Where Fox and Hare say Goodnight 6

The snowfall was less in the city, and Kirkenes had an effective clearance service, but nevertheless, the traffic had ceased significantly. Three minutes after 1 pm, Mailin looked up as Linnea entered the office. Her coat and cap were covered with snow, and her face had reddened from the cold air. Mailin tried to hide her feelings and greeted her friendly.

»Phew, sorry, we are not used to such an amount of snow in the South! I guess that means we have to do our patrol on a reindeer sleigh now – or are we hibernating?«

Mailin`s smile was more polite than amused. She watched as Linnea took off her coat and cap and hung both close to the radiator. As she returned, Mailin could not help noticing that her uniform blouse was indeed a bit too tight.

Now, Linnea produced a brown bakery bag.

»Speaking of hibernating – I think two hard working Policewomen like us are allowed to confirm to at least one stereotype!«

She handed the bag to Mailin who had already noticed it was from the »Bakehus«, Kirkenes` only real bakery that sold freshly made cakes and sweets. The products tasted much better than the usual convenience food, but it was also much more expensive. Somehow, she felt a little touched by the fact Linnea had spent some of her low rookie salary on getting some deliciously smelling pastries.

»Huh!«

Mailin twitched as something cold touched her neck. Linnea giggled.

»I just wanted to show you how cold it is outside!«

Mailin`s heart cramped. The touch had sent a shive through her, but at the same time, she said to herself:

»She`s just friendly! Don`t interpret anything into it!«

Linnea filled their mugs with coffee, handed one over to Mailin and sat down beside her. Then, she looked at her with a mixture of curiosity and amusement.

»What?«, Mailin asked, a little sharper than intended. Linnea chuckled.

»It`s just – your bun looks a bit tight!«

»So?«

Indeed, when she had gathered her hair, angry about both Linnea and herself, she had done it very tight, so the skin on her forehead felt a bit strained. Linnea put her hands onto her temples and pulled back her skin, so her eyes looked a bit like a caricature Chinese from less sensitive times. In a high falsetto, she squeaked:

»Mummy, don`t you think you made my braid got a little too tight?«

Mailin wanted to glance at her, but after a few seconds, she had to chuckle.

»Idiot!«

Linnea rose and stepped closer to her.

»You want me to fix it?«

She brushed over Mailin`s ears and hair, and she let out a faint croak. Linnea chuckled.

»Was that the local equivalent for ›try your best‹?«

She began to remove the hairpins, loosening Mailin`s golden tresses. The Norwegian held still. Linnea didn`t actually caress her, but of course, it was impossible to free and unentangle her hair without brushing through it, or occasionally touching her head or neck. Mailin had to concentrate to keep her breath under control.

»So, how do you want it done?«

Linnea gathered her hair and playfully, yet firmly pulled so Mailin had to arch her neck and look up to her colleague.

»Even tighter than before?«, She asked and pulled a bit harder, so it just hurt a little bit. Mailin protested, but at the same time, she felt yet another shiver run through her. Linnea loosened her grip and pulled her chair close, so she could sit behind Mailin.

»Or how about a classic braid?«

Not waiting for an answer, she began to weave Mailin`s tresses, and though she wasn`t the biggest fan of the classic braid, she held still as Linnea now worked with her hair. Again, there was no unnecessary touching – if one didn`t call it unnecessary that Linnea was weaving her hair at all.

When she was finished, Linnea got up, the freshly made braid loosely in her hand. Playfully, she brushed over Mailin`s nose with the tassel of hair at the end. Mailin couldn`t help cringing her nose and she giggled.

»Stop it! Or I will sneeze all over my coffee!«

»Oh, we sure won`t that to happen!«

She let the tassel wander over Mailin`s cheek and then brushed over her carotid artery. Reflexively, she slightly arched her neck. She had to pull herself together not to close her eyes. Instead, she peeked at the door that had a window in it and said with a slightly hoarse voice:

»If Ragnar comes by, he will wonder what we are doing!«

»If so, I will tell him that you told me that it is part of my duties as a Police candidate is to take care my superior always looks her best!«

Mailin knew that she should tell Linnea to stop; after all, Ragnar could really walk along the corridor any minute. And yet, as Linnea now brushed over her throat, soft as a breeze, she just couldn`t get the words over her lips.

»So, that`s why you are doing it – all you want is for me to write good report about you!«

»Of course«, Linnea replied. »For, If you won`t do, I would complain that you forced me to become your personal hairdresser!«

Mailin`s nervosity ceased and she began to enjoy the little banter:

»Didn`t you know that being allowed to be responsible of your superior`s hair is actually a promotion, not a degradation?«

Linnea bent forward, so Mailin felt her breath at her ear as she breathed:

»Well, under these circumstances, I am glad that it`s you and not Ragnar!«

Mailin burst out laughing. Ragnar tried to compensate his young age by a scanty moustache that made him look even younger. Linnea now held the tassel of Mailin`s braid under her nose and did an impression of Ragnar.

»Stop it! Stop!«

Indeed, a few seconds later, Ragnar showed up and asked what was so funny. They managed to pull themselves together, more or less.

»Nothing!«, Mailin spluttered, and Linnea added:

»Some girlie stuff you wouldn`t understand!«

Shaking his head, Ragnar left, followed by another volley of laughter. Mailin wiped her eyes and tried to catch her breath.

»Phew, this is the first time I get sore muscles from sitting in my chair!«, she gasped, rubbing over her belly. Linnea cocked her head.

»As I said, I take care you look your very best: nicely weaved hair, a trim belly!«

Linnea put her hand on Mailin`s tummy.

»Trim enough, you may have your doughnut now!«

Reflexively, Mailin had wanted to push the other`s hand away, but she didn`t really try hard and so, her hand just rested on Linnea´s who now took one of the doughnuts and held it to her mouth. Mailin giggled, and Linne took a bite from the pastry.

»Just to make sure it isn`t poisoned«, she said and let Mailin have a bit, too. She had slight difficulties in chewing and swallowing, though the tingle radiating from the strange hand on her belly felt very blissful.

The two girls shared their doughnut, and then, Linnea used the braid to brush a few crumps from Mailin`s face and chest. Mailin protested against the abuse of her hair as a hand brush, but in fact, she more felt the loss of Linne`s other hand touching her.

They decided to get Ragnar the other pastries and to apologize for their previous behaviour, but he was looking at the monitor, frowning.

»There`s a strange signal – or rather, a fragment of a signal!«

Mailin checked the monitor. It showed an incoming call, but it had stopped after just two signals. She shrugged.

»Maybe, a child trying to prank us, but it got cold feet and stopped the call. Or, someone accidentally called the emergency number. Could you track the call?«

Ragnar nodded.

»It came from the ›Polar Paradise resorts‹.«

The name rang a bell in Mailin`s head and she went for her desk whilst Linnea tried to hide the ice cold shiver that had just ran down her spine. It was the place where her comrades had lost the real Linnea – and now, someone from the resort had called the Police!

As she had feared, Mailin had come to the same conclusion: Kristin`s only guests was a group of English women celebrating the hen night of one of them; so, it was unlikely that a child had done the call. Of course, it was possible that one of the girls had been drunk and tried to prank the Police, but the attempted call had been around noon – a bit early to be that wasted, even for Britons.

»Now, what shall we do? Ragnar, I guess you already called the resort?«

»Of course, but the line`s dead, and I can`t reach the mobile number either!«

Mailin sighed and looked at Linnea.

»So much about hibernating! Though there is a 99% chance this turns out to be just a silly accident, we have to get there! Welcome to your first snow mobile ride while on duty!«

Ten minutes later, they left, equipped with thermos suits and helmets. Mailin hadn`t noticed Linnea`s concern, but she felt her new colleague`s arms slung around her body from behind, and she had to admit that she wasn`t that angry about the strange call.

***

»Fuck!«

Colleen had anticipated the snowfall and therefore, she had a pair of snow shoes with her, allowing her to move relatively fast. In addition, her sense of orientation helped her to find the tent, even in the heavy snowfall. It was almost buried by the snow, and Colleen had for a moment feared that Linnea had suffocated. However, her captive had disappeared completely, together with the sleeping bag.

The tent was one of several hideouts Colleen had provided, and therefore, it didn`t contain much equipment – but it was all untouched. In addition, both the sleeping bag and the tension cord she had wrapped around it were gone, too. If Linnea had managed to free herself, she sure would have taken Colleen`s reserve suit, together with the rifle.

»So, she either ran away in just her panties, or hopped off still packed inside the sleeping bag!«

Both scenarios seemed rather unlikely, and there was no sign of a collapsed Linnea somewhere around. The snow had ceased a bit, allowing her to see a few yards. Colleen saw that all potential tracks the girl (or a potential rescuer) might have left was now hidden under two or three feet of snow.

»Well, the number of neighbours is quite low – though I saw some new ones just a few hours ago, less than a mile away!«

Colleen shouldered her rifle and packed some more things before she approached the hut where the bunch of British guys was residing.

***

»All right, cigarettes out!«

Synchronously, Nastja and Olesya spat out their cigarettes on Milena`s order. When the snow had started, they had quickly withdrawn to their hideout at the abandoned post, but only to return little later, equipped with snow shoes and white ski suits. They had come to two possible options what had happened to their escaped captive.

»If she was still out when the snow came, she`s most likely dead by now. I hate that it had to come to this, but it would take one sorrow from us!«, Olesya had concluded, and the other two had agreed. Though their plans for Linnea had been quite unspecific and not very nice, none of them had intended to kill her.

However, there was a possibility she had made it to some warm place – and the only warm place she could have reached before freezing to death was the resort.

Nastja was sure she had destroyed the phone and radio, but obviously, the girls had managed to call the Police. Lenya`s message was short:

»Got call from resort, will have a look. Me and new colleague!«

So, there would be two Policemen, though one of them would be Lenya. Nastja looked over at the office building. There was no light, so, either, nobody had detected Kristin yet, or the tourist girls had found her and were now trying to get some help.

The office turned out to be empty and carefully, the three Russians sneaked to the top of the hill. Through the still falling snowflakes, they could see the main house. The curtains were closed, but there was definitely light in it, and smoke was coming from the chimney.

»So, either this is a set-up, or our birds have not left the nest!«

According to what they knew, there would be a group of frightened tourists, plus maybe the resort manager and a hypothermic and exhausted Linnea. No need to work out an elaborate strategy.

So, when they had approached the house for some 20 yards, Olesya took cover behind the outhouse whilst the others stepped towards the door, their rifles at the ready. Their opponents were not armed with something heavier than maybe a rolling pin or a hair flattener. All they had to do was to burst through the door, frighten them with their guns and take Linnea with them if she was there. Maybe, they would truss up the others, to make sure they wouldn`t call for help too soon.

As they stepped on the veranda, the motion detector switched on the light.

»Yebat!«, Nastja cursed, and then, all hell broke loose. Suddenly, there was a terrible noise coming from inside. The door opened a little, and when Milena aimed at the gap, something hit her at her chest and face.

»Aaahhhh!«

It had been boiling water, and she reflexively jumped into the snow, cooling her skin. Nastja fired, but the door had been slammed shut, so she just caused some splinters in the woodwork. One second later, something heavy hit her from above. The padding of her ski suit prevented her from a real injury, but her shoulder hurt and when she jumped back, the door once again opened. This time, a glooming red ball was fired at her.

»Yebat!«

Nastja avoided the shot from the flare gun, but she staggered against Milena who had just recovered from the hot water attack. They suddenly heard shots; Olesya was trying to help them, but nearly killed her own comrades. Ducking, and running zigzag, the two Russians withdrew behind the hill.

Though none of them had been really hurt, they would need a more elaborate approach!

***

Inside the house, the group of defenders cheered, though they all were also concerned and frightened. With all possibilities destroyed that would have allowed them to either leave the resort or call for help, they had decided to withdraw to the house that was built close to a hill, had only one entrance and had thick walls. Once inside, they had decided to take the term »besieged castle« seriously.

As weapons, they had had only the two flare guns, each with two shots, but they had become more and mor resourceful, and each of them had contributed to their defence. Veronique, who had her laptop with her, had connected it to her cell phone and so, they had a camera to at least observe the veranda without having to leave the house. Cordelia had kept some water boiling, whilst Lalita and Samantha had taken all kinds of kettles, pots and bigger glasses. Upstairs, they had filled them with water and left them to freeze, providing heavy projectiles to throw down on any potential intruder. Lioba had had the idea with distracting the attacker by making noise. Isabelle, who was the only one who had been trained in using a gun, had been given the flare guns, and only Kristin had been unable to contribute and just helped the others in closing the curtains and pushing the heavy cupboard in front of the panorama window.

Now, their plan had worked out! They had pushed back the initial attack. Lalita and Samantha rushed down from the upper floor, shouting:

»They are running! They are withdrawing behind the hill!«

Isabelle allowed them to join in the collective hugging, but then sent them back to their post to have an eye at the hill. Cordelia had already provided some new hot water, and there was some grim determination on their faces.

Their attackers had failed – and on the long run, time was working for them, not the criminals!

***

A few miles away, Colleen had reached a place behind a fallen tree from which she had a good look at the hut some 200 yard away. Her rifle was ready, and she had also prepared another contraption. Now, she had to wait.

After some time, the door opened. Colleen could see the man in the olive sweater, followed by the small one. Both were checking the area, then, the small one approached their car. For a second, Colleen thought he had a rifle, but he was just carrying a snow shuffle.

Their car was a Land Rover Defender, the epitome of a car for rough terrain. Colleen nevertheless doubted that they would be able to use it in such deep snow, but she also wanted to see what these guys were up to. So, she waited whilst the man freed the car from snow. Once he had created a little clearing, he waved his arm, and the tall one left the house. Bent forward, he fought himself towards the car.

Colleen fired. She had aimed at his legs, and he yelled and hit the ground. The small one told him to get down and then, he seemed to look for where the shot had come from whilst the man in the sweater jumped out of the house and took cover behind a pile of logs. Inside the house, Colleen had for a second seen a glimpse of white blonde hair. So, Linnea was indeed here, together with the remaining two.

She fired at the logs before changing her position. So far, the behaviour of the group had already told her a few things: at least the small one and the one in the sweater seemed to have some military background, for they had reacted calmly and also tried to figure out where their enemy was, instead of running away in fear.

However, it seemed that they didn`t have any firearms, not even pistols or revolvers. They would have been no match over the distance, but Colleen was sure that they had repeated the fire, at least to distract her, if they had had the possibility. She grinned.

PLONK! PLONK!

She heard some metallic sound coming from the car. The small one had opened the door and it was shaking slightly. Then, it fell to the ground, only to be erected a few seconds later. Then, the door moved through the snow like a shark`s fin.

»Cute!«

Obviously, the man had somehow crashed the door hinges and now used it as a shield to get his wounded comrade back to the hut. Not the silliest move, she had to admit. She could have send a volley at the door, trying to hit someone, but Colleen hadn`t come to kill.

She reached for the other weapon she had prepared. It was like a bazooka, but with a longer range and a sensor for metal. It was easy to aim, and the car wasn`t even moving. Colleen fired, and a second later, the front of the Land Rover had turned into a lump of twisted metal.

She could hear a yell from the door, but the small one had taken the opportunity to pull his wounded friend back into the hut. At the same time, the one behind the logs had also withdrawn. As the door fell shut, Colleen nodded satisfied.

If she was lucky, they would think she was still outside, not daring to leave the hut. However, Colleen had no intention to freeze her butt in the snow. If they would try to get somewhere, they would have to do so on their feet, with no winter equipment and one of them at least slightly handicapped. The next house was some ten miles away, giving Colleen more than enough of a head start.

***

The sound of the snow mobile and the two of them wearing helmets prevented Mailin and Lenya from having a talk during their ride, but Lenya could imagine that her colleague wasn`t too concerned about their mission. Lenya, who had the advantage of knowing a bit more, thought different.

What could they find at the resort? A destroyed radio and telephone, plus a trussed up manager, if she hadn`t managed to free herself. Maybe, there would also be some alarmed and frightened guests. However, even if they would all report they had been attacked by Russian woman, there would be no connection to her – if the real Linnea hadn`t made it to the resort, too.

»Oh my God, I now have to hope that she died in the snow!«

Lenya had had no problem with the original premise of her replacing Linnea, so they had the local Police infiltrated. But the idea of being partially responsible for the death of Linnea was a different thing. However, if she was well and alive, she could severely endanger their mission!

They approached the resort and Lenya looked whether she could see any sign of her comrades. She had sent them a message, so they could withdraw – also, to prevent them from shooting if they were still there. Lenya knew she had not only done so for egoistic reasons, but also to protect Mailin. More than ever, she wanted the tall blonde to remain unharmed.

»Now, let`s see what severe crime has happened here!«, Mailin said as she had stopped the snow mobile and dismounted it. She took off her helmet and, to Lenya`s horror, just approached the door, not bothering to look around or to draw her gun. Kirkenes had a low crime rate, and one of the side effects of that was that the Police hardly was confronted with violence.

Inside the house, one light was burning, and Mailin entered whilst Lenya had fallen back a bit. Then, she heard some thuds, accompanied by aches, from inside.

»Mailin!«

Raising her gun, Lenya jumped forward. Inside the lobby, she almost staggered over the body lying on the floor. A light was switched on, and Lenya could just stop herself from firing at Nastja at blank range.

»Wha-what-?«

Milena also stepped forward, wiping her chin that showed a bruise. Like Nastja, she was holding a small club made of heavy rubber.

»We just wanted to send her to dream land, but she refused to go down easy and so, we had to become more – persuasive!«

Lenya bent over the unconscious Mailin. She felt her breath, and a wave of relief rushed through her. Slowly, she looked up at her comrades.

»Was that really necessary? If you had hidden, we would have left within a minute!«

Milena not so gently kicked against Mailin`s ribs. The Policewoman didn`t twitch, showing she still was out. Nastja meanwhile pointed at the hill.

»The guests and the manager have barricaded themselves inside the guest house! They could have alerted your – colleague if they heard the snow mobile, too!«

The short pause implied that she had some doubts about Lenya`s loyalty. However, she and Milena quickly briefed Lenya about the latest events.

»Olesya`s watching the door, but we currently have a stalemate. They can`t leave, but we can`t get inside either! However, if Linnea`s still alive, she`s most likely with them!«

Lenya nodded silently. Everything her comrades said was true, and she knew that they hadn`t acted out of brutality. She looked down at Mailin who would suffer from severe headaches, maybe even a concussion, if she woke up. With a hoarse voice, she asked:

»What about her?«

Nastja took her gun and offered it to Lenya.

»As a proof of loyalty, you should do her!«

Lenya`s eyes widened and Nastja chuckled.

»You should have seen your face!«

Milena patted Lenya`s shoulder and added:

»Don`t worry, we don`t want the Norwegians to send enforcements! So, you two were ambushed from behind, but when you came to yourselves again, the attackers had gone! Now, let`s get this done!«

With some concern, Lenya helped in stripping the thermos suit and the boots from Mailin. When Nastja then opened Mailin`s belt, she protested and the auburn haired Russian cocked her head.

»You would prefer doing it yourself? Well, there is still her blouse!«

Lenya wanted to say something, but she bit her tongue and with trembling fingers, she worked on the buttons of Mailin`s uniform blouse. It felt strange to do that to her, though a perverted little part of her wanted to see what Mailin looked like underneath. She wasn`t sure whether she should be relieved or disappointed when it turned out Mailin was wearing an additional sleeveless top.

Nastja had meanwhile removed the trousers, revealing Mailin`s black, almost opaque pantyhose. Lenya couldn`t help admiring her long, shapely legs.

»Remove the top, too!«, Milena ordered. Lenya saw no reason for this, but she obeyed, and again, she partially wanted to do it. Mailin sported a plain black sports bra, but her breasts were as Lenya had imagined, and she felt a stitch in her stomach as she looked at the unconscious woman`s now exposed tummy. It was indeed flat and trim, and Lenya remembered all too well how she had touched it just an hour before.

To her relief, Nastja and Milena now were satisfied and used Mailin`s own handcuffs to tie her wrists behind her back. Then, Nastja looked at Lenya with a malicious smile.

»As Milena said, you were both attacked!«

Lenya sighed, but during training, they had seen enough of each other, and so, she didn`t bother to strip to her bra, pantyhose and panties. Her own pantyhose was white and transparent, revealing a matching set of pale pink bra and panties, adorned with a black lace trimming.

»Ah, the Norwegian sense for convenience and functionality hasn`t yet completely contaminated your sense of femininity!«, Nastja commented, and Lenya couldn`t help blushing slightly. Milena decided that the best way to keep them stowed was Kristin`s bedroom. A bit reluctantly, Lenya assisted the others in carrying Mailin upstairs.

The bed was a single bed, yet looked convenient enough. However, it seemed that Kristin had not found the time to put on the radiator, for it was rather chilly.

»We will freeze!«, Lenya thought, but kept her mouth shut, for she didn`t want to show weakness in front of her comrades. Nastja now reached her two large cable binders.

»For her legs!«

Lenya stretched Mailin`s legs and slung one of the zip ties around her ankles. She had to force herself to pull it tight. Then, she used the second one to tie the Norwegian´s legs just above her knees. Nastja inspected the bonds and nodded. Then, she took a third zip tie. She slung it through Mailin`s ankle ties, folded her legs and secured them to the chain of her handcuffs. Then, she produced a roll of tape. In her other hand, she held one of Kristin`s scarves.

»She`s unconscious«, Lenya remarked, »she could choke!«

Nastja took care of that problem by pushing the scarf into one of Mailin`s socks she had worn in her boots, producing a rather big ball that took some effort to cram into Mailin`s mouth. Nastja secured the gag with a few rounds of tape. Then, she looked at Lenya with considerable glee.

»Now, it`s your turn! Remember, we only do what we have to do, so it looks realistic!«

Lenya was sure that right now, her comrade was combining duty and pleasure, but she didn`t stir as Nastja now crammed another scarf into Mailin`s second sock. It took her some effort not to retch, though she had opened her mouth wide: the gag was not only big, she now tasted that Mailin had obviously worn these socks on a previous ride, too. Lenya was panting through her nose when Nastja sealed her lips with the tape.

Milena now cuffed her wrists and made her lie down on the bed. She had to get so close to Mailin their breasts touched, something that sent a tingle through her chest. She was then tied at knees and ankles, and she could feel that Nastja wasn`t too concerned about the zip ties being too tight. Once she was hogtied, Milena brushed through Lenya`s hair, In her other hand, she held the rubber club.

»Sorry, but you have to look convincing!«

Lenya nodded and bit down on her massive gag. With the precision of a trained soldier, Milena hit her temple. Lenya`s head flew back, and she saw stars as the pain shot through her head. She didn`t pass out, but she groaned and knew that she would have an ugly – and thus convincing – bruise now.

»Just a sacrifice for our victory!«, Nastja purred and placed a kiss on Lenya´s temple. The blonde grunted angrily and turned her head away. Nastja chuckled.

»Come on, real criminals would have been much harder to you. And speaking of that-«

With one yank, she pulled Mailin`s sports bra up to her neck, so her breasts popped out. Then, ignoring her muffled protests, she also peeled Lenya´s boobs out of the cups.

»Come on, that`s enough!«, Milena reprimanded her, but she smiled and sounded like a lenient mother whose child had just snacked some cookie dough. The two Russians left Lenya and Mailin alone and went down the stairs.

***

»In the movies, they would say ›don`t worry, it`s just a flesh wound‹!«

»And what do they say in the real world?«, David hissed through gritted teeth. In the hut, there had been a first aid kit, and Billy, who had the most knowledge of human bodies, though his customers had usually passed away, had cleaned the wound and bandaged his leg. Now, he said:

»Well, you were lucky the bullet went straight through your calf and that you haven`t lost that much blood. I am sure that in a few weeks, everything will be as it has been before!«

»Only if I avoid ball sports and square dancing!«, David grunted. Lacking a real narcotic, they had used the Wodka not only to clean the wound, but also as a painkiller, and now, he was a little tipsy. The pain in his leg was still puckering, but the mixture of booze and vanity had allowed David to oppress most of his cries during the treatment.

»At least, it got you in clean Norwegian snow«, Mike added, »I caught my first bullet in the dirty dust of Afghanistan!«

It had been a minor graze, and it had been friendly fire, but this was not the time to be nitpicky. Bishop pushed up his sleeve, revealing an old wound on his arm.

»Iraq!«, he just said. Billy chuckled and presented a scar on his shoulder, from his time when he had served in Northern Ireland. Suddenly, Linnea cleared her throat. Taking another sip of the Wodka, she lifted the shirt and pulled down her sweatpants, revealing her panty-clad butt. Near the leg opening, the men could see a scar.

»It happened during a gang riot in Oslo – that`s one of the reasons I wanted to be sent to a quiet town in the North!«

She laughed at the irony and now, all looked at Ravi who almost apologetically raised his hands.

»Don`t blame me! I am a teacher; my scars are on my soul!«

He then looked out of the window, to the woods, and added grimly:

»Besides, I might join your veteran`s club sooner than I like!«

***