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You dash out of the attic, down the stairs. You whip around a corner and trip over a small black box. Sparks jump out. You see another of Grimstone’s thugs; he yells at you. Cursing. You’re on your feet and running down the next flight of stairs. You leap the last five steps and race down the hallway. At that moment an explosion sends a blast and a series of shock waves through the house. Shaken. And deafened from the noise, you race for the front door, wondering what happened. Grimstone’s man must have been making a bomb and somehow you triggered it when you tripped over it. As you reach the door you hear a rapid series of explosions coming from the rear of the house- it’s as if an ammunition dump is going off! The blasts virtually blow you out the front door. But you’re not hurt, and in a few moments you’re over the gate. You cross the street and lean up against a stone wall, Grateful to be alive and free. By now flames are shooting through a brownout section of the roof. You hear fire engines a few blocks away. One of Grimstone’s men hobbles out of the house; his shirt ripped open, face blackened with soot. By the time he reaches the gate, two pull up by the front gate. But with a huge cache of explosives fueling the flames, it’s obvious the house will be a total loss, and the diamonds, no doubt, as well. The End
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