[A muscle twitches for the first punch of the needle and Frank blows a breath out through his nose.] Answer ain't gonna help you. I'm not scared because. Because sometimes the idea of being dead is a relief. Doubly so if I can go down swingin'.

[A mournful scream joins into the wail. He watches hands make their stitches; looks at the kid's profile. Maybe not a kid. Frank's jaw works for a minute and he wets dry lips.] But... There's a girl. The balls on her, y'know? Sixteen and tougher than some guys I served with. [He huffs something that might be a laugh.] She faced down all sorts of bad shit, real bad shit, including me, like a goddamn bull in a china shop. Her attitude was worse than anythin' this asshat's serving.