Dan and Beth stopped dancing and just listened. Dan said he’d been trying to find his daughter and here she was. He only had to tune in.

He said she sounded very upset and Beth said she had a lovely voice. Dan said she got it from her mother. Beth said she thought she got it from Dan. Dan said thank you. And Beth asked if she should turn the radio off and Dan said just keep it going for a little bit.

113

“What do you want me to do?” asked Edward.

“I wanted to know what Kirsten’s last words were?” said Samuel.

“Oh . . .”

“Do you know?”

“Shall I cut him off?” asked Penny.

“Yes,” said Edward.

“Yes,” said John.

“No,” said the negotiator.

“Which?” asked Penny.

“Do you know what her last words were?” asked Samuel.

112

“My head is hurting,” said Tamy.

“Shut up,” said Edward.

“Ali?” said Sam.

111

Tamy’s father burst into KKRC and demanded to know why the doors hadn’t been smashed down and tear gas pumped through the air conditioning.

110

Frankburg wrote furiously on a piece of paper “What are you doing?” and held it up to Samuel.

109

“Did she mention me?” asked Samuel.

Ali said, “No.”

“Are you sure?” said Samuel.

“Cut him off,” said Edward. He thought Activist 345 was going to cry and if she did then he would, too, and he didn’t think it was the time for crying.

“Did she mention me?” said Samuel again.

Ali said, “No.”

108

John shuffled a pack of cards nervously. He wondered if he could diffuse the situation with another trick. Or his collapsible wand.

107

Ali is keeping Kirsten’s head under the water and Ali is crying and crying and Kirsten has got her eyes closed but suddenly and without warning they open and they look at Ali and they look eye-to-eye and Ali doesn’t know what to do but Kirsten has told her to keep her head under, no matter what, she’s made her promise and so she has to keep it under even though Kirsten’s hands are flapping a bit and her fingers are wiggling a bit and Ali is crying as she holds Kirsten under and Ali was crying now, the tears wouldn’t stop now.

106

My brother Edward watched her and wanted to know what she wanted him to do.

“What’s the plan here?” he asked and everyone wanted to know that too.

105

“Kirsten’s last words were ‘I’ve changed my mind,’” said Ali.

“What?” said Samuel.

Penny thought Ali should speak up. She should get a bit closer to the microphone.

“Kirsten said, ‘I’ve changed my mind,’” said Ali, and the tears dribbled onto the green foam mike cover and John shuffled his cards and Penny bit her lip and Edward bled.

104

The ex-government agent told Penny that Tamy’s father had entered the building and told her to mention the fact, so Penny did.