Author's Note: The final conflict of the trilogy begins, not to overshadow one scene in this chapter...

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Chapter 27
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That half a dozen of the Asylum escapees were here with the Vanquishiri Bahitians did not bode well. Mortar Mage tried to put names to their faces, but only the big man Bloodthorn, the woman with the vulture wings Carrion, and the other woman Needlepoint, came to mind. He had to assume the other three were just as bad, not just for where they had been locked up.

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AFTERNOON PLACEMENTS RACHAEL (25) AND HEDGER (25)
That she was having what one of her foster mothers would have described as mucky thoughts concerning Hedger surprised her greatly.

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AFTERNOON PLACEMENTS EVE (14)
After Gilla and Eve left to find Mallard at the seamstresses, Eve asked her, “How can a man be a seamstress? And what exactly does a trim maker make?”

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AFTERNOON PLACEMENTS FIONA (14)
Fiona looked long and thoughtfully at Nightingale before replying, “As to the wine, not for me, thank you. I may be pregnant, and if not I wish to be.”

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AFTERNOON FRAN (22) LÆRER WEAVER AND DYKER (22)
Weaving was definitely better than filing papers none was ever going to read.

Due to me taking the wrong subway train and then stopping off for something to eat, I arrived home much later than I’d anticipated. As I suspected, there was a Black Ford Sedan that screamed to the world ‘Feds Inside’ parked just up the street. I sighed and instead of going into my home, I went to the car and knocked on the window.

After some hesitation, the window was wound down. It was the same agent that had followed me into the Lingerie Store. His partner was gripping the steering wheel tightly.

“Hello Again!”

He didn’t reply.

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Chapter 26
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One day until the end of the universe

Diamond Grace kicked down the door. The people inside the warehouse were surprised, or at least they were now scrambling for any combination of weaponry or hiding places. This was the last place in Paragon that the League said they needed checked today, saying I had something to do with crystal smuggling. What Diamond Grace saw instead was signs of crystal meth production.