So Abe climbs over the flimsy black-iron railing, reaches inside and finds nothing to hold on to except the sink faucet. The window really is too small. But … he steps onto the railing and squirms inside. Powerful stench of garbage left under the sink too long. His shoulders just make it through, then it’s a matter of twisting over the sink and pulling his legs in. X gives him a final shove that catapults him onto a dirty kitchen floor. “Hey!”

“Help! Oh—oh—help!”

Abe gets to his feet and rushes into the little living room/ bedroom of the ap. A black-haired woman in a sweat-soaked long T-shirt is on her back on the floor. And unless she’s unfashionably fat—nope—pregnant woman here, gone into labor. Abe rushes to the door. “Hey!” the woman shouts. “Over here!”

“I know!”

He unlocks the door and Xavier hurries in. The woman jerks back awkwardly against an old green vinyl couch. “Hey! Who are you!”

“Rescue squad.” Xavier kneels beside her, holds her wrist and moves her hand off her belly. “Relax, lady—”

“Relax! Are you kidding? What took you so long? Ahh! ahh!” Her face is dripping with sweat, she rolls her head from side to side. “I wanted an ambulance!”

“We are the ambulance, lady. Try to relax.” Xavier checks her out. “Hey, how long have you been in labor?”

“Couple hours. I guess.”

“Say, you’re making awfully fast progress.”

“You’re telling me! Listen who the fuck are you?”

“Rescue squad.”

“I don’t want some spade playing around down there while I’m trying to—ahh!—have a baby!”

Xavier frowns at her. “I’ll try to refrain from molesting you till you’re done, all right? It’s a little too crowded in there to rape you just now.”

The woman takes a weak swing at him. “Get away from me! Leave me alone! Ah, God!”

“We’re the rescue squad, ma’am,” Abe tries to explain.

“Will you cut that ma’am shit! All I need is the ambulance!”

“We can do that too,” Xavier says. “Abe, run down quick and get the stretcher. I think we’ve got time to get her over to St. Joe’s.”

Abe runs down and grabs the furled stretcher, carries it back upstairs. Back in the ap Xavier and the woman are arguing loudly. “They can’t hold your kid hostage, woman! If you can’t pay, you can’t pay! You’re going too fast here, and it’s pretty sure to rip you up some. You’d best be in the hospital!”

The woman is hit by a severe contraction and can’t reply. Abe can see she wants to reply, her eyes are fixed on Xavier’s and she’s glaring fiercely, shaking her head. “Don’t—want—to go!”

“That’s tough. We’re not allowed to just let you bleed to death, are we.”