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As I approached I greeted her in Serbian.
“Good Afternoon Libena.”
She looked at me a little curiously. “Good Afternoon. Tell me what is in my bag, please.”
I smiled. “Five ten-pound notes, ten one-pound coins, a phone-card, a handkerchief..”
“Stop!” she said, “You are wrong!” She looked at my surprised face, then burst out laughing.
“Only four ten-pound notes. [...]

“Be quiet, and take your shirt off.”
“What?”
“Just do it.”
I shook my head and removed my shirt.
“Aha! I thought so.” She gently removed the plaster and scrutinized Thak’s handiwork.
She looked at me. “Nice sutures. Do I know the doctor?”
“Thak.”
“Your beautifully-mannered Gurkha bodyguard?”
“The same – he’s a trained field paramedic.”
“I won’t ask how you got it.” She [...]

“Vamos?” I said, standing up and holding out my hand.
She stood up and immediately sat down again, her face contorted with pain. She reached down and rubbed her ankle.
I kneeled on the floor and looked at her. “Posso?” I said, pointing to her foot.
“Sim.” She straightened her leg, and I felt the ankle gently, it [...]