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 Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2012 7:31 pm
Another surprise. Not only was she not related or connected to Mr. Wallace, she was not well-moneyed either. His eyes flicked over her again. Her dress was a good quality. He only had a basic knowledge of women’s designers…as he was male…and straight. But he could tell that it was well made, perhaps a little old. Second hand? He would know. That was how he afforded all of his designer clothes and shoes. He believed that if you had to walk the walk. He wanted to be part of the upper class, so he acted the part. To everyone, all of the time.
He lived in a luxury apartment that was once featured in Architectual Digest. But only because he was house sitting for a professor. He drove a Mercedes XL7, because he was leasing it. And that only went through because he bribed the guy at the loan company with a few dates with a hot girl that he had come in with. Nothing was permanent, he was constantly working and studying and using his connections to keep him running at the top of the pack. It was exhausting at times, but he knew that he was better than where he was. He didn’t want to be treated like he was a second class citizen.
But he was tired. He didn’t want to keep pretending. He had put in his work struggling through, it was time for his reward. And this was going to be it. A chance inheritance from a mysterious benefactor. It was crazy and unlikely but he had earned it. Fate, karma, kismet, whatever, he was due for a good break. He sensed that Raina was too.
Turning his head like he had tasted something bitter, he paused before answering her question. This isn’t the time to turn noble. Eyes on the prize, Kaine. He mentally berated himself, this wasn’t him. He was a smooth operator that looked out for number one. He tried to get himself focused again and realized that she had probably been waiting for his answer. He smirked as he realized that she had done something similar. Clearly she had much on her mind as well. He pushed on before he let himself wonder what it could be that troubled such a pretty young thing.
“Sorry,” he chuckled, “my mind is wandering…this day…the occasion..” his bright eyes twinkled at her, “..a beautiful woman..” Okay, he was trying to be charming. He felt like having an ally in this house was a major advantage and would make a stronger picture against the others in the snake pit, er…reception room. So he didn’t mind working his magic and charm. It was annoying that it was so easy with a girl like Raina. He should have waited and talked up some old, sagging, four-times divorced widower with a crazy hat. Raina made him almost forget the surrealness of this day and his lies. And unfortunately not all of them were lies. She was beautiful. It was handy because it made his words ring with truth, but troublesome that he confused his usually clear vision towards the end goal.
“I have one more year of school in D.C. so I’m working there in between semesters. That is where I drove in from.” Truth. “I have a position at a law firm that a friend of our family owns.” Sort of true. He made it sound like a paralegal when he was just a research assistant and errand boy. “But I had been planning on taking a road trip with my bike for a while, so I was able to pair my vacation with this.” He had been fired when he asked for time off. But he had to find out what was waiting for him here. And his bike was the only mode of transportation available to him.
The hall had a few rooms leading off of it but most of the doors were shut and locked. Others seemed just as bland as the den where they had collected their drinks. Finally he guided her into what appeared to be a long gallery. There was more art and sculpture in here, clearly each expensive and important as they were displayed each in an isolated manner. He looked at each piece as if he was appreciating it but he was slowly getting that feeling that Raina had described earlier. They were in the house of a murdered man, in the middle of nowhere, no one understood why they were brought here or how this day would end.
Walking to a long impressionist landscape that looked vaguely like Monet but with a harsher color palate. As he stepped in front of it he looked down at Raina, “So,” his eyes twinkled mischeviously, “do you have a husband or boyfriend waiting for you at home?” He reasoned that there was no sense in putting in the time flirting and charming a girl if she was just going to stop him in a few minutes or tomorrow morning and tell him that she had a husband. Not that such minutia had ever stopped him from getting into bed with a woman before.
But he didn’t know how much the people who brought them together knew about them. As long as he was here, it would be handy to be a couple, a pair. If the mysterious circumstances around the man’s death was still a threat to the people in the house, he would be safer if he was with someone else. And if it came down to arguing for the money, a young man with an attractive girlfriend made the more respectable picture than a single man scheming for a fortune to fill his lonely life.
Fortunately for Kaine, he had grown quite comfortable with his empty life and rather enjoyed it. He was sure that he was meant to be a bachelor for his whole life. Pretty dark haired girls with bright eyes and perfect skin where just a weakness that he was going to have to learn to overcome. Kaine had worked hard to get his life just the way that he wanted it. What was one more hill for a climber.
{{TAG: Raina}}
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Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 6:06 am
Raina smiled pleasantly as she listened to Kaine, trying her hardest to concentrate but failing horribly as each step lead them deeper into the house and her mind started running on overdrive as they got farther and farther from the room full of people. Call her paranoid, but she couldn't stop the feeling of being watched that she'd been wary of since arriving and while her company did quite the job of keeping her entertain and equally flustered she still couldn't stop her glances at each shadow they passed. Thankfully though, Kaine lead them to a branching hallway that looked more like something from an art museum, the wood paneling and warm lighting reminding Raina of those pictures of the Louvre she'd seen while studying art history just a few months ago while taking that and a few other night classes to catch up in her credits; a sitting bench just a few feet off making her wonder if it were actually modeled off such a historic place. The change in atmosphere had her relaxing a bit more, her mind letting Kaine's information take precedent, the new tidbits of his life doing very well in impressing her and striking up her envy.
Of course someone so charming and handsome would live that kind of privileged high life. Future lawyer, full ride through his education, and of course he could pull off that whole 'bad boy' biker thing as easily as snapping his fingers.
'Probably lives in a big apartment with it's own kitchen, drives a fancy car to the office, has a personal stylist, and a busty blonde model girlfriend too.' Raina thought and nearly smacked herself for the last part. What business was it to her if Kaine had a girlfriend or...or a fiancee or something. 'None, that's exactly what. None of my business or concern whatsoever.' she said to herself as she looked over a few of the pieces that were framed on the wall, passing a sculpture now and again that had her palms sweating. Just one of these things could probably be hocked and cover her rent for two years, but ugh! God she couldn't think like that anymore!!
She'd grown, sobered up and gotten clean, and put those dangerous -not to mention her promiscuous- ways to rest. Plus, what kind of person would she be if she stole from a dead mans house. She didn't need that sort of bad karma she decided with an approving nod to herself as she stopped in front of a still life, the soft brush strokes and earthy hues making her smile softly as she thought of her passed sister, how her hair had been the same nearly caramel color that made up the bowl in the painting that contained the contrasting vibrant fruit.
It was comfortably silent for a moment and Raina wondered about the art gallery that she knew would be opening up just a few blocks from her school soon and entertained the idea of perhaps inviting Kaine to the grand opening when he dropped a bomb on her. Raina went red as the crimson like colored apple in the painting, eyes wide as manholes as she sputtered - very thankful she hadn't been sipping on her water.
"I-uh I um, goodness n-no I'm far too, far far too young to be married and a um...a boyfriend." Raina stuttered out and laughed nervously and took the last gulp of her water, eternally thankful that she didn't accidentally choke down a piece of ice before continuing. "A boyfriend just really isn't in the cards for me right now as I'm very busy studying and trying to save money for college. It's uh- it's kind of part of the reason I'm here..." she said, her last statement falling off her lips in a whisper as more blood flooded to her cheeks in embarrassment.
Just how many times would she have to address her slow decent into poverty to such a well-off person in one day. It was mortifying.
With a sigh she closed her eyes and let herself plop down onto the bench she'd seen earlier, tempted to just stretch out on it and sleep but decided not to cause more of a spectacle than she had earlier with her stammering and just slouched over and propped one elbow on her knee, the other tilting the glass from side to side watching the ice slide from each end of the glass to the other with a slight pout wanting nothing more than to go back home, jump in bed with her reference books and over sized hoodie and sweats.
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Fashionable Conversationalist
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Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 12:03 pm
Kaine couldn’t help but smile has Raina turned bright red. She seemed so sweet and innocent. If it was all an act, she deserved an Oscar. Though he found it ironic that if there was a murderer in the group that gathered to hear the reading of the will that he would pick that one person out of the crowd to align himself with. Although when he considered his fate in the past, perhaps not so strange. But, if she was lying about herself and her background by using the ‘wilted flower’ routine…well…it was sort of working on Kaine. Which was unusual. He made it a way of life to be an a**.
Once the girl that he had slept with the night before called him up crying that her dog had died and he had suggested that she call the pound if she wanted another dog or the suicide hotline if she was depressed but didn’t know what she possibly wanted him to do. Basically he had just wanted to get rid of her. That was the surest way. He hadn’t felt bad in the least. So why was Raina making him all …warm?
He pushed that track of thinking away. Deciding instead to diffuse the tension with an inappropriate suggestive comment.
” It's uh- it's kind of part of the reason I'm here..."
Smirking, he teased. “You’re here to look for a guy?” She had moved to sit on the low bench in front of another priceless portrait. The way she sat despondently and her cute little pout, she looked especially young and vulnerable. Kaine sometimes felt worn by life. As though his collective experiences had aged him before his time. Which, on some level gave him some amount of wisdom and experience, but in many ways he was still a total idiot kid.
“Look,” he started gently, sitting next to her, “I know this is a sad day. Anytime our lives are touched by death, we can’t help but reflect on our own life. What we are doing, what we have done, where our lives are going.” What the hell am I saying? Shut up you moron! “But pretty faces like yours should never have to look so sad. It’s going to be alright. You are a beautiful young woman who is classy and sophisticated. You’re going to go far in life. And since there isn’t a guy waiting on you back home, “Oh, stop talking. ”what would you say to having dinner with me tonight? After we are done here?”
So he was here for the money. Which after he found out that he had four billion coming his way, he would want to celebrate. Who better to have on his arm than this pretty girl? Plus if they had plans later than she would stick close to him for the rest of the time here. It did seem odd that no one came with anyone else. No spouses, girl friends, best friends, relatives. Just a group of single people. He couldn’t make sense of it. They were all young. Techinally he supposed that it could be possible that their parents were all adopted and were actually children of this rich old man and he was leaving his money to his grandchildren. But that didn’t make much sense. Kaine’s parents were still alive, wouldn’t the money go to them?
In any case, if he and Raina were ‘together’ he would have a leg up on everyone else in the room. He couldn’t pinpoint why, but he felt like he needed an ally in the room. The one girl’s comment rang in the back of his mind, ’I know we are all thinking it. The fewer people the better.’ Would someone be willing to thin down the crowd that did show up? He wanted to call himself crazy. After all they could have been called together to hear that they were each given a pen and the four billion was donated to a charity. But why gather strangers just to disappoint them. What would it accomplish?
Kaine just couldn’t get it out of his mind. If he wasn’t worried about his affection for this girl he had just met, he was overcome by a nagging sense of dread. He tried to tell himself that it was just the suspense, waiting for things to move along was giving his brain too much time to worry over each lengthening shadow and his hairs to stand on end with each creak of the old house. Maybe that was one more reason that he wanted to make plans with Raina for later. It felt good to imagine that this was going to go smoothly and there was going to be a normal ‘later’ where he could have dinner with a pretty girl. So he focused on that.
{{TAG: Raina}}
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Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 2:33 pm
Raina blushed at his accusation and was about to fire back a heated retort when Kaine said, the sweetest things she'd ever heard...and it had to be a line from a movie. Still though, she couldn't stop her natural reactions, cheeks still an unwelcome hue of red - and though it probably wasn't the wisest, and most likely a line that he'd fed twenty different girls, Raina figured what harm was there in getting a free meal off of the guy.
Ah! God she had to stop thinking like that! She wasn't like that anymore.
'God what is it with this trip? It's bringing out the worst in me that I thought I've worked through.' Raina thought with a schooled expression as she mentally debated the pros and cons.
xxxxx'Course, her brain did that thing where it broke through the filter between her thoughts and ability to speak completely and just answered for her.
"I think that would be lovely." she said softly with a gentle smile, her free hand covering Kaine's in the same manner as earlier but...lingering this time instead of pulling away. She made it a point to ignore how her fingers slowly curled around Kaine's hand.
'Traitor.' she thought and resisted the urge to crush her own hand with the glass in her left. But, you know...it wasn't all bad. 'Yeah, I'm going to hell. Getting a date at someone's funeral; I'm a despicable human being...' Raina said in her head with a mental eye roll at her own actions, intentional or not.
Still though, she couldn't bring herself to take her hand from Kaine's and pulled her lower lip between her teeth before chancing a look up to Kaine's glacier blue eyes, her own blue-green orbs wavering between his for some sort of answer to any question she could possibly pose about what would happen next; with them or just the evening she wasn't sure, but Raina did take note that this was the first silence where neither of them broke the heavy hanging atmosphere. The few moments of quiet gazing did give her an almost comical thought at how cheesy rom/com this situation was, but it didn't stop her from noticing how long Kaine's eyelashes were, the way his eyes looked over her features just as quickly and calculating as she did his, and how much closer he seemed now than just a few seconds before. It was almost like he was slowly closing in on her...were his lips that close before?
She couldn't help but wonder what would happen if someone were to catch them like this. What sort of conclusions would they come to? It was these thoughts that caused Raina to let her eyes shift just left of Kaine's visage for a millisecond and see a fleeting movement that disappeared around the corner they'd come from. She snapped back to the situation in a second, just before a loud 'thud' pounded against a wall, or ceiling or something solid, from behind her making her scream and jump two feet out of her seat. The glass, thankfully, not too far from the ground hit the marble flooring with a clang that would've worried her and what she might have to pay for it if she weren't already scared out of her mind.
"What the-! Y-you heard that right? What was that?" Raina squeaked out in a panicky voice and looked back to Kaine after a hasty back and forth of the area behind her only to notice that - god damn it all - she was in his lap, her arms tucked against her chest as her fingers gripped at the mans shirt the motion jerking him forward so that his head was very nearly tucked into the crook of her neck.
"Ah! I-I'm so sorry! I-I uh," Raina stuttered while she tried to find the right words as she hastily jumped right back off of Kaine's lap, stumbling momentarily as she found her footing on trembling legs. The shaking due partially from fear of whatever it was that caused that noise, the other part from the never ending embarrassment that seemed to be falling upon her today. "I...um, I'm sorry." Raina said again as she made sure her dress was straightened out properly and proceeded to look everywhere but at the man in front of her.
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Fashionable Conversationalist
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Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 4:28 pm
Kaine couldn’t help but grin wickedly as she accepted his invitation to dinner. Luckily he had brought enough money for this trip that he could do dinner and still pass himself off as someone with money. The last thing he wanted was to have to take her for a slice and a cola. Which was much more his income bracket at this point in his life. Although he didn’t know what the nearest town had to offer as far as fine dining, but he would come up with something. He could be inventive.
Then she touched him. Like before when her small hand wrapped around his, his brain went numb. He was flooded with electricity and attraction. Images washed through his brain unbidden and untenable. Warm sunlight flooding over naked skin, his hands running over her slight bare back, rolling in a bed, giggling in young lover’s bliss, the abyss of a tender kiss. His breath was on her lips when her bright eyes shifted to the side and a loud bang sounded drawing a yelp of surprise from her as his head whipped up and to the side. But then the sound was forgotten.
His lap was full and his chest was pulled forward against her, his arms instinctively circling her. She was tense and scared but he couldn’t help but compare this moment to the imaginings that had just poured through his mind like Absinthe. When she realized the familiarity of their position she pulled away with profuse apologies. But Kaine’s eyes were stuck on her. On that full lip that she had bit so cutely.
Gently taking her hand, he pulled her softly back into his lap. His glass dropping to the floor along side hers as his hand came up to brush a hair out of her face. “Yes. I heard it. But no one else is in here. It’s just you…and me.” The hand that was brushing her hair back slipped behind to the nape of her neck, guiding her forward as he leaned in. His other hand drawing her arm back to his hip and skimming up to wrap around her shoulder.
His lips were a breath away from hers when he heard it. You are a rotten son of a b***h. ******** me. He paused. She was a sweet girl. Not at all like the kind that he usually dated. He purposefully stalked the kind of girl that hunted young guys with money. He never felt bad that he was lying to them because they were just as superficial and fake as he was, just in a different way. He didn’t bother to have any respect for them because they didn’t bother to respect themselves. But Raina was different. She was sweet and vulnerable. He could hurt her. She could hurt him.
Ducking his head slightly, he ran his lips along her chin to her cheek, kissing her lightly. Once. Twice. Three times, trailing back to her ear. This wasn’t any better. His lips brushed her ear lobe and he shuddered and pulled back slowly. No. Not his type of girl. He would use her to get through this. Have a perfunctory dinner with her and then they would go their separate ways. He would not kiss her. He would not sleep with her. No no no no.
Even he didn’t believe himself.
Smiling up at her, his hand slipped forward again to run along her jaw. “We…” he began slowly, his eyes flicking up to her blue green gaze. “We should get back. We will have time to…talk…later.” His voice was a deep, slow rumble. Full of implications that he didn’t even intend on making though, dear God he was thinking them. Guiding her to standing as he did himself,, his hand slipped down her spine to rest once again at the small of her back as he fell into step beside her and turned her for the door. It would be so easy to turn her into him and kiss her. He wasn’t a man to deny his attraction to a woman, but this was different, he knew it. He knew that he knew it. But that dark force inside of him was tempting him to forget about everything except the momentary bliss that he was sure he would find in her lips.
But he did not pull her against his chest. His hand did not run up to finger through her hair and fist a handful of her dark tresses. He put one foot in front of another and walked alongside her, hating himself and damning his lack of control.
{{TAG: Raina}}
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Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2012 2:29 pm
Raina didn't know how she was surviving all these sudden shifts in mood, one minute she was somewhat rational and in control of her emotions, the next she was heavy breaths and silent whimpers. Kaine's hands were soft, long fingers delicate on her pale skin leaving scorching heat and raised flesh in their wake; she shivered at his words, each syllable making her spine tingle and her eyes flutter. And when his lips met her skin...
"Oh my god..." she said in a breathy whisper, her head titling back slightly when his lips lightly grazed her ear lobe, her fingers grasping at fabric - the hand on Kaine's hip making her blush slightly as her fingers found purchase on the swell of covered flesh. It was intoxicating and so familiar yet foreign; every roll of heat from his palms, the kisses, it was weakening her already poor resolve and her own parted lips starting to tremble just as Kaine decided to pull away.
"We...we should get back. We will have time to...talk...later." he said, his blue eyes noticeably darker as they shifted focus from her own eyes to her parted lips. She'd never admit it, but Raina was a little disappointed when Kaine helped her to stand, his hand taking it's now designated position at the small of her back. She was sure pretty sure that the fabric would give way to his touch soon and brand a mark of his hand into her skin. Of course - that was a silly idea Raina realized as she walked in step next to Kaine in a numb daze for the second time in an under an hour; it was because of this that she didn't notice the slight catch at the end of the entrance and didn't fight gravity when the toe of her left heel caught and she started to fall.
The Universe though, ever a forgiving being, gave her brain enough of a shock for her the just barely grab one of Kaine's sleeves, pulling him down with herself so that they both landed with a hard thud, much like the one the couple had heard earlier, onto the floor, Raina sprawled slightly across the man's right side.
'' Raina thought with a grimace, taking inventory on any new bumps or bruises she might have, her right hip the only thing seeming to hurt in any way other than her shoulder.
"I... God I am so sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me. It's like since I've gotten here every poor aspect about myself has been multiplied and more than happy to display itself publicly." she murmured, ignoring the fact that she was burying her face in the warmth of Kaine's neck -and totally not noticing the intoxicating scent of his cologne or how firm his chest felt under her touch- and concentrated only on escaping this embarrassment in any way possible. This was just...the quickest solution that she could conjure up at the moment. Begrudgingly she lifted her head before letting her fingers spread wide over the middle of his chest as she pushed herself up slightly to look into his eyes that were still slightly wide with surprise but held something in them that she couldn't place. "It's also bringing out the worst in me it seems..." Raina murmured as she fiddled with one of the buttons on Kaine's shirt, her nails tapping against the small object every few seconds as it rolled between her fingers. Her eyes glanced back up quickly from the button to Kaine's eyes and her mind went blank as the world around her stopped so she only just felt as her lips closed over Kaine's.
It was just barely a peck but felt like a lifetime and she could only smile just slightly as her lips buzzed with an old sensation. Raina didn't stop the huff of laughter that escaped her as she opened her eyes to look down into celestial like blue eyes, nor the Cheshire like grin that took over her features.
"...the absolute worst."
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Fashionable Conversationalist
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 1:35 pm
Kaine was trying to focus on how he would break up the four billion dollars between stocks, bonds, real estate and money to blow. The latter being a rather large category in this imagining. In reality he knew what he would do with every nickel and none of it would be spent frivolously. He wasn’t his father. Which is why he also wouldn’t be falling for the girl on his arm. His father was the moron, not him. Kaine was headed places.
Straight down.
Raina tripped and pulled him down with her. She had to be a spy. A evil, manipulative sneaky liar. Every time he tried to keep on task, she was throwing him for a loop. Making him forget everything except her. He had fallen in love once Jenny Carter in the fourth grade. She never even noticed him. Held hands with some body the next grade up that had no brains and beat any smaller child that he could get his meaty hands on. It was heartbreaking really, but he learned from it. Your heart was stupid, there was no point in listening to it. He had made a lifetime of decisions around using his brain only and worrying about only himself and his own future. He wasn’t going to let this girl change that.
Of course, as he was making these proclamations to himself she was wriggling cutely on top of his body, attempting to right herself, her cheek and lips brushing his throat as she raised her head. Her small hand snaking up his chest, her bright gaze toying with him. The world was somehow in slow motion and at the same time speeding out of control all at once. He wanted to be clear headed, act with sober resolve to his plans. But then the vixen cursed him. Lowering her head, her lips pressed against his. An inferno exploded within his mind and all rational thought was lost.
The gift from her lips was far too brief. She chuckled as she raised her head, a throaty almost worldly sound that he wouldn’t have expected her to have the experience to produce. “…the absolute worst.”
Kaine didn’t respond or give her much time to add to that thought. One arm encircled her waist, drawing her body in tightly against his. His other hand running around her neck to the nape of her neck as he arched forward to capture her lips. No brushing peck or brief kiss. His kiss seared her with need and urgency that he was unable and unwilling to restrain. His hands were just as hungry on her, moving over her body and through her hair like a man starved for the touch of a woman. His lips were insistent, passionate and then…tender. Both hands were tangled up in her dark tresses, cradling either side of her head and his kiss became something more.
He felt it. It scared the hell out of him. Lingering for a moment over her lips, gently, his tongue sweeping the honey of her kiss from her lips and slowly pulling back. His light eyes stormy and conflicted. His voice shook with a deep tremble of need, “Then I can’t wait to see you at your best.” Words full of insinuation about what the night before them would hold. Blue eyes glinted mischievously as he chuckled and helped her up to standing as he got his own legs under him. He thought about apologizing, or maybe even insulting her and putting the distance between them now. But, he merely stepped beside her again and gestured in the direction that they had been headed.
“As much as I’d rather…” he trailed off, not detailing the many, MANY, things that he would most truthfully rather been doing, simply gracing her with another wicked smirk and wrapping an arm around her, tucking in at the opposite side of her waist to tuck her against his side as he bent to kiss her gently but purposefully on the lips. This time with much more restraint. “We should make sure they are not waiting on us.”
Once again they began moving back toward the room where they were gathering, he tried to focus this thoughts back toward the reason that he was there. But he found the temptation of imagining where the night might lead oh so more pleasing to contemplate. Behind them, a flickering shadow caught his eyes. Turning his head as they walked on, his eyes narrowed but he could see no one lurking in the shadows. Surely just a branch moving outside the window. Yes, that must have been it. Turning back with a comforting smile to Raina, he flicked his eyes once more behind them before returning forward toward their destination. Letting the comfort of the warm body beside him chase away any uneasiness.
{{TAG: Raina}}
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