it was something small and simple that just did not want to work, but it is getting late here.

National charity’s tribute to fundraiser Olive on her 100th birthday One of Leighton Buzzard’s oldest residents has just celebrated her 100th birthday with her family. Centenarian Olive Pither of St George’s Court will be familiar with many LBO readers for her fundraising achievements over the years. Olive pictured in 2011 with some of her creations Olive, who reached her landmark birthday on June 29 and received the obligatory card from The Queen, has raised more than £5,000 for Prostate Cancer UK by knitting cuddly bears and dolls. She began making the toys in 2004 when she had to take a bear along to a picnic. She suddenly realised she did not have one so knitted one quickly. Her bear was a hit and others wanted a woolly friend of their own so Olive picked up her knitting needles and went on to create more than 400 teddies and dolls. She has since hung up her needles. The charity is close to her heart as her husband Reginald died of the prostate cancer in 2003. Before they married, Olive played the Piano Accordion in the Lawrence Inns Band, and used to play at the old Corn Exchange in Lake Street. Older Leightonians may remember Olive and Reginald running the greengrocers shop in Waterdell, Leighton, between 1960 and 1974, before they emigrated to Canada. The couple returned in 1994 and celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary in 1999. Prostate Cancer UK posted a tribute to Olive on its Facebook page to mark her 100th birthday. “Olive has been knitting teddies for donations in memory of her late husband Reg since she was a sprightly 87, and although she’s hung up her knitting needles these days, Olive still supports us in any way that she can. “On this very special birthday, the only gift Olive has asked for is that her friends, family and well-wishers join her in supporting a cause that has been close to her heart for many years.”

In den vergangenen Tagen und Wochen war viel über die Probleme bei Intel mit dem nächsten Fertigungsschritt in 10 nm zu hören. Erst kürzlich musste Intel erneut eingestehen, dass man Probleme mit der Fertigung in 10 nm hat und dass die Massenproduktion für Desktop- und Serverprozessoren erneut zurückgestellt werden muss und nun für irgendwann 2019 geplant ist. Auf dem gestrigen 2018 Annual Stockholders’ Meeting musste Intels CEO Brian Krzanich einige unangenehme Fragen dazu beantworten. Mit dem Core i3-8121U wird ein erster Prozessor in Kleinserie in 10 nm gefertigt, diesem fehlt es aber an einer funktionierenden Grafikeinheit und so dürfte der ebenfalls aufgetauchte Core m3-8114Y der erste vollständig funktionierende Desktop-Prozessor aus dieser Fertigung sein. Auf dem 2018 Annual Stockholders’ Meeting beruhigte Intel seine Anleger. Der nächste Schritt in 7 nm sei nicht von den Verzögerungen für 10 nm betroffen. Hier kommen bereits für 14 und 10 nm verwendete und damit etablierte Technologien zum Einsatz. Aber auch die Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography (EUV oder EUVL) wird in Teilen bereits eingesetzt. Intel setzt dabei vor allem auf Hardware, die nicht aus eigenem Hause stammt und verspricht sich davon viel: "And 7-nanometer will be the first one that transitions to the new lithography tool, which then opens up our ability to print features that are much, much smaller, much more easily. So that's step one that's different between 10- and 7-nanometers. [...] to make 7-nanometer much more like our traditional technology innovations that we've done and hence we believe that most of the issues that occurred at 10-nanometers would not carry over into 7-nanometers. And we continue to monitor our progress on 7-nanometers and continue to be very positive about where we're at with 7-nanometers." Die Fertigung in 10 nm will man also schnellstmöglich in den Griff bekommen und sieht sich für 7 nm im Plan – zumindest suggeriert man dies nach Außen hin. 10 nm sind nicht gleich 10 nm Intel liefert derzeit seine Massenprodukte in 14 nm aus, will schnellstmöglich auf 10 nm wechseln und plant schon konkret mit 7 nm. Meldungen wie der Start der Massenfertigung in 7 nm bei TSMC wirken dann so, also sei TSMC der Fertigungstechnologie von Intel weit voraus. GlobalFoundries als weiterer Auftragsfertiger liefert derzeit für AMD in 14 und 12 nm aus. Samsung spricht ebenfalls bereits von 7 und 5 nm. Die Auftragsfertiger und solche mit eigenen Fabriken überbieten sich also regelmäßig. Doch Angaben wie 16, 14, 10 oder 7 nm sind längst nicht mehr ausschlaggebend und geben auch nicht wieder, wo nun die Vorteile der kleineren Fertigung liegen. Größen wie Fin Pitch, Min Metal Pitch, Cell Height und Gate Pitch. Eine wichtige Größe sind die Anzahl der Transistoren pro Quadratmillimeter. In diesem Bereich setzt sich Intel immer sehr ambitionierte Ziele. Mit dem Wechsel der Fertigung von 20 auf 14 nm, 14 auf 10 nm und 10 auf 7 nm setzen sich die Fertiger Ziele, um welchen Faktor die Packdichte steigen soll. Im Falle von 20 auf 14 nm war dies bei Intel der Faktor 2,4. Mit dem Wechsel von 14 auf 10 nm plante Intel mit einem Faktor von 2,7, was offenbar auch einer der Gründe ist, warum Intel derzeit mit einigen Schwierigkeiten zu kämpfen hat. Um die Anforderungen etwas geringer zu halten, nimmt man aber auch die Ziele für die Packdichte etwas zurück und plant wieder mit dem Faktor 2,4. Basierend auf den Zahlen von TSMC und Intel, wird CLN5, also einem Prozess in 5 nm, ein Shrink um den Faktor 1,8 im Vergleich zu CLN7FF in 7 nm sein. Intel plant 7 nm mit einem Shrink um den Faktor 2,4 von 10 nm. Damit liegt TSMC bei 147 Millionen Transistoren/mm² in 5 nm und Intel bei 242 Millionen Transistoren/mm² in 7 nm. Intels Fertigung ist in diesem Bereich also deutlich weiter fortgeschritten und kompakter. Es ist also nicht so einfach zu sagen, dass TSMC, Samsung oder GlobalFoundries Intel nun einen Fertigungsschritt voraus sind. Erst kürzlich haben wir uns diesem Thema im Bereich der Fertigung eines SoC bei Samsung und TSMC gewidmet. Beide Hersteller kämpfen hier um lukrative Aufträge. Die reine Nomenklatur der Fertigung durch die Hersteller spielt dabei keine Rolle mehr. Es gibt multiple Faktoren, die in der Fertigung eine Rolle spielen. Gegenüberstellung der Fertigungstechnologien Intel 14 nm Intel 10 nm TSMC 10 nm Samsung 10 nm Fin Pitch 42/45 nm 34 nm 35,1 nm 46,8 nm Min Metal Pitch 52 nm 36 nm 44 nm 48 nm Cell Height 399 nm 272 nm 330 nm 360 nm Gate Pitch 70 nm 54 nm 44 nm 48 nm Fin Hight 42/46 nm 53 nm 42,1 nm 48,6 nm Fin Width 8/7 nm 7 nm 5,4 nm 5,9 nm 6T-SRAM 69.167/70.158 nm² - 40.233 nm² 49.648 nm² Fin Pitch: Abstand der Fins (Drain und Source) eines Transistors Min Metal Pitch: Mindestabstand zwischen zwei Metallschichten Fin Hight: Höhe der Fins aus dem Si-Substrat in das Oxid hinein Fin Width: Dicke der Fins Eines ist jedoch klar: Es wird zunehmend schwieriger für die Hersteller die kleineren Fertigungsschritte auch in der Praxis umzusetzen. Während Intel jedoch bei 10 nm aus noch immer unbekannten Gründen zu kämpfen hat, wird der Einsatz von EUV für alle Hersteller noch eine Hürde werden. Ob Moores Law nun an Ende ist oder nicht, darüber wird bereits seit Jahren gestritten. Die Multi-Milliarden-Investitionen in neue Fertigungsstraßen und die Entwicklung zeigen, dass der Aufwand immer größer wird. Erst kürzlich gab Intel bekannt, dass man 5 Milliarden US-Dollar in die Erweiterung der Fab 28 in Israel investiert.

About Angiopoietin: Angiopoietin belongs to the VEGF protein family that takes part in postnatal and embryonic angiogenesis. Angiopoietin proteins regulates growth, chemotactic activity and functional behavior of vascular endothelial cells and take part in angiogenesis. Angiogenesis is the mechanism for the production of novel blood vessels via sprouting from existing blood vessels in a procedure that includes the proliferation and migration of endothelial cells from preexisting vessels. The growth of blood vessel growth takes place in the embryo and infrequently in adult. Proteins which belong to the angiogenesis family take part in endothelial lining, disassembling, assembling of blood vessels. ANGPTL1 is crucial for vessel survival, maturation, migration and adhesion. ANGPTL2 disrupts vascularization and activates cell death though the reaction of ANGPTL2 with VEGF result in the proliferation of neo-vascularization. ANGPT2 is an antagonist for TIE2 and ANGPT1, which interferes the vascular production ability of ANGPT1. ANGPT2 stimulates endothelial cell apoptosis. In the absence of ANGPT1, ANGPT2 can produce tyrosine phosphorylation of TEK/TIE2. ANGPTL2 and VEGF together assist the proliferation and endothelial cell migration therefore act as a tolerant angiogenic signal. Angiopoietin proteins modulate vasodilation, microvascular permeability, and vasoconstriction through signaling the smooth muscle cells that are adjacent to the vessels. The 4 recognized angiopoietins are: ANGPT1, ANGPT2, ANGPT3 and ANGPT4. Tissues discharge angiogenic factors that stimulate angiogenesis due to poor blood supply conditions through pathological angiogenesis and typical processes. Angiogenic Proteins are activated by connective tissue, tumor and inflammatory cells in reaction to hypoxia. Proteins which belong to the Angiogenesis family are effected by genetic background thus responsible for diseases that take part in the production of new blood vessels. Angiopoietin-1 was found in the conditioned medium of the human neuroepithelioma cell line SHEP1 and the mouse myoblast cell line C2C12ras. The cDNA encoding a protein of 498 amino acids was isolated by using a secretion-trap expression cloning procedure exploiting the presence of a signal sequence present in growth factors that are secreted by producer cells (Davis et al, 1996). Murine and human factors show 97 % identity at the amino acid level. For a related factor see: CDT6. The human gene has been mapped to chromosome 8q22.3-q23 (Cheung et al, 1998). The expression of angiopoietin-1 mRNA is downregulated by PDGF, EGF, IL1-beta, and TGF-beta (Enholm et al, 1997). Angiopoietin-1 is a ligand for the receptor-like tyrosine kinase designated TIE-2 (Davis et al, 1996). Binding of Angiopoietin-1 to its receptor induces tyrosine phosphorylation of the cytoplasmic receptor domain. A naturally occuring antagonist of Angiopoietin-1 binding to TIE-2 is Angiopoietin-2. Angiopoietin-1 also binds to the TIE-1 receptor and this interaction appears to be critical for the development of the right-hand side venous system. It is dispensable for the left-hand side venous system, suggesting that right-hand and left-hand side vascular networks are established early before asymmetrical features of the network become morphologically discernible Loughna and Sato, 2001). Angiopoietin-1 does not directly promote the growth of cultured endothelial cells. Angiopoietin-1 is chemotactic for endothelial cells (Witzenbichler et al, 1998). Excess soluble TIE-2 receptors abolish the chemotactic response of endothelial cells toward angiopoietin-1. Angiopoietin-1 has been shown to counteract cell death by apoptosis in cultured endothelial cells (Holash et al, 1999). Angiopoietin-1 also acts as an apoptosis survival factor for endothelial cells and this effect is augmented by the presence of VEGF (Kwak et al, 1999). Angiopoietin-2 dose-dependently blocks directed migration toward Angiopoietin-1. Carlson et al (2001) have shown that Ang-1 binds rather selectively to vitronectin and that Ang-1 can directly support adhesion of human umbilical vein endothelial cells and fibroblasts in a process mediated by integrins. The physiologic roles of Angiopoietin-1 and its receptor are limited to angiogenic processes that occur subsequent to the earlier vasculogenic and angiogenic actions of the VEGF family and their receptors. However, it is unlike most of the known angiogenesis factors such as VEGF and other classical endothelial cell growth factors in that addition of the factor to cultures of endothelial cells does not directly promote cell growth even though the TIE-2 receptor becomes activated. Angiopoietin-1 also appears to be incapable of inducing the formation of tubules by endothelial cells. Angiopoietins can potentiate the effects of other angiogenic cytokines. An investigation of the impact of angiopoietins on neovascularization in vivo in the cornea micropocket assay of neovascularization demonstrates that neither Angiopoietin-1 nor Angiopoietin-2 alone promote neovascularization. Holash et al (1999) have shown that a subset of tumors initially grows by coopting existing host vessels. Regression of these vessels via a process that involves disruption of interactions between endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells as well as cell death by apoptosis of endothelial cells first causes loss of tumour cells before angiogenesis begins at the tumor margin and the tumor is rescued under the influence of VEGF, Angiopoietin-1, and probably other angiogenic stimuli. The embryonic expression pattern of Angiopoietin-1 suggests that it plays a particularly important role in the developing heart. Angiopoietin-1 is expressed highly in the myocardial wall surrounding the endocardium expressing TIE-2. Expression of Angiopoietin-1 becomes much more widespread later in development. The receptor for Angiopoietin-1 has been shown to be expressed on hemopoietic progenitor cells (see also: hematopoiesis) and some leukemic blasts. Arai et al (2004) have identified quiescent and anti-apoptotic hematopoietic stem cells expressing the receptor tyrosine kinase TIE-2 as a side population of hematopoietic stem cells that adhere to bone marrow osteoblasts. Angiopoietin-1 acting on TIE-2 induces cobblestone formation (see also: hematopoietsis) and maintains long-term repopulating activity of hematopoietic stem cells in vivo, also protecting them from myelosuppressive stress. The coexpression of TIE-2 and Angiopoietin-1 in megakaryoblastic leukemia cell lines suggests the existence of an autocrine ligand/receptor signaling loop in these cells (Kukk et al, 1997).

LG G8X ThinQ's antutu score is 370000 making it 62% better than all other phones in the world The best performing phone in the world is OPPO Find X2 Pro according to Performance Ranking of AnTuTu V8 LG G8X ThinQ Review Retail Price of LG G8X ThinQ in Pakistan is Rs.115,999/-. Price mentioned for LG G8X ThinQ above is in Pakistani Rupees PKR. We are showing the latest price updated on November 21, 2019, LG G8X ThinQ price in Pakistan is updated from the list provided by LG authorized distributers. The Price for LG G8X ThinQ is valid all over Pakistan including these major cities: Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Quetta and Muzaffarabad. Online shops such as Daraz, Goto and telemart, offer similar prices. We have listed this price from authorized distributor. There could be price variations depending on discounts available online or stock clearance sale offers in major business centers and mobile shops all over Pakistan. We suggest to always look for PTA approved LG G8X ThinQ in official warranty.

Numbers matter in fantasy football. There’s no denying that. Passing yards are measured in numbers. Receiving TDs are measured in numbers. Rushing yards, receptions, interceptions, rushing TDs – that’s right, all numbers. The most critical fantasy number is points scored. Score more than your opponent, and you win. Score even a fraction of a point less, and you lose. In the world of fantasy football, numbers are everything. Fantasy owners can read the box score of every game every week, but that doesn’t always tell the whole story. Numbers without context are meaningless. Some numbers matter more than others, some are good predictors of future behavior, some are fluky and hard to consistently forecast, and others merely reinforce what our eyes already tell us about a particular player. In this week’s article, I’m taking a different approach in honor of the mid-way point of the season. Now that half of this season’s games have been played, I’m going to look at the biggest leaders and losers so far based on our preseason half-PPR Expert Consensus Rankings (ECR) at each position. I’ve compared the preseason ranking to the actual ranking up to this point in the season and calculated the difference. A positive number means that player has exceeded his projections. A negative number means the opposite. The higher the number, the bigger the difference. (All scoring is half-PPR, four-point per passing TD) Import your team to My Playbook for instant Lineup & Trade advice >> Running Backs Leaders This list is full of surprises, as Phillip Lindsay, James White, James Conner, and T.J. Yeldon are all currently top-15 RBs. Adrian Peterson has turned back the clock once again, showing why he got the nickname, “All Day.” The man shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon, and he was fantasy’s fifth-highest scoring back in Week 8. Phillip Lindsay has been great with limited work and, with Royce Freeman out in Week 8, he turned a heavy workload into 100 scrimmage yards and a score. James White will continue to feast as Tom Brady’s safety valve receiving back, especially with Sony Michel dealing with an injury. James Conner is locked into a heavy workload on a good offense behind a solid O-line for the time being. Even if Le’Veon Bell comes back in Week 10, Conner won’t be phased out completely. Keep rolling with him even if he gets his touches reduced. T.J. Yeldon continues to rack up receptions on a very bad Jaguars offense. Obviously, the projected return of Leonard Fournette in Week 10 will be a huge hit to Yeldon’s value. I think the Jags signed Carlos Hyde as necessary insurance because the odds are slim that Fournette finishes the season healthy. Yeldon should stay involved moving forward. Ito Smith is a highly TD-dependent flex, but he’s a lottery ticket stash in case anything happens to Tevin Coleman. Former Mountaineer stud Wendell Smallwood seems to be the Eagles back with the most value, but he’s boom/bust any given week in a head-scratching RBBC that recently featured Josh Adams. Jalen Richard isn’t scoring, but he’s a favorite target of Derek Carr. He’s fifth in RB receptions this season with 39, and he’s a weekly PPR flex. Losers This is a list rocked with injuries at the top and poor play at the bottom. Leonard Fournette has only played in a few games this season, and he wasn’t all that effective when on the field. He’s projected to come back in Week 10, but I wouldn’t count on that too heavily. Dalvin Cook and Shady have been in and out of game action with injuries as well, and while neither has looked particularly good when in, McCoy has been extremely limited. As expected, Derrick Henry has been a massive letdown to owners who wasted a third-round pick on him. Ditto, Jordan Howard. JoHo was talked up by fantasy writers across the board, yours truly included. He’s been consistently outproduced by Tarik Cohen this season. I got rid of all my shares of Howard already, and I recommend the same to anyone who still has him. He scores occasionally, but predicting which games he will be useful is a crapshoot. Royce Freeman has shared time with the above-mentioned Phillip Lindsay, though Lindsay has been the better play. The former Oregon Duck has been underwhelming, but he remains a flex option because of his role. Jamaal Williams started the season with a prime opportunity to take control of Green Bay’s backfield. He couldn’t take advantage. Even though he scored in Week 8 and Ty Montgomery is now a Baltimore Raven, Williams isn’t worth playing in your season-long lineups. Wide Receivers Leaders Tyler Boyd has been nothing short of awesome this season. For owners lucky enough to have snagged him, keep playing him despite a tough schedule after the Bengals’ Week 9 bye. David Moore has come on hot recently, scoring four times in his last three games. He has major upside. Calvin Ridley scored six TDs from Weeks 2-4, but he hasn’t scored or topped 47 yards receiving in his three games since. He’s still a valuable WR with some more big games ahead. Keep the faith. DeSean Jackson remains the ultimate/boom-bust player after leading the NFL in receiving through Week 2 and cooling off significantly after that. After demanding a trade last week (and being immediately rebuffed), D-Jax caught a 60-yard TD in Week 8. He’s been better with Ryan Fitzpatrick under center, so his arrow is pointing up, but he’s the same WR as he’s ever been — a roll of the dice on any given Sunday. Tyrell Williams fits that same bill, but he’s been targeted more frequently as of late, and he’s scored three times in the last two weeks. He’s a big-play flex option. A couple of Ravens make this list, as “Silly” Willie Snead and John Brown have far exceeded expectations. Snead has the higher floor with a low ceiling, garnering 42 targets over his last five games. Brown has a lower floor with a much higher ceiling with his game-breaking speed, and he’s top-five in the NFL in yards per reception. The Ravens’ schedule is awesome from here on out, with games against Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, and Kansas City. A top-25 effort the rest of the way wouldn’t be outlandish. Robert Woods is locked into a weekly WR1/2 role on the Rams’ high-powered offense. Emmanuel Sanders is a must-start every week as Case Keenum’s favorite target, and he’ll draw even more targets with the recent Demaryius Thomas trade. Losers There were several huge flops inside the top-20 this year. Doug Baldwin has been dealing with a nagging knee injury, but he’s been an afterthought in an already low-volume Seahawks passing game. He’s not an attractive option right now. Amari Cooper continued to be hit-or-miss in Oakland, but his recent trade to the Cowboys should give him some stability and a consistent role in the offense. He’s trending up. Larry Fitzgerald recently put up his first 100-yard game of 2018 in a Week 8 win over the 49ers. It was the first game with new OC Byron Leftwich, and the entire Cardinals offense will be better after a dreadful start. Fitz still has something left in the tank for fantasy owners. Pierre Garcon is seemingly never involved in the 49ers’ offense. He has less than three receptions per game, and he hasn’t found the end zone. Allen Hurns wasn’t expected to have any huge games with Dallas, but he’s been a complete non-factor in Dallas’ offense. Randall Cobb exploded in Week 1 before dealing with injuries and just not producing when healthy. Kelvin Benjamin has been better than expected in real-life action, having to deal with Nathan Peterman and Derek Anderson throwing him the football. He’s not fantasy relevant. All of the guys mentioned in this paragraph can be dropped if you haven’t done so already. Tight Ends Leaders Pittsburgh’s TE tandem of James and McDonald have been far better than advertised, getting quality looks from Big Ben and making plays when given the chance. Both have had 100-yard games already, and both should be streamable most weeks. Picking which TE will have a good game, however, is a tough task. Eric Ebron is the biggest surprise on this list, racking up yards and scoring at will in Jack Doyle’s absence. Doyle returned in Week 8 after a six-week hiatus, and he instantly garnered Andrew Luck’s full attention. Ebron has been incredible for fantasy owners, but he won’t keep up the production with Doyle back in the picture. Consider him still a TE1 with much less upside. Jared Cook has been the most-targeted Raider this season, and he’ll keep posting good fantasy lines for owners after Amari Cooper was traded to the Cowboys. He’s Derek Carr’s most reliable weapon. Austin Hooper has averaged 7-65 over his last three games, and it looks like he has Matt Ryan’s trust. He’s a weekly TE1 option. Losers Evan Engram has dealt with lingering injuries this season, and he should see his production rise as the season moves forward, but it’s tough to love anyone catching passes from Eli Manning. Mike Gesicki was never a viable starting fantasy TE, but it’s unbelievable just how irrelevant he’s been. Jimmy Graham is a TE1, but he certainly hasn’t put up numbers worthy of his preseason ECR. Tyler Eifert was injured once again on a nasty broken ankle. Sadly, it would be surprising if he played football again. Gronk has had two good games all season, and he hasn’t scored since Week 1. It feels like the big game we’ve been waiting on just isn’t coming. You’ve got to hold him, but he’s not a must-start anymore. Quarterbacks Leaders The biggest surprise on this list or any is the emergence of Patrick Mahomes. This guy has been on an absolute tear this season. He’s a leading candidate for MVP, on pace for over 40 passing TDs, and fantasy’s clear overall QB1 through eight games. Set and forget. Mitchell Trubisky is another big surprise here. He’s been a great starting option for fantasy owners, but the Bears’ schedule isn’t super friendly to QBs down the stretch. Some regression is coming. Joe Flacco has an improved offensive cast around him, competition from Lamar Jackson, and an upcoming contract. He’s been great this year, and his schedule is one of the most friendly to QBs in his remaining games. Andy Dalton is someone else with great matchups on the horizon. He should continue to put up fantasy points, but don’t play him in prime time. Matt Ryan understandably regressed after his MVP season and a heartbreaking Super Bowl loss. He’s still the same guy, and now he has Calvin Ridley opposite Julio Jones. The Falcons’ defense is atrocious, so Ryan will keep airing it out while Atlanta plays catchup. Losers I highlighted Russell Wilson in last week’s article, so I won’t keep banging on him. He’s so talented that he will have some good weeks, but he’s inconsistent due to the Seahawks’ low-volume passing attack. Matthew Stafford is an average play at QB, but he’s thrown at least two TDs in every game except Week 1, giving him a great floor. The Lions’ rest of season schedule is brutal to QBs, but he makes a handy bye-week fill-in or spot start as needed. Marcus Mariota isn’t fantasy relevant, playing on a horrible Titans offense that was supposed to be improved under new OC Matt LaFleur. Tyrod Taylor didn’t last long playing ahead of Baker Mayfield. He would only be useable if Baker missed time. Alex Smith has thrown for less than 200 yards in three straight games now, and although the Falcons and Bucs are next up on the slate, Smith isn’t a thrilling fantasy play. Washington’s bread and butter is its much-improved defense and run game behind the ageless wonder, Adrian Peterson. Good games are ahead, but it’s hard to get excited about playing Alex Smith. D/STs Leaders D/ST ECR Actual Difference NYJ DST29 DST8 +21 IND DST32 DST11 +21 CLE DST26 DST6 +20 CHI DST12 DST2 +10 WAS DST24 DST15 +9 The Jets have had a strong showing, wildly exceeding preseason expectations. The same is true for Washington, whose run defense has limited Ezekiel Elliott, Christian McCaffrey, and Saquon Barkley to under 100 combined rushing yards. The ‘Skins fantasy playoff schedule is juicy, facing the Giants, Titans, and Jags. Indy’s defense was ranked dead-last in the ECR, but that unit has been solid, and their rest-of-season schedule looks great. Chicago was picked as a D/ST1 by ECR, but the Khalil Mack addition pushed the Bears into elite territory. Losers D/ST ECR Actual Difference JAX DST1 DST25 -24 NO DST9 DST30 -21 PHI DST4 DST23 -19 ATL DST14 DST32 -18 LAC DST5 DST22 -17 Jacksonville’s top-ranked defense from 2017 looks like a shell of itself, and things got worse on Tuesday when DE/LB Dante Fowler got traded to the Rams. Jacksonville is on the waiver wire in most of my leagues, and they’re very much droppable. The Saints and Falcons are allowing ridiculous production to opposing QBs, averaging 303 yards per game between them. Philadelphia’s D/ST, which has been tremendous over the last five seasons, has struggled this year, and they only need to be played in excellent matchups. The Chargers D/ST turned it up last year, but that hasn’t been the case in 2018. They will get better when Joey Bosa returns, but it’s unclear when that will be. Get a free analysis of your team with My Playbook >> Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | TuneIn | RSS Zachary Hanshew is a correspondent at FantasyPros. For more from Zachary, check out his archive and follow him @zakthemonster.

You are here From the Editors: Unruly Style Sartorial styles, for better or worse, connect cultures—bridge east and west, link north and south—through the common bond of taste (see “Orient Expressions”). Throughout Europe’s history, shared standards of dress and deportment contributed in their small way to the commingling of royal bloodlines that resulted in the continent’s elaborate network of pedigrees. Today, however, the noble ranks serve the couture industry as often as it serves them: Most of the European haut monde pays court at fashion galas to the designers, who preside like sovereigns over their guests. As The New York Times observed in its account of a 1986 bash thrown for Karl Lagerfeld at the Palace of Versailles, “kings and queens of fashion such as Kenzo Takada, Dior’s Marc Bohan and the Italian designers Anna, Federica and Maria Teresa Fendi” were present, surrounded by an entourage of “working and unemployed counts and countesses” as well as “a clutch of princesses” that comprised, among others, Ghislaine de Polignac, Laure de Beauvau-Craon, and Gloria von Thurn und Taxis. Yet the latter of these ladies—who, only six years before, at the age of 20, had married her Fürst, Prince Johannes von Thurn und Taxis—did not remain a silent member of the clutch for long. “On this same floor, the great-great-great grandfather of my husband was dancing like crazy,” she remarked to the Times correspondent. “But the fact that there were no bathrooms still bothers me.” Dubbed the punk princess—thanks to her spiked hair and affinity for Harley-Davidsons—Gloria (pictured with Johannes) was well versed on the subject of castles: Her husband’s overstuffed real-estate portfolio included numerous regal properties, the grandest being the 500-room Schloss St. Emmeram in Regensburg, Germany, which was originally constructed as an abbey in the eighth century. Johannes’s family traced its own history to the mountains of northern Italy, where an ancestor by the name of de Tassis established a private postal service in the 15th century that later became the courier of record for the Holy Roman Empire. Though this enterprise was absorbed by the Prussian government in 1867, the family received ahefty sum in exchange, and in 1982, when Johannes assumed his place as head of the dynasty, he controlled a fortune valued at several billion dollars, making it one of the largest in Germany. Armed with these resources, the prince and his bride, who was 34 years his junior, embarked on a decade of revelry that shocked some of the more conventional members of their social circle and delighted the international press. The prince, who was openly bisexual, frequented discotheques that were infamous points of assignation, and he habitually engaged in spiteful pranks. He was reputed, for example, to have introduced a piranha into an acquaintance’s aquarium of rare fish, and supposedly he once sprayed a guest’s sable coat with hair remover. For her part, Gloria, who regularly rocked the house at Studio 54, was on one occasion arrested for possession of hashish at the Munich airport, and while a guest on David Letterman’s late-night talk show, she famously barked like a dog. These antics made her steady fodder for gossip columns, where she was often referred to as “Princess TNT” and “the dynamite socialite.” Her most explosive stunt, however, occurred during her husband’s 60th birthday celebration, which was held at St. Emmeram. Attended by such luminaries as Malcolm Forbes Jr. and Mick Jagger, this opulently orchestrated affair culminated with the presentation of cake adorned with 60 phallus-shaped candles and a performance from the hostess, who, costumed as Marie Antoinette, descended on a golden cloud to sing “Happy Birthday.” All fashions change, however, and the reign of the punk princess ended abruptly with the heady hedonism of the 1980s.After two heart-transplant surgeries, the prince died in December 1990, leaving his wife and three young children an estate saddled with staggering financial liabilities, including a monumental tax bill. The notoriety in which Princess Gloria had exulted only a few years before quickly became a burden, as headlines proclaimed “Treasures of a Punk Princess on the Block” and “Princess Tightens Her High-Fashion Belt.”To meet her obligations, she was forced to open St. Emmeram to the public and hire out its gilded spaces for corporate events. More distressing still, at several much-publicized sales, Princess Debt und Taxes, as she came to be called, auctioned off not only priceless silver, jewelry, and paintings but also—in a fatal blow to her erstwhile punk image—the royal Harley-Davidsons.

=cmr10 scaled 2074 =cmr8 =cmr5 =cmbx8 =cmti8 =cmmi8 =cmmi6 =cmmi5 =cmsy8 =cmsy6 =cmsy5 =cmex8 =0 =15.0truecm =0.6truecm =22.0truecm \#1\#2 \#1 i Ł[$L^1$-]{} ¶[[**P**]{}]{} =1 Controlled quantum evolutions and transitions **Nicola Cufaro Petroni** [*INFN Sezione di Bari, INFM Unità di Bari and* ]{} [*Dipartimento Interateneo di Fisica dell’Università e del Politecnico di Bari,*]{} [*via Amendola 173, 70126 Bari (Italy)*]{} [email protected] [**Salvatore De Martino, Silvio De Siena and Fabrizio Illuminati**]{} [*INFM Unità di Salerno,*]{} [*INFN Sezione di Napoli - Gruppo collegato di Salerno and*]{} [*Dipartimento di Fisica dell’Università di Salerno*]{} [*via S.Allende, 84081 Baronissi, Salerno (Italy)*]{} [email protected], [email protected] [email protected] 1.3cm [**ABSTRACT: [*We study the non stationary solutions of Fokker–Planck equations associated to either stationary or non stationary quantum states. In particular we discuss the stationary states of quantum systems with singular velocity fields. We introduce a technique that allows arbitrary evolutions ruled by these equations to account for controlled quantum transitions. As a first signficant application we present a detailed treatment of the transition probabilities and of the controlling time–dependent potentials associated to the transitions between the stationary, the coherent, and the squeezed states of the harmonic oscillator.*]{}**]{} 1.3cm [**1. Introduction**]{} In a few recent papers \[1\] the analogy between diffusive classical systems and quantum systems has been reconsidered from the standpoint of the stochastic simulation of quantum mechanics \[2\], \[3\], \[4\] and particular attention has been devoted there to the evolution of the classical systems associated to a quantum wave function when the conditions imposed by the stochastic variational principle are not satisfied (non extremal processes). The problem studied in those papers was the convergence of an arbitrary evolving probability distribution, solution of the Fokker–Planck equation, toward a suitable quantum distribution. In \[1\] it was pointed out that, while the correct convergence is achieved for a few quantum examples, these results cannot be considered general as shown in some counterexamples: in fact not only for particular non stationary wave functions (as for a minimal uncertainty packet), but also for stationary states with nodes one does not recover in a straightforward way the correct quantum asymptotic behaviour. For stationary states with nodes the problem is that the corresponding velocity field to consider in the Fokker–Planck equation shows singularities at the locations of the nodes of the wave function. These singularities effectively separate the available interval of the configurational variables into non communicating sectors which trap any amount of probability initially attributed and make the system non ergodic. In a more recent paper \[5\] it has been shown that for transitive systems with stationary velocity fields (as, for example, a stationary state without nodes) we always have an exponential convergence to the correct quantum probability distribution associated to the extremal process, even if we initially start from an arbitrary non extremal process. These results can also be extended to an arbitrary stationary state if we separately consider the process as confined in every region of the configuration space between two subsequent nodes. In the same paper \[5\] it has been further remarked that while the non extremal processes should be considered virtual, as the non extremal trajectories of classical Lagrangian mechanics, they can however become physical, real solutions if we suitably modify the potential in the Schrödinger equation. The interest of this remark lies not so much in the fact that non extremal processes are exactly what is lacking in quantum mechanics in order to interpret it as a totally classical theory of stochastic processes (for example in order to have a classical picture of a double slit experiment \[6\]), but rather in the much more interesting possibility of engineering and controlling physically realizable evolutions of quantum states. This observation would be of great relevance, for instance to the study and the description of (a) transitions between quantum states (b) possible models for quantum measurements \[3\] and (c) control of the dynamics of quantum–like systems (for instance charged beams in particle accelerators) \[7\]. In particular, case (c) is being studied in the framework of Nelson stochastic mechanics which is an independent and self–consistent reformulation of quantum mechanics \[2\], \[3\] and can be applied in other areas of physical phenomenology. For instance it can usefully account for systems not completely described by the quantum formalism, but whose evolution is however strongly influenced by quantum fluctuations, i.e. the so–called mesoscopic or quantum–like systems. This behaviour characterizes, for example, the beam dynamics in particle accelerators and there is evidence that it can be described by the stochastic formalism of Nelson diffusions \[1\], \[7\] since in these quantum–like systems, trajectories and transition probabilities acquire a clear physical meaning, at variance with the case of quantum mechanics. On the other hand, quantum behaviours can be simulated by means of classical stochastic processes in a by now well defined and established framework \[2\]. A stochastic variational principle provides a foundation for that, in close analogy with classical mechanics and field theory \[3\]. In this scheme the deterministic trajectories of classical mechanics are replaced by the random trajectories of diffusion processes in configuration space. The programming equations derived from the stochastic variational principle are formally identical to the equations of the Madelung fluid \[8\], the hydrodynamical equivalent of Schrödinger equation \[9\]. On this basis, it is possible to develop a model whose phenomenological predictions coincide with those of quantum mechanics for all the experimentally measurable quantities. Within this interpretative code stochastic mechanics is nothing but a quantization procedure, different from the canonical one only formally, but completely equivalent from the point of view of the physical consequences: a probabilistic simulation of quantum mechanics, providing a bridge between this fundamental physical theory and stochastic differential calculus. However, it is well known that the central objects in the theory of classical stochastic processes, namely the transition probability densities, seldom play any observable role in stochastic mechanics and must be considered as a sort of gauge variables. Several generalizations of Nelson stochastic quantization have been recently proposed to allow for the observability of the transition probabilities: for instance, stochastic mechanics could be modified by means of non constant diffusion coefficients \[1\]; alternatively, it has been suggested that the stochastic evolution might be modified during the measurement process \[10\]. The aim of the present paper is instead to show how the transition probabilities associated to Nelson diffusion processes can play a very useful role in standard quantum mechanics, in particular with regard to describing and engineering the dynamics of suitably controlled quantum evolutions and transitions. More precisely, we consider the following problem in the theory of quantum control: [*given an initial probability distribution $\rho_i$ associated to an arbitrarily assigned quantum state $\psi_i$, we study its time evolution with the drift associated to another arbitrarily assigned quantum state $\psi_f$, to determine the controlling time–dependent potential $V_{c}(x,t)$ such that, I) at any instant of time the evolving probability distribution is that associated to the wave function solution of the Schrödinger equation in the potential $V_{c}(x,t)$, and that, II) asymptotically in time the evolving distribution converges to the distribution $\rho_f$ associated to $\psi_f$*]{}. After introducing the formalism of Nelson stochastic mechanics to describe quantum evolutions in Sections 2 and 3, we provide in Sections 3 and 4 a self–contained review of the Sturm–Liouville problem for the Fokker–Planck equation and the techniques of solution for the Nelson diffusions associated both to nonstationary and stationary quantum states. In Section 5 we discuss in detail the example of the harmonic oscillator, explicitely solving for the transition probability densities of the ground and of the low lying excited states. Sections 6, 7 and 8 are devoted to the study and the solution of the problem outlined above, discussing the potentials associated to the definition of controlled quantum evolution, and modelling transitions. Two explicit examples are studied in detail: the controlled transition between the invariant probability densities associated to the ground and the first excited state of the harmonic oscillator, and the controlled evolution between pairs of coherent or squeezed wave packets. In these cases the problem can be solved completely, yielding the explicit analytic form of the evolving transition probabilities and of the evolving controlling potentials at all times. Finally, in Section 9 we present our conclusions and discuss possible future extensions and applications of the technique introduced in the present paper, with regard to the discussion of anharmonic quantum and quantum–like systems, the role of instabilities in the initial conditions, and the implementation of optimization procedures. [**2. Fokker-Planck equations and quantum systems**]{} Here we will recall a few notions of stochastic mechanics in order to fix the notation. The configuration of a classical particle is promoted to a vector Markov process $\xi(t)$ taking values in $\RE^3$. This process is characterized by a probability density $\rho ({\bf r},t)$ and a transition probability density $p({\bf r},t|\,{\bf r'},t')$ and its components satisfy an Itô stochastic differential equation of the form $$d\xi_j(t)=v_{(+)j}\bigl(\xi(t),t\bigr)dt+d\eta_j(t) \, , \eqno(2.1)$$ where $v_{(+)j}$ are the components of the forward velocity field. However here the fields $v_{(+)j}$ are not given a priori, but play the role of dynamical variables and are consequently determined by imposing a specific dynamics. The noise $\eta(t)$ is a standard Wiener process independent of $\xi(t)$ and such that $$\E_t\bigl(d\eta_j(t)\bigr)=0\,,\qquad \E_t\bigl(d\eta_j(t)\,d\eta_k(t)\bigr)=2 \, D \, \delta_{jk}\, dt \, , \eqno{(2.2)}$$ where $d\eta(t)=\eta(t+dt)-\eta(t)$ (for $dt>0$), $D$ is the diffusion coefficient, and $\E_t$ are the conditional expectations with respect to $\xi(t)$. In what follows, for sake of notational simplicity, we will limit ourselves to the case of one dimensional trajectories, but the results that will be obtained can be immediately generalized to any number of dimensions. We will suppose for the time being that the forces will be defined by means of purely configurational potentials, possibly time–dependent $V(x,t)$. A suitable definition of the Lagrangian and of the stochastic action functional for the system described by the dynamical variables $\rho$ and $v_{(+)}$ allows to select, the processes which reproduce the correct quantum dynamics \[2\], \[3\]. In fact, while the probability density $\rho (x,t)$ satisfies, as usual, the forward Fokker–Planck equation associated to the stochastic differential equation (2.1) $$\partial_t \rho = D \partial_x^2 \rho -\partial_x ( v_{(+)} \rho ) = \partial_x ( D \partial_x \rho - v_{(+)} \rho ) \, , \eqno{(2.3)}$$ the following choice for the Lagrangian field $$L(x,t)={m\over2}v_{(+)}^2 (x,t) + m D \partial_x v_{(+)}(x,t) - V(x,t) \, , \eqno{(2.4)}$$ enables to define a stochastic action functional $${\cal A}=\int_{t_0}^{t_1}\E \big[L\big(\xi(t),t\big) \big] \, dt \, , \eqno{(2.5)}$$ which leads, through the stationarity condition $\delta {\cal A}=0$, to the equation $$\partial_tS + {(\partial_xS)^2\over2m} + V \, - 2mD^2 \, {\partial^2_x\sqrt{\rho } \over \sqrt{\rho }} = 0 \, . \eqno{(2.6)}$$ The field $S(x,t)$ is defined as $$S(x,t)=-\int_t^{t_1} \E\left[ L\big(\xi(s),s\big)\,\big|\,\xi(t)=x \right] \, ds +\E\left[ S_1\big(\xi(t_1)\big)\,\big|\,\xi(t)=x \right] \, , \eqno{(2.7)}$$ where $S_1(\,\cdot\,)=S(\,\cdot\,,t_1)$ is an arbitrary final condition. By introducing the function $R(x,t) \equiv \sqrt{\rho(x,t)}$ and the de Broglie Ansatz $$\psi(x,t)=R(x,t)\,{\rm e}^{iS(x,t)/2mD} \, \, , \eqno{(2.8)}$$ equation (2.6) takes the form $$\partial_tS+{(\partial_xS)^2\over2m}+V\,-\,{2mD^{2}}\, {\partial^2_xR\over R}=0 \, , \eqno{(2.9)}$$ and the complex function $\psi$ satisfies the Schrödinger–like equation $$i(2mD)\partial_t\psi=\hat H\psi= -\,{2mD^{2}}\,\partial_x^2\psi + V\psi \, . \eqno{(2.10)}$$ If the diffusion coefficient is chosen to be $$D={\hbar\over 2m}\, , \eqno{(2.11)}$$ we recover exactly the Schrödinger equation of quantum mechanics. Different choices of $D$ allow instead to describe the effective quantum–like dynamics of more general systems. On the other hand, if we start from the (one–dimensional) Schrödinger equation (2.10) with the de Broglie Ansatz (2.8) and the diffusion coefficient (2.11), separating the real and the imaginary parts as usual in the hydrodynamical formulation \[8\], we recover equations (2.3) and (2.6) with $\rho = R^2 =|\psi|^2$ and the forward velocity field $$v_{(+)}(x,t) = {1\over m} \, \partial_xS+{\hbar\over 2m}\,\partial_x(\ln R^2) \, . \eqno{(2.12)}$$ [**3. The Sturm–Liouville problem and the solutions of the Fokker–Planck equation**]{} Let us recall here (see for example \[11\]) a few generalities about the techniques of solution of the Fokker–Planck equation with $D$ and $v_{(+)}$ two time–independent continuous and differentiable functions defined for $x\in[a,b]$ and $t\geq t_0$, such that $D(x)>0$, and $v_{(+)}(x)$ has no singularities in $(a,b)$. The Fokker–Planck equation then reads $$\partial_t \rho =\partial_x^2(D\rho )-\partial_x(v_{(+)} \rho )= \partial_x\bigl[\partial_x(D\rho )-v_{(+)} \rho \bigr] \, . \eqno{(3.1)}$$ The conditions imposed on the probabilistic solutions are of course $$\eqalign{\rho (x,t)\geq0\,,&\qquad\qquad a<x<b\,,\;t_0\leq t\,,\cr \int_a^b \rho(x,t)\,dx=1\,,&\qquad\qquad t_0\leq t\,,\cr} \eqno{(3.2)}$$ and from the form of (3.1) the second condition takes the form $$\bigl[\partial_x(D\rho )-v_{(+)} \rho \bigr]_{a,b}=0\,,\qquad t_0\leq t\,.\eqno{(3.3)}$$ Suitable initial conditions will be added to produce the required evolution: for example the transition probability density $p(x,t|x_0,t_0)$ will be selected by the initial condition $$\lim_{t\to t_0^+}\rho (x,t)= \rho_{in} (x)=\delta(x-x_0)\,.\eqno{(3.4)}$$ It is also possible to show by direct calculation that $$h(x)=N^{-1}\,\e^{-\int[D'(x) -v_{(+)}(x)]/D(x)\,dx} \, \, , \qquad \left( N=\int_a^b\e^{-\int[D'(x)-v_{(+)}(x)]/D(x)\,dx} \, dx \right) \eqno{(3.5)}$$ is always an invariant (time independent) solution of (3.1) satisfying the conditions (3.2) (here the prime symbol denotes differentiation). One should observe however that relation (3.1) is not in the standard self–adjoint form \[12\]; this fact notwithstanding, if we define the new function $g(x,t)$ by means of $$\rho (x,t)=\sqrt{h(x)}\,g(x,t) \, , \eqno{(3.6)}$$ it is easy to show that $g(x,t)$ obeys an equation of the form $$\partial_tg={\cal L}g \, , \eqno{(3.7)}$$ where the operator ${\cal L}$ acting on positive normalizable functions $\varphi(x)$ and defined by $${\cal L}\varphi= {{\rm d}\over {\rm d}x}\left[r(x)\, {{\rm d}\varphi(x)\over {\rm d}x}\right]-q(x)\varphi(x)\,, \eqno{(3.8)}$$ with $$\eqalign{r(x)&=D(x)>0\,,\cr q(x)&={\bigl[D'(x)-v_{(+)}(x)\bigr]^2\over4D(x)}\,-\, {\bigl[D'(x)-v_{(+)}(x)\bigr]'\over2}\,,\cr}\eqno{(3.9)}$$ is now self–adjoint. By separating the variables by means of $g(x,t)=\gamma(t)G(x)$ we have $\gamma(t)={\rm e}^{-\lambda t}$ while $G$ must be solution of a typical Sturm-Liouville problem associated to the equation $${\cal L}G(x)+\lambda G(x)=0 \, , \eqno{(3.10)}$$ with the boundary conditions $$\eqalign{&\bigl[D'(a)-v_{(+)}(a)\bigr]G(a)+2D(a)G'(a)=0\,,\cr &\bigl[D'(b)-v_{(+)}(b)\bigr]G(b)+2D(b)G'(b)=0\,.\cr} \eqno{(3.11)}$$ It is easy to see that $\lambda=0$ is always an eigenvalue for the problem (3.10) with (3.11), and that the corresponding eigenfunction is $\sqrt{h(x)}$ as defined from (3.5). For the differential problem (3.10) with (3.11) we have that \[12\] the simple eigenvalues $\lambda_n$ will constitute an infinite, monotonically increasing sequence and the corresponding eigenfunction $G_n(x)$ will have $n$ simple zeros in $(a,b)$. This means that $\lambda_0=0$, corresponding to the eigenfunction $G_0(x)=\sqrt{h(x)}$ which never vanishes in $(a,b)$, is the lowest eigenvalue, and that all the other eigenvalues are strictly positive. Moreover the eigenfunctions will form a complete orthonormal set of functions in $L^2\bigl([a,b]\bigr)$ \[13\]. As a consequence, the general solution of equation (3.1) satisfying the conditions (3.2) will have the form $$\rho (x,t)=\sum_{n=0}^{\infty}c_n\e^{-\lambda_nt} \sqrt{h(x)}G_n(x) \, , \eqno{(3.12)}$$ with $c_0=1$ for normalization (remember that $\lambda_0=0$). The coefficients $c_n$ for a particular solution are selected by an initial condition $$\rho (x,t_0^+) = \rho_{in}(x) \, , \eqno{(3.13)}$$ and are then calculated from the orthonormality relations as $$c_n=\int_a^b\rho_{in}(x) \, {G_n(x)\over\sqrt{h(x)}}\,dx\,.\eqno{(3.14)}$$ In particular for the transition probability density we have from (3.4) that $$c_n={G_n(x_0)\over\sqrt{h(x_0)}}\,.\eqno{(3.15)}$$ Since $\lambda_0=0$ and $\lambda_n>0$ for $n>1$, the general solution (3.12) of (3.1) has a precise time evolution: all the exponential factors in (3.12) vanish as $t\to+\infty$ with the only exception of the term $n=0$ which is constant, so that exponentially fast we will always have $$\lim_{t\to+\infty}\rho (x,t)=c_0\sqrt{h(x)}G_0(x)=h(x)\, . \eqno{(3.16)}$$ Therefore the general solution will always relax in time toward the invariant solution $h(x)$. As a consequence the eigenvalues $\lambda_{n}$ which solve the Sturm–Liouville problem define the physical time scales of the decay. By the structure of equations (3.7)–(3.11) we see that tuning the choice of the physical parameters that enter in the diffusion coefficient and in the forward velocity field allows for different sets of eigenvalues which define different sets of time scales. Hence, the rate of convergence can be fixed as to yield fast decay, slow decay, or even, on proper observational scales, quasi metastable behaviours, according to what kind of physical evolution between quantum states one wants to realize. This point will be further discussed and elucidated in Section 6. [**4. Processes associated to stationary quantum states**]{} Let us consider now a Schrödinger equation (2.10) with a time–independent potential $V(x)$ which gives rise to a purely discrete spectrum and bound, normalizable states. Let us introduce the following notations for stationary states, eigenvalues and eigenfunctions: $$\eqalign{\psi_n(x,t)&=\phi_n(x)\, {\rm e}^{-iE_nt/\hbar} \, , \cr \hat H\phi_n&=-{\hbar^2\over 2m}\,\phi''_n+V\phi_n = E_n\phi_n \, . \cr } \eqno{(4.1)}$$ Taking into account relation (2.11), the previous eigenvalue equation can also be recast in the following form $$D\phi''_n={V-E_n\over\hbar}\,\phi_n\,.\eqno{(4.2)}$$ For these stationary states the probability densities are the time–independent, real functions $$\rho_n(x)=|\psi_n(x,t)|^2=\phi_n^2(x)\,, \eqno{(4.3)}$$ while the phase and the amplitude of $\psi_n$ are from (2.8) $$S_n(x,t)=-E_nt\,,\qquad R_n(x,t)=\phi_n(x)\,, \eqno{(4.4)}$$ so that the associated velocity fields are from (2.12) $$v_{(+)n}(x)=2D\,{\phi'_n(x)\over\phi_n(x)}\,. \eqno{(4.5)}$$ Each $v_{(+)n}$ is time–independent and presents singularities in the nodes of the associated eigenfunction. Since the $n$–th eigenfunction of a quantum system with bound states has exactly $n$ simple nodes $x_1,\dots,x_n$, the coefficients of the Fokker-Planck equation (2.3) are not defined in these $n$ points and it is necessary to solve it in separate intervals by imposing the correct boundary conditions connecting the different sectors. In fact these singularities effectively separate the real axis in $n+1$ sub–intervals with walls impenetrable to the probability current. Hence the process will not have an unique invariant measure and will never cross the boundaries fixed by the singularities of $v_{(+)}(x)$: if the process starts in one of the sub–intervals, it will always remain there \[14\]. As a consequence, the normalization integral (3.2) (with $a=-\infty$ and $b=+\infty$) is the sum of $n+1$ integrals over the sub–intervals $[x_k,x_{k+1}]$ with $k=0,1,\dots,n$ (where we understand, to unify the notation, that $x_0=-\infty$ and $x_{n+1}=+\infty$). Hence for $n\geq1$ equation (2.3) must be restricted in each interval $[x_k,x_{k+1}]$ with the integrals $$\int_{x_k}^{x_{k+1}}\rho (x,t)\,dx \, , \eqno{(4.6)}$$ constrained to a constant value for $t\geq t_0$. This constant is not, in general, equal to one (only the sum of these $n+1$ integrals amounts to one) and, since the separate intervals cannot communicate, it will be fixed by the choice of the initial conditions. Therefore, due to the singularities appearing in the forward velocity fields $v_{(+)n}$ for $n\geq 1$, we deal with a Fokker–Planck problem with barriers. The boundary conditions associated to (2.3) then require the conservation of probability in each sub–interval $[x_k,x_{k+1}]$, i.e. the vanishing of the probability current at the end points of the interval: $$\bigl[D\partial_x \rho- v_{(+)} \rho \bigr]_{x_k,x_{k+1}} = 0\,,\qquad t\geq t_0\,. \eqno{(4.7)}$$ To obtain a particular solution one must specify the initial conditions. In particular, we are interested in the transition probability density $p(x,t|x_0,t_0)$, which is singled out by the initial condition (3.4), because the asymptotic convergence in $L^1$ of the solutions of equation (2.3) is ruled by the asymptotic behaviour of $p(x,t|x_0,t_0)$ through the Chapman–Kolmogorov equation \[1\] $$\rho (x,t)=\int_{-\infty}^{+\infty}p(x,t|y,t_0) \rho (y,t_0^+)\,dy \, . \eqno{(4.8)}$$ It is clear at this point that in every interval $[x_k,x_{k+1}]$ (both finite or infinite) we can write the solution of equation (2.3) along the guidelines sketched in Sect. 3. We must only keep in mind that in $[x_k,x_{k+1}]$ we already know the invariant, time–independent solution $\phi_n^2(x)$ which is never zero inside the interval itself, with the exception of the end points $x_k$ and $x_{k+1}$. Hence, as we have seen in the general case, with the position $$\rho (x,t)=\phi_n(x)g(x,t) \, , \eqno{(4.9)}$$ we can reduce (2.3) to the form $$\partial_tg={\cal L}_ng \, , \eqno{(4.10)}$$ where ${\cal L}_n$ is now the self–adjoint operator defined on $[x_k,x_{k+1}]$ by $${\cal L}_n\varphi(x)={{\rm d}\over{\rm d}x} \left[r(x){{\rm d}\varphi(x)\over{\rm d}x}\right] -q_n(x)\varphi(x) \, , \eqno{(4.11)}$$ with $$r(x)=D>0\,;\qquad q_n(x)= {v_{(+)n}^2(x)\over 4D}+{v_{(+)n}'(x)\over 2}\, . \eqno{(4.12)}$$ Equation (4.10) is solved by separating the variables, so that we immediately have $\gamma(t)={\rm e}^{-\lambda t}$ while the spatial part $G(x)$ of $g$ must be solution of $${\cal L}_nG(x) + \lambda G(x)=0 \, , \eqno{(4.13)}$$ with the boundary conditions $$\bigl[2DG'(x)-v_{(+)n}(x)G(x)\bigr]_{x_k,x_{k+1}} =0 \, . \eqno{(4.14)}$$ The general behaviour of the solutions of this Sturm–Liouville problem obtained as expansions in the system of the eigenfunctions of (4.13) has already been discussed in Section 3. In particular we deduce from (3.12) that for the stationary quantum states (more precisely, in every subinterval defined by two subsequent nodes) all the solutions of (2.3) always converge in time toward the correct quantum solution $|\phi_n|^2$. As a further consequence, any quantum solution $\phi^2_n$ defined on the entire interval $(-\infty,+\infty)$ will be stable under deviations from its initial condition. [**5. An explicit example: the harmonic oscillator**]{} To provide an explicit evolution of the probability and the transition probability densities of stochastic mechanics, we consider in detail the example of a harmonic oscillator associated to the potential $$V(x)={m\over2}\,\omega^2x^2\,,\eqno{(5.1)}$$ with energy eigenvalues $$E_n=\hbar\omega \left(n+{1\over2}\right) \, , \qquad n=0,1,2\dots \, .\eqno{(5.2)}$$ Introducing the notation $$\sigma_0^2={\hbar\over2m\omega}\, , \eqno{(5.3)}$$ the time–independent part of the eigenfunctions (4.1) reads $$\phi_n(x)= {1\over\sqrt{\sigma_0\sqrt{2\pi}2^nn!}} \, {\rm e}^{-x^2/4\sigma_0^2}\, H_n\left({x\over\sigma_0\sqrt{2}}\right) \, , \eqno{(5.4)}$$ where $H_n$ are the Hermite polynomials. The corresponding forward velocity fields for the lowest lying levels are: $$\eqalign{v_{(+)0}(x)&=-\omega x\,,\cr v_{(+)1}(x)&=2\,{\omega\sigma_0^2\over x}-\omega x\,,\cr v_{(+)2}(x)&=4\omega\sigma_0^2 \, {x\over x^2-\sigma_0^2}-\omega x\,,\cr} \eqno{(5.5)}$$ with singularities in the zeros of the Hermite polynomials. When $n=0$ the equation (2.3) takes the form $$\partial_t\rho =\omega\sigma_0^2\partial_x^2 \rho +\omega x\partial_x \rho +\omega \rho \, , \eqno{(5.6)}$$ and the fundamental solution turns out to be the Ornstein–Uhlenbeck transition probability density $$p_0(x,t|x_0,t_0)={1\over\sigma(t)\sqrt{2\pi}} \, {\rm e}^{-[x-\alpha(t)]^2/2\sigma^2(t)} \, \, , \qquad(t\geq t_0) \, , \eqno{(5.7)}$$ where we have introduced the notation $$\alpha(t)=x_0\e^{-\omega(t-t_0)}\, \, , \qquad \sigma^2(t)=\sigma_0^2\bigl[1-\e^{-2\omega(t-t_0)}\bigr]\,, \qquad(t\geq t_0)\,.\eqno{(5.8)}$$ The stationary Markov process associated to the transition probability density (5.7) is selected by the initial, invariant probability density $$\rho_0 (x)={1\over\sigma_0\sqrt{2\pi}} \, \e^{-x^2/2\sigma_0^2} \, \, , \eqno{(5.9)}$$ which is also the asymptotic probability density for every other initial condition when the evolution is ruled by equation (5.6) (see \[1\]) so that the invariant distribution plays also the role of the limit distribution. Since this invariant probability density also coincides with the quantum one $\phi_0^2=|\psi_0|^2$, the process associated by stochastic mechanics to the ground state of the harmonic oscillator is nothing but the stationary Ornstein–Uhlenbeck process. For $n\geq1$ the solutions of (2.3) are determined in the following way. As discussed in the previous section, one has to solve the eigenvalue problem (4.13) which can now be written as $$-\,{\hbar^2\over2m}\,G''(x)+ \left({m\over2}\omega^2x^2-\hbar\omega\,{2n+1\over2} \right) G(x) = \hbar\lambda G(x) \, , \eqno{(5.10)}$$ in every interval $[x_k,x_{k+1}]$ between two subsequent singularities of the forward velocity fields $v_{(+)n}$. The boundary conditions at the end points of these intervals, deduced from (4.14) through (4.5), are $$[\phi_nG'-\phi_n'G]_{x_k,x_{k+1}} =0 \, . \eqno{(5.11)}$$ Reminding that $\phi_n$ (but not $\phi'_n$) vanishes in $x_k,x_{k+1}$, the conditions to impose are $$G(x_k)=G(x_{k+1})=0 \, , \eqno{(5.12)}$$ where it is understood that for $x_0$ and $x_{n+1}$ we mean, respectively $$\lim_{x\to-\infty}G(x)=0\, , \qquad\lim_{x\to+\infty}G(x)=0 \, . \eqno{(5.13)}$$ It is also useful at this point to state the eigenvalue problem in adimensional form by using the reduced eigenvalue $\mu=\lambda/\omega$, and the adimensional variable $x/\sigma_0$ which, by a slight abuse of notation, will be still denoted by $x$. In this way the equation (5.10) with the conditions (5.12) becomes $$\eqalign{y''(x)-\left({x^2\over4} -{2n+1\over2}-\mu\right)y(x)&=0 \, , \cr y(x_k)=y(x_{k+1})&=0 \, . \cr} \eqno{(5.14)}$$ If $\mu_m$ and $y_m(x)$ are the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of (5.14), the general solution of the corresponding Fokker–Planck equation (2.3) will be (reverting to dimensional variables) $$\rho (x,t)= \sum_{m=0}^{\infty}c_m\e^{-\mu_m\omega t} \phi_n(x)y_m\left({x\over\sigma_0}\right) \, . \eqno{(5.15)}$$ The values of the coefficients $c_m$ will be fixed by the initial conditions and by the obvious requirements that $\rho(x,t)$ must be non negative and normalized during the whole time evolution. Two linearly independent solutions of (5.14) are $$y^{(1)}=\e^{-x^2/4}M \left(-\,{\mu+n\over2},{1\over2};{x^2\over2}\right) \, , \qquad y^{(2)}= x\e^{-x^2/4}M \left(-\,{\mu+n-1\over2}, {3\over2};{x^2\over2}\right)\, , \eqno{(5.16)}$$ where $M(a,b;z)$ are the confluent hypergeometric functions. The complete specification of the solutions obviusly requires the knowledge of all the eigenvalues $\mu_m$. We consider first the instance $n=1$ ($x_0=-\infty$, $x_1=0$ and $x_2=+\infty$), which can be completely solved \[5\]. In this case equation (5.14) must be solved separately for $x\leq0$ and for $x\geq0$ with the boundary conditions $y(0)=0$ and $$\lim_{x\to-\infty}y(x)= \lim_{x\to+\infty}y(x)=0 \, . \eqno{(5.17)}$$ A long calculation \[5\] shows that the transition probability density is now $$p(x,t|x_0,t_0)={x\over\alpha(t)}\, {\e^{-[x-\alpha(t)]^2/2\sigma^2(t)}- \e^{-[x+\alpha(t)]^2/2\sigma^2(t)} \over \sigma(t)\sqrt{2\pi}} \, , \eqno{(5.18)}$$ where $\alpha(t)$ and $\sigma^2(t)$ are defined in (5.8). It must be remarked however that (5.18) must be considered as restricted to $x\geq0$ when $x_0>0$ and to $x\leq0$ when $x_0<0$, and that only on these intervals it is suitably normalized. In order to take into account both these possibilities we can introduce the Heavyside function $\Theta(x)$ so that for every $x_0\not=0$ we will have $$p_1(x,t|x_0,t_0)=\Theta(xx_0)\,{x\over\alpha(t)}\, {\e^{-[x-\alpha(t)]^2/2\sigma^2(t)}- \e^{-[x+\alpha(t)]^2/2\sigma^2(t)} \over \sigma(t)\sqrt{2\pi}} \, . \eqno{(5.19)}$$ &gt;From equation (4.8) we can deduce the evolution of every other initial probability density. In particular it can be shown that, with $\rho_1(x)=\phi_1^2(x)$ $$\lim_{t\to+\infty}p_1(x,t|x_0,t_0)=2\Theta(xx_0)\, {x^2\e^{-x^2/2\sigma_0^2}\over\sigma_0^3\sqrt{2\pi}}= 2\Theta(xx_0)\rho_1(x)\, . \eqno{(5.20)}$$ Hence, if $\rho (x,t_0^+)=\rho_{in} (x)$ is the initial probability density, we have for $t>t_0$ $$\eqalign{\lim_{t\to+\infty}\rho (x,t) & = \lim_{t\to+\infty} \int_{-\infty}^{+\infty}p(x,t|y,t_0) \rho_{in} (y)\,dy\cr &=2\phi_1^2(x)\int_{-\infty}^{+\infty} \Theta(xy)\rho_{in} (y)\,dy =\Gamma(\epsilon ;x)\rho_1(x)\,,\cr}\eqno{(5.21)}$$ where we have defined the function $$\Gamma(\epsilon ;x) = \epsilon \Theta(x)+(2-\epsilon )\Theta(-x)\,;\qquad \epsilon =2\int_0^{+\infty}\rho_{in} (y)\,dy \, . \eqno{(5.22)}$$ When $\epsilon =1$ (with symmetric initial probability, equally shared on the two real semi–axis) we have $\Gamma(1;x)=1$ and the asymptotical probability density coincides with the quantum stationary density $\rho_1(x)=\phi_1^2(x)$. If on the other hand $\epsilon \not=1$ the asymptotic probability density has the same shape of $\phi_1^2(x)$ but with different weights on the two semiaxes. If we consider the higher excited states, the Sturm–Liouville problem (5.14) must be solved numerically in each sub–interval. For instance, in the case $n=2$ we have $x_0=-\infty$, $x_1=-1$, $x_2=1$ and $x_3=+\infty$. Considering in particular the sub–interval $[-1,1]$, it can be shown that beyond $\mu_0=0$ the first few eigenvalues are determined as the first possible values such that $$M\left(-\,{\mu+1\over2} \, , \, {3\over2} \, ; \, {1\over2} \, \right) = 0 \, . \eqno{(5.23)}$$ This gives $\mu_1\sim 7.44$, $\mu_2\sim 37.06$, $\mu_3\sim 86.41$. [**6. Controlled evolutions**]{} In this Section we move on to implement the program outlined in the introduction, that is to exploit the transition probabilities of Nelson stochastic mechanics to model controlled quantum evolutions to arbitrarily assigned final quantum states. We start by observing that to every solution $\rho(x,t)$ of the Fokker–Planck equation (3.1), with a given $v_{(+)}(x,t)$ and constant diffusion coefficient (2.11), we can always associate the wave function of a quantum system. To this end, it is sufficient to introduce a suitable time–dependent potential. Let us take a solution $\rho (x,t)$ of the Fokker–Planck equation (3.1), with a given $v_{(+)}(x,t)$ and a constant diffusion coefficient $D$: introduce the functions $R(x,t)$ and $W(x,t)$ from $$\rho (x,t)=R^2(x,t)\,,\qquad\quad v_{(+)}(x,t) =\partial_x W(x,t)\,,\eqno{(6.1)}$$ and remind from (2.12) that the relation $$mv_{(+)}=\partial_x S+\hbar\,{\partial_x R\over R}= \partial_x S+{\hbar\over2}\,{\partial_x \rho \over \rho }= \partial_x\left( S+{\hbar\over2}\ln\tilde \rho \right) \eqno{(6.2)}$$ must hold, where $\tilde \rho $ is an adimensional function (argument of a logarithm) obtained from the probability density $\rho $ by means of a suitable and arbitrary dimensional multiplicative constant. If we now impose that the function $S(x,t)$ must be the phase of a wave function as in (2.8), we immediately obtain from (6.1) and (6.2) the equation $$S(x,t)=mW(x,t)-{\hbar\over2}\ln \tilde \rho (x,t)-\theta(t) \, , \eqno{(6.3)}$$ which allows to determine $S$ from $\rho$ and $v_{(+)}$ (namely $W$) up to an additive arbitrary function of time $\theta(t)$. However, in order that the wave function (2.8) with $R$ and $S$ given above be a solution of a Schrödinger problem in quantum mechanics, we must also make sure that the Hamilton–Jacobi–Madelung equation (2.9) is satisfied. Since $S$ and $R$ are now fixed, equation (2.9) must be considered as a relation (constraint) defining the controlling potential $V_{c}$, which, after straightforward calculations, yields $$V_{c}(x,t)={\hbar^2\over4m}\,\partial_x^2\ln \tilde \rho + {\hbar\over2}\left(\partial_t\ln \tilde \rho + v_{(+)} \partial_x \ln \tilde \rho \right) -{mv_{(+)}^2\over2}-m\partial_tW+\dot\theta \, . \eqno{(6.4)}$$ Of course if we start with a quantum wave function $\psi(x,t)$ associated to a given time–independent potential $V(x)$ and we select as a solution of (2.3) exactly $\rho = |\psi|^{2}$, then the formula (6.4) always yields back the given potential, as it should. This can be explicitly seen (to become familiar with this kind of approach) in the examples of the ground state and the first excited state of the harmonic oscillator potential (5.1), by choosing respectively in equation (6.4) $\theta(t)=\hbar\omega t/2$ and $\theta(t)=3\hbar\omega t/2$, which amounts to suitably fix the zero of the potential energy. On the other hand the nonstationary fundamental solution (5.7) associated to the velocity field $v_{(+)0}(x)$ of (5.5) for the case $n=0$ (we put $t_0=0$ to simplify the notation) does not correspond to a quantum wave function of the harmonic oscillator whatsoever. However it is easy to show that, by choosing $$\dot\theta(t)= {\hbar\omega\over2} \left({2\sigma_0^2\over\sigma^2(t)}-1\right)= {\hbar\omega\over2}\,{1\over\tanh \omega t}\to {\hbar\omega\over2}\,,\qquad(t\to+\infty)\,,\eqno{(6.5)}$$ and the time–dependent controlling potential $$V_{c}(x,t)= {\hbar\omega\over2} \left[{x-\alpha(t)\over\sigma(t)}\right]^2 {\sigma_0^2\over\sigma^2(t)}-{m\omega^2x^2\over2}\to {m\omega^2x^2\over2}\, , \qquad(t\to+\infty) \, , \eqno{(6.6)}$$ with $\alpha(t)$, $\sigma(t)$ and $\sigma_{0}$ defined in equations (5.8) and (5.3), we can define a quantum state, i.e. a wave function $\psi_{c}(x,t)$ solution of the Schrödinger equation in the potential (6.6). At the same time $\psi_{c}$ is associated to the transition probability density of the form (5.7) which is its modulus squared. Of course the fact that for $t\to+\infty$ we recover the harmonic potential is connected to the already remarked fact that the usual quantum probability density is also the limit distribution for every initial condition and in particular also for the evolution (5.7). In the case $n=1$, with the $v_{(+)1}(x)$ as given by equation(5.5) and the transition probability density (5.19), we define $$T(x)={x\over\tanh x}\, , \eqno{(6.7)}$$ and then we choose $$\dot\theta(t)={\hbar\omega\over2} \left({4\sigma_0^2\over\sigma^2(t)}- {2\sigma_0^2\alpha^2(t)\over\sigma^4(t)}-1\right) \to{3\over2}\,\hbar\omega\,,\qquad(t\to+\infty) \, , \eqno{(6.8)}$$ so that we have the following time–dependent controlling potential (for every $x\not=0$): $$\eqalign{V_{c}(x,t)&={m\omega^2x^2\over2} \left({2\sigma_0^4\over\sigma^4}-1\right)+ \hbar\omega\left[1-{\sigma_0^2\over\sigma^2}\, T\left({x\alpha\over\sigma^2}\right)\right]- {\hbar^2\over4mx^2}\, \left[1-T \left( {x\alpha\over\sigma^2}\right)\right]\cr &\to{m\omega^2x^2\over2}\, , \qquad\qquad(t\to+\infty)\, . \cr} \eqno{(6.9)}$$ The limit $t \to +\infty $ must be obviously intended in a physical sense, i.e. for times much longer than $\lambda_1^{-1}$, the largest characteristic time of decay in the expansion (3.12). In this particular case $\lambda_1 = \omega $. In fact here too the asymptotic potential is the usual one of the harmonic oscillator, but it must be considered separately on the positive and on the negative $x$ semiaxis, since in the point $x=0$ a singular behaviour would show up when $t\to 0$. This means that, also if asymptotically we recover the right potential, it will be associated with a new boundary condition in $x=0$ since the system must be confined on one of the two semiaxes. [**7. Modelling transitions**]{} Given any couple $(\rho, v_{(+)})$ associated to a Fokker–Planck equation, the possibility of promoting it to a solution of a Schrödinger problem by a suitable controlling potential $V_{c}(x,t)$ enables to model quantum evolutions driving, for instance, the probability density of a given quantum stationary state to another (decays and excitations). Moreover, an immediate generalization of this scheme might open the way to modelling evolutions from a given, arbitrary quantum state to an eigenfunction of a given observable. Besides other applications, this is something which could become a starting point for building simple models of the measurement process, where one tries to dynamically describe the wave packet collapse \[10\]. As a first example let us consider the transition between the invariant probability densities associated to the ground and the first excited state of the harmonic oscillator potential (5.1): $$\eqalign{\rho_0 (x)&=\phi_0^2(x) = {1\over\sigma_0\sqrt{2\pi}} \, \e^{-x^2/2\sigma_0^2} \, , \cr \rho_1 (x)&=\phi_1^2(x)= {x^2\over\sigma_0^3\sqrt{2\pi}} \, \e^{-x^2/2\sigma_0^2} \, . \cr}\eqno{(7.1)}$$ If we choose to describe the decay $\phi_1 \to \phi_0 $ we may exploit the Chapman–Kolmogorov equation (4.8) with the transition probability density (5.7), and the initial probability density $\rho_{1}(x)$. An elementary integration shows in this case that the resulting evolution takes the form ($t_0=0$) $$\rho_{1\to0} (x,t)= \beta^2(t)\rho_0 (x)+\gamma^2(t)\rho_1 (x) \, , \eqno{(7.2)}$$ where $$\beta^2(t)=1-\e^{-2\omega t}\,,\qquad \gamma(t)=\e^{-\omega t} \, . \eqno{(7.3)}$$ Recalling $v_{(+)0} (x)$ as given in (5.5) and the evolving probability density (7.2), and inserting them in equation (6.4) we obtain the following form of the controlling potential: $$V_{c}(x,t)={m\omega^2 x^2\over2}-2\hbar\omega U(x/\sigma_0;\beta/\gamma) \, , \eqno{(7.4)}$$ where $$U(x;b)={x^4+b^2x^2-b^2\over (b^2+x^2)^2} \, . \eqno{(7.5)}$$ The parameter $$b^2(t)={\beta^2(t)\over\gamma^2(t)} = \e^{2\omega t}-1 \eqno{(7.6)}$$ is such that $b^2(0^+)=0$ and $b^2(+\infty)=+\infty$. Thus $U$ goes to zero as $t\to+\infty$ for any $x$, and as $t\to 0^+$ is 1 for every $x$, except for a negative singularity in $x=0$. As a consequence, while for $t\to+\infty$ the controlling potential (7.4) simply tends to the potential (5.1), for $t\to0^+$ it presents an unessential shift of $-2\hbar\omega$ in the zeroth level, and a deep negative singularity in $x=0$. The singular behaviour of the controlling potential at the initial time of the evolution is a problem connected to the proper definition of the phase function $S$. In fact, from (6.3) we have: $$S(x,t)= -{\hbar\over2} \ln\left[\beta^2(t)+{x^2\over\sigma_0^2} \gamma^2(t)\right] -{\hbar\omega\over2}\, t \, ,\eqno{(7.7)}$$ so that in particular we have $$S(x,0^+)=-{\hbar\over2} \, \ln{x^2\over\sigma_0^2} \, \, . \eqno{(7.8)}$$ We would instead have expected that initially the phase be independent of $x$ as for every stationary wave function. This means that in the constructed evolution $S(x,t)$ presents a discontinuous behaviour for $t\to 0^+$. The problem arises here from the fact that we initially have a stationary state characterized by a probability density $\rho_1 (x)$ and a velocity field $v_{(+)1}(x)$, and then suddenly, in order to activate the decay, we impose to the same $\rho_1$ to be embedded in a different velocity field $v_{(+)0}(x)$ which drags it toward a new stationary $\rho_0(x)$. This discontinuous change from $v_{(+)1}$ to $v_{(+)0}$ is of course responsible for the remarked discontinuous change in the phase of the wave function. We have therefore modelled a transition which starts with a sudden, discontinuous kick. To construct a transition that evolves smoothly also for $t\to 0^+$ we should take into account a continuous and smooth modification of the initial velocity field into the final one. This requirement compels us to consider a new class of Fokker–Planck equations with time–dependent forward velocity fields $v_{(+)}(x,t)$. In particular, to achieve the proposed smooth controlled decay between two stationary states of the harmonic oscillator, we should solve an evolution equation with a continuous velocity field $v_{(+)}(x,t)$ which evolves smoothly from $v_{(+)1}(x)$ to $v_{(+)0}(x)$. Clearly, the smoothing procedure can be realized in several different ways and the selection must be dictated by the actual physical requirements and outputs one is interested in. A suitable smoothing for our transitions which leads to manageable equations still has to be found; however in the following Section we will study a problem in which the smoothness of the evolution is [*a priori*]{} granted. [**8. Smooth transitions: coherent and squeezed wave packets**]{} As anticipated at the end of the previous Section we will now consider an instance of controlled evolution that does not require an extra smoothing procedure for the driving velocity field, i.e. the transition between pairs of coherent wave packets. In particular we will consider both the transition from a coherent oscillating packet (coherent state) to the ground state of the same harmonic oscillator, and a dynamical procedure of squeezing a coherent wave packet. To this end we will recall a simple result \[1\] which indicates how to find the solutions of a particular class of evolution equations (2.3) which includes the situation of our proposed examples. If the velocity field of the evolution equation (2.3) has the linear form $$v_{(+)}(x,t) = A(t) + B(t)x \eqno{(8.1)}$$ with $A(t)$ and $B(t)$ continuous functions of time, then there are always solutions of the Fokker-Planck equation in the normal form ${\cal N}\bigl(\mu(t), \nu(t) \bigr)$, where $\mu(t)$ and $\nu(t)$ are solutions of the differential equations $$\dot\mu(t)-B(t)\mu(t)=A(t)\,;\qquad \dot\nu(t)-2B(t)\nu(t)=2D\eqno{(8.2)}$$ with suitable initial conditions. The first case that we consider is the coherent wave packet with a certain initial displacement $a$: $$\psi(x,t)=\biggl({1\over2\pi\sigma_0^2}\biggr)^{1/4} \exp\biggl[-{(x-a\cos\omega t)^2\over4\sigma_0^2} -i\biggl({4ax\sin\omega t-a^2\sin2\omega t \over8\sigma_0^2}+{\omega t\over2} \biggr)\biggr] \, , \eqno{(8.3)}$$ whose forward velocity field reads $$v_{(+)}(x,t)=a\omega(\cos\omega t-\sin\omega t) -\omega x\, . \eqno{(8.4)}$$ The field (8.4) is of the required form (8.1) with $A(t)= a\omega(\cos\omega t-\sin\omega t)$ and $B(t)=-\omega$, while the configurational probability density is $$\rho (x,t)=|\psi(x,t)|^2 =\rho_0 (x-a\cos\omega t) \, , \eqno{(8.5)}$$ with $\rho_0$ is the one of the ground state of the harmonic oscillator given by (7.1). It is easy to show that when $B(t)=-\omega$, as in the case of the wave packets we are considering, there are coherent solutions of (2.3) with $\nu(t)=\sigma_0^2$ of the form ${\cal N}\bigl(\mu(t),\sigma_0^2\bigr)$, i.e. of the form $$\rho (x,t)=\rho_0 \bigl(x-\mu(t)\bigr) \, . \eqno{(8.6)}$$ Now the time evolution of such coherent solutions can be determined in one step, without implementing the two–step procedure of first calculating the transition probability density and then, through the Chapman-Kolmogorov equation, the evolution of an arbitrary initial probability density. On the other hand if we compare (5.5) and (8.4) we see that the difference between $v_{(+)0}$ and $v_{(+)}$ consists in the first, time–dependent term of the latter; hence it is natural to consider the problem of solving the evolution equation (2.3) with a velocity field of the type $$\eqalign{v_{(+)}(x,t)&=A(t)-\omega x \, , \cr A(t)&=a\omega(\cos\omega t -\sin\omega t)F(t) \, , \cr} \eqno{(8.7)}$$ where $F(t)$ is an arbitrary function varying smoothly between 1 and 0, or viceversa. In this case the evolution equation (2.3) still has coherent solutions of the form (8.6) with a $\mu(t)$ dependent on our choice of $F(t)$ through equation (8.2). A completely smooth transition from the coherent, oscillating wave function (8..3) to the ground state $\phi_0$ (5.4) of the harmonic oscillator can now be achieved for example by means of the following choice of the function $F(t)$: $$F(t)=1-\left(1-\e^{-\Omega t}\right)^N =\sum_{k=1}^N(-1)^{k+1}{N\choose k} \e^{-\omega_k t} \, \, , \eqno{(8.8)}$$ where $$\Omega={\ln N\over \tau} \, , \qquad\omega_k=k\Omega\,; \qquad \tau>0\,,\qquad N\geq 2 \, . \eqno{(8.9)}$$ In fact, a function $F(t)$ of this form goes monotonically from $F(0)=1$ to $F(+\infty)=0$ with a flex point in $\tau$ (which can be considered as the arbitrary instant of the transition) where its derivative $F'(\tau)$ is negative and grows, in absolute value, logarithmically with $N$. The condition that the exponent $N\geq 2$ also guarantees that $F'(0)=0$, and hence that the controlling potential $V_{c}(x,t)$ given in equation (6.4) will continuously start at $t=0$ from the harmonic oscillator potential (5.1), and asymptotically come back to it for $t\to+\infty$. Finally, the phase function $S(x,t)$ will too change continuously from that of $\psi$ given in (8.3) to that of the harmonic oscillator ground state $\psi_0$. A long calculation yields the explicit form of the controlling potential: $$V_{c}(x,t)=m\omega^2{x^2\over2}-m \omega ax\sum_{k=1}^N(-1)^{k+1}{N\choose k} \big[U_k(t)\omega_k\e^{-\omega_k t} - W_k\omega\e^{-\omega t}\big] \, \, , \eqno{(8.10)}$$ where $$\eqalign{U_k(t)&=\sin\omega t+{2\omega^2\sin\omega t-\omega_k^2\cos\omega t \over (\omega_k-\omega)^2+\omega^2}\,,\cr W_k&=1+{2\omega^2- \omega_k^2\over(\omega_k-\omega)^2+\omega^2} =\sqrt{2}U_k\left({\pi\over4\omega}\right) \, . \cr} \eqno{(8.11)}$$ The parameters $\tau$ and $N$, apart the constraints (8.9), are free and can be fixed by the particular form of the transition that we want to implement, according to what specific physical situations we are interested in. Finally we remark that, in a harmonic oscillator, the transition between a coherent, oscillating wave packet and the ground state is a transition between a (Poisson) superposition of all the energy eigenstates to just one energy eigenstate: an outcome which is similar to that of an energy measurement, but for the important difference that here the result (the energy eigenstate) is deterministically controlled by a time–dependent potential. The controlled transition that we have constructed does not produce mixtures, but pure states (eigenstates) and may be considered a dynamical model for one of the branches of a measurement leading to a selected eigenvalue and eigenstate. Until now we have considered transitions between gaussian wave packets with constant width. However it is also of great interest to discuss the case of controlling potentials able to produce a wave–packet evolution with variable width: a kind of controlled squeezing of the wave–packet. This could be very useful in such instances as the shaping of the Gaussian output in the manufacturing of molecular reactions, or in the design of focusing devices for beams in particle accelerators, in which the width of the bunch must be properly squeezed. We will discuss now a simple case which shows also that, in the particular conditions chosen, it is also possible to avoid the integration of the differential equations (8.2). Let us remember that when the forward velocity field has the form (8.1) the Fokker-Planck equation (2.3) always possesses Gaussian solutions of the form $$\rho(x,t)={\e^{-[x-\mu(t)]^2/2\nu(t)} \over \sqrt{2\pi\nu(t)}} \, , \eqno{(8.12)}$$ if $\mu(t)$ and $\nu(t)$ are solutions of (8.2). We plan now to describe evolutions of the quantum state (2.8) such that I) both $V_{c}(x,t)$ and $S(x,t)$ be continuous and regular at every instant, and II) the variance $\nu(t)$ satisfy the relations $$\nu(-\infty)=\sigma^2_0 \, , \qquad\qquad\nu(+\infty)=\sigma^2_1\,. \eqno{(8.13)}$$ In practice this means that, if for example we require for the sake of simplicity $\mu(t)=0$ at every time, we will describe a transition from the ground state of an harmonic oscillator with frequency $\omega_0=D/\sigma^2_0$ to the ground state of another harmonic oscillator with frequency $\omega_1=D/\sigma^2_1$. It is convenient to remark here that this very simple transition cannot be achieved by means of an arbitrary time–dependent potential $V_{c}(x,t)$, given that it goes from $m\omega_0^2x^2/2$ for $t\to-\infty$ to $m\omega_1^2x^2/2$ for $t\to+\infty$. The intermediate evolution, indeed, when not suitably designed, would introduce components of every other energy eigenstate of the final harmonic oscillator which will not, in general, asymptotically disappear. Let us recall here that the relevant quantities are the phase function $$S(x,t)=mW(x,t)-mD\ln \tilde \rho (x,t)-\theta(t) \eqno{(8.14)}$$ (where $\theta(t)$ is arbitrary and, from (6.1) and (8.1), $W(x,t)=A(t)x+B(t)x^2/2$), and the controlling potential $$V_{c}(x,t)=mD^2\,\partial_x^2\ln \tilde \rho + mD\left(\partial_t\ln \tilde \rho + v_{(+)} \partial_x \ln \tilde \rho \right) -{mv_{(+)}^2\over2}-m\partial_tW+\dot\theta \, . \eqno{(8.15)}$$ Both these two functions are determined from the knowledge of forward velocity field $ v_{(+)}(x,t)$ and of the adimensional density $\tilde \rho(x,t)=\sigma_0\rho(x,t)$. However in this coherent evolution it will not be necessary to integrate the differential equations (8.2) to obtain an explicit form of $S$ and $V_{c}$. Indeed, since $A(t)$, $B(t)$ and $\ln\rho(x,t)$ can be expressed through (8.2) in terms of $\mu(t)$, $\nu(t)$, $\dot\mu(t)$, $\dot\nu(t)$ and $D$, it is a straightforward matter to show that the phase is of the general form $$S(x,t)={m\over 2}\,\left[\Omega(t)x^2 -2U(t)x+\Delta(t)\right] \, , \eqno{(8.16)}$$ with $$\eqalign{\Omega(t)&={\dot\nu(t)\over 2\nu(t)} \, , \cr U(t)&={\mu(t)\dot\nu(t)-2\nu(t)\dot\mu(t) \over 2\nu(t)}\,,\cr \Delta(t)&=D\,{\mu^2(t)\over\nu(t)}+D\, \ln{2\pi\nu(t)\over\sigma_0^2} -{2\theta(t)\over m}\,,\cr} \eqno{(8.17)}$$ while the controlling potential reads $$V_{c}(x,t)={m\over 2}\, \left[\omega^2(t)x^2-2a(t)x +c(t)\right] \, , \eqno{(8.18)}$$ where $$\eqalign{\omega^2(t)&={4D^2-2\nu(t)\ddot\nu(t) +\dot\nu^2(t)\over 4\nu^2(t)}\,,\cr a(t)&={4D^2\mu(t) +4\nu^2(t)\ddot\mu(t)-2\mu(t)\nu(t)\ddot\nu(t) +\mu(t)\dot\nu^2(t)\over 4\nu^2(t)}\,,\cr c(t)&={8D^2\mu^2(t) -4D\nu(t)\dot\nu(t)-8D^2\nu(t) -\bigl(2\nu(t)\dot\mu(t) -\mu(t)\dot\nu(t)+2D\mu(t)\bigr)\over 4\nu^2(t)}+{2\dot\theta(t)\over m}\,.\cr} \eqno{(8.19)}$$ We can simplify our notation by imposing that $\mu(t)=0$ (and hence $\dot\mu(t)=\ddot\mu(t)=0$) for every $t$, obtaining $$S(x,t)={m\over 2}\,\left[\Omega(t)x^2+\Delta(t)\right] \, , \eqno{(8.20)}$$ with $$\eqalign{\Omega(t)&={\dot\nu(t)\over 2\nu(t)}\,,\cr \Delta(t)&= D\,\ln{2\pi\nu(t)\over\sigma_0^2} -{2\theta(t)\over m}\, . \cr} \eqno{(8.21)}$$ The controlling potential too reduces to $$V_{c}(x,t)={m\over 2}\, \left[\omega^2(t)x^2 +c(t)\right] \, , \eqno{(8.22)}$$ where $$\eqalign{\omega^2(t)&={4D^2-2\nu(t)\ddot\nu(t) +\dot\nu^2(t) \over 4\nu^2(t)}\,,\cr c(t)&={2\dot\theta(t)\over m} -D{\nu(t)\dot\nu(t)+2D\nu(t) \over\nu^2(t)}\,.\cr} \eqno{(8.23)}$$ Hence the evolution is completely defined, through the four functions $\Omega(t)$, $\Delta(t)$, $\omega^2(t)$ and $c(t)$, by $\theta(t)$ and $\nu(t)$. It is expedient in particular to choose $$\theta(t)={mD\over2} \, \ln{2\pi\nu(t)\over\sigma_0^2}+{mD^2t\over\nu(t)} \, . \eqno{(8.24)}$$ In this way $$\Delta(t)= -{2D^2t\over\nu(t)} \, , \eqno{(8.25)}$$ because from (8.13) we have $\dot\nu(\pm\infty)=0$ so that (see (8.20)): $$\eqalign{S(x,t)&\sim -{mD^2t\over\sigma_0^2}\,, \qquad\quad t\to-\infty \, , \cr S(x,t)&\sim -{mD^2t\over\sigma_1^2}\,,\qquad\quad t\to+\infty \, . \cr}\eqno{(8.26)}$$ This was to be expected from the fact that $mD^2/\sigma_0^2=\hbar\omega_0/2$ and $mD^2/\sigma_1^2=\hbar\omega_1/2$ are the energy eigenvalues of the ground states of the two harmonic oscillators. Moreover from the choice (8.24) also follows that $c^2(\pm\infty)=0$ so that the controlling potential (8.22) will show no asymptotical extra terms with respect to the initial and final harmonic potentials. In order to completely specify the controlled evolution we are now left with the determination of the form of $\nu(t)$. If $b=\sigma_1/\sigma_0$, then take $$\nu(t)=\sigma_0^2\left({b+\e^{-t/\tau} \over 1+\e^{-t/\tau}}\right)^2\,, \qquad\quad(\tau>0) \, , \eqno{(8.27)}$$ so that the transition happens around the instant $t=0$ and $\tau$ controls its velocity. We thus obtain the explicit expressions for the four functions (8.21) and (8.23): $$\eqalign{\Omega(t)&={b-1\over\tau}\, {\e^{-t/\tau}\over(b+\e^{-t/\tau})(1+\e^{-t/\tau})} \, , \cr \Delta(t)&=-{2D^2t\over\sigma_0^2}\, \left({1+\e^{-t/\tau} \over b+\e^{-t/\tau}}\right)^2 \, , \cr \omega^2(t)&={D^2\over\sigma_0^4} \, \left({1+\e^{-t/\tau}\over b+\e^{-t/\tau}}\right)^4+ {b-1\over\tau^2} \, {\e^{-t/\tau}(1-\e^{-t/\tau}) \over(1+\e^{-t/\tau})^2(b+\e^{-t/\tau})} \,,\cr c(t)&=-{4D^2(b-1)\over\sigma_0^2}\, {\e^{-t/\tau}(1+\e^{-t/\tau})\over(b+\e^{-t/\tau})^3}\, {t\over\tau} \,.\cr}\eqno{(8.28)}$$ Their form is displayed in the Figures 1–4, where to fix an example we have chosen the values $\tau=1$, $b=2$, $\omega_0=1$ and $\sigma_0=1$. As it can be seen in this case the behaviour of the potential time–dependent parameters is not trivial even for the very simple squeezing of a static gaussian wave packet from a given variance to another. How to precisely follow this time dependence in a stable way will be the argument of a forthcoming paper, as discussed in the next section. [**9. Conclusions and outlook**]{} We have shown how to treat the typical inverse problem in quantum control, i.e. that of determining a controlling potential for a given quantum evolution, in the framework of Nelson stochastic mechanics. In this way we have been able to determine the general characteristics of controlled evolutions between assigned initial and final quantum states. The techniques of solution and the relation between the transition probabilities, phase functions and controlling potentials have been discussed on general grounds. Detailed, explicit calculations have also been shown in the paradigmatic test arena provided by the harmonic oscillator. Further extensions of the method outlined in the present paper are currently under study. One immediate application to be faced is the generalization of the analysis performed for the harmonic oscillator to anharmonic systems. The difficulty to be faced on the way toward this aim is that one is in general forced to deal with approximate quantum wave functions, as in the case of the quartic oscillator. Therefore the controlled evolution must be supplemented by a suitable feedback mechanism ensuring that the error initially made in choosing a certain initial approximate state does not grow during the controlled time evolution. One extremely interesting application would be the description of a controlled evolution driving initial approximate quantum states of anharmonic systems to stable wave packets generalizations of the coherent states of the harmonic oscillator \[15\]. Besides the obvious interest in several areas of quantum phenomenology, the above is also of great potential interest in discussing the control and the reduction of aberrations in quantum–like systems, i.e. deviations from the harmonic evolution that are detected in systems like charged beams in particle accelerators. Another very interesting future line of research that has been left virtually unexplored in the present paper is the introduction of optimization procedures. We have barely touched upon this problem when discussing the smoothing of the controlled transitions. Optimization of suitable functionals, chosen according to the kind of physical evolution one needs or desires to manufacture, would provide a powerful criterion of selection among the different possible smoothed evolutions. Instances of functionals to be optimized during the controlled dynamics that come naturally to mind are the uncertainty products of conjugate observables (to be optimized to a relative minimum under the constraint of Schrödinger dynamics \[16\]), or the relative entropy between the initial and final states. But many more can be imagined and devised, according to the nature of the physical problem considered. One last, but important consideration is in order. When we implement a controlled evolution by means of a suitable controlling potential we must also bear in mind that in practice small deviations away from the designed potential and from the desired wave function are always possible. In general such deviations are not subsequently reabsorbed but rather tend to drag the state away from the required evolution. Hence to really control these quantum evolutions it will be very important to study their stability under small deviations and perturbations: this is of crucial importance from the standpoint of confronting the formal, theoretical scheme with the practical applications. Work is currently in progress in all the above mentioned extensions of the present research, and we plan to soon report on it. [**REFERENCES**]{} [**FIGURE CAPTIONS**]{} [Figure 1.]{}[The parameter $\Omega(t)$ in the phase function $S(x,t)$.]{} [Figure 2.]{}[The parameter $\Delta(t)$ in the phase function $S(x,t)$.]{} [Figure 3.]{}[The parameter $\omega^2(t)$ in the potential $V_{c}(x,t)$.]{} [Figure 4.]{}[The parameter $c(t)$ in the potential $V_{c}(x,t)$.]{}

Karting and go-karts are the typical first hands-on experience in the expensive world of Motorsport. The problem is to maximize this experience you have to run on designated tracks at designated times. Not to mention the abuse on the arms, neck, shoulders and back from a rigid frame and no suspension. With Formula Cross there are no boundaries. Sand dunes, dirt trails to wide-open spaces, the locations are limitless. The team at Formula Cross will help turn your Yamaha YFZ450 or YF700 ATV into a Formula Cross Kart! Read along to find out the details, specs and options of the Formula Cross kits: Kits are compatible with both the 2002-2013 Yamaha YFZ450 and YFZ700. They can be purchased as complete buid-it-yourself (BIY) kits or you can contact for Formula Cross to find out all the details and schedule an installation.

Cumulative Prevalence of Maltreatment Among New Zealand Children, 1998-2015. To document, via linked administrative data, the cumulative prevalence among New Zealand children of notifications to child protective services (CPS), substantiated maltreatment cases, and out-of-home placements. We followed all children born in New Zealand in 1998 until the end of 2015 (an overall sample of 55 443 children). We determined the cumulative frequencies of notifications, substantiated maltreatment cases (by subtype), and first entries into foster care from birth through the age of 17 years. We also decomposed CPS involvement by gender. We found that almost 1 in 4 children had been subject to at least 1 report to CPS at age 17 years (23.5%), and 9.7% had been a victim of substantiated abuse or neglect. We also found that 3.1% had experienced out-of-home placements by age 17 years, with boys being more affected. Both notifications and substantiated child maltreatment are more common in New Zealand than is generally recognized, with the incidence of notifications higher than the incidence of medicated asthma among children and the prevalence of substantiations similar to the prevalence of obesity.

Subscribe Newsletter Shock G SHOCK-G / DIGITAL UNDERGROUNDDIGITAL UNDERGROUND HAVE SOLD OVER 10 MILLION ALBUMS AND RECEIVED MANY AWARDS INCLUDING A GRAMMY NOMINATION. Rapper, producer, musician, cartoonist Shock-G is the mastermind behind multi-platinum artists Digital Underground. Formed in Oakland in the late '80s, DU dropped their first single, "Your Life's a Cartoon" b/w "Underwater Rimes," in 1988, generating sufficient notoriety to land a deal with Tommy Boy. “Underwater Rimes” went to #1 in Amsterdam, Holland. While the second single, "Doowutchyalike," charted in Europe, it was "The Humpty Dance"-featuring Shock's Groucho-nosed alter ego, Humpty Hump-that propelled the group to platinum status in the US. Sex Packets (1990), the album that followed, rewrote the book for funk-based hip hop with its extensive use of George Clinton grooves, anticipating by two years the sound Dr. Dre would use to anchor The Chronic. '91 saw DU in the Chevy Chase/Dan Aykroyd comedy “Nothin' But Trouble,” performing the hit "Same Song" from “This is an EP Release.” This was also the recording & big-screen debut of 2pac, for whom Shock would later produce the hits "So Many Tears" & "I Get Around." Subsequent albums for Tommy Boy include Sons of the P (1991), featuring the smash "Kiss You Back," & “The Body-Hat Syndrome” (1993). DU has since dropped two indie discs, “Future Rhythm” (Critique 1996) & “Who Got the Gravy?” (Jake 1998), as well as “The Lost Files” (1999), a collection of rare & non-released tracks available exclusively through the group's web-site, ShockG.com. They continue to record & tour, having earned a reputation as a live act without peer on the hip hop club circuit. In addition to 2pac, Shock has brought up a considerable amount of talent through DU, including the Luniz, Saafir, & Mystic. In 1995, Shock appeared on the Bay Area anthem "I Got 5 on It," alongside the Luniz, Richie Rich, Spice1,E-40, & Dru Down. He has also produced & recorded with such acts as Murs, DJ Quik, George Clinton, & Prince.

FORMER ROH CHAMPION MAKES DEBUT ON WWE'S MAIN ROSTER Antonio Cesaro, formerly Claudio Castagnoli, who was one half of the longest reigning ROH Tag Team champions The Kings of Wrestling, worked the main roster of this past weekend's Raw house shows, teaming with Michael McGuillicuty. If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!

I'm not always awake at 7 AM but when i am, i haven't slept 4,994 shares

In 2012, there were 3,560 enterprises of China ferrous metal mining and processing industry and the total assets was CNY 799.617 billion, increasing by 16.74% YOY; the sales revenue was CNY 872.415 billion, increasing by 5.7% YOY; the number of employees was 664,433, increasing by 5.03% YOY. In 2012, the output volume of China ferrous metal mining and processing industry reached 1.3096370 billion tons, decreasing by 1.30% YOY. In China, ferrous metal mining and processing industry refers to the activity of mining and processing iron ore and other ferrous metals: About Us Companiesandmarkets.com is a leading online business information aggregator with over 300,000 market reports and company profiles available to our clients. Our extensive range of reports are sourced from the leading publishers of business information and provide clients with the widest range of information available. In terms of company profiles, Companiesandmarkets.com’s online database allows clients access to market and corporate information to over 100,000 different companies. We provide clients with a fully indexed database of information where clients can find specific market reports on their niche industry sectors of interest. Disclaimer: If you have any questions regarding information in these press releases please contact the company added in the press release. Please do not contact pr-inside. We will not be able to assist you. PR-inside disclaims contents contained in this release.

Q: List output being duplicated I created a simple recursive function that determines whether a number is even or odd, performs math on them, and appends them to a list: iter_list = [] def function(n): iter_list.append(n) if n < 2: print iter_list print iterations pass elif n % 2 == 0: even = n / 2 iter_list.append(even) collatz(even) elif n % 2 == 1: odd = (3 * n) + 1 iter_list.append(odd) collatz(odd) else: print "Code not working." pass stdin = input("Number") print collatz(stdin) iterations = len(iter_list) - 1 When I run the function with 276, the output is: Number[276, 138, 138, 69, 69, 208, 208, 104, 104, 52, 52, 26, 26, 13, 13, 40, 40, 20, 20, 10, 10, 5, 5, 16, 16, 8, 8, 4, 4, 2, 2, 1, 1] Which is what I would expect, except that there are two instances of each number, instead of one. How would I fix this? A: Let's look at what happens when n == 4: def function(n): iter_list.append(n) if n < 2: print iter_list print iterations pass elif n % 2 == 0: even = n / 2 iter_list.append(even) collatz(even) ... On line 2, we append 4. On line 9, we append 2. We call collatz(2) On line 2, we append 2. On line 9, we append 1. We call collatz(1) Note that we added 2 twice! Perhaps you should only append to the list at the beginning of your function instead of additionally inside the conditionals.

Vivek Oberoi to debut in Kannada films ... in Shivarajkumar-starrer Rustum TNN | Jul 14, 2018, 16:07 IST After Sunil Shetty, it is time for another Bollywood actor to debut in the Kannada film industry this year. Stunt choreographer-turned-director Ravi Varma has confirmed that Vivek Oberoi will be making his Sandalwood debut in the Shivarajkumar-starrer Rustum. This has only increased the excitement around the film. All Comments ()+^ Back to Top Characters Remaining: 3000 Continue without login or Login from existing account FacebookGoogleEmail Share on FacebookShare on Twitter Refrain from posting comments that are obscene, defamatory or inflammatory, and do not indulge in personal attacks, name calling or inciting hatred against any community. Help us delete comments that do not follow these guidelines by marking them offensive. Let's work together to keep the conversation civil.

When Carlos Molina makes the first defense of his junior middleweight world title against mandatory challenger (and former titleholder) Cornelius “K9” Bundrage on Saturday night in Cancun, Mexico, American fans can watch the fight on ESPN Deportes thanks to a deal the network made with Molina promoter Leon Margules for the U.S. broadcast rights. ESPN Deportes will carry the fight live from the Grand Oasis Cancun resort with undercard coverage beginning at 9:30 p.m. ET, according to the network. The ESPN Deportes telecast will be in Spanish, but those interested in an English-language broadcast can watch a live stream of the bout on ESPN3.com. The ESPN3.com stream will simulcast the broadcast from BoxNation in the United Kingdom. “I’m glad that ESPN is giving us the opportunity to see Carlos’ fight in the United States,” Margules said. “We sold the fight all over the world, but the one place we hadn’t sold it was in the United States until we made a deal with ESPN [a few days ago]. I’m glad they picked it up.” The fight is taking place in Molina’s native Mexico because the longtime Chicago resident was deported after it was discovered in March that he was in the United States illegally. Molina (22-5-2, 6 KOs), 31, hasn’t fought since winning the belt by split decision against Ishe Smith in September 2013. He was due to make his first defense against Jermall Charlo this past March 8 in Las Vegas on the Canelo Alvarez-Alfredo Angulo Showtime PPV undercard. However, the fight was canceled a few days beforehand after Molina was jailed in Las Vegas on an outstanding warrant for failing to register as a sex offender for a past conviction. While he was in custody, it was discovered that he was in the United States illegally, and he was eventually deported to Mexico. With the mandatory due and Molina not allowed in the United States, Margules made a deal with Bundrage, a promotional free agent, to fight him in Mexico. Bundrage (33-5, 19 KOs), 41, of Detroit, won the belt from Cory Spinks by fifth-round knockout in 2010 and made two successful defenses before losing it to Smith by majority decision in February 2013. Smith then lost the title to Molina in his first defense. Bundrage easily outpointed Joey Hernandez on Jan. 24 in a title eliminator to become Molina’s mandatory challenger. In the co-feature, junior lightweight Rene Alvarado (20-3, 14 KOs), 25, of Nicaragua, faces Juan Pablo Sanchez (29-11, 13 KOs), 26, of Mexico, in a 10-rounder.

Pages July 17, 2009 Fandango's *Spoilers Galore*: New Moon Set Report Fandango's Lizerne Guiting was on the set of New Moon, and offers her spoiler-filled report. All I know is that I'm going to go re-read page 467 of New Moon now! He is an excerpt to whet your appetite: SPOILER WARNING The scene starts off in the Volturi's underground lair – it looks like it's ripped right out of the "Verdict" chapter, Page 467 from "New Moon." The room is circular, with dark green and red accents complimenting the cream-colored marble floors, walls and columns. Dim light spills in from circular windows, symmetrically spaced around the room, nearing the domed ceiling. Latin words fill in the space between the circular windows, creating an endless, connected chain: "Semper. Erit. Vita. Brevis. Ars. Longa. Tua. Vita. Mea. Nemo. Est. Supra. Leges. Et. Sic..." Three ornately decorated black chairs with gold accents and carved lion heads at the armrests are placed at one end of the room atop a three-tiered circular platform. Aro and two other vampires sit, looking bored. Jane, Alice, Edward and Bella enter from the opposite side of the room. Their backs are to the camera and they face the three seated Volturi. Aro rises from his chair, walks down the steps and approaches Edward. He says something of this effect to Jane: "They say you have to get one and you brought back two and a half." Mother Nature , please make fall come sooner!=)It's not that i like Summer , i do , but New Moon is really , really , really important.It's an important Movie and something important to me and as for sure for the other Twilighters besides me.

.- St. Charbel Makhlouf is known in Lebanon for the miraculous healings of those who visit his tomb to seek his intercession – both Christians and Muslims. “St. Charbel has no geographic or confessional limits. Nothing is impossible for [his intercession] and when people ask [for something], he answers,” Fr. Louis Matar, coordinator of the Shrine of St. Charbel in Annaya, Lebanon, told CNA. Speaking in Arabic with the help of an interpreter, Matar said the shrine, which encompasses the monastery where the Maronite Catholic priest, monk, and hermit lived for nearly 20 years, receives around 4 million visitors a year, including both Christians and Muslims. Matar, who is responsible for archiving the thousands of medically-verified healings attributed to the intercession of the Maronite priest-monk, said that many miraculous cures have been obtained by Muslims. Since 1950, the year the monastery began to formally record the miraculous healings, they have archived more than 29,000 miracles, Matar said. Prior to 1950, miracles were verified only through the witness of a priest. Now, with more advanced medical technology available, alleged miracles require medical documents demonstrating the person’s initial illness and later, their unexplainable good health. One of the miracles documented by Matar at the end of December, when he spoke to CNA, was that of a 45-year-old Italian woman. Suffering from a neurological disease, she was hospitalized after it was discovered she had tried to commit suicide by consuming acid. In the hospital, the doctors discovered that the damage to her esophagus and intestines was so extensive, “the last way possible to cure her was believing in God and praying,” Matar commented. The woman’s parents began to pray, inviting others to pray with them. A religious sister of the Maronite rite heard about the prayer request and gave them holy oil from St. Charbel. After they spread the oil on the suffering woman’s stomach, chest, and head, she was cured. This was just one of seven miracles archived in December, Matar said, calling each one “a phenomenon.” “St. Charbel is a tool to reach God,” he said. The Shrine of St. Charbel is composed of the Monastery of St. Maron, where the saint lived for 19 years with great devotion to prayer, manual labor, and contemplative silence; and the nearby hermitage where he lived a rigorous asceticism and profound union with God for the last 23 years of his life. At the monastery, pilgrims can visit a church built in 1840, a small museum with artifacts and relics from the saint, and the site of his first grave. St. Charbel’s tomb, since 1952, is located inside a special cave-like chapel built into the property. Even while he was alive, Charbel’s superiors observed God’s “supernatural power” at work in his life, and even some Muslims knew him as a wonder-worker. Deeply devoted to God’s Eucharistic presence, he suffered a stroke while celebrating the Divine Liturgy of the Maronite Catholic Church on December 16, 1898, dying on Christmas Eve of that year. He was canonized in 1977 by St. Pope Paul VI. In-text photos of St. Charbel Shrine: Credit Hannah Brockhaus / CNA. This article was originally published on CNA Jan. 10, 2019.

The Myth Behind the Constellation Hydrus Hydrus, “The Water Snake”, is one of the 12 constellations introduced by navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman, two sixteenth-century Dutchman who observed the southern skies. It is another of their creations based on animals they saw on their travels. Hydrus is a male water snake, while Hydra would be a female water snake.

/** @module jsdoc/opts/args @requires jsdoc/opts/argparser @author Michael Mathews <[email protected]> @license Apache License 2.0 - See file 'LICENSE.md' in this project. */ var ArgParser = require('jsdoc/opts/argparser'), argParser = new ArgParser(), hasOwnProp = Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty, ourOptions, querystring = require('querystring'), util = require('util'); // cast strings to booleans or integers where appropriate function castTypes(item) { var result = item; switch (result) { case 'true': return true; case 'false': return false; default: // might be an integer var integer = parseInt(result, 10); if (String(integer) === result && integer !== 'NaN') { return integer; } else { return result; } } } // check for strings that we need to cast to other types function fixTypes(item) { var result = item; // recursively process arrays and objects if ( util.isArray(result) ) { for (var i = 0, l = result.length; i < l; i++) { result[i] = fixTypes(result[i]); } } else if (typeof result === 'object') { for (var prop in result) { if ( hasOwnProp.call(result, prop) ) { result[prop] = fixTypes(result[prop]); } } } else { result = castTypes(result); } return result; } function parseQuery(str) { var result = querystring.parse(str); for (var prop in result) { if ( hasOwnProp.call(result, prop) ) { result[prop] = fixTypes(result[prop]); } } return result; } argParser.addOption('t', 'template', true, 'The name of the template to use. Default: the "default" template'); argParser.addOption('c', 'configure', true, 'The path to the configuration file. Default: jsdoc env.dirname + /conf.json'); argParser.addOption('e', 'encoding', true, 'Assume this encoding when reading all source files. Default: utf-8'); argParser.addOption('T', 'test', false, 'Run all tests and quit.'); argParser.addOption('d', 'destination', true, 'The path to the output folder. Use "console" to dump data to the console. Default: ./out/'); argParser.addOption('p', 'private', false, 'Display symbols marked with the @private tag. Default: false'); argParser.addOption('r', 'recurse', false, 'Recurse into subdirectories when scanning for source code files.'); argParser.addOption('l', 'lenient', false, 'Continue to generate output if a doclet is incomplete or contains errors. Default: false'); argParser.addOption('h', 'help', false, 'Print this message and quit.'); argParser.addOption('X', 'explain', false, 'Dump all found doclet internals to console and quit.'); argParser.addOption('q', 'query', true, 'A query string to parse and store in env.opts.query. Example: foo=bar&baz=true', false, parseQuery); argParser.addOption('u', 'tutorials', true, 'Directory in which JSDoc should search for tutorials.'); //TODO [-R, recurseonly] = a number representing the depth to recurse //TODO [-f, filter] = a regex to filter on <-- this can be better defined in the configs? //Here are options specific to tests argParser.addOption(null, 'verbose', false, 'Display verbose output for tests'); argParser.addOption(null, 'match', true, 'Only run tests containing <value>', true); argParser.addOption(null, 'nocolor', false, 'Do not use color in console output from tests'); /** Set the options for this app. @throws {Error} Illegal arguments will throw errors. @param {string|String[]} args The command line arguments for this app. */ exports.parse = function(args) { args = args || []; if (typeof args === 'string' || args.constructor === String) { args = (''+args).split(/\s+/g); } ourOptions = argParser.parse(args); return ourOptions; }; /** Display help message for options. */ exports.help = function() { return argParser.help(); }; /** Get a named option. @param {string} name The name of the option. @return {string} The value associated with the given name. *//** Get all the options for this app. @return {Object} A collection of key/values representing all the options. */ exports.get = function(name) { if (typeof name === 'undefined') { return ourOptions; } else { return ourOptions[name]; } };

Nuclear Winter in Chernobyl Welcome to Prypiat, the home of the largest nuclear disaster in history, in the wintertime. Prypiat was founded in 1970 to house the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant workers. It is obviously closed now and is very spooky looking. It is amazing that there are still trees and plants that still grow there. For those who are not familiar with the tragedy that is Chernobyl, picture a place in which humans suddenly vanished from the face of the earth, be it by a natural disaster or a manmade catastrophe. At 1:23 AM, April 26th, 1986, Reactor number 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Ukraine, exploded during a safety test, bringing untold devastation to the surrounding area, effects of which were even felt as far away as the United Kingdom and Scandinavia. Releasing four-hundred times the fallout of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, the results of that fatal meltdown are still being felt today, with higher incidents of cancer, a massive five percent of Ukraine’s national budget still dedicated to dealing with the consequences and a great chunk of territory that will never be habitable again.

Will Noble Is This The Poshest Drop-Down Menu Ever? Not a fan of labels? Then you might want to avoid contacting Harrods. When emailing the Kensington department store to see if they've got any Gucci chihuahuas or gold-plated chewing gum in stock (we were after the latter), you'll be asked to confirm your title. And we're not just talking Mr, Mrs or Miss here — there are over 40 to choose from, including Viscount, Doctor, Reverend, Dame, Lieutenant Commander, Brigadier, Mademoiselle, (the wonderfully old fashioned) Mr & Mrs, Her Royal Highness, and plain old boring Lord. And just in case you're wondering if you HAVE to pigeonhole yourself like this — yes, all fields are required. The whole thing is ripe for a social experiment. Does moonlighting as a Wing Commander mean you'll get a quicker response? If you claim to be Her Royal Highness, does your reply come back in a special gilded email? And who has more clout out of a Viscountess or a Begum? Why not give it a whirl and see what happens. Come across any ludicrous London-related drop-down menus? We'd like to know.

import {Component, OnDestroy, OnInit} from '@angular/core'; import {Observable} from 'rxjs'; import {Card} from '../../models/card'; import {select} from '@angular-redux/store'; import {selectNoDueCards} from '../../redux/store/selects'; import {untilComponentDestroyed} from 'ng2-rx-componentdestroyed'; @Component({ selector: 'app-no-due-area', templateUrl: './no-due-area.component.html', styleUrls: ['./no-due-area.component.scss'] }) export class NoDueAreaComponent implements OnInit, OnDestroy { @select(selectNoDueCards) public cards$: Observable<Card[]>; public cards: Card[] = []; show: boolean; constructor() { } ngOnInit() { this.cards$ .pipe(untilComponentDestroyed(this)) .subscribe((cards: Card[]) => this.cards = cards); } ngOnDestroy() { } }

function write_off(filename, pnt, plc) % WRITE_OFF writes a set of geometrical planar forms (called piecewise linear complex, PLC) % to an ascii *.off file, which is a file format created by Princeton Shape Benchmark % % Use as % write_stl(filename, pnt, tri) % % See also READ_OFF % Copyright (C) 2010, Cristiano Micheli % % This file is part of FieldTrip, see http://www.fieldtriptoolbox.org % for the documentation and details. % % FieldTrip is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify % it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by % the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or % (at your option) any later version. % % FieldTrip is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, % but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of % MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the % GNU General Public License for more details. % % You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License % along with FieldTrip. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>. % % $Id$ nedges = 0; fid = fopen_or_error(filename, 'wb'); npnt = size(pnt,1); nplc = size(plc,1); % check that the indexes of plc are correct (0 convention) if ~sum(any(plc==0)) plc = plc - 1; end fprintf(fid, 'OFF\n'); fprintf(fid, '%d %d %d\n',npnt,nplc,nedges); for i=1:npnt fprintf(fid, '%f %f %f\n', pnt(i,1), pnt(i,2), pnt(i,3)); end for i=1:nplc str = '%d '; nvert = size(plc(i,:),2); str2 = 'nvert,'; for j=1:nvert str = [str '%d ']; str2 = [str2 'plc(i,' num2str(j) '),']; end str = [str '\n''']; str2 = str2(1:end-1); eval(['fprintf(fid,''' str ',' str2 ');']); end fclose(fid);

Drew Gulak will continue to present his plan for turning WWE 205 Live into a better, safer place during the WWE TLC Kickoff tomorrow, as he presents a special WWE Cruiserweight Championship Edition of his PowerPoint Presentation. Gulak has been on a crusade for a “better” 205 Live in recent weeks, slowly but surely revealing the rules he wishes to impose on television’s most exciting hour through an enthralling PowerPoint slideshow. Surely, fans remember Gulak’s greatest hits like slide No. 2 (No jumping off the middle rope) or slide No. 6 (No cell phones), among a few other rules designed to turn WWE 205 Live into a ground-wrestling-based utopia – a “Drewtopia,” if you will. The buttoned-up grappler will, no doubt, provide a refresher course to catch up anyone who may have missed out on the first few slides. Gulak has also promised to get through all 277 slides this Sunday. So, grab a cup of coffee and a donut, and pull up your favorite ergonomic office chair (watch your posture!) for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship Edition of Drew Gulak’s PowerPoint Presentation during the WWE TLC Kickoff, airing live tonight at 7 ET/4 PT on WWE Network, WWE.com, the WWE App, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+!

"DOTAAbilities" { //================================================================================================================= // Templar Assassin Scepter //================================================================================================================= "templar_assassin_trap_teleport" { // General //------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "ID" "7853" // unique ID number for this ability. Do not change this once established or it will invalidate collected stats. "AbilityBehavior" "DOTA_ABILITY_BEHAVIOR_POINT | DOTA_ABILITY_BEHAVIOR_HIDDEN | DOTA_ABILITY_BEHAVIOR_SHOW_IN_GUIDES | DOTA_ABILITY_BEHAVIOR_CHANNELLED | DOTA_ABILITY_BEHAVIOR_NOT_LEARNABLE" //OAA, Valve is wrong "MaxLevel" "5" "FightRecapLevel" "1" "IsGrantedByScepter" "1" "HasScepterUpgrade" "1" // Casting //------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "AbilityCastPoint" "0.2" "AbilityCastAnimation" "ACT_DOTA_CAST_ABILITY_2" "AbilityChannelTime" "1.0" // Time //------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "AbilityCooldown" "15" // Cost //------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "AbilityManaCost" "100" // Special //------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "AbilitySpecial" { "01" { "var_type" "FIELD_INTEGER" "trap_radius" "400" "RequiresScepter" "1" } "02" { "var_type" "FIELD_FLOAT" "trap_duration" "5.0" "RequiresScepter" "1" } "03" { "var_type" "FIELD_INTEGER" "trap_bonus_damage" "250 350 450 750 1050" //OAA "RequiresScepter" "1" } "04" { "var_type" "FIELD_INTEGER" "movement_speed_min" "30" "RequiresScepter" "1" } "05" { "var_type" "FIELD_INTEGER" "movement_speed_max" "60" "RequiresScepter" "1" } "06" { "var_type" "FIELD_FLOAT" "trap_max_charge_duration" "4" "RequiresScepter" "1" } "07" { "var_type" "FIELD_INTEGER" "tooltip_channel_time" "1" "RequiresScepter" "1" } "08" { "var_type" "FIELD_INTEGER" "tooltip_cooldown" "30" "RequiresScepter" "1" } } } }

Legend: Also, I have never ever had a need to call abort at anytime. It's just today where people are more app to take the easy way out. In a command line app know one cares but the ffmpeg libraries are not just used for command line apps. 1 Also, I have never ever had a need to call abort at anytime. It's just today where people are more app to take the easy way out. In a command line app no one cares but the ffmpeg libraries are not just used for command line apps. 2 2 3 3 I used to take my programs before we shipped, turn off virtual memory, and allocate most of the rest of memory to see what would happen. If there was a problem this would find it. How many programs written today do you think would not crash under these conditions? Probably none of any complexity.

January 2015 Sat Essay Prompts Practice The SAT Essay has changed drastically from what it looked like from March 2005-January 2016. On the plus side, you’ll now be asked to do the same task every time: read an argument meant to persuade a broad audience and discuss how well the author argues his or her point. On the minus side, you have to do reading and analysis in addition to writing a coherent and organized essay. In this article, we’ve compiled a list of the 11 real SAT essay prompts that the CollegeBoard has released (either in The Official SAT Study Guide or separately online) for the new SAT. This is the most comprehensive set of new SAT essay prompts online today. At the end of this article, we'll also guide you through how to get the most out of these prompts and link to our expert resources on acing the SAT essay. I’ll discuss how the SAT essay prompts are valuable not just because they give you a chance to write a practice essay, but because of what they reveal about the essay task itself. Overview SAT essay prompts have always kept to the same basic format. With the new essay, however, not only is the prompt format consistent from test to test, but what you’re actually asked to do (discuss how an author builds an argument) also remains the same across different test administrations. The College Board’s predictability with SAT essay helps students focus on preparing for the actual analytical task, rather than having to think up stuff on their feet. Every time, before the passage, you’ll see the following: As you read the passage below, consider how [the author] uses evidence, such as facts or examples, to support claims. reasoning to develop ideas and to connect claims and evidence. stylistic or persuasive elements, such as word choice or appeals to emotion, to add power to the ideas expressed. And after the passage, you’ll see this: “Write an essay in which you explain how [the author] builds an argument to persuade [her/his] audience that [whatever the author is trying to argue for]. In your essay, analyze how [the author] uses one or more of the features listed in the box above (or features of your own choice) to strengthen the logic and persuasiveness of his argument. Be sure that your analysis focuses on the most relevant features of the passage. Your essay should not explain whether you agree with [the author]’s claims, but rather explain how [the author] builds an argument to persuade [her/his] audience.” Now that you know the format, let’s look at the SAT essay prompts list. 11 Official SAT Essay Prompts The College Board has released a limited number of prompts to help students prep for the essay. We've gathered them for you here, all in one place. We’ll be sure to update this article as more prompts are released for practice and/or as more tests are released. SPOILER ALERT: Since these are the only essay prompts that have been released so far, you may want to be cautious about spoiling them for yourself, particularly if you are planning on taking practice tests under real conditions. This is why I’ve organized the prompts by the ones that are in the practice tests (so you can avoid them if need be), the one that is available online as a "sample prompt," and the ones that are in the Official SAT Study Guide (Redesigned SAT), all online for free. Practice Test Prompts These eight prompts are taken from the practice tests that the College Board has released. Practice Test 1: "Write an essay in which you explain how Jimmy Carter builds an argument to persuade his audience that the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge should not be developed for industry." Practice Test 2: "Write an essay in which you explain how Martin Luther King Jr. builds an argument to persuade his audience that American involvement in the Vietnam War is unjust." Practice Test 3: "Write an essay in which you explain how Eliana Dockterman builds an argument to persuade her audience that there are benefits to early exposure to technology." Practice Test 4: "Write an essay in which you explain how Paul Bogard builds an argument to persuade his audience that natural darkness should be preserved." Practice Test 5: "Write an essay in which you explain how Eric Klinenberg builds an argument to persuade his audience that Americans need to greatly reduce their reliance on air-conditioning." Practice Test 6: "Write an essay in which you explain how Christopher Hitchens builds an argument to persuade his audience that the original Parthenon sculptures should be returned to Greece." Practice Test 7: "Write an essay in which you explain how Zadie Smith builds an argument to persuade her audience that public libraries are important and should remain open" Practice Test 8: "Write an essay in which you explain how Bobby Braun builds an argument to persuade his audience that the US government must continue to invest in NASA." Special note: The prompt for Practice Test 4 is replicated as the first sample essay on the College Board’s site for the new SAT. If you’ve written a sample essay for practice test 4 and want to see what essays of different score levels look like for that particular prompt, you can go here and look at eight real student essays. within darkness by jason jenkins, used under CC BY-SA 2.0/Resized from original. Free Online Practice This prompt comes from the CollegeBoard website for the new SAT. “Write an essay in which you explain how Dana Gioia builds an argument to persuade his audience that the decline of reading in America will have a negative effect on society.” The Official SAT Study Guide (for March 2016 and beyond) The Official SAT Study Guide (editions published in 2015 and later, available online for free) contains all eight of the previously mentioned practice tests at the end of the book. In the section about the new SAT essay, however, there are two additional sample essay prompts. Sample Prompt 1: “Write an essay in which you explain how Peter S. Goodman builds an argument to persuade his audience that news organizations should increase the amount of professional foreign news coverage provided to people in the United States.” The College Board modified this article for the essay prompt passage in the book. The original passage (1528 words, vs the 733 it is on the SAT) to which this prompt refers can also be found online (for free) here. Sample Prompt 2: “Write an essay in which you explain how Adam B. Summers builds an argument to persuade his audience that plastic shopping bags should not be banned.” There are still a couple of minor differences between the article as it appears in The Official SAT Study Guide as an essay prompt compared to its original form, but it’s far less changed than the previous prompt. The original passage to which this prompt refers (764 words, vs the 743 in The Official SAT Study Guide) can also be found online (for free) here. hey thanks by Jonathan Youngblood, used under CC BY 2.0/Cropped and resized from original. How Do You Get the Most Out of These Prompts? Now that you have all the prompts released by the College Board, it’s important to know the best way to use them. Make sure you have a good balance between quality and quantity, and don’t burn through all 11 of the real prompts in a row – take the time to learn from your experiences writing the practice essays. Step By Step Guide on How to Practice Using the Article 1. Understandhow the SAT essay is graded. 2. Watch as we write a high-scoring SAT essay, step by step. 3. Pre-plan a set of features you’ll look for in the SAT essay readings and practice writing about them fluidly. This doesn't just mean identifying a technique, like asking a rhetorical question, but explaining why it is persuasive and what effect it has on the reader in the context of a particular topic. We have more information on this step in our article about 6 SAT persuasive devices you can use. 4. Choose a prompt at random from above, or choose a topic that you think is going to be hard for you to detach from (because you’ll want to write about the topic, rather than the argument) set timer to 50 minutes and write the essay. No extra time allowed! 5. Grade the essay, using the essay rubric to give yourself a score out of 8 in the reading, analysis, and writing sections (article coming soon!). 6. Repeat steps 4 and 5. Choose the prompts you think will be the hardest for you so that you can so that you’re prepared for the worst when the test day comes 7. If you run out of official prompts to practice with, use the official prompts as models to find examples of other articles you could write about. How? Start by looking for op-ed articles in online news publications like The New York Times, The Atlantic, LA Times, and so on. For instance, the passage about the plastic bag ban in California (sample essay prompt 2, above) has a counterpoint here - you could try analyzing and writing about that article as well. Any additional articles you use for practice on the SAT essay must match the following criteria: ideally 650-750 words, although it’ll be difficult to find an op-ed piece that’s naturally that short. Try to aim for nothing longer than 2000 words, though, or the scope of the article is likely to be too wide for what you’ll encounter on the SAT. always argumentative/persuasive. The author (or authors) is trying to get readers to agree with a claim or idea being put forward. always intended for a wide audience. All the information you need to deconstruct the persuasiveness of the argument is in the passage. This means that articles with a lot of technical jargon that's not explained in the article are not realistic passage to practice with. What’s Next? We’ve written a ton of helpful resources on the SAT essay. Make sure you check them out! Our program is entirely online, and it customizes your prep program to your strengths and weaknesses. We also have expert instructors who can grade every one of your practice SAT essays, giving feedback on how to improve your score. Check out our 5-day free trial: Below are essay prompts from the most recent SAT administration in January 2015. Prompt 1 Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below. We are often told to “put on a brave face” or to be strong. To do this, we often have to hide, or at least minimize, whatever fears, flaws, and vulnerabilities we possess. However, such an emphasis on strength is misguided. What truly takes courage is to show our imperfections, not to show our strengths, because it is only when we are able to show vulnerability—or the capacity to be hurt—that we are genuinely able to connect with other people. Assignment: Is it more courageous to show vulnerability than it is to show strength? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations. Prompt 2 Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below. Many people argue that it is impossible to create a perfect society because humanity itself is imperfect and any attempt to create such a society leads to the loss of individual freedom and identity. Therefore, they say, it is foolish to even dream about a perfect society. Others, however, disagree and believe not only that such a society is possible but also that humanity should strive to create it. Assignment: Is a perfect society possible or even desirable? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations. Prompt 3 Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below. When people are very enthusiastic—always willing and eager to meet new challenges or give undivided support to ideas or projects—they are likely to be rewarded. They often work harder and enjoy their work more than do those who are more restrained. But there are limits to how enthusiastic people should be. People should always question and doubt, since too much enthusiasm can prevent people from considering better ideas, goals, or courses of action. Assignment: Can people have too much enthusiasm? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations. Prompt 4 Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below. Many people think that the most important life experiences are the complex and difficult ones, such as learning a new skill, finding a solution to a problem, or overcoming a great obstacle. These experiences, which can be unpleasant at times, are worthwhile because of what we learn from them. However, simple joys can be just as valuable. Uncomplicated activities, such as spending time with friends, savoring a meal, or appreciating the beauty of nature can bring us great happiness. Assignment: Are simple joys as valuable as complex experiences? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations. This entry was posted in SAT, SAT Essay Prompts. Bookmark the permalink.

…where the streets are paved with platinum… Main menu Category Archives: Free Site of the Month I’m a month late, but I have TWO wonderful free sites to showcase for July. Only one is getting my donation money for the month, because the other doesn’t have a donation button. But they’re both awesome and deserving of praise! The Strawberry Patch This is like one-stop-shopping for kids’ clothing. The site’s sole owner and creator, Purplepaws, released a huge update in June with everything from toddler outerwear to lovely formal dresses for girls. She also has a few hairstyles for kids, teddy bears wearing tie-dyes, and cute child models for download. Another cool thing is that if you donate to her site, it goes straight to her webhost, so you know that your moolah is being put to good use. Start your back-to-school shopping early and head over to The Strawberry Patch! Moune’s Neighborhood Moune is a member of the Juniper Sun forum (where you can also find tons of cool stuff) who has started up her own site. She has exotic furniture and loads of deco items in colorful textures. I love her Le Morvan shelf collection, the Nyemo deco items, and her paintings. It’s like shopping at Pier One Imports, except for Sims…and it’s all free! My free site for this month is Parsimonious. (And since I missed April and May, they are getting three months’ worth of my donation money — they deserve it.) I can’t say enough good things about this site. Aside from having a ton of great, imaginative downloads, the owners of the site are some of the nicest, most generous people in the Sims 2 community. I had the pleasure of creating houses for them for a short time (before my game went belly up), so I’m probably a little biased, but it was awesome to see how their staff works together to create such a unique and creative site. The whole thing is worth exploring, but here are some of the highlights: - The huge array of walls and floors (some of which I could not live without in my Victorian homes) - Kate’s Eponymous Garden (so beautiful and useful!) - Christine’s lots (so inspiring) - The “Theme” pages — content sorted by several different time periods and themes - The Community Finds pages — I have found some great free sites through these pages! I’m donating to Parsimonious this month because I would hate to see them disappear (and from the sound of it, running that site is quite expensive). I’d also hate to see them start charging for items, but I doubt they’ll go that route. I would love to see them stick around and stay free for everyone. Ever since I started waving my “free sites!” flag around, I’ve been wanting to do a feature on a free site every month. I kind of missed the boat on January and February, so I’m kicking this off by honoring THREE completely free sites. I’ve donated money to each of them as a thank you for everything they’ve contributed to the community (and to my downloads folder, naturally). The first two are pretty obvious, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention them right off the bat. The third is a small site which is lovely and free, and I threw some moolah at them in hopes that they remain so. Mod the Sims 2 – The premier site of the Simming community. Home of the CEP, countless hacks, mods, helpful tutorials, and of course, custom content. When I have a Sims-related question I need answered, I go here first, whether my game is crashing or I need to find that really cool couch I saw in a picture somewhere. Many of the game’s most popular creators got their start at MTS2 and have benefitted from its atmosphere of teaching and sharing. What I find most amazing is that, as the most popular Sims 2 site, it manages to remain completely free. If MTS2 weren’t around, my downloads folder would be half the size, but my game would be a lot less fun. Insimenator.net – Another thriving and generous Sims 2 community offering awesome goodies for your game. There’s so much nifty stuff here, and I’ve barely skimmed the surface of what’s available. But I’ve gotten to the point where I can’t live without Eric’s Insimenator object — it makes telling stories sooo much easier by giving us easy ways to manipulate our Sims. For that alone, I decided to donate to this site. They’re having a donation drive right now, so if you like and use this site, and you can spare a few bucks, consider tossing ‘em their way. Siluettasims – This is a tiny site compared to the two above, but it contains some lovely clothing and objects, and most importantly, REALLY NICE EYES. I love her 9-color eye set so much that I’m using it on most of the Sims in my new ‘hood. It’s a great middle ground between the very blah Maxis-eyes and the overly realistic ones which are so popular at the moment. If Siluettasims started offering donation sets, I’d have to give up those eyes, and I don’t want to! So I donated. Please stay free, Siluettasims! Ooh, and this is cool — both simsbaby at Insimenator and fanseelamb at MTS2 have released mods that enable the appropriate pre-Seasons clothing to be used as outerwear. I don’t know why Maxis didn’t do that in the first place, but that’s why we’re lucky to have such wonderful modders in this community. And hey, now my Sim dudes can wear the long winter coats outdoors and not freeze to death! Excellent.

The latest W32.Yimfoca.B variants can target malicious links in no fewer than 44 countries and nearly 20 different languages. It has also increased the number of instant messaging applications to include most of the popular IM clients. Here is a code snippet from W32.Yimfoca.B: This picks the desired messages based on a comparison with the full list of countries listed below: · Slovenia · Canada · Norway · Switzerland (German) · Switzerland (Romansh) · United Kingdom · Mexico · Belgium · Austria · Portugal · Australia · Spain (Modern) · Spain (Traditional) · Venezuela · New Zealand · Ireland · South Africa · Colombia · Peru · Argentina · Turkey · Pakistan · Indonesia · Ukraine · Belarus · Czech Republic · Denmark · Germany · Greece · United States · Finland · France · Israel · Hungary · Iceland · Italian · Japan · Korea · Netherlands · Polish · Brazil · Romania · Russia · Croatia · Slovakia · Albania · Sweden · Thailand The full list of messages is: · mira esta fotografa :D [MALICIOUS LINK] · seen this?? :D [MALICIOUS LINK] · This is the funniest photo ever! [MALICIOUS LINK] · olhar para esta foto :D [MALICIOUS LINK] · Wie findest du das Foto? [MALICIOUS LINK] · se ps dette bildet :D [MALICIOUS LINK] · bekijk deze foto :D [MALICIOUS LINK] · poglej to fotografijo :D [MALICIOUS LINK] · pogledaj to slike :D [MALICIOUS LINK] · titta ps denna bild :D [MALICIOUS LINK] · pozrite sa na t · to fotografiu :D [MALICIOUS LINK] · uita-te la aceasta fotografie :D [MALICIOUS LINK] · katso tStS kuvaa :D [MALICIOUS LINK] · bu resmi bakmak :D [MALICIOUS LINK] · spojrzec na to zdjecie :D [MALICIOUS LINK] · nTzd meg a kTpet :D [MALICIOUS LINK] · ser ps dette billede :D [MALICIOUS LINK] · podfvejte se na mou fotku :D [MALICIOUS LINK] · guardare quest'immagine :D [MALICIOUS LINK] · regardez cette photo :D [MALICIOUS LINK] When the worm doesn’t recognize the country, it uses a default message in English: Seen this?? :D [MALICIOUS LINK] Surely this will help with the success rate of its IM spreading capabilities, but it isn’t finished there… W32.Yimfoca.B has also has the added capability to spread to any removable drives on C through Z. Upon initial infection, and every five minutes thereafter, W32.Yimfoca.B will attempt to infect removable drives inserted into the compromised computer. When W32.Yimfoca.B infects these drives, it hides existing folders found on the removable drive, setting their attributes to ‘system’ and ‘hidden’, and replacing them with a shortcut link to a copy of the worm. The shortcut icon will be that of a folder, so a user may be fooled into thinking this is in fact the original folder. Here is what a typical user will see if system files are hidden (which is the default): Here is what really exists on an infected removable drive: The real purpose of the threat is to spread in order to download further malware on to your computer. At the time of analysis, this version of W32.Yimfoca.B is downloading W32.Yimfoca.

(Probably wrong thread, but oh well) So I just finish watching Halo Legends. I thought it was very great, and I liked how each episode was a different animation than the last. Though one bugged me, The Duel, but it also gave that effect of shadowness.

Share Royal Roads Online Port Hope grad student doing doctoral work in Uganda When Port Hope resident Nancy Heykoop welcomes daughter Cheryl home for Christmas, there will be more than the usual catch-up talk to discuss. By that time, Cheryl will have made gratifying progress on her doctoral degree, thanks to the three-month trip to Uganda she embarks on tomorrow. The daughter of Danny and Nancy Heykoop, Cheryl was born and raised in Port Hope. She attended Camborne Public School, Dale Road Senior Public School, then Port Hope High School before leaving for Guelph University. “When she went to Guelph, she wanted to be a doctor, but she didn’t get into med school. She said it was actually probably for the best, and that it had happened for a reason,” Heykoop reported. Cheryl would graduate from Guelph and take a master’s degree in England before settling on Royal Roads University (in Victoria, BC) for her doctoral work Pursuing a doctorate in social sciences at Royal Roads University, Cheryl enjoyed a visit from her mom when she was announced as the winner of a scholarship in excess of $100,000 for her Ph.D. research. This will be Cheryl’s fourth trip to Uganda, following up on the heels of two trips to Sierra Leone in connection with her master’s degree research as a child-participation and -protection advisor with the International Institute for Child Rights and Development. Sierra Leone established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission after more than a decade of civil conflict, and Cheryl’s interest was in the trauma it visited upon the children who testified and relived the horrors of war. “If there was a process, or processes, that were more supportive, it may help in the healing journey,” she commented in a recent interview with a Victoria newspaper. “Wouldn’t that be better for the children and the country? It just struck me that there must be better ways to do this.” In Uganda, she will work on her doctoral study Telling Alone, Best For Me? Exploring Meaningful Child Engagement Methods for Post-Conflict Truth-Telling With Children In Northern Uganda. Though the Lord’s Resistance Army — a rebel group that abducted and abused tens of thousands of Ugandan children — is no longer active, Ugandans are coping with the International Criminal Court fugitive Joseph Kony (about whom the Kony 2012 documentary was made by the charity Invisible Children). With another Truth and Reconciliation Commission likely to be established, Heykoop would like to explore such alternatives for the child witnesses as photovoice, art, drama and group activities. The voices and perspectives of these vulnerable children and youth are vital, she said “I believe their unique insights can profoundly impact how we see social phenomena, and can play a critical role in creating innovative social change.” Following her return, Heykoop said, her daughter will be at Oxford to write some of her paper with the professors there. But she is expected home at Christmas.

Iron boat from 1918 may fall over Niagara Falls due to storm An old iron boat has been stuck on the rocks of the Canadian side of Niagara Falls since 1918. A powerful storm that roared through the region on Halloween night whipped up strong currents, dislodging it, moving it down river about 150 feet. Authorities now fear the current could send the old boat over the falls.

There's a lot of toilet paper lining the streets of Omaha. It's there to keep traffic moving. Work crews from Midwest Coating out of Modale, Iowa, are filling cracks in the pavement. Then, they're applying toilet paper. "We use the toilet paper as a blotter material in a moving operation so we're able to keep traffic going without putting up a closure," said Angel Nies with Midwest Coating. Some may have thought it was the handy work of pranksters, but it actually is serving a purpose. Without toilet paper, the work crews would have to shut down the street while the workers complete their work.

751 N.E.2d 249 (2001) Mark TURLEY, Appellant-Plaintiff, v. Joseph T. HYTEN, Appellee-Defendant. No. 79A04-0010-CV-419. Court of Appeals of Indiana. May 31, 2001. Publication Ordered June 20, 2001. *250 James E. Ayers, Wernle, Ristine & Ayers, Crawfordsville, IN, Attorney for Appellant. Ian A.T. McLean, Crawfordsville, IN, Attorney for Appellee. OPINION KIRSCH, Judge. Mark Turley ("Landlord") appeals the trial court's grant of partial summary judgment in favor of Joseph Hyten ("Tenant") on Landlord's complaint and Tenant's counterclaim. Landlord raises two issues on appeal that we restate as follows: I. Whether Landlord must provide notice of intent to retain security deposit when Tenant breaches the lease agreement and unpaid rent equals or exceeds the security deposit. II. Whether Landlord may still recover for "other damages" in excess of the security deposit if he failed to provide statutory notice of intent to retain security deposit. We affirm. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY On April 21, 1995, Landlord entered into a lease agreement with Tenant for his lease of residential property ("premises") located in Darlington, Indiana for a period of one year, from May 1, 1995 through April 30, 1996. Tenant agreed to monthly rent of $450 due in advance on the first day of each month, and he paid Landlord a security deposit equal to one month's rent. On or about January 29, 1996,[1] Tenant verbally advised Landlord that he intended to vacate the premises that evening. Landlord inspected the premises on January 31, but found Tenant still in possession. Upon subsequent inspection on February 3, 1996, Landlord found that Tenant had vacated the premises, leaving the thermostat on high, the propane tank that fueled the furnace empty, and a window in the premises open, thereby causing burst pipes and other damage to the residence. Tenant did not pay rent in February or thereafter. On February 7, 1996, Tenant sent Landlord a letter by certified mail that provided his forwarding address and requested the return of his security deposit. On February 25, Landlord responded: "In response to your letter of February 7, 1996, this is notification to you regarding expenses chargeable to you under the terms of your lease. Pictures have been taken, and the Town Marshall was invited in to see the house in the condition you left it. You left behind trash and there are many holes in the walls to be patched before it can be painted. There is also damage to the building. *251 When you called to say that you were moving, you didn't tell us there was no heat in the house and all the pipes froze and burst. The damage to the carpet and floors is very bad. The toilet bowl burst, to name just a few of the problems. The house will have to be totally replumbed. The Water Company called and said that you had told them early on in the month that you were moving and they put the billing back in our name. That is why they called to tell us something might be wrong because 24,000 gallons of water had gone through leaving `a pretty large bill for Mark to have to pay[.]' Had you also told us you were moving, perhaps this could have been avoided. All though [sic] we don't have a complete estimate yet, the damage is already more than $1,400.00. After a complete assessment is made, we will give you a full itemized statement. It will also include lost rent due to our inability to lease the house again on a timely basis." Record at 58. Landlord provided Tenant with the referenced itemized statement on October 15, 1996. Landlord filed a complaint for damages against Tenant. Tenant timely answered the complaint and asserted a counterclaim against Landlord that, in part, sought return of his security deposit and payment of his attorney's fees. The trial court granted Tenant's motion for partial summary judgment, denying Landlord relief and entering judgment for Tenant on his counterclaim against Landlord in the amount of $450 plus Tenant's attorney's fees, on the basis that Landlord failed to comply with statutory notice requirements. Landlord now appeals. DISCUSSION AND DECISION Initially, we note our standard of review. In reviewing the propriety of the grant of summary judgment, we apply the same standard as the trial court. Schoknecht v. Hasemeier, 735 N.E.2d 299, 301 (Ind.Ct. App.2000); Deckard Realty & Dev. v. Lykins, 688 N.E.2d 1319, 1321 (Ind.Ct.App. 1997), trans. denied (1998). We do not weigh the evidence designated by the parties. Instead, we liberally construe the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Schoknecht, 735 N.E.2d at 301. Summary judgment is appropriate only if the pleadings and evidence show both the absence of a genuine issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Id. at 301-02. It will be affirmed on appeal if it is sustainable on any theory or basis found in the evidentiary matter designated to the trial court. Figg v. Bryan Rental, Inc., 646 N.E.2d 69, 71 (Ind.Ct.App.1995), trans. denied. On appeal, a trial court's grant of summary judgment is "clothed with a presumption of validity." Id. I. Sufficiency of Damages Letter By enacting Indiana's Security Deposits statute, IC 32-7-5-1 through 19, our legislature intended "to provide special protection for security deposits, which often give rise to landlord-tenant disputes." Miller v. Geels, 643 N.E.2d 922, 927 (Ind. Ct.App.1994), trans. denied (1995). Section 14 contains strict notice requirements and states in relevant part: "In case of damage to the rental unit or other obligation against the security deposit, the landlord shall mail to the tenant, within forty-five (45) days after the termination of occupancy an itemized list of damages claimed for which the security deposit may be used as provided in section 13 of this chapter, including the estimated cost for each damaged item *252 and the amounts and lease on which the landlord intends to assess the tenant." IC XX-X-X-XX (emphasis added). The purpose of the notice requirement is to inform the tenant that the landlord is keeping the security deposit and for what reason, and to allow the tenant an opportunity to challenge the costs for which the deposit is being used. Pinnacle Props. v. Saulka, 693 N.E.2d 101, 104 (Ind.Ct.App.1998), trans. denied; Greasel v. Troy, 690 N.E.2d 298, 302 (Ind.Ct.App.1997). Landlord claims that the trial court erred in rendering summary judgment for Tenant, arguing that he provided the statutorily required notice of itemized damages. We disagree. Section 14's direction is explicit and mandatory. Pinnacle Props., 693 N.E.2d at 104 (citing Duchon v. Ross, 599 N.E.2d 621, 624 (Ind.Ct.App. 1992)). "It says the landlord `shall' mail an itemized list of damages `including' the estimated costs of repair and the list `must' be accompanied by payment for excess deposit (if any)." Duchon, 599 N.E.2d at 624. In this case, Landlord sent two letters, one in February 1996 and another in October 1996. As the latter is well outside the forty-five day time limit, discussion of its contents is unnecessary. The February letter, although timely, was insufficiently detailed to comply with IC XX-X-X-XX. We acknowledge that Landlord's letter rather thoroughly identified various damaged items and stated that total damages exceeded $1,400; however, it did not provide the estimated cost for each damaged item. Without identification of the cost of each repair, Tenant was unable to discern whether the individual charges that comprised the $1,400 were proper or reasonable. See Pinnacle Props., 693 N.E.2d at 104 (tenant entitled to return of full security deposit where landlord itemized and stated cost of repair for some items, but lumped together "other damages" at $670). Consequently, Landlord's notice was insufficient to meet the statutory notice requirements. See Duchon, 599 N.E.2d at 624 (landlord's letter that alleged damaged items but did not include estimated cost of repair for each item was insufficient). Landlord suggests that because February rent was due and owing when Tenant vacated, and the unpaid rent equaled the security deposit amount, notice was unnecessary. He is incorrect. Regardless of whether unpaid rent equals or exceeds the security deposit, Landlord must give statutory notice of intent to hold the security deposit. See Miller, 643 N.E.2d at 925 (where tenants were $1,050 in arrears in rent, landlord was entitled to withhold entire $840 security deposit provided that he met notice requirements of Sections 12(a)(3) and 14) (emphasis added); Skiver v. Brighton Meadows, 585 N.E.2d 1345, 1347 (Ind.Ct.App.1992) (where landlord failed to send tenant letter itemizing accrued rent due to tenant's premature termination of rental agreement, landlord was required to return full security deposit to tenant). II. Other Damages Landlord argues that even if he failed to comply with the notice requirements, and must therefore return the full security deposit, he may nevertheless recover for other damages, such as waste to the premises. IC XX-X-X-XX preserves the right of the landlord or tenant to recover other damages to which either is entitled. See Miller, 643 N.E.2d at 927. It states in pertinent part: "(a) Upon termination of a rental agreement, all of the security deposit held by the landlord shall be returned to the tenant, except for any amount applied to: (1) the payment of accrued rent; *253 (2) the amount of damages that the landlord has or will reasonably suffer by reason of the tenant's noncompliance with law or the rental agreement; and (3) unpaid utility or sewer charges that the tenant is obligated to pay under the rental agreement; all as itemized by the landlord in a written notice delivered to the tenant together with the amount due within forty-five (45) days after termination of the rental agreement and delivery of possession.... (b) If the landlord fails to comply with subsection (a), the tenant may recover all of the security deposit due the tenant and reasonable attorney's fees. (c) This section does not preclude the landlord or tenant from recovering other damages to which either is entitled." IC XX-X-X-XX (emphasis added). Based upon the language of subsection (c), Landlord maintains that he is entitled to pursue his claim against Tenant for damages. Tenant responds with IC XX-X-X-XX, which states: "Failure by the landlord to comply with the notice of damages requirement within the forty-five (45) days after the termination of occupancy constitutes agreement by the landlord that no damages are due, and the landlord must remit to the tenant immediately the full security deposit." IC XX-X-X-XX (emphasis added). Tenant asserts that according to this section, Landlord's failure to comply with the notice provisions precludes him from recovering any other damages in excess of the security deposit. Landlord replies that to require forfeiture of all other damages merely for failure to adequately provide notice of intention to retain security deposit would render the provisions of section 12(c) meaningless and the Security Deposits statute internally inconsistent. Existing caselaw concludes any debate on the issue. This court addressed section 15's effect upon the right of recovery of "other damages" under section 12 as follows: "[Section] 12 does not prevent the landlords from pursuing their claims for `other damages,' which could include claims for amounts in excess of the security deposit or other types of damages not specified in [Section] 12. However, the clear intent of Section 15 is that if a landlord fails to provide the requisite notice within the 45-day period there are no `other damages' to collect. A landlord can attempt to pursue a claim for `other damages' only if it returns the tenant's security deposit within 45 days or provides statutory notice." Miller, 643 N.E.2d at 925-26 (quoting Duchon, 599 N.E.2d at 625 and citing Skiver, 585 N.E.2d at 1347). By failing to provide the requisite statutory notice to Tenant, Landlord implicitly agreed that no damages were due. Consequently, he may not pursue a claim for other damages. Affirmed. SHARPNACK, C.J., and MATTINGLY-MAY, J., concur. ORDER This Court having heretofore handed down its opinion in this case on May 31, 2002, marked Memorandum Decision, Not for Publication; and Comes now the Appellee, by counsel, and files herein Motion for Publication, alleging therein that said decision clarifies a rule of law which often forms the basis of disputes between landlords and tenants, particularly with respect to the argument of the Appellant that I.C. § 32-7-5-12(c) allows suits for "other damages" in excess of security deposits and no notice of damages *254 need be set under I.C. § 32-7-5-14 if the amount of rent allegedly owing is in excess of the security deposit, and prays this Court to designate its opinion of May 31, 2001, as "For Publication," which Motion is in the following words and figures, to-wit: (H.I.) And the Court, having examined said Motion and being duly advised, now finds the Appellee's Motion for Publication should be granted and that this Court's opinion in this appeal should now be ordered published. IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED as follows: 1. The appellee's Motion for Publication is granted and this Court's opinion heretofore handed down in this cause on May 31, 2001, marked Memorandum Decision, Not for Publication, is now ordered published. NOTES [1] It is unclear from the Record exactly on what date Tenant called Landlord. Landlord's answers to interrogatories indicate that Tenant called him on January 29, 1996. Record at 51. However, Landlord's affidavit filed in response to Tenant's motion for partial summary judgment states that Tenant called him on January 31, 1996. Record at 67, 78.

TRIP TO MOAB, UTAH after the meeting. Everyone is invited to join other Association members for a trip to Moab, Utah for some wheeling. Make it a long weekend or stay longer. Several members will be camping at the Riverside Oasis Campground (http://www.riversideoasis.com/) if you are interested. Some will be staying for just the weekend and others plan to be there most of the week. If you would like more details, please contact Perry Reed at [email protected].

Mumbai International Airport Limited has collected close to Rs 4 crore in penalty from private jet owners in a measure to decongest the airport. The penalty was levied on jet owners whose planes were parked beyond the stipulated time limit. The fine was approved by the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority but has been challenged in the AERA's appellate tribunal by the Business Aircraft Operators Association (BAOA). The tribunal will take a decision on the matter next month. GVK-group run Mumbai International Airport Limited began levying penalty on private planes overstaying at airport from last July leading to immediate protests over the stiff charges. MIAL argued that the penalty was necessary to de congest the airport. MIAL collected Rs 3.89 crore from jet owners till December for over 14,000 hours of excess parking, according to the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority order which approved the levy. In certain instances the penalty was levied for one extra hour of parking beyond stipulated time and in some cases it stretched beyond a month. Corporate houses, non scheduled operators and charter companies from India and abroad are amongst those which paid the penalty. The airport operator pointed out that ever since the introduction of charge number of planes overstaying in Mumbai had dropped and reduced the overcrowding. It said the number of planes overstaying in Mumbai came down from 21 to 3 in six months. "The need for imposition of such a penal charge is purely an operational safety requirement and not a source of revenue generation. It is solely intended to decongest the airport and enhance the safety,'' MIAL said in its submission to AERA.. The penalty was levied on those planes whose base was not Mumbai but would be parked here beyond stipulated 48-72 hours of stipulated parking time. In its appeal before the appellate tribunal BAOA argued that the order passed by AERA is completely devoid of merits and it has simply accepted the tariff card and penal charges imposed by MIAL retrospectively, which is inherently contrary to the law. BAOA further submitted that DGCA has already confirmed that there is no violation on the part of general aviation aircraft (private or charter planes) even if they are not parked in their usual station, since the registration granted by DGCA is on pan-India basis. The association also submitted that if there is no violation there cannot be any penal charges. Pvt jet owners cough up Rs4 cr in penalty to Mumbai airport airport. The penalty was levied on jet owners whose planes were parked beyond the stipulated time limit. Mumbai International Airport Limited has collected close to Rs 4 crore in penalty from private jet owners in a measure to decongest the airport. The penalty was levied on jet owners whose planes were parked beyond the stipulated time limit. The fine was approved by the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority but has been challenged in the AERA\'s appellate tribunal by the Business Aircraft Operators Association (BAOA). The tribunal will take a decision on the matter next month. GVK-group run Mumbai International Airport Limited began levying penalty on private planes overstaying at airport from last July leading to immediate protests over the stiff charges. MIAL argued that the penalty was necessary to de congest the airport. MIAL collected Rs 3.89 crore from jet owners till December for over 14,000 hours of excess parking, according to the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority order which approved the levy. In certain instances the penalty was levied for one extra hour of parking beyond stipulated time and in some cases it stretched beyond a month. Corporate houses, non scheduled operators and charter companies from India and abroad are amongst those which paid the penalty. The airport operator pointed out that ever since the introduction of charge number of planes overstaying in Mumbai had dropped and reduced the overcrowding. It said the number of planes overstaying in Mumbai came down from 21 to 3 in six months. "The need for imposition of such a penal charge is purely an operational safety requirement and not a source of revenue generation. It is solely intended to decongest the airport and enhance the safety,\'\' MIAL said in its submission to AERA.. The penalty was levied on those planes whose base was not Mumbai but would be parked here beyond stipulated 48-72 hours of stipulated parking time. In its appeal before the appellate tribunal BAOA argued that the order passed by AERA is completely devoid of merits and it has simply accepted the tariff card and penal charges imposed by MIAL retrospectively, which is inherently contrary to the law. BAOA further submitted that DGCA has already confirmed that there is no violation on the part of general aviation aircraft (private or charter planes) even if they are not parked in their usual station, since the registration granted by DGCA is on pan-India basis. The association also submitted that if there is no violation there cannot be any penal charges.

Stanley Anderson (artist) Alfred Charles Stanley Anderson (11 May 1884 – 4 March 1966) was a British engraver, etcher and watercolour painter. Anderson was principally known for the series of highly detailed engravings of traditional British crafts that he completed over a twenty-year period beginning in 1933. Early life and education Anderson was born in Bristol on 11 May 1884, the son of Alfred Ernest Anderson, a silver engraver. He was educated at Merchant Venturers' Technical College, Bristol, and took evening classes at Bristol School of Art. Against Stanley's wishes, his father arranged for him to begin a heraldic engraving apprenticeship during which he learned to etch on metal. Marriage Anderson married Lillian Phelps in 1910. They had children, Ivan (1911) and Maxim (1914–1959). Maxim became a documentary director and producer. Career Anderson's artistic career began in earnest in 1909. He won an engraving scholarship of £50 per year from the British Institution and studied at the Royal College of Art under Frank Short, and at Goldsmith's College, New Cross. Anderson claimed, however, to be mainly self-taught from visits to the National Gallery and the British Museum. He joined the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers as an associate in 1910, becoming a fellow in 1923. He was one of a number of young artists associated with the Painter-Etchers during the war years and immediately afterwards that were credited with reinvigorating that institution. During the First World War Anderson did munitions work in Woolwich. He did not see active service due to a heart condition. In 1925, he became the engraving tutor at Goldsmiths' where he taught Graham Sutherland. From 1930 to 1952 he was a member of the Engraving Faculty at the British School at Rome. He became an associate of the Royal Academy in 1934 and a full member in 1941. His diploma work for the Royal Academy was The Wheelright (1939). He participated in the Venice Biennale as a main artist in 1928 and as part of group shows in 1924, 1926, 1928, 1930 and 1938. He exhibited at the annual exhibitions of the Chicago Society of Etchers and the California Society of Etchers. Social comment In the early inter-war years Anderson's work was mainly composed of portraits, landscapes and street scenes. From the 1920s he began to add social comment and ironic commentary, which increased in the 1930s as his work became more mature and began to reflect his growing disillusionment with modern life. This can be seen in Wreckage (1922), By-Products (1922), in the tramp-like figures lounging in The National Gallery (1925), and in the flute playing busker in Pan in Fulham (1932). In What a piece of work is Man (1936), Anderson deployed ironic humour in commenting on Hamlet's musing about the nature of man. The scene depicts two men having a discussion in a library reading room, where newspapers may be consulted for nothing by those that cannot afford to buy their own copy. The woman behind them has a hole in the heel of her stocking. The stands on which the newspapers are displayed have the labels Weekly Blurb, Fleet St. Slush and Frycassee. One has the headline "Art Today by Blurbert Wede" in mocking reference to Sir Herbert Read, the influential critic of the day and his book Art Now (1933). On the facing page is an image of a child's stick drawing, referring to Read's interest in the art of children, and a crude Picassoesque portrait. Both reflect Anderson's disdain for modern tendencies in art and ask whether such things can even be art. The newspaper on the right has an article titled "Hollywood Divorce" on one page and a picture feature titled "CIVILIZATION!" on the other. This page includes images of weapons of war, people in gas-masks, a bishop blessing soldiers, a worker and a top-hatted boss on their knees praying before machinery in the shape of a £ sign, and a march of the unemployed. In The Wayfarer (1941) three men sit at a pub table drinking beer. One is evidently a gentleman of the road. On the wall behind them a small poster advertises the performance of "Cinema Dope for Machine Slaves". Country crafts series In 1933, Anderson bought a cottage ("Old Timbers") in Towersey, near Thame, Oxfordshire, and began producing the engravings of country crafts for which he is best known. Each was based on detailed preliminary sketches and sold in a limited edition of around 40 or 60, at the Royal Academy or other exhibitions. In many cases, background biographical information is known about the craftsmen featured and their tools and techniques. Anderson often knew them personally and saw them as his equals. His depictions are of real people carrying out their day-to-day work with the actual tools they used. The Lacemaker, for instance, was based on studies of Dorcas Ing (aged 87 at the time) of Long Crendon near Thame made in 1939. Ing had died by the time the engraving was published the following year. She was the only woman featured in the series, though not the only woman in Anderson's work generally. By 1939, the hand making of lace, once common in the village, was very much in decline. The Thatcher (1944) shows Arthur Ing of Long Crendon, son of Dorcas Ing, using his bat on the hip of a cottage as he repairs or renews a thatched roof. Making the Gate (1948) depicts Rupert Timms who was born 1912 in Aston Clinton near Thame. He came from a long line of farriers and worked with his father Ralph until Ralph's death in 1960. Work for the Timms began to decline after World War Two so in 1947 they entered a competition for blacksmiths run by the Royal Agricultural Society of England who aimed to revive rural crafts. The task was to create a wrought iron gate. The Timms built the gate to a design by Anderson and won first prize in the competition which was held at the 1947 Royal Show at Oxford. They won again at York in 1948. The engraving shows Rupert Timms making the gate with Anderson's design pinned up on the wall behind him. The Timms developed a business as ornamental blacksmiths based on Anderson's original design and they made gates St. Mary's Church, Thame, and Elm Park Recreation Ground, also in Thame. Anderson was a traditionalist in his working methods, in his taste (he disliked modern art) and in his concern for the threat to rural crafts, and critics have identified in this series a high level of consistency between the laborious craftsmanship of the men Anderson depicted and the painstaking methods that he used in his engravings, making both subject and method examples of traditional English craft. It was for this body of work that Anderson was awarded his CBE in 1951. The country crafts series was unnumbered and a large number of other works were completed on similar countryside subjects, depicting characters such as The Farm Hand (1933) or The Country Pedlar (1943), other countryside activities, horses and other subjects. Watercolours After developing neuritis in his right hand and arm, line engraving on copper became increasingly painful for Anderson. He engraved his last plate in 1953 and thereafter concentrated on watercolour paintings of country scenes which were sold at the annual exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts. Humphrey Brooke, secretary to the Royal Academy until 1968, recalled in The Times that there was a "stampede" each year to buy Anderson's paintings which often sold out within minutes of the opening, one collector being seen in running shoes to beat the competition. Death Anderson died at his home at Darobey, Church Lane, Chearsley, Buckinghamshire, on 4 March 1966. Exhibitions The exhibition, An Abiding Standard: The Prints of Stanley Anderson RA, curated by Professor Robert Meyrick and Dr Harry Heuser ran at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, 25 February – 24 May 2015. Papers Material relating to Stanley Anderson may be found in the James Laver and Harold Wright collections at the University of Glasgow. James Laver (1899–1975) was a writer and art critic and a keeper at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Harold Wright (1885–1961) was a print dealer with Colnaghi & Co. See also Muirhead Bone Gerald Brockhurst Malcolm Osborne Henry Rushbury William Strang References Further reading Meyrick, Robert and Harry Heuser. (2015) Stanley Anderson: Prints: A Catalogue Raisonné. London: Royal Academy of Arts. 272pp External links Stanley Anderson works in the collection of the Royal Academy Online catalogue of prints by Stanley Anderson CBE RA RE Stanley Anderson's London, two short Royal Academy films Category:1884 births Category:1966 deaths Category:British engravers Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire Category:Royal Academicians Category:English printmakers Category:Academics of Goldsmiths, University of London Category:Artists from Bristol

19:27 All told, they did it easy. 34.5 overs were enough to chase down Afghanistan’s 207 to begin Australia’s title defence. Finch was excellent early on, clearing the rope four times in his 66. The opening stand of 96 with Warner all-but settled things, even if Khawaja (15) and Smith (18) fell before the result was secured. Warner, named man of the match, was in no hurry. Indeed, it is one of his slowest ODI hands, facing 114 balls for his unbeaten 89. The boos were there all day but he didn’t seem to mind, just ticking over and finishing what he started at the beginning of what will be a long summer of scruitny the former leadership duo. And that’ll just about do us, I think. On behalf of Sam and myself, thanks for your company through the course of the day on the OBO. We’ll be back tomorrow morning at The Oval when South Africa play Bangladesh. Enjoy the football!

Welcome to the Hog Blog, a blog chronicling minor-league baseball in the Lehigh Valley. Tom Housenick, The Morning Call's IronPigs beat writer, has been at The Morning Call since 2008. In a previous lifetime, he was at Lackawanna County Stadium in Moosic talking with future Phillies Jimmy Rollins, Pat Burrell, Shane Victorino and Ryan Howard, among many others. He’ll now be spending his summers in search of who the Phillies are hoping to be the next Chase Utley and Cole Hamels plus any outfielder who catch and hit. What he really hopes to find are the next Mariano Rivera, Todd Helton and Jim Thome --- great human beings who happened to be great at this sport. He spent the last five years covering Colonial League football, college basketball and high school track & field. Did you ever want to celebrate your birthday or another event by playing a pick-up game on a professional baseball field? Or see your picture up on the scoreboard? The Reading Fightin' Phils are giving you your chance. Anyone who purchases tickets for the upcoming season on Wednesday -- the first day of single-game ticket sales -- will be entered in the team's "Win FirstEnergy Stadum for a Day" contest, with the prize the "keys" to the ballpark for "unbridled" access to the clubhouse and playiing field for you and 50 friends for three hours. The package also includes an all-you-can-eat buffet and open bar at the pool deck along with the option to utilize the video board, public address announcer and mascots for your "baseball, kickiball or softball" game on the field. Customers will receive one entry for each ticket purchased between 12 a.m. and 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday. Single-game tickets go on sale at midnight Wednesday via Fightins.com. The stadium ticket office opens at 8:30 a.m. for walk-up and phone orders. “For the first time in our storied history, we’re handing the keys to FirstEnergy Stadium to a member of our passionate fan base,” general manager Scott Hunsicker said in a press release. “All you need to do is purchase any type of tickets for the 2013 season---single-game, mini-plan, or group tickets---on Wednesday to be entered for this priceless opportunity.”

Seahawks players have made their voices heard on the topics of injustices and inequality, both through protest and through their words. And many of them have been taking action for a long time in the work they do in the community. Now, as a team, players are taking action as a unified group, announcing Friday the launch of the Seahawks Players Equality & Justice for All Action Fund. "In an effort to create lasting change and build a more compassionate and inclusive society, we are launching the Seahawks Players Equality & Justice for All Action Fund to support education and leadership programs addressing equality and justice. We invite you to join us in donating and taking action."—The Players of the Seattle Seahawks As the above statement from the players says, this is a tangible way for individuals or businesses to make a difference fighting injustice and inequality by supporting leadership and education programs. Those who would like to donate can do so at Seahawks.com/ActionFund. The fund will be housed at the Seattle Foundation, a nonprofit that manages nearly $1 billion in philanthropic investments. An advisory board, comprised of players, team leadership and business and community leaders will be formed in the coming week to steward the fund and determine how grants will be allocated to nonprofits. "First, we wanted to do something actionable, we wanted to have an action item," Seahawks receiver Doug Baldwin said. "We've had a lot of requests from people outside of the building of, 'How can I help, where can I donate, how can I do my part?' So we wanted to give them a place to do that, but also players have an opportunity to do so as well. Then secondly, we wanted to have a central, unified effort, really allowing the name to speak for itself. It started here with the Seattle Seahawks players, the organization itself, and all the funds go to important programs for equality and justice, and it's an action fund to put things into action. I thought it was really comprehensive, and a very collaborative effort on the part of a lot of guys in the locker room." The Seahawks elected to sit out the national anthem as a team last week to make a unified statement against inequality and injustice, so coming up with a unified action item was also important as the next step. "I think that was really important, because for the longest time now, we've been trying to figure out, what can we do as a team to impact change?" Baldwin said. "And this is something that's really tangible to all of us. And again, we really wanted this to be a unified effort. We've been trying to make a unified demonstration, a unified message, and now this is a unified action we can all take. And now we're going to be able to incorporate people outside of the building." Added cornerback Richard Sherman: "I think it's imperative. The way things are, you want to be a shining example of what things could and how people could come together, and how it looks when people do come together and unite as one, and don't look at skin color, don't look at gender, don't look at anything but the quality of someone's character. We're trying to do our best to be that example.