Gruber would torture youand enjoy it. It was a task he would volunteer for. Wagner, I'mcertain, would not. But if ordered to he would torture you very...fficiently, and feel nothing while doing so."How is the war in the west going?" Gerda asked him."Not well, unfortunately. British and South African troops drove us outof Florence, though General Kesselring managed to destroy a number ofimportant bridges during his retreat, which will slow the Alliedadvance. In France, Rennes recently fell to the. She quickly ladled out two bowls of stew, and passed one to her brother.They sat, in quiet content, staring into the fire, until Malkyn suddenly made a small anguished noise. Leo looked over. There was a dark, spreading stain from a spoonful of stew on her shift.“Oh, now what will I do?” She said desperately. “This is my only shift!”“Wash it,” Leo suggested. She gave him a withering look.“Yes, of course I will wash it!” she snapped, “but what will I sleep in? This is my only clean shift, and I. You didn’t say ‘yes’.”I smiled, “I don’t fuck on the first date. I’m not that easy!”Rhonda actually laughed at my lame attempt at humor.“I can respect that. What about the second date?” she asked.“Depends on the girl. And a clean STD test.”“No shit, Sherlock! If you were with Abbie, I’m sure you were tested.”“And that made it safe to ask?”“Yes. But also I was sure a rich boy who looked like you would never touch a girl who looked like me.”I laughed, “Nice try, Rhonda. That was a bit too. I can’t imagine anyone treating me as well as you do.”“You know I still need to talk to Jennifer next week, and there are all kinds of things that could happen in the next couple of years.”“I know. And I know that you haven’t decided yet. I’m just telling you that I can accept what Jennifer’s proposing.”I kissed her softly and then shut my eyes to think about what she’d said. It seemed like everything that Jennifer wanted was falling into place. The question for me was whether or not I wanted.